'Great mother, we are almost there.' A voice interrupted Mumbi's thoughts. She looked around and all she saw were the rolling hills covered by forests and mist. The forest was both familiar and unfamiliar to her. She had been all over Aka at different times so everything blended into one memory that lasted three thousand years. All to stop a prophecy.
She looked ahead at Shayana, who led the small group up a muddy path that ran through a forest. The trees were hundreds of years old, tall and majestic. She always felt closer to the trees, for they were one of the few things that lived long enough to understand her.
Looking at the girl, Mumbi envied how she would grow old, die and then find peace. There would be no more struggles, no more suffering, no more fighting. Still, she was aware of how everyone else envied her curse of immortality, for to them, it was a gift.
How she missed the world back then. She had lived to watch the world change while she held on to the memory of the past. After the thousand-year war that had ended with the curse of men, Aka had sprung to life like a seed in a burnt forest and like a proud mother, she had watched it grow to the mighty empire it now was. With the help of her nine daughters, she had laid the foundation of a world without men and their chaos magic that had destroyed them. It had been hard at first for all that people had known was war, but within a century, people had adopted the way of the goddess and the age of daughters was born.
She gave her daughters the nine realms, each forming a clan. Anajiru, her eldest daughter, proposed to have the descendants of those who had ruled the old world become houses, each under a clan but ruling over their lands. That had helped maintain balance and had created the highborn class. Three thousand years later, Aka was now a paradise. A world I created, she thought and a smile formed on her lips. And yet, the prophecy that it would all be destroyed hadn't let her enjoy even a day.
'I hate the highlands,' Naseria spoke, her voice a bit hoarse due to the cold she had. Like every moran, she wore the traditional dress of her clan, the fierce Ngeca clan, red shukas with bangles on her neck and arms. She had a woollen cloak, and long wooden handles of her short spears protruded from it.
She rarely talked, which was one of the reasons Mumbi had chosen her. The other reason was that she was one of the few blood morans, trained since childhood to become the perfect killing machine. It was said that an encounter with one of them would always leave you bleeding, and that was how they earned their nickname, the blood morans.
'I'm sure there will be a fire to warm your old bones in the village,' Shayana teased Naseria, which annoyed the older woman.
Shayana was the youngest in the group, but she was the most knowledgeable. A third daughter of a small yet ancient house descended from the Rai clan, she studied to become a sage since a child since she wasn't in the line of succession. By the time she was turning fourteen and facing the knife, she knew more than most of the sages in Aka. Mumbi had picked her because of how curious she was. She always wanted to know, which made her the perfect sage for Mumbi. She wasn't one of the best sages that had worked under Mumbi, but she had the potential to be.
'Still, I don't know how people would choose to live in such cold, isolated places.' Naseria finished with a cough. Mumbi wondered how long it would take for her to finally accept being treated with magic, which most morans hated. They saw it as the easy way out, and it wouldn't give the body a chance to become stronger.
A tree shook and poured water on Naseria, which earned a giggle from the young girl who had caused it. 'And you think the desert you come from is better?' Shayana asked knowing that it would irritate Naseria.
A chuckle made Mumbi turned her attention to the last woman in the small party. She was in her sixties, but Mumbi remembered when she had once been a young girl. Soon, she would have to retire and Mumbi would have to choose another diviner to take her place which she always hated as that meant politics especially among the nine ruling families. Each wanted a person from their family or realm to be one of those who escorted Mumbi through Aka. Mumbi never really interfered with their political games as to her, they were childlike and amusing. Just like my daughters, they are always fighting.
She could hardly remember her daughters now. It had been almost three thousand years since she buried her last daughter. Was it Anajiru who died last? Or was it Ashi? They had been her first companions, but they were almost becoming a long-forgotten memory. How could you long for someone you don't remember? Still, she remembered giving them the nine realms, which saw the formation of the nine clans.
Rai took the realm in the southwest named Muya, while Anga took the one next called Rahel. Athaga took the realm in the North called Hafa, one that was at first a rocky place but when discovered to be rich in minerals, made the Athaga one of the most powerful and richest in Aka. Ngeca had been her most troublesome daughter, and her descendants took the Shanga realm.
Mumbui and Anjera were the twins and rivals, that much she remembered. Their rivalry was inherited by the clans they founded. Their two realms, the Asha and Kusha realms, were neighbors and separated by the river Goda, one that changed course almost every season and had caused boundary conflict ever since. Ashi got Obon and Anagi, who was a fierce warrior founded the warrior clan that most morans came from. Anajiru, the eldest of her daughters, took Atsana, which made her clan the most powerful. Is that all of them, or was there another daughter?
'Wambui?' She glanced up at her, and Mumbi could see how tired she was from the journey. Mumbi couldn't ignore her age any longer. 'Your time is almost up.' Wambui seemed to want to disagree, but she nodded. Mumbi felt guilty for letting her go, for Wambui was a powerful diviner and she had been like a mother to her. In a way, she was for she came from one of the ruling families, descendants of her daughters.
The three made up the triad, a group of three skilled women who escorted Mumbi through her journeys. It was one of the highest honours in Aka, only reserved for the smartest sage, strongest diviner and most skilled moran. Their goal was to stop the doom, but after almost three thousand years, it seemed only Mumbi cared about that and being part of the triad was now more political.
The four continued the rest of the climb in silence. At some point, Shayana had to stop to pick some wild berries she believed could make someone hallucinate. It didn't annoy Mumbi for having travelled with hundreds of versions of the triad; she had learnt it was good to have someone like Shayana.
By the time their horses galloped into the small and isolated village of Mogai, it was late in the night. Still, every villager was awake to welcome her. They stood in the rain singing a song in the old tongue about how Mumbi had won the war and saved Aka. The melody seemed to change every time Mumbi heard it that she could hardly remember the original song her daughter Ashi had once composed for her.
The four waited until the song was over and got off their horses, Wambui needing help to do so. Shayana helped her, but Mumbi could see the irritation on her face. She, like most highborn, was stubborn and prideful.
A woman wearing a diviner's bracelets on her hands walked to meet Mumbi and bowed her head so that it touched Mumbi's legs and the mud on the ground. Mumbi had come to hate the tradition, but she never fought against it. She knew what would follow next was an offering of the roasted ribs of a goat, and more singing, but she wasn't in the mood for that, for there was something else more pressing.
'Great mother, saviour of Aka, chosen of the-'
'Where is the child?' She asked, interrupting the diviner. She nodded, seeming to understand the urgency of everything.
The four followed her through a muddy path that ran between the closely built huts. They passed a few sheds with cattle and sheep that were silent, as if they knew the great mother had visited their village.
Finally, the diviner led them to a shrine at the centre of the village. The shrine wasn't as grand as those in cities like Suma, but it was still majestic and mystic as any other shrine of the goddess. It was the only building in the village made of stone, which made it look ancient, though not to Mumbi. It was built around a fig tree, making it seem as if the tree and the shrine were one. Smoke came from the shrine, becoming one with the mist and disappearing in the darkness of the night. The warmth from the shrine could be felt from outside, and Naseria began to lose her woollen cloak. A small wood carving of the goddess was just next to the entrance, but Mumbi was more interested in what was inside.
The diviner stood at the edge of the entrance, the yellow glow of the fire in the shrine lighting her face. She was a woman of middle age and wore thick animal skins like most of the villagers. But Mumbi only saw a woman afraid.
'She is in there,' the diviner said as she pointed into the shrine.
'What's your name, daughter?'
'Wari.' She answered with a slight bow. Mumbi then walked to where she stood and held her shoulder. There was awe and admiration in her eyes, but the fear was still there.
'Wari, are you afraid to enter the shrine of the goddess?' The silence answered her. 'Fear not when I am here.' Mumbi then took a step into the shrine, bowed her head to enter as the entrance was low and entered.
The tree was at the centre, surrounded by the circular wall filled with drawings and patterns made from different colours of mud. It was recent too, as the earthy smell of clay filled the shrine, which Mumbi didn't mind a little. Even the smell of clay wasn't what it used to be, and those little insignificant things did upset her from time to time. On one side, on a raised platform, was the burning fire responsible for the smoke and warmth in the room. There were charms and offerings to the goddess, the best of the harvest and a burnt sacrifice placed on banana leaves. She could now smell the meat, but the earthy smell of the mud was still dominant.
Finally, her eyes fell on the reason she had travelled to this isolated and cold village. A shadow was cast on the wall, the owner of it on the other side of the tree. But before she could walk towards her, Wari appeared next to her.
'Be careful.' Mumbi almost smited her for the interruption. Instead, she allowed her to explain. 'It first happened a few weeks after the cut, and her wound refused to heal. The village healer and I tried everything, but nothing seemed to help. That was until one day, she had seizures. The healer helped stop them, and in the process, the girl touched her. That was when…' Wari paused as she glanced at the shadow that was illuminated on the wall.
'And that's when she saw the death of the healer?' Mumbi asked, and Wari nodded.
'Two days later, the healer died as the girl had said. She has evil spirits, that one. Or the evil eye.' Wari then pointed at the shadow, her voice almost trembling in fear. This was unheard of for a diviner to be that afraid, especially of a supposed spirit.
'Her bleeding stopped, and her wound healed. I say that she sacrificed the healer so that she could heal.' Mumbi almost rolled her eyes at the stupidity of that statement. What kind of diviner was she? Then again, she was a village diviner, not even half as powerful as Wambui.
'She touched another person, a girl, and told her of her death, which happened just as she had said it would. It was then I realized the girl was possessed by an evil spirit, one that sealed one's death by touch. I locked her in here and sent word to Suma. I, however, wasn't expecting the mother of Aka, chosen of the goddess, to be here. Is it that serious? Is it the spirit of a man in her?'
'If it were the evil spirit of a man, you and your village would be no more,' Shayana said with a smile to the diviner as they entered the shrine. Naseria had removed her cloak, revealing her red moran attire and the muscular, tall and lean woman she was. However, she was missing her weapons, for it was forbidden to carry one in a shrine of the goddess.
Mumbi started to walk around the huge stem of the tree until she was standing before a young girl. She sat on the floor of the shrine, leaning against the tree, her arms holding her folded legs. She had her head bowed, but when she realized that there was someone before her, she raised her head and looked at Mumbi.
The girl was an odd one. She was skinny and of average height. Her hair was like a wild bush, not well taken care of. She was dark skinned, but she had vitiligo patches on her face and her arms. There was fear in her brown eyes, and it wasn't fear of Mumbi, but fear of her power.
'I could kill you,' she said with a soft and low voice that Mumbi could hardly hear. It seemed she had come to believe the stupid words of Wari, she thought as she squatted before her, making the girl's eyes widen. 'I will see your death, and I will kill you.' Mumbi wished that could happen, but she was immortal. If only I can see it, I will have seen everything.
'Oh child, their fear of you has become yours too.' The girl gazed at Mumbi in awe.
'Are you not afraid of me?' She asked Mumbi, who simply smiled at her, and then stretched out her hand and held the girl's reluctant hand. The girl then stared at the hand in awe. The fear that was in her started to disappear, and a smile started to form on her lips.
'People fear the powerful, for they are not sure if they will fight for them, or fight them. Tell me,' Mumbi pressed her tightening the grip she had on the young girl's hand, 'What do you see?'
The girl closed her eyes, and for a moment, Mumbi was afraid she would see something, and it would mean her immortal life would end. But then the girl smiled and opened her eyes.
'I see nothing.' The girl then chuckled excitedly.
'You are not possessed by an evil spirit. You are something else, something powerful.'
'What am I?'
'You, my child, have the power of prophecy which has been lost since the age of war.'
'So am I not cursed?' The question made Mumbi smile before shaking her head, giving the girl the answer she had wanted.
'The power of prophecy isn't a curse but a-'
Suddenly, the girl's smile disappeared, her eyes rolled back, and a seizure gripped her. Her arm twisted and the grip on Mumbi tightened, who, for a moment, didn't know what to do. She had faced armies and fought powerful magical creatures like dragons and the damathia, yet her heart raced faster than it ever had. For the longest time, nothing had ever scared her, for she was immortal. She had almost forgotten what fear felt like. Was this her end?
Wambui suddenly was standing above them, her diviner bracelets already glowing as she readied herself for the worst. The others appeared next to Wambui and the fear Mumbi had felt disappeared as she had to be strong for them. She then turned to the girl, closed her eyes and then reached to the power inside of her, the power the goddess had once granted her.
She could see it, a raging fire that she hadn't tapped into for almost a hundred years. She reached out for an ember, barely a fraction of her power and let it burn through her body. The fire surged upwards, almost exploding and burning the tree and the roof of the shrine. The smoke in the shrine began to move and dance, as if being guided by Mumbi. The fire quickly settled around Mumbi as she finally pushed her power into the girl.
She intended to overpower her, which would stop whatever was going on. However, when her power and that of the girl connected, they became one. Her burning fire merged with what she felt was a flowing, raging river that represented the girl's power.
She is powerful, Mumbi realized as she realized she had to use more of her power, which was always dangerous to her body. Still, she ignited another ember, and her power surged all through her and the girl. She realized that the girl had stopped to have seizures, but her eyes were rolled back and only the white of her eyes was all she could see.
She was pulled into what she could only guess to be the girl's vision. The roaring, rushing river had turned into the calm ocean, and Mumbi lessened her power. She looked around and saw that she wasn't in the shrine any more but on the shores of the ocean in the Southern parts of Aka.
They were then pulled into the sky. For a moment, she almost felt like she was flying, but it ended when they appeared on top of the Nyaga mountains, the highest mountains in all of Aka.
Everything felt real. The cold, thin air was hard to breathe. The snow beneath her feet. The cold wind blowing against their face. Even though impossible, she could see the entirety of Aka. The beautiful coast in the south. The desert and rocks of the north. The savannah grasslands and plains. The huge city of Suma and many more cities and towns. The small villages all over the nine realms. It was beautiful looking at the world she had created.
'Is this what you see?' The girl shook her head.
'All I see are people's deaths.' She answered, which scared her even more. If her magic at the moment only manifested by seeing deaths, what did it mean if she saw the entirety of Aka?
It was as if that thought triggered what came next. A strange figure covered in darkness rose from the ground and holding a skull. Mumbi could feel the enormous power of the person, even though a distance away. What are they about to do?
Suddenly, the world beneath them was gripped by darkness. The earth began to shake, and parts of it began to get swallowed by the darkness that was beneath them. A great fire exploded, which began to burn everything. Thousands of screams filled the air, though it wasn't as loud as the calamities that were happening all at once. Is this the doom?
They could now see the aftermath of what had just happened. There was nothing left, no life at all. The darkness was so thick that Mumbi swore she could feel it. Before, when the girl had touched her and she felt fear, that was nothing compared to what she was feeling at the moment. She had just watched millions of people die. All life was gone, not even a single plant remained. There was no light to even see, and yet she could feel the hot air burning around her.
This was what she had always been trying to stop. She had never seen it, and it had still been terrifying. If the girl saw it, did it mean the doom was near, the end of everything?
A scream suddenly pulled her out of the vision, and she was back in the shrine. The first thing she saw was the girl who was screaming and crying at the same time. She had just witnessed the death of everything.
'What happened? Are you okay?' Naseria asked, her tone sounding overprotective. Her fists were folded, ready to fight, while Wambui and Shayana were ready to use their magic, though the sage's was weak and couldn't be compared to Wambui's. Wari was too scared to do anything, as expected of a village diviner.
'Stand down,' Mumbi ordered. The three reluctantly did so as Mumbi took a step forward towards the girl.
'Does everything you see happen?' She asked her, and the girl nodded while still in shock.
'What did she see? Did you see your death?' Shayana asked, curiosity all over her voice.
'No, we saw something much worse, the doom.' Mumbi's words caused the room to be silent, even the Wari was too shocked to say anything. Wambui, who recovered first.
'How soon?' She asked.
'Soon enough.'
'May the goddess help us!' Wari exclaimed as she turned to the burning fire and the small statue of the goddess. Mumbi was annoyed that she had just witnessed that and ordered her out.
'What do we do?' Shayana asked as her eyes moved all over, showing the many thoughts racing in her mind.
'Find the skull of Okalu. By using his power, it is the only way to start the doom.' Mumbi let a loud sigh of frustration.
'But you have been searching for the skull for hundreds…thousands of years,' Shayana argued. For a moment, Mumbi was irritated by that, not because Shayana had reminded her of her greatest failure, but because she was right. And now, with the countdown for the doom beginning, finding the skull of one of the most powerful men to ever exist was harder.
But there was hope; she turned to look at the girl cowering against the tree. 'We have her now.'
The three finally turned to the cowering girl, who was just as surprised.
'The power of prophecy goes back in time, not just in the future. We could use it to see where he was buried and destroy his skull.' Mumbi simply explained as if it were that simple.
'What is your name, child?'
'Amala.'
'You will come with us to Suma. And help us stop what we saw.' Mumbi then lifted her to her feet. She wasn't as short as Mumbi had thought. Her chest had begun to form, and her hips had begun to widen, showing that she was becoming of age. The skin patches were all over her body, but they made her seem beautiful and mystic, especially knowing the power she had.
'You will love Suma. It's beautiful and majestic, like the giants intended it to be,' Shayana said with a cheer.
Mumbi could see the conflict in Amala's eyes. She had grown up in a small, isolated village with no purpose but to farm. She had then found her prophetic powers that had led her to see the death of the world. And now she must join Mumbi, the saviour of Aka, to save the nine realms once again. It was too much for the young girl who knew she had no choice but to agree.
'We rest for the night, and then tomorrow, we begin the journey to Suma.' The triad nodded, each glad to finally rest after days of travelling. 'Can you leave me alone in the shrine? I need to pray.'
Everyone, including Amala, walked out, leaving Mumbi alone. Wambui and Naseria were relieved, one desperate for rest and the other for fire. Shayana followed Amala, already asking her questions about what she liked. She, too, was excited to finally have someone her age join the group.
When she was alone, she turned to the tree. She could feel the faint presence of the goddess, which was enough for her as she knelt before the fire and statue.
'What do I do now, goddess?'