"This is what happened: Habeb, the prince of the Empire of Suramy, murdered his elder brother, Kabai, to cement his chances of becoming the next Emperor of Suramy. The sin of murdering his blood brother was evil. Moguzule, the god of the Suramites, sees all the evil deeds of men and spares no fellow, be it a king, an emperor, or a prince. We heard that the prince was infected with an acute illness, and what was demanded by the gods for his cleansing was the sacrifice of the most beautiful black woman on our continent. The priests of Mogozule believed that only such a sacrifice would cure the handsome prince. Emperor Zule took his name from Moguzule, so that both were thought to be like father and son. For this reason, the prince's punishment was less severe. This prince killed an innocent man who had a royal bloodline. Kabai was the true firstborn child.
"Son, this kingdom of ours boasted of having the most beautiful black woman.
All of Suramy's sorcerers and magicians, with virtually all those old folks who are called 'priests', sought after her in conjured visions, yet it seems they were blindfolded. No one could foretell the future for the ailing prince. Days went by, moving closer to the deadline, for there was a deadline. The Emperor knew that if Prince Habeb died, his chances of retaining the aged dynasty would be slim. In Suramy, the dynasty had never been derailed.
"The Emperor, being a prudent man, came up with a plan. Since the priest of
Suramy foretold that such a woman, whom the gods required as a sacrifice to restore the prince's health, must come from the hilly kingdoms; he dispersed hundreds of his men beyond his territory. They entered Achar, Disee, Egleton,and our kingdom, carrying parchments whose contents revealed the wealth that would be bestowed on any man whose daughter won the contest to marry Prince Habeb. This, we later discovered, was a farce. It was a trap. Parchments were disseminated to all the Empire's provinces and all the kingdoms. People succumbed and got carried away by this misleading news. The news reached our kingdom. But the gods have never misled us. Briah, our powerful priest, revealed to us the evil of these promises. At that time, we were an autonomous kingdom. Warnings came from Briah's shrine. This warning had repercussions. It portended destruction, and no one believed it would happen this way.
"We did not know that Chief Umai would disregard traditional rules like a fool. Despite warnings from Briah, which were peddled by the town crier, warning that no woman from Muzagah should partake in the competition to marry the Prince of Suramy lest evil reign in our kingdom, Umai secretly journeyed to the capital city of Suramy with Nana, his only daughter, to compete for the prince's hand in marriage. Fortunately, she vied and won. A fake marriage between the prince and Nana was organized. The outcome of that marriage became a triumphant victory for the rulers of the Empire of Suramy. Nana was murdered and used as a sacrifice to the gods of Suramite, which brought healing to the dying prince of Suramy. The monarchy stood firm again. The dynasty's continuity was celebrated. The evil that clouded the royal family drifted away. Little did Umai know that a man's quest to fulfil his greatest wish had prices that must be paid.
"He returned to Muzagah in secret, but the eyes of the gods watched him. He flaunted his wealth, and it didn't take long before we felt the plague. Briah made his inquiry, and the lot fell upon Umai and quenched his life. Since this terrible incident, the gods have punished us and made us pay great tributes to the Suramy Empire annually. And we do not know if we will ever be absolutely independent again. There is more to tell you. I know that you are troubled. You have a feeling of a looming war, and if you take a step to find the truth, you will see that the Guchi clan has a strong connection with the cause of the impending war.
"Last month, precisely on the fourth day, Prince Habeb of the Suramy Empire marched onto our kingdom. We thought he had come to collect the yearly imperial tributes, so his arrival wasn't strange since he came along with his troops. When he came to the palace, his gait seemed to be like that of someone who is lame. He told the king that
He fell from his horse. He was badly injured. He said that he fell down from his horse as a result of a momentary loss of mind. We thought that was all. But there was more, which led to his fall.
That day, he acted courteously. He talked to King Guaya like a friend. I and some chiefs who welcomed him were in the palace, and we listened to the young prince as he narrated his ordeal to us. We were all amazed by his politeness. He began by telling us that the Emperor, his father, who was a warrior in his youthful days when he conquered the kingdom of Ballahi, met a fair damsel whose race originated from a very far country where the white people lived. The Emperor admired her so much that he captured her and married her. He impregnated her, and she gave birth to him. This is the reason he is of mixed race. Though his father is black, he inherited his looks from his late mother. These racial differences made him underestimate the beauty of a black woman. He hated the indigenous young women of Suramy. Yet these girls admired him as a prince, and above that, having a unique race as his enticed them, too.
"When he said that he developed amorous feelings for his sisters because he couldn't find a suitable black woman to mate, I thought he was crazy. One day, he said that our gods proved him wrong. Surprisingly, he claimed that a black girl's beauty mesmerised him; that was the beauty he found in Nana. If anyone had told him that a black woman possessed such beauty, he would have doubted it. And when the gods requested the most beautiful black woman as the only sacrifice they would accept in order to heal him, he thought it was a trick to push him to the pit of death. He'd thought he would surely die, but luck smiled at him.
"To satisfy that sudden feeling of instant love he felt for Nana, he ordered the executioners to allow him to kiss her luscious lips before she was beheaded. She died, leaving a big scar in his heart. So far as he lived, he knew that her death had left a deep wound in his heart. He felt he would go mad. Murai, these things happened, but to think that the prince told us the truth was a terrible feeling after what he did to our beautiful Nana.
"I'll drive to the real issue now. I sat next to King Guaya, listening to the prince talk passionately. We did not believe him when he said that for the past three years, he had longed to marry a woman who looked like Nana. Emperor Zule is a wise man. He was worried because her demise affected the heir to his throne emotionally and mentally. The Emperor felt that for one to go on a search to find Nana's lookalike, it would be fruitful if you searched for her in the kingdom of Muzagah. He urged the prince to come to our land. Perhaps he might find a relative of Nana or a sibling of hers. Surely, he believed answers would come from here. This is what necessitated Prince Habeb's appearance in our kingdom.
"The tributes were ready, so we presented them to the prince. We were surprised because he rejected these royal tributes so civilly before he declared his intentions to us. He stated his words so well, yet we remained unyielding, even though we knew the consequences. I get confused, thinking why the gods left us to live by our own wisdom. I told you that the gods punished us when Nana was sacrificed to atone for Habeb's sinful act. We believed that Banabella, my sweet angel, would become another victim because she is the girl whom Prince Habeb demands from us," Chief Hugadah announced.
Murai drew back in shock. "What? My sister?"
His father bent his face down before speaking up again as he narrated what happened.