The Destiny of Amalah (36 page)

‘Can you bring him back?’ Ellora asked.

‘We can try,’ Dagwa said, quickly rising to his feet and beginning to shout to raise those asleep in their nearby huts.

‘Emergency! Emergency!’ he shouted in Zulu. ‘The boy has been bitten by a Mamba.’

The people began to wake and rise and rush to where Dagwa was, and an old woman came and pushed through the crowd that had already gathered and rushed to Kalon’s side.

‘He is torn between this world and the spirit world of those from which he came and the call is strong,’ she said in a low voice.

She rose again and hurried back to her hut and returned to Kalon a short while later. She knelt beside Kalon and stuck a strong smelling substance in the bite mark and then gave orders to those around her. The men picked Kalon up and carried him to a nearby hut where the woman tended to him again and then she spoke to Dagwa quickly and urgently and Dagwa translated back to them.

‘Now we wait,’ he said sternly, after the old woman had finished.

The six waited for six days and six nights as the woman tended to Kalon who was extremely close to death in all of that time. At first he stayed in his coma but then he drifted from the coma to unconsciousness and then to delirious murmurings, coupled with a high fever that alarmed them all.

By day the five stayed by his side refusing to leave him until the people brought food to them and coaxed them away, promising to watch over him; at night, there were always two people by his side, keeping a vigil and praying for him and talking to him. They asked and begged him to stay with them and on the seventh day their prayers were answered and Kalon awoke.

Kalon could barely see and he was disorientated but he called out for his brother who was already by his side. Rakan grabbed hold of his brother’s hand and then hugged him.

‘Kalon,’ he said crying for joy. ‘Kalon you’re back,’ Rakan said, clearly overcome by his brother’s recovery.

‘Rakan,’ Kalon said in a croaky voice.

‘Shh brother, don’t speak, you are going to be alright,’ Rakan said, touching his brothers forehead partly to reassure him and partly to check that his fever had been reduced.

‘Welcome back,’ Waldon said warmly.

‘Welcome back,’ Kenaz repeated.

Ellora and Rufus hugged and kissed Kalon and then, the old woman who had remained in the hut, threw them all out as she tended to Kalon once again. News broke that Kalon had survived the bite of the mamba and the people of the village flocked to see him; they wished him well and left gifts and they talked among themselves about the blessed boy who had been saved by a miracle.

‘
Ibutho!’
That is what the people now called him and it meant “The Little Warrior.”

It took nearly week before Kalon showed any real signs of recovery and another week before he was strong enough to get out of bed. That evening, the Zulus of the village donned their full warrior dress and performed their warrior dance for Ibutho – who had survived the bite of the mamba against all odds.

When they had finished, they presented him with the full warrior dress and a spear, which Kalon took with great pride. Now they had the love and respect of the people, not just from the village but the surrounding villages where word had soon spread and when the time came, they came in drones to say goodbye to the six as they prepared to leave south Mantor, which to them now felt like home from home.

The people of southern Mantor loved all six friends but now, Kalon and Ellora held a special place in their hearts, for he had survived the bite of the mamba and she was the daughter of Kai.

They travelled northwards through south Mantor meeting the Xhosa and other tribes that lived in the region and when they left, they felt as though they had left a part of themselves behind. They travelled in a zigzag direction northwards. They made their way along the unforgiving desert coast of Namibia through to Botswana and then Zimbabwe where they walked along the top of the Victoria falls and then climbed down to wade their way through the Zambezi river.

On they went, experiencing everything that nature and the people had to offer: Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan. In Egypt they roamed through the great pyramids and felt the presence and magic of the pharaoh’s long gone – good and bad. From Egypt they travelled the North of Africa going through: Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco and onto the Sahara desert and when they were there, the sun became brighter and hotter and the heat almost unbearable, but it was no deterrent to the six friends and so they continued.

As the weeks went by they travelled through Gambia, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Ghana and eventually the Congo. There was not much that these children had not seen, but by now they were no longer children; they had travelled half the world surviving off the land and their own wits – now they were young adults.

From the Congo they made an untroubled journey onto Filine, which is now South America. In Filine they travelled through the great rain forests, and trekked along the Andes and the Inca trails and made their way to the spectacular Angel Falls. They travelled to Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and while in Filine they came across the Aztec people and the notorious Inca’s and Hittites who seemed to be scattered throughout the nation.

From Filine they entered Basimine which is now America; while there they met many of the native Indians, who settled in places according to their tribe – of which there were many. They travelled across most of Basimine and the prairies and came across the Mohawks, the Cherokees, the Navajo’s, the Sioux’s and many, many more.

The six were welcomed by all of the tribes and as they spent time to get to know them, they found them to a very spiritual and graceful race of people as well as physically striking with beautiful thick black long hair that was a common feature.

From Basimine, the six filed into Equer which reminded them slightly of Qomolangma. The terrain felt safer but the weather was bitter and it was there that they met the mountain people, who were Eskimo’s or Aleut’s. There in the snow and ice and mountains, the Eskimo and Aleut people had made caves to live in within the stone mountains; they had built an intricate web of cave homes that formed communities. Each cave was warmed by a fire and each cave contributed to warming the whole mountain through a clever and complex ventilation system.

By day, the people would venture down into the snow-levelled forest and hunt and by night, they would return to their caves: eat, make clothes or tools and sing and talk. The mountains were alive and each mountain had it own community of people with its own intricate network of caves. While there, they lived in the caves with the mountain people for a few weeks, and although the weather was cold and bitter, they felt safe and warm in the mountains with the local people.

When the harshest time of the winter had passed, the six prepared to head east to Parades and for the first time in their lives, they rode on sledges driven by huskies; to them the ride was exciting and exhilarating, and they looked on in awe as they rode across the blanket of white snow that covered the land. They then travelled through the snow lands of Parades among the Nordic people and then they reached the lush green prairies that were rare in those parts.

From Parades they headed east towards Lansten and travelled by sledge again, only this time; the sledges were driven by reindeers and the people were tall and white, with long blonde hair both the men and women.

“Ice people!” Kalon thought to himself as he noticed their features; the blonde hair, the steely blue eyes or emerald green eyes and the chiselled features.

They stayed in Parades for a while and watched the northern lights in Greenland and then went on to Lansten, now known as Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan and then finally returned to Amalah after travelling for nineteen months. Rakan, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz were eighteen or nineteen years of age and Kalon and Ellora were both sixteen.

They were home, and it felt good to be walking and riding on Amalah’s soil. They still had a long way to go until they reached Amalah City, but they were home. They rode inwards to the city and the nearer they got to Amalah City the more people began to recognise them and greet them and welcome them back. They had travelled around the world and it had taken them nineteen months and now they returned and they could not believe that so much time had passed.

‘I cannot believe we are back,’ Kalon said in a melancholy tone.

‘I cannot believe we all survived,’ Rufus replied.

‘Did you ever have a doubt?’ Kenaz asked.

‘Yes,’ Rufus replied soberly. ‘A few times, might I add!’

The others laughed softly and nodded in agreement.

‘We did come pretty close,’ Rakan agreed.

‘Pretty close?’ Rufus said raising his eyebrows. ‘Are you learning how to be a master of the understatement?’ he asked acerbically.

Rakan raised his eyebrows and smiled, he had grown used to Rufus’ sarcasm and he knew the best response was no response at all and when Rakan did not rise to the bait, the six of them resumed their conversation about their travels.

‘What do we tell everyone about Qomolangma?’ Ellora asked.

‘I think we don’t tell anyone anything,’ said Rakan.

‘I agree,’ said Kalon.

‘I don’t think my parents would mind,’ mused Waldon.

‘Perhaps not,’ began Rakan; ‘but our father and Amara certainly would.’

‘Do we agree then?’ Ellora asked.

‘Agreed,’ they all said in unison.

‘What about my being bit?’ Kalon asked.

‘I think we should omit all references to situations where our lives were in peril,’ said Rakan.

‘I don’t like the idea of secrets and hiding,’ said Kenaz.

‘Neither do I,’ added Waldon.

‘Neither do I,’ said Rakan. ‘But I like the idea of being confined to the house until I am twenty-five even less.’

The others laughed, knowing that he was half joking and half serious.

‘Alright,’ said Kenaz. ‘We won’t mention it but I do hope that you tell your father before you reach the age of twenty-five.’

‘Don’t be so sure,’ Rakan laughed.

Soon they were a day’s ride away from Amalah City and the palace and when they had finished breakfast one morning, they rode hard and fast to Amalah City and by the early afternoon, they were at the road that led to the palace gates. On they rode until they came to the front of the palace and when they did they came to a full stop.

‘Home!’ Ellora exclaimed excitedly as she dismounted her horse.

‘Indeed,’ Rakan said.

The palace gates opened and out came some of the guard and the staff who were on duty, they greeted the six warmly and enthusiastically and one of them rushed off to find Amara and moments later Amara came running out of the door.

‘Ellora,’ she screamed, as she ran towards her sister and Ellora ran towards her. ‘Ellora I am so glad you are back. You look so well,’ she gushed. ‘And you look so grown up,’ she said, looking her sister up and down.

‘I missed you too,’ Ellora said, hugging her sister tightly.

‘Amara greeted and hugged everyone and just as she had done so Garrick and Michael came out of the palace doors.

‘Father,’ Kalon said happily as he rushed towards his father who had his arms wide open.

‘Kalon, Rakan,’ he said with great joy. ‘How happy it makes me to see you both my sons.’ He said, clearly elated. ‘I missed you.’

‘I missed you too father,’ Rakan said as he went to join Kalon in the family hug.

When they had finished hugging and greeting each other Garrick stood back and looked at his sons proudly.

‘My how you have grown,’ he said looking at them with pride. ‘You’ve all grown,’ he said turning to the rest of the friends. ‘And you all look so well.’

Michael and Garrick greeted everyone and they all chatted happily in the courtyard as the six tied up their horses and minutes later; they were joined by Thaddeus, Häkan and Raynor. As the six talked they unpacked and carried their bags into the palace at which point the staff came forward and took them from them; they all reacted with surprise at first, having had to have carried all their own belongings themselves but then the staff insisted on taking them and they let them go.

Amara led them to the palace dining room where they all sat down and the staff brought them cold drinks that they took gladly. They sat and talked about some of what had taken place and waited for Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz’ parents to arrive as Häkan had sent the guard to send word of their arrival.

Just over half an hour had passed before the parents of the three boys arrived in the palace dining room and when they did, the excitement, the greetings, hugs, kisses and tears of joy began again: mostly from the mothers but some of the fathers were misty eyed too.

They stayed in the dining room talking, eating, drinking and catching up with each other and the events in Amalah. Soon the dining room was filled with a vibrant and happy din as more and more people arrived to welcome the six young friends back home.

When the early hours of the morning came, the gathering dispersed and the six said their goodnights. It was strange and somewhat sad, for they had all slept in the same place for the last nineteen months and now – for the first time in a long time – they were going their own separate ways.