THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

Deila shouted, “Kay, can you hear me. Wake up! Wake up!” She looked outside. It was morning; just about the time he found Daale standing next to him. “You can do it Kay. Just come back, come back to me,” whispered Deila. She sat next to him and watched over him like an eagle watching her eggs.

Shutu pulled up Daale’s clothing and realized his feet had already started changing. “How did this happen?” asked Suome in a worried voice. “I don’t believe it, Malfalkidur… he is Malfalkidur,” said Daale. “How is that possible?” asked Abra, impatiently.

Daale explained: “Malfalkizan is the name given to a collection of five islands raised from the depths of the ocean by our father, Ishfa. When the islands surfaced, it was bare. There was no life on four of the islands except one — the central and largest island. At the center of this island was an oak tree. I was baffled and prayed to father for answers. Where did the oak tree come from?”

Kiwakaazi and Sieta were on the island already and running towards something. Hanging around Kiwakaazi was a bow and some arrows. Sieta carried her spear. They suddenly stopped. They heard it — a loud and menacing roar. That cannot be good. Where did it come from? They looked around but saw nothing. “Come on!” shouted Kiwakaazi. “We have to keep moving. There is not enough time,” he added. The wind continued to blow violently. The large trees danced around them and the leaves made whistling sounds. Sieta was wearing a worried look. “What is it?” asked Kiwakaazi. She pointed to something behind him. He turned his head slowly. He finally saw it. He looked surprised and slightly terrified. Then it roared at Kiwakaazi and Sieta.

Daale continued: “Anambre was obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of the universe and left home to do so. He travelled across the ocean and arrived on the centrally placed and largest island. It was not inhabited at the time. He used an oak tree at the center of the island as his home. He slept under the oak tree. He ate under it. The tree shielded him from rain and sun. He meditated for days under the tree and he finally realized who he was — Dzani, Akaani’s fourth son blessed with the Infinite knowledge of his Father. Later, and slowly, people settled on these islands.

Kiwakaazi could not believe it. It was a rahasi (guardian of hell); not just any rahasi but a very strong looking one. This rahasi had four arms and each hand held a golden sword. It was Subrukutu. He first roared and then spoke. “This must be my lucky day. I will finally get my revenge when I kill you; a kaazi (Emperor of Central Empire).” A rahasi that is holding a grudge — oh Kiwakaazi, I do not envy you at all.

Before he left the island he did three things. First, he made a walking stick with the top curled to look like the alphabet “b”. Then, he wrote some inscriptions on the tree. Finally, he blessed the tree saying, “This oak tree like truth will survive countless hardships in the arms of the enemy and like truth it will endure.” It was on this same island that Kudi finally made it to Alaami (Eternal Home of Peace). Kudi continued the tradition and next three Gyaatis that followed all spent time on the island.

Kiwakaazi simply let go of the Daalebab (Tablet of dreams) and it floated over his head. He drew his bow and inserted an arrow and fired it at the rahasi. It disappeared. Kiwakaazi turned to Sieta and shouted, “You have to hide! This creature… can only be killed with a supernatural weapon!” It was so windy he had to shout and yet he feared she did not hear him. The rahasi appeared behind him. Kiwakaazi took Sieta’s spear from her and swung it at the rahasi. He ducked. Kiwakaazi used the sharp end to attack and the creature displaced his attack with one of his swords and attacked Kiwakaazi with another. Kiwakaazi quickly held the spear above his head to stop the rahasi’s attack. But the rahasi quickly swung his foot and kicked Kiwakaazi so hard in the gut that he let go of the spear, flew and collided with a tree. He fell and lost consciousness. The rahasi turned to Sieta who just froze. She was battling her fear. No good will come out of killing her now. He ignored her and walked slowly towards Kiwakaazi.  

Daale continued: “Father watched and his blood begun to boil. He was furious. A group of people who could only be described as pirates attacked the five islands. When they did not find enough wealth, they started fires on the islands. On that same night, a tsunami hit the five islands. The islands were swallowed by the sea — never to be seen or inhabited again.”

The rahasi was standing close to Kiwakaazi. He said, “This is for what they did to me a long time ago.” He lifted his sword and froze. Something interesting was happening behind him. Amidst the strong winds, he felt a strong presence. He turned to face a new Sieta.

“Everything was destroyed except the oak tree that had been blessed by Anambre. It survived and endured as predicted by Anambre,” continued Daale.

Sieta, the girl who just froze at the site of subrukutu (four-armed death god) spoke in a commanding voice. “Get away from him, you demon of hell!” shouted the girl. The rahasi was a bit surprised. She was completely different. She wore an armor made of similar material protecting the rahasi, except hers was completely white. It covered her hair to her nose like a mask. Holes had been carved out for her eyes. Her nostrils, lips and chin were exposed. It continued from her neck and extended to cover her chest and back. Her fingers to elbow were also covered but not the rest of her arm. Then it continues to cover her waist and thighs to just above her knees. Her feet also wore the material like a pair of short socks. She stretched out her spear and shot a white ball of light at the rahasi.   

Daale continued: “I returned to the island and tried to destroy the tree. I called Nshotse (god of the sea) to use the sea to break the tree. He tried and tried and nothing happened. I summoned the god of thunder and lightning, Wenlatse, and commanded him to strike down the tree and it stood firm. I summoned the god of the wind, Ohum, to blow it down and nothing happened. I summoned the goddess of the earth, Yaase, to swallow it. She took one look at the oak tree and disappeared. I since then expected him/her to someday appear — the man or woman who will free the captives on Malfalkizan and he/she shall be named Malfalkidur (dream catcher).”

Subrukutu (four-armed death god) disappeared instantly; just in time to avoid the white ball fired at him. Sieta knelt after firing that ball. It probably weakened her. The ball struck the tree; the very one Kiwakaazi rested upon and started spreading. Sieta knew something bad was about to happen. She disappeared, appeared and rescued Kiwakaazi from whatever was about to happen. The tree turned white and shattered into a billion pieces. It literally turned to dust. The rahasi appeared afterwards and said, “It has been a long time since I saw the power of Sunbia (the goddess of victory) being used.”

Daale continued: “Since that day, I knew we will eventually lose the war. We may win many battles. We may even come close to winning the war but they always emerge victors. We see the past, the present and the future, but no matter what we do, it is like they are two or three steps ahead of us. Dzani must have known that someday the islands will be handed over to me as a gift. He must have known what it will be used for. He blessed and made the oak tree an escape route. I studied the oak tree — the invincible oak tree and found some interesting inscriptions on it.”

Kiwakaazi was waking up. He almost ran if not for the eyes. He never forgot the eyes. He asked in a surprised voice, “Sieta, is that you?” She answered, “Yes.” “What happened to you?” asked Kiwakaazi. “I don’t know. I saw that creature coming to kill you and I wanted to save you. I picked up the spear and it changed me. I can feel its overwhelming power. I finally remembered.” “Remembered… what?” asked Kiwakaazi. “Remember that fire vulture I once slayed?” asked Sieta. “Yes… what about it?” asked Kiwakaazi. “I slayed it using this power.” The rahasi roared; enough with the chitchat. ‘It is time to kill you both,’ was what Subrukutu probably wanted to say by roaring.

Sieta rose and held the spear firmly in her right hand. Kiwakaazi told her, “This creature is very fast. You have to match its speed. I will help you anyway I can.” She was looking at the rahasi intently. She said, “Thank you Maru (short for Marumba Kiibe),” then she disappeared. She appeared and attacked the rahasi. The exchanges began. They were quick indeed; appearing and disappearing between attacks.

“I carved out the part of the oak tree with the inscriptions and broke it into nine pieces. I spelled the pieces and hid them with the creatures that inhabited malfalkizan (dream islands). Assembling these pieces together will form a tablet called the Daalebab (Tablet of dreams). The tablet of dreams is the key that activates the oak tree and connects the trapped souls to their bodies. The Daalebab is the way out of Malfalkizan,” concluded Daale.

Kiwakaazi looked up and the Daalebab (Tablet of dreams) droped into his palms again. He ran straight for the oak tree. He went round it and found the part that had been carved out. It was high above his head but his hand could reach it. He raised his hand and inserted it. He stood there waiting for something magical to happen but nothing did. He realized that vision where he chanted some words may be important. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He continued breathing and suddenly shouted, “Oogu Jaka Tumi… Sore! (Awaken Supreme Oogu!)” And then it happened. The oak tree started to glow golden. I guess it is time to go back home.

Kiwakaazi was not leaving Sieta behind. He started looking for something. He finally found it; his bow and arrows. He gathered them and watched the battle closely. It is all about patterns. He needs to discover the pattern with which the rahasi was fighting. He watched and felt he had finally grasped it. He kept on moving until he stood not far away from the golden oak tree. He inserted an arrow and pulled. He held on and waited patiently. “There…,” he thought and let it go — the arrow. Hey, I love that TV show. I mean “The Arrow.”

Deila held her hand over Kiwakaazi’s nose. He was still breathing but it was faint. She looked out again. She turned and said, “Come on Kay. Don’t you dare die on me now! I will never forgive you for that.”

“What do we do?” asked Mayale. “You can’t save me now. Hopefully Subrukutu will kill him. If he fails I will die or actually turn to stone,” said Daale. “This is not the time to be funny!” barked Suome, half worried and half angry. Daale screamed. His transformation was progressing slowly and causing him great pain. He wished it would stop or take over quickly.  

The arrow flew and pierced through the impregnable armor of the rahasii at its back; which was quite surprising. All Kiwakaazi wanted to do was to distract it so that Sieta can finish it not harm it in anyway. Because that would only make the beast angry, and it did. Sieta attacked the rahasi but the beast simply roared in her face and blew her away. She fell and sustained a few more injuries on the parts of her body not being protected. Subrukutu slowly withdrew the arrow in his back and turned sharply at Kiwakaazi wearing the angriest expression ever. I am guessing he was thinking, ‘You… I am going to kill you!’ Then it disappeared. Sieta was slowly rising to her feet.

Immediately, the rahasi disappeared, Sieta disappeared too. Sieta appeared first and pushed Kiwakaazi out of the way. The rahasi appeared a fraction of a second later with one of his swords already airborne to cut through Kiwakaazi. Instead, it met Sieta’s left shoulder and left quite a mark on her body. She fell on her knees, pointed her spear at the rahasi and shot a green light at him. The rahasi disappeared once again before the second ball that struck a tree and reduced it into a slimy liquid could touch him.

The wound was slowly healing. The rahasi appeared at a safe distance away from her. She was hurt and in pain. She looked at the wound that was closing and thought, ‘Where is he?’ She turned her head and saw Kiwakaazi in a golden oak tree banging on it. He was trapped in it and was shouting something. He was calling, “Sieta…Sieta…Sieta!” She got up and turned her back to him. Kiwakaazi wanted her to join him. She looked at him and said, “Goodbye for now, Marumba-kiibe.” Kiwakaazi was shaking his head and saying, “Don’t do this. Come with me now and let us escape this hell together.” She neither heard a word he said nor was she interested. She focused on what was right in front of her — Subrukutu.

She turned one last time and said, “Marumba-kibe… you really want to know what it means? It means ‘The foolish Lord’.” Kiwakaazi’s body had turned golden too. He said, “We will meet again’” She said, “Sooner than you expect.” The golden light travelled to the apex of the tree and shot a golden ball into the sky. She raised her head to say goodbye for one last time. She lowered her head and her eyes had changed. She now possessed the golden ring around her eyes and the oak tree started glowing golden again. She looked at the rahasi. The rahasi roared. She smiled. “I remember,” whispered Sieta. She stretched her right foot and disappeared just as the rahasi was also disappearing after stretching its left foot.

Kiwakaazi woke up screaming, “No!!!” Deila hugged him and whispered, “It is okay… it is okay. It was only a bad dream.” Kiwakaazi pulled back and looked at Deila. She asked, “Do you remember something?” He shook his head. He remembered nothing.

Daale was gone. Not gone; gone. He was now a mummy. The ruhas and ruhushis were really upset. They stood over their brother’s stone body. Suome was crying and Mayale was struggling to hold back her tears. Shutu and Abra were the brave ones not shedding tears. Shutu said, “I will go next but I will need some help. Suome wiped her tears and said, “I will help you.”

One down, four to go. What kind of attack do they have in mind?