[3rd POV]
News travels.
Stories are told.
In a world where animals had a form of common communication, it was a wonder why most animals lived so deaf. It was the consequence of the unspoken tradition that communication between different species was rare. It was a racist sort of thing, how one species was so self-centred that they blended other living things with the environment.
But in recent years, those old traditions were slowly eroded away.
By a tale that was too good to not tell.
By a discovery that was too shocking to shut the mouth.
And by a power that was too immense to not have a voice.
The king of the Serengeti.
Leo's existence alone was slowly bringing a change to the whole animal kingdom.
Prey talked and shared about the land that had very few predators. A land where whole hyena clans were wiped out at the spite of one lion. A vast land that only had one lion pride, where four more could sustain themselves.
A land that could be said to be void of solitary male lions because most were killed and few were chased away.
With the eradication of such predators, the Serengeti became a sort of paradise for prey animals. To make things even better, the dominant lion there preferred to hunt the indigenous Cape buffaloes instead of normal prey.
Although Leo was not too aware, many prey animals began migrating towards the Serengeti ever since he ruled.
His stories were also shared among these animals, for they must know the cause of such a change in the Serengeti.
The vultures were also another reason. The animal kingdom had not seen an entire different species so committed or invested in another.
At this point, vultures could be said to be a part of lion politics. The scavengers always had relations with predators, but this went beyond that.
Again, the trend was set by Leo.
And these vultures flew far and wide, sharing the same tale. To add to that, all the defeated lions that managed to come out of the Serengeti alive.
So if you were a lion prince without a pride, it was almost impossible to not have known about him.
Leo of the Serengeti.
The Serengeti was slowly turning into a valuable territory as more prey animals migrated there. It bred challenges from all across the land. This was why you would see Leo constantly complaining about the amount of challengers he had to face in recent years.
Most knew of the rough details.
The Serengeti, other than Leo and his pride, was ruled by the hyenas. These hyenas were bolder and aggressive towards lions than anywhere else. This was mainly because they had the backing of the king that lived there, and they were commanded to rid of all challengers without Leo having to fight every one of them.
Usually, hyenas were something lions need not be afraid of. But in the Serengeti, a lion must beware them. They pose the most dangerous threat to their lives.
If a lion wishes to challenge the king, he or they must be strong enough to fend off these hyenas.
The easiest way for challengers to find the king was to go towards the north of the Serengeti. One could do this by following the Mara River or by going to the Serengeti through the Maasai Mara. Leo and his pride mostly lived in the northern region of the territory.
But that was almost a death sentence for anyone who dared.
But there was another way to claim the Serengeti. Since the king mostly lived in the northern region, a lion could claim the southern part of the Serengeti without Leo knowing.
For this, they must go to the Serengeti from the rocky hills and enter from the southern territory.
Among young lions without a pride, the decision was split into two. Equal numbers tried their luck from the north and the south.
But ever since a few months ago, the amount of lions that tried to play an underhanded trick and occupy the southern region decreased slightly. Now, young and bold lions usually go towards the Mara River and enter the territory from the north to challenge the king.
Again, this was one of the reasons why Scarface could gather a literal army of male lions by staying in the Maasai Mara.
Now, one must ask why there was a decrease in lions attempting to try their luck from the south? Was it due to most lions having honor?
No.
It was because of the emergence of a new king around that area.
A lion king that carved a kingdom right at the entrance and the southern territory of the Serengeti.
Although not comparable to Leo, this new king was just as fierce. Perhaps it was a dim reflection of Leo in his juvenile age.
Due to the amount of lions that fell right at the southern entrance of the Serengeti, this king was known as the Southern Guard of the Serengeti.
Although that was how he was known among ambitious lions more than anything. This lion and Leo were both equally kings.
The lion king.
King Zael.
.....
"A lion?" Simba asked, his ears perking towards the sound from where the roar came.
Timon immediately ran out from the water and ran under the legs of Simba. Pumba did the same and both hid under their cub's legs.
"What was that?" Timon asked, shaking Simba at the paws. "I've heard you roar. This one is way scarier,"
"This one's aggressive," Simba said with a solemn face, "And he is a king,"
"We are in his territory. We need to leave in silence if we don't want to fight," Simba said.
"Okay, good. Then we are leaving, right?" Timon asked.
"No. We need to continue north," Simba said and before he could be stopped, he released a roar of his own.
Timon and Pumba could feel the roar coming from the very pits of Simba. The sound rolled through the body like compressed thunder before echoing out in a sort of scream that was everything but scared.
The two animals under Simba couldn't help but freeze as they realised the cub's legs which they were hiding under was also the same animal as the one they feared.
A lion.
Simba walked forward, moving away from Timon and Pumba so that they were behind him. The lake was further behind him so he knew his friends wouldn't be attacked from the back.
The king released a roar of warning first. It was meant to chase away lions that wandered into the territory but didn't want to fight.
But a returning roar meant something completely different.
It was a challenge.
Simba roared into the sky one more time, unshaken. It was not only a declaration of war but also a declaration of his location.
On the other hand, the king's roar became silent. When warnings are ignored, action must replace sound.
Simba stood facing the sparse forest that grew from the underground waters of the lake. After waiting for a few minutes, he could hear movement from the distance.
"Aw, look at him. So brave like all others," the same vultures they met before perched on the nearby tree.
"This one is bigger than most. This might be a challenge for Zael," the other vulture replied.
Timon and Pumba turned to them but not Simba. He was completely locked at the silhouette that was getting bigger in the distance.
Simba was basically a foreigner to all this. He didn't know about King Zael who lived at the southern entrance of the Serengeti. He lived in the forest most of his life and after talking to Rafiki, he came here immediately.
He didn't have time to hear all those stories.
He wasn't even aware of lion culture that a cub should learn when he grows.
A lion king rarely went towards a challenger, it was the opposite instead. But Zael had learned not to allow threats to live in his kingdom.
So he was a rare king in the way he wouldn't tolerate intruders. Most kings usually enjoyed their life until confronted.
But Zael grew up with a king that did not tolerate intruders and preferred to attack to defend his territory. So naturally, he was following what he saw in his youth.
When Zael came into view, Simba began making his way towards him.
Both lions approached each other, their noses observing each other's scents and behaviour. Neither were scared of the other, neither were ready to back down.
And they met in the middle. It was a place like any other, not really suitable for a fight. It wasn't an open ground.
Simba was entirely focused on Zael. This was the first time he had seen another lion in a long time so his eyes couldn't go anywhere else. Lions were much different from tigers even though they were both big cats.
On the other hand, Zael looked at the surroundings. His eyes lingered on every obstacle, on every stone, on every tree, on every route that could be used to escape or run towards battle. He was making a sort of map in his mind.
And only after he was satisfied did his eyes land on the enemy.
"You're quite a titan," Zael said. "I thought you'd be much smaller from the sound of your roar,"
A lion's roar told a lot. And Simba's sound screamed of youth and inexperience, mostly because he never really got a hold of it after he ran away as a cub and he had no one to teach him or learn from.
He had volume, but not the art.
A cub that grew to adulthood in the deafening silence of the forest and a cub that grew while waking up every morning to the loudest roar couldn't share the same roar.
"And you're much smaller than I anticipated," Simba replied, noting the size difference between them.
Neither of them were small by any means. In fact, these two lions were well above the average lion in size. It was the difference between a big lion and a very big lion.
Simba at his current physical form was as big as Baraka. But the amount of muscle in that weight was different as he had much more muscle mass compared to the white king from constantly traversing through thick jungles.
So Simba was heavier even though he looked like he was the same size as Baraka.
On the other hand, Zael was maybe 40–50 kilograms lighter. The average African lion weighs between 180–230 kilograms. Zael weighed around 260 kilograms due to his splendid genetics from the Mbali brothers and his buffalo diet from when he lived under Leo.
Zael paused, looking at Simba for a long moment before he began taking a fighting posture and slowly stepped towards Simba.
"I was going to ask you to leave after meeting in person," he said. Even though Zael was an aggressive king, he avoided fights if he could. He was usually bigger than his challengers so it was common for them to have a change of mind after seeing him.
But Simba was bigger, and the way he talked showed no fear as well.
"But I wouldn't bother,"
Simba took a step back. The sandy ground of the savannah was quite different from the wet soil of the jungle. It would be his first time fighting on such a large open plain.
The two lions circled each other slowly before they erupted.
Lionesses were usually better at hunting.
Because at some point, nature designed lions for something else.
Simba and Zael met in their first clash.
Beasts designed to fight, fought.
...
...
[IMAGE]
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