Upheaval

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken. It was handed down from generation to generation since time immemorial. Whatever the circumstances, we stand together and we stand free. But today I made a choice. One that will forever alter the fate of my family and a choice that will be synonymous with my name for the rest of time. Tomorrow, for the first time in as far as any of us can remember, the leader of the Pride will decline the Blood Oath.

Would my father and grandfather understand my decision? In my heart of hearts I know the answer and that slowly gnaws at me. But they could not have known how bad it would get. And surely anything is worth the price of the existence of our tribe, even an alliance with the Two-Feet. I say alliance, but an alliance is one between equals and as hard as it is to admit, we are no match for the Two-Feet. And therein lies the heart of the matter.

The Blood Oath ceremony actually predates the Two-Feet. I’ve heard stories passed down about how it was originally a celebration of the strength of our Pride - a joyous occasion that happened every year at the Solstice. The words of the Oath were ones of love and courage and hope, the yearly promise of our leader to ensure the continued prosperity of our tribe. But like with everything else, the Two-Feet have poisoned this as well.

For centuries, the Two-Feet were never a threat. Our Pride was stronger than anything under the Sun. At the start, they never invaded our lands and we lived almost in isolation from them. Even with their magic, we held strong. We could not have known that they would multiply more than rabbits. Maybe if we had we would have stamped them out aeons ago and things would be so different now. But that is not in our nature. There is no honour in senseless killing. Now they refuse to leave us in peace. They defile the rivers and ponds, they burn the plants and trees. No one is safe from them, not even the young ones. They lay traps and if you are caught by them, you are never seen again. As their power waxed we had to fight together or we would have been destroyed. And slowly the Blood Oath began to reflect this, it became a yearly manifestation of hate against the Two-Feet with words of anger and loathing. I was born into this hate.

I do not pretend to be above this hate. Just the thought of them makes my blood boil. Countless members of our Pride have been lost over the years to the Two-Feet and I remember each and every one of them. But they are an enemy we cannot hope to defeat and my priority is to preserve our bloodline and all that our ancestors have worked for. There is no difference between a sacrificial lamb or a mighty lion to them, their magic and their numbers make them invulnerable.

But something has changed off late. Maybe because their packs have become too large but the Two-Feet do not seem as united as before. It began during my Father’s time. My brother, Ibhadi, had been badly wounded by a tiger and a group of Two-Feet happened upon him before we could get to him. Ibhadi might have been blinded by the pain, but he swears that they applied some of their magic oil on his wounds and drove away the tiger. Some among us labelled him delirious, others labelled it a one-off miracle but I found it very curious. That group of Two-Feet all wore white hats and I have since tried to keep an eye on them. The Hatters always seemed at odds with other Two-Feet and once or twice I have seen them leaving out food and taking care of other wounded animals. In my Father’s time they tried to make some advances at our Pride to move us but the mistrust was too high.

As the greenlands became more barren, the Hatters have tried to relocate us multiple times in many different ways. But this has always been our land so there was no chance of my Father accepting anything from them. 

The past few years have been hard. The rainy season doesn’t last as long here so the deer, zebra and other prey have started moving farther and farther away. The days are hotter, the rivers are drying up. I have seen the Pride dwindle before my own eyes. The way I see it, our days in these greenlands are numbered. The Hatters have persisted year on year.

This is my first year as Pride Leader. My family needs some hope, they need some change. That is what has driven me to my decision. 

Tomorrow, at Solstice, I will refuse the Oath and put forth my idea that we join forces with the Hatters. I do not know how this will be received but my mind is made up. I expect to be challenged but a true leader never shies from a challenge. As long as this is my Pride, this is my decision. I am aware that I am breaking centuries of tradition and I do not take this step lightly but the price of inaction is too high. 

Hate has paralysed us in our ways but I will no longer let it rule our decisions. The Hatters have taken our side against the other Two-Feet in times past so it is my leap of faith that they will do so again.

I do not claim to know how this will end. As my grandfather and father before me, I will accept the consequences of my actions and I know that this decision will be what I am known for. I do not know how our children and their children will remember me. Hopefully some of them at least will understand. I hope that they will at least know that it was not a decision made by a craven, but by a lion willing to adapt in a world where we are no longer the kings. We live in a world where we must work together to survive and it is my pledge for tomorrow to be our first step in this brave new world.