Chapter 1: The Death of a Hero

It was a crisp autumn morning in Takanda. A light breeze blew through the air spreading the smell of burnt sandalwood and ash from the red stone buildings of the different tribes and ornate temple turrets to the surrounding jungle, up towards the peaks of the holy mountains, and down into the mosan deposits below. The smoke came from the northwest part of the mosan city of Erussim where a large funeral pyre burned a smoldering red.

Gathered closest were Princess Priyansi, High Priestess of Takanda, and the Shankh Tribe holy women garbed in funeral white as they chanted their mantras and blessed the empty pyre. Though no body burned at its center, Q'Wasim and the rest of the crowd that stood behind the priestesses all knew for whom the great bonfire was lit. On this day, all Takanda had gathered to mourn the death of the Crimson Tiger, Prince Bharagaven.

Even though he was watching the wood burn in front of him, Q'Wasim still couldn't believe this was happening. Less than a month ago, Gaven had been teasing him, so full of life and laughter and all ready to go marry his betrothed, Queen Fulmati of Shehrabad. Many had said the marriage was ill-fated. The rumors that surrounded the queen were less than flattering, but still, Gaven had brushed them aside and so had Q'Wasim. And now…

Gaven was dead.

Q'Wasim's younger sister, Kaxa, squeezed his hand. He looked over at her. Kaxa was one of the strongest women that Q'Wasim knew and that wasn't just because she was one of the tallest women, he knew either. Though she was one of the few women who didn't look like a child next to his massive form, it was more than that. Despite still being a couple of years away from her Kamal Tribe pilgrimage, at 18, Kaxa was more than a substitute for their mom. His sister was usually far too clever for her own good, stubborn as a mountain, and reluctant to show weakness. And yet today, her obsidian eyes were filled with tears.

Kaxa, like most women, had had a soft spot for Gaven, Prince Gallant, as they sometimes called him, and couldn't hold back her sadness. Q'Wasim was not doing much better. He was trying to stay strong for Kaxa's sake, but he too was feeling bereaved. It had been hard to contemplate Gaven leaving the country to get married. To have Gaven be dead was…unthinkable.

All too soon the funeral rites were finished. People began to disperse. Priyansi was seeing them off. However, her job wasn't done. She still had many other funerals to perform. Gaven's entire ship crew was dead. Lost at sea was what Queen Fulmati had claimed. They couldn't prove otherwise, but Q'Wasim knew his mind.

Regardless it was time to go. Kaxa gave Q'Wasim a little push and they were moving. He passed Priyansi. Their eyes met briefly. He wanted to go to her and comfort her. Her brother was dead and yet, he knew he did not have the right. He and Kaxa continued on.

As they left the cremation site, Q'Wasim heard someone say, "What are we going to do without the Crimson Tiger and the Agni? Takanda will be helpless."

Q'Wasim turned to find the source of the voice. Was that all everyone was thinking about? Even Chinmay, Gaven's best friend, had been speaking about the Crimson Tiger title yesterday. Q'Wasim had told off Chinmay then and he wanted to do the same with whoever had just spoken.

"Come on," Kaxa said.

"But—" Q'Wasim protested.

Kaxa gave him another push. This one was not so gentle.

Q'Wasim gritted his teeth but kept walking through the sett stone streets of Erussim with his sister. Under Kaxa's watchful eye, he kept his peace as he heard even more worried sentiments.

When they had finally returned to the privacy of their humble home in the Kamal section of the city, Q'Wasim exploded, "Does no one care that Gaven is dead!"

Kaxa gave him an even look. "Plenty of people care," she claimed before taking off her shoes.

"No. They do not. They only care that the Crimson Tiger is dead," Q'Wasim complained, forgetting his own shoes and following his sister to the hearth in the corner of the room. "After everything Gaven has done and everything he sacrificed. He agreed to marry that…that woman for the good of our country. He was a hero and yet—"

"Q'Wasim!" Kaxa said sharply, turning to face him. "Give it a rest."

Q'Wasim glowered at her.

Kaxa focused on selecting a metal utensil to rekindle the fire. "You know why people are worried," she said. "Both the Agni and Gaven are—"

"Lost at sea. I know," Q'Wasim snapped. "But still, Priyansi just lost her brother and—"

"I'm sure Priyansi is worried about this too," Kaxa said poking the embers to life. "She's currently a high priestess without a Crimson Tiger. That is never good."

Q'Wasim threw up his hands in frustration. Not even Kaxa understood. "I'm going out!" he announced before storming away.

Kaxa looked up from the fire that was just starting to grow and shook her head as she watched Q'Wasim go.


A/N: Thank you for reading the first chapter! If you're curious about this fic's 'unique' setting or my opinions about Chadwick's death. See below.

Look, I know this is a weird story concept, and honestly, I've been a bit nervous to post it. Back in March 2020, I told my friend that I was writing not one, but two fics (Tiger's Circus and Rajah's Curse) that featured a magical tiger. She made a joke about finding more fandoms to write tiger fics for. We thought, of course, of superheroes and the big cat-based hero of Black Panther (for some reason we forgot about White Tiger...) and we came up with the idea of the ~Crimson Tiger~ a hero from an alternative world. Instead of Wakanda, this world has Takanda which is located in India for lore reasons. My friend and I had a good time thinking about it and then, she, the sensible one, moved on with her life while I...didn't.

I needed 5 kingdoms/queendoms for my Rajah's Curse lore and I was intrigued by the idea of a Historic Indian Wakanda. What would that even look like? A futuristic city in the past? An Indian instead of an African big-cat hero and location (blasphemous I know but many interesting things are)? I figured it was a decent Nanowrimo idea and might make a cool gift for my friend, so I decided to pick it back up in November. But then August came and...

Chadwick Boseman died.

Black Panther was and is an inspiring movie. It's one of the few works of fiction I know that really celebrates black culture without assuming being black is the same as being poor and unfortunate. Many black people are suffering, but some of us are doing well too. We have to figure out how to reconcile the two, the past and future, the poor and rich, Wakanda and the world.

When I heard about Chadwick's death, I was shocked. With Chadwick dead, it was like Black Panther himself had died. And I'm gonna get really real with you. I am black. My brother is dead. He died at 23, so every time I see a young black man with a certain type of personality, I'm reminded of him. Chadwick's portrayal of Black Panther as you might have guessed reminded me of my brother, so when Chadwick died it felt like I had lost a relative.

For a long time, it seemed wrong to try to write this fic. I was already on the fence about publishing a Black Panther fic with no black people (There are plenty of dark-skinned Indians, but that's not the same thing is it?). Plus, for a while, all the new fics in the fandom were tribune fics which are lovely but not really my style. I still can't watch Black Panther. It makes me too sad, but I found that this tangential fic allowed me to reconnect with the world and characters without turning into a pile of tears, so here we are.

This is not Africa or Wakanda. Neither Gaven nor Q'Wasim is Chadwick's T'Challa. And as this is part of a birthday present, it is not a tribune fic dedicated to Chadwick either. However, I am truly sorry that Chadwick is dead. He, like my brother and way too many other black men, died too soon.

I hope that this fic gives you a new way to experience the Black Panther story that in no way detracts from the awesome movie and comics we already have. So, without further ado, Welcome to Takanda and Wakanda Forever!

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