The Great War (Part I)

He suddenly woke up with a start. He was sweaty all over. He realized that it was just a dream but this same dream had reminded him of his vow. His promise that he would not see death until he had killed Chief Mbada.

*

The anticipated day had come. At Brahmuhn's side were Cheetah, Tortoise and Shumba and behind them were a thousand Chaponda soldiers clutching their spears and daggers wearing faces of courage and fearlessness. They were all standing on a small mountain and below them, across a small shallow river was the Ndebele army. In number, they were three times that of the Chaponda army.

Brahmuhn turned to his soldiers. 'Men! The time has come to test the limits of our power! The time has come for us to victor over our triumph and triumph over the victory!'

The men roared loud in great courageousness.

'The time has come to end it all! After today, not a single Ndebele fool shall corrupt our ears with their funny clicks!'

His soldiers roared even louder.

The Ndebele army was now crossing the river, yelling loudly.

Brahmuhn turned to the Vadhindi. They all looked prepared. Cheetah's whip was wrapped tightly around his knuckles. Shumba's spear was at his side and Tortoise's bag of arrows was on his back whilst his bow was clutched steadfastly in his right hand. Their faces spoke one common language: bloodlust.

'Men. The time has come to take all that rage from our comrades' death and pour it on the Ndebele. It is time to lay to rest the pain of our brothers through the death of these dogs!'

'Brahmuhn!' the Vadhindi beat their chests.

'It is time to take the impossible and turn it into reality!'

'Brahmuhn!' they beat their chests again and shouted even louder.

'Now…are we boys…or men?!'

'Men!'

'Soldiers…or civilians?!'

'Soldiers!'

'Warriors…or conquerors?!'

'WE ARE GODS!'

'Then let us prove it! Let the Ndebele fall by our hand!'

'Long live Brahmuhn!!!' They began running towards the Ndebele army. As always, the Vadhindi were in the lead.

The Ndebele soldiers were getting closer and closer. The sound of their feet in the water was like that of zebras crossing a river infested with crocodiles. Their faces also spoke bloodlust. They were yelling in their language, spitting everywhere and hurling their spears through the air.

The Vadhindi were the only ones without shields. As soon as they got close enough, Brahmuhn leapt into the air throwing his knobkerrie at a Ndebele soldier's head. The impact cracked his skull open, leaving blood to gush out freely. The impact of the knobkerrie on the Ndebele soldier's head was so violent and forceful that the knobkerrie bounced back into Brahmuhn's hand. Cheetah was swinging his whip pugnaciously at the Ndebele warriors. The whip would wrap around a warriors neck and when Cheetah pulled it, it would break his adversary's neck. Some he would just lash with his whip and leave them to writhe on the ground in pain, the blood flowing profusely from the assaulted body part. Shumba would spear two men at the same time with one behind the other and with colossal feats of strength, toss them aside. Shumba relied mostly on his strength rather than speed like Cheetah. Sometimes he would just nail his spear to the ground and use his bare hands to kill the Ndebele warriors.

Tortoise did not behave like all the other archers who would shoot their arrows from a very long distance away. He would instead indulge in the discordant chaos of the wails and groans and shoot his arrows at close-range and finish some of the wounded by breaking their necks with his bare hands or punching them hard in the throat.

The battle was very intense. Fountains of blood were shooting through the air, mingling with the dust of struggle into a powder that hung red, misty and thick in the air. The foul stench of drying human flesh filled the vast battlefield as spears, daggers and fists clashed. The Ndebele kept coming into the battle with fury but the Shona fought back forcefully.

The Shona army had now slain a lot of the Ndebele and had taken the fight to the small river. Brahmuhn could see a lot of his men fall but this was no time for sympathy. The time for tears was now behind him and the war had to go on. Someone had to win it.