Name: Jalali (meaning 'almighty')

Parents: Sokoro and Naima

Siblings: Cersei, Gethii and Midwa

Mate: None

Cubs: None

Pride of Origin: Zurura

Personality: Jalali is a lion of contridictions. He can be arrogant, hard-headed and blind to the depths of his family's ruthlessness. However, he is also smart, resourceful and protective of those he loves. Despite his anger at his father, he does believe that he can get himself out of trouble on Sokoro's reputation alone...which sometimes goes badly for him when he underestimates his opponents. Jalali is also a very talented warrior, definitely one of the best.

History: Jalali was the eldest cub in his litter and the first son born to Sokoro and Naima. Unfortunately, his birth and that of his two siblings, Gethii and Midwa, resulted in Naima's death. Whilst his father was never the warmest lion when their mother had been alive, all the warmth left Sokoro that day. His father often singled out Gethii (the youngest, smallest and most deformed of all the cubs) as the cause of Naima's death and took his anger out frequently on him. Jalali loved his brother and wanted to protect him from their father but was too afraid to do so, so he kept silent.

Jalali, as the eldest male, was Sokoro's hope to see his legacy continue. Jalali was trained from a young age to be both a highly skilled warrior and a future leader for the Zurura Pride in their vendetta against the Nyasi Pride.This lead to his great distaste for politics and anything to with leading. He wanted to be a warrior, it was clear to him that Gethii should be the leader not him...or even Cersei would have sufficed. He was closer to her than Midwa or Gethii but sometimes what he saw in her scared him.

Then when he was a teenager, his sister Midwa was abducted from their pride. Jalali wanted to immediaely go and rescue his little sister but Sokoro refused to let him go. He was too valuable, as Sokoro's heir, and he was likely to get killed in the attempt to rescue her. That was it for Jalali, from then on he hated his father  for his indifference and, just to spite him, Jalali went anyway angering Cersei in the process. He searched days and nights for Midwa but he lost her trail as soon as he neared Bahari Pride territory. He had to abandon his search and returned to the Zurura Pride empty-handed and to the wrath of his father and anger of his only remaining sister.

It wan't long after Midwa's disappearance that the Zurura Pride finally made their move on the Nyasi Pride. Jalali wasn't stupid and he knew that most of the pride would be killed if all-out war was what Sokoro had in mind. Therefore, Jalali was very surprised when Sokoro accepted peaceful terms in return for the lands their pride had lost so long ago. Jalali was very suspicious of his father's motives and questioned his judgement to his face. 

Cersei was given to the son of one of the Nyasi Pride's Generals, a lion named Olushola, and Jalali hated him almost immediately. The only good thing to come out of Cersei's marriage was his two nephews, Gero and Udo, and niece, Mwanga...although Gero's behaviour did put Jalali very on edge. He resolved to keep a very close eye on him and Gethii was quick to agree with him.

Another turning point came when his long-lost niece Tendai turned up unexpectedly looking for aid for her own pride. Jalali was amazed that not only had Midwa survived her abduction but had also birthed cubs and wanted to stay with her captors. He was curious as to his sister's actions but seeing Tendai made him think that maybe his sister could be truly happy and he shouldn't pry too much. He declined to go to the Jabali Pride with her and instead only passed along his wishes to Midwa.

With Cersei gone, and only after their departure did Jalali know of Cersei's plans or he would have put a stop to them, Sokoro became more obsessed with his plans to take the Nyasi Pride down from the inside. It was all Jalali could do to shield Udo from Sokoro and pray that his father didn't seek to corrupt his nephew. Jalali was almost afraid to turn to Gethii because he wasn't sure whether his cunning brother was with their father or against him.

Unable to cope any longer, Jalali entrusted Udo's safety to Gethii before departing the Nyasi Pride. He had wanted no part in his father's plans as a teenager and he was going to be rid of him once and for all. He became a wanderer from then on.

Later, he came across a young lioness by the name of Shani who was seeking the lion who had raised her. She wanted to find him so she could learn of her birth family and by pure chance did their paths cross. Impressed by his skills as a warrior, Shani asked him to accompany her on her search and, with no reason not to, Jalali agreed.

Relation to TLK: Companion of Shani, the daughter of Mufasa and Sarabi