I-I: Daughter of Man
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McSaddy
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I-I: Daughter of Man
~ Mt. Nimba, West Africa ~
~ 851 Anno Domini ~
~ 851 Anno Domini ~
Guere Yawo
The night was calm and cool atop the mountain, but it did little to calm his nerves. His eyes were fixated to the small fire in front of the entrance of the hut, blazing balmily on the pyre, crackling once in a while. He liked to imagine that to be his heart, calm and collected on this night… but he still couldn’t feel it as he paced around, rumbling within him.
His tribe that called this mountain home were called the Mano. They were part of the Kru clans, sort of… and the Kru were very unliked in this part of West Africa, or The Coastlands as it was aptly known to them. The clans were like any in the Coastlands, a strict hierarchy structure was in place, their center of life was within a village such as theirs, they hunted game, sometimes farm or herd, if there is space available, but they were quite different from their neighbours, the southwestern tribes were infamous, being reavers and raiders of the coasts.
His particular tribe liked to go downhill from the river, raiding their own, but recently, their raids didn’t really go as well as they hoped, as their coastal brethren had better spears and more men than them.
Theirs was a pitiful thing, few were fit, they almost had no weapons of iron on their hands, they were disparate, the whole lot of them. Nonetheless, they made do with what few sheep that can graze atop their mountain home, the relative safety from the warring jungles was a blessing in their eyes.
It was better to raid when the lot were asleep, his brother once said.
The biggest hut was owned by the biggest man in the village, and that was him, Guere Yawo. He was their leader, the strongest and the most fearless of their tribe, and he was currently trying his best to not soil his loincloth. His brother in name surely rolled his eyes at his antics, but he didn’t give a shit at what he thought of him.
“It will go well, today is the seventh moon. Nothing bad will happen on the seventh moon!” Yoofi patted him on the shoulder.
“Oh, come off it!” he slapped his brother’s hands off of him.
“What if Ami perishes!? I am old, Yoofi! OLD! I will not be mocked by the likes of you and your perverted friends for not bearing any firstborn!” he glared at his brother, several of several moons younger than him. At that, the twenty-something man gave a sheep-like grin.
“You know that was a joke, brother-” he started.
“Unhand me, you mischievous usurper!” he slapped his younger brother’s hand away and hissed at him.
Yoofi rolled his eyes at the senile man bearing down on him, ignoring the stink of his beard as he peered his eyes at the leather curtain. He raised one eyebrow.
“-ith that! Come on then! Speak up! Let us duel-” he was interrupted by a shush and finger on his lips, he looked at him with outrage, but he did not let him.
“Honoured brother, it sounds like-”
Guere Ami
“Waaaah! Waaaaaah! Waah! Waaaaaaah!” a cry rang out within the small chamber, gurgling in the torchlight. She was thankful that this time…
“It is a girl! Lady Chief! Healthy and hale!” the shaman, announced, holding the baby in the air.
She felt like her body was battered and broken, still that news made her smile in aching repose. Ami felt her eyes become blurry with tears, she had done it, there was no tragedy, no more… and the earth mother had heard and answered her prayers.
“Pass her to me...” she croaked.
The chieftain’s wife, proceeded with struggle, to weakly present her sweaty arms to the shaman and a priestess of Asase Yaa, mother-goddess of earth and life. The woman looked at her before peering down at the baby, then back at her, slowly a scrutinizing look was present on her face. As if pondering whether she should show it to her…
“Asì? W-Why are you looking at her like that?” she spoke nervously. Was something wrong? Is her baby truly healthy and hale? Was she-
Did she fail again?
“Your daughter…” Yes! What about her daughter!? What happened to her!?
“She is… different.” Asì said, a strange look on her face. She still couldn’t see her, she needed to know now!
“Tell me!” she hissed in pain, terror, and hope.
“She has-”
“I’ve had enough! It is time to see my heir!” a gravelly voiced boomed from beyond the curtain, revealing the large chief that towered over most of all them. He looked to the bundle and commanded-
“Woman, show me my heir! I must look closely.” the shaman gave him an unimpressed look, and looked towards the wife for confirmation instead. The chieftain’s face only grew more agitated at the gesture.
Sighing, she said-
“Show him, he is my husband after all…” Ami huffed tiredly, head slumping down into the bedding, which she let out a small grunt. The older woman by her side tightened her face at her, then with great reluctance, the priestess of the earth-mother uncovered the bundle.
It was a baby alright, though it was different from their appearance. For one, she had full white hair, covered in the blood of labour.
“You show me a lamb?” Yawo looked at this feisty priestess, incredulous. The old man peering at it closely, it seemed sound asleep, as if it didn’t cry minutes ago… her skin was as dark as-
“It is not a lamb, you old fool! She is your daughter!” Asì said, heat radiating from her declaration. At that, Yawo felt something snap inside of him, it all rushed in, the rage in his blood, the shame and sadness that he bore alone, the sleepless nights in the cold dark. He took a deep breath, as much as his failing lungs could muster, and let out a bellowing-
“OF ALL THINGS, WHY MUST ALL GO WRONG, A FAILED RAID, HALF OF OUR TRIBE MISSING, NOW YOU TELL ME THAT MY HEIR IS A FEMALE LAMB!? I AM DISAPPOINTED, SO MUCH SO!” he rumbled, body shaking in poor health and in rage, his spittle dropping over their old carpets, Yawo clenched his calloused hands as he looked in flaring hatred at the object of his ire. Ami began to sob softly, as the woman shaman quickly rushed to her side with the baby to comfort her.
“Brother, calm yourself-” Yoofi attempted to calm them, but that sadly wasn’t meant to be. The shaman, after saying gentle reassurances to her blood sister, and gently laying the infant in a nearby crib, she turned towards the distressed old man. She marched towards the bearded giant that was twice the size of her, and began to show off her prowess in the arena of words.
“SHE IS NO LAMB, GUERE! SHE IS AMI’S DAUGHTER AND HEIR, YOU-”
“SILENCE! YOU IRRITATING-”
“-POMPOUS, PRIDEFUL, WHY DID WE EVER AGREE TO MARRY MY SISTER-”
“-THE GODS HAVE CURSED ME! FOR WHAT!? FOR-” he began to raise his hand.
“BROTHER NO!” he yelled, in fear for the consequences of striking an agent of the great spirits, the abasom. Another for…
*SLAP!!!*
“AH!” the priestess fell on her haunches, holding the stinging pain of her rapidly reddening cheek. She lifted her hand on her face to reveal…
Blood.
“YOU DARE STRIKE MY WIFE!?” Yoofi saw red, this farce was over.
Wasting no time, he delivered his elder brother a swift punch in the jaw, before he felt himself suddenly out of breath as something impacted hard into his belly, the meaty punch heard within the chamber. He thought he heard screaming, was it his wife? No it was the midwives, but they quickly left his vision as he stared balefully into the gnarled bloodied face of his beastly opponent. They were in their own little world now, only Yawo and Yoofi existed, and only one of them was allowed to continue existing.
They continued coming to blows, Yawo nearly taking out his eye with his vicious open palm spearing. He made up his mind, and rammed his brother with his incredible speed. The world blurred and darkened.
“Stop this at once, both of you!” he heard someone yell, but that mattered little to him. As he heard pottery breaking under his brother’s weight- he felt light, then felt his back-
*CRASH*
“Goddess…!” she watched them crash and break the wall of their wooden hut, she heard the support of the entire dwelling near its limit. The creaking of wood and the flapping of cloth did not give her any sort of goblet for living a fulfilling and long life.
“Oh Goddess, protect us…” she thought glumly, her calloused hand holding her sore and bleeding face, the cries of mother and child echoing in the night.
The village warriors watched conflicted as the two brothers crashed out of the dwelling, fighting with fists and teeth. They almost did not recognize the brothers if not for their familiar grunts and voices of curses and slights on each other’s honour.
“At it again are they?” an old man watched impassively while eating half-rotten yam.
At that, the younger one slipped on the mud and began barrelling down the hill, the older sibling diving in to make it even.
The two men rolled down the hill, holding each other in place, dirt and rock scraped skin and broke some bones as they neared the bottom of their tribal holdings. A medium-sized boulder, violently and divorced the two men, both breaking their arms in the process.
…
“Ugh…!”
“Uggghh…”
…
…
…
“Brother…” the younger one spoke, his gaze was cast towards the twinkling stars above.
“Why are you like this…?” he continued, wanting an answer.
“… Heh, you know my time is up. You are stronger than I am now…” the older replied, no longer grumpy, but bemused, like he was… his younger self, so long ago.
…
…
…
“Father was cruel to all of us.”
“Maybe this was his revenge, heh. Your fiery wife was right, I am a fool.” in response, the younger one laughed in pain.
“You were always a fool brother, irresponsible, reckless, and then-”
“The most beautiful woman in the world presented herself in my eye, then she fell in love with you, I was stuck with her dull sister.”
“You are not very tactful, are you?”
“You said it yourself, haven’t you? A fool, I am.”
They both laughed painfully, together.
…
…
…
“Take care of her brother… she deserved better than a… poor excuse of… a chieftain I was…”
“Don’t be silly, you can apologize, then we can pretend this was all just a misunderstanding.”
“…”
“We’ll have lamb, to celebrate. My wife will berate you as usual, heheh, then we all drink and feast like no day was ever different.”
“…”
“We’ll be there for the naming ceremony, you can choose a name! A beautiful name for your pride and heir!”
“…”
“Maybe, our days will be happy then, by Nyesoa! Maybe we’ll have a successful raid this time! Then we can free the rest of our tribesmen out east! Isn’t that right, brother?”
“…”
“I-Isn't that right? Heh… h-heh…”
“…”
“Brother…?”
“…”
…
…
…
When the men found them, only one was alive, his face covered in bruises, blood, and sweat. His eyes, they were glistening, though no one bothered to notice.
Not even him.
Yawo looked at her, her hair was white like the purest ivory, her face had the markings of a beautiful and demure woman in the future, at least that was what his wife told him. For him though, it triggered a mixture of feelings of grief, hope, anger, and… and…
He sighed, as he observed the mother feeding her, a blank look was on her face. Honestly, she wasn’t that dull of a woman, but still…
“Antó.” Ami said, tightly.
Asì and Yoofi glanced at one another for a moment. Then back at the widow.
“Antó is her name.”
At that, they both nodded their heads solemnly, the shaman held her hand as the night wore on.
She didn’t see him, indeed.
~ Chieftain’s House, Mt. Nimba, West Africa ~
~ 854 Anno Domini ~
~ 854 Anno Domini ~
Guere Kobbi
She was still staring at him with her weird eyes, locking to his own as she stood from her crib.
He preferred that she didn’t.
The sounds of rain was the only thing keeping him company other than her, but it was also the reason he was stuck here standing guard over his cousin, the weather too cold for any substantial raid or hunt. So he and the rest of his friends for the hunt were stuck here until Nyame Above All, (or was it Nyesoa?) deemed it so.
He was the one who was supposed to be watching her, not the other way around!
It felt like she was looking through his very soul, like how a hunter would evaluate their prey. But it was more than that, it felt like she knew his weaknesses, his strengths, his fears and contentedness, his entire bloodline. He was even sure she knew his most deepest and darkest secrets…
What is this feeling… why does he feel… not real-
“Are you scared of her, Kobbi?” Kobbi was scared then, as he let out a shrill cry and dropped his little spear on the ground. The voice above him tittered mockingly at his shameful and embarrassing display, he whipped his head behind him only to be met with an amused brown face.
“Mother! I was not!” his face seemed more red than brown now, presenting the laughing woman with an indignant look on his face.
“You kept looking at her, your little knees were shaking too.” she said in bemusement.
“My knees were not shaking!” he said, upset at the slander of his noble character.
Picking up his little spear, she gave it to him with an easy smile on his face.
“Hmph!” he grabbed the spear out of her hands and stood watch, wanting to prove her wrong. He glared at her, wanting to show this scary baby that he was not intimidated by her!
When he first saw his baby cousin revealed to him and his siblings, they all had a variety of reactions. It’s not everyday you get to see white hair that did not look aged or gray, it seemed to shine like a flower, so white and pure. But when she opened her eyes, did it cement her status as a… weird baby. At first, he thought that her inner eye had burst and was filled with blood, to which he felt pity for her.
Then… it began to feel unnerving.
Not that he would admit it.
Guere Así
She was amused by her son, but she felt the undercurrent of that feeling again… as she looked at the both of them. Her mind wandered towards the day of the banishment that she and her sister endured, the hatred of that face that she saw staring back at her that fateful day… how she swore vengeance within her heart at-!
“Wah…” she stopped her track as she blinked back to reality, she saw her sister’s infant-child staring at her… concerningly?
She was tilting her head at the side. Staring into her red eyes, the priestess felt herself mesmerized once more, there was something about her that made her charmed by her presence. She supposed this was another eccentricity, the gods and spirits have set. Her sister had suffered miscarriages, three sons, lost to the winds of fate. Though the child’s appearance was unusual, she felt, in her opinion, that Antó was going to do great things, she never felt this way to any of her own children.
She shook her head and walked over towards the baby, bowl in hand. Her sister was sick today, hopefully she can recover.
The servant gulped, as once again she checked the cloth diaper of the chieftain’s heir, and still there was no amount of brown or wet substances present. Now this would be a good thing, except the daughter of the chieftain has not been… doing her business in the last three days! Last time she checked with her own children, they always made a mess without fail when time came to.
Not her, not even once. She has been fed well, she fed her, herself! Yet nothing was coming out!
“Uhnn!” she looked at the baby again, her cheeks pouting and staring daggers at her, her face red as she covered her girlhood with her stubby hands. She felt a sense of danger when she looked into the child’s otherworldly eyes again, she rushed to reapply the diaper. She knew that the child was more aware than she let on, and she did not want to find out the consequences of earning the ire of tribal royalty.
Guere Así
Three weeks have passed since then, it was late at night when Shaman Asì was finished with healing the warriors. Loot has come steadily again, but most were barely edible, the tribe was shrinking in manpower and life felt like it was turning back to the way it was back again… As she walked back to her tent, a slight slump to her posture, she was taken aback by the sight of the young heiress.
S-She was standing!
But, what was she in her medicinal chamber?
“Little chieftess? What in goddess’ name are you doing here?” she was swiftly right in front of her, bending down to hold her close.
“Bah! Bababu!” the child held up her hands, her eyes gleaming and… smiling?
“Hm?” Guere Asì glanced behind her, where medicinal herbs and other mystical apparatus lay undisturbed. She shook her head, then turned her attention back to the child.
“Come now, my niece.” she picked her up from the floor.
“It is time for you to sleep.”
“Baaaah! Bu!” the child protested with an indignant shake of her arms.
“Antó!” The girl’s mother's voice rang out in desperation.
“Antó! Where are you?!”
It has been three months now, since the girl-toddler has stood on her own, unnoticed, giving the rest of the Guere clan no sign of rest for this intrepid little miracle. A new disaster has developed, one that might cast a long shadow over the tribe, a sign of things that will only go downhill from there.
The clan's warriors, along with what remained of the family, had set out in search of her. Yoofi was out raiding, giving the Toro the slipup when midnight hits. That left only the two matriarchs—sisters bound by sanctuary and blood—and their contingent of loyal men.
They fully searched the village, now they were scouring the entire mountain, for any sign of their child. If she has gone from this world… the shaman’s children will make good replacements for the future leadership for the tribe, though it will make the village feel more empty than it usually is.
If the worst did happen, they clung to the hope they could find the body at least.
Wherever she may be…
Guere Kobbi
…
…
…
“Babuu!”
Kobbi stared dumbly at her, her normally wispy and white hair covered in twigs and leaves, he could see bruises on her knees and cuts all over her. She was giving him a stupid smile as she waved around a bunch of plants in her hands. She also had leather slings around her that carried rocks of different colours.
Kobbi wasn’t even searching for his cousin, he was busy maintaining his new spear when she inexplicably showed up unannounced with her stupid smile on her face. He now knew headaches, introduced too early for his age, and he dragged her by the arm, ignoring her protests as he put her in the center of the settlement, hopefully with eyes on her this time.
All the villagers left in the settlement were crowding round her, whispering incredulity and some amusement. Kobbi couldn't help but think of the search party who would soon return to a village to learn the news. He couldn’t help but shudder.
If he knows one thing, Auntie Ami was not that gentle all the time.
~ Mt. Nimba, West Africa ~
~ 855 Anno Domini ~
~ 855 Anno Domini ~
“Our chieftain dead? Our tribe in shambles? The heir born with white hair and bloody eyes and is a girl-child? The pigshit is real then, she is the sign of our end! Cursed I say!” the skinny old man huffed with his arms crossed, joining in this encounter was a crowd that began forming.
It was midday, the dry season had come in full force. Heads were aching, sweat was dripping, and mosquitos were hungry for blood.
“Bah, how would you know? You don’t commune with the all-seeing spirits, you’re a cripple, just like the rest of us!” another skinny, he was much younger.
“Foolish young man, you don’t need to be shaman to commune with the ancestors and the spirits!” the old man lectured him, and grabbed from his bag and presented what looked like orange coloured chilli-peppers.
“Old man, why do you have that?” another man questioned, slightly less skinny.
“Focus, young man, it is no time for silly questions!”
“We’re not allowed to pick those! The griots told us if we use it without a shaman’s help we will-”
“Wah?” all of them then turned towards the voice that broke their tense argument. For standing right before them, was the heir of Guere herself. They have never seen her before, a wave of… something passed through them. Some smiled at her appearance, but others…
“Let us kill her.” the old man said unapologetically.
*thud*
“Umphf!” in response, he was backhanded by the slightly less skinny man.
“Hah ud, warba da wah…” she said, picking her nose in contemplation.
“Why did you hit me, you hooligan!?” the old man exclaimed, waving his arm stumps in the air angrily.
“This would be an unwise course of action, grand uncle.” the skinniest of them said to him, as the heir apparent, flicked the booger off her finger.
“Nephew, look at you, you are more bone than man with that appearance. You are telling me we must place our trust on some weak girl-child to lead us to victory? Our days were numbered when that old chieftain of ours was bewitched by those piss Akan women.” some murmured in agreement, others were cursing him. While a shadow suddenly disappeared from the group of retired raiders.
“Can’t you see this was their shitty plan all along!? To see us proud and strong Krumen bow down to their piss ways!? They promised us safety! They promised us peace! Bah! All they do is complain about the fucking mosquitoes! And when they are not, whisper to the chieftain’s ear to bring useless battle! To kill more of us everyday!” some more crippled men rumbled in agreement, but others disagreed. The crowd’s air became restless.
“Wah wowee wah?” the white-haired toddler seemed more nervous at the gathering before her.
“Remember the time when we were rich with loot! Rich with women! Until, Yoofi, that traitorous cretin, left us to fend for the beasts! He killed his brother! I know it was no accident, he traded his soul to usurp his brother!”
“Wai sho gwe wout.” Antó said with a straight face and turned around to get out of this flash confrontation.
“How would you know!?” One pointed accusingly.
“I was speaking to him! I saw him in his dreams! She was no daughter of his, his whore of a wife slept with a chaos god! We must slay her before it is too late!” at that, the old man began to march resolutely towards the girl-child.
“No! Stop!” someone said, thankfully someone stopped him in the crowd, perhaps proving that there is some sense in this world.
“Let go of me! I’ll crush that lamb with my bare feet if I have to!” and with surprising strength he shoved his captor and, wrenching himself free, to run towards the Daughter of Mani.
“Stop him!”
“What are you doing!? Can’t you see-”
The first punch started it all.
Guere Anto
Looking back, she saw the armless maniac running towards her, as the mob turned themselves upon eachother. The child was otherworldly, but she was undoubtedly human, as the instincts kicked in. To run, fight, or freeze in place. Sadly, the latter won out, and she began to reminisce again involuntarily… like many other times when she awoke.
Yet again, the memories of her first life flashed before her eyes, so vividly real and barely dreamlike. The pain, oh that wretched pain of heat and light, lungs burning into smoke and ash as it all collapsed around her. No voice could be spoken, for there was no more air left to breathe in. It was the most miserable way to die, fitting for the person who had the most miserable way to live.
The spark was alight.
Before that foot hit her, she-
“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!” out of nowhere, her saviour hath arrived on time, still wounded and covered in medicinal herbs, she watched him deliver a fresh spearing into the old man.
“GAH!” were his last words as his intestines were ruptured, and he succumbed from shock. He was dead before he even hit the ground, eyes wide open.
“Wustash wan!” Guere Antó cried and ran towards her hero. She knew she could always count on moustache man to save the day.
Guere Yoofi
“What has happened here!? Do you doubt your brother’s chieftain!? Doubt his choice of heir!?” Guere Yoofi was not as big as his brother, but he was just as fierce and vicious. He had survived the rage of the forest after all.
“She is a girl-” one of the crowd said-
“So what? She can have sons when she is older!” he snarled, reminding the men of his role as The Night Jackal.
“Now begone from my sight!” Even covered in bandages and recently lost to the Bassa tribe, they knew they shouldn’t mess with the second-strongest fighter in the village, now the first. So they obediently nodded, some quietly spitting in his direction, but they fully honoured his command.
His rage cooled as he stroked the hair of his foster daughter. It was unlike his wife’s or sisters, it was smoother for one, the caretakers were obsessed with stroking or brushing her hair, which was already long when she was born. They didn’t even bother to tie her hair into knots, it would be a waste, and he could see why.
He could get addicted to this.
…
“Oh brother, you big idiot.”
A/N:
APR-18-2024: Hello, first post here. I joined earlier, but I was nervous on posting this, and I was reworking the chapter format on this. It's available on SufficientVelocity, AlternateHistory, and Fanfiction.
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