THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

The nhutus decided to switch from long range attacks to close combat. The red-haired nhutu’s fire arrows attacked Anantie from different angles, but his right arm quickly changed into water. He swung his arm and splattered  water around him. The water attacked and quenched some of the fire arrows. The remaining arrows pierced his rock solid shield. A few also stuck to his body. The red-haired nhutu now whispered, “Pai mu (explode)!” Suddenly, the fire arrows started exploding like bombs. Anantie was forced back to the ground. The sound of loud explosions continued for a while and stopped. The blond-haired nhutu asked, “Did it work?” To answer her question, the black haired nhutu jumped and attacked the area covered with smoke and apparently where Anantie was still hiding.

The smoke screen cleared after her spear collided with Anantie’s rock solid shield. After the collision, they separated and stood about three meters apart. His clay armor had a few cracks in it but that was all. He was not mortally injured as expected. The black-haired nhutu juggled her spear in the air and around her body for a while. She stopped and attacked. She twisted and turned her spear in the air and attacked Anantie’s right. He blocked her attack with his ice arm and attacked her face with the same arm. She turned her head slightly to her left and took a few steps backwards. Anantie turned quickly and lifted his rock solid shield to stop an ice sword attack from behind him.

When he turned to intervene with another attack from the black-haired nhutu, she attacked his abdomen with the pointed and sharp end of her spear. The sharp end struck Anantei’s stomach. But his clay armor withstood the impact. She tried to force the spear past the clay armor but it could not penetrate. Anantie struck the spear with his rock solid shield displacing it towards the ground and quickly moved to attack the black-haired nhutu. He thought he had gotten rid of her only for his ice arm to cut off the head of a clay human being instead of an actual one. The clay crumbled and scattered on the ground.

The red-haired nhutu shot more fire arrows that exploded around Anantie. After a while, when the smoke cleared, Anantie emerged from a rock solid shield that protected his entire body. The blond-haired nhutu attacked swinging her left ice sword first from left to right horizontally. Anantie blocked it with his ice arm. She quickly followed with her right vertically from above. Anantie lifted his shield and blocked that attack also. He swung his left arm and his rock solid shield displaced the right ice sword. The blond-haired nhutu was distracted and Anantie attacked her with his pointed icy arm. She turned into an iceman and Anantie’s ice arm pierced her ice neck. The ice man crumbled and turned to water.

While the fight between the blond-haired nhutu and Anantie was going on, the black haired nhutu was reassembling. First, a portion of the earth bubbled and a mound of mud rose from the earth. The mound grew bigger until it looked like a statue – a human statue. Air rushed to the chest of this statue and started a spark. The spark grew into actual fire that spread throughout the body. After some time of burning, the human statue became a breathing, moving and living human being – the black-haired nhutu.

After the fall of the blond-haired nhutu, the red haired nhutu fired some more fire arrows at Anantie. His extended ice arm changed into water that still surrounded his right arm. He made a fist and swung it. He moved his body as well in a circle. Water surrounded and solidified into ice. The fire arrows stuck into the ice. The ice changed into water and quenched the fire arrows. While this was going on, the blond-haired nhutu was also reassembling.

Her reassembly started with a drop of water from the ground pushing out to the surface. The water grew and appeared like a mound of water. Soil covered this water and it soon became muddy water. The muddy water grew big and assumed the form of a human statue. Air rushed into the chest of this statue. Fire was started and disseminated around the statue until it also became living – the blond-haired nhutu.

The red-haired nhutu fired some fire arrows again. Only this time, they did not explode. They deceived Anantie. The black-haired and white-haired nhutus attacked simultaneously. Anantie should have been injured but the many times he was cut and pierced by the swords and spear of the nhutus respectively failed to kill him. Safihutu took in a deep breath. She thought, ‘A mere human wielding such great power. Are humans this powerful or is this man the chosen one?’ She closed her eyes and when she opened them, they looked very green. She screamed, “Soruja Aadu, me fre woa bra!” meaning lightning ape, descend when I call upon you!

The sky darkened. Lightning struck one particular place for a very long time. It was as if light was gathering at that place. The lightning grew big into a gigantic ape. He hit his chest many times and charged forward to attack Anantie. Anantie smiled. ‘I never wanted you here but I guess I have no choice,’ he thought. The ape was still running towards him. Anantie’s shield disappeared and his right arm returned to normal. He went on one knee and touched the earth with both palms. He too shouted “Shikpon Gbonto… baa wa mi!” meaning earth golem… come to my aid!

The lightning ape had made a fist with his right. It leapt ready to crush Anantie with its punch but an earth creature suddenly emerged and punched the lightning ape. The poor fellow fell and cleared some of the trees while it flew backwards. The blond-haired nhutu asked her sisters, “Is that what I think it is?” The black-haired nhutu wondered out loud, “Where did he learn to summon a creature like him?” The red-haired nhutu shouted, “It is really him!” Safihutu was overwhelmed. She shouted, “That is Gbonto!”

Gbonto was the unholy offspring of Asaase Yaa (earth goddess) and a one-eyed demon. Gbonto was very destructive and destroyed the palace of Asaase Yaa’s master and lord, Rakiambe (The Creator). Rakiambe banished Gbonto from Ruhakala (Home of the Rakiambe). Ruhakala was also part of Gbeleshie (Afterlife) where the gods that humans worship reside. It is situated in the beautiful city of Vuiti (Home of the gods) where most of the gods reside. So, how did Gbonto become Anantie’s ally?

Anantie had just stopped lightning with his palm and thought he probably had a rare ability to control lightning but soon realized not only lightning but the four elements bend to his will. His arms and feet commanded what makes up the earth into motion. His breath ignites fire. His emotions stir up the wind and his mind moves water. He secretly trained to develop his control over the elements and lightning.

One day, he had accidentally summoned an earth creature. It was big and tall. It had an almost oval head with just one eye, no hair, no nostrils and one wide mouth. It roared and made a fist. Anantie was frightened. The creature was lowering its punch to crush him when he remembered that he was master of the elements. He showed his palm to the creature and shouted, “Stop!” The creature stopped at once.

Anantie looked at the creature and felt no fear – just an overwhelming likeness for it. After all, the creature was odd just like Anantie. So he smiled and asked, “Do you want to be my friend?” Suddenly the creature shrunk and was almost Anantie’s height. It smiled too, and nodded. Anantie said, “I am Anantie. What is your name?” The earth creature repeated the word, “Gbonto” over and over again. It was somehow irritating but Anantie did not get upset. After a while, it stopped and started singing “Anan… Anan!” “Yes, my name is Anan,” said Anantie. They became best friends and to some extent brothers. Anantie was still a boy and did the stupid things boys do. Sometimes, they just climbed trees and jumped from the tallest branch. Sometimes, they jumped into water and splashed around and sometimes they just raced each other to see who was the fastest. After a long time of playing, Anantie and his best friend will lie on the ground with heads touching and laugh while looking at the sky.

“Anan…Anan!” repeated Gbonto after saving Anantie from the lightning ape. It had shrunk to Anantie’s size and was smiling like an innocent child. Anantie said, “It has been a long time, brother, but I need your help.” Gbonto nodded and grew in size. His innocent face changed and he looked scary and monstrous. He screamed loudly.

The lightning ape was already up. It screamed loudly and hit its chest many times while it screamed. Anantie commanded, “Take care of that ape and leave the rest to me! Be careful, Gbonto.”

The lightning ape leapt once and disappeared. It appeared behind Gbonto. Gbonto was turning its head from left to right when he got punched on the right cheek. Gbonto fell on its left side. The ape appeared from the sky with its arms raised and ready to crush Gbonto. It landed first and used its powerful arms to smash the ground as hard as it could causing a slight quake. Fortunately, Gbonto was already gone before that attack. Gbonto appeared behind the ape. It lifted and carried the ape above its head and threw it. The ape disappeared and appeared behind Gbonto again.

This time, Gbonto without turning swapped faces – the back of its head became its face and its face became the back of its head. He caught the right punch of the lightning ape with its left and threw a right punch for the face of the lightning ape. The ape also caught it. The two monsters eyeballed each other for a while and then lightning caused through Gbonto’s arms and soon his entire body had been covered with flashes of lightning. The lightning ape was gone. The white sparks of lightning run through the body of Gbonto apparently causing the creature made of stone some discomfort. Gbonto looked up to the dark sky in Nhutudan and shook with pain while he screamed loudly.

Anantie could not bear to see his friend in pain. He shouted, “Gbonto…!” and attempted to move towards him. But the red-haired nhutu sent some fire arrows his way. He motioned in the direction opposite Gbonto to avoid the blasts that followed him.