Prologue: Tragic Beginnings

The people of an African tribe were running around in a panic! A young, dark lion had snuck into the village and started attacking their home and the people. The women of the village were running and screaming in fright, trying to protect their babies, while the village men were pointing torches and spears, doing everything they could to scare the lion away.

While this was going on, a little girl was watching on. She was an African little girl with purple eyes, long curly black hair and was wearing a small yellow dress. She looked on in the crowd and noticed that she had dropped her small stuffed lion doll just a few feet away from them. Wanting to get her doll back, she quickly ran over to go get it. However, as she picked up her doll, she turned to see the lion roar and come charging at her. The little girl screamed in terror as the lion jumped out, ready to go in for the kill.

Luckily however, the lion was knocked away by her father and the village chief, Jaffe. He knocked the vicious lion away with a Bakora staff, standing protectively in front of his daughter. Suddenly, his wife, Topanga came running over to them and shouted while taking their child in her arms,

"Jaffe!"

Jaffe ordered her, "Go! Take Shani and run into the house! Now!"

Following his order, Topanga ran, carrying Shani in her arms as she ran into their house, shutting the door tight and blocking it with a huge block of wood.

Jaffe turned his attention back to the lion as he started to get up. He grabbed a spear from behind his back and slashed at the lion's left eye, leaving a bloody scar and angering the vicious animal. He then shouted as the other village came to join him,

"Come on, YOU!"

The lion then grabbed the stick with his teeth, throwing it away and pouncing at the village chief. Topanga watched through a window in horror as she saw her husband being killed by the lion and screamed,

"JAFFE!"

Little Shani tugged at her mother's dress and asked with worry, "What's wrong with Daddy?"

Suddenly, the lion started attacking the villagers. He knocked one of their torches out of their and it fell towards one of the village houses, starting a huge fire. Taking quick action, Topanga took her daughter by the hand and walked further down the house,

"Shani, follow me. Quickly!"

The fire started spreading, and the villagers started fleeing their home. The lion however, looked over to the burning house that Topanga had ran into. Making a roar, the lion started making his way towards the house and started using his claws to slash through the door.

Meanwhile, Topanga and Shani had ran over to the wall with a blanket hanging over it, that remained behind the table. Topanga said as she lifted up the blanket, showing a small passage way within the wall,

"This is a passage way. Use it to crawl out of the house, and leave the village."

Shani asked, "Aren't you coming with me, Mommy?"

Topanga answered with a sad expression,

"I can't. I'm gonna hold off the lion for as long as I can, and the hole's not big enough for me to crawl through. You must go alone."

Shani said as she started to cry, "No! I don't want to go without you! Don't make me go, Mommy!"

Topanga pulled her child into a comforting embrace and said, placing a hand onto her cheek,

"Shani, you are a brave, tough, and kind young girl. You are capable of doing many great things, and someday, these people will look to you as their leader."

She then took off her blue and stone necklace and placed it around Shani's neck, saying,

"Here, take my necklace. This necklace holds a great ability to communicate with animals, they will help you along your journey. And no matter what happens or where life takes you, your father and I will always be with you. You will find your purpose in the circle of life, my darling."

Shani immediately wrapped her arms around her mother in a tight embrace, saying,

"I love you, Mommy."

Topanga said, returning the hug, "I love you too, Shani."

After a moment of their loving embrace, they noticed the vicious lion clawing his way through the door. With quick instincts, Topanga shouted as she pushed her daughter through the small passage,

"Now go! GO!"

And with that, Shani made her way out of the small house and took off running. As she ran through the tall grass and further from the village, she heard a huge scream and loud roars coming from her house and she turned back, screaming out in terror,

"MOMMY!"

She watched as her village, her home, was destroyed in the flames of the fire. The little girl then broke down in tears. She had lost her family, her village, everything. She was completely alone.

As she continued to cry alone, suddenly, she heard shuffling in the tall grass and saw something moving. With a small gasp, she quickly hid behind one of the trees. It kept getting closer and closer, and once it reached the end of the grass, out popped a mandrill. The young girl looked on with fear and curiosity as the mandrill walked closer.

As the creature came closer and closer, she noticed that it was holding a long stick. It was her father's Bakora! She said as she peered out,

"That's my father's stick!"

The mandrill then held the Bakora out for her to take, but Shani said rejecting the offer,

"No, I can't take it. My Daddy said I'm not suppose to have it until I'm old enough to-"

She paused for a moment and said with a sad sigh,

"It doesn't matter anyway. I lost my village, I lost my Mommy and Daddy. I lost everything!"

And Shani continued to cry once more. But suddenly, she heard the mandrill say in an old masculine voice say,

"Oh? Well I wouldn't say that, little one. You're parents aren't gone. For you see, they live in you."

Shani asked with confusion, trying to face him, "Huh?"

But suddenly, the mandrill was gone! The young girl kept looking around but the creature was out of sight. But soon however, she heard more rustling in the tall grass. She hid behind the tree once more to see two African officers come running towards her. One of them shouts,

"Hello! Excuse me!"

Little Shani gasps and hides further behind the tree. The second officer says to try to calm her,

"Oh, no! No! No! It's okay, little one. Come, we won't hurt you."

A little hesitant, Shani walks out from behind the tree to face the two officers. One of them bends down to her level and asks,

"Sweetheart, are you all alone?"

Shani answers with a nod, "Yes."

The other asks, "Where are your mother and father?"

Shani answers with tears falling from her eyes, "They're gone. A-A lion came, a-and killed them!"

The first officer said to try to calm her down, "There, there, there. Now, I'm really sorry about what happened to your family."

The second officer asked, "Do you have any other family members that can look after you?"

Shani answered, "Well, I have an auntie that lives in another village."

The officers nodded in response, and the first one asks, "What is your name?"

The young girl answered shyly,

"I-I am, Shani."