CHAPTER FOUR

During the night, after the first stage of Ogu, Nazora sat on a heap of furs laid on the ground holding some herbs she had picked on the way to the hut.

Her whole body ached from fighting in Ogu earlier that day but it was nothing the herbs and some sleep could not fix. She could feel a slight breeze from the high, carved-out windows ruffling her hair and she could hear the crickets cheerfully chirping away outside the hut.

She crushed the herbs on a flat piece of wood using a smooth stone and as she performed the routine task she let her mind wander a little.

Using the dim reddish light from the four strategically placed oil lamps she looked around. The hut was plain, spacious and circular, made from red mud. It was reserved for females participating in Ogu and it had white circles and whorls adorning the inner walls. The Oumari favoured circles. It was sacred to them as it was the symbol of their patron god Ensu the trickster and fire wielder.

After the herbs were crushed into a suitably soggy and rather pungent paste, Nazora lifted the wooden door aside and went to fetch water from one of the large earthen Odudu outside the hut. The Odudu was a type of large, dark brown pot made of clay, usually covered to keep out curious insects and small animals. Nazora filled two calabashes with water from the Odudu and went back into the hut.

She poured out some of the water from the smaller calabash into a shallow earthen bowl, dipped a clean piece of linen into the bowl, and bathed her cuts. The worst of her cuts was a slightly deep gash on her lower left leg so she paid special attention to it. After cleaning her cuts she applied the paste of herbs to her left leg and then gritting her teeth against the sting, bandaged the throbbing leg with a clean linen strip. None of the other cuts was deep enough to need bandages but she applied the healing herbs to all of them.

Nazora looked across at the second heap of furs where Isinne lay fast asleep; after what she did in Ogu today it was a miracle she was still alive. Most of the Vodun were familiar with the great prophecy surrounding the birth of Eche's only daughter. Nazora considered it an honour that she had been chosen to guide the young princess.

Isinne diving headfirst into the grey lake which harboured a mother Wuso, however, had been the first indication that Nazora's task was not going to be an easy one. She had feared for the other girls life, but seeing her come out a while later, after a terrible thrashing in the water, with a large vaguely humanoid head and both swords still in hand gave Nazora such a shock she lost concentration while fighting a monster and nearly had her left leg amputated by the opportunistic thing.

Hearing a prophecy was very different from seeing it play out.

It had all started when the priests began their infernal chanting. The arena had gone dark and shadows of the Wuso became impossible to see. The combatants would have to rely on their other senses to figure out where the monsters were. Nazora had bent and begun to draw hasty patterns around herself, she had known that the Wuso moved by slithering along the ground while on land. Her patterns would be disturbed if something slithered over them. It was not the best solution but at that time, it was all she could think of.

There might be no sun to cast shadows from but she could at least still see the ground around her.

As Nazora was furiously scribbling on the floor, Isinne had calmly suggested that they jump into the lake and kill the deadly monster together.

In that moment, Nazora had tried hard to remember if the prophecy had hinted that the princess would be mad, but it had not. So she had said what any person faced with an unreasonable request would say.

I would rather just behead myself...

She had said it hoping the princess would take the hint and start figuring out how to defend herself against the now shadowless Wuso.

What was Isinne's response to Nazora's subtle hint?

She took off like a hunters arrow, just after the bubbles had finished appearing, and dived headfirst, with no hesitation whatsoever, into the lake. Possibly into the open jaws of a monster for all she knew.

What was Isinne doing?

Those vile creatures were known for drowning unsuspecting victims and tearing them limb from limb... amongst other gruesome things. To make matters worse, everyone knew that the Wuso were a lot stronger in the water than they were on land.

Nazora stood to go after her because she had promised Imara she would look after the girl but, just like that, her path had been blocked by a smiling Nthusi.

Where had this one even come from? Was acting strange something that ran in their family?

Nthusi had a spear in his left hand, a shield in his right, and a quiver of arrows over his shoulder.

Wait... arrows? Where did he get those?

Nazora was sure they were not his since he came into the arena without them. She returned her attention to him.

His bronze hairless chest gleamed with sweat and black blood, pronounced bicep muscles straining as he ran his right hand through his short black hair.

"Where are you going? If my sister is tired of her life then is she not free to end it?" He had said.

Nazora was a bit surprised by his open hostility and would have shoved past him had she not suddenly been slammed from behind by what had felt like a thick wet rope. She began to fight off the offending monster while trying to keep an eye on Nthusi until he turned away from her and ran off to join Taharaq in the fight. As Nazora fought, she had to focus all her senses on locating the Wuso, in doing so she had realized that their slithering was audible if one listened very carefully.

Nazora began to steal glances at the lake mid-fight. She was worried about the chief's daughter. She had a strong belief in prophecy and if the prophecy was right Isinne would not die inside the murky grey waters of the lake, at  least not today. On the other hand, Isinne had been in the water for far too long.

Had she not run out of -

A decapitated head had been tossed out of the lake catching Nazora mid-thought. The large head had a few tufts of stringy hair and a wide mouth full of pointy teeth, it also had three eyes in a row above two horizontal slits that might have been nostrils.

Isinne herself crawled out of the lake not long after. She got to her feet, took two faltering steps and then fell flat on the floor. Her amulet was not activated so she had only fainted, she wasn't in mortal danger.

Nazora heaved a sigh of relief.

That was when she had heard a slithering sound very close to her left leg. She jumped away from where she was standing just in the nick time. She got an ugly gash on her leg but she was able to kill the Wuso by unsheathing and throwing four small knives at it before picking her daggers up from the ground and finishing it off. Trying her best to ignore the pain from her bleeding leg, she limped over to where Isinne lay prone on the ground and stood protectively over the princess.

Looking around the arena she had realized that Barika, Nthusi and Osei had apparently been eliminated because they were no longer present. As she looked, her eyes had clashed with Taharaq's, he had been looking straight at her.

It seemed that the monsters had all been killed for none came after that. Or maybe the death of their mother had been enough of a deterrent. It would seem that Isinne wasn't as mad as she had originally assumed.

As Nazora had begun to relax, Taharaq started to approach her from where he was, which was a good distance away. His manner of approach, though, seemed full of malicious intent.

What was wrong with this family anyway?

Taharaq was a very strong and handsome young warrior, tall with light brown skin, and a full head of curly brown hair. The wrapper around his waist, the usual attire of young, wealthy Oumari men, was colourful and obviously worth a lot. In spite of all his physical beauty, he was rumoured to have a violent temper.

Looking at him as he walked towards her now it wasn't hard to believe the rumours.

His former betrothed, a girl from the northern clan had disappeared without a trace under strange circumstances. It was said amongst the Vodun that he had killed her in a fit of jealousy.

Nazora was not sure if Taharaq had killed the beautiful Aina, but she was sure he would kill her without thinking twice if she stood in his way.

Nazora could not wield her chi in Ogu. The warriors were forbidden from using magic during the combat. It would instantly disqualify her, but if Isinne refused to get up from the ground sometime soon she would have to do something drastic.

Taharaq was getting closer sword in hand when the sound of the native drums interrupted him, they could be heard clearly across the arena. Those drums were beating a special rhythm which signified the end of the first stage of combat. Nazora relaxed her tense stand and sheathed her daggers since Taharaq too had been forced to stop advancing.

The shields were dropped and spectators began to return to their huts as the arena gates were opened. The remaining combatants went to the huts reserved for the participants of Ogu which was located next to the divination temple in central Oumari. Tradition dictated that they should be separated from others during the succession combat. Two priests had carried Isinne all the way to the hut with Nazora following close behind.

Isinne had woken up not long after the priests left. She had thanked Nazora for helping her, eaten a huge quantity of the dried meat and fruits reserved for them, and gone back to sleep.

Throughout everything the girl had held on tightly to both her swords. Transferring them to her lap only while she ate.

From a distance Nazora had looked at her carefully, trying to see if she had any serious injuries but there were none visible. Even the cuts and bruises that were on her body before she had gone into the lake were all gone.

That was definitely strange.

Before Nazora slept that night, she went out and placed protective charms all around the hut. She put her daggers within easy reach, under the furs and laid down to sleep.

She wondered what happened in the lake and she also thought about the look in Taharaq's eyes right before the drums had sounded.

She slept.