[Shop RP Setting]
[In the Beginning]
- Like modern day, real-life lions, small prides roamed the wilds of Africa. Fighting over territory, leadership, and food was commonplace for these small prides and their circumstances changed as frequently as the seasons. The lions, and other animals, were at the mercy of nature and themselves.
The pridelands was the first kingdom of its kind, created by the great king of the past Mahatu. He introduced fair laws to protect both the lions of his pride and the animals that called his territory home. Together they grew to respect one another thanks to his just ruling and even temperament. When Mahatu passed, he relinquished the throne to his son Ahadi, who upheld his father's teachings and helped to defend the circle of life.
King Ahadi had a more difficult time than his father did protecting the pridelands from outside interference. Surrounding prides and rogues had grown jealous of the pridelands success and wished to claim the territory for their own, which often led to conflicts and bloodshed. Fearing he may lose his father's kingdom; Ahadi made a bold move to betroth himself to the outside king's adult daughter, Uru. This clever solution married both prides together which brought with it strength and numbers and helped to solidify the pridelander's hold on their territory.
King Ahadi and Queen Uru had two sons, Mufasa the first born, and Taka the second born. It was decided that Mufasa would take over the kingdom as he was the first born, so Ahadi spent most of his days training Mufasa for leadership and guiding his eldest son towards the role of future king. Unfortunately, at this time the pride was also having a difficult time with a clan of hyenas that had emerged and was insistent on driving off the lions of the pridelands. King Ahadi was killed during a transgression with the hyena clan, leaving his eldest son Mufasa to take up the mantle as king.
King Mufasa worked tirelessly to exile and chase away every last hyena that was left in his territory. None were safe from his wrath, as he eventually drove the last remaining hyenas into the elephant graveyard near the edge of the pridelands. Finally feeling as though his father's kingdom was safe, king Mufasa chose Sarabi to be his queen and together they had a son, Simba.
King Mufasa was betrayed by his brother Taka, who had taken on the name of Scar after their father had passed away, and the Reign of Scar began. Scar attempted to merge the pridelands with the hyena clan that his brother had banished to the elephant graveyard, but overhunting brought ruin to the once lush and vibrant kingdom. King Scar was challenged and defeated by Simba, who became the new king of the pridelands.
King Simba once again banished all hyenas from the pridelands, and declared that no hyena would ever step a paw into the kingdom or be welcomed to live amongst them. Simba's reign was fraught with in-fighting between lions who were loyal to Scar, and those who were not, until eventually those lions were also exiled from the pridelands.
King Simba and queen Nala had a daughter, Kiara, who Simba trained to take over the kingdom as queen. Eventually, and through the help of Kiara and the outlander Kovu, the exiled lions were once again welcomed back home into the pridelands.
Queen Kiara and king Kovu ruled over a relatively peaceful time for the pridelands, as Kiara's focus was on mending the damage done to the pride and strengthening the respect and trust of all the animals of the pridelands. She proved to have a good heart and a genuine respect for all of those around her.
[A New Era]
- Generations of kings and queens have passed since then and the pridelands has flourished and grown into the largest, and most prosperous territory in the land. The lions of the pridelands are the largest lions around, much larger than rogues in most cases, due to their generations of prosperity.
New prides have taken root around the pridelands, trying to emulate the success that the pridelanders have cultivated over the generations. Unlike traditional nomadic prides that changed leadership and territory as often as the seasons, these prides have attempted to stake a claim on a kingdom much like the pridelanders have done. Political alliances and rivalries between them and the pridelands has now become commonplace, and leaders of such prides aren't as quick to jump to bloodshed.
On the other paw, one such pride that's cropped up over the years, the outlands, has taken a more violent approach to dealing with the changing way territories and prides have evolved. The outlands started as a safe haven for those who were cast out for crimes or exiled from their birth prides and has taken shape into one of the most treacherous territories around. The outlanders have a particular distaste for pridelanders, as it is commonly believed that the first outlander was an exiled royal from the pridelands.
King Kubwa (large) and queen Laini (soft) have attempted to parlay with warlord Muuaji (killer), the leader of the outlands, on several occasions but when their last attempt ended with a threat on their lives they have stopped trying.
Warlord Muuaji and the outlanders have become emboldened as of late and have taken to attacking neighboring prides for control of resources. They do not shy away from bloodshed and any attempt to reason with them has been met with force. Many are looking to the pridelands for a possible solution, but so far king Kubwa has not been forthcoming with any official response.
