The freezing, snow-coated winds battered the land as Kwaheri struggled through the blizzard. His staff, humming with ethereal energy, guided him through the chilling snowstorm. It illuminated the thick, puffy snow around him in a cyan-blue hue.
As he slowly approached a narrow, deep canyon, the storm subsided, blowing over him as the snow gave way to rock. He entered the canyon and gave his body a quick, frost-bitten shiver, flinging the fluffy snow from his fur.
Strolling deeper, he found himself in a large, snow-coated opening. The storm still raged on ahead, held back from invading this spacious opening by the shifting winds above. Without hesitation, he lifted his staff to the air, focusing his soul as the fire of hope raged within.
With the storm burnt away, Kwaheri collapsed to the ground, the sheer weight on his soul crushing him down as he caught his breath. His staff pierced the shallow snow, allowing him to regain his posture as his attention shot to a snow pile nearby. With one more breath, he pulled the staff out, swinging around to face the moving snow pile, quickly transitioning into a defensive position.
But what emerged could never be considered a threat.
Arising from behind the compacted lump of snow, a certain, frightened lion cub crawled up towards the light, softly glistening across his face. His small, concerned face slowly reconfigured itself, as if he was remembering who he was, and where he was. As Kwaheri lowered his staff, the cub quickly shot his attention behind him, catching sight of a still unconscious Kopa.
"Dad! Dad! Get up!" The young cub rushed to his father's side, shaking his paws in the adult lion's thick, snow-stained mane. Small, scared tears rolled down his cheeks, freezing as they met the chilly, alpine air. Kwaheri strolled around the snow pile, halting as he caught sight of his stepbrother's body.
"Dad…Please!" Ulinzi collapsed on Kopa's body, weeping loudly as the gentle, occasional flicker of icy breeze entered the opening, ruffling through the fallen Royal Mlinzi's fur. The young cub nestled on top of him, barely noticing the adult lion awake,slowly regaining consciousness.
As life returned to his body, Kopa's mind slowly started to rewind, searching for any form of identity. He remembered being on the snow-tipped edge, rushing to the aid of his son. The rustling, howling wind blowing past him as he fell, holding Ulinzi tightly as he screamed.
"Huh!" The thought of his son sent a sudden, awakening shot through his body, forcing his heart into overdrive. It's only when he felt his son's face unfolding from his mane that he glanced down, met with the loving, tearful look of his young, shocked cub.
"DAD!" Building up the little strength he had, the cub leapt up Kopa's body, letting his nose press against his father's. Both of them chuckled lovingly as they snuggled, exchanging nuzzles and licks as Kwaheri watched on, widely smiling as father and son rejoiced in their survival.
"Thank the gods you two are okay!" The primate rested on his staff, smiling gently as his stepbrother glanced over at him. Kopa's mind continued to ponder. Something was missing but he couldn't put his paw on it.
After just a few moments, the truth hit him right in the muzzle. His mind sparked as he remembered her, his love, his life… his soul. He lifted his body up off the ground, causing Ulinzi to gently slide off of him and into the soft, puffed-up snow beside them. "Karimu! Where's Karimu?!"
Kwaheri shrugged, now standing only a few feet away from the Royal Mlinzi and his offspring. "I… I don't know, Kopa…" He raised his hand out to stroke the lion's rough, shaking fur, hoping to calm him down as his cub arose from the snow. Ulinzi flicked his head to the side as he tried to get a lump of snow off his brow.
"Last time I saw her and the others, they were on the border of the Uasilands." He raised his staff with his other hand, pointing out to a southern direction. The skies above the mountainous rocky walls hued with a corrupting, green presence.
"I don't like the feel of this." Kopa sat in the frozen, flickering snow, stroking the scar across his eye as he felt a gentle, screeching pain ebb across its irregular surface. Whispers entered his mind, forcing him to ruffle his mane slightly, in hopes of silencing them. As he regained control of himself, he felt the warm, loving embrace of his son, nuzzling his legs as he passed.
The winds picked up above them, howling across the enclosed opening. Kopa's attention shot across to a wide, rocky crevice. A whistle of frost hummed with a narrow beat, coming from far away, getting closer and closer; louder and louder.
"We'd better go." Kopa arose, standing defensively as he glanced between Kwaheri and Ulinzi. The quick primate tightened his grip on his staff, flicking his attention up to the heavens. Through the strong, freezing howls of the mountainous wind, a barely noticeable, but instantly recognisable squawk battled the downdraft, piercing the snow-infused storm with a fiery grace.
"Kopa! Kwaheri!" Jicho swooped down through the storm, gracefully stabilising herself just beneath the quickly building storm. Her powerful wings struggled to keep her balanced as her monkey and lion friends stared up at her.
"Jicho!" The Royal Mlinzi called up to the eagle, a flush of concern in his voice. "What's wrong?" Jicho fluttered down, giving in to the gale-force winds above her. With as much elegance as she could muster, she landed, wings sprawled outwards at the Royal Mlinzi's paws. The skies above quickly filled with the battering blizzard, cutting off the skies as the frozen land seeped in shadow once more.
The eagle shot her eyesight at her friends, her beak trembling as she tried to figure out how best to deliver her troubling news. "It's… it's Karimu!" She raised her left wing, pointing out in a southern direction. "I just spotted her getting dragged across the Uasilands, towards the tower." Kopa's body tightened at these words, his claws sprung into the snow-coated rock, melting the area around them as he clenched his teeth.
The winds above howled as Jicho finished her sentence. Locking eyes with Kopa, she felt the fire boil in his eyes, spreading deeply across the scar etched over his left orb. His muzzle trembled sporadically as Kwaheri approached him. The monkey had felt the same as his eagle counterpart, gathering the anger, the pain in Kopa's heart.
Even Ulinzi had slightly cowered, accidentally nudging his father's leg as he tried to step back. Surprisingly though, feeling his son's trembling, frost-bitten fur sent a shot of gentle warmth through his body. He brought his muzzle closer down to his son, watching as he gently nuzzled against his leg. The warmth, the love ebbing from the cub's heat caused Kopa to calm. Kwaheri and Jicho stood side by side, watching patiently as father and son spent a moment together, cooling down with the snow-coated land around them.
Unbeknownst to them though, they weren't the only ones watching.
Hidden in the thick, roaring snowstorm, a group of large, muscular primates watched on, studying the lion, monkey and eagle conversing in the middle of the opening. They watched patiently, their ears focussed on their speech. All eyes locked on the male lion, especially his scarred eye.
One in particular, stronger and tougher than the others, seemed to growl with anger. Using the thick snowstorm as his cover, he started to step forward, leaving the rest of his team behind.
"Wait!" One of the other primates called out, the savage storm muffling their words from the unaware intruders. "We have to wait for 'him'!"
Shujaa refused to listen. He knew the lion who stood before them, knew him from the last time he had been here. Back then, he was peaceful, if slightly protective of a certain lioness. But now, with that scar…
He knew what it meant. Despite their best efforts, the corruption was here again.
They were not safe.
…
"We'd better move out." Kopa nodded, stepping forward towards the piercing blizzard. Reaching the edge of the clearing, he glanced back at Jicho as Kwaheri comforted Ulinzi. "Jicho, could you find a route back to the Uasilands? We need to-" Before Kopa could finish his sentence, a large, foreboding figure leapt through the blizzard, knocking the royal Mlinzi to the ground within mere seconds. Taken by the shock, Kopa looked up, realising who had pinned him.
"How dare your kind return here!" The gorilla spat down at Kopa, who slowly started to struggle under the primate's bone-crushing weight. Kwaheri flung his staff around into a defensive position, ready to strike at the mountain gorilla. Jicho watched on as Ulinzi rushed forward.
"Dad!" The young cub imploded with fear, burning away in his little heart as he stared down the gorilla. As more of the furry beasts appeared through the snow, Jicho lunged forward, grasping the cub's tail with her talons before Kwaheri charged forward, protecting the cub and eagle as best he could.
While the others hesitated to attack, Kopa found a weak spot of the gorilla: a misstep in his footwork. Using all the strength he could muster, not to mention a little help from good old gravity, Kopa was able to flip the beast, forcing him to fall to the ground. Kopa quickly dodged, rolling from underneath him as the gorilla forces started to charge, seeing their fellow comrade exposed.
As each side prepared to fight, a figure watched on from above, standing tall and proud over the conflict quickly sprouting before him. Even the battering cold winds didn't affect him, disintegrating with a glimmering hum as the snow pellets hit his fur.
He noticed the lion beneath him, staring down six gorillas, not afraid, never faltering. He watched as he held his ground, preparing to fight them off, even if he was outnumbered. The lion's resilience reminded him of someone.
But it couldn't be… Could it?
Then again, he looked.. familiar. The thick, darkened mane, the strong, virile body… He had seen the seeds of this form start to take shape all those years ago, before the calamity.
Before his exile…
Kopa continued to hold his ground as the gorillas slowly crept forward, slowly boxing him and his followers in. Kwaheri tried his best to help, but they were at breaking point. Kopa recognized these gorillas, but only barely. He remembered meeting them about a year prior, along with Karimu. He remembered their concern of the Uasilands, of him.
"STAND DOWN!" A thunderous roar boomed from above, clearing the storm surrounding them as a lump of fur landed behind the gorillas. Kopa froze, stiffening his body, ready to attack if needed. The gorillas did the same, only moving as the figure slowly started to shift between them, walking through the strong, savage primates.
The figure revealed himself to be a lion. His reasonably short, light brown mane swayed in the gentle breeze that remained as the storm died down around them. His warm brown eyes were instantly recognisable to Kopa, rising from his striking position.
The way they slightly watered as he approached, the warming sense of affection, not to mention relief, bloomed in the air like a magnificent flower, seeding the once barren, hostile, snow-ridden land with a sense of calm, safe aura.
"Hello Kopa… It's been a while…" The male lion smiled, his heart pulsed like crazy in his chest. He had waited so long to say those words, dreamt about it for years on end. He never forgot about him, never forgot the precious memories they had as cubs, even as adolescents. He never forgot about the day he was forced to leave the Uasiland to leave his best friend behind.
Though, if time had permitted it, that wouldn't have been the case…
Kopa's eyes widened as the lion spoke. The voice confirmed it. The gentle, sweet voice combined with the affectionate, admiring gaze. Kwaheri and Jicho watched on, struggling to comprehend who was before them. He looked so familiar but neither of them could figure it out. Ulinzi hid behind Kwaheri, shielding himself from the male lion before he saw him.
Kopa froze as solid as the ice and snow around him. His ears perked up along with his heartbeat, now racing in his chest like the beat of a thunderous cloud. Speaking his soul, those that affected his mind instantly washed away, replaced with a bright clear sky, spreading sunlight across his soul.
"Shu…Shujaa?"
…
Kuwinda snuggled up to Amani, keeping the young cub close to her as distant, spine chilling roars echoed across the land outside. She had found a cave for them to rest in at the edge of the Uasilands, away from the savage pride that had taken Karimu and Wivu, though the huntress didn't know this just yet.
"Auntie?" The young lioness snuggled her head into Kuwinda's chest, her sweet, wet hazel eyes gleaming in the shallow sunlight seeping in from the cave's exit. "When is Mummy coming back?" The pregnant lioness shuddered, her eyes flickered as a bolt of lightning crackled through the opening, crashing into the land outside as her ears folded low. Her heart followed, falling in her chest as the cold crystallised her heart. She closed her eyes trying to feel for Karimu or Wivu's presence.
But… nothing…
The young lioness collapsed, cuddling the cub beneath her as thick, darkened clouds blocked off the majority of the light from the sun. Amani felt the soulful chill rumble through Kuwinda's fur, nuzzling up closer hoping it would pass. She couldn't help but soak her aunt's fur with her scared, innocent tears.
After all, she could very well be the last surviving member of the Uasian dynasty. Kuwinda held her close, providing a comforting paw across the lioness cub's back. After all, she was her responsibility now.
If only she knew of the events playing out, not far away…
