THE WARLORD AND HIS PRINCESS

CHAPTER ONE

"Seleng is here! The Prince seleng has finally arrived!!!" I heard a scout shout as he ran into the vast compound of the palace.
I looked up from the ground nuts I had been eating and to the shouting man.
"What did you say? I shouted at him.
"The prince Seleng is back feom the war!" He shouted back to me. I couldnt believe it. I got to mh feet, forgetting to wear my sandals and started running towards the edge of the village.

My name is Mora, princess of the Etieng clan. Seleng, the man the whole village was now shouting about is my brother. He had gone to war with the dreaded Banyoro, who had tried to extend their borders further north into Langi territory. The langi and the banyoro were two tribes in the interlacustrine region , who had hated each other for centuries. And our hatred of the banyoro was well deserved. They were rumoured to be demi gods, plaguing all their neighbours with curses of sickness and poverty, and extending their borders into foreign lands. When they had attacked our cattle, seleng had taken a group of soldiers to get them back. We had been suffering bunyoro attacks a lot because our clan head quarters was so far south, almost into bunyoro territory. Of late, the attacks had got worse and my father worried for the safety of our village.
I was happy Seleng was back as he had been gone for so long. Almost three months this time. Before he had left, my father,Wan Pacio Etieng had performed a ritual where he had linked his soul to Seleng. The linking of their souls would give Seleng wisdom he so desperately needed, and the strength my father needed in his aging body. The ritual was common among Langi fathers and sons , and it kept both parties alive. If my father happened to die, he would live on through his son, learn the secrets of the tribe and always be in constant communication with the ancestors.
Bt if the son died, the father died along with him and all the tribe's knowledge and secrets would be lost forever.
I continued to run faster out of the village till I could see Seleng's tiny band of men and a few villagers who had got to him before me dancing and singing as they led him to the village gates.
He saw me running towards him and dropped the heavy weapons he had on him and ran towards me till i lunged into his arms.
"I missed you sister," he whispered into my hair as he lifted me off the ground. I laughed and cried at the same time, happy to feel my big brother hold me close.
"I missed you too Seleng," I said as he put me down.
"I thought you'd never come back!" I said as we walked.
Seleng merely laughed, a strong deep sound from deep within him, "I couldn't leave you all alone in this world now could I?"
I couldn't help gigling with him.
"Father has been waiting," I said smiling at my tall dark brother. However,he did not smile back. He only gave me a nervous look and turned his face toward the village.

**************

"The Banyoro are growing bolder," Seleng whispered to his father, the Wan Pacio of our clan. The old man looked nervous and rubbed his temples.
"I knew this mission was dangerous. But not this dangerous. We have to warn Rwot Alwogi at once. He is the King and has more men and resources at his disposal than we do," Seleng continued, trying to convince his father to do something.
The Wan Pacio sighed, "We can't get the Rwot involved. We will have to tell him the entire tale." He looked at his daughter Mora as she danced around at the feast with her best friend Anora.
"We have to keep Mora safe," Seleng said, " The banyoro will surely come for her."

*************

The feast had drawn to an end and I had got into my hut to get some rest. Anora and I had been dancing all night and Seleng was acting strange and sitting around whispering at my father instead of enjoying the feast that was in his honour.
He had only stood up when Anora had asked him to dance with him. It was then that I had gone to get some roast pig and had been munching at it till I began to flag. Bidding my father goodnight, I stood up and walked to my hut and collapsed on the sheep skin that was my bed.
I had just drifted into my dreams when I heard a loud Langi war cry. Sitting up frantically and running outside, I noticed that the village was in a frenzy. Men were running around grabbing bows and arrows and soldiers were just running past me.
"What's happening?" I shouted rubbing my eyes.
But no one answered me. It was then that I noticed Seleng and Anora running toward me.
"What's going on?" I asked Seleng when I saw the look of terror in his eyes.
"Mora you have to run right now. Get out of here!"
"No, " I cringed not understanding what he was asking me to do. "Why should I run? What's going on?!"
"Mora listen to me!" He said seriously, "The Abarusura are upon us!"
My jaws dropped as the realisation hit me....hard.
The Abarusura were only the deadliest army the region had ever known. Tall light skinned men with athletic builds, each with a special skill they had learned since the age of five. They were ruthless blood-thirsty killers who left towns ablaze in their wake.
"What?!!" I asked in shock.
"Seleng!!" a soldier came running to him, "We need your order to barr the gates right now!"
Seleng looked at me. "Listen Mora. Take Anora, find father and run North to the land of Prince Ngele of the Obbo clan. He will help you!"
Tears started to fill my eyes.
"Aren't you coming with us?" I asked though i knew the answer to my question.
"What kind of prince leaves his village to burn?" He held me and Anora's hands in his.
I felt my heart break. I had just gotten my brother back and now he was leaving me.
"Be strong sister. You too Anora," his look softened and I knew at once what that meant. He wasnt sure he was going to make it out alive.
I turned to leave but Seleng stopped me, "One more thing. Dove on the distant oaks. Remember that ok?"
I nodded as he held my cheek in his hands. "Now go!"
I watched my brother run to the gates where a thin file of palace guards formed to defend the village and then i turned around and ran, Anora following close behind.

*********

"I know you are all scared. And i cannot guarantee you your lives," Selend said to the men as they stood at the gates and could both hear and feel the battering ram that shook the gates.
"But tonight we must stand our ground and defend our village and the people we love, " he looked at the fear in the men's eyes, "they will have to cut us down right where we stand and we shall take some of them with us. You are forbidden from falling without drawing Murusura blood. Is that clear??!!" He shouted strongly.
The men shouted in response, gaining some strength from their commander's words.
"Seleng then turned to the gates and watched as they shook with every hit they took.
He hadn't been wrong. The Banyoro had come for his sister, and he would die before they got to her.

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Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Sorry for mixing up the chapters bt here in Uganda the internet is a bitch and I am stuck writing in my phone. Otw plz vote and leave a comment. There are a few terms in the story that may be a bit confusing.

Langi - the tribe of most people in the story
Lango - The kingdom of the Langi
Banyoro - A tribe of people in the south of Lango
Bunyoro - The kingdom of the banyoro
Iteso - A tribe of people to the East of Lango
Teso - the kingdom of the Iteso
Witong- meaning "The head of the  spear". He is the leader of all the armies in Lango
Wan Pacio - Title fo all chiefsin Lango
Lubanga - the god of the langi people
Gipir and Labongo - two brothers who founded the tribes of Acholi and Alur who are neighbours of Lango to the west
Ajon - the beer in Lango and Teso
Rwot - Title for kings of Lango
Imormor - Title for kings of Teso
Omukama - Title for kings of Bunyoro
Abarusura - an ancient mystic group of soldiers believed to be demi gods descended fron the Chwezi
Chwezi - ancestors of the banyoro who were believed to be demi gods and mysteriously vanished after the death of their sacred cow Bihogo