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[IYIyTh]

Sanibonani, travellers.

I have not seen your kind around here in a long time. You, too, must be here for the same reasons as the others. You are not aware? Ah, my mistake. I had assumed that everyone had known of the warlords meeting today. They just left recently. All left as they came -- on foot. As you can see things have started to settle down, and I promise you it is not always so busy. The kraal of Bulawayo are not always so hurried. What happened, you ask? (Grinning, looking to the setting horizon in the West.) A momentous day. The Zulu Kingdom begins!
--

The negotiations had left the kingdom at a standstill. Very rare was it that the most powerful of the region were called together. From each of the kingdom's eleven territories each reigning warlord had been summoned to a central location. For what reason? Word had broken out of the changing of time. Recently, it had been relayed to a local shaman that tribes of all types from all places were oganizing. Some peaceful, some not. The Zulu people were generally docile, yet due to the beating sun and the nature of their herder/hunter lifestyle their bodies were naturally hardened. While conflict was not prevelant amongst the tribal states, the Zulu still possessed considerable military organization and tactical prowess when compared to most of their time. As for political organization, the time of peace had done the Zulu well. Strong-men often led the territories of local tribes, but an usual peaceful decade allowed for some of the more organized and creative leaders to gain notoreity. It was one of these men, in fact, that emerged from the negotiations as the sole leader of the Zulu.


This man was named Shaka.



Shaka was a muscular man but had many qualities that did differentiate himself from others. For one, he had a speech impediment. Not entirely significant but enough to notice. He had a long drawn out forehead, and two prominent front teeth. He often joked that he could not kill some of his rivals because people would think he merely killed them out of jealousy of their looks. But beyond his eyes there was a man who could unify his people through rhetoric and was equally matched as a diplomat. Skills that would be important in the coming time. Shaka did not know what lay before his people, but he knew that he would have to use all of his talent to prevent the strong-men of yesteryear from usurping power and to watch his beloved Zulu ascend into prosperity.

Hlonipha Ngaumkhonto

Honor by Spear