Chapter 8: The Isolationist Empire
The cloudless sky allowed for the hot rays of the African sun, to fall upon Zarda and Bashenga unimpeded. Bashenga ,a native of these lands, quickly adapted to to stifling heat and pressed onwards unfazed. But Zarda could not do so as easily as him. She may be an amphibian like creature, capable of walking upon both the land and water. But the waters were her preferred habitat. And not even boiling South American summers underwater could prepare her for the heat she was experiencing here.
It didn't help that Bashenga was setting a brutal pace for her to follow, running across the Savannah plains at a steady but quite inhuman pace. Zarda herself was also superhumanly gifted. But the combination of the smothering heatwave, physical exertion and uneven terrain was quickly tiring her out. Eventually as they began to approach an expansive wall of tall brown elephant grass, with no sign from Bashenga of slowing down, Zarda had to demand they to stop so she could rest for a bit.
Immediately they did, Zarda hunched over to rest upon her hands on her knee's and inhale several mouthfuls of oxygenated water from the breathing apparatus she always wore. After awhile she felt her heartrate slowdown to normal and became comfortable enough to stand up straight once more.
She began adjusting her large feathered headdress, which had been knocked askew from all the running and levelled, before finally levelling an annoyed look at Bashenga.
"If this is your attempt at showing off to me, I am not impressed" She said curtly before stopping to actually take in Bashenga's present state. They had been running for close to three hours nonstop and all the African man had to show for all that exertion, was sweat which only served to accentuate his toned physique and dusty feet. Add to the fact he was wearing only a loin cloth and a tooth necklace, meaning Zarda could appreciate his body without much restriction, and Zarda had to admit internally to herself she was mildly impressed,
"Sorry, we just have a lot of ground to cover before we reach Wakanda" Bashenga said apologetically but only sounding mildly out of breathe.
Zarda scoffed in annoyance and asked "Why didn't you let the witch portal us directly into Wakanda, and instead miles away?"
"Wakanda is occupied by the goddess Bast whose presence alone shields the entire nation from outside sorcery. Not to mention the cloaking technology of my people makes it nigh impossible to locate Wakanda, let alone teleport to it. The Ancient One teleported us as close to Wakanda as she could" Bashenga explained as he did some light stretches and muscle realization techniques.
Sighed in exhaustion and rubbed the back of her neck tiredly. She then asked "Are we at least close to Wakanda now?" as she stared at the wall of dried grass in front of them.
Bashenga nodded his head in answer before adding "Just beyond the grass walls here. But before we enter I must make something clear ."
He paused and looked as he was thinking of the right way to phrase this "My people...aren't the most welcoming to outsiders. So I will need you to stay hidden as I try to muster up the army".
Surprised by this, Zarda arched an eyebrow and questioned "Then why bring me along at all?"
"Because I might need your help if things get out of hand"
"But aren't you the ruler of this place? Why would you be at risk of harm?"
Bashenga sighed softly before staring wistfully into the grass "I am not the ruler of Wakanda. Bast is. I am merely the executioner of her will, and often times her will is quite unpopular. Meaning I myself am not well liked by most people in Wakanda. Especially the heads of the five main tribes. Thus, I will need to convince both Bast and the council of elders to muster the army. There's also the possibility that in my time away Bast may have found a new avatar to replace me. Overall things are likely to get heated so I will need all the help I can get".
Taking this all in, Zarda could only frown and shake her head in annoyance. She thought to herself 'This is why I preferred to be alone. No diplomacy or politicking.'
She sighed and said aloud " Alright let's get this over and done with".
Without any fanfare she dived into the solid ground headfirst, sinking into it like it was a pool of water. From above it looked like she vanished, but in actual fact she was only a few inches from the Earth surface. Whiles underground like this, Zarda couldn't see anything around or above her. So instead she relied on sixth sense to intuitive guide her in the darkness. That sixth sense was so acute it was almost indistinguishable from her regular eyes, allowing her to visualize her surroundings including above her.
She followed directly beneath Bashenga as he made the final leg of the journey into Wakanda. He quickly pushed through the elephant grass, walking for about five minutes before reaching a large clearing.
Bashenga immediately lifted up his arms in surrender and spoke loudly into the seemingly empty grasslands. "I know by now you can see me. Come out"
Almost immediately a trio of dark skinned men swaddled in vibrant patterned purple robes walked out of thin air. From the places they had materialized from, a section the mirage that hid the true state of Wakanda was gone revealing bustling activity within.
One of the hard faced men walked up to Bashenga and gave him a once over. "You're back" he said in a native tongue, which Zarda was able to understand due to the still active translation spell.
Bashenga only nodded in answer. "I would say welcome. But a lot has changed since you've been gone, so you might find the current Wakanda less than welcoming. Come with me" the leader of trio said, beckoning for Bashenga to follow as they all went through the opening in the mirage.
They immediately entered into the capital city of Wakanda Birnin Zana. A collection of many tall hut-like buildings with intricate design and situated on a large lazy river. Other taller structures gleamed of vibranium a testament to the ingenuity and power of the Wakandan people. So far everything was as Bashenga remembered it, But as they made they way into the royal palace, with Zarda following close behind unbeknownst to most, Bashenga began to sense something was off, At first he couldn't tell what but he finally realized what it was when they came to a large door leading into the throne room of wakanda. Instead of depicting a roaring panther it depicted a crescent moon. Now aware of what to look out for, Bashenga turned around and noticed several murals and artifacts that should depict panther iconography were gone. Replaced with a crescent moon design
A sickening feeling began to form in Bashenga's stomach as the realization dawned on him. Before he could say or do anything, the door was pushed open to reveal a large spacious room containing six seats a top a mud red floor.
In each seat sat a person. He recognized five of them as th tribal heads of wakanda. But an an unknown male sat in the sixth seat usually reserved for him. The youthful looking light skin North African man who sat on this seat, turned slightly to cast a bored and disinterested look at Bashenga. Bashenga didn't fully know what was going on but he had a rough idea. He immediately stood up straight and attempted adopt a confident bearing. "Who are you? And why are you in my seat?" Bashenga sneered The rest of the council members sat in a solemn silence, their eyes fixed almost bashfully on the red earth floor, unable to meet Bashenga's furious gaze let alone speak up. The unfamiliar man however spoke up unperturbed.
"I don't know who you are. But this seat belongs to the spiritual leader of Wakanda. And that is what I am me. Now unless you want to face the wrath of the fist of Khonshu, I ask you in return. Who are you?
.The man said this all while slowly rising from his seat as white fabric wrappings enveloped his body from the neck down.
Behind him a creature with the body of a man and face of a bird skull manifested, standing proud and ominous.
This was the final piece of evidence to confirm Bashenga's suspicion, some how in his absence Wakanda had lost Bast. And her place a new god had taken over and by alongside a new avatar.
Underground all Zarda could think to herself 'This complicates things'