Post by Kieran on Jul 3, 2020 12:40:17 GMT 2
The Lion Guard in question is not the one from the tv series.
That tv series doesn't apply in any way.
This history is my vision and head canon.
Mufasa's parents, Jasiri and Shani, had an arranged marriage as usual. They weren't as lucky as some, as they never fell in love. Only some infatuation was noticeable, but because they were otherwise very close with each other as friends, the marriage did not feel too forced or impossible. They could have broken the tradition and abolished that law, but were not radical enough to make such a shocking change.
Nonetheless they loved both their sons with all of their hearts. Mufasa was their first-born, born as the only cub. They arranged him to marry the youngest daughter of a close family friend, so Mufasa grew up with Sarabi from infancy. But they remained unaware of their parents' plans until teenage years, so their relationship was able to grow and develop without overhanging knowledge that they have no choice in their love lives. Upon learning about it in their mid-teens they had actually fallen in love by then. Prior to Sarabi, Mufasa had a couple of other girlfriends until he realized that Sarabi was the one for him. His father didn't discourage those relationships as he was fairly certain at that age such relationships wouldn't last long. Sarabi had had a crush on Mufasa for much longer, and thus one of the happiest days of her life was the day Mufasa looked at her that way. Upon learning about it Mufasa could relate to her, as one of his first crushes was a young female from another pride who occasionally visited Pride Lands. She was several months older than he and thus did not return his feelings.
Mufasa was rambunctious and mischievous as a young child, but around his tweens in serious situations he turned out to show responsible nature and to be rather mature for his age. When Mufasa was just over one year old, during a sunset his little brother was born. Mufasa quickly became a proud and protective older brother. One of the dearest memories for Mufasa is his brother's presentation ceremony a couple of weeks later. He was so happy to have a brother to play with and protect. The baby was named Jabali.
Mufasa's training as a ruler began to intensify just around his brother's birth, keeping him and their father rather busy. Also the initially large difference in age/maturity affected the brotherly bond, they did not grow to be as close as Mufasa had hoped they would. Mufasa couldn't help looking at his brother specifically as a kid brother no matter how old they got, and often behaved perhaps a bit too much like a big brother than simply a brother.
Jasiri as a parent was to Mufasa a lot like Mufasa turned out to Simba, but Jasiri didn't really know what to do with his youngest son who seemed to be the polar opposite of his brother. He loved both his boys equally and tried his best to remind them of the importance of a close brotherly bond and encourage them to stick together in troubled times.
Jasiri and Mufasa tried to teach also Jabali some of the most essential aspects of being a good king, but Mufasa noted that little brother never really cared much despite of clearly being jealous of his position as the first in line to the throne. Mufasa who would have done almost anything for his brother's happiness, suggested to their father that perhaps if he let Jabali become the king instead he might be more eager to learn too. But it wasn't up to Mufasa, so he remained the first future king.
Already at age one (that is age 9+ in human terms) Mufasa would often rather hang out with the shaman mandrill, Rafiki, learning about his practices and life stories, than play with the other cubs. But his friendship with this family friend began to form more during his teenage years. As the young prince grew older their friendship deepened until eventually Rafiki became one of his closest, if not even the closest, and dearest friends.
When Jabali was six months old, (5-6 yrs. in human terms) and Mufasan 1,5 years old (13 yrs. old in human terms), their family was broken by their mother's death. It was one of the rare days when the brother were genuinely having a good time together, far from home as the first heavy rain clouds of October approach in the horizon. Shani left to look for them, to get them home before the weather turned dangerous. On their way home they came across two large male lions from outlands, who wanted to overthrow the kingdom but in these happy times had managed to convince the Guard that they were simply on a friendly visit from another kingdom. They thought they could easily beat one female, one young teenager and one tiny little cub. Even though Mufasa was remarkably large for his age. Shani ordered Mufasa to take Jabali to safety and get help, but Mufasa refused to leave his mother alone in such danger.
They weren't very far from home, so Mufasa pushed his little brother to run there and send help whilst he and mother dealt with the intruders. Before Jasiri, the Lion Guard, and several other pride members arrived Shani had already lost her life. Mufasa might have too, despite of his strength increasing further with the rage caused by witnessing her mother's murder and from failing to protect her. After all, it was still two adult males larger than him and much more experienced in battle. But the pride made it in time to save him, and after a long chase the Guard managed to catch and kill the intruders. This was the first and so far only time when a king did not hold a trial for a serious crime but the offenders were simply executed on sight. He saw no need for one as there had been so many witnesses to the situation.
Death of the beloved queen shook the whole kingdom, and was especially hard for Mufasa who blamed himself. The grieving process and support of his father and friends helped him leave such thoughts behind. But even this common loss didn't help the brother's relationship but on the contrary made them grow even more apart. A couple of years passed without further high drama, though the Guard was instructed to never let two visiting male predators out of their sight until proven friendly.
The most notable thing that happened in the royal family during those years was when Jabali was almost two years old (nearly 12 yrs. old in human terms) and fought a rogue lion around his own age. The lion was not only hunting for sport but also attempting to hurt a little lion cub who had got lost. The lion escaped, Jabali received a permanent scar over his left eye and had successfully saved the cub. This first and foremost in an attempt to show their father that he could be in the Lion Guard already at that age, but Jasiri disagreed. Though Jasiri acknowledge his youngest son's heroic deed, and praised him for it, he didn't see it proving anything like that. The boy was still far too small, and far too power-hungry. Disappointed, Jabali insisted that everyone at least call him Scar from that day on, so that no one would ever forget what he did. That their father thought reasonable and made sure everyone knew about it.
Jasiri had a birth-defect in his heart that began to cause trouble at an older age. He wanted to make sure he'd see and be a part of at least one of his son's weddings and be able to further mentor his eldest at the start of his rule. So shortly after Mufasa's fourth birthday (19 yrs. old in human terms) Jasiri handed down the crown, and shortly after that Mufasa and Sarabi were married. One year later, Jasiri suffered a heart-attack and passed away during the night, surrounded by his family.
Mufasa mourned his father whilst doing his best to make his legacy a great one. Though a great success as a ruler and husband, Mufasa had to sadly watch as his little brother turned away from the pride more and more. Despite of him trying to mend their bond, to hold on to his last remaining blood family, Scar never ate with him at meal times, spent very little time among the pride and chose solitude somewhere on Pride Rock, and eventually began to increasingly socialize with the hyenas of the Elephant Graveyard. The latter didn't concern Mufasa as he reckoned Scar simply related to the outcast to some degree, and at least there was one pride member keeping a close eye on the hyenas. When Scar finally reached his fourth birthday and Mufasa offered him a position in the Lion Guard, it was no longer good enough for him unless it was that of the leader. But Mufasa didn't see his brother fit for that role as Scar was too selfish and power-hungry.
Years passed, eventually Mufasa gave up and let him be jealous and stubborn all he wanted, but prayed that the Great Spirit would someday bring something or someone in Scar's life that would give him a new dream, to make him happy. Because he was planning to finally start a family with Sarabi, and with that he knew he was crushing any chance Scar had to ever be king.
As Simba grew from an infant to a little child Mufasa noticed he was a lot like Scar when it came to being a king, but he doesn't worry much as he's also noted that unlike Scar, Simba still looks up to him and thus has hope. For that reason he let Simba spend unlimited time with his uncle, as there was no danger of too much bad influence.
Mufasa happened to be nearby the evening Simba and Nala ran off to the Elephant Graveyard and thus was able to get to them so fast when Zazu flew away to get help. At home the incident was talked about only with the family's closest friends, as no one else really needed to know. Mufasa believed Simba had learned his lesson and that he'd been honest about his motive, and so would never go there again.
Two days later Simba was in life threatening danger again, this time not his own doing at all. In the beginning of our timeline Mufasa saves both Simba and himself from the wildebeest stampede. Mufasa pushed Simba to climb up a staircase-like path to safety after carefully placing the boy on a ledge, and then pulled himself up to follow him. He detected hyena scent in the air which he found as odd as the fact that the herd was on the move in the first place. After asking Simba what he'd been doing in the canyon all alone, the answer prompted another question; had Scar told him about the Elephant Graveyard?
It became apparent that Scar, his own brother, wanted Simba dead. This was a deep shock for family-centered Mufasa who loved his brother, and it took him until the next day to truly process it. Mufasa stayed in his family's private cave and kept his wife and son there too all night. He recalled Scar's attitude and words the day of Simba's presentation ceremony, and realized that little brother indeed wasn't challenging him but made a threat on Simba's life. Still, a part of him refused to believe such a terrible thing.
At sunrise Mufasa told his family to stay in whilst he visited the Elephant Graveyard with several lion members of the Lion Guard. There Mufasa very easily gained the information he was looking for, as most trembled even from the mention of king Mufasa's name not to mention his presence whilst those who otherwise might have dared to try attack chose not to upon seeing that the king hadn't come alone.
With heavy heart, having learned the truth beyond any doubt, Mufasa returned to Pride Rock and on the way ordered a few members of the Lion Guard, some birds, to gather animals from all the species in the kingdom to witness a trial for a crime. That it would take place at noon. He didn't disclose to the birds who or what it was for, so that Scar wouldn't hear about it and escape. He assumed Scar would stay clear of hyenas that day and stick with the family to avoid any suspicion. The only ones who knew before the trial started, apart from the hyenas, were Rafiki, Sarabi, Zazu and one other lioness from the pride whom Mufasa asked to stay at Pride Rock and talk about it only in their family's private cave if they had to.
A couple of hours after sunrise, Sarabi and Mufasa had arranged that lioness to babysit Simba whom they felt was too young to be present in such a trial. At noon, a large number of his subjects had arrived at Pride Rock wondering what had happened. Mufasa brought Scar to a lower ledge of the Pride Rock where all the trials were held.
Scar did not confess. But with Mufasa letting him tell his side of the stroy, the Lion Guard's lion members as witnesses to the hyenas' confessions, and Mufasa repeating Simba's words and what happened the day of the presentation ceremony (to which Zazu had been a witness, plus Zazu told about how Scar had knocked him unconscious when he tried to go get help during the stampede), it was generally considered a fair trial and Mufasa's decision of Scar's guilt was accepted.
Mufasa sentenced Scar to life long exile under bane of death. The king's being and voice were determined and strong, but his eyes showed deep sorrow as he spoke those words and watched his little brother walk out of their childhood home and out of his life. The king moved up to the ceremony ledge so that he could see Scar for as long as possible, and stood/sat there for hours after he was gone. He didn't allow even Sarabi or Rafiki to stay by his side, he wanted to be alone.
Just before sunset every single member of the Lion Guard, from birds and voles to lions and whatever, were gathered at Pride Rock. The king ordered everyone of them from then on to prioritise keeping an eye on Simba whenever the boy is outside without him of Sarabi, and report to him immediately if Simba's life seemed to be in danger. They should always give Simba space and relative freedom to live as normally as possible, but always have at least three Guard lions near enough to protect him if something happened. It was now of the utmost importance and the Guard's absolute number one task to ensure no one dangerous gets close to Simba. Because it was now entirely possible that Scar had allies other than hyenas, too.
Keeping an eye out for Scar or hyenas in the kingdom and their doings, as well as to help animals in need, is the Guard's secondary task though somewhat tieing in with the first. Normal everyday peace keeping and law enforcement duties must come as third importance. Every time they'd let Simba go out Mufasa would assign three Guard lions to stick near the boy, as well as a bird or two, until he returned home. This is the way it would be until either Scar was found dead and no further threat to the throne was detected or until Simba was old enough and strong enough to defend himself.
But the very first thing most of the largest members of the Guard and some of the birds were assigned to do was to track down every single hyena and tell them they were no longer allowed to occupy even the Elephant Graveyard. That they were to leave Pride Lands immediately and never return, this exile applying to all current and future family members of theirs. That all of them have been found guilty of the attempted murder of prince Simba and conspiracy to take over the throne, either by literal attempt or by association. And thus, by order of king Mufasa, they have all been exiled under bane of death along with Scar. By sunrise the next day the Lion Guard had managed to drive out most of the hyenas. Within a few days all of them were gone. The king claimed the Elephant Graveyard as part of his kingdom, but it remains off limits for all cubs because it's still a very dangerous location.
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When I watch the movie I often find myself wishing Mufasa could do that during the stampede. And I feel like Scar should have at least some honour to his name rather than it being a mean nickname. I have founded a play-by-post forum rpg based on this where I write Mufasa, Sarabi and Simba. If you're interested, there's an ad for and link to it on the forum's side here.