THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

Locked in one of the rooms were the two daughters of Kiwakaazi II and Dedeli. The eldest one was sixteen and the youngest was thirteen. Two elderly women were with them. The thirteen year old was scared and cried for her parents. The sixteen year old said, “Don’t be afraid, sister. Father is all powerful. He will never let anything harm us.” Suddenly, the door broke and Arangosango shinko and his wife Safihutu entered. What was she saying about nothing harming them?

Sakora and his team of five were the only passengers in a plane — a very fast moving plane and the only one that could move in Nyansapofie (capital city of the Western Empire). All other cars and planes had broken down. The pilot looked terrified. He said to his co-pilot, “I have never seen such dark clouds in my entire life. Go and warn them.” The co-pilot abandoned his seat and entered the area where Sakora and his team were preparing. He warned, “There are dark clouds ahead. A big storm threatens. We have to fall back for now.” Sakora responded, “Negative! We are under explicit instructions to extract Kaazi Kiwakaazi II’s family from his home and bring them to the Quaazi, and we are not turning back until we have completed our mission.”

Violent winds blew and the sky hanging above Nananompofie (Home of the Ancient Ones) got really dark. The pilot flew right into the storm and lost control. He shouted, “I have lost control of the plane. We are going down!” Sakora told his team, “Get ready to exit.” He pushed a button and opened a door. He waited and waited until the plane was at the appropriate feet above the ground and jumped. His men followed him. The plane crashed and burst into flames inside Nananompofie. Kobie immediately reported to Quaazi Selasi that they had lost contact with the plane carrying Kobie and his team. Quaazi Selasi was now more suspicious than ever. He shouted, “We can’t wait any longer. Get the doctor. Tell him it is time we awakened and killed the perpetrators.”

Sakora and his men stood in a circle. They were all accounted for. Only the pilot and his co-pilot perished during the crash. One of Sakora’s men asked, “What happened here?” Sakora answered, “I don’t know but I think we shouldn’t have come.” Suddenly, one shinko jumped from behind the bushes behind Sakora. Three of his men saw it and drew their guns, automatic pistols and opened fire. After several minutes of shooting, one of Sakora’s men screamed, “What was that?!” and a second asked, “Did we get it?”

The bushes started moving and out came the beast; the very same one they shot at. It roared at them and started walking briskly towards them. Once again they opened fire. This time all five of them, drew their bigger shot guns and fired several times at the beast but the creature will not go down. It walked towards them taking a few steps backwards when hit hard. Then, they stopped and the beast looked at its body — the body that should have been destroyed by bullets was healing. One of Sakora’s men asked, “What creature is this?”

Kun, the first dwarf appeared and answered, “The kind you don’t mess with.” He pointed at Sakora and his five men and all of them were bound by the strong vines. Kun lined them up. The shinko killed them one by one spilling their guts with just one swing of its powerful claws. It was gruesome and barbaric. Then, it was Sakora’s turn to die.

Back in the palace at Nyansapofie, Quaazi Selasi suspected something supernatural was fighting against him. He realized if he delayed killing Kaazi Kiwakaazi II and his bodyguards, it won’t be long when all of them will escape. He could not wait for that. At least he was going to kill the bodyguards of Kiwakaazi II to help him understand that his promises were not empty. He ordered for Kiwakaazi II and his imprisoned bodyguards to be awakened from their slumber and brought to the area outside the palace where hardened criminals were hanged to death.

The shinko swung its right arm and attacked the air. Yes, the air because Sakora was gone. The streak of white and yellow light saved him. Kaazi Kiwakaazi II saved him. Sakora had been sent to kidnap his family. He is an enemy, and yet Kaazi Kiwakaazi II saved him. Sakora was the last person the white and yellow streak of light saved.

All eleven remaining bodyguards of Kaazi Kiwakaazi II were hanged before his eyes. The great Kaazi who resuscitated the Central Empire shed tears watching people he loved hanged. Quaazi Selasi stood in front of Kiwakaazi II and whispered in his ear, “I was going to wait for your family but I can now see the truth; everybody in the Central Empire is your family. You feel pain when they are in pain. You feel loss when they lose. I promise to destroy it after your death.” Quaazi Selasi walked away and Kaazi Kiwakaazi II was hanged. A tight rope around Kaazi Kiwakaazi II’s neck strangled him to death. After some time when they thought he was really dead, the Quaazi nodded — a sign that the dead body be freed from the rope around its neck. The soldier had barely taken a step towards the dead body when Kiwakaazi II’s eyes opened and were glowing white. The soldiers of Quaazi Selasi and the Emperor himself all jumped back with fear. The Quaazi himself questioned out loud, “What kind of sorcery is this?”

Jenak turned for the second time. This time, it was Kaaziba Dedeli who stood behind him. He said, “Hello Dedeli.” Kaaziba Dedeli asked, “Yezar, what have you done?” Jenak (possessed by Yezar) answered, “I have done what I was born to do. You are too late. Now lower the barrier and let us pass.” Kaaziba Dedeli responded, “Better late than never.” She clasped her palms and shouted “Oogu Jaka Tumi… Sore!” While she chanted the magical words, Jenak also chanted, “Ishfa sai ki ta!”

Inside the palace of the Central Empire, Safihutu pointed her right index finger at the two girls and their two elderly nannies. A round fire formed around her finger. The girls should have been afraid but the eldest was not. She told her sister, “Don’t worry. He is coming.” Her sister asked, “Who is coming?”

Before the eldest could answer, Safihutu suddenly collapsed to the floor. Her chest had been cut horizontally and she bled profusely before falling. The eldest princess of the Central Empire covered her sister’s eyes so that she does not see the gruesome way Safihutu was killed. She responded softly, “Ekuela.”

Ekuela appeared next to the princesses and asked, “Are you alright?” The eldest princess nodded. The youngest freed her eyes from her elder sister’s palm and asked, “Ekuela, where is mama and papa?” Ekuela smiled and answered, “They have to take care of something so they asked me to protect you.” The two princesses were not convinced. They both wore sad faces. “Listen, your parents will be fine. You know who they are. Don’t you?”

Aran was furious. How dare Ekuela kill his wife? He growled. He snarled and he disappeared. He appeared behind the eldest princess and his attack on her was stopped by the sikan nufanum (also known as the demon mummifier) in Ekuela’s right hand. Aran disappeared again and before he could appear and attack. Ekuela shouted, “Run!” The princesses and their nannies took to their heels and burst through a door on the left.

Kiwakaazi II’s eyes continued to glow. One of Quaazi Selasi’s soldiers questioned, “What should we do, your majesty?” Quaazi Selasi just stood there mesmerized by what he was seeing. He could not believe it. It was impossible. How can a dead man’s eyes emit light?”

The two princesses and their nannies were outside. They had escaped from Aran only to find themselves in even greater danger. Over a hundred human sized red ants, about fifty bees and fewer numbers of other insects surrounded them completely. There was no way to escape. The younger princess as usual was scared. The red ants crawled quickly to attack them when Ekuela suddenly appeared next to the princesses and their nannies. The sikan nifanum was planted in the soil. He shouted, “Oogu hain… Shrein (light of Oogu… shine)!”

First Ekuela’s body changed. He looked like Kiwakaazi when he resurrected after being killed by Afranto. He wore a white robe. The sikan nufanum was tattooed on his chest. A blue ring of light surrounded his head and his hair was golden. A small and circular white light grew from the tip of the sikan nifanum and grew big killing every giant insect in its way. Both insects on the land and in the air were wiped out. After all the insects had been wiped out, Ekuela disappeared with the princesses and their nannies and they all appeared outside Nananompofie. They were close to Nsatia in the Western Empire.

The eldest princess questioned, “We are never going to see our parents again, are we?” Ekuela sighed. He answered, “I am very sorry but saving this many people comes with a price. Your parents sacrificed their own lives to save not only the people of the Central Empire but the entire world. And although you can never see them in this world again, they continue to live in your hearts.” The two princesses and their nannies mourned the loss of father and leaders.

Ekuela beseeched them not to cry. He warned that something unfortunate happened in the Western Empire and Quaazi Selasi is seeking blood — their blood. They should go before he finds out that they are still alive. The youngest princess asked, “Are you coming with us?” Ekuela answered, “No! There is something I need to do first. I have to return his body home.” The two princesses and their nannies continued their journey into the West without Ekuela.