Nestled deep beneath a lush tree at the centre of a lush, peaceful land far away from the horrors of the Scarred War, a lone lioness rested her head on her paws. The lair that she slept in was quiet. The tough, entwined roots provided the perfect place to rest, nestled beneath mother nature's origins.
"Hm hm hm hm hm..." A rather melodic, soothing hum echoed throughout the lair. The creaking of thin, dangling vines caught the resting lioness' attention, darting her eyesight up and to the eastern side of the room. Nested behind the rattling vines, a primate figure leapt and reached, performing a certain task. The lioness arose, giving her regal, if aged fur a quick shake.
"Oh." The primate near jumped out of her fur as she caught her gourd. With an elegant recovery, she reached for a stick before darting between the roots. "I'm so sorry, your majesty, I didn't mean to wake you!" The mandrill placed her staff on the ground, holding it tightly as she held a gourd of dye in the other hand.
"It's okay, Gyaan." The old lioness chuckled warmly, smiling over at her mandrill servant. "My old bones have rested far enough today." She stretched out, retracting her elderly, worn claws against the worn, solidified dirt. The mandrill smiled back at her queen, turning to the wall within her uncovered dwelling. She brushed the dye across the wall, adding to a colourful, grand mural that decorated the wall.
"My, what a lovely mural!" The regal lines inhaled sharply, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the encapsulating painting. The final touches were just being added by her primate assistant. The image depicted a lion and lioness, sitting beside one another, as regal and majestic as could be. The sheer sight of them caused a tear to swell in the eyes of the elderly monarch, her heart chilling slowly.
"I... I can't believe they're gone." She slowly approached. Raising a paw out, she touched the lion's fur, seemingly stroking up though his mane. The image started to move. His majestic mane blowing in the wind as the lioness nuzzled him. "You would have made a perfect king, my son..."
"They would have both been great." Gyaan lowered her head in respect, crossing her hands as she stood, clutching her staff. The two gourds at its tip rattled softly. The mandrill opened her eyes, a slight shudder of curiosity shivering through her body. She looked over her shoulder, out to the illuminated opening, leading outside into the kingdom beyond.
"Yeah..." The elderly lioness let her paw fall from the painting, its movements ceased as her paw slithered down, freezing both illustrated lions in place, snuggled up together. Raising her paw to her face, she wiped her tears. To think it had only been two weeks since their demise...
From out of nowhere, a harsh burst of wind blew through the root coated cave. Gyaan and the lioness turned, hearing the sound of... agonising screams? They both rushed into the kingdom's throne room. The heightened rock that acted as the throne beside them as they stared at whatever or whoever dared enter this sacred chamber.
Just as they entered, a small group of lions, made up of two males and two females, rushed inside. The two males held the screaming, agonised body of another male on their backs, his body convulsing harshly as they rolled him off with a gentle tumble.
"Grandmother!" The younger of the two lionesses, a brown-furred, brown-eyed adolescent, stepped forward, her breathing irregular, intensifying as she faced her grandmother. "We tried to save this lion but..."
"It's alright, Rani." The oldest lioness cooed her granddaughter, returning her attention to the now whimpering lion before her. He was an adult, to be sure. His body seemed to glisten with a strange, greenish aura, barely visible to the naked eye.
"Oh my!" Gyaan rushed to the lion's side, placing her hand on his head. She immediately took it off, flicking it as if a sudden pain had swelled across it. She looked up at Rani and her grandmother, a concerned, slightly confused look adorning her face. "It can't be..."
Just as she spoke, the lion started to convulse even more. His body practically arising as his eyes seemed to glimmer. The two males tried their best to hold him, struggling even with their combined strength.
"Baliyo! Surak!" Rani roared as the male broke free from his captor's hold. As they fell to the ground, Rani rushed over to her uncle and little brother, nuzzling them both as they slowly recovered. She turned to the slightly older lioness, who also rushed to their aid.. "Nirmala!"
"We're alright sis!" Baliyo arose, bending his legs inward as he stood. Surak stood beside him, watching with grave concern as the mysterious male collapsed once more. Nirmala rushed past Rani, quickly sitting beside the lion, placing her paw on his forehead as Gyaan had done prior.
The brown furred lioness shuddered as the strange energy rushed across the male's body, spreading across her paw. She could feel a presence, seeping through her mind as she tried to reach deeper, curiosity fuelling her mind. Gyaan sat beside her, concern rushing through her body as the power grew.
"Wait!" she quickly disconnected Nirmala's paw from the male's head. As she did, the energy seeped, shooting up to the rooted ceiling above the. Sparks of a greenish hue pulsed through the air, illuminating the lair as the male roared in pain. Everyone cowered. Rani rushed over to her grandmother, standing before her, as if shielding her from any potential attack. Within seconds though, the energy faded, seemingly seeping through the roots, until disappearing. The male collapsed. His breathing returned to normal as the light faded. The only source of illumination coming from the many fungi surrounding them.
Gyaan rushed to his side as Nirmala, Surak and Baliyo rushed to Rani and their queen. Rani turned to her pride, her team, worryingly. "Everyone okay?" she darted her attention across the many faces in the room.
"We're fine!" The others replied. She turned back to her grandmother, who slowly approached the strange male. He had just started to open his eyes. They were of a brown complexion, unlike the greenish, fiery pupils that once rested in those sightful orbs.
As Gyaan started to check the male's body for injury, a light flutter muffled from outside. Within seconds, a white feathered owl flew through, hooting loudly as it landed gently.
"Hoo Hoo!" She curled her feathers inwards as she landed. "Rani! Night pride!" Rani turned at the sound of her name, her focus completely shifting to the owl.
"Ullu? What's wrong" The young princess spoke calmly and curiously. Her ears perked as she stood before the attentive owl.
"There's two strangers." The owl hooted, raising her wing to the left as she spoke. "They're approaching the Tree of Life from the north east!" Baliyo and Surak sat beside Rani, looking down at the small owl who warned them of the potentially incoming threat. Rani thought for a second, before turning to her grandmother.
"Grandmother Janna?" Rani asked. Queen Janna smiled down at her granddaughter, blinking slowly as she arose to her paws once more. She inhaled softly, turning north east as she did so. "Take Baliyo and Surak to greet these.... Visitors." She stood beside Nirmala and Gyaan, who both carefully tended to the slowly awakening male lion before them. "We'll tend to him." Rani nodded, softly bowing at her grandmother. Baliyo and Surak followed their leader's actions, bowing at their queen before turning to each other.
"Okay then!" She nodded at her younger brother, who was as energised and ecstatic as ever. His tail swayed side to side rapidly, impatiently waiting to sprint out into the kingdom they called home. Rani then turned to her dear uncle, who simply nodded, letting her attention turn to bright, sunlit land beyond the lair.
"With strength and respect...!" Rani started to sprint outwards, followed closely by Baliyo and Surak. The trio leapt up the sloped ramp leading out the lair as the two males responded to their leader's battle cry.
"Night Pride protect!" All three lions' roars echoed through the lair as they left, ready to face whatever these visitors could cause. As the echoes faded, Janna turned her attention to the adult male laying before her, his eyes blinking back into life, as he inhaled sharply.
He shot up instantly, panic and utter terror shooting through his body. "Huh! Who! Where?" His eyes darted around the three females, heart racing as he tried to remember, tried to piece together what had happened. His eyes met Gyaan's. The old mandrill's hand stroked his head as their eyes met, seemingly locking for a few seconds before he seemed to calm, relaxing as she let go.
"I am Queen Janna, queen of the Tree of life." The eldest lioness declared, reaching her paw out to the younger male. His eyes turned to her, seemingly scanning her, trying to figure out who she was. They widened as she spoke, the nervousness seemingly shifting back and forth. "Who are you?"
Nirmala and Gyaan watched on as the two older lions conversed. The male looked down, contemplating the queen's question. With a blink of his eyes, he looked back up, a certain subtle quiver in his voice as he mumbled.
"Nguvu..." His eyes looked up at Janna, confidence growing with every passing second and he coldly looked up at her.
"My name is Nguvu..."
...
