The Pridelanders – Second largest of all the prides, they live in the most fertile part of the savannah which was named for them, the Pridelands. The pride was created from several warring prides united under the first king, Mohatu, who was renowned for his wise leadership and willingness to seek allies with neighbouring prides (particularly the Kilima or Mountain Pride which is mate Zuwena hailed from). The Pridelands has seen some bloody conflict within its ranks but since the war with its sister pride, a small band who called themselves ‘Outlanders’, ended the pride has enjoyed a time of peace and has prospered.
Pridelander lions are some of the most diverse in fur and mane colour (second only to the Oasis Pride) although many range from tawny to golden in colour. They are also some of the most heavily built of all the prides.
Current Ruler: King Simba (and his mate, Queen Nala)
Heir to the throne: Prince Tanabi and Princess Kiara (and their mates, Princess Amara and Prince Kovu, respectively)
Kilima Pride – A small pride hailing from the mountainous region to the north of the Pridelands. Lions from this pride are renowned for their resilience, excellent skills at climbing and ambush hunting and their open friendliness to other prides. The pride has always been small in number and their ruler is elected by the whole pride at a meeting called after the death of the previous ruler, most often it is a close family member or sometimes the mate of that ruler but sometimes it is a pride member who has shown particular bravery or leadership qualities.
The Kilima Pride's members tend to have orangish fur (which marks them as descendants of the Nyasi Pride) but unlike their ancestors, they have developed a unique trait of having a tuft of fur on the end of their ears. They tend towards smaller builds from many other lions but they are not as skinny as lions found in desert areas.
Current Ruler: King Malka (and his mate, Queen Baka)
Heir to the throne: Yet to be decided
Nyasi Pride – Thought to be the oldest pride of this area from which both the Pridelanders and Kilima Pride descent.They live in a large savannah past the mountains that the Kilima Pride have claimed for their own and are the largest pride of all (due to the fact that the pride includes several smaller ones scattered throughout the territory who fall under the Nyasi Pride's protection). This pride is bound by tradition which goes back many generations and all it's members are bound by strict protocol, it is very rare for a pride member to rise above the station they were born into. Rogue-born cubs are killed when they are born and sometimes the mother is too which has earned them the scorn of many neighbouring prides. To date, the only tradition they have dropped is the killing of cubs abandoned on the plains.
Members of the Nyasi Pride have golden orange fur with either brown or red manes. Those born higher up in the prides ranks tend to be more solidly built than those lower down due to the military-esque training they are allowed to receive.
Current Ruler: King Makwetu (and his mate, Queen Njoki)
Heir to the throne: Prince Dulani (and his maye, Princess Kifaa)
Oasis Pride – A matriarchal pride which consists solely of lionesses and their cubs. The pride is ruled by a queen who trains her eldest daughter to take her place. Young males are forced to leave when their manes have grown, no one is quite sure why as the customs of this pride are shrouded in mystery. Young females, however, must go on a rite of passage where they are symbolically ‘cast out’ of the pride and can only return when they bring back something of value that will aid the pride’s survival (usually new sources of food or water for the pride but some forms of knowledge are also accepted).
The Oasis Pride is one of the most diverse prides in terms of coat colour as all cubs born within the pride are fathered by rogues, most coats vary from dark brown to tawny to golden yellow. They are also much thinner built than many other lions due to the desert which surrounds their home and limits the prey they eat.
Current Ruler: Queen Chaniya
Heir to the throne: Princess Bahati
Mzuka Pride - The Mzuka Pride are a small pride which live on the extreme edge of the Nyasi Pride territory and border a jungle. This pride is known for being repeatedly taken over by rogue males who then breed with the females before being ousted again by new males. The pride has come to accept practises of one male having many mates or two males ruling side-by-side. This pride is known for its adaptability but is more renowned for the pale coats of its members which earned the pride it's name due to the fact that many believe that the first female of the pride mated with the ghost of her dead lover to produce a cub with fur the colour of moonlight.
The members of this pride tend to have very pale silver or very light brown fur although completely white fur is a rarity. As this pride is so close to the Nyasi Pride, many of its members share similar builds to the lions they neighbour although few shown the solid build of the higher ranks of their neighbours since, even though they are so close to each other, there is very little interaction between them.
Current Ruler: Chumvi and Tojo
Heir to the throne: Unknown
Bahari Pride - This pride lives by the sea in an area far west of the pride lands. Lions from this pride are known for their skill at swimming and for the fact that they eat fish rather than hunt game like other prides and they have earned the insult of 'sand dweller'. The pride temporarily left their land when their king was killed in a bloody attack by their old enemies, the Jabali Pride. Lead by Queen Neema, the pride joined with the Pridelanders due to Neema being the sister of the then king, Mufasa, and the fact that Queen Sarabi also hailed from that pride. They have returned to their lands now, resuming their old ways of life, and have forged a tentitive peace with their neighbours.
Members of this pride have brown or sandy coloured fur which helps them blend into the sand dunes of their home and they are also thought to be the pride from which the trait of ear rims originated. The members are very muscular which is the result of the long hours they spend swimming in the ocean.
Current Ruler: King Kamaji (and his mate, Queen Adla)
Heir to the throne: No heirs born as of yet
Jabali Pride - This pride neighbours the Bahari Pride to the north, living on the rocky cliffs of the coast. This pride is known for their violent nature and unpredictable tempers due to a large amount of inbreeding within the pride, the pride themselves believe that the only way to prove one's worth is by testing themselves in bloody battle. The Jabali Pride has had several bloody conflicts with their neighbours, the Bahari pride, most notably the one which caused the Bahari Pride to temporarily leave their lands. A ritual exists where the current ruler must steal his mate from another pride as a way of bringing fresh genes into the pride and it also helps prove that the ruler is strong enough to subdue their mate (in many cases, if the mate does not want to stay of her own free will, she is allowed to leave once she has bourne her first cub).
Members of this pride have darker furs than most other prides, usually dark grey and very rarely is an individual black furred. Members of this pride tend to have scars from fighting due to their warrior mindset, it is rare to see a member without a single scar to their name.
Current Ruler: King Manzi (and his mate, Queen Midwa)
Heir to the throne: Princess Tendai
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