Slaves to the Sword

by Jack Cage

  “Yes. Unfortunately, we are headed toward a difficult period of time. There will be many deaths, and we must prepare to fight.” He held his wife in the moonlight for what could possibly be the last time.

  The land has lost its calmness as the once familiar winds returned to the Sefu village only to blow upwards and sideways.

  The fire at the center of the Sefu village was cracking violently in the late evening darkness; the flames flickered as if they were dancing rhythmically.

  The village elders gathered around the crackling fire to discuss what occurred at the Ema village. There were many muffled conversations of what happened, and the energy of the Sefu people could be felt easily—above all, was a sense of uncertainty. Amri sat in the back and picked slowly at the bowl of food resting on his lap.

  Chief Coffa came out of his hut looking more like himself, and sat down to deliver the most important speech his people would ever hear him say. “Sisters and brothers, tonight I come to you with a heavy heart. We left earlier today to deliver a gift to our friends, the Ema, to prevent a war we now know could not be prevented,” Coffa said with great presence.

  “Chief Ameqran informed us that they want our land, and the only thing keeping them from attacking us over the last few years was Amri. We made it easy for him to eliminate that threat by bringing Amri right to him.” Coffa made eye contact with each of the Sefu elders. They shifted uncomfortably, but said nothing.

  “I ignored my nephew’s warnings and believed I knew what was best for our people—I was wrong. Our attempt to aid our neighboring tribe ended with Amri having to kill two of the Ema’s best warriors, and Chief Ameqran, himself,” said Coffa as the elders started talking softly with each other.

  “Chief Coffa, does this mean we are at war with the Ema?” asked one of the Sefu elders.

  “Yes. They will come quickly to avenge the death of their chief. We must be ready to fight, and prepare our women and children to travel west toward Kuno land.” Coffa commanded.

  “The Kuno cannot be trusted either,” said Zuberi.

  “I know, Brother, but this is our only hope right now. Amri will go with the women and children to protect them from any Ema attacks from the north,” said Coffa.

  “I will not lead my people away from our home. My place is here fighting the Ema with my fellow Sefu warriors!” Amri bellowed.

  One of the eldest members of the Sefu tribe, and former Sefu Chief, Chipo said, “Son, Chief Coffa is correct. You must go with the women and the young to protect them. Without them our future is unsure, and with you protecting them, our future has a chance to endure.”

  Amri could not process what he was hearing. He knew he wanted to fight alongside his uncle and father. His heart was beating violently, and he had no way to release the anger swelling in his spirit. He put his hands on his head, trying not to scream and show his tribesmen his desire to disobey their leader.

  Furaha could see that her warrior child was in distress, and made her way to where Amri was sitting. When he saw her coming toward him, he quickly rose to his feet and walked into the darkness. His mother did not follow, instead, she allowed her legendary son to wrestle with the lion that was trapped inside his soul.

  I do not understand why I cannot help my countrymen protect our village! Amri thought to himself as he walked in the darkness. “I am not a leader, I am a warrior!” Amri bellowed out loud.

  “Yes. You are a leader!” a voice said in the darkness.

  Without turning his head to look back, or break his stride in the darkness Amri replied, “Endesha, you do not understand what I am feeling right now.”

  “Yes I do, Brother. You think it is your job to protect everyone, and if you don’t you are failing us.” Endesha walked five paces behind his agitated brother. “But you are wrong, Amri. We need you to help us go to the Kuno land!” Endesha boldly took a stand against his more powerful brother. “I need you to help us go to the Kuno land, brother!” Endesha said without any quiver in his voice, and for the first time, in a strong tone that reminded Amri of their father.

  Amri stopped walking, and turned to face his brother’s silhouette in the African moonlight. “I know you want to fight, but this time we need you to be a leader. Coffa has taught you what is needed to lead over the last few years, and it is your time now,” Endesha said with a look of desperation on his face.

  Amri thought about what his young brother said. He knew his concerns were valid. Endesha was one of few people that he respected and would listen to. Amri thought some more, and said, “If I cannot fight then I will contribute by helping to develop a strategy for our war against the Ema.”

  The two brothers returned to the village and Amri fell asleep within moments of laying down—a sleep so deep he would not wake easily.

  13

  T he sky was clear and the moon shone brighter than it ever had before. Every member of the Sefu tribe was asleep with the exception of a handful of men watching for activity from the north. Zuberi Sefu and his family were well into their night’s slumber, but Amri was not sleeping easily. He was grunting softly to himself, his body twitched, and he was sweating profusely. Amri’s mind was racing within his dreams. His thoughts were clouded by images that he could not determine were present day or a part of his future.

  Within his dream, Amri’s spirit seemed to be in an alternate world. Amri was still angry and looking for a fight. He was looking for the source of his anger, his nemesis.

  He crouched and took in his surroundings. He slowly raised his head upward to look in front of him and saw nothing. The landscape was gray, barren and dry. Gray dust covered his dark skin but started to slide off of his body as the wind started to pick up. But this was not the familiar wind from his village. It quickly became violent, swirling and blowing so hard Amri’s vision was useless.

  As Amri’s dream continued, he saw visions of men with whips and chains. He heard barely audible words followed by a sharp pain in his back.

  No one within the Sefu family’s hut noticed Amri’s body tense sharply at the pain he believed he was feeling. He started sweating more now and frowned even as he slumbered.

  He continued walking slowly through the gray ash. The ground was soft, and made his footing unsteady.

  Amri tried to figure out where he was, and searched for anything that could help him determine his location. It was useless, he was lost.

  His mind was still angry, still wanting to aid in protecting his village.

  Crippling screams shot through his mind. Women screaming, children in tears, and loud crashes of metal clanging together so loudly Amri fell to his knees again.

  “What is this place?” Amri screamed as he pressed his hands over his ears. Mentally drained, he fell to his knees and placed his hands down into the gray ash in front of him. As he breathed in large breaths of ash filled air, he felt something under his hands.

  He could not see what it was, but it was cold and hard—he rose to his feet, and gripped in his hands was the spear his father had made him.

  Amri continued to walk through the wasteland. He wanted another chance to battle the lion that severely scarred his body. He wanted to prove to himself that defeating the lion was not a matter of chance, when he heard the sound he had waited two years to hear—a lion’s growl. The voice of his nemesis came again, louder and clearer this time.

  Pleased with finding his true nemesis Amri started to smile as he slept.

  His skin was dry now and his heartbeat quickened and was stronger than before. Even as he slumbered Amri Sefu was ready to fight.

  He began to search for his enemy. The grip on his spear tightened as he walked in a defensive crouch through the blinding gray winds. Amri heard another loud growl as if the animal was the size of an elephant.

  He started running toward where he thought it came from. Excited, he yelled into the dusty void, “Come on! Show yourself!”

  Amri desperately wanted to confront the demon that had been haunting him for two years. Sud
denly, the wind stopped. The ash in the air settled, the sky cleared, and he heard another massive growl behind him.

  Amri slowly turned to gaze upon the horror that had been troubling his spirit for so long. This was not the beast he had struck down. It was a lion demon with fangs that shined like bright stars, glowing blood-red eyes, and a body made of rolling black smoke in constant motion. Free of fear, Amri walked toward the violently smoking beast. “Finally, you are here!”

  The lion walked toward him and roared loudly in response. Displaying its bright diamond-like fangs as its mouth stretched open.

  Amri did not flinch. He did not breathe, nor blink. He was focused on one thing. Retribution.

  He circled the lion looking for the opportunity to strike. The smoky outline of the lion tracked Amri’s movements and turned with him as he walked in a circle. It emitted a low growl, a warning. Amri violently slapped his chest with alternating hands. “What are you waiting for?” he screamed. “Fight me!”

  “Why do you seek a battle with me?” The lion’s voice was deep and ominous.

  “I killed you before, and I will do it again.”

  “No, you are wrong. I killed you that day.”

  “I struck you down with my spear. I saw my brothers bring you back to our village.”

  “Did you eat my flesh?”

  “Yes!”

  “Then you know how we became one. I gave you my mark that day. I gave you your power that day.”

  “You gave me nothing!” Amri bellowed.

  The lion gave a mighty roar, and said, “I gave you what you were destined to have!”

  “No. You took my humanity, my feelings, my love for people—I feel nothing! Because of you, I don’t even know who I am anymore!”

  “I gave you inner strength beyond what any person could have. I gave you extraordinary courage. You believe you lost your ability to feel, but it is only because you are not afraid of anything. I gave you these things so you could prepare.”

  “Prepare for what?”

  “Your destiny,” said the lion. “You are going to lead your people to a far land.”

  “To the Kuno land?” Amri asked.

  “No. Even farther.” The lion sat on its hind legs and continued, “You will travel to a faraway land—farther than your mind can imagine. Your destiny is rooted deep in a land that you are not meant to be in; a land you are not welcome, nor wanted in.”

  Suddenly, the sounds of men shouting, and water crashing against a cloudy object filled Amri’s mind. He shook his head and tried to refocus on the still-smoking lion in front of him. He knew the lion would not attack him, and, at that moment, Amri surrendered his anger, and asked, “What will happen to my family?”

  “You will protect the one’s closest to you. All the rest will perish”

  Amri stood silently and thought about the lion’s words. “Who are you?”

  “I send the winds that cool your body at night. I make the sky rain when you are thirsty. I am everything.”

  “You say you are everything, but I only see a lion in front of me.”

  “No, Amri. You see yourself. I am the reflection of your purest form. The smoke you see is from the wars and fires you and your men will make. The light you see reflected in my fangs represents the riches your enemies will seek in the new land. You will lead men against these enemies.”

  “And your eyes?” Amri questioned.

  “My eyes are the blood you shed from your enemies. So much blood—more than you could ever imagine—all by your hands. Your hands!”

  A small river of blood began to flow through the gray ground. It moved around and past the lion, toward Amri’s feet.

  “Your hands!” the lion repeated.

  Blood continued to flow, rising to cover his ankles and calves. “Your destiny lies within the blood of your fallen enemies!”

  The lion disappeared in a torrent of blood that crashed into Amri, knocking him off of his feet and pushing him backwards.

  Suddenly, Amri was back on his hands and knees. Completely dry and covered in gray ash. He heard a voice in the distance calling his name “Amri,” and again, “Amri.”

  He stood, and began to run toward the voice, choking on the gray ash as he breathed. He coughed violently, but kept on running, desperately needing to find who was calling his name…

  “Amri.” Furaha touched him gently on the face, his eyes shot open, and he took in a mighty breath of shock and surprise.

  “Mother!” Amri said loudly. His large chest moved up and down as his lungs begged for more air.

  “Yes, my child. Are you well?”

  “Yes, Mother. I am fine. Just a bad dream.”

  The cool wisp of morning air that made its way into the hut was refreshing to Amri after the lack of good rest he had overnight. He rose to his feet and stretched his strangely sore muscles to the point his joints protested, yet again, with pops and snaps. Amri felt physically tired after his overnight battle from within. He could not recall the details of it, but he knew he had to accept his assignment to lead the women and children to the Kuno land. Before that journey began, Amri wanted to help Chief Coffa plan his strategy against the Ema.

  “Brothers, we must prepare for the Ema to attack at any moment,” Coffa said with confidence. “We don’t know when, but expect them to come from the north, over the mountain pass, and down into the valley to our land.”

  “Do you know how many warriors the Ema will send into battle?” asked one of the Sefu leaders.

  “No. But I do know we have the advantage of knowing their path to our land.” Coffa looked toward the mountain ridge to the north.

  “That is where we will strike them,” Amri interjected.

  “Yes Amri, what do you recommend we do?” Coffa asked while recalling the mistake he made earlier in of not heeding Amri’s intuition.

  “We will fight the Ema on the mountain path. That is the first place they would have to go in order to get to our land,” said Amri. “But we will not waste time waiting for them to come. We will make the first move. We will use what the land gives us to protect ourselves from the Ema.”

  “What do you mean?” Zuberi asked.

  “We will take our animal kills and place them along the mountain pass that leads to our village. This will make the large birds fly over the pathway. We will watch the sky as they circle around the kills, and when they are disturbed, our scouts will see them scatter,” Amri said with a new commanding presence. “We will stage our men along the path during the day, and retreat to a better location at the bottom of the mountain pass during the evening and into the night. The animals should prevent some of the Ema warriors from passing unnoticed before we attack the remaining fighters as they descend from the mountain.”

  “That will only give us a few moments before they descend into our territory, and we have to be prepared for a large fight.

  We cannot afford for them to make it to our village,” Chief Coffa warned. “We have to meet them in battle before they get to the watering hole. If we cannot stop them there, they may have a chance to attack the village, and we cannot allow that to happen”

  Despite their planning and preparation, the Sefu warriors saw no hint of the Ema tribe throughout the day. This made them nervous, so when night arrived, the members of the Sefu tribe were on full alert. No one was truly sleeping except for the youngest of Sefu children. The rest were either preparing for the journey northeast to the Kuno tribe territory, or looking to the north for any sign of Ema warriors crossing the mountain pass, the low lands, the watering hole, or the outskirts of the Sefu village.

  The moon was amazingly bright as the evening sky became clear.

  Absent of the dimming qualities that the clouds from earlier had provided, the unfiltered moonlight casted a supernatural glow on the land. Amri Sefu sat on the ground and gazed up to the stars. “What are you thinking about, Brother?” Endesha asked.

  “The attack is going to happen tonight, Desha,” Amri replied.

/>   “How do you know?”

  “Because that is what I would do.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “I am going to go talk to the chief, and I want you to get Mother and Father. We leave for the Kuno land now. Go now!” Amri commanded.

  Endesha ran quickly toward the center of the village shouting, “Amri says we have to leave for the Kuno land tonight!”

  Amri followed Endesha at a calmer pace, and found Chief Coffa. “Uncle, we have to prepare for the Ema to attack tonight.”

  “Is that what you think is going to happen?” asked Coffa.

  “Yes. We have to leave for the Kuno land now.”

  “Then leave now and protect your family.”

  “Yes, Uncle.”

  The two men shared a long embrace, and as Coffa made to let go he whispered softly into his nephew’s ear, “You are destined to be a great leader one day my strong Black Lion.”

  Within minutes, all of the Sefu women and children awake and ready to start the long walk to the Kuno land. The journey to the northeastern seaside would take them two days.

  At least the bright moonlight would make the trek across the land easier and safer for the Sefu contingent this night.

  14

  W alking in the darkness had never been a problem for Amri, even after his infamous lion attack. Endesha had not yet become completely comfortable with the moonlit darkness. Endesha and his family are in the back of the contingent headed towards the Kuno land.

  “Do you ever think about the lion when you walk at night?” He asked as he assisted his ailed father.

  “No, Desha. To be honest, I used to wish the lion would return so I could have the chance to fight it again.” Amri said while looking over his shoulder at the darkened land that led back to their village.

  “What do you think you would do to the lion, Amri? What would be different?” Zuberi asked.

  “I don’t know, Father.”

  “Nothing would be different, my child,” said Furaha. “That beast gave you a gift, Amri.”