THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

Kiwakaazi also turned to face Deila while lying on his stomach. He was looking into Deila’s beautiful dark eyes. She smiled. He also smiled not knowing exactly why. She asked him why he smiled. He did it on impulse. Seeing her smile aroused the desire to smile within him. Deila quickly frowned hoping he would frown too. Instead, he laughed. She asked, “Why did you not frown?” he replied, “I could not differentiate between your smile and frown. They all look the same to me. They are both beautiful.” Deila blushed. Something inside of her snapped; not snapped in a bad way. It was just a strong desire to kiss him — a kiss she feared may lead to something she was not ready for. She rose and had barely taken a step when the earth begun to shake.

The third man to be called Kiwakaazi witnessed the birth of his predecessor. Anambre told him that the baby was the second man to be called Kiwakaazi, Kiwakaazi (the second). He was born somewhere in the forest. About three old women surrounded his mother. She was in so much pain and cried so much that Kiwakaazi III could not watch. When she finally delivered her child, one of the old women lifted the baby and pronounced that it was a boy. Another elderly woman shook his mother violently. She told her to be strong, not for herself but for her baby. Who said she did not want to be but the poor mother of Kiwakaazi (the second) was too weak. She moved her head from side to side. She tried but she could not stay awake. With her last breath she whispered the name, “Kiwakaazi.”

Kiwakaazi II, the man who came to cure the unlucky princess of her disease through love, was an Asogli (wanderer). By the time he was born, his kin and people of the Central Empire had no home to call their own. The rest of the world had united and defeated Nananompofie (Central Empire). Having no home was difficult but having to run from hunters was even worse. Nibooman (Western Empire) had set bounties on the wanderers and people all over the world were ready to bag and baggage a wanderer for the set bounty. They had no home of their own and they could not settle anywhere else either for too long. How did this happen to the land of such kindhearted people.

Well, it all started after Emperor Rolala received the report from his top secret mission. The information that was hidden in this report was a mystery. After about six months of receiving this report, the strangest things started happening everywhere in the world except the home of the Ancient ones (Central Empire).

A strange disease plagued the world. An infected person will complain of pains in the abdomen; pass out stool frequently; vomit while defecating and a few days later just die. The five great Emperors met in the Western Empire to find a solution.

Kaazi Bona of Nananompofie (Central Empire), Quaazi Rolala of Nibooman (Western Empire), Muaazi Abu of Islamani (Northern Empire), Maharaazi Tutu of Odopafie (Eastern Empire) and Jaazi Lualua of Jumapafie (Southern Empire) all came. Not even a single one was absent; not even a single one was late. The world needed their leaders and they were ready to do everything for them.

Their host Quaazi Rolala addressed the gathering. He thanked all the emperors for coming. He expressed how unfortunate the whole situation was. He hoped by combining spiritual and intellectual knowledge, everything will be fine very soon. He returned to his seat and the meeting commenced.

The Muaazi suggested the formation of a team. This team will include scientists from the west, herbalists from the south, priest from the east, a wise man from the north and a gyaati from the central empire. They will combine all their knowledge; intellectual and spiritual to find the best antidote to this unknown malady. It was a great idea and emperors of the south, north, east and central empires endorsed it immediately.

Suddenly, the meeting was interrupted and a young lady entered presenting some documents to the Quaazi. He read through the documents for a while. He appeared surprised by the contents of the documents and gestured for the lady to give a copy of the document to the other emperors. The information in this document was shocking indeed.

Kaazi Bona asked, “Intelligent Rolala, what is the meaning of this? Please explain this to us.” The other emperors were equally surprised. The Quaazi asked the Kaazi if he had received reports of the mysterious plaque in his land. “No!” replied the Kaazi. “How can this be happening in the whole world and not your land?” asked the Quaazi. “What are you insinuating?” demanded Kaazi Bona in a rather calm tone.

“Isn’t it clear? The document says it all. Inside Nananompofie, there is a special plant that postpones death. This plant is the cause of all the problems in the world. I do not know how but this plant is sucking the life out of the rest of the world to not only postpone but preserve the youthfulness of that empire”, explained Quaazi Rolala. The other emperors could not believe it. After all, this plant had been in existence since the time of Kaazi Zeeta and nothing like what they were witnessing now happened. So what has changed? The Quaazi explained that he does not really know why or how the plant was affecting the world negatively. But if Kaazi Bona will allow his scientist to experiment on the plant, then maybe they will come up with a logical explanation.

Kaazi Bona explained that truly there was a plant in a special garden of the Empire but that plant spreads fragrance that sustains the life of all living things inside and outside his home. These mysterious happenings around the world cannot be attributed to this plant. That was simply ridiculous.

Wise Maharaazi suggested that the plant be destroyed. Since it is unclear whether or not this strange disease was the effect of this plant, this will be the first action to exonerate the central empire of any wrong doing. The other three Emperors agreed to this suggestion. Kaazi Bona accepted but did not agree. He needed to consult his ancestors but he was certain to avoid war, they would agree on destroying the guanvibushi (the plant of eternal health).

But Quaazi Rolala will not agree. He believed that the central empire has cheated the rest of the world. After laying hands on the documents before them all, he realized one thing. The central empire tries to explain everything using blind faith in a god. Instead, he insisted on sending scientists into Nananompofie. They will work extensively on the plant and find a way of exploiting its ability of prolonging life in a harmless way. Besides, what if this same plant held the secrets to a cure? Then, destroying the plant will only spell doom for the world. He need not remind them that their decision can affect the lives of their children and grandchildren.

Unfortunately, Kaazi Bona will also not agree to this second proposal. The power of the plant cannot be comprehended by canal minded men like the Quaazi. This plant is no ordinary plant. Handle it wrongly and you may unleash great evil on the world. He will not sit back and let that happen.

Only the Maharaazi supported the Kaazi and after the meeting, the seeds of war had been sown. A few days later, Maharaazi Tutu also died from this most feared malady and his son Kalusha succeeded him. He changed sides and supported the Quaazi. Shortly after his installation and his outward declare of support for the Quaazi, war broke; four Empires fought against only one.

The strategy the four empires used was simple — divide and conquer. Troops from the western army attacked from the west. The army of the north attacked from the north. The eastern army attacked from the east and the southern warriors attacked from the south. The Central Empire will have to defend itself from all four directions. They did not have the numbers or the weapons to defend themselves. It was a war the four empires thought would last for only a day but lasted for ten long years. It was the longest war in history and was named “Akodindin” meaning “The Great War.”

Kaazi Bona stepped down and his successor, Kaazi Oko inherited war. Kaazi Oko appointed four men. They were called the guardians. They commanded the central empire army from their four surrounding adversaries. Tunde was the Western guardian; Lombe guarded the central empire from the east; Sadat guarded the north and Todzi guarded the south.  The first three were brave warriors of the central empire who were also well versed in spiritual matters and the fourth, Todzi was the brave man who tamed and wielded the sikan nifanum (the five-edged sword).

The north attacked with numbers. The strategy used by the four empires was brilliant. Only about a thousand men defended the northern side of the Central Empire. The northern army outnumbered them at least five to one. Sadat alone stood some distance in front of his army with a frown and not the slightest bit of fear in his eyes.

The leader of the northern army stepped forward. The northerners still believed the best armor was the hide and skins of animals. Their commander was dressed in his animal skin. His swords strapped around his waist and his back. He held a spear and the skull of a cat was his helmet. He wore a grin. He felt pity for the few numbers that stood before him and his great army.  He thought, ‘This will be over quickly,’ and shouted, “Archers!” His archers marched forward; even they were more than the total men who guarded the Central Empire from the north. The archers went on their knees and aimed at the sky.

Sadat recognized fear. He could feel and smell it coming from his army. He knew his army was overwhelmed by the opposing numbers. He turned and said, “Do not be afraid. We outnumber them by at least ten to one. The army that rides with us today is far greater than their army. That army is immortal and that army will protect each and every one of us here and hereafter.” He turned to face his opponents and shouted, “Shield wall!” The few hundred that formed the front row of the central empire army put their shields together to interlock and form one shield. There were a few gaps but it still looked solid. One poor boy shuddered with fear behind the shield wall. Another soldier — one who will become a friend said, “Don’t fear. Fear is the only thing that can weaken this shield wall.” The boy nodded, clinched his jaws and readied himself. He rid himself of his fear.

The leader of the northern army shouted, “Fire!” and arrows, more than a thousand, were released. They flew high and blocked rays of the sun from touching the earth.

Sadat drew in breath. He had a more rounded head and face. His skin color was lighter. He wore a blue sleeveless shirt with an eagle tattooed in it. He also wore a pair of grey shorts as the rest of his entire army. He did not carry a shield. A bow and some arrows hanged across his back. He also carried a single sword that was strapped across his waist on his left side. He drew his sword and went on his knees. He planted his sword into the soil; closed his eyes and said a prayer:

He opened his eyes and looked up and there he saw the arrows coming down; raining down upon him and his army like drops of water on a rainy day. And still he was not afraid.