Nakala

Chapter 36

Nakala found himself hopelessly bored laying in Amana's den all day. He didn't have much to entertain himself and talking to Amana wasn't always an option. She had things of her own she had to do throughout the day. Currently she was helping out on a patrol, keeping an eye out for that leopard in case it ever came back. He yawned and groaned in frustration. At first the thought of lazing around all day sounded appealing just now the lion was bored of his mind. He wished his legs would just get better quicker so he could be where he was meant to be, defending his clan from whatever threat tried to harm them. It had only been a day but he found himself missing the training grounds, an almost desperate need to stretch his muscles just as he used to do nearly everyday.

Nakala figured the best thing to do was rest his head on his paws and take another nap. It was something he began to do purely to make the time go faster. Luckily for him all the laying on the ground and doing nothing all day made him pretty tired. He yawned again and closed his eyes.

"Comfortable?" A snickering voice asked. Nakala's eyes flew open and he gave a startled yelp.

Other Nakala stood over him with a wide smile spread across his muzzle and his head tilted to the side.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in here?" Nakala stammered. He looked around to see he was still in Amana's den but somehow the other lion was right there with him.

"Oh, relax. You're asleep right now and I wanted to talk to you," Other Nakala explained, licking his fangs that were stained his blood along with his paws that were somehow dripping it.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Nakala repeated, attempting to understand. "Uh, why?"

"Because Nakala..." Other Nakala shrugged. "Because I like you. I mean I have to, we're one in the same after all."

"What? What do you mean? Who are you?" Nakala growled, starting to lose patience with his mysterious twin.

"Ugh. You still haven't figured it out. Fine I'll spoil the surprise. I am the Roar," Other Nakala explained himself.

"You're the Roar. The one I use? The one I'm in control of? If that's true then why do you look like me?" Nakala asked in confusion.

"Hey!" Other Nakala defended. "You don't control me, I let you use my power is all. And to answer the last question: I'm taking a form that you would be able to understand and comprehend. And what better form than you? You might just be my favorite wielder. You should be honored, after all I'm older than the Pride Lands itself."

"So all those powers I get. The Roar, all the strength and extra speed... It comes from you?" Nakala asked, beginning to understand.

"I think you're starting to understand, yes," Other Nakala nodded.

"So are you me?" Nakala asked, still not fully understanding why the Roar looks more or less like him.

"No, I just chose to look like you," Other Nakala restated. "I think it suits me pretty well."

"Well, do you have a name or something I can call you?" Nakala asked, now curious.

"I used to a very long time ago. Longer than anyone around here or any land can remember. It was the time of the Spirits that used to guide creatures like you when they needed it," Other Nakala explained with a nostalgic look.

"The time of Spirits?" Nakala repeated. "So there are others like you? Are they still around?"

"Very much so," Other Nakala nodded. "But just like me they're true identities and presence in the world has been forgotten. But we still live strong and well through all living things. In instincts, courage and knowledge. Even if none will ever know of it, we will continue to bless the land and all who tread it," Other Nakala explained in a manner that sounded like it came from a time Nakala couldn't imagine.

"Well if they were all forgotten then how are you here and talking to me?" Nakala asked.

"Because, Nakala. I was different from most other spirits. Rather than watching from afar the affairs you all partake in I was born to have a more...direct involvement. There was a time when there was much conflict and chaos in the world. The spirits feared that all would be lost until I was born. I, Mzeli, the Guardian Spirit. Instead of watching the world fall to ruin the moment I gained form I sought a champion to bless and give the lands what it needed most in those troubling times: a champion, a hero, someone who would risk it all to protect those who could not do so for themselves. And in those times there was indeed a champion budding to give hope back to the land and banish the evil that spread unchecked. I'm sure you can guess what creature of the land I chose..." Mzeli chuckled.

"Was it a-- Oh! I get it now! That's why it's called the Lion Guard!" Nakala chuckled.

"Yes, but in those days it was that lion alone. It wouldn't be for some time that the idea of adding others to join that champion came to be. It all started with me and my champion Alisi the Lion Guardian!" Mzeli explained. "And even more exciting Alisi is that lion that started your entire bloodline, Nakala."

"You mean?" Nakala started to ask.

"Yes. The mark of the guard and the blessings of I, Mzeli, have been passing down through your family since the very beginning," Mzeli grinned. "Alisi truly was the champion the land needed. He helped creatures of all kinds no matter who they were or where they came from. In those times all were in danger and were in need of the Lion Guardian. What you are doing right now, helping theses poor hyenas reminds me a lot of Alisi. He would find all this division nowadays completely ridiculous... Anyway things were going fantastic all that many years and lions I have been wielded by but that all changed with you're great uncle unfortunately."

"You mean Scar..." Nakala mumbled.

Mzeli sighed and started to explain the truth to Nakala. "You see Nakala. The truth is that you will not be able to handle the power of the Roar. My power. Not for much longer... When the Roar passes from lion to lion it and I are reborn in a sense. Each Roar possessed by a lion is the same power but "cleansed" of the previous wielder's influence. At least, that's how it should be... But Scar carried within him a darkness that even I hadn't seen since those ancient days of chaos. The reason the Roar is cleansed before it is passed down to the next wielder is so that the actions-good or bad-of the previous wielders have no effect on you, the current wielder. And that's what should have happened when I was nulled within Scar."

"Nulled?" Nakala asked in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"When you are nulled it means that the gift of the Roar has been denied to you. I nulled my power from Scar when he used it to kill his own fellow Guard members. But when Scar was nulled he was still in his prime and had many more years within himself. I should have seen what was coming and stopped it but it seemed so unlikely... Even though his powers were taken away I was not able to move on to someone else as Scar was still alive and well. So within him I laid dormant. But spending all those years surrounded by the intense darkness caused something to go wrong. When Scar met his end and I was ready to move on I noticed something wrong with myself when I had awoken. A part of me was different from the rest of me. It carried that same dark feeling that was within Scar. It seemed that being surrounded by it for so long caused me to 'absorb' that darkness in a sense. But before I move on to you, Nakala, I purged that part of me and left it within Scar where I was sure it would rot away along with him... But it seems like that part was going to come back to me sooner or later.."

Nakala thought about what Mzeli was telling him and gasped at the realization. When Scar spoke to him and eventually gave the 'part' of the Roar he still had back to Nakala.

"So that part of the Roar Scar had was all the bad stuff?" Nakala asked with concern.

"Yes and now that it is returned to the rest of the Roar it is slowly corrupting it-me with it's wickedness. That's why I am beginning to look like this," Mzeli groaned, looking down at his paws endlessly dripping with blood. "And soon the corruption will grow, spread and you will become powerless to control the evil urges."

Nakala listened to every word the ancient lion was telling him and thought for a moment. "No it won't... I won't let it! I don't know how but somehow, someway I'm sure that I can find a way to stop it. I mean the whole Roar is with me now so maybe I can somehow undo all the bad that got into it."

Mzeli chuckled again but frowned at the lion. "This is why I like you, Nakala. You fight for a cause I only can find worthy. But please, keep my words and warning in mind..."