So lately the subject of Scar being the previous Lion Guard leader has been the object of many discussions and even some pieces of artwork online. From what we can piece together, there were more lions in the time of Mufasa's reign and towards the end of his reign Scar destroyed his own Guard with the Roar of the Elders and lost his powers in the process, all because of his jealousy and a hunger for power. I recently saw this picture on devianart which portrays Scar beautifully, mark and all, right before he ends the Lion Guard and I felt compelled to do a short story about it. It's called "Downfall Of Scar" by Wolf-Chalk if you want to check it out.
I own nothing. The Lion Guard and all its content belong to Disney. I don't own the cover image either.
Enjoy the story!
The Lair of the Lion Guard. Adorned on the walls of the cave are the beautifully detailed pictures and designs commemorating the previous Guards up to the current ones. For each generation their was a detailed sketch that captured the fiery passion, the characteristics and the qualities each team of lions possessed.
Though on one part upon the ancient, stone walls a drawing was being made of the new Guard, but there was something... odd about it. The Lion Guard leader was there, as fierce and proud as he predecessors, but as the old shaman continued to work on the sketch, the differences from the ones of the past became much more clearer.
The bravest had been turned into a honey badger, the strongest a hippo, the fastest a cheetah and the keenest of sight an egret. Each and everyone of the newest Lion Guard's members were not lions, only the leader was. Had any of the previous Guards been there at that moment, all of them would have called it a disgraceful outrage, seeing how all previous Guards had been composed entirely of lions.
Rafiki chuckled as he applied ground-up lily petals to Ono the egret's wings. "But we can't continue tradition if we don't add to it," he said out loud, as if the spirits of the Guards could actually hear him.
He laughed again as he applied a wet, pollen mixture for Kion, the leader of the Lion Guard's, face. He frowned once he examined his work and noticed that he had accidently smeared the paint too much over his face, making one of the prince's black eyebrows come down and come over his left eyelid, making to appear as if he had a blurry scratch over his left eye.
As if he had a seizure, Rafiki suddenly convulsed and fell to his knees before the picture. He inhaled and exhaled deeply, keeping his head bowed to the ground. After a few more minutes of his breathing exercises, he turned his head back up to the picture. His hand went up and pressed against the rock to steady himself. His legs shakily got him back up to a standing position.
His face wearily looked up to the picture. His thumb lightly traced the left side of the newest leader's face. The old shaman sighed and turned his direction towards another picture on the wall. Instead of displaying the greatness and power the Lion Guard had to offer, it showed the leader causing mass chaos and destruction. The other four members blurred into the rock as the curves shot forward out of the leader's mouth towards them, bringing a sense of dread into the pit of the beholder's stomach.
Rafiki exhaled loudly and picked up his staff that he had dropped over in his sudden shock. Slowly he made his way over to the picture and placed a hand on the menacing looking lion.
"Ah Taka. Your choices have left a dark scar over the Lion Guard, as plain as the one on your face," he murmured.
He remembered that day well.
It was shortly into the reign of his brother, Mufasa's, reign. The Lion Guard had been defending the Pridelands for quite sometime now. In his attempt to keep the balance of the Circle of Life safe, Taka had been injured and scarred in he process and renamed himself for the mark that he bore on his face.
That had been the start of the downfall of the Lion Guard and later even the Pridelands.
Taka, now named Scar, had thought he was more dedicated to the Pridelands and its inhabitants then his brother ever could be, even though he was the king. Scar believed he was more fit to be ruler of the Pridelands than him, though tradition stated that the eldest would be ruler while the second would be named the leader of the Lion Guard and would only become ruler if something happened to the eldest. And thus Scar saw the way to take what his brother had.
He ordered the Lion Guard to help him in his quest to become ruler. Although, having not been tainted by the aspects of power they held or what laid before them, they refused. They wouldn't aid their leader in overthrowing his brother. That was the last thing they ever chose.
A shudder passed through Rafiki as the echos of that day replayed through his mind. The winds had already foretold an upcoming event that would end in disaster, but he had not determined what. He was doing chores in his tree when he heard it.
The Roar of the Elders, a sound he had heard many times before, possessed only by the leader of the Lion Guard and was a tremendous gift of power. Except then, it held a great din within the thunderous noise. The din grew louder and louder until when the roar ended, it remained and soon faded into silence. Instantly he was up and followed where the sound had come from. He had hurried as fast as he could towards it... and gasped horrified at the spot.
Grass had been pushed back, almost peeled out of the ground with their roots exposed. Trees had been ripped of their leaves. Everything seemed to pull away from the center of the place, and where he saw, he saw Scar, curled up in the center. His face was worn and sad, but even from some distance he could see that his eyes had hatred and rage swirling in their depths. And when he looked on Scar's shoulder, he could see why and understood all.
The mark of the Lion Guard, the one that initiated him as leader of the prestigious team of lions that guarded the Pridelands and the Circle of Life, was now gone. hen caught the last sight of it, deep black opposed to it's deep scarlet, before it faded into the fur of his pelt before vanishing completely.
It was said if the Roar of the Elders was used for any purpose aside from good, if the gift was used for evil, the gift would be stripped from its user and the mark along with it. Scar had used his gift for evil, he had used it to destroy the Guard, and now... now he was nothing.
Rafki shook his head of the horrible memories. The pride had mourned for days on end for the four lost lives that had been taken. Scar had been scorned and almost exiled for what he had done, but for the little kindness and mercy in his older brother's heart, he allowed him to stay. A fatal mistake considering of what had happened even after Scar had lost his powers.
He sighed and moved away from the mural on the wall depicting the frightful scene and returned back to the one he was currently working on. The eyebrow still was smeared over Kion's left eye, making it look like the Scar his great-uncle once had. Slowly, Rafiki dipped his finger in the pollen-colored paint and repaired the mistake, leaving no trace of the streak that had marred the face of the new leader.
A breeze passed through the cave and blew through Rafiki's fur. He looked up and turned to the direction it was blowing. The bits of fluff and seed pods and whatever else the wind carried hovered over the mural of Scar and the destroyed Lion Guard for just a brief moment before the air holding it all up dissipated and the floating items all fell on the ground before it in a heap.
Rafiki sighed again and walked over ot it. With a few sweeps of his hand, the stuff was brushed away. He turned his eyes up to the picture, before looking back to the newly-finished mural. His hand went up to the figure of Scar on the wall and Rafiki closed his eyes and leaned his head towards it.
"He won't turn into you, Scar. Just you wait and see. Every new generation, if given a chance, can bring something new forth, and this Lion Guard will bring forth an era of light and peace. Just you wait and see," he whispered.
So... do I believe Kion will become evil? Eh, it's kinda hard to say. I'm in favor towards saying 'no, he won't become evil', but still I do have reasons that he might struggle with this as the series goes on. For one thing, I think there's already a lot of pressure placed on him, aside from being the Lion Guard's leader, he's also trying not to make any of the mistakes his great-uncle made. I can see that their might be some paranoia and disbeliefs from the other Pridelanders regarding he being the first generation of the Lion Guard after the previous one was destroyed. My theory is that Kion might face some struggles and obstacles with all this pressure placed on him and that it might influence how he makes decisions and choices to avoid becoming like him whole still keeping the Pridelands safe.
Well, thanks for checking out my story. Please leave a review with some feedback, it's always appreciated. Be sure to check out some of my other stories and have a wonderful day. Sincerely, v.t.7