The Summoning

The morning sun rose red over the savannah, staining the sky with hues of fire and blood. It was an omen. Amina felt it deep in her soul.

By midday, she and Kwame were already preparing to leave. They would travel to the distant clans, to those who still remembered the power that once ruled the land. If they had any hope of stopping Malazu and the Forgotten, they needed an army.

As they packed provisions, Elder Jabari approached them. His face, lined with years of wisdom, was grave.

"You are walking a dangerous path, child," he said to Amina.

She straightened. "I know."

Jabari studied her for a moment before nodding. "Then you must take this."

From beneath his robes, he pulled out a small, carved pendant. It was old, worn smooth with age, but its symbols still pulsed with faint energy.

Amina hesitated before taking it. "What is it?"

"A key," Jabari said. "Not to a door, but to knowledge. When the time comes, it will show you what you need to see."

Amina turned the pendant over in her fingers, feeling the warmth of it against her skin. Another mystery. Another burden. But she slipped it around her neck anyway.

"Thank you," she said.

Jabari only nodded. "May the ancestors guide your way."

With that, Amina and Kwame set off into the unknown.

The journey to war had begun.

The journey was long and treacherous. The savannah stretched endlessly before them, the golden grass swaying in waves beneath the relentless sun. Amina and Kwame traveled in silence for the most part, their thoughts heavy with the weight of what was to come.

Though the artifact was gone, Amina could still feel remnants of its power stirring inside her. It was a quiet hum now, unlike the overwhelming force that had once threatened to consume her. Yet, she knew it wasn't gone—not completely. It had left a mark on her, one that she might never erase.

Kwame was the first to break the silence. "We should reach the first clan by nightfall."

Amina nodded. "The M'kali," she murmured. "Do you think they'll help us?"

"They have no choice," Kwame said grimly. "If Malazu gathers his forces, the M'kali will be among the first to fall."

Amina exhaled slowly. They weren't just fighting for Ndomo anymore. This battle would stretch far beyond their village—it would determine the fate of all the clans.

The day passed without incident, but as night fell, the air grew thick with unease. They made camp beneath an acacia tree, its branches twisted against the star-lit sky. The fire crackled between them, casting long shadows over the dry earth.

Amina turned the pendant Jabari had given her over in her hands. "A key," she whispered. But to what?

Kwame watched her. "Do you feel it?"

She looked up. "Feel what?"

"The land," he said. "It's different now."

Amina closed her eyes and reached out—not with her hands, but with something deeper, something more instinctual. And then, she felt it. A pulse, slow and steady, like the heartbeat of something ancient awakening beneath the earth.

She snapped her eyes open. "We're not alone."

Kwame's expression darkened. "I know."

Amina stood, every muscle in her body tense. The night was silent—too silent. The usual hum of insects, the distant cries of nocturnal creatures, were gone.

And then—

A whisper.

Not from the wind. Not from the trees.

It came from the ground.

Amina took a step back. "Kwame—"

But before she could finish, the earth shook.

A low, guttural growl echoed through the darkness. Amina's breath caught in her throat.

And then, from the shadows beyond their firelight, something moved.

Something watching.

Something waiting.

Amina's breath hitched as the figure emerged from the darkness. At first, she thought it was another warrior of Malazu's forces. But as the firelight flickered over its form, she froze.

It wasn't an enemy.

It wasn't even human.

The creature's eyes glowed like embers, its body wreathed in shifting shadows. It stood at the edge of the firelight, watching her with something far worse than malice—recognition.

Amina's heart pounded. It knew her.

Then, without a sound, it spoke—not with words, but inside her mind. A voice as ancient as the earth itself.

"You thought the artifact was the end… but it was only the beginning."

Amina staggered backward, her pulse roaring in her ears. She opened her mouth to speak, to demand answers—

But the creature was already gone.

The fire sputtered. The night swallowed the silence.

And deep in her soul, Amina knew,

She had only just begun to uncover the truth.