One day in a small village of Mali a women named Alicia was out in the forest to fetch some medicinal herbs. After some time she suddenly became frightened as sharp smell of blood came from a nearby distance.
She was frightened as the village was frequently being haunted by bears and wolves and it was a common thing for the villagers to die in their day to day lives at the hands of these terrifying beasts that roam the area.
She was about to leave as soon as possible when suddenly she heard the cries of a baby. Alicia was shocked and decided to go near the area despite fearing that a wolf or bear must be present.
She picked up a nearby branch and approached the area as carefully as she could.
After some time she reached a open area where one side was the continuation of the endless green forest and the other side an huge rocky mountain. From the mountain a small waterfall came crashing down and a small stream was created that ran across the forest.
After reaching the area she was horrified to see a man lying dead covered in a pool of blood. Lying next to him was an infant covered in a piece of cloth who was crying.
As Alicia reached the man she saw that the wounds were not from any wolf or bear but sword cuts . The man was wearing heavy chainmail armour.Two arrows pierced his armour. Alicia guessed that the man may be an soldier who was protecting the baby.
As she looked around she suddenly saw a small entrance from the mountain end . She guessed that the man came from that pathway.
She quickly took the baby in her arms it was a boy and went back to her village to inform the elders about the situation.
The elders at first were reluctant to accept the baby however as Alicia insisted they accepted.
They went to the site and decided to close the pathway from where the man came with a boulder. The man was buried and all of the villagers returned back to the village.
Alicia lived alone as a few years ago a wolf had killed her husband and her only son died of an incurable disease. Alicia was delighted to finally have someone in her life after a long time.
As Alicia removed the clothing she noticed a burn mark on the infants chest . It looked like a lions face . Alicia was surprised as the burn was by no means inflicted by accident.
However she decided to not ponder over the matter much.
She changed his clothing and gave him a name Asper . As Asper looked at Alicia with a broad smile over his face.
To be contd...