Chapter 8: Royal Visit

Changamire Zama sat inside his hut as he warmed his hands against the fire. Ruva, his eldest daughter, entered the hut with a small calabash of the traditionally brewed beer. She placed it on her father's side and sat across him.

"Good morning, baba," Ruva greeted her father.

"Good morning Ruva, how are you this morning?" Changamire Zama said.

"I am alright, baba. I brought you some beer to clear your throat this morning," Ruva said as she smiled.

The smile reminded the king how he used to play with his daughter when she was still young. He would take her around the kingdom and narrating everything to her whilst she sat on his shoulders.

He loved her despite the fact that people talked about him having no heir to rule the throne when he dies. In fact, he taught all the ways of governing the kingdom hoping that one day she would take over his throne.

The elders in his kingdom had advised him to take another wife to bear him a son but he brushed off their suggestions because he loved his wife. They suggested this after his wife had given him yet two more daughters.

"It is still early my child," the king said as he gently lifted the calabash with his hands.

"That's why I brought a small calabash," Ruva said and watched as her father took a gulp of the beer. He swallowed and nodded his head as he felt the feel of the sour liquid on his throat.

"I know you have something to say," the king said after he had placed the calabash on the floor.

"You don't look settled, baba. I can see that amai is worried about you. What's eating you?" Ruva asked.

"War is coming. When I took over throne from your grandfather I vowed to protect the people of this kingdom. I have ruled well and I have avoided war at all cost. This is why I made a covenant with the other three kingdoms. But there's an enemy who is coming after us. Our people are not safe. War is just evil, it brings harm to those who did not start it," Changamire Zama responded.

"Why do you worry about protecting the people when the enemy hasn't attacked us, baba? You have protected our people well and I believe we are safe," Ruva said.

"War is coming my child. I can feel it in my bones. This is not just an ordinary war. We are dealing with a wizard. He thirsts for blood. I don't want him to taste my people's blood because he might never stop tasting it," the king said.

"Sometimes the only way to have peace is engage in war. You taught me all the ways of finding peace with other kingdoms. Yet you taught me that in some instances, war is the only solution to finding peace. Clearly you don't have peace and the enemy hasn't attacked us yet. If you need your peace then fight this new enemy," Ruva suggested.

"Cowards are clever. They avoid to face their enemies. They lurk in the shadows like a lion seeking to catch its prey. When the right opportunity comes, they attack. The blow of a coward is hard than that of a brave man. Do you know why?" Changamire Zama asked.

"He uses all his power in one blow to knock down his opponent once and for all," Ruva responded.

The king let out a chuckle before saying, "You remember my words very well. A fight between two brave men ends quickly. But a fight between a brave man and a coward is prolonged."

Ruva nodded and said, "You never know what will actually happen until it happens. Stop eating yourself, baba. We will cross the river when we get there."

The king took a sip of his beer and placed the calabash on the floor. He wiped his mouth using the back of his hand and then rose to his feet. "Come, let's take a walk around the kingdom."

Changamire Zama took his daughter to a rock where he usually stood to watch the kingdom.

"We sit in a circle of mountains. The mountains are our cover from the hand of enemies. Our army is skilled enough to defend our land even without these mountains. But never have pride in your strength because an ant can kill an elephant," the king said.

"But sometimes we can only hope in our strength because it's the only thing left for us. The people trust in you, baba. Even if the enemy attacks, they will stand by you," Ruva said.

"The king's duty is to protect his subjects. And right now, the people are not sure of their safety," Changamire Zama said as he watched a large of his people walking towards his compound.

He looked down as he watched them climb the small hill he dwelt on. Ruva looked at him and said, "Show them that they are safe."

She then left her father and walked back to where her mother was. The king walked towards his throne and sat on it as he waited for the people to arrive. His advisors and elders saw the people coming and sat with the king.

In a few moments, the king's compound was filled with people complaining about their livestock. They all sat down whilst discussing amongst themselves. He raised his staff and everyone went quiet.

"The king would like to know what brings you here," the king's announcer said.

One man raised his hand and the king motioned for him to stand up. The man cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty, we lost our cattle to wild animals. We hear that this is the work of a wizard. Now our cattle can't go beyond the mountains. Are we safe?"

The king remained silent and motioned for someone else to stand up and say something. An elderly man stood up and said, "We hear that the Manyika, the Karanga and the Zezuru kingdoms have fallen to this wizard. Is he also coming for us?"

"It is true that our sister kingdoms have fallen to a man whose intentions we don't know. We don't know if he's coming after us as well. And we haven't established if he is the one who attacked our livestock. Maybe they were just wild animals. For now, we keep our cattle inside the mountain region until we find more information," the king said.

The people began asking all sorts of questions about the safety of their lives and those of their children. Everyone was shouting on top of their voices whilst the king remained calm. He raised his right hand and their voices quickly disappeared into thin air.

"Our kingdom is well protected. It is not directly exposed to external threats. Our warriors are guarding the kingdom. If we all stay in the confines of the mountains, then we will be safe. An enemy might have attacked our sister kingdoms, but he hasn't attacked us. So let's put our hopes and faith on that. You are all safe," the king said.

He looked at his daughter who was standing a distance away from where the people were. He stood up and left the throne as his warriors dismissed the crowd. They all went to their respective homes hoping that their king was right.

But some were not so sure about their safety. They had encountered horror stories and myths about how Mutapa and his animals operated. They felt that the king's order of letting their animals not go beyond the mountains was one which was made out of fear.

After this, Changamire Zama spent the whole day looking at how the warriors were stationed in the mountain regions. He stood on top of one of the mountains and looked towards the pasture lands. He convinced himself that as long as they stayed inside their circle, they would be protected.

He then went back to his compound. As he sat down, one of his advisors came before him and clapped his hands. "Your Majesty, the Karanga king approaches your kingdom," the advisor said.

"Tell my servants to prepare everything for him and his men. Prepare a young bull for them. I will see them shortly," the king said.

The advisor nodded and left the king's presence. For some time, the king felt relieved because he thought having the other kings would bring a solution that could bring the war to an end.

***

Baba-father