Weeks later, after much struggle remedying the King, with assistance from the entire potencies including wizards, witches and the old religion, it was in due course to no avail. To end, King Guantai succumbed to the illness.
His death was a dawn to darkness to the Kamu people. King Guantai was not the best, more so, in comparison to King Kang’ethe, but his death was no good news in the ears of Kamu people either. Ages past and present, they prayed for the end of his reign. However, the outcome after his demise was not what they prayed for or thought of it to be. His death meant assumption of the throne by his son prolonged, and patently the sure guarantee of King Martin’s reign.
That was so because, after a King’s death, the throne was to be entrusted to the son, the sore heir to the throne, and a core offspring of the royal bloodline. Although the people of Kamu prayed to the gods day and night to change this tradition, they did it as an act of faith. It was a time that, the people in power had their wish come before the will of the gods for humanity. It was like wishing for the heavens beneath the grass.
Nevertheless, to the Kamu people, it was better to face hell after death than to face it on earth by their kind. It was better to die hopeless than slavery with hope for freedom.
It became crystal to them that, they were under the rule of Martin, the King to be. Were it not for the customary traditions of the land, Martin’s wish to be sworn in as King would come first.
Upon such trends of events, the death of a king, a mourning ceremony was to be done in honor of the deceased King and honorable warrior. It was this custom that had the King in wait announce a two weeks mourning ceremony for the fallen hero, his father, against his wish.
King Martin made it clear that, the two weeks were his most difficult and to the people of Kamu Community. Every being on the land was to honor and remember it. That being said, each had to play the desired role to see that the hero had a perfect send-off.
Normally, after the declaration of such an event, the first two days and nights were to be of pure celebration to all. Although death was sorrowful, they had to celebrate to mark the end of a king's reign. Celebration was also a sign of gratitude to the gods and the fallen King.
Throughout the era, days like those were appropriately celebrated. Those in power did it by plenty of specially distilled wine and women at their disposal. The most beautiful women were chosen for those of the royal blood and the warriors.
It was only in such events that the people got a better chance with their loved ones. To the underdogs, the two days were like a journey to the heavens and an encounter with the gods. It was a rare opportunity in Kamu and those others like it.
That was the only time they had reality become dreams and dreams becoming reality. The reality of the cruelty from the incoming King became a dream while, the dream of being with their loved ones in celebration and free from orders and burdens became a reality. It was like having darkness at the middle of the day. Only darkness and celebrations like those kept the burdens off their backs.
On previous occasions, most of the people would take their life after the two days. They believed that it was a chance for them to meet the gods in peace and joy. They also did it as sacrifices to these gods in thanksgiving for the rare burden-free days. They believed the gods would be appeased by the sacrifices and offer those alive more such golden moments.
In that particular one, they had to make the best out of it for, they knew not of another in the years to come. The end of inhumanity and human torture was now like the dreams of a child under King Martin’s reign. As a sign of gratitude to the gods and as a memory to the people to come, they named the period ‘Uciathi’, meaning freedom.
After the Uciathi period was over, there was the task to prepare the tomb where the fallen hero had to be put to rest. The curving, carrying and placing of the building blocks was to be done by all the people until the tomb was complete. Later, for the interior finishing and polishing of the tomb, a few people of high skill were selected.
A couple of days later, after so much hard work by the people of curving and carrying the tombstones, the tomb was ready for the hero to rest in. The only remaining part was for the casket. It was not to be any ordinary casket. It was to be curved from a precious stone proposed by the King during his lifetime and in the design from the incoming King as a sign of honor.
Upon completion of the casket, there was only a day to the King’s send-off. That day was to mark the end of the celebrations and the mourning period. It was also on this day that they finalized preparations for the material day. Ensuring plenty of food, wine and proper set up at the arena was done on this day. It was the welcoming day for the arriving guests and, the Kings from other Kingdoms to pay their last respects to the fallen hero and colleague.
In Lampa Kingdom, it being the closest neighbor to Kamu, there were similar celebrations as well to honor the fallen King. Besides the Ukiri River, such occasions brought hope for peace between the two rivals. It was on such rare occasions that the Kings of the two Kingdoms would drink from the same jar and dine from the same table.
On the day of the King's send off, the feast was opened by a sacrifice to the gods by the King in wait for the throne. It was to cast away the spell of death from the people and for blessings during the ceremony. A white ram was slaughtered by the King to be. Later, the hero’s remains were charioted to the arena for the paying of last respects and other cultural practices involved during such ceremonies.
After all that was over, they then caravanned for the tomb to lay the King's remains to rest. On arrival, the burial rights and rituals were performed. Another sacrifice was done to the gods in order to take the soul of the fallen hero and guard his remains. It was also meant to lock-in the angel of death in the tomb with the remains of the King. When all was over and the hero was laid to rest, they headed back to the arena for the swearing-in of Martin as the next King of Kamu Kingdom.
To the fallen hero’s son, Martin, the King to be, this was the most important hour of the day. It had the true cause for the celebrations of the day. Finally, he was on the final lap towards having the rule of Kamu Kingdom in his hands. One could tell the true meaning of royal blood in one’s veins by looking at Martin at the arena in wait for his so-called birthright.
The ritual was to be carried out by one of the most respected elderly members of the council. King Martin’s moment and dream was now a reality. As he walked to the plinth to take the vows, he was overwhelmed by this much joy that even the blind could see. Finally, he was no longer the heir to the throne but the head at the throne. As the lawful and ordained King of Kamu, Martin’s dreams and wishes had eventually come to reality. Thereafter, everything he had in his wait was to preside over Kamu, and the fate of the underdogs in his hands.