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Baraduma
Firebrand
Baraduma History
No one actually knows how the Baraduma came to be. It was perhaps an area, over time, that cheetahs came together to find mates and bear young. However, that is only speculation.
From known history, pasted from cheetah to cheetah, the Baraduma did exist during King Mufasa's reign over the pridelands. Cheetahs lived within the serene landscape, rarely ever having problems with outsiders. However, that was /Mufasa/ reign. When Mufasa's tragic death came, Scar's quake of destruction took not only the pridelands, but the Baraduma as well.
The Baraduma became barren to both life and animal. The herds that pasted were over hunted by the hyenas and lionesses, all with a lift of Scar's paw. Other herds simply went elsewhere, the scent of death warding off any sane minded animal.
The cheetahs had to move on, or face a similar fate at Scar's paw. Throughout Scar's reign, no cheetah was ever seen in the Baraduma or pridelands. Rogues would be seen on the borders, but even they didn't dare cross over.
Yet when Scar finally met his own demise, the old Circle of Life began again. The grasses grew green, the water poured blue. The sun shined high, and the herds returned. And with the herds came the cheetahs.
Few in number, but they had still returned. With the coming of the first rains, new sunrunners appeared. Just a few, but enough. Some from neighboring lands, others from far off places. They all looked for refuge from the rains, and some a place to live.
Throughout the rainy season, rogues came and went from the Baraduma. Some stayed and some left. Those that stay had created a special bond, with one another and the lands. When threats arose they banded together, to save their young and themselves. Alone they could protect nothing, but together they /became/ something.
When the lions threatened their borders and jackals picked at their young, running no longer became an option. There and then, the Coalition was born. Cheetahs pledged loyalty to the coalition, to defend the whole. Under the the guidance of Timra(The first Incosi), the cheetahs began to play a very diplomatic role in the society the pridelands had become.
When rogue lionesses posed a threat to cheetah society and that of the leopards, an alliance was made. The alliance served it's purpose, but would soon turn sour when threats were directed at Syrira, the coalition's #2. The alliance was over, but not without minor rivalries between individuals on either side.
In the spring, a new threat arose; Firebrand. It had always been there, but only recently had they not kept to themselves. They challenged the borders of the pridelands, and often crept past the Baraduma's borderlands. This situation was outrageous to the cheetahs. Was their no justice? Would Simba protect his land and the interests of its residents? Apparently not.
The single borderland was patrolled at all times. Cubs had only recently be born, and could not yet be moved. Then a deal was struck. . . Timra had formed an alliance with Firebrand. All cheetahs loyal to the coalition were asked to move immediately to Mwenge.
His #2, Syrira, protested against these actions. Firebrand had recently posed a threat. .killed Timra's family in the early on. . and he wanted to return? Many questioned his judgment, but so many others said nothing. They were running away from their problems, they were running away from the Baraduma.
For a short season the cheetahs lived in Mwenge, under the proposed protection of the Firebrand pride. However, things were never quite right. Some went on their merry little way, while others remained cautious and unsettled.
During the time of the Cheetah stayed, war was brewing on the pride borderlands. The pridelands and Mwenge were to go at it. .But neither side would win. Mwenge and Pride Rock were losing it's followers to the rumored promised land. Mwenge has lost it's heirs and gained an enemy, the rogues of the promise land.
Once the cheetahs learned of the news, they left. Without a word into the night. The cubs went first and then everybody. Back to the Baraduma. Timra called off the alliance, taking with him a newly found mate and sister. Mwenge would be left with nothing.
Mwenge had planned to use the cheetahs as shields against the incoming prides that would rise against them. However they're plans would change. The rogues of the promised land rose against the pride, lead by their own blood. Many would perish, but no cheetah would die in the land of Firebrand.
All had returned to the Baraduma, plus a few new arrivals who had joined them from Mwenge. The Baraduma had been left alone the entire time, leaving old dens and herds just as they were. Whatever problems they had left before would be resolved, and a new beginning would arise.
Within the Baraduma the cubs of Timra and Akanke, Syrira and Koma, Azali'penda and Corvus, and Ngurumo and Kimba would grow up together. Fall in love and cause trouble as all children do.
Now, all the cubs have grown up and even some have paired off. However things are not as they were. The times have changed. . . Corvus murdered Kasi for his pledge of love to another. Azali'penda has left the Baraduma for the horizon. Timra has disappeared, for unknown reasons. Many of the old coalition have faded away.
Timra's daughter Layla, tries again to bring back the Coalition when rogues stalk the borderlands and hyenas get too close. Yet too few remember the Coalition. Only fogged memories lie in the minds of the young, when elders such as Syrira and Koma remind them of past times.
As the rains come to a close and new generations spread their wings, an old threat hangs on the horizon. Firebrand is back. Everybody has heard the rumors. .There is no food in Mwenge. The herds have moved on. They want to hunt in the pridelands. .they must pass through the Baraduma.
It is here that the Baraduma continues it's saga. . .
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