Task

-- October 13th, 2011--

Several Jabari warriors surrounded a young man wearing red furs. Each of them was weilding a spear and shield in their hands while the young man was unarmed. But even if it looked like they had the advantage, none of them made a move.

M'Baku and many other Jabari looked on from the side. This was supposed to be the match to determine if J'Zaki could graduate from his combta studies but it seemed like his opponents were not willing to attack first.

After a full minute had passed, a smile appeared on J'Zaki's face.

"Minute is up. Now I can go all out."

A red aura of chi surrounded J'Zaki's body before he rushed into the crowd of warriors. J'Zaki had originally agreed to a deal with M'Baku that he would not use chi for the first minute of the test so that he could show off his base skills. But since none of his opponents had attacked during this time, it meant that the Jabari warriors had wasted a valuable opportunity.

J'Zaki had been slowly mastering the use of his mutation over the past few months since he had arrived. Even though he still couldn't use in high-stress situations, he had been able to use it in certain situations.

M'Baku had discovered that by putting him in an empty cave, it would allow J'Zaki to relax since nothing else was around. He would also slowly add objects during this period of time so that J'Zaki would get used to more and more objects or beings around him.

But it was also during this period that J'Zaki discovered Chi. When he first activated his mutation, he remembered seeing a white fire inside of M'Baku. Later, when he started using it on his own, he saw a red fire inside of himself. He had been slowly finding out how to draw out the energy and use it. And once he used it during a training spar, all the other Jabari had to agree that even as a child, J'Zaki was the strongest among them with just his chi alone.

Which was why the men that were supposed to put up a decent challenge against him were lying on the ground, groaning in pain.

M'Baku looked at the scene unimpressed. He already knew that J'Zaki would win but he was hoping for a better fight.

"*Yawn* Are you done yet? If you are, go back to your room and grab some spare clothes. We are going on a trip."

J'Zaki nodded and ran to his room. Along the way, he met many other Jabari that greeted him eagerly. Even though most of them disliked him at first because of his background, J'Zaki's honesty and eagerness to learn their way had allowed him to bridge the gap.

When he got back to his room, the Librarian was sitting on his bed. Surprised, J'Zaki gave a small bow in greeting.

"Hello, teacher."

The old man nodded and waved his hand to call J'Zaki over.

Besides M'Baku, the Librarian was the one that J'Zaki spent the most time with. And even after all this time, the man still only allowed J'Zaki to know the name of Librarian. No matter how much he bugged him about it, he still couldn't get any info from the old man's lips.

"Boy. The journey you are about to go on will test you in ways that none of your teachers could ever do so. Do not try to go at it alone. Let the gods guide you."

The old man passed him a bracelet made out of beads. J'Zaki took it and began to closely examine the bracelet.

Each of the beads was perfectly smooth and felt warm to the touch. There were 4 that stood out in the middle of the bracelet. They were a lighter brown than the other beads. When he took a closer look, he saw that they each had the carving of one of the 4 gods on them.

J'Zaki immediately put it on and thanked his teacher.

"Thank you. I will wear it proudly."

"Hmm. As you should," the old man agreed. He then passed over a small bag. "Here is your stuff. Get going and don't keep M'Baku waiting. It is better for you to leave earlier so you arrive before nightfall."

The boy nodded. He took the bag and began running through the caverns until he arrived at the mouth of the cave where M'Baku and several other warriors were waiting.

When he saw J'Zaki arrive, M'Baku nodded before he turned and started walking toward the gate. The warriors and J'Zaki followed after him. At first, he thought they were going down the mountain to the Golden City but they had taken a different path down the mountain. Seeing this, J'Zaki knew where they were going.

The reason that the Jabari were so feared and left alone on the mountain was for two reasons. The first, was that they were mighty warriors that earned the respect of the Wakandan people. As for the second, it was because they were the first line of defense for the mountains.

While the Border Tribe was able to protect most of Wakanda from invaders, the mountains were an exception. Their rough terrain and the magnetic fields in them made it nearly impossible to set up barriers that covered the ground. So although it kept out planes and other flying vehicles, it could not protect anything under 5 meters from the ground.

Thus, it was the Jabari that were supposed to protect the nation from invaders. A task that they did with pride.

Even if they felt that the rest of the Wakandan people had lost their way, they were still their people. They would never allow others to harm them without their permission.

M'Baku and the warriors led J'Zaki to the fort that was the first line of defense and where most of the Jabari warriors stayed. J'Zaki looked at the huge fort in front of him and felt like this was the peak of the Jabari's woodworking stills. It looked moth impenetrable yet enchanting with the way that the wood was carved. The many wounds from the invaders trying to penetrate its walls also gave off another feeling that J'Zaki did not know how to describe.

M'Baku and his group entered the fort before walking straight to the largest tent. Two guards outside of it saw him approaching and yelled something inside the tent.

By the time they appeared in front of it, they heard a woman say "Enter."

M'Baku motioned for J'Zaki to follow him inside of the tent. Inside, he was greeted by a surprising sight. It was an incredibly beautiful, dark-skinned woman. Her skin was without blemish, the only demerits could be the scars but even those gave her a valiant aura. She was wearing wooden armor and fur just like other Jabari but unlike them, she seemed to have a pair of stone swords.

"Husband. You have come early for the inspection. Or did you just miss our children?"

This was another surprise. J'Zaki didn't know that M'Baku was married or that he had children. He had never seen either in the caverns or heard tales of them so he just assumed that M'Baku was a bachelor like T'Challa.

"No. I am here to drop off this brat. He is a Khethiwe and son of T'Chaka that I have been training. He shows great potential but he is still fresh. I would like for him to learn under you for a while."

The woman looked J'Zaki in surprise. She didn't know how M'Baku had managed to snag one of the king's children but she wouldn't refuse someone that he said had potential.

"Then leave him to me. I still have work that needs to be done so I will have a proper talk with you both at dinner. Bring him to my home and let him rest there. You can also spend time with the kids."

M'Baku nodded and dragged J'Zaki out of the tent. Once they were outside, he dismissed the warriors he brought with him and brought J'Zaki to the largest cabin that they had in the fort.

Inside the cabin, there were several children running around but they all paused when they saw M'Baku and J'Zaki enter.

"Papa!" they shouted in unison before rushing over and trying to tackle the large man but failing.

J'Zaki stood at the side feeling slightly awkward but he didn't know this would be the least awkward part. All 3 kids turned to him in unison and glared at him.

"Papa, is he your bastard?" the 7-year-old girl asked

"You had a child with another woman!" the 9-year-old girl declared

"Mama shall slice off your testicles father. Boo! I wanted another brother." the 12-year-old had already sentenced his father in his mind

M'Baku picked up all his children in one arm and brought them to another room before slamming the door shut. J'Zaki soon heard smacking sounds and the cries of children.