March 4, 2015
March 6, 2015
Ihi ne Nyameakuma (Ihi and the godaxe)
Ihi ne Nyameakuma (Ihi and the godaxe)
by safohen
It was a dark and stormy night. In the middle of the Dark forest lay a man in a sea of glass shards, stained red with his own blood. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking the man and bathing the forest in white light. After the light had faded away, the man's eyelids shot open and his chest rose and fell as the night wind filled his lungs once more.
Painfully, he walked across the glass shards, his wounds cauterised by the heat of the lightning bolt. At the edge of the forest lay a village but as he entered it, it seemed all but deserted. Thirsty, he grabbed a large calabash of water from one of the huts and drank his fill.
An old man entered the hut and stared at him before embracing him in a tight hug. 'Welcome home, Ihi, my son in law, ' the old man said tearfully. After Ihi had eaten some food given to him by his father in law, the old man spoke again.' I am glad you are still alive'
'Still alive?' echoed Ihi in shock. The old man closed his eyes in pain. 'So you do not remember?' .' Three days ago we found you in a sea of blood stained glass with no heartbeat and bleeding from multiple wounds. From all indications, you had died from severe blood loss'
Ihi held his head as his memories came flooding back. One week ago, he and his friend had come to the village to marry his beloved. Three days ago, he had woken up from bed upon hearing his friend Babone call for help. He had rushed to his friend's hut only to fall into a freshly dug pit filled with numerous glass shards.
As he lay dying, he saw Babone looking down on him with a huge grin on his face. The last thing he remembered before the darkness came for him was the sound of thunder as the weather quickly became cloudy and strong winds began to flow.
'My best friend tried to kill me' Ihi said sorrowfully, his head in his hands. 'So where is Kweku Babone now?'
'He fled the village and we sent the asafo after him, led by the asafoakyere, Akua.' the old man replied.
'Akua my only daughter, your wife found him and beat him half to death, stopping only so that he could stand trial for his actions. But then they were attacked by nsakramanfo sum (dark wolves). They barely made it back alive.'
'What are Nsakramanfo sum?" asked Ihi.
'Wolf like creatures my father spoke to me about. He warned me that if Iwas a disobedient child, they would eat me. It wasn't until I saw them nearly rip my father apart that I realised that they will kill anybody they meet. This is the fifteenth settlement we have arrived at'. '
'Now that they have found us again, we'll take our belongings and flee from their wrath. We'll look for another place to call home until they find us again.'
'Why not stand and fight?' he asked.
'No akodze we have can kill these creatures.' he answered. 'We must leave now.'
'Go, Takyi', he said quietly. 'They may be Nsakramanfo sum but they are still sakraman.' 'They will be drawn by the scent of my wounds. I'll try and fend them off and give the village more than enough time to live. I'm too injured to come with you anyway. Send my regards to Akua'.
'May the ancestors be with you' said Takyi before he left.
As he walked through the empty village, Ihi heard the unearthly howls of the beasts as they neared the village. He winced as he walked towars the Posuban (asafo armoury). He entered it and grabbed the biggest ekumapraban (long handled axe) he could find and waited.
He didn't have to wait for long. The Nsakramanfo sum came towards him, huge yellow eyes glowing at him and large fangs bared at him. They lunged at him but as he swung the akodze at him, the blade merely bounced off their bodies, driving them back. No slash marks were visible.
He swung again and again with no results and they contnuously attacked him. Suddenly he felt teeth tearing into his right shoulder. With great difficulty, he grabbed the beast on his back and flung it over his shoulder. He used the ekumapraban to support his weakened body as the rain continued to fall in torrents and strong winds ripped off the thatch coverings of many huts.
The beasts suddenly stopped advancing toward him and stepped aside, making way for the alpha male, an even larger sakraman sum with bloodstained fangs and scars on its muzzle and feet. Ihi rose to his feet and raised his akodze but before he could swing it, it slashed his chest and smacked him with its paw, sending him stumbling backwards.
He swung at it again but it dodged the attack and struck him again and again as the other nsakramanfo sum sat and watched. It seized the akodze in between its teeth and yanked it away from his hands, before striking him again, sending him to his knees. The alpha male reared back on its haunches, prepared to strike when a bolt of lightning struck the ground between Ihi and the nsakramanfo sum.
The lightning bolt sputtered and crackled as it began to change its form into that of a glowing white-hot akuma (axe). The Alpha sensed danger and leapt at Ihi but he was faster as he slid beneath the beast and snatched the new akodze. As he rose to his feet, he felt twice as strong as he did before his injuries and his wounds began to heal rapidly.
An overpowering heat coursed through his body as vapour poured out of his mouth and the pores of his skin. He gripped it firmly and lunged at the alpha male before it could move, cleaving it in half. Its body turned to ash and smoke as the akuma's hot blade sliced through it.
The other nsakramanfo sum hesitated , then lunged towards him nut he slashed a dozen at a time, reducing them to ash and smoke. One of them leapt at his right shoulder but he grabbed it by the throat in midair, its neck burning from the intense heat of his right hand. By the time the sun beganto rise the next day, 400 nsakramanfo sum had been killed.
Satisfied that they were no more, he struck the akodze into the ground and watched as it glowed less brightly until it resembled an akuma with a bone white axehead and handle. Things were very different in the village after that. Ihi searched for the villagers and found them, assuring them that they could return home.
After the village was rebuilt, Babone was tried and given a life sentence. Some of the surrounding villages though twice about attacking the village of a man who could kill 400 supernatural beasts in one night. The mysterious axe was aptly named the Nyameakuma (godaxe) and kept in the Posuban to remind people that after 3 years, they finally had a place they could call home.
Painfully, he walked across the glass shards, his wounds cauterised by the heat of the lightning bolt. At the edge of the forest lay a village but as he entered it, it seemed all but deserted. Thirsty, he grabbed a large calabash of water from one of the huts and drank his fill.
An old man entered the hut and stared at him before embracing him in a tight hug. 'Welcome home, Ihi, my son in law, ' the old man said tearfully. After Ihi had eaten some food given to him by his father in law, the old man spoke again.' I am glad you are still alive'
'Still alive?' echoed Ihi in shock. The old man closed his eyes in pain. 'So you do not remember?' .' Three days ago we found you in a sea of blood stained glass with no heartbeat and bleeding from multiple wounds. From all indications, you had died from severe blood loss'
Ihi held his head as his memories came flooding back. One week ago, he and his friend had come to the village to marry his beloved. Three days ago, he had woken up from bed upon hearing his friend Babone call for help. He had rushed to his friend's hut only to fall into a freshly dug pit filled with numerous glass shards.
As he lay dying, he saw Babone looking down on him with a huge grin on his face. The last thing he remembered before the darkness came for him was the sound of thunder as the weather quickly became cloudy and strong winds began to flow.
'My best friend tried to kill me' Ihi said sorrowfully, his head in his hands. 'So where is Kweku Babone now?'
'He fled the village and we sent the asafo after him, led by the asafoakyere, Akua.' the old man replied.
'Akua my only daughter, your wife found him and beat him half to death, stopping only so that he could stand trial for his actions. But then they were attacked by nsakramanfo sum (dark wolves). They barely made it back alive.'
'What are Nsakramanfo sum?" asked Ihi.
'Wolf like creatures my father spoke to me about. He warned me that if Iwas a disobedient child, they would eat me. It wasn't until I saw them nearly rip my father apart that I realised that they will kill anybody they meet. This is the fifteenth settlement we have arrived at'. '
'Now that they have found us again, we'll take our belongings and flee from their wrath. We'll look for another place to call home until they find us again.'
'Why not stand and fight?' he asked.
'No akodze we have can kill these creatures.' he answered. 'We must leave now.'
'Go, Takyi', he said quietly. 'They may be Nsakramanfo sum but they are still sakraman.' 'They will be drawn by the scent of my wounds. I'll try and fend them off and give the village more than enough time to live. I'm too injured to come with you anyway. Send my regards to Akua'.
'May the ancestors be with you' said Takyi before he left.
As he walked through the empty village, Ihi heard the unearthly howls of the beasts as they neared the village. He winced as he walked towars the Posuban (asafo armoury). He entered it and grabbed the biggest ekumapraban (long handled axe) he could find and waited.
He didn't have to wait for long. The Nsakramanfo sum came towards him, huge yellow eyes glowing at him and large fangs bared at him. They lunged at him but as he swung the akodze at him, the blade merely bounced off their bodies, driving them back. No slash marks were visible.
He swung again and again with no results and they contnuously attacked him. Suddenly he felt teeth tearing into his right shoulder. With great difficulty, he grabbed the beast on his back and flung it over his shoulder. He used the ekumapraban to support his weakened body as the rain continued to fall in torrents and strong winds ripped off the thatch coverings of many huts.
The beasts suddenly stopped advancing toward him and stepped aside, making way for the alpha male, an even larger sakraman sum with bloodstained fangs and scars on its muzzle and feet. Ihi rose to his feet and raised his akodze but before he could swing it, it slashed his chest and smacked him with its paw, sending him stumbling backwards.
He swung at it again but it dodged the attack and struck him again and again as the other nsakramanfo sum sat and watched. It seized the akodze in between its teeth and yanked it away from his hands, before striking him again, sending him to his knees. The alpha male reared back on its haunches, prepared to strike when a bolt of lightning struck the ground between Ihi and the nsakramanfo sum.
The lightning bolt sputtered and crackled as it began to change its form into that of a glowing white-hot akuma (axe). The Alpha sensed danger and leapt at Ihi but he was faster as he slid beneath the beast and snatched the new akodze. As he rose to his feet, he felt twice as strong as he did before his injuries and his wounds began to heal rapidly.
An overpowering heat coursed through his body as vapour poured out of his mouth and the pores of his skin. He gripped it firmly and lunged at the alpha male before it could move, cleaving it in half. Its body turned to ash and smoke as the akuma's hot blade sliced through it.
The other nsakramanfo sum hesitated , then lunged towards him nut he slashed a dozen at a time, reducing them to ash and smoke. One of them leapt at his right shoulder but he grabbed it by the throat in midair, its neck burning from the intense heat of his right hand. By the time the sun beganto rise the next day, 400 nsakramanfo sum had been killed.
Satisfied that they were no more, he struck the akodze into the ground and watched as it glowed less brightly until it resembled an akuma with a bone white axehead and handle. Things were very different in the village after that. Ihi searched for the villagers and found them, assuring them that they could return home.
After the village was rebuilt, Babone was tried and given a life sentence. Some of the surrounding villages though twice about attacking the village of a man who could kill 400 supernatural beasts in one night. The mysterious axe was aptly named the Nyameakuma (godaxe) and kept in the Posuban to remind people that after 3 years, they finally had a place they could call home.
More from safohen
Ashorkor: 0.1
by safohen
On a wet Monday morning, on the muddy school field of Jamestown Senior High School, two students charged towards each other. They simultaneously punched each other to the ground. One of them was Naana, the school's best fighter and the other was...
- Mar, 9 2015
- Action Fiction Historical Fiction
Nii: Chapter 2
by safohen
The next day, a badly wounded Akai gave her report to the Asafoatse from her sick bed. 'We were ambushed by Kla (tiger). They took Dedoi. What worries me is that they knew exactly which route we would take'.
Naa listened grimly....
Nii: Chapter 1
by safohen
The time was 10:00 am and the place Nkran in the year 3000. On top of the biggest Bank building in the city, a dark, lean and tall man walked to the very edge and stopped, hands in his pockets. Below him, a thick crowd was formed and watched him...
Akyeaa: Chapter 6
by safohen
Ntim tossed and turned in his bed that night. Despite his best efforts, something kept him awake. A sense that something malicious, something utterly dark was in the village. In his house. In his room. Ntim sat up from bed and stared at the...
- Mar, 11 2015
- Action Fiction Science Fiction
Mawuli ne kwan (Mawuli's path)
by safohen
In a quiet suburb of Accra, a tall dark man in a white suit walked away from the row of houses to the bus station. Once there, he boarded the bus and sat next to a woman, also in a white suit. This would have been a normal occurrence anywhere...