The Gathering of Mammals around Pabuntu and Mabuntu (Guardians of Nature #12)

Mabuntu and Pabuntu, the last Guardians of Nature, are actually two twin halves of the same being, but their overall purpose remains the same: the both of them not only rule over all mammals (including humans), but created them to take care of the Earth. We were meant to be Mabuntu's and Pabuntu's faithful children from the moment we gradually evolved from our chimpanzee ancestors in the plains of East Africa, and see other mammals and creatures as our equals (hence the worship of animals present in many pagan or ancient African cultures that highlighted man's role as stewards of the Earth). But something went wrong approximately 10,000 years ago. We developed sentience, and from there fashioned the first tools, which led to agriculture, which led to the beginning of civilization and its failure to properly respect the environment. We strayed from the path set before us by Mabuntu and Pabuntu, because something led us away from said path. In my art piece, Maasai tribespeople look on as cultists beg Mabuntu and Pabuntu to save humanity from the catastrophe it has brought on itself (i.e. climate change/environmental destruction and the resulting rise of the Guardians). Pabuntu was angry and disappointed in us for our actions, and wished to punish us, but Mabuntu convinced him to give us a second chance. So Pabuntu and Mabuntu walked across the Earth and tamed the other Guardians of Nature, persuading Cytos, the Great Mother, to allow some humans to live, but only under the strict condition they would respect Nature and not destroy the planet any longer. Humanity reluctantly agreed, but endured 200 years of pain as punishment for its 200 years of environmental exploitation and industrial abundance-- society had all but collapsed in the wake of the Guardians' arrival, forcing the remaining humans to live in smaller, simpler communes, in ways that predated industrialization.