[3rd POV]
(The sky)
The wind rising from the Serengeti plains was warm and steady, perfect for long-distance flight.
Three vultures rode the invisible current high above the yellow grasslands, their massive wings barely moving as the air carried them northward. From the ground, they would look like nothing more than three drifting specks in the sky.
But these were not ordinary vultures.
They belonged to the kingdom.
They belonged to Leo.
The king of the Serengeti had many eyes across his lands, and the sky was one of the most valuable places to see from.
Grim had sent them personally.
Ten lions from the Maasai Mara had crossed the river and challenged Leo. That alone was strange. Lions did not form such a coalition out of sheer coincidence, especially when they seemed to be bound by a purpose.
Something had pushed them.
Something had sent them south.
And Leo wanted to know what.
So the three vultures were sent north.
They crossed the endless golden grass first, where the Serengeti stretched like an ocean of sunlight beneath them. Herds moved below like dark shadows drifting across the plains. Wildebeest, zebra, gazelle. Most were in the middle of migration.
Soon, the land began to change.
The wide plains slowly broke apart into scattered acacia trees and shallow valleys. The air currents shifted, cooler now as they approached the Mara River, the long, winding scar of water that divided two great lands.
The border between kingdoms.
The three vultures circled once above the river before crossing it.
Below them, the dark water rolled slowly, crocodiles floating like dead logs in the shallows while hippos crowded the muddy banks. A few zebras drank nervously at the edge, always watching the water.
Nothing unusual.
The vultures kept flying.
The Maasai Mara spread out before them, greener than the Serengeti, its grass shorter and dotted with thicker trees. Herds grazed calmly across the land.
Still nothing strange.
The first vulture tilted his wings slightly, drifting lower.
They were looking for lions.
Not one pride.
Something larger.
They flew for nearly half an hour deeper into the southern Mara, circling wide arcs across the sky.
Still nothing.
Then the second vulture suddenly shifted direction.
He had seen movement.
All three angled downward slightly, gliding toward a patch of grassland broken by several acacia trees.
At first, it looked like a normal pride.
A few lions lying in the shade.
But the closer they drifted, the more shapes appeared.
Another mane.
Then another.
Then another.
The three vultures began circling slowly above them.
And what they saw made them fall silent.
...
Thirteen lions rested beneath the scattered trees.
All males.
All grown.
All with full manes.
Some were dark, thick black manes that spread across their shoulders like storm clouds. Others carried lighter gold manes that glowed under the sun. A few had scars across their faces and flanks.
But every single one of them looked like a king.
There were no cubs, no lionesses or weak males pushed to the edge.
Only thirteen fully grown male lions.
Kings without a kingdom.
Some slept lazily in the shade while others sat upright, watching the plains in silence. One of the darker-maned lions stood slowly and stretched, his muscles rolling beneath his hide as he walked toward a mountain of corpses.
These lions were not lacking any food either.
Then suddenly, one of the lions lifted his head. This lion was one of the darkest-maned in the whole of the coalition. The vultures could see with their almost telescopic eyes, the scars on one of his eyes.
In his battle against the Four Musketeers, Leo employed the vultures and the hyenas heavily. So they immediately recognised the familiar lion.
The lion did not move and only stared with knowing eyes in silence.
The vultures climbed higher immediately.
They had found what they were looking for. Now they needed to go back quickly and report to the king.
As they flew high in the sky, touching the clouds, they could clearly see where the lions had settled.
They were very close. Just south of the Mara River. That meant that if they really wanted to, crossing to the Serengeti would only take a few days of walking for them.
The ten lions was just a warning.
The real force was coming.
..
..
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[1st POV]
(Three days later)
Bad news.
Scarface was alive, and it seemed like he was the main mastermind behind the ridiculous super coalition.
I always knew that lion was going to be a troublesome one, he was too goddamn smart for a lion. I reckoned he was even smarter than Scar.
Now I have realised that I was right in assuming the ten lions were just the beginning of a bigger disaster. There was a thirteen lion strong coalition at the borders of my kingdom.
Since there were no exceptional individuals among the initial lions, I assumed they were sent just to gauge what my reaction would be and how I would fare against a larger force. At the same time, it was meant to weaken me so that this bigger force could come and finish what they started.
Considering the cunning of Scarface, I wouldn't put it past him that he sent the stupid, weak bunch of the army first so that I would underestimate them and get confident, thinking I could take these thirteen lions.
Nope.
Not gonna happen.
Although I had suffered no grave injuries, I was nowhere near my prime health either. So we're moving.
"We're moving," I announced to the pride during the night, right after we had feasted on a buffalo that afternoon.
"Move?" Eshe asked immediately since she was cuddling close, "Are we not constantly moving, my Lord?"
"I don't mean that kind of moving," I said, "We are going to head south and leave the vicinity of the river. And we are not stopping anytime soon. For a few weeks, we will keep on moving," I said.
I heard murmurs spread throughout the pride immediately, but none was the sound of protest. They were just a shared reaction to my sudden declaration.
After I defeated the ten lions, my pride had only grown more confident in my strength as a king. But to see me suddenly decide to move south and head towards harsher lands, there must be a reason.
"There will be more threats coming from the land beyond the rivers. I need time to heal up first before I face them," I said.
I didn't explain much after that. They wouldn't even want to. Life was easy in the Serengeti, and they knew the way to keep it that way was to simply follow me without question.
There were pregnant females and a few cubs that were too young for long travel, so we would not be moving that fast. And that was exactly why we needed to start moving now.
"Rest well, we will start moving before dawn," I said.
I stood up from my seat and began moving away from the pride with a small limp on my front legs. Since we were going to leave, I needed to leave fresh scent to mark my territories. That way, it would seem to any invaders that I was still around in the northern Serengeti.
As I left the pride in the darkness of the night, Grim was the only one who followed me. Vultures were not great at seeing in the night since they were not nocturnal, so Grim flew down and landed on my back.
He was the only one outside of my cubs that I allowed to ride me.
"Good job with your work, I couldn't have known this without you," I said.
"Indeed. But a reminder that your gratitude only weighs a quarter to what I feel for you," he said.
Grim was now a vulture a bit larger than most. He was fat, even, since he always got a few meals. I noticed that he was starting to send out vultures for him instead of doing most things himself.
That was good, I didn't mind it before but with the upcoming troubles I sensed, I needed him in his top form.
"I have a mission again," I said, "This time, I want you specifically to do it,"
"Anything you wish my lord,"
I shook my head, avoiding the puddle in my steps. As a cat, I could see well in the dark, to the point that it was as good as during the day.
"This mission will take you a long time. Perhaps it will put you out from the picture until the very last moment of conflict," I said.
He was puzzled.
"You see Grim, these weak lions decided to unite to try and kill me because they knew they can't do it alone," I said, "And to be honest, I share their sentiment a little in this moment,"
"Why would you feel that way my lord? You have people with you. There are vultures roaming in the sky at this moment that are prepared to die for you. You have the pride," he said, pausing a bit, "You have me,"
I chuckled at his sincere words.
"Indeed," I said, "But none of you can provide what I need,"
"My females are mothers now, some are pregnant, most already have cubs with them. You see, when cubs are already involved, the females cease to be soldiers and are mothers. They will protect their cubs in any way they can, but I won't ask them to fight for me. That is not their job, that responsibility falls on me," I said.
"At the same time, I think this is a good opportunity," I said.
"To gain more land?" Grim asked, confused.
"Not at all," I said, "I am quite satisfied with what I have now. The Serengeti, my pride, my cubs. I don't crave for more. Maybe I'm not that ambitious,"
Which was a funny thing to say considering I have land enough to feed multiple prides. But you know what I mean.
"I thought I was finished, I thought this was my happily ever after. But this event had opened my eyes, not only to my delusion but at the opportunity to learn and grow,"
"For the last time," I said.
Grim kept quiet as I roamed further and further and covered more ground. He patiently listened to what I had to say without interrupting me.
"I am nearing my prime, Grim," I said, "I could feel it in the way I heal, I can feel it in the way I fight with those lions. But I also know that I wouldn't grow as strong as I need to be to fight against the world,"
"I guess we all have limits, even you, my lord," he said.
"My strength is not absolute and will never grow to be absolute, the coalition taught me that. Even if I defeat this incoming threat again somehow, what about after I reach my peak and my strength starts to decline?"
"..."
"I need a system, with me sitting at the very top. Strength can be beaten, but this system will not," I said.
I have tried it with the hyenas. I allowed them to hunt in my kingdom, and I allowed them to live and thrive. In return, they lived under me and they fought for me. They killed many intruders without my intervention, to the point that I was free enough to play with my cubs and love my females.
A king is not just defined by his strength.
He is defined by his kingdom.
What I have in mind is a small upgrade from what I have with the hyenas. Except instead of hyenas, it will be lion kings.
A lion has never done this kind of thing before, but I knew many humans who have done similar things.
While I am at the peak of my strength, instead of wasting time playing around and having fun, I need a system that would last until my strength drains and I die of old age.
In my prime, I will do the most work.
I need to reshape this land. Not just the Serengeti but the whole continent. I need to make sure that some loser lions banding together could never threaten me again.
An empire of some sort.
"I see your vision my Lord," Grim said, awed, "And it's magnificent,"
I laughed. It's nice to have someone who admires me this much.
"And you will play an important part in achieving this final dream," I said.
He seemed shaken in excitement.
"Do you remember my first son?" I asked.
"Zael?" he said.
"Yes. Go and find that boy, tell him to come home," I said.
"I will make him king,"
...
...
"And you shall fly back to my home, to the Pridelands. Ask the shaman, Rafiki if you don't find him there in the Pridelands," I said.
It was already time for Simba to return, my guess was that he would stay in the Pridelands even after he found out that everyone left. Or maybe he would have gone back to the wilderness, which is extremely unlikely.
"Find who?"
"My brother," I said with a fond smile.
It's coming.
The final test.
I flashed my teeth with a smile, finally understanding the prophecy of the old monkey.
Storm huh.
One that will make complete kings.
..
..
[IMAGE]
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