He suddenly woke up with a start. He was sweaty all over. He realized that it was just a dream but this same dream had reminded him of his vow. His promise that he would not see death until he had killed Chief Mbada.
*The anticipated day had come. At Brahmuhn’s side were Cheetah, Tortoise and Shumba and behind them were a thousand Chaponda soldiers clutching their spears and daggers wearing faces of courage and fearlessness. They were all standing on a small mountain and below them, across a small shallow river was the Ndebele army. In number, they were three times that of the Chaponda army.
Brahmuhn turned to his soldiers. ‘Men! The time has come to test the limits of our power! The time has come for us to victor over our triumph and triumph over the victory!’The men roared loud in great courageousness.‘The time has come to end it all! After today, not a single Ndebele fool shall corrupt our ears with their funny clicks
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Mighty Brahmuhn 22. The Great War (Part II)
The sun was slowly setting and as if by some miracle, the Ndebele began to retreat. A great yell sprung from the Shona warriors as they pursued the Ndebele far into their villages.Realizing that the Ndebele were retreating too far into their treacherous hills, the Shona stopped in their tracks and began raiding their villages. Some of the Ndebele soldiers stopped from a far distance and watched powerlessly as their wives and children were ravaged, forcefully dragged from their huts screaming, kicking and wailing for mercy.Brahmuhn looked on as the civilians were brutalized and captured. But this was normal… this was rational… this was war. He sat himself by the entrance of a hut and wrapped his arms around his knees as he watched his warriors pillage and plunder. The scene of soldiers beating, raping and killing innocent civilians had disgusted him on his first day on the field, so much that he had stopped his soldiers and freed the poor commoners. Wh
Mighty Brahmuhn 23. Law
When he got into his sleeping hut, Brahmuhn placed her on the ground. As soon as her buttocks touched the floor she quickly crawled to the far end of the hut. She eyed him maliciously, her back against the wall and her arms drawn protectively across her shoulders. ‘Tomorrow you start working,’ he told her then turned around to leave.‘You’re making a big mistake.’He paused and turned around to face her. ‘Excuse me?’‘I may not be that well informed of your ways but I do know that keeping a Ndebele inside your house is unacceptable. To sleep in the same hut…’ her eyes moved everywhere inside the hut, ‘…and I can tell that this is where you sleep; the royal hut.’‘So you are well informed of our ways.’ He walked over to her and squatted in front of her which encouraged her to cringe her back into the wall. It looked more like it was out of disgust than fear. &ls
Mighty Brahmuhn 24. Medium
Brahmuhn’s three Elders were quarrelling amongst themselves, obviously in his absence.‘What I can’t figure out is why the brute is still alive?!’ Dombo ranted.Gumbo had his thumb and forefinger on his chin, immersed in thought. ‘Those were well over a thousand Ndebele warriors!’ he said looking gravely disappointed.‘How do you know? You weren’t even there,’ Shiri said.‘Dombo and I sent spies to spread threats and insults to their gods and to their ancestors and lied that they were from Brahmuhn to provoke wrath from them,’ Gumbo informed him. ‘In addition to that, the spies also sabotaged their wells, burned a lot of huts and killed a few dozen women and children in the villages. We were positive the Ndebele would attack with a vengeance that could not be quelled, let alone countered!’‘How absurd is that!’ Shiri looked flabbergasted. ‘That would mean the Ndebeles would kill everyone in our village including you!’‘Absolutely not,’ Dombo said. ‘We had made a de
Mighty Brahmuhn 25. Treason
‘I have been sent to congratulate you on your victory by the first and second Elder.’‘Acknowledged.’Shiri raised his head slightly. He saw Buhlebenkosi and flinched.‘Is there something else, Shiri?’ Brahmuhn asked him.He quickly turned his eyes to the ground again, ‘No, Your Greatness.’‘Then leave. And never show yourself to me on your own without either the first or second Elder.’‘Yes, Your Greatness.’‘So are you with us, Shiri?’ Dombo asked him when he had come back from Brahmuhn’s hut.‘What?’ Shiri was totally in another world. He had been pondering over what he had seen inside Brahmuhn’s hut.‘We said we bribe one of the soldiers to kill him in his sleep!’ Gumbo told him getting impatient.‘Kill him in his sleep?’ he almost laughed in mockery of their plan. ‘Do you even know how loyal
Mighty Brahmuhn 26. Against the Law
He tossed his mbanje to the side. ‘What is the meaning of this, Dombo? Gumbo?’ He asked them as he stood up.The two Elders began laughing wickedly.‘I fail to find humor in my question,’ Brahmuhn said, looking furious.‘That’s funny because we find humor in your very existence,’ Gumbo spat at him with a look of disgust on his face.The Vadhindi stood up in fury but Brahmuhn restrained them with a gesture of his hand. ‘What do you mean, Gumbo?’Dombo chuckled, ‘Do you consider us ignorant of your repulsive deeds?!’Cheetah tried to reach for Dombo’s throat but Brahmuhn restrained him again.Brahmuhn gritted his teeth, ‘If you do not explain the meaning of this, I will have you speared within seconds!’Gumbo turned around and clapped his hands loudly to get the villagers’ attention. There was a great silence. It was as if this action held some unseen unnat
Mighty Brahmuhn 27. Painful Irony
‘It’s what my father would have done. A good chief loses his life for an innocent one.’ With these words he left.He returned later in the evening. Buhlebenkosi was still sitting at the far end of the hut in the same position he had left her. He ignored her and continued towards the gourd of water.She looked curious. ‘What now?’He ignored her and kept gulping down the contents.‘Hey!’ she shouted.Silence.She stood up and walked towards him.She spun him around so he could face her but with such effort. ‘Can’t you hear me!’He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ‘I’m sure you heard what I told you earlier.’‘But your response was just out of pride. It’s not logical and I want a clear answer!’He gave her a brisk shove which knocked her to the floor buttocks first. ‘I already told you, woman that no harm shall fall upon yo
Mighty Brahmuhn 28. The Goblin Village
Brahmuhn was shattered by the Elders’ decision. He realized that he should have had considered Shiri’s words before Dombo and Gumbo had executed their plot against him. Another ironic twist, to Brahmuhn, was that he had actually disrespected Shiri more and he, Shiri, was the only one of the three Elders who had actually cared about him. If only he had listened! Now it was too late. The banishment was official. The village was now a distance from him as he walked slowly towards the forest. He was carrying nothing except his knobkerrie and a small pouch both tied to the side of his loincloth. The pouch was loaded with mbanje. He liked his mbanje very much. It always distracted him from his worries and grief. He was smoking it while he walked, pondering over the people he had left behind: Buhle, his trusted comrades-in-arms and the Vadhindi. He blew a cloud of smoke into the air. His eyes were beginning to turn red from the smoking. He began swaying sideways, mu
Mighty Brahmuhn 29. Banishment
He nodded his head slowly. ‘Are you not Brahmuhn?’‘That’s “Your Greatness” when a dirty rat like you is speaking to me!’The man did not look offended. ‘All the Ndebele tribes know about you…your victories…’‘Who doesn’t?’ he laughed, returning his knobkerrie to his side.‘I am Bhekumuzi. I am the chief of this village. We are truly grateful for your help in chasing away the Ntokoloshi from our village. They have been terrorizing us for many years, burning our huts and abducting our children, but after seeing your mark I doubt they will ever show their faces here again.’‘Yeah, whatever. I deserve a reward for this. Or else I will be the new toko…toko…whatever nightmare upon your village.’‘Uh…sure…anything,’ he stuttered, now becoming afraid of what wrath Brahmuhn might unleash upon them.Brahmuhn l
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