Chapter 4

It had been several hours since dawn had spilled across the Nightlands. Even after the Shai'tan attack the land was still beautiful. In a raw, brutal way. The sun skittered across the snow-capped peaks of the distant mountain ridge that protected the lands around the Tree of Life, the great lakes still bloomed blue and crystal clear. But there was still an edge to it. There were very few prey herds. Very few other predators. The wind blew softly through the lands but it was a mournful song, and its melancholic dirge was joined by distant song of birds. The Tree of Life was burned and broken and decayed. Kion's Kingdom wasn't dead. Not in the same way that the Pridelands were. But it was wounded. Like an antelope on its last gasps. The land remained in mourning. It made Danyal thankful for the few glimpses of beauty and clarity still there in the Nightlands.

"Danyal! You're up already. Good." Sundar called out to him. Danyal turned and smiled at the darkfurred lioness.

"Yeah." He said. "I got up at dawn when Helio went hunting. It will be a few hours before he finds anything. We're doing okay for food, but it's hardly swimming with prey. I was just thinking about it. Do you think people will ever come back to this place?" He asked her. Sundar looked around, at the realm that had once been a beacon of life and safety to all sorts of creatures.

"I don't know." She said, after a moment. "You'd know that better than me. Kion and the Night Pride are a part of your Pride's history, a part of your people's lore, not mine. But I think that if it's as important to your people as you've said it was, people will return eventually. Nothing seems to stay dead for long in the Serengeti." She said with a wry smile. The asiatic lionesses had enjoyed his stories about the Pridelands as much as Kiava and the cubs ever had. Nothing had quite matched their reaction to being told the story of Scar the first time, but it had come close. Sundar appreciated it. In many ways she felt a connection to these Pridelanders now. It helped, she thought, to understand them. And made some of what Danyal and the lionesses in his Pride said and did make a little more sense. That was something. But it was more than that. The tales he told were tales of hope. Where heroes defeated the darkness that beset the Pridelands. It was a comfort.

"Are you going to speak to them now?"

"Yes. I still don't understand why Lukaan won't do it." Danyal said.

"He's your Pride's friend." Sundar pointed out, and Danyal couldn't gainsay her. But he really didn't know too much about the strange Shaman. If he'd been Mufasa or Simba it might have been a different matter. "Besides. We can't keep putting this off forever." Sundar reminded him. With Sundar by his side, Danyal made way through the jungle and approached the tree of life. It still took him far too long to navigate the bumpy terrain, but at least he could do it without leaning on someone else now. That was something. He took a breath and slowly entered the lair. Once upon a time it had been Kion's lair, and the lair of the Night Pride, and later Kion's lion guard. A few pictures and paintings still covered the walls but, like the tree above them, most of them were faded and burnt now. Much like most of Priderock. It was a shame. Maybe now that Rafiki had returned to them, he could recreate some of the images? Or draw some of the new ones? Actually, maybe not. He didn't like the idea of sleeping with a looming image of the Emperor or the Shai'tan glaring out of the darkness to him.

At the entrance to the lair, Calin sat on guard. The young leopard cub leapt up on his approach and greeted him.

"Danyal! You're back!" He said, looking to Danyal and then to Sundar.

"Hello Calin. We need to speak to the Shaman." He told him.
"They are in there now. Which one?" Calin asked him. That was a fair question. Makini was ecstatic at the return of her master. But the other new Shaman who was with him, was a curious thing. Rafiki and Yessen's arrival had been dramatic to say the least. Falling out of the sky in a ball of flame and a flash of light hurtling to the ground below. Rafiki had been badly wounded. The baboon still hadn't woken up.

"I think Rafiki, first, Calin. Its about time we had some answers." Danyal decided. Calin nodded. The other lionesses had given Rafiki the space he had requested. They held the Mjuzi in a sort of reverence that he hadn't seen before. It might have explained their apprehension with Sundar's powers if they held Mjuzi in such high esteem. To them it seemed that the powerful Shaman were much more mythical and legendary than they were in the Pridelands where Rafiki had downplayed his power for the benefit of his fellow Pridelanders. He nodded to Calin and entered the tree of life.

He found Yessen lying down on a raised plinth of stone that must have been where Kion and his predecessors laid. The Baboon hadn't awoken since his arrival. Vitani had described Rafiki's counterpart as a serious, pointed figure. Rather unlike Rafiki and his occasional bouts of nonsensical rambling. Yessen had been focused, deliberate and intense to look at and to speak to. At least he had been when Vitani and the others had encountered him in the desert. Now, he was wounded and unconscious and looked… mortal. Vulnerable. Even if he was anything but. Rafiki sat nearby looking uncharacteristically concerned and Makini was fussing over him with her hand and tail full of various gourds and vessels of all manner of herbs and fruits and fungi. One of which even seemed to be glowing. Makini had assured them it was a natural – if somewhat rare – property of a few mushrooms. They weren't magical in themselves, but they would help. Sundar hung back behind him. In one corner of the den, a long thing rod of thornwood lay. It sat there, inanimate but with an unmistakable aura of menace. Even if it hadn't been adorned with knucklebones and thorns it would have caused him discomfort. They both recognised it. It had last been in the hands of the orangutan shaman, Marsade. One of the two of them had been gripping it when they had fallen through the hastily created gateway and hurtled to the ground below.

"There." Makini said. "That's about all I can manage, Rafiki." Makini said. She looked tired. Danyal wondered if she had slept at all. Rafiki smiled.

"Aye, Makini. Rafiki is blessed indeed to have so focused a student. Now Rafiki remembers why he took you on as apprentice, hmm? Lost none of your abilities or knowledge. Rafiki is very proud of you. And grateful." Makini beamed, elated at the praise. Danyal had recalled that before serving as Kion's Mjuzi, she had been apprenticed to Rafiki in the Pridelands, and been his student in all manner of things spiritual, mystical, and herbal. Well. Not all manner. She had no idea what was going on with Sundar, for example. That was something he wanted to speak to Rafiki about.

"Rafiki." He called out, getting the two apes' attention. Rafiki turned to Danyal. He didn't look as though he had slept yet but his tired eyes were alive with recognition.
"Ah! Danyal my boy." He said, beaming. "It is good to see a friendly face. I had hoped to find Kion and Vitani, but I am glad to find you well. Though it seems, not unhurt." His eyes looking over Danyal's body and the scars and wounds that dotted him. He looked at Sundar who was standing next to him. Rafiki frowned appearing confused. "You though, Rafiki does not know. Who are you, Pride-sister? A remnant of Kion's Pride?" He asked her. Danyal paused. When she stood in the lair of the Night Pride she really did look a little like Queen Rani. Danyal could see how Kion had mistaken her for Rani, and now it seemed that Rafiki had made the same deduction. She could have been Kion and Rani's daughter for all Rafiki knew. Sundar pawed at the ground carefully as Danyal swallowed.

"Not exactly." Danyal said. "Rafiki. I know you've only just arrived here. And you needed to see to your friend first. But now that Makini has him taken care of, we need to have a talk." He said. "This is Sundar. Princess Sundar of the Asiatic Pride. The last time Vitani and the other lionesses saw you; you were going off with that other Shaman behind you to the Imperium. There're some people outside who would very much like to speak to you. Respectfully." Danyal said. Rafiki, for perhaps the first time in a century and certainly for the first time in living memory, looked completely and utterly astonished. His mouth dropped open.

"Asiatic lions. Here. In Africa. From the Imperium?" Rafiki asked, in wonderment. "It has been a very long time since I have met one of your people, Lukaan. A lifetime." The rest of the asiatic pride, as well as Makini and Calin were perched in a rough circle around the sleeping Shaman. Harten was leaning as close as she dared and Helio was doing his best to look detached and disinterested even though he was failing miserably. Lukaan was sitting between Danyal and his daughter. The great white lion looked troubled.

"That is so, honourable Shaman." Lukaan said. "We passed through one of the… gateways… that Marsade created and came to these lands from the Imperium after the Emperor defeated his father seized control of his lands. A great many tigers, jaguars, and lions were killed in the fighting.

"And You, Sundar… you have Shamanic gifts?" Rafiki asked. He was wide eyed. Sundar nodded carefully.

"Yes. I've done some strange things. Seen others. I… We… were hoping you could make sense of some of them." She said. Rafiki was staring at her in shock. He reached out a hand and opened her jaws looking inside. Peeled back an eye lid. Sundar blinked, surprised at his invasive behaviour. Rafiki looked surprised. Alarmed. Ecstatic. A curious mixture of emotions.

"Uh, yeah." Danyal said, clearing his throat. He nodded to Lukaan, who continued.

"We believe that we are the only ones to have been able to escape, and the only ones who have survived the Imperium's purges. The Seven will have been… thorough in their efforts to wipe away opposition before it can take root." Lukaan said. Rafiki nodded. Sadly, that was probably true. They had seen servants of the enemy killing lions on sight and he had spoken of very few other survivors. It was a poetry indeed that they had found their way to the Tree of life, themselves now members of an endangered species. Or bitter irony.

"You must have fled rather early on." He realised. Lukaan shifted uncomfortably.

"My brother was always a cautious lion. And he was an impeccable judge of character. He didn't trust the Shai'tan they sent to deliver our new Emperor's ultimatum, and he knew better than to try to win a pitched battle with the Shai'tan. He bought us precious time to escape and eventually when Sundar's abilities emerged, we sought a way free of the Shai'tan's reach. It brought us here." Lukaan explained. The asiatic lionesses didn't seem to view that as quite the achievement that it probably was.

"You say you are like a Shaman?" Rafiki asked her. Sundar exhaled after a moment and reached inside herself. She searched for that feeling, that connection she felt to the ground, to the air and to the people around her. When she found it, she seized upon it, and her eyes burst into radiant blue light. The temperature around them began to cool slightly, the scent of sea air wafted through the lair, she felt her clawtips begin to tingle.

Danyal felt a familiar pull as she did so. He had seen it many times now, when she had used her gift to help him. To wipe away the dull aching pain of his back and arm. It filled him with such wonderment.

Helio scowled, like he always did, especially when Sundar finished and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Even that small effort had exhausted her, and he looked worried. As if he was concerned that she would spend every drop of her energy in a single flare and evaporate like dew in the dawn. Lukaan too looked anxious, albeit a little more confident now that Rafiki was there. Makini watched her hungrily, fascinated – and perhaps a tad envious. Calin's eyes were practically aglow themselves as he stared in undisguised awe and the other lionesses looked on with varying degrees of wonder and reverence. Aware that what Sundar was doing was beyond the ken of mortals.

Rafiki gave a gasp of shock.

"It is true! I can hear it! Singing in your soul! This is wonderful Sundar. A thing to behold. How is it that you have this? I have never known it in a lioness!" He asked her. Lukaan swallowed and looked anxious again.

"We were hoping you could tell us, wise one. It is not a thing we have any knowledge or understanding of. Not a thing we have ever seen."
"No one has." Rafiki said after a moment. "Apart from Rafiki, Rafiki has known four others like Rafiki. In his incredibly long life. Marsade and Yessen you have met. And his sisters, Haelin and Margane. They are… no longer with us. Thanks to Marsade. It is just Yessen and I." He said. Danyal blinked.

"But you have apprentices. Like Makini?" He told her.

"I told you and I told Kion," Makini said, a little shortly. "I'm a Mjuzi. Not a Shaman. My job is to listen to the natural world. And be Kion's advisor. I can't do what Sundar can do." She said.

"Rafiki is a Shaman and a Mjuzi, Makini. The latter is not a talent Yessen ever had any taste for. He is not one for giving advice and he has little patience for kings or vagabonds. He listens to the natural world, not so much the people in it." Rafiki explained. Danyal sighed. Well. At least that explained why Makini hadn't been able to heal him the way Sundar had.

"We've heard stories of the Shaman." Lukaan said. "Wise wanderers. Are you saying Sundar is one of those?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps. Who can say? Maybe in several lifetimes, hm? Rafiki has never met a new Shaman before." The mandril said after a moment.

"What?!" Helio asked. "You mean this has never happened before?" Sundar looked nervous. She wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

"When I tried to open the Gateway the first time, I was so exhausted I fell asleep for three days. Is it… dangerous?" She asked him. Rafiki paused.

"Untrained? Probably. Fortunately, young Sundar, Rafiki is here to help you. If you are something new, then Rafiki has never been one to turn away from the new and fantastical, no? And if you really are a new Shaman, well then. Rafiki has lost many siblings as of late. He would be most gratified to have instead gained a sister for a change." He said, beaming. The moment was so absurd, and his cheer so sincere and earnest, that Sundar couldn't help returning it. For the first time since discovering her strange powers, she felt… at peace with them. Even when she was using them for good, like helping Danyal, Helio and her father had been anxious that she was endangering herself using gifts that none of them understood, but perhaps, just perhaps, they could change that.

"I'm glad to hear it." Lukaan said. Rafiki nodded.

"Well. I'm glad that's sorted. But I wanted to ask you something else, Rafiki. Why did you leave Vitani and the others in the desert to go off with this friend of yours? You left us. We could have used your help." He said. Rafiki paused, then nodded his head in agreement.

"It… was not Rafiki's first choice. Rafiki would have preferred to have been here. But Rafiki has many obligations and old oaths to keep." He admitted. That wasn't quite the detail that Danyal wanted, but he didn't feel comfortable demanding answers from the wise old Shaman, especially in from the asiatic lionesses who seemed to old the half crazed mandril in such esteem. So instead, he sighed, and let the matter drop.

"What happened in the Imperium once you got there? You never said." Danyal asked him.

Rafiki paused, "Yessen, as Vitani will have told you, is my brother. Like Marsade. Marsade had grown very powerful and he needed my help to confront him. And to find out exactly what had happened in the Imperium to let someone like Ben-Kai-Ra become emperor. Marsade had spent time in the east. More than most of the rest of us." Rafiki said.

"Did you find any sign of our former Pride?" Harten asked him, half excited and half dreading the reply. She was right to be worried.

"The Emperor planned his ascension well. There is very little in the way of resistance to the Imperium's rule in the imperial heartlands. I saw no signs of organised resistance against the Emperor." He said. The lionesses looked downcast at that. Some of them still had family back in the Imperium who they had hoped might have escaped. It seemed that wasn't too likely.

"I see." Lukaan said, and shifted. "So… We really are the last of my Brother's Pride." The great white lion looked solemn at that.

"I am afraid so." Rafiki said. "We went to confront Marsade, the apostate shaman, and found him performing abominations with the Shai'tan they called Asamode." Rafiki said. Danyal bristled.

"I know that name!" Danyal said. "He was the one-eyed Shai'tan that attacked the Tree of Life and killed Kion's mate. I saw him at the Fall of Pride Rock too." Danyal said. Rafiki nodded in agreement.

"He was managing the Imperium's dominions at home after they took command of the Imperium." He said.

"We know some of what took place." Lukaan admitted. "But so much was lost in the chaos and confusion. We didn't really know what was happening until the end. There was so much blood and death. We didn't even realise that Marsade had turned on us at first, or know which tigers were fighting for Emperor Shan-Yi and which of them were fighting for the usurper." Lukaan said.

"And you found yourself here, and made common cause with the Pridelanders. The Great Kings are not so silent after all if they have brought you here. Rafiki is relieved." Rafiki said. "That was the state Yessen and Rafiki found the Imperium in. A land in the grip of the Shai'tan. But we found the old fortress of the Emperors. We even found Shan-Yi; though there was little we could do to save Yessen's old friend. We fought our fallen brother, and we won. Then we returned to the Pridelands. Returned home." Rafiki said. The asiatics looked sombre at that pronouncement. It made sense though. That must have been how they had the fallen Shaman's staff.

"We are glad you returned to us safe and well, Rafiki." Makini told him, and he smiled at her earnest fondness and deep affection.

"You consider the Pridelands your home? Danyal said he and his Pride knew you, Shaman." Helio asked. He looked curious. As if surprised that Rafiki would consider the Pridelands his home. He wasn't a lion after all. Wasn't even really a part of the Pride.

"Yes. As Marsade spent much of his time in the Imperium and counselled Kings and Emperors in Asiatica, I have lived here and done so in these lands. The Pridelands have been my home for many years. Since before Mohatu's Grandfather's reign." Rafiki said. Sundar looked impressed.

"I can't imagine having one of the Shaman live among you for so long. The Pridelands must really have been something special." She said. Makini nodded.

"Oh, you bet." She said. "Like nowhere else." She said, pausing. For a moment she was lost in her memories of her old home and the mood soured.

"Rafiki has told you his tale. And we have pieced together how our asiatic friends arrived in these lands. But tell me young Danyal. I do not see Vitani here. What happened after I departed with Yessen?" Rafiki asked Danyal, curiously. "When I left the lionesses, they were searching for you and the cubs." With those words, Danyal suddenly realised that Rafiki hadn't seen hide nor hair of the lionesses since his hasty departure. Nor of any of the other Pridelanders.

"Right! Sorry! Of course!" Danyal said, aware that Rafiki must have been concealing his anxiety well. "We made our way to the jungle and managed to find Kion's Pride. And Makini. They were both still alive, but you've seen the place. The Shai'tan got here first. We found Kion and Makini. But everyone else was dead or gone. And the wilddogs chased us here too. They managed to track us somehow." Danyal said. Sundar nodded along. She had heard this part of the story before.

"What happened?" Rafiki asked, worried. He was gripping his bakora staff tightly.

"They took the cubs. Wilddogs, sent by the Shai'tan. And they chased Kiava into the wilds." Danyal said, after a moment. "Kion went after the Prince, and the lionesses went after the twins, to try to save them from the Shai'tan. We haven't heard from either of them yet. It's been difficult." Danyal admitted. They had no idea whether Vitani or Almasi or Damu or Kion were even alive.

"Is that how you sustained your injuries?" Rafiki asked, cautiously. "From their wilddogs? I can see Makini's handiwork."

"Not… Exactly. Those are from Sekhmet. One of the Shai'tan." He said. Rafiki's eyebrows shot up.

"You survived?"

"Young Danyal did more than that. He defeated her. Dropped her off a cliff and killed her. She isn't a threat to us, or anyone else from our home anymore." Lukaan said, firmly. He was looking at Danyal, almost proud, and Danyal shifted uncomfortably at the other looks the other lionesses gave him. Even Helio was giving him a begrudging respect. Rafiki was not one to cheer the loss of life, but the sense of relief he felt when Lukaan said that was palpable.

"You will need to tell Rafiki all about it." He said after a moment.

"There isn't really much to tell." Danyal attempted to explain, but soon enough the Shaman was all caught up on what had transpired. He looked concerned for Vitani and Kion, and especially the cubs, but otherwise the Shaman looked relieved that everyone was still alive. He had hoped for the best, but feared the worst.

"So that is what you meant when you said you had been pushing your gifts. You are a natural healer, Rafiki sees." He said at last. "It would seem the Kings are looking out for you, Danyal. Perhaps they have a plan for you after all. How else could you expect to have the first shamanic healer arrive in front of you the moment you need them? And when she was born on another continent a world away? Hmm?" He asked him.

"Me? I'm a no one. Nobody important." Danyal protested, but Rafiki chuckled and shook his head.

"Then you are a rarer specimen still, for that is a thing I have yet to see with mine own eyes in all my years of life. Someone who isn't important." He told him. Sundar leant her head next to Danyal, smiling in agreement despite Danyal's protests. Helio gave a sigh at that.

"I am going to go hunting. See if I can get us some food. Thank you, Shaman." Helio said with a growl and got up to leave. Danyal almost volunteered to join him, but he was still in no condition to go hunting. Instead, he continued to fill Rafiki in what had happened to the Pride since the Shaman's absence. Including meeting Kion and what had happened to the Night Pride, and what he and the asiatics had done since. When the time came to describe Calin's arrival in the Pride, Rafiki was disturbed by his description of the wraith like being in the body of the decaying wilddog.

"Have you ever come across such things, Shaman?" Lukaan asked him. It was like something out of a horror tale. Danyal watched the Rafiki carefully, as the ape considered the question carefully.
"I have heard the voices of those who have completed their journey on the circle of life more times than I can count. I have felt their whispers and their will. But to drag one back from beyond the veil and set it loose upon the living? That is not something I have ever done. Nor it is something my brethren would ever do. Or even know how to do. But Marsade has been dabbling in black arts since his betrayal of his office; we found such abominations at the heart of the Imperium. Monstrous hybrid creatures, made of dark shamanism. It would seem he has spent much time twisting his power to the unnatural." Rafiki said. Calin shuddered.

"It was horrible. A dead thing walking." He looked pale again. Sundar frowned, her ears pinned back and she reached out a paw to the young leopard cub.

"It's okay, Calin. It's gone now." She tried to reassure him. But he looked miserable and Danyal couldn't blame him. It was pretty horrible.

"Are you going to leave us again?" Danyal asked, cautiously. Rafiki paused, looking at Danyal in surprise. "I mean, once your friend is healed?" He said. Rafiki paused. Then he shook his head.

"No. No Rafiki won't. Shamans are not supposed to meddle in the affairs of mortals, but enough of Rafiki's friends have gone already. Rafiki will stay. And Yessen will just have to like it. Besides. He can hardly stay away once he hears about a new Shaman, hmm? And a lioness at that. Such a thing has never happened before. Marsade always did think there was something special about your kind." Rafiki said. He grinned, showing teeth. "Rafiki is not going anywhere." He said.

"Yes! I knew it! I knew you wouldn't leave us!" Makini cheered.

"It is a good thing to hear, wise one." Lukaan said after a moment. "We would be honoured to have your wisdom among us."

Later that evening, Rafiki approached Lukaan again. The white lion was sitting near the Tree of Life's pristine lake. Its mirrored surface looked up at him. He was brooding. He saw the Shaman's reflection in the mirror.

"Shaman?"

"Please, Prince Lukaan. I am called Rafiki. You seem troubled?" He asked the white furred lion. Lukaan shrugged. He had plenty of reasons to be troubled. His daughter for one. His Pride for another.

"I was just thinking. About my brother. And Emperor Shan-Yi. There are… rites… back in the Old Imperium. Things we are meant to say upon their death. I have been putting it off. Hoping against hope that my brother may have survived. King Malaki. I guess I've been putting it off for too long." He said after a moment. He looked at Rafiki. "Danyal says that among his people, the Great Kings of the Past are said to become Stars. It's a beautiful thought. I find that a comfort. In my people, we usually say that the Spirits of our loved ones become a part of the land. Which is it?" He asked him, carefully. Rafiki shrugged.

"Rafiki doesn't know. He hears their voices, in the winds and in the trees. Perhaps both are right? Perhaps neither. In my experience, they are to be found…" he paused dramatically, and then poked the white lion in the chest. "Here." He said.

"Huh. I wonder what he'd say to me if I could hear him?" Lukaan asked aloud. Rafiki listened carefully.

"What would you say to him?" Rafiki asked him after a moment. Lukaan swallowed.

"I'd say I was doing my best. For our Pride. I never expected to rule. And I don't, not really. How can you rule without a Kingdom? But I'm doing my best to lead. The lionesses. Helio. Sundar. I'm doing all I can. And I'd say thank you. We never would have escaped if not for him. Brother." He trailed off, deep in thought. He didn't break down. There were no tears in his eyes. He just sat there, thinking. Thinking of the life that might have been his had they lived in an even slightly better world.

"Say it. Not to me. To him. You'll feel better for it." Rafiki encouraged him. Lukaan sat in silence for a moment, and looked into the lake again. Then he nodded.

"Brother. I'll miss you." Then he said a few other names. Lionesses and lions he had known who hadn't made the trip across the lands. Then he said another name. "Shan-Yi. My Emperor." He finished. He didn't say anything else. Just the name. Then he rose to his feet. "The time for mourning the dead and the past is gone." He told him. "It is never coming back. Now is the time to look to the future." He decided. Rafiki smiled.

"I have known many kings, and many princes Lukaan. Many of them asked for my advice. I find you to have little need of it." He said. It was an encouraging prospect. "So perhaps, I should ask you for some." Rafiki said. "Back in Asiatica, did you ever hear anything about the Emperor's jewel?" He asked him. Lukaan paused. "It sounds vaguely familiar. As if I've heard it once or twice. But I don't recall where I've heard the phrase." He said.

"Hmm. Just something Asamode said, regarding the Emperor. That his jewel was his one real weakness that he'll always see to. It's something to ruminate on. There is wisdom to be gained in knowing our foes weakness, is there not?" He asked him.

"Weakness? The Emperor? Are you sure?" He asked him.

"I am sure of little and certain of nothing. But it is something I have heard. Nothing more. Something to think about." Rafiki said.