Smoke Between the Branches

I. The Festival of Joining

Nouvo Lakay pulsed with life.

Bright banners lined the rebuilt walkways. Music played from bone flutes and hammered drums. Children ran with painted faces, and warriors from all three tribes danced beneath the burning torches.

It was the first Festival of Joining.

The first time the original tribe, the Children of N'bara, and the Ironclad of Mondela celebrated as one.

But not all was joy.

II. Whispers Under the Drumbeat

At the edge of the feast, Ajima of Mondela approached Zion. Her voice was wrapped in politeness, but her eyes were hard stone.

"Our warriors protect your gates. Our forges build your weapons. Our numbers rival yours."

"When will we have a seat among the priestesses?"

A hush spread as the priestesses looked up from the flame-circle.

Thalia stiffened. Sael said nothing, but her spear shifted slightly. Ayomi narrowed her gaze.

Zion answered calmly:

"You are family. But power granted too quickly burns all."

Ajima bowed—but not deeply.

"Then beware the fire, Zion. Because it spreads."

III. The Elder's Question

Later that night, during the ritual of shared flame, an elder from the original tribe—Grandfather Ejiro, blind and beloved—spoke unexpectedly.

"What if the gods return only to rule us again?"

Gasps echoed. No one had dared say it aloud.

"We fled kings. We buried tyrants. Now we wear their signs as if they are blessings."

Zion stepped forward.

"The Lwa do not rule. They choose, and we choose them back."

"Do we?" Ejiro said softly. "Or are we being reshaped by forces older than fear?"

"You want to build a future… but what if the foundation isn't ours?"

His words lingered like smoke.

IV. Kasa – Among the Ember-Blooded

In the deep woods, Kasa found the grove of stone mouths—broken statues with ash-filled eyes and whispering tongues.

They spoke when no wind blew.

"The child returns… with the mark of the Broken Flame."

He found them there—the Ember-Blooded.

Some had no eyes. Others bled fire from cracked skin. One walked backward and only spoke in dreams.

But they bowed to Kasa.

And when he asked, "Who are you?", they answered:

"We are the last singers of Nzobalu's truth."

"We remember the day the heavens betrayed him."

"And we kept the pieces… hidden in blood, in breath, in madness."

V. The Old Flame Reignites

The leader of the Ember-Blooded—a bent man called Orikai, whose spine burned from within—took Kasa to a cave carved with seven seals.

"Each one holds a truth they feared."

He touched the first.

Visions poured into Kasa's mind:

Nzobalu blessing fields with flame, not to destroy—but to renew.

Other gods growing afraid of his reach.

A pact. A lie. A blade in the back.

Kasa collapsed, his sigil burning brighter than ever.

And when he woke, the Ember-Blooded were chanting:

"He returns not as servant…"

"But as the flame that judges gods."

VI. Shifting Winds

Back in Nouvo Lakay, Ayola stood beside Zion.

"You felt it, didn't you?"

"Yes," Zion whispered. "A fire far from ours. Old. Hungry."

Ayola's gaze drifted east.

"Two paths again, colliding."

"Will he be enemy… or ally?"

Zion didn't answer.

Because deep inside, something ancient and uneasy stirred—

And the flame that danced at the center of Nouvo Lakay, just for a moment, dimmed.