Chapter 01 – The beginning of a new journey

At the dawn of time, the Gods lived among the humans. Until one man betrayed the Gods. Humanity was then punished and bitterly cursed to live in misery for a thousand years. When the wrath of the Gods faded, Rog the God of knowledge descended to earth. In the name of all the Gods, Rog generously forgave the humans and gifted them with divine powers on the night where the sun met the moon.

A new era began, and for a long time, there was peace and prosperity among the humans. That was until the Järras, those who were gifted, decided to take over the world and control their pairs. To bring back the balance of the world and peace between the Järras and the others, Nadjior the Goddess of the sun and light descended to earth seeking the one with the kindest heart.

Therefore, began a new chapter into the life of the humans in this mysterious world. A world filled with extraordinary cultures, civilization, people, magic, and many tales.

And today, you will hear about one of them.

The fantastic tale of the last Nilam.

***

The sun was rising, and the sky was colored with beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and purple. The light of the sun was chasing away the darkness and silence of the night to allow life to take its course once again.

In the deep and vast forest, the exotic flowers were blooming at the first glance of dazzling light. Up in the trees, the birds were twittering. All life forms that were living in the forest were waking up. Some were near the lac to quench their thirst, others were eating the herbs and some were already looking for their first prey of the day.

On the land of the man, the rooster was singing in the streets and waking up the local populations. The brisk breeze of air crossing through the land was a sign: the morning had arrived. The early workers were now heading to their places of work.

The lumber jack had already cut his first log of the day.

The blacksmith had already struck on his first piece of metal beginning a new creation.

The peasant had already started plowing the land, preparing for the following harvest.

The fisherman had already set his fishing boat in the sea, to catch his first fish. And the first table on the market was now set. It was only a matter of time before the first potential buyers arrived.

***

The story begins on one of the six continents of the world: Nawari. The continent went by many names such as the land of the beginning or the land of Moliki. The Goddess Moliki is the divinity of earth and nature, she is one of the Prime Gods of this earth. Nawari represents a vast continent with six established empires: Daxaya, Geisha, Okume, Buso and the Island. Our journey in Daxaya, specifically in the kingdom of Bissalih.

There are thousands of different ethic groups in Nawari, and thousands of languages. Some are similar and others a very different. There was a time where these very things were the reason of many conflicts between some tribe mainly after the arrival of the Järras. It was in this era of chaos and war that the divine twins Nala and Talla were born in the actual kingdom of Afra, Est of Bissalih.

Nala was one of the most known Nilam of the world. She was magnificent and intelligent. Two qualities that help her infiltrate and defeat many kings and queens. The tales say that she always wore the color red and the color white. Throughout the centuries many theories were pose as why she only wore those color, but no one knows.

Talla, her twin brother was describing as tall and majestic with the skin dark as the night. Many claim him to be a demi-god or gifted by them. He was stronger than the average man. He was also said to be sent by the divines to proteger and restore peace in Nawari.

Together, they founded the first kingdom of the new era: Afra. They established Bulan as an intercultural language all over the kingdom. The beginning of their journey was rocky but they left a legacy for their descended to continue. To this day their bloodline rules in the kingdom.

The royal palace of Bissa was at the heart of the city. It was an enormous building, taller than another place in the city. The palace was made of brown rocks and all the windows were made of brilliant gold.

The King of Bissalih also known as the “Gaïndé” Kofee. He was in front of a window. The Gaïndé was standing still with considerable confidence with both of his hands on his back. From the lofty window he was standing in, the King had a view of all of the city. He observed his people as they were beginning their day. Some were in the fields, and others were in the streets, walking, talking, sitting… living! he was thrilled and proud to be the king of one of the most thriving and rich kingdoms of the empire of Daxaya. He was later joined by his beloved wife Adahe, who stood next to him admiring the beautiful land they were ruling.

Bissalih was a very well positioned kingdom, not only it was a peninsula making fishing easy. On top of that, the kingdom was near the kingdom of Agra on the continent of Magreda and was its principal trading partner. Bissalih's port was the largest seaport of the continent. The port of Fayem was named after the spirit of the ocean to protect every soul that crossed through this precise place from the danger of the sea. Bissalih represented the bridge between Nawari and the rest of the world.

Outside of the gates of the city, there was a modest house near the rivers. The house was at a fifteen-minute of the wall from a port, which was outside the city. The port of Fayem itself came to be one of the cities that made up Bissalih. The house was constructed with raw earth and vegetal materials like most homes of the capital. Next to the homestead, there was a well that was made with rock and wood alimented by the river. Behind that well, there was one mango tree. The mangoes of this tree are said to be almost heavenly.

In this house inhabited three people: an elderly woman named Mali, her granddaughter named Jassira. Ever since the day she was born lived with her grandmother.

The day Jassira was born, her mother died and her father in a search for power couldn’t take care of his newborn daughter on his own. And so he brought Jassira to her mother to properly take care of her until he had a stable situation. By the time he came back, married once again, her daughter was too attached to her life with her grandmother to go and live with her father. Whom she saw every now and then and was an absolute stranger to her.

The last person to live here is a young boy named Kouassi. He was sheltered by Mali when a tragedy happened to him as a young boy a few years ago.

Next to the well with a calabash filled with lake water. The young woman was transporting water to her grandmother to prepare the diner. After setting the water down Jassira sight.

“Kouassi is still not back” notice Mali.

“He is probably staring at his beautiful Adjoua.” respond Jassira with a high-pitched voice and forming a heart with her hands.

They both started laughing at Jassira's interpretation of Kouassi.

“Sit down child... let’s continue your dread.”

Jassira sat and stared the river from far away as her grandmother did her hair. Jassira was happy because she did not have to sit still for hours as her grandmother braided her. Her hair was always messy afro: it was Mali’s greatest mission to arrange her hair. But today, Jassira attained the proper age to get her dreads. In the Jollo culture, at the age of 16, young men and women must wear their hair in dreads: it’s a cultural signature. The Jollo ethnic group is divided into many tribes. Mali was from this tribe principally found in the Iretri kingdom of the Okume empire. The majority of Bissalih’s population are Jollo. All man and woman that ruled this land were from the Jollo tribe, there was never an exception. Even though there are others tribe around kingdom, the Jollos remain the sole ruler Bissalih.

***

The sun had completely set, and the moon had risen. It was at its fullest. There was a gathering inside the forest outside the wall of the kingdom: a ceremonial rite was about to start. About 30 people were assisting, sitting around a fire pit. The Jollo Jom is a sacred rite of passage that every tribe member has to go through at the age of 16. The cultural ceremony happens on the seventh moon of the year. On this night 5 teenagers were going to experience it. They were dressed in their tribal attires with different patterns standing in the middle of the crowd as they awaited their turns.

The ceremony was performed by two elderly women and among them was Mali, Jassira’s grandmother. The ceremony was pretty simple; their dreads were to be decorated in order to bless and protect them.

When Jassira’s turn came, she sat in front of Mali. The elderly woman painted her face with a yellow paint. She drew a line from her forehead to the tip of her nose. At that point she made an arc going from the end of her eyebrow to the beginning of her cheekbone on both sides. Later one she drew the sun in both of her cheeks with white dots around it. And finally, a line going from the edge of her lower lips to the end of her chin.

Mali smiled with pride and so did Jassira. Afterward went to the other woman who took one cowry.

“Darala goddess of fertility blesses you” she then placed two cowries in her dreads. The elderly woman then took 4 wooden pearls and said “Carry this as Makumba goddess of courage and bravery blesses you”. Finally, she seized 5 round and hollow golden tubes and said “Carry this, as Olo God of Wealth blesses you” and then put it in her dreads.

“Tell me who you are!” she asks.

“My name is Jassira from the Jollo tribe, daughter of Tumani of the Jollo tribe!” she yelled.

“Tell me who you are!” Mali said louder

“My name is Jassira from the Jollo tribe, daughter of Tumani of the Jollo tribe!” she yelled louder.

The rhythmic sounds of the Tam-tam began concluding the ceremony. Tumani watched her daughter with pride during this emotional moment. Jassira was now a proud member of the Jollo tribe. The young woman standed still with her chest forward. She looks cautiously around her as the crowd applauded. She felt honored and thrilled. That moonlit night Jassira was reborn.

*** Later on that memorable night, Mali woke Jassira right before the sunset. They both walked to the cliff near the house. The cliff near the village where Kouassi used to live before it was destroyed.

“There is one last ceremony you have to attend to” said Mali

Jassira nodded.

“You are a descendent of Nile, her blood runs in your vein and because of that, you will have to carry the duty that goes along with it. Jassira…You are the next rightful Nilam protector of this world and balance between the Järras and the non Järras. Bridge between the gods and the human”

Mali removed her bracelet shaped like a snake and it came alive. Glowing fiercely as it got closer to Jassira. The snake slid through her rest until it struck on her arm and took its original form again.

“For you to truly understand your duty, you must comprehend why we exist… Always remember I will always be by your side even when I’m not here. I will be protecting you”

Mali grabbed her granddaughter's face and her glittering eyes. She loved this child with all of her heart. Jassira was Mali’s spitting image, the more Jassira grew the more she looked like Mali at her age. It broke Mali’s heart was broken as she would no longer be physically by her side. At least she would be able to watch her grow into the strong woman she is destined to be.

Dictionary

Järras: The Järras are a group of the population

Prime Gods: They are the seven gods that created earth

Gaïndé: The title of the king, also mean the lion

Fayem: ancient spirit of the ocean, known throughout the coastal area of Nawari

Nilam: Nile-am. Nile is the first guardian of the Bracelet of Nadjior. Am is a prefix meaning: “what comes after”. Nilam means: those who came after Nile aka the descendants of Nile.

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