PROLOGUE

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• The tribal chief's daughter   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 th

• The tribal chief's daughter   CHAPTER THREE

  There was great tension in the arena as the combatants focused on the dark grey surface of the lake.Everything was quiet, then suddenly, there was a series of great splashes in the lake after which the water settled again. It seemed like something had left the water but no one could see anything. Most of the combatants moved closer to each other and away from the lake, looking about in varying degrees of panic."I know this kind of monster," Nazora said to no one in particular, with her voice loud enough to be overheard by those nearest to her. Her gaze, however, was fixed intently on the floor."It's called a Wuso amongst we Vodun.You must look down to see it, for though the Wuso is only visible in water it casts a shadow while it is on land.Its magic cannot trick the earth as easily as it tricks us."Once Isinne heard this, she scanned the arena floor until sh

• The tribal chief's daughter   CHAPTER TWO

  Two cloaked figures were discussing in hushed tones inside the hall of the divination temple."I want that girl and that witch dead. I want them both dead. You promised to take care of it. They will ruin everything for us if you let them live." The shorter more agitated figure was speaking in an increasingly shrill voice, pacing the narrow hall and wringing her hands together in frustration."Lower your voice woman." The deep scratchy voice of the taller figure came in low, menacing tones which gave no room for further argument."I intend to keep that promise, but you must be patient. Leave this temple at once and make sure we are never seen together again or I might have to kill even more...people." He looked straight into her eyes, with a slight pause before the last word. Hearing that, the shorter figure quickly turned around with a low huff of annoyance. She left the temple through the sa

• The tribal chief's daughter   CHAPTER ONE

  Location: Northern Afara, Oumari.There was a palpable excitement brewing. You could almost taste it in the air at Oumari. Their tribal chief, Eche Egwuatu had just died, and the mountain tribe was getting ready for the succession combat, otherwise known in the local dialect as Ogu. This combat would determine who their next tribal chief would be. Usually, only young warriors participated in Ogu. The major clans of Oumari; the eastern, western, northern, southern, and central clans would each select a young warrior who had reached the age of eighteen but was no older than thirty to represent their clan in the succession combat. The selection of warriors was usually supervised by the war generals in charge of each clan. These war generals were a small group of seasoned warriors, they served directly under the tribal chief as a council and as military advisers. During the tribal

• The tribal chief's daughter   PROLOGUE

  Eche Egwuatu, the tribal chief of Oumari, woke up in the middle of the night to relieve himself, as was his habit, but when he tried to rise from his sleeping pallet he found out that he could not move.He felt a sharp pain in his stomach.It felt as though a fire burned him from the inside and it made him worried. He tried to call out to Kaine who was sleeping next to him, but no sound came out of his mouth.When the pain suddenly pierced his chest, he knew he had been poisoned. He even knew which poison had been used.As a young man, Eche had offended Ani a mighty earth goddess, and as a result of his offence, she had cursed him. It was not a story he wanted to remember because he was not proud of what he had done. Despite having ample opportunity to, he had never told anyone about it. Not even his wife Kaine.Part of his curse was that he would die by a particular poison a