Three chapter openings — a taste of the world of Otuo before you commit to the full journey.
Opening of the story
The Otuos have a proud bearing and a rich cultural heritage with many legends and myths woven around them. One of such is the legend of Obokhuai ei ghera (one who eats fire).
The story of Obokhuai is one that has been handed down from generation to generation. It is one story the inhabitants of Otuo cannot claim ignorance of. It is a story the people are always willing to narrate and never tired to hear. It is a legend that can never be forgotten. It is not uncommon to see a child narrating the legend of Obokhuai clearly with accuracy including the minute details. So this is the story of Obokhuai, undoubtedly one of the greatest heroes, if not the greatest, that ever walked on the sands of Otuo.
Obokhuai was from the family of Azama. The Azama family was a known family of warriors. They were known for their prowess in the acts of war. There was no weapon, from sword to spear, that they did not use with extra-ordinary mastery. In fact till date the generalissimo of the Otuo army always came from the Azama family — it had been the tradition since the time of the ancient Oba Idumoziren.
The battle of the Kafes was still fresh in the memory of the Otuos. The spirit and skill displayed by the Azama generalissimo was a story to be recounted by the people for a long time to come. According to custom the generalissimo was to be carried shoulder-high into town with celebrations. However, the early hours of the next day, as suddenly as he had appeared at the battle scene, so did he disappear from the battlefield.
None of the soldiers could give a satisfactory explanation as to what could be the reason for this strange behaviour. Some said the generalissimo had quickly gone back to the town under the cover of darkness, to rest as a result of fatigue — so as not to faint or collapse in the eyes of the men. For it was unknown for an Azama general to collapse or faint in battle...
This is just the beginning. The full Chapter One is available as a free PDF — and the complete novel awaits you.
The prophecy is revealed in full
Many stories abound about their enemies and their exploits, their fortunes and woes, about their joys and sadness, their loves and hates, and about their lives and times. Of all these, none so much affected them as did the golden rule which they all had to abide by.
How the rule came into force cannot be fully explained. It could be that what was a precautionary measure turned out to be a golden rule which started as a prophecy spoken by Idumoziren, one of the greatest Obas in Otuo that ever lived this side of Africa. He told the first generalissimo from the Azama clan that since their sole responsibility was to lead the people to war, they had to avoid creating a certain situation.
The situation was no other than the mystery surrounding the two boats. The prophecy went thus:
"A small boat shall be made from a big boat. The big boat will wade through many rivers and will always get to its shores. The destiny of one separates them from being one. One day the big boat shall come back to its shores, only to sink. Then, the small boat shall go to the big boat's banks where it shall capsize and be destroyed. The two boats shall be destroyed, utterly destroyed."
There is a story of a generalissimo who in the course of his wedding celebrations had to terminate the marriage ceremony when he learnt at the last minute that his wife had a connection with fish or the fish business...
The mystery of the two boats deepens with every chapter. Discover how the prophecy shapes every life in Otuo.
A new warrior enters the world
Izemuze opened his eyes to hear the first crow of the morning. He was sweating profusely. The same dream that had plagued him over the years was what he had just dreamt. Why this dream? He could not answer. Only the Almighty Oisalobua could interpret the meaning of the dream.
He knew that one day his dream would be interpreted to him. He could hear a dog barking in the distance. It was not yet daybreak. Very soon the first rays of the sun would shine through the windows of the hut.
Izemuze replayed the dream in his heart. The environment housing the dream had now become a familiar one. The same people, the same town and the same faces. He saw himself leading a group of warriors to battle. The unique thing about these people was their type of dress. In all his life he had never seen these kind of people with the strange but familiar tongue.
Their tongue was strange but he could understand every word. It was the dialect of a people he had never visited but with whom he had some connection. It was not a connection he could explain. He could only feel it. The warriors he led fought with an extraordinary bravery he himself did not quite understand. They were fighting to the last man. They looked at him as a general. He had never been a general. He was a wrestler. His only war was the wrestling ring...
Izemuze had been the wrestling champion of Buci since his youth. The day he defeated Akeghe — the greatest wrestler ever to come from that village — was the day his legend began. Now he was no longer growing younger, and the question of a son weighed on him heavily. The same dream. The same warriors. The same strange people calling him to lead them.
Izemuze's destiny is about to collide with Otuo. Read the full novel to discover how two warriors — one legendary, one unknown — become one fate.