Trial

Later that night, Elza returned to her cabin to see J'Zaki and M'Baku sitting at the table eating, but her children were missing.

"Where are the children?"

M'Baku smacked his lips when he thought about what the children had said.

"They ran their mouths off and are now being punished. They are to be kept in their rooms until breakfast."

Elza wanted to question her husband's decision but decided not to do it in front of J'Zaki. Since it was not anything major, she would let him punish them as he pleased.

"Then that shall give us a chance to talk freely," Elza sat at the table before placing some fruit in a bowl. "You say that he is here for training. Are you sure you wish to put him under my care?"

"Of course. You are the strongest and most fearsome woman in the village. Who better to leave him in the care of?"

'If you are so determined, then I shall handle this matter. Just don't blame me if he resents you later.'

Elza shrugged her shoulders. It was indeed true that she was the strongest woman of the Jabari. In fact, it was because of her that M'Baku became the tribe chief.

The Jabari rulers were chosen in one way. The strongest ruled. At least that is what other Wakandans knew. There was another clause to it. It was the strongest couple ruled. When one couple wanted to take over as leader, they would challenge the previous couple. This promoted a system where men and women of nearly equal combat prowess would pair together.

M'Baku and Elza challenged the previous couple and beat them easily. Their strength was so great that many younger Jabari looked up to them as relationship goals. Elza took over the role of the Fort Chief while M'Baku became the Tribe Chief.

M'Baku spent the next week at the fortress. During this time, he would train not only J'Zaki but also his son, M'Dulu. The former's training was about increasing the amount of time that he could use chi for while the latter was still getting the basic Jabari training.

'Why is Father treating him better than me? And what is that red thing that he can use?'

Seeing the difference in how his father treated them, M'Dulu began to resent J'Zaki. Even though he saw the difference in skill himself, M'Dulu still felt that the treatment was unfair. Because of this, he began working harder in order to catch up to J'Zaki. So unknown to himself, the prince had gotten himself a rival.

While M'Baku's son was focused on J'Zaki, the latter was trying to overcome a roadblock that he was facing. Although he could use his chi for a few minutes, no matter what he did, he was unable to increase the duration. Another issue he was facing was that he couldn't focus his chi. Although he could spread it through his body in an even manner, whenever J'Zaki tried to focus an increased amount into a singular limb, it felt as if there was a blockage that prevented him from doing so. No matter what he did to try and fix both other the issues, nothing worked. And all M'Baku said when he brought this up to him was:

"Try harder. Stop being so lazy, boy."

So he was forced to deal with the issue on his own.

After a week of staying at the fort, M'Baku had to return to the caverns to watch over the rest of the tribe. So he bid his family and J'Zaki goodbye.

The night that M'Baku left, J'Zaki was called to the top of the eastern wall by Elza. When he arrived, he saw the woman looking off to the distance.

"Do you see what I see?"

J'Zaki walked next to her to try and see what she was looking at but he couldn't see a thing. Just as he was about to tell her that, he felt a hand on his back push him. Completely caught off guard, J'Zaki was sent flying off the wall and onto the ground below.

If not for the snow, then he would have surely died from the height. He looked up to see Elza looking down on him without a trace of emotion on her face.

"M'Baku has been babying you. I will do no such thing."

'That was babying? He nearly killed me the first day that I arrived at the Jabari Caverns,' he thought to himself but didn't say aloud, unsure of how the woman would react.

"You are a Khethiwe. You must learn how to use your abilities properly. I have heard that near-death experiences and high amounts of stress help with that. So consider this your trial. If any of my Jabari find you near the fort, it will be considered your failure.

You are to go and either exterminate all of the other clans that live on these mountains or bring them under the Jabari's rule. You can use any of your abilities but you will receive no help. So I suggest you leave soon. If you do not find shelter soon, you will freeze to death."

J'Zaki looked at the top of the fort in surprise. He knew that she would give him a difficult mission but not one like this. She was basically killing him.

Just as he was about to point that out, he heard the cries of wolves. And from the sound of it, they weren't too far.

J'Zaki heard a thump next to him. He turned to see a dead Jabari next to him. But that would not be the last one. Several more bodies were thrown over the side of the fort, landing all around J'Zaki.

"Did I forget to tell that this is the time when we get rid of our dead or dying and feed them to the wolves? Must have slipped my mind," Elza said from the top of the walls

J'Zaki made a split second decision and decided to bolt. From the sound of it, there were over 50, hungry wolves approaching. He would not stand between them and their meal.