As the story opens, the Pridelands is celebrating the birth of two Princes. King Ahadi and Queen May'ii proudly introduce their sons - Mufasa and Taka. At this time, both are of equal status, such that one will earn the right to become King.

As the cubs grow, their differences become clear. Taka, the dark furred lion, takes after his mother, inheriting her fierce intelligence, but he clearly has Ahadi's temper. Mufasa adopts more of his father's strength, but is more quiet and tolerant.

But all is not well. May'ii despises Ahadi, feeling as though she was forced into a marriage with someone far beneath her intelligence. Ahadi is too blinded by his own love to see her hate, and May'ii generally keeps it to herself. The one light in her life has just illuminated - Taka, her baby, her King, and she dotes on him and gives him constant praise and reward, nearly to the point of ignoring Mufasa, who is too much like Ahadi for her.

She promises Taka that he will be King, a fact he is fast to spread to his friends. Mufasa, Sarabi, and Zira all congratulate the King-to-be, and Taka's ego swells further. The young Zira has taken a strong shine to Taka - something all can see, but Taka pursues Sarabi relentlessly. Sarabi returns his attentions, and agrees to be his Queen.

Zira is a strong, proud lioness, even as a cub, and she refuses to take this as a loss. Rather than Scar's betrothed, then, she is his first in charge, and defender. His own personal guard, as it were. And so the three are often seen together, while Mufasa is often taken aside by Ahadi, who does not know what May'ii has been saying.

In the meantime, the hyena clan to the north is ruled by an unusually strong male, Brutus. His daughter, Shenzi, is next in line after himself, although he's in no hurry to move on. Shenzi finds her way to the Pridelands, breaking the rules like a good whelp, and befriends Taka. While the other cubs do not approve, and indeed Ahadi escorts the hyena back to the border more than once, Taka and Shenzi grow somewhat closer, as Shenzi develops a crush on the young lion. They talk often of merging the pride and the clan into one super-group, an unstoppable combination that takes the best of both lions and hyenas, and puts an end to the prejudice.

Time passes, and the cubs grow into adolescents. It is time for Ahadi to choose, and he does. By now he knows what has been said, and he summons Taka for a private conversation, in which he tells Taka that Mufasa, not Taka, will be King. May'ii has lied to the cub, and Ahadi does not yet know why. May'ii has been strangely absent a lot lately, but he will find out.

The reason Ahadi had not pursued May'ii's absense strongly was another lioness, Akase, who had always been in love with the King. She was practically an aunt to the cubs, and Ahadi had begun to pass the quiet times when May'ii was out with her.

Taka is crushed - his dreams, his promises, and his expectations, all shattered in a moment. He is found by Mufasa, looking deep into the gorge, and wondering how long the fall would take. Mufasa consoles him, apologizes for not telling him sooner. He never wanted to hurt his little brother, he said, and he begs Taka to stay, to help and advise him in his rule. What he doesn't dare say is that Sarabi is looking more towards him, as well.

But May'ii is not idle. She has been meeting with Brutus, and during her long absences, the powerful lioness has been hunting for the hyenas.

Now, Taka was aware of May'ii's meetings. He had followed his Mother just a moon previously, as he wondered so often where she went for so long. But due to his Mother's frequent comments, as well as other 'slights', he felt little love for Ahadi, and chose to leave that be. Besides, he had his own secret meetings with the hyenas.

For Brutus was a cruel leader, and Shenzi had been called upon by the other hyenas to do something. She had introduced Taka to the 'general', military leader of the hyenas, hoping that she could count on assistance from the lions. And so Taka felt that his own secret meetings were no different from his Mother's.

Back to May'ii, upon learning what Ahadi has done to Taka, she is furious. She returns to the hyena lands, and demands that Brutus immediately hold up his end of the bargain -- the hyenas are to kill Ahadi. Brutus is no fool, and had never intended to carry out such a dangerous mission. May'ii was now a liability.

As the hyenas close in, Akase reveals herself - she had followed May'ii's angry rush this evening, and she tries to save the Queen. However, they are badly outnumbered, and she can not get in. She herself barely escapes with her life, May'ii is lost.

As she passes the Pridelands waterhole - still moving on pure adrenaline, she finds Taka, Sarabi and Zira, and tells them what she has seen, asking where Ahadi is. Without even replying, Taka sprints for the elephant graveyard, Zira at his heels. Sarabi stops long enough to ensure Akase can make it to Pride Rock, then, reluctantly, follows the others.

Brutus is waiting in the Elephant Graveyard when they arrive, and mocks Taka's foolishness for showing up keen on revenge. However... Shenzi chooses this moment to make her move. She still has enough feelings for Taka - she can not see him hurt. And so the word is passed among the hyenas waiting in the shadows - none are to make a move against the lions. Brutus is alone.

And so the three adolescent lions extract their revenge against the hyena, leaving him dead. Shenzi assumes leadership of the hyena clan, and just as the hyenas withdraw, Ahadi arrives, frightened and furious. With the battle resolved, Ahadi takes out his frustration verbally on Taka, who in turn leaves, furious.

Wracked with the pain of his loss, the guilt over realizing that he knew in time to prevent this, and what he considered the inaction of Ahadi, he resolved to bide him time, then finish his Mother's mission. He would kill Ahadi, and Zira would help him. At this time he decided to stop being called 'Taka'. He formally adopted his childhood nickname, of Scar. Rather than an insult, 'Scar' was a "tough guy" nickname given to him by Mufasa to help the cub feel better about the accidental wound across his eye.

Ahadi was fast becoming an old lion, and the cubs were fast growing towards adulthood. As often happens - the tough old lion was beginning to soften. This was due in no small part to Akase's help in easing the pain of May'ii's loss - for the lion truely loved his wife, and was not told why the hyenas killed her. Indeed, the resulting tension between the lions and hyenas, and the late realization that Taka would not be King, had Shenzi move the hyenas away from the Pridelands - seeking quieter borders.

Sarabi and Mufasa came forward, and announced their own bonding, and thus, except for Zira, Scar was now truely alone. And Zira rejoiced in knowing she was the only one he had, taking all the attention he would give her.

And yet, as time eased his wounds, he found he no longer wished to kill Ahadi. The old lion was suffering with injuries to his foot, and was generally quite helpless. Scar missed the times he'd had as a cub, and missed having someone to talk to. He wanted to be a son again. And so, one night near the river, Scar confessed all to Ahadi - May'ii's plan, his knowledge, and even his own intention to complete the job. He wrapped up with an apology, and waited for the response.

Ahadi was stunned, hurt, and ultimately furious. He'd never even suspected May'ii's true feelings, and the old lion did not know how to deal with it. He accused Scar of treason, although at Scar's stunned response, he withheld judgement on the punishment, telling the young lion that he would not be killed, but could expect exile.

Now it was Scar's turn to be hurt, and he spent the next moon frightened, and uncertain of his future. Mufasa spoke on his behalf, but still, it seems Ahadi would not budge, and so Scar made plans to leave early, and become a rogue. Mufasa talked him into at least staying for the mantlement, and in deference to tradition, even Scar could not bring himself to pass it.

Their mantlement was two part - first, an announcement by their father, followed by a ceremonial battle. During the battle, the lion's were expected to pin the King and deliver a mock bite to the neck, representing their overcoming of childhood. It was during this, that Ahadi surprised all, and granted Scar a full royal blessing, not the commoner's mantlement and exile he feared. He forgave Taka in front of all the Pridelands, leaving the dark lion humbled for the first time in a long time.

So things were better - but still, Scar had one thing he had not gotten past - and that was his Mother. Though now empty, Taka made regular pilgrimages to the hyena lands where she had met her end, and mourned her passing. It was on one of these trips that something quite unexpected happened. May'ii came to Scar from the stars, and she spoke to him. She told him that he was not living up to his potential, nor her expectations of her. He was meant to be King, she told him, and he had enough friends to make that possible. And therefore, he had to do it.

Scar was absolutely stunned, and a little stung that his Mother chided him so. He told nobody of the astral visit, but struggled with how to do as he was meant to.

During this time, Simba and Nala were born, which frustrated Scar further, in that Zira had not yet conceived for him.

Finally, he turned his sights outwards. To the Southeast of the Pridelands was a rich valley known as the Kopje valley. It was occupied by a tiny Pride consisting of a single lion and a handful of lionesses. He knew the King, Kgosi, was not of royal blood, but simply a rogue tired of wandering, and wanting to make a life for himself and his family, so they had settled this empty land.

Scar quietly gathered to himself a small group - a combination of lionessses, a cheetah, and even a bull elephant. He spun the story of the small group of "mere rogues" occupying the rich lands, and the security risk that represented. He promised a better life than under Mufasa, with everyone having their place. The small group boldly declared their idependence from the Pridelands, then set off to the Kopje lands.

Although the King initially resisted Scar's claims to the land, he realized that he and his Pride were no match for the force that Scar brought in, and they withdrew, rejecting Scar's offer to let them join under him. And so it was that Scar became King of Kopje Pride. For a while, he enjoyed his role of King. Zira finally conceived, and Scar was now looking forward to the birth of his first son.

Ahadi and Mufasa, however, did not know what to make of it. Mufasa congratulated his brother and wished him well, but Ahadi was a little more guarded, offering concern and frustration about what Scar did to the lions who had lived there before, and the tense, somewhat hostile attitude of those Scar surrounded himself with. Eventually, however, even he conceded and wished the best for Scar's pride.

The old lion did not live to see what happened, however, as he crossed the border back to the Pridelands, alone, he was attacked and killed by an unknown lion. Scar immediately blamed Kgosi, although no evidence was ever found, and put his pride on stricter alert, now concerned for his own life.

When one of the lionesses from Kgosi's pride returned to Kopje, claiming she had returned to being a rogue herself, Scar's nerve snapped. Unable to dominate the lioness, he eventually returned to the Pridelands, announcing to all that he had declared the Kopje lands settled and safe, and was returning to the Pridelands. He did not, in fact, even tell his own Pride - two of the lionesses, Zira and Sahau, had disappeared, and he snuck out during his usual border patrol.

Sahau and Zira, meanwhile, had retreated to give birth to Scar's cubs. Hatari, a tough, cruel lioness who had brought the innocent Sahau along with Scar in the first place, attended the birth of Sahau's cubs. Seeing that the lioness gave birth to a male and a female, she subtlely killed the male, believing that only Scar's Queen had that right. The female was permitted to live, and the majordomo bird, Ina, was sent to get Scar.

Scar returned to Kopje, and was impressed to see his daughter, realizing now that Zira was likely also in labor, and expecting to be summoned when she was ready. He was not told about the male, who Sahau was led to believe had died naturally. Scar is preparing to escort Sahau and the newborn back to the Pridelands.