Art from eliv-linnert

Scar’s terrible rule of Milele was nothing to scoff at. However, there was another great crime against the circle of life that proved to be just as damaging. Kiros and his army of ghosts sweat through the sprawling Valley of Kings. A huge stretch of land that nearly a dozen separate kingdoms existed in relative peace in. Kiros’ ambitions and need for vengeance wiped out every single one, with very little survivors. Chief among them being the young princess Sarabi, who fled to Milele and became the queen of Mufasa, and mother to Simba. In the end, the place was nearly devoid of a keystone species for several years, throwing the ecosystem into chaos without a proper apex hunter.

Years later, it would be a lioness from Milele who would play a pivotal role in restoring the valley of kings to what it once was.

After the death of Scar, Milele’s line of royalty was blessed with four cubs from the newly crowned Queen Nala. Two boys and two girls. Princess Kunga from the very beginning was interested in the past. Learning about history. Much of her time was spent with her grandmothers rather than out getting into trouble with her other three siblings, though she still had friends like the little egret Ono, who was good at getting information.

One day, when Kumga was just days from adulthood, Sarabi finally told her the story of where she came from, and the fate of the rest of the valley. Kunga was shocked, and Ono would confirm this after she sent him to verify Sarabi’s story. After years of being unsure of her own place in Milele, she decided that she would be a queen. But not in her homeland like Kiara was selected to be.

While surprised, Simba and Nala both approved of Kunga’s decision to go south. The day before Kiara’s first hunt, Kunga said her goodbyes, and left Milele, taking Ono with her. Kion went west to the Night Pride to live with Regandi and marry their daughter Rani, leaving Kiara the last cub in Milele.

The journey took several days. Crossing mountain ranges, heading through great canyons, climbing waterfalls, and navigating vast jungles. Finally however, the lioness and her companion found the valley, and as she arrived, she heard a whisper on the air welcome her. It spooked Kunga, but she soon calmed herself once the voice showed itself….in her own reflection when instructed to look into a nearby pond.

The voice was of her long deceased great grandmother Eshe. The mother of the lion who would become Scar, and who was killed during the scourge of the valley. Eshe explained that she was haunting Kunga to help her achieve her goals. She’d been watching the princess since she was a cub, knowing that her interest in the past would lead her to the valley, and more specifically, to where she and her mare Obasi ruled in life.

As the one lioness there, Kunga spent months preparing the place to be resettled. Ono worked tirelessly to find any rogue lions who might be interested in joining the princess’ pride. Soon lionesses, lone or with cubs of their own, arrived and called the Great Tree their home. Eshe told Kunga that eventually she’d need a king if she truly wanted to cement a proper legacy. To have cubs who could spread through the valley over time, and restore the lion population. She promised Kunga that she just needed to find the right king, and the great spirits would do the work for her, though Kunga wasn’t yet sure what that meant.

Eventually, her king would arrive in the form of a rogue who had dreams of marrying into a royal family, eager to cast the old ways aside which had once brought great pain to him. Eshe showed him the history of lion society, and was the first lioness this male had met who had the kindness and courage to properly denounce the old ways, and offer him a brighter future with her.

It took several more months, but Kunga and the rogue eventually became King and Queen. The first to appear in the valley since Kiros’ reign of terror. Not long after, Eshe’s promise came to the forefront.

Kunga shortly found herself pregnant, and carrying a massive litter which grew quickly. At least five cubs. Kunga knew something wasn’t right. Despite the dreadful side effects of such a drastic pregnancy, she was comforted and assured by Eshe that this was the great kings’ doing. Their way of accelerating the restoration of the valley.

In the end, Kunga felt great happiness about her place in the world. While her sister brought peace in Milele and her brother found love with the Night Pride, Kunga would be the most well known all around Africa as the great healer. A lioness who would bear well over a dozen cubs who would all play their roles in undoing the damage caused by Kiros. The great tree would see its worst and laziest king, succeeded by its greatest and fairest queen.

One day, Kunga woukd eventually returned to Milele just after her retired parents passed through her kingdom and saw just how successful (and big) their daughter had become. The two sisters, happy to see one another, shared stories and advice. Of course she also visited King Kion, where she ended up giving birth to her third litter, which gave the shaman Nirmala an idea to save her own species of lion.

Years later, after several mates and many cubs, Kunga was succeeded by one of her sons who she saw the most potential in to lead well, and she journeyed further south as an old lioness, finally bidding Ono and Eshe farewell.

Kunga was never seen again until she reunited with Eshe and her past relatives in the stars.