Kopa, Nirmala and Nguvu approached the sacred, vast lake at the edge of the Tree of Life's grassy plains. The thick, pristine pine tree coverings surrounding the lake shrouded its mysteries, keeping the two males on their toes as they approached. Neither had spoken to each other since deciding to enter this strangely quiet part of the liveliest place known to them.
"Nirmala!" The younger brother turned to the older lioness, swaying his sight away from his nervous, silent sibling. "Are we there yet?" Nirmala halted at an opening up ahead, causing Kopa and Nguvu to cease their movement. She turned her head back at the two males, watching as they stood beside each other, looking away in nervousness.
"We're here..." Stepping to the side, Nirmala revealed the grand, great lake beyond the pine tree forest. The water sparkled in the potent, risen midday sun as the trio stared onward, taking in the pure magnificence before them. Looking out at the lake, Nirmala continued. "This is Pratibimba, the Lake of Reflection." Kopa and Nguvu remained silent, their muzzles agape as they took in the sheer beauty of the land before them.
"Come..." Stepping forward, Nirmala took a glance at the stunned brothers, smiling softly as her sweet, wise voice fluttered through the open, fresh air. "We must start as soon as possible. " As the lioness strolled towards the water's edge, Kopa blinked, refocusing on the task at hand. With a calming, soulful inhalation, he joined her, followed closely by his older brother.
"Oh...Erm...Okay..." Nguvu nervously sulked forward, only halting as he stood beside his younger brother. His weak, short mane softly jigged in the breeze. Kopa's mane, on the other hand, swayed gently in the slightly chilled, northern winds as he stood there. The mighty, blackened strands of fur around his head practically irradiated heat as he sat at the waters' edge, looking to his left as Nirmala sat.
"Look out into the water." The lioness raised a paw before letting it gently stroke the surface. "Look deep within and you will see the path ahead." As her words swayed through the air, the brothers looked out to the rippling water, watching as the ripples faded.
Both their bodies reflected back at them, as clear as day. "Reflect on what you have done, on who you are..." She arose to her four paws once more, slowly backing away from the water's edge as Kopa and Nguvu stared at the water's surface.
"How does this work exactly?" Kopa's eyesight flickered as he talked. "The water seems... familiar." His focussed brown eyes scanned the surface of the water. The surface twinkled in the sunlight. He could feel it, a slight shudder through the ground. As he stared out at the water, he could hear a slight hum in the water, shifting through the open-air gently as his ears flickered up to catch it.
Nirmala turned, remaining tall and proud. She smiled softly as she began to stroll back to a curious Kopa. "The water seeps from a cave system that runs underneath the land." Her calm blue orbs flickered between the two males. "If I remember, the source for this lake runs from under the Tree of Life."
Kopa continued to stare into the water. The sound of the ethereal hum seeped through his mind, freeing his attention into the water's surface. Unbeknownst to him, Nguvu had already lowered his head closer to the water, closing his eyes gently as he did so.
"Now if you excuse me, I have to rest." Nirmala bowed her head slightly before leaving the two brothers to their reflective meditation. The wise lioness strolled back through the pine coated forest, leaving behind nothing but a sweet, succulent smell, most likely from the flower resting behind her ear.
Kopa remained focussed on the task ahead. His mind softly started to numb as he slowed his breathing. As he blinked his eyes, he sensed something, deep down within. A whisper, faint and silent but here. He looked deeper, raising his ears in hope of catching its meaning.
"Kopa..." The whispers became clearer. "Kopa..." The Uasian king backed his head back slightly, watching as a ripple trembled in the water before him.
"What the-?"
"No! No!" The voice rumbled through his body, especially his scar. The demonic presence seemed to fight against him, trying to hold him back. Gritting his teeth, he tried to crane his neck forward, taking a deeper look at the bubbling water before him.
"You...You can't...know!" This seemed easy, far too easy. Taking a deep breath, Kopa concentrated. His Uasian king mark glistened as he squinted his eyes, staring down into the water.
"Yes... he can!" The words trembled from Kopa's muzzle. These words were not his own, at least from what he could tell. He felt something else, a much greater presence, fighting against Scar, using him as a conduit.
"NO!" Scar bellowed; anxiety concocted with a sip of fear frothed in his words as if pleading softly. "Who... Who are-!" His voice cut off just as the bubbling water before Kopa subsided, relaxing as the sound of intense, panicked breathing etched across Kopa's mind.
Kopa's curiosity brought his muzzle in line with the water as if he were going to drink from it. He looked deeply once more, trying to figure out what had just happened. As his nose touched the water, a tremor returned, springing up from the water's trembling surface. Deep from within the lake, a splash of water rushed to his mane, shaped like a paw. Its watery claws dug into his skin, choking him as the Uasian king tried to resist.
"You...You will know th...the truth!" The paw grasped tighter onto Kopa's mane, tugging at it three times before finally gaining an advantage. The ex-Royal Mlinzi found himself dragged into the water, drowning as his vision blurred, darkened, before bright, blinding light gleamed across his eyes. The sound of aggressive, savage roars echoed through his mind becoming louder and louder as he fell towards the light.
As the light began to fade, the roars faded slightly. Kopa felt his fur suddenly dry as it flopped on what seemed to be solid ground. The light of the sun glistened through his fur. The rocky land he found himself in seemed familiar. It was Pride Rock, though it appeared younger, less worn and torn than the last time he had seen it. As he arose, a trio of lionesses rushed past him, quickly strolling up the rocky pathway leading to the summit ahead.
"Yeye!" A deep, masculine voice roared from above. A few small pebbles fell from the summit beside Kopa as the Uasian king found his footing. With a flick of his ears, he decided to slowly trot forward, leaping up to the summit of the ancient monument. Intrigue had consumed his mind at the sound of the lion god's name.
There, standing before a small pride of lionesses and another male, Yeye held his ground at the edge of the rocky incline. The other lion growled and snarled, strolling up and down before the regal, proud first king.
"You don't want to do this, Majuto!" Yeye placed a paw forward, steadying himself as the seemingly weaker male stared him down. "You've earned your place in this pride as my brother." The first lion king's eyes locked on his slightly younger sibling, who continued to growl at him. Majuto charged towards him, spitting as he snarled.
"I deserve so much more!" His sharp, brown eyes undulated. The sheer pressure trembled though his body, ruffling his fur as a pure aura of hatred rushed through his veins. "I deserve my chance to mate, my chance to rule!" He turned around slowly, letting his gaze sweep between the gathered lionesses surrounding him. As his eyes passed the pathway leading to the land below, Kopa froze. The ancient lion's gaze froze for a second before continuing to finish its encirclement, before turning back to his regal brother. "I will take the throne from you, 'brother'!"
Yeye's eyes shallowed. Claws sprung from his paws, slicing through the rock beneath them as a sudden dominative frown descended upon his muzzle. As he positioned himself into a defensive, arched back position, Majuto pounced, slashing his claws at his brother as the pair began to fight.
As ground-shuddering growls bellowed from the two savage males, the lionesses stepped back, allowing the two brothers to prove themselves. One of the lionesses approached Kopa, reversing back before him. As she did, her body phased within his own, as if he didn't exist. All he could do was watch as the two males fought, clawing, bleeding and biting at each other.
Majuto broke free of his brother's grasp, his body covered in cuts and bite marks. His fur had started to dye red with blood, his own and his brother's. A single one of his deep, brown eyes locked on Yeye as he breathed heavily. The two encircled each other, staring down each other as a darkened cloud seeped across the sky, blocking out the sun as the two lions gave one last glance under its warming gaze. The lionesses waited patiently, waiting to see who would be victorious and become their king.
Some of the lionesses had other ideas however, they tried to charge at Majuto, only to be halted by Yeye. The younger brother saw an opportunity, a weakness to exploit. He began to charge at a particular lioness, her belly slightly swollen with the gift of life.
Immediately glancing back at his brother, Yeye's heart skipped a beat. His veins boiled as Majuto rushed towards his most recent mate, the bearer of the next litter of cubs, the future of his dynasty. With one last, desperate lunge, he leapt in front of the understandably trebling lioness, flicking his unsheathed claws forward as his brother pounced.
His claw dug into the flesh and fur, scraping across Majuto's eye. The younger brother collapsed to the ground, roaring in pain as his body rolled off the edge of Pride Rock. His claws dug into the side of the rocky monument for dear life. Slowly relaxing, Yeye strolled to the edge where his brother hung, his desperate pleas and begs rung through the king's ears, but to no avail.
"Do you think you have won?" The sound of Majuto's claws scraping the rock reverberated across the land as the rain broke from the thunderous clouds above. The treble of thunder lapped as Yeye stared down at his brother's bloody, scarred face. "There are powers at work here that you could never understand, brother!" A smug, sinister grin spread across Majuto's face as he looked up at his older brother.
As Yeye stared down at his brother, he noticed a glimmer of greenish hue gleam across Majuto's scarred iris. With a soft series of cackles, the younger lion let go, just as a second lightning bolt hit the side of the rocky structure. An avalanche of rocks crumbled off the edge as Majuto vanished in the crackling explosion, his cackling laughter echoed through the sky as the storm faded.
As the scarred lion fell, Kopa felt his body collapse. His chest heavy to the ground as darkness consumed his vision. The shocked, sudden gasps of the pride rattled across his mind, contorting into nothing but whispers as his vision fell into a deep, seeping void.
"This was the beginning of your pain." A deep, reverberating voice pierced Kopa's mind as darkness consumed him. A few seconds after the voice had finished reverberating, a spark of greenish light appeared above him, illuminating the nothingness surrounding him.
"Now you will see what awaits you..." The voice bellowed Just as the light faded slightly, revealing the body of Majuto. Time had no meaning here, visualised as a series of tendrils quickly protruding from the dead lion's body, spreading out in seconds, reaching out into the void. They convulsed as they spread outwards, wrapping around each other as they solidified, fusing in the form of a series of crystals. As the structure completed itself, a massive, reality shaking explosion blew through the land, creating a series of rocky islands. The skies began to show a green hue as a thick, choking fog seeped beneath the sea of unstable cracking islands.
"This is his realm of darkness and disorder." The voice whispered, as Kopa could only watch on, every inch of his body trembling as he watched the corruption spread. "I will show you how to defeat him, and forge this land anew"
Kopa's ears flickered upwards as the voice rumbled through his soul. "Who are you? What are you talking about?" His eyes flickered around the realm as it seemed to dissipate. The bright, blinding light returned, burning his retina's as the voice softly slipped back across his mind.
"You will know... You will know..." As the light reached its brightest, Kopa felt the shallow, cool breeze brush past his fur. The chirping of birds seeped across his ears as another familiar voice called out his name softly.
"Kopa? Kopa!"
...
"Kopa!" Nguvu shook Kopa forward and backwards as the Uasian king awoke. The king blinked, firing his head back as he noticed his older brother, recapturing his breath as his mind recalibrated itself with its furry husk. The golden, setting sun hung on the horizon, glistening its fluctuating rays upon the two lion brothers. The water beside them crashed softly, creating small, calming waves as the golden hue of the sun swayed over its surface.
"Nguvu?" Kopa's voice trembled as the sheer shock of his vision faded. Nguvu just stood beside him, holding him as he smiled softly, gently. A warm, pleasant gush of wind brushed past the two as they started to chuckle, smiling wildly as a series of footsteps thud through the nearby dirt.
"I see you two are getting along better." The sweet, wise words of Nirmala flickered through the brother's ears. They turned their attention to her, quickly letting go of each other before sitting beside one another, smiling softly at the lioness before them. She turned around, keeping her head arched back at them as she started to stroll down the dirt path back through the pine coated forest.
"Come, I'll take you back to your lairs." As Nirmala led the way, Kopa and Nguvu nudged each other gently, chuckling as they strolled together, side by side as brothers should. Kopa's calm, brown eyes scanned Nguvu's face as they strolled. He seemed to be a completely different lion than he was before. Prouder, less nervous. Whatever he had seen in the lake must have had an immense effect on him. He noticed the scar across his brother's left eye had shrunken, barely recognisable, unlike his own.
Perhaps he had changed for the better?
