[OOC] The Land of Scar (History & Geography)

[Ukuhlwa Izwe]

◈ || UKUHLWA'IZWE || ◈
the outlands

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The Ukuhlwa'Izwe, more commonly referred to as The Outlands, is the rebirth of the old pride Awatupa'Viwanja. The original incarnation of the pride in Shadows of Africa was founded by the scions of Scar, Serafina and Tahka, who were the children of his daughter, Tiah. Scar himself actually died in the plague that swept through The Pridelands in one of the shop's very first metaplots and thus never saw his descendants bring the pride to fruition (but they believe he would be very, very proud). Serafina ruled the pride for a time and then the throne was passed onto her younger half-sister, Ashiki, also of Tiah's and Scar's bloodline. She ruled through the great earthquakes that shook the world and saw the greatest tragedy befall them since their creation - a very important migration route was cut off due to debris and they were starved out of their pride lands and forced to turn rogue to survive. It has taken many years but the Outlands has recovered, the prey beasts have returned, and Ashiki has decided it is time to begin anew. The call has been carried far and wide by other members, beckoning their brethren home once more.

Although he never technically belonged to the pride, they are unerringly loyal to Scar's memory and to his cause. All those that live in The Outlands or seek to join are either his direct descendants or supporters of the idea that it was Scar and not Mufasa that should have inherited the throne of the Pridelands. Their opinions may vary when it comes to the minute details, as will their distaste for Pridelanders as a whole, but that one fact can not be disputed among pride members openly. To claim Scar and his bloodline are not the true heirs to the Pridelands within earshot of any true blooded Outlander is heresy and cause for exile, if you're lucky.

Their belief in the protocol of inheritance has trickled down into all aspects of their life and they have become a very strict pride with a rather militaristic flair. One does not step out of line or disrespect their members or their rules, one does not attempt to change or defy their rules, and one does not expect to be forgiven for trespasses against their system. If your lion can't follow rules and operate within a systematic environment then the Outlands is no place for them - their culture is not as sweet and kind as their unwilling sister pride and they will not take kindly to those that wish to upset tradition.

Scar's blood must always hold the throne.



(For more information on their culture and way of life, click here)

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[Ukuhlwa Izwe]

◈ || The Path of Our Ancestors || ◈
our story

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Quote:

The years have passed and with them, a legend carries from mouth to mouth, twisted bit by bit over the passage of time and spoken only in hushed whispers by those that will soon take the truth of it to their grave. It is a tale of two brothers - one raised to glory and revered by all those that would utter his name and the other, outcast and robbed of his rightful place as King, spoken of only with misplaced disgust born of rotten lies.

This is not a story about your golden, glorious, deceitful Mufasa. This is a story about the forgotten crown prince, the one true heir, Taka; the Scar of the Pridelands, the wound you would lick and heal and forget.

Denied his birthright, Taka lived a life in squalor among his pride. He was ignored by those he loved the dearest and rejected by those he sought to protect and serve. As Mufasa rose to fame and glory on a throne he did not earn, Taka plunged himself into thankless duties, wearing himself to the bone for the greater good of his people. As time passed, his noble heart grew heavy and distant and his body grew weak with overwork and worry. When the plague finally broke the borders and swept through the Pridelands to ravage both herdbeast and hunter alike, he was taken from us, never to regain what he had lost. Even the greatest souls are subject to the circle of life.

Surviving their father were a single pair of children - a son that would disappear into the ranks without so much as a thought at what he had lost, content with bucking duty and tradition in favor of a guilt-free life, and a daughter who would serve her father's glory until her last dying breath.

Like the beginning of our story, Taka's resurrection begins with a pair: Serafina and Tahka. Twins of the soul and two parts of a finely tuned weapon, they would see their grandfather's legacy live on through disease, disaster and failure. They abandoned those that had turned their back upon him and fled the Pridelands with a vow to return stronger and better than those that had denied him and led him to a death fraught with regret. His scions forged a place for themselves in a land the Pridelanders thought too unforgiving, taking back the part of their heritage that the great Mufasa was too careless and lazy to nurture. If they could survive in the shadows of an unwanted land and rise to greatness then they were truly the blood of Scar and the rightful bloodline of the noble Pridelands. In their hearts they knew there was no truer mark of a King or Queen than one made by blood, sweat and tears. Their resolve would be tested again and again, just as Mufasa's betrayal had tested Taka's heart and Taka's death had tested his children.

Mere years into their reign saw a tragedy that shook their newfound pride to its core: The Earthquake that Destroyed Lives. The throne had passed from Serafina to her half-sister, Ashiki, a lioness who matched her sister for her cold calculation and ruthlessness. The numbers of the pride had swelled and at last, it seemed, they might make a move to begin taking back bits of their homeland piece by hard fought piece, when the earth itself rose up to defy them. As the world shook, debris and disaster surrounded them, separating families and killing their loved ones. Worst of all, however, was the loss of their prey. A great migration path ran along the backside of their forgotten lands and fed their lions like lifeblood from a vein - somewhere farther up it became blocked, dispersing the herds and starving the pride dry. After weeks of scrounging for food to feed her brethren and worried for the survival of their bloodline, Ashiki ordered her pride members to disperse through the rogue lands so that they might grow strong once more. She assured them that when the time came, when she knew that they could return home and thrive once again, she would send for them all.

Once again the Blood of Scar was rejected and cast out, forced to wander foreign lands so that they could simply hope to survive. A few stayed behind to safeguard their new home and to keep a watchful eye on the shifting of the herds but even that life seemed like a pale ghost of what they were. Time passed, the story of Taka was brushed aside, and the Pridelands forgot. Some of their bloodline moved on, weak of will and patience, and forgot. Yet Ashiki wandered, hopeful, refusing to give up, until at last the Seer came to gather her Queen back to the lands. They had survived their trial, they had remembered their duty, and it was once again time to reclaim what was their birthright.

This is the story of our King and our kingdom. We never forgot, nor will we ever forgive.

The Outlands will begin anew.

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[Ukuhlwa Izwe]

◈ || The Forgotten Lands || ◈
our home

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The Outlands members have taken up a position very close to the original home of their forefathers and are considered to be (mostly) unwanted neighbors by the Pridelands, located just south of their unwilling sister pride. The towers of buzzing termite mounds (a nuisance that generally deters most other lions) is the barrier between their lands and those of their golden brethren. These skyscrapers are used by the pride members to navigate and are often greeted with warm hearts by those that travel and return home because they are visible long before the pride lands themselves.

West of the termite mounds is a large desert of rolling dunes, filled with deep gorges and canyons that give way to rising cliffs jutting out from the golden sands. Along the desert's south side where it butts into the more fertile lands of the crossing rivers, the pride makes its home in caves, abandoned termite territory, and upon stone outcrops. These caves and outcrops are a mixture of hard, red and banded rock, weathered by years of water and rain. The main structure, where most of the royal family resides, is a multi-tiered cave system made from hollowed clay and stone. At the top of the structure is the monarch's roost, a cave accessible only by a tunnel leading to the outer ledge. It has a large, stone overhang where the ruler can often be seen overlooking their pride. In the bowels of these caves there are rumored to be all sorts of oddities, including an icky green gas that streams from the cracked earth bed.

South of the desert and the fertile rivers is the Savannah - this is where most of their hunters travel to get food for the pride and it is the only direction from which one can access their pride heart with any ease. There is a space of land between the two rivers often referred to as 'the bridge' where traveling groups can be seen coming home at a distance.

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