Icarus had gone to find the shaman of the Kuatan Jungle, but when he got to the mango grove that housed him, the silverback was in a sad mood. This was an unsettling sight to Icarus, since Ajabu was almost always happy even in the darkest of times. However the graying ape sat on a large stone below his home looking sad, lost and (most worryingly) afraid.
"Do you need something Icarus, I have a lot on my mind, however, I can take a respite from taking with the dead for even they do not have the answers I seek." Stated the ape.
"I wanted to know if you know anything related to the Tree of Conception. Does it favor Miran's blood? And if it does, do you know why? Is the tree a threat to my family and people?" Icarus inquired. Ajabu took a deep breath.
"The Tree watches over Miran's lineage and his people because it was born from the blood of Miran's ancestors. A lioness was wounded in a battle, and her mate loved her so much that the Spirits, who allowed her to come to harm in said battle, changed her into a tree. That tree gave birth to the cub that the lioness was carrying, and thus is the origin of the Blonde Royalty. Miran's bloodline is full of evil, yes, but there is also a legacy of good to be found as well. That tree was infused with the spirits of past kings, and the birth of the Kuatan Jungle was the result of their intervention. They watch over the whole of the pride, and protects the pride's existence, not the interest of just one individual. To answer your question, the tree is not a threat to your family, because you are a part of the Kuatan Pride" Ajabu explained, his voice clearly weary from his mood.
"Ajabu, please; what's bothering you?" Asked Icarus. "It is hard to explain. But three days ago, I felt it. More than likely, all the shamans in the world felt it. A great darkness only spoke of in whispers and warning left of those who came before. A creature beyond what we know to be evil. Beyond anything even Iago or his father can dream of being capable of. It descended to the mortal plane, manifesting itself in the Goldlands" warned Ajabu, his voice shaking. "If this is Korofi's doing, then he is beyond mad in his quest for power." said Ajabu, his voice low in horror.
"I have never seen you afraid in my time as king here. Ajabu, tell me: what was it that came to the Goldlands?" asked Icarus. Ajabu seemed to hesitate for a moment, before relenting on some dilemma. "Let me just show you what my great ancestors souls showed me. Behold ". The dark lion was enveloped in a white light. When it dimmed down, he found himself floating above a forest in the mountain. "This is the meeting place of ten different shamans. Never before had this happened, and never again would it happen, but such was the direness of the situation that on this day they have come together. They knew they had to try and create some sort of peace, if only temporary, between all creatures." Said Ajabu. And all looked to be going smoothly.
However, then sun went down. Icarus spotted fires breaking out, and quickly started consuming the whole forest. He now found himself looking a something, but it was blocked by the smoke. Against his better judgment and instincts, he walked forwards and saw exactly what could scare Ajabu that much.
It was a large 'dead' gorilla made up parts for different animals. 'Animated corpse' was the best description Icarus could come up with, but even that seemed to fail to describe exactly what this thing was. In any case, it was in the process of crushing a panther to death with the claws in its right hand. And then, using those talons as piercing points, shoved the whole hand inside of the chest cavity of a lion that it held with its other hand. The lion's body, which looked to be recently deceased, promptly decayed fully and became a pool of slime and maggots on the forest floor. Said slime chased and then consumed a family of monkeys that had been trying to flee, and the abomination seemed particularly pleased with its handiwork.
As it kills everything around it, it spots and then advanced one of the more seasoned shamans, who promptly doubles back and shoots blasts of energy at it from his staff. Not that it really did much of anything to this anomaly of nature. "Ah, yes, Rafiki. Before I kill you, I really must thank you. Such a lust for power and gratification; the blatant disregard for everyone else but yourself; a willingness to do anything for just to get even the smallest of victories; it's not every day these things come together so perfectly. But when it does, my heart is filled with a joy like no other." Taunts the beast, as it sprays the gathered shamen with acid.
Icarus becomes ill as he watched Rafiki dodge the blast of acid and allowed his fellow shaman to be hit in his place. As their bodies melted quickly, yet slowly enough for all of them to scream in high-pitched agony, even Rafiki had to look away from this horror. But then, without warning, an ape that looked like Ajabu in his prime barges in and actually manages to land a very heavy blow on this abomination. In fact, he was able to knock the beast clear off its feet. As Icarus marveled at that feat, he realizes that there was something otherworldly about this younger version of Ajabu, his black fur glowing with energy. It had a gold aura to it and his eyes seemed to emit sunlight, but more than anything was the sound of his voice. Rather, the fact that it wasn't just his voice coming out of his mouth.
"You had been warned before, but you still plague the world of mortals and we will not allow it! Behold our power!" The silverback's staff, which looked more like a club at this moment, gave off a blinding white light. The beast seemed to stand firm for a second, before it was forced to scream in abject horror and mind-stopping pain as its body fell apart at the seams. "We banish you from this plane with all our power return to your pit!" Roared the ape, and as he did the abomination's body was ripped asunder and splattered into the sky.
Icarus looked at Ajabu and yelled at him. "What the actual, bleeding fuck was that thing!? And why didn't you tell me that was waiting for me?!" Ajabu was taken aback by this outburst, even if he somewhat expected that reaction. "It is rare to see you use profanity, perhaps I should have warned you beforehand, I am sorry my friend". said Ajabu.
"In a last ditch effort to curtail this horror, I allowed my body to be controlled by the Spirits. As I did, I realized the error of my ways" Ajabu's mood plunged at that moment, as he began to speak from his heart. "I regret allowing my petty grudge with Rafiki to go as far as it did. It lead to both of us going to any lengths to get what we wanted, and one of those lengths was to summon that… thing. After I was allowed to banish it back to the Underworld, the Spirits rightly stripped us of our powers and levied a punishment worse than anything we could ever imagine. And that was the curse of eternal life." Icarus tilted his head, and Ajabu didn't need to read his mind to know exactly what the dark king was thinking. "The two of us were going to live to see the consequences of our hedonism. We watched as our troops lost power and became mere servants to the ones the Spirits chose to replace us. We were bound to the laws of the Circle of Life, the very laws we thought we could bend to our own selfishness." Ajabu paused, as he looked Icarus in the eye.
"The very laws Korofi is likely trying to manipulate once again. That 'thing' you saw was the personification of Evil. It touts itself as being as powerful as the One Above All, but obviously has limits to what it can do. Its only weakness is daylight, and even that is debatable given what Rafiki had told me about it." Icarus, however, had to be certain one thing.
"And this thing is now somewhere in Goldlands. Do you know how?" Asked Icarus. "Well, Korofi repeating his ancestor's foolishness is the most likely answer. However, it could also simply be drawn to the grief, suffering, angst and horror in the same way vultures are drawn to a rotting carcass. Or perhaps it could be cause of all of those things, by giving Iago just enough courage to go through with his atrocities." Ajabu stated as he thought about this more.
"Do you believe that it would help Iago in any way beyond this? That's my greatest concern right now; if it's even nominally on Iago's side then that could be disastrous for every kingdom in the entire world. Would it help Iago to attack our home? Or even work for Korofi, if only to amuse its self? It destroyed that meeting because they were trying to end wars that it created. Given what was happening there, you think it will simply be content in the Goldlands?" Asked Icarus.
"It could destroy our home and everything beyond with just the essence of its darkness. If that were its intent, then it could kill the land, contaminate the water and turn the air toxic with its mere presence alone. It does not need Korofi or Iago's help to do what it does. However, the good thing is that for now it is confined to a small area in the Goldlands. It cannot sneak up on us, for you will feel its pull of darkness in your soul. It can only empower the darkness inside living things, but it can not increase that darkness. But, perhaps as a trade-off, even something as insignificant as bridled rage can be counted as darkness." answered Ajabu, to Icarus' horror and realization.
"What we must do now, however, is work on protecting our home, for as much as we can do so. This might be a war that we can't survive anyway." Ajabu stated coldly and seriously. However, Icarus was not one to be intimidated by the odds.
"In that case, we'll just have to train diligently."