Tradition Prevails
"But my king, we cannot. This is Wakandan tradition for centuries."
T'Kona was sweating profusely as he watched the new king strangle the head shaman. His back was as stiff as a board as he stood at attention with his fellow caretakers. He didn't even need to look to know their hearts were racing as fast as his.
"When I say shit needs to be done, I mean it." With her nod, he dropped her and ordered us all to grab the torches. We all hesitated for a moment, but one look was all it took to scramble towards the walls.
"Are we really going to do this?" T'Kona thought as he walked to the nearest torch. Should they have to obey someone obviously not fit to be a king. Even though he swore to never disobey the king, could he break the number one rule?
As everyone slowly neared the precious Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Kona knew he couldn't do it. Every shaman in this building had spent their entire life cultivating this herb. This herb was their life. They lived it, breathed in its unique smell every day. T'Kona knew he couldn't burn it all.
Glancing slightly at the current king who was making them destroy centuries of traditions, he tried to think of a way to somehow prevent what was about to happen.
He couldn't fight him. He would lose in a heartbeat. He couldn't convince him to think about his actions. That man wanted to be the only Black Panther left to go down in history.
Already seeing everyone lighting the herbs on fire, he moved to do the same. Silent tears were falling from everyone's faces as they did the unimaginable.
He too couldn't hold them in as his vision became blurry. He was powerless. He couldn't do anything to save their life's work and the most important Wakandan tradition.
As he looked at the bewitching grove, he admired the purple shine of all the ripe herbs. It was amazing to think that one herb could make a man so powerful. How only those of royal blood could handle the full power of the herb.
A sudden thought popped into his head. His entire life was being burned away, so what mattered anymore about the consequences? Who cares if he disobeyed this evil king who was wasn't worthy to even be called one?
Looking around, the king was focused on the other side. His posture suggested that he was quite pleased with what he was seeing, which only stirred the anger inside him even more. His fellow caretakers were too busy watching their life burn away.
The grove was already fifty percent burned with very little herbs left around him. Crouching down, he extended his hand towards a fully bloomed herb. His heart jumped as he committed treason and harvested a Heart-Shaped Herb. Quickly stuffing it into his pocket, he continued to burn the rest of the herbs.
He limbs were shaking and he could barely stand as he walked over to his friends. They were all gathered in the back room, crying and hugging each other. Their quiet sobbing reaching his ears over the crackling flame and his breath hitched. A tight pain in his chest twisted even further and he too joined this miserable pile.
He stretched his arms around his friends, family really. He cried with them as he looked out the door towards their king. He was just standing there, surveying what he had just ordered. Did he understand what he had done? What he had made them do?
When he turned around … No, he did not feel anything after seeing the destruction. He looked … ready to go to war. Burying his face back into the pile, he decided that he could actually hate someone.
~~~Two Days Later~~~
The good news had spread yesterday. T'Challa, the true king, came back for them and killed the previous one. Everyone celebrated at the wondrous news. They no longer had to fear under Killmonger's rule. However, while his fellow shamans were also ecstatic, what was their purpose now?
All they knew was herbology with their main focus on the Heart-Shaped Herb. They could possibly help in various botany divisions as apprentices until they gained enough knowledge, but plants themselves were not their passion.
He sat around a table eating lunch when he once again felt the precious plant in his pocket. He knew he should immediately take it to the king, but he was scared. He had committed treason, no matter how one looked at it. The death sentence was the only thing that awaited him.
When he picked the herb, he knew this. He knew this would happen and would have done it again in a heartbeat. However, it didn't make it any easier to willingly walk to his death. Looking at his depressed family, his heart clenched and new resolve flowed through him. So what if death awaited him? He would give anything for his family, even his life.
Excusing himself, he got up and started the long walk to the throne room. He lamented that he couldn't somehow teleport himself to the throne room so he wouldn't get to stew over his thoughts. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about his upcoming death and the life he was leaving.
As he walked into the building, he was immediately spotted by a Dora Milaje warrior. "Halt! State your business." Even though he was expecting it, his already jittery nerves tightened even further as he jumped slightly at the booming voice.
Taking a deep breath, he crossed his arms, bowed and spoke in the most confident voice he could muster. "I am T'Kona, a shaman for the Heart-Shaped Herb, and I have an urgent message that I must relay to the king himself immediately."
Considering he didn't know how long the seed pod could last unplanted, time may be of great importance. He also wanted to present the seed himself, so it wouldn't look like he was trying to escape punishment by someone else taking it.
The warrior assessed him, making him break out into renewed sweat, before answering him. "The king is currently very busy. Is this message important enough to interrupt him, and if it is not, are you willing to accept the consequences?"
He bowed again before adamantly saying. "Yes." "I'm going to be put to death anyway, so it's not like I can make a mistake that could worsen my fate." After that thought, the warrior nodded and said, "Follow me."
She turned around and T'Kona forced his legs back into operation to follow. An impending sense of doom washed away his moment of inner humor as he silently walked to the throne room. As the warrior knocked on the door, his only thought was how a five-minute walk could be so short.
As the door opened, his heart stopped as the warrior apologized for the interruption and introduced him. "He's in a council meeting," he thought despairingly. When she said, 'he's busy,' he didn't think it was because he was in an actual council meeting.
Well, it's not like he thought he was going to live anyway. He stepped forward with the little strength left in his body and gave his respects. He stood stock still with his arms crossed and head bowed until the king gave him permission to speak.
"Speak, T'Kona. You said you have an urgent message." T'Kona almost sighed in relief when he didn't hear any annoyance or anger in his tone.
He raised his head and spoke as confidently as he could. "Yes. First, I speak for all the shamans when I saw how grateful we are that the true king is back with us …" He paused for a second as he worked up the nerve to continue. However, it seemed to catch the entire council's attention too.
He got down onto one knee and lowered his head. "Second, I am turning myself in for disobeying an order from the former king and breaking one of our most ancient traditions." He tried to continue but he couldn't make himself say what he did.
King T'Challa must have sensed that and calmly asked, "And what tradition is this?" T'Kona's mind raced as he tried to understand the kings tone. He should have been angry. Why was he so calm when he just said he broke an ancient tradition?
Taking a steading breath, he reached for his pocket. A sharp rap of a spear halted his movement as he suddenly thought about how his actions looked. "It's fine," King T'Challa spoke as he unworryingly waved his hand.
Taking another deep breath to slow his racing heart, he reached into his pocket and presented the Heart-Shaped Herb to the council. The gasps and shifting of bodies proved they knew exactly what he had in his hands. The spears that instantaneously appeared around him allowed him to conclude the guards also knew what he held.
He stayed with his head bowed and arms out. He would give his life for this herb, or should he say, he had already given his life for this herb. He heard the king rise from his chair and approach. The soft footsteps sounded out like beating drums to T'Kona.
The soft touch of the king's hands as he picked up the herb made him twitch, but he held still. He would die with as much dignity as possible. Bringing his arms back down, he raised his head and looked to see what kind of expression the king had.
The king's unreadable look gave nothing away as he examined the herb. "So," the king suddenly stated. "The tradition you broke was plucking the Heart-Shaped Herb outside of ritual. Is this correct?" T'Kona nodded his head. "Hmm, and I'm assuming the order from the former king was burning all the herbs?" He once again nodded his head.
A stretch of silence ensued as the king stared directly at him. "Who else knows of this?" King T'Challa asked.
T'Kona immediately responded. "No one, my king. This decision was one I took on my own. No other shaman had any part in this."
The king hummed again. "And what consequence do you think this deserves?"
T'Kona gulped but steeled his nerves right after. "The punishment for treason is death."
The king nodded his head. "That is true. So, do you think I should kill you for saving the last Heart-Shaped Herb from destruction and not letting the Black Panther die with me?"
T'Kona's eyes shot open as he stared dumbly at the king. He tried to speak, but only noncommittal sounds came out.
The king chuckled and T'Kona's cheeks reddened. "Tell me T'Kona. If you could remake your choice, would you still choose to save one of Wakanda's most ancient traditions, or your own life."
To T'Kona, that wasn't even worth a thought. "I would immediately give up my life for Wakanda. All my king has to do is order it of me and it shall be done." He stared straight in the king's eyes as he stated that. He wanted to make sure the king knew that he would die for his people.
The king smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I cannot in good conscious sentence someone to death who's only thought is of benefiting Wakanda. While you may have disobeyed an order, not one could call your actions treason. In fact, you only have my gratitude for preserving something so sacred to us all."
T'Kona looked into the king's eyes and only saw the truth. He felt his eyes water and lowered his head in thanks and relief. He couldn't help but internally swear his life to King T'Challa. No one was more deserving of the throne than this merciful king.
"T'Kona," the king stated. He raised his head and stared at the king's smiling face. "Go back to the shamans and tell them to expect me tomorrow morning. We have some very good news to share." He finished with a wink.
T'Kona stood up straight, crossed his arms and passionately stated, "Yes, my king." With that, he turned around and headed out the doors. The walk back felt entirely different from the walk to the king, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Wakanda was truly in good hands.