THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

When he was just a boy, they called him clumsy. By the time he reached teen age, they called him brave. And after he joined the Asratifo (purifying swordsmen) program, he became the consuming light master. But in Nomposuro, he was called Srabala (the light plague). He was the only man in history to use the haingbeto (light pathway); an alternate pathway to the Nompogbeto (pathway to Nomposuro). And whenever he came into contact with the kranjus (immortal guardians), he would say, “You demons from hell. Your worst nightmare just came to town.” Yes, that was the man everyone expected to end Nomposuro. So what happened? Where did it all go wrong for Kundu — the man with many nicknames!

He had reached the fifth dwarf, the first man to have ever gotten that far in Nomposuro. He whispered, “Aniwa hain,” (light eyes) and his eyes glowed. With such eyes, he was able to study the energy level of Kuntunkunuku (Papa Dwarf). After a while, his eyes returned to normal; brown. He shouted, “You are going to be one difficult dwarf to kill!” The white dwarf responded, “I will take that as a compliment from Srabala. Now, shall we begin?”

Before I tell you Kundu’s story, I have to close the chapter on his predecessor, Anantie. After all, it was his bravery that paved the way for the Asratifo (purifying swordsmen)  program. Elder Kuyate after witnessing how long it took the kranjus to bring down Anantie had an epiphany — the Asrafodom and the Ahonti program should be merged to form one program; The Asratifo Program. So let’s continue.

Anantie was very weak after defeating the nhutus. He was unconscious for an entire day. When he regained consciousness, he rested for half a day and continued his journey. He dispatched off the sabudu (double headed water serpent) with ease and confronted Kun — the first dwarf.

First the dwarf bound his feet and arms using the roots of plants. The wind cut through these binds with ease. Suddenly, Anantie body’s was attacked by leaves and petals of flowers. They did not cut him; secrete any toxic substance to harm him or pierce his skin. They simply stuck to his skin like glue; like a leach on its host and drained him of power. His body could no longer control the earth; his mind no longer had control over water; his emotions commanded the winds no more and his breath could not summon fire. He wondered, ‘What did he do to me?’ Floating in front of Kun were four branches sharpened to look like spears. But before he killed Anantie, he shared his secret with one of the few who shook the roots of Nomposuro.

“I know you are wondering why you cannot use your powers and the answer is simple. Those leaves and petals of flowers attached to your body drain the body of its energy. You are powerless. It breaks my heart but I have to kill you.” Kun (first dwarf) showed Anantie his palm and the sharpened branches flew towards Anantie. Anantie closed his eyes and whispered softly, “I love you.” His body had been well perforated by the sharpened branches. The roots that bound his feet and arms slowly unwound and let go of his dead body. The leaves and petals of flowers that drained his energy detached from his skin one after the other and floated in the air around him. Kun moved closer to Anantie’s body and held his palm over his body. More leaves covered his body. The earth opened and Anantie was buried by his enemy inside Nomposuro. “Farewell my brother,” whispered Kun while Anantie’s body was being swallowed by the earth. Anantie was finally down. Anantie had finally died.

It was a sad day for all Ahontifo (purifiers). Anantie had spent six long days in Nomposuro. No one had survived this long in the forest. He was hailed as a hero. He was praised as a champion — champion of Nomposuro.

Diibe (Prince) Anantie had a bright future. He was destined to succeed his father and become Nana Bomofo VI. But the boy was not only too soft to harm animals but fell in love with a girl he could not have. That day when Xhamla found Anantie practicing and perfecting his control over the elements, she promised to tell no one. Who was she going to tell anyway? But kind Anantie, made Xhamla her friend and soon their friendship grew to become something bigger. But Xhamla’s mother found out about their secret relationship and begged her daughter to stop seeing Nana Bomofo V’s son before things get out of hand. They have suffered enough at the hands of their chief — no more!

Xhamla, the obedient daughter did exactly what her mother had commanded and discontinued her relation with her prince charming. Anantie went to the bushes, hoping to meet and impress Xhamla but for six consecutive days she did not show up. On the seventh day, he mustered courage and went looking for her at home. He feared something bad might have happened to her. When he arrived, Xhamla was seated on a stool while washing some dirty clothes in a big earthen bowl. Instead of a warm welcome, Xhamla rose to her feet and angrily asked, “What are you doing here?” Anantie was puzzled. He came to check on her of course, what else could it be? He was about to answer her question when Xhamla whispered angrily, “Leave before my mother finds you here.” Now, Anantie was simply confused. ‘Did he do or say something to make her mad at him?’ he wondered. So Anantie left. The next day, Xhamla met him at their secret spot. He wanted an explanation but she broke up with him and broke his heart.

Later after he was banished for freeing the dear that was meant to be sacrificed to their gods, he joined the Ahonti (Purifiers) program. He had nothing and no one. Who cares what happens to him? Joining the Ahonti program and going to Nomposuro was Anantie’s suicide mission. He wanted to die a hero.

Elder Kuyate suggested the start of a new program he called the Asratifo (purifying swordsmen)  program. It was a program that was going to train the magicians of the Ahontifo program to be swordsmen who can wield the kafunde (demon mummifier). However, many of the Ahontis were scared and abandoned the program. The few that remained relocated to the Islamaani (Northern Empire) where they will be trained by Hafiz Baba Musa — a magician and swordsman like no other in the world.

The first Asratifo to be sent to Nomposuro was Omar. He had a nasty ability; an ability to make a large tumor grow in the head and pop exploding the head. This happens when an opponent steps in a three meter radius around him. It was very fast and destructive. He was nicknamed ti-pae (the head-popper). He was quite a handful for the shinkos. With their short range fighting abilities, there was no way they could kill him. It was the third and second shinkos who used their roars to distract him while Aran threw his sikan dompesa (three edged sword) from behind to kill him. Others followed and some even got as far as the second and third dwarfs but the most troublesome Asratifo, the one who shook the roots of Nomposuro ever so vigorously, was Kundu known by the kranjus as Srabala (light plague).

Prior to his arrival inside Nomposuro, the kranjus (immortal guardians) knew of only two ways to temporarily stop them. The first was if a kranju injures another kranju in battle and the second was if they got mortally injured by the kafunde (demon mummifier). They never expected there to be third until Kundu entered Nomposuro.

About an hour before he arrived in Nomposuro, Afranto paid Aran a visit. Aran was in his human form and lying peacefully in his cave. About a thousand white butterflies gathered at the entrance of the cave and assumed the form of a human being, the old wrinkled lady we all know as Afranto. She tiptoed her way into the cave and was standing over Aran’s resting body. Suddenly, Aran rose to his feet with the pointed edge of his sword sitting on Afranto’s neck. He shook his head and said, “I could have killed you, old witch.” Afranto touched his sword and moved it to her right and said, “You are welcome to try.”

“What do you want here?” questioned Aran angrily. “I came to check up on you,” answered Afranto. Aran chuckled and noted, “You never check up on me. If you are here, then it means something big is coming. So quit playing games and just tell me.” “Fine, I came to warn you,” responded Afranto. “Warn me about what?” inquired Aran. “He is coming,” answered Afranto. Aran was getting angry. “Who is coming?” barked Aran. Afranto’s body disintegrated into a thousand butterflies and they echoed “Srabalala.”

Aran immediately summoned all his twelve friends outside his cave. He told them to all attack the next intruder at once. Kaki asked, “Why?” Aran answered, “Srabalala.” The third shinko asked, “What is Srabalala?”

Suddenly, all twelve Shinkos turned backwards. It was far behind them but it was very visible. It was light; intense and bright light shining somewhere in the bushes behind them. The shinkos have seen whirlwinds bring men into the forest. They have felt the earth quake and leave an intruder in their forest. They have even seen it rain and the rain water coming together to form a cluster which later reveals a human being. What about the fire that suddenly starts and burns in the forest and lightning that once struck and left Nomposuro a man. But this, they have never seen before — light shining in the forest. If it is bringing a man then he must be something special. The fourth shinko questioned, “What is that?” Aran answered, “The light plague, Srabala.” “Now go!” shouted the leader of the shinkos forcing his army of twelve to roar and leap into attack.

When Kundu first joined the Asratifo program, he was powerless. Hafiz Baba Musa took one look at the man and turned his back at him. He said, “You are not welcome here. You have nothing to offer this program. You are powerless and you do not have the talent to wield the sword.” Kundu really wanted to go to Nomposuro. He was a man on a mission and going back was not an option. He shouted, “I know all about you Hafiz Baba Musa. I know that your father, the greatest swordsman in Qurashmir thought the same thing about you. And now look at you. You are not only a swordsman but a powerful sorcerer!”

Hafiz Baba Musa stopped. He turned and drew his sword. He walked quickly towards Kundu. Kundu feared. He thought the man was going to kill him but he did not run. He just stood there. Baba Musa placed his sword on Kundu’s left shoulder and said, “You are right. The absence of magic in a person means two things; the first is the obvious answer. The person does not have it and the second is the one we all ignore — the person’s power is too great to be felt.” He admitted Kundu into the Asratifo program. Baba Musa called out the name “Jamila!” and a lady dressed like the black widow came out. Baba Musa said, “I am giving you one week. Find out what he is capable of.” Jamila wanted to protest but just one look from Hafiz and she held it back. She answered, “Yes, father. I will do as instructed.”

Back inside Nomposuro, the light stopped shining and revealed a man dressed in white. The only thing black about him was his skin, hair and mustache. He wore a white and tight sleeveless shirt and white shorts that ended around his knees. He wore white slippers and a bead necklace that was also white. He moved his head from left to right taking his time to examine the twelve shinkos he faced and whispered, “You demons from hell. Your worst nightmare just came to town.”