KUMAH

Chapter 5

A bucket of cold water gave Kumah a rude awakening. He let out a loud gasp and shivered. This was the third time he’d pass out and it was not good. That was the least of his worries though. He was tied onto a dirty pole in the middle of the village and the ropes made his wrists sore. He struggled to break them but they looked like they were designed to tie down a Zulu. They were thicker than usual ropes. The villagers surrounded him in a circle and he looked around searching for Amahle. In front of him, the seemingly perfect circle of people broke into two and a man walked through the path with guards and Amahle on his right-hand side. He wore a cloth made from bear skin and golden chains dangled from his neck. His presence was intimidating. He had a tiny nose accompanied by a contrasted broad chin. He had a muscular body which would put a body builder to shame. On his left arm was a golden brace vessel which complemented the diamond rings on his fingers.

The people bowed at the huge figure that stood amongst them. He gave Kumah a threatening look.

Dingane of the Zulu tribe and the half-brother of King Shaka. If this was the Dingane, Kumah wondered what Shaka was like.

"Claiming to be a royal when you're not is a serious offence." Dingane said his voice as deep as ever.

Guess we are going straight to the point. Kumah thought to himself. Dingane saw the striking resemblance of Kumah to the late King Osei-Tutu but it could be just another transformation vessel.

"What can I do to prove that I am indeed the prince of Ashanti." Kumah said knowing very well that words are basically useless at this point.

Amahle rolled her eyes and looked at her father. They both nodded in agreement like they were communicating telepathically.

"Well, there’s only one way to find out." Dingane gave a signal and two guards walked towards Kumah.

"Wait what are you doing?" Kumah said trying to break free from the ropes that tied him. One guard held the back of Kumah’s head and pushed it down so he faced the ground. The other guard brushed off some of Kumah’s hair which was covering the back of his neck like they were looking for something there.

Kumah’s struggle to lift his head was in vain. He realized what was going on, each royal tribe has a print of their royal symbol of their lineage at the back of their necks and they were looking for it. However, .......

"There’s no mark here your sir." The guard said.

"Then we are done here." Dingane sighed. "I really hate I when people waste my time. Burn him!"

Kumah managed to raise his head. "There has to be another way. You can’t just burn me. What is wrong with you people?"

Dingane turned and began to walk away.

‘’Anyone who claims to be royalty when they are not has insulted the royal lineage. Show your true form and maybe I’ll reconsider.’’ Dingane snapped.

‘’But this is my true form.’’ Kumah cried

 Amahle gave Kumah the ‘’I told you so’’ look. She saw the innocent look in Kumah’s eyes and started to feel bad for him. One of the guards held a fire stick and lit the pole on fire from beneath. The fire begun to move upwards slowly till it touched Kumah’s feet. A voice behind the crowd began singing war songs and the crown joined in without hesitation. 

The flames begun to scorch Kumah’s feet as he struggled to break free.

"Stop please, I'll do anything, just don't kill me." He cried, tears begun building up om his eyes.

Dingane ignored and continued walking. Kumah knew he had to do something. The Zulu tribe were merciless and they wouldn’t think twice about killing him.

Sipho watched through the crowd, he knew Kumah wasn’t lying. He could smell it. He wanted to do something but what impact could a small boy like him do? It was only a matter of time before Kumah was engulfed in flames and he would have to live with the guilt of knowing how he could have done something to save the last member of the Ashanti.

"Abdication!'' Kumah screamed

Dingane stopped as the word hit his ear drum.  The war songs suddenly stopped as everyone was stunned.

Kumah bit his lower lip and blood dripped onto the fire beneath him

"In the name of the supreme god Onyankopon, I challenge you to an abdication duel." He screamed.

Suddenly the sky echoed with violent roar of thunder, the fire under Kumah disappeared and his ropes disintegrated. He landed on his bruised feet with a grunt and could barely keep his balance. The circle grew larger as the crowed stepped back in fear.

‘’That's impossible.’’ Dingane thought to himself. Abdication duels can only be initiated by royals. The winner of the duel will possess the loser’s village or kingdom. The duel is initiated by the opposition spilling his blood on the ground and declaring by the name of the gods, a challenge to the other party. The spilled blood is a covenant between the challenger and the gods. The challenged has the right to set the rules of the duel to his heart’s content. Most abdication duels were fatal. In rare cases both parties perished. It was a fight to death. The whole village was silent as everyone tried to process what had just happened.

The presence of Onyankopon surrounded the whole village. It was like a sudden tense feeling had crawled up their spines. Everyone lowered their heads in honor of  his presence.

Amahle’s face showed a mixture of surprise and confusion. She couldn't believe that Kumah was indeed a royal and more importantly, why would he challenge her father? He wouldn't stand a chance. It was probably a desperate attempt to stay alive. If she was on the verge of being burnt alive, she’d probably do something stupid.

Dingane let out a roaring laugh. He turned to face Kumah and the look on his face was frightening. It was a mixture of excitement and fear. Excitement because a member of the Ashanti clan was alive and the potential possessor of the beast vessel, this would help them win the war for good. Fear because, this new development could mean he would have to kill the last Ashanti. Kumah didn’t stand a chance against a warrior like Dingane.

Dingane snapped his fingers and his brace began to glow. A swarm of portals opened and countless spears shot out of the portals and hovered over them.

"For every minute that passes a random spear will strike you, you are free to evade as you please and you can use any weapon in this battle. These are my rules" Dingane said.

Kumah straightened his stance and lifted his right hand parallel to the ground. A silver eagle moved swiftly through the swarm of spears and landed on his shoulder. The whole village stared at the eagle. The diamond eyes and the premium look of the eagle grew envy in peoples eyes.

"That's quite an interesting vessel you have there boy." Dingane removed his cloth and chains and handed it over to Amahle. She picked up the items with some effort. Clearly, those chains were heavy.

She bowed and took them from him.

The silver eagle few away and disappeared into the sea of spears. The villagers moved backwards, creating an even larger circle. Most of them were excited. After all the Zulus were born warriors. Fighting was their thing.

Dingane and Kumah circled each other like predators stalking their prey, looking for an opening to attack. Dingane was huge and Kumah felt like rat fighting a bear. He winced at the pain from his bruised feet. He observed Dingane. His stance was perfect and not an opening to attack. Dingane’s muscles bulged as he prepared to strike.