THR LION KING - LEGACIES: - THE STORM

DISCLAIMER:

THIS IS A PIECE OF FANFICTION.

CHARACTERS, PLACES AND EVENTS THAT APPEAR IN THE LION KING, THE LION KING 2, THE LION KING 1½ AND THE LION KING SNA, ARE THE SOLE PROPERTY OF DISNEY AND AFFILIATED COMPANIES.

ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND EVENTS ARE MY OWN INTERLECTUAL PROPERTY.

IF YOU CONSIDER THIS INTERLECTUAL THAT IS.

"Hello faithful readers. If you are reading this, then you have recently decided that you would like to give the third part of "The Lion – Legacies" a try. This one is called "The Storm", and will reveal a lot more of the historical background behind the Shai'tan, the Shaman, and the forces that govern the Pridelands. It will also reveal at least another of Shai'tan. For those keeping count, Four have been revealed. Rish'ut – the Prideful, Sekmet – the Wrathful, and Amun – the Avaricious, and Mortread, who has not yet received his unofficial title. It is my plan however, that you shall meet 'Asamode', named by some to be the most frightening and terrible of all the Shai'tan…

So if you want to be alerted as soon as the story is updated, and not waste time browsing, then I suggest you click "follow" and "favorite". Favorite-ing me, will also alert you to future installments of the Lion King – Legacies.

The story is mostly plotted out…

As always, a special thank you to my pals Chu10 and JJZ-109. IN particular to Chu10 for her wonderful artwork which is the cover of this series (or will be when it's finished). Do check out her deviant-art page, links available in my profile.

But how about instead of talking about everything, we cut straight to the chase?"

Cheers: Haradion

Prologue: The Fires of Golgorath

Despite expecting heavy resistance, Almasi, Vitani and Damu were not challenged as they made their way through Golgorath. Spies and guards kept careful watch on the known entrances to the tower, but once inside, the only obstacle to assail were the Jackals, Wilddogs and servants of the Shai'tan, who unanimously mistook them for other servants of the Shai'tan. For once Vitani was thankful for the handful of rouges and nomads which had sided with the Shai'tan upon their conquest of the Pridelands. It made their movement infinitely easier. They moved through the tunnels and weaving passageways which made Golgorath. The termite mound was huge, and the Shai'tan had labored on it since, carving out new passageways and tunnels through the rocky terrain. It was more than a little disconcerting to see how much her former home had changed over the last year. Vitani had been banking on her knowledge of the tower playing to her advantage, but as she looked around, she began to realize that her memories of her home were woefully inadequate for the task. She tried not to let her nervousness show.

"Now remember. Look, stalk, and smell only. We aren't here for a battle. We need to find the cubs, and get out whilst everyone is distracted. This could be our best opportunity."

"Should we split up? We stand a better chance of finding them in this maze…" Damu suggested, but Vitani shook her head.

"We're not leaving anyone behind, cub or lioness. We'll stick together. Besides… if things become… difficult, we won't stand a chance by ourselves..." Vitani said. The lionesses agreed, and made their way through the tunnels. Vitani was still dripping wet on her underbelly, and cursed. How would she explain that? Fortunately, Almasi quickly solved it, but rolling on the sandy dust. It not only dried up the water, but also darkened their pelts. They looked less like Pridelanders now, and more like the bedraggled rouges they had seen previously.

A noise ahead of them made them pause. A roaring of many animals. Almasi paused.

"There's a fight going ahead…" She said. Vitani hesitated.

"What? There is never a fight this time of day!" She said, and Almasi nodded in confusion. Something wasn't right.

"We'll this is an opportunity then… We could use this as a distraction…" Damu suggested. Vitani nodded.

"Right. The cubs won't be as well guarded…" She said, then stopped. "Unless…" She ooked up along the passageway.

"You don't think…"

"We had better check… who fighting…"

"Oh Kings… Not now."

The Lionesses pushed their way to the front, and Almasi hissed. Just as she had guessed, a strange premonition or a mother's instinct, or simply her pessimistic attitude coming through. Somehow she had known it would be her son fighting.

"Who's the other cub? That's not Sara…" Vitani whispered, trying to make eye contact with the other animals. She needn't have tried, they were far too engrossed in their spectacle to notice another set of lions amongst all the other animals, but Damu shook her head.

"I think his name Is Koron… I saw him fight last time. He took a pair of gazelle down."

"By himself?"

"I guess you learn to hunt quickly in the pit…"

Watching the cubs fight though, there was something off about them. There was no caution, or sense of self preservation. Both cubs were giving their all, through all their effort into reckless strikes and blows, a defense posture abandoned in favour of more speed. They were aggressive, and when she saw Koron's swipe as Inti's neck, she knew why, and hissed, drawing a sharp breath.

"They're actually trying to kill one another!" Vitani burst out. Almasi's eyes widened.

"No! No, they can't!" And she nearly jumped into the pit there and then, had Vitani not placed a paw on her's, keeping it pinned to the ground.

"It's a fight to the death…" Damu realized too.

"My Son…" She whispered. "What have they done…"

"Where is Sara? Can you see her?" Almasi asked suddenly. What if… What if she had already fought? And lost… She couldn't bear the thought, but when Damu gave a cry and she looked up, it did little to gladden her spirits. When she followed Damu's gaze, she saw her daughter being dangled over the pit by the monster Rish'ut, and understood. She was the prize for this fight.

"Kings above and Tyrants below…" Vitani whispered. For once she felt useless. She had nothing. Her mind whirred to work out a plan, to somehow rescue both Inti, Sara and escape without being slaughtered by the literally hundreds of enemies.

But she could not. She had assumed – perhaps desperately – that the cubs would be in their cells by this time. Get in, break them out, and slip quietly out of the tower and back into the Pridelands before anyone realized who was missing.

That plans was already sailing down the river and out of sight. Her brow furrowed.

"Okay… I have a plan…" She said. But what that plan was and how it would have facilitated their escape, Almasi would never know. Before Vitani could say another word, a hush fell across the arena, and Vitani could make out Inti, who had somehow bested his opponent and stood poised to finish the job. To murder a cub his own age in cold blood. It was profane.

Then Inti stood back, sparing his foe. Vitani blinked in surprise, as Rish'ut shook in anger and lashed out.

"SHARAK! HARRIN! Kill them! Kill them! Kill one in every five! Decimate them!"

His voice echoed around the arena, as the jackals began to slaughter the defenseless fighters. Then one of the Jackals, struck at a fighter, who forced his way past a spectating serpent, snapping his jaw around the creature's neck and throwing its corpse aside. The spectators fell back in fear, and the pursuing jackal snapped as they struggled to get out of the way. The Jackal fell upon the fleeing fighter, but was aided by his comrade, a larger cat – a panther cub or wildcat, it was hard to make out. The Jackal fell to the ground, bleeding but his own friends pushed their way through the crowd, some of which struck out instinctively as the aggression.

And before long, the pit descended into chaos. Spectator, Shai'tan servant, fighter fought one another in equal measure for a good ten minutes before order was restored, and the riot quieted and throughout it all, Almasi fought her way towards her son. When a Wilddog blocked her path, she lashed out and threw him across the rocks, where he smacked his head against a rock with the sound of a cracking coconut. Undeterred, Almasi carried on, her companions keeping others off her, but the three of them came to a struggling halt as order was restored. The remaining servant, between four fifths and three quarters of them where pushed, dragged, thrown or otherwise forced into the pit, there they were forced upon the ground, their faces pressed into the dirt. The disdain on Rish'ut's face was evident. To him that was where they belonged. For a dreadful moment, Almasi feared he would order the deaths of every slave there and then, but she luck was on their side, and Rish'ut only gave a snort of disgust, before having them dragged back to their cells. Beaten and broken, very few resisted, but some struggled, shouted and spat even as they were moved away. Koron and Inti remained, and Almasi held her breath…

"Throw that one back in its cell…" He muttered to Koron, as he was dragged away, and then too Inti, his anger still blazing: "Put him with the Oracle. I will deal with him later… He can join her in her suffering."

The cubs were moved away and the lionesses hesitated, uncertain now. With Inti being dragged away, the lionesses had little reason to challenge a Shai'tan. Suddenly her turned and faced them, and Vitani gave a gasp of fear or dread, but his eyes didn't linger on her. She was just another droplet in the ocean of panicked animals. He turned, and climbed away, presumably to where he, or the other Shai'tan made their abode. Vitani breathed a sigh of relief.

"Quickly, before we lose them!" Vitani said, as they made their way after the Wilddog dragging Sara back to their cell. If they lost them now, they would have no time to search every single cell for Sara. They would miss their chance. As if reading her mind, Almasi pulled up short.

"What about Inti?" She asked. Vitani shook herself.

"He's too heavily guarded. We need to wait until they leave."

"But they'll torture him!"

"We'll get there long before the Shai'tan does, don't worry." Damu tried to reassure her, but Almasi remained distressed.

"We're too close now. We can't leave him!"

"We won't! We'll get through this – trust me." Vitani promised. Almasi eventually agreed, and the lionesses stalked after their prey.

Rish'ut surveyed the damaged arena.

"It could have been worse…" Mortread argued. Rish'ut gave a bark of laughter.

"Is that supposed to console me? It could have been worse, yes, but it could far better. One could have killed the other for a start – and avoid that whole bloody mess." He said. Mortread's gaze narrowed.

"You took a child, and told him to kill a cub, with whom he had formed an emotional attachment. There was no way he would have gone through with it."

"I had his sister. He should have killed him. He should have showed those imbeciles in the caves that there can be no quarter, no appeasement, and certainly no emotional attachments beyond rage, fear and bloodlust."

"Because that is how we act? Not everyone is like us, Rish'ut."

"True. We are God's among mortals…"

"Speaking of worse… Do you know where The Emperor is?"

"I don't make it my business to pry into our master's affairs. You shouldn't either. Curiosity is an unhealthy habit. It can get you killed."

"So can being blind."

"Then I suspect you know far more about his… activities then I do." Rish'ut said. Mortread raised an eyebrow.

"You could just say: I don't know. He must still be in the Pridelands…" He said. Rish'ut sighed.

"That meddling Orangutan, Marsade left us with more than enough Gateways opened around the Imperium. There are few of them, but there are enough. The Emperor comes and goes as he pleases, and we are fortunate that chose to spend this day at the heart of the Imperium… I gather there has been… a disturbance there."

"A disturbance? Elaborate."

"I will when I know more. Reports are confused… But there has been some devastation. Asamode's enclave has been destroyed. And Marsade is missing."

"Missing?"

"We don't know anything for certain… but it doesn't look like there were any survivors."

"He's a Shaman! What could have…"

"I don't know. I don't particularly want to. But if it was Rafiki, that other Shaman…" Rish'ut said. He sniffed the air.

"There's a Storm coming…"

AU:

And there you are. Coming Soon… The Rest of Storm. Next chapter will by shown from Sara's point of view. And her little Chat with Koron, about him nearly killing her brother… Oh, and Inti meets a familiar face.

So please, celebrate the start of this new story, by favorite-ing, following, or leaving a review.

As always, have a nice day.