Hello everybody,

I have finished writing a rough draft for my African Inspired Fantasy short story. A little bit of my background. I'm a Brit of Jamaican descent that happens to be a huge geek. I love reading books on speculative fiction (Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Supernatural Horror). However what I noticed through the years was the lack of of African inspired fantasy (as well as sci-fi. And let's not go there about the lack of African Historical media in general). There were hardly any novels, novellas and short stories based on African histories, cultures, legends, mythos etc.
There are so many cultures to draw from to make some great fantasy apart from Ancient Egypt like Nubian kingdoms, Medieval Ghana, Mali and Songhay empires, Kanem-Bornu, The Oyo, Dahomey kingdom, The Igbo polities, Akan kingdoms, Benin kingdom, The Kongo kingdom, Axum, Somali monarchies, The Swahili city states, Carthage, The Nok, The Zimbabwean kingdoms, and many others.
Yet hardly anything made.

A post has been made on the issue. You should check it out:
https://www.nairaland.com/1365841/no-great-historic-african-films

So I decided to do something about it. I'm going to write my own African Inspired fantasy media. This should been done SSA people a long time ago. Especially when it comes to Nigerians. How can you have a multi-billion dollar movie industry yet still make the same ol' crap?
Very little media on your wonderful historical cultures and legends. Nothing on the Hausa city states? Benin Empire? The Oyo Kingdom? The Nupe Kingdom? The Igbo Polities?
However I digress.

Here's a part of my short story. It's called Mikumbi. It's about a wizard warrior that travel the length and breath of the continent of Ikwubara (an alternative version of Africa) dealing with supernatural threats to the continent.

As I said it's a rough draft, not to mention it's my first time writing fiction in ages. I hope you guys enjoy it:

Mikumbi checked his canvas rucksack outside the mansion's gates for the final time to make sure he had everything he needed for his mission. Broken Ankole horn, dried goat meat, fruit, small gourd of fresh water, a few small glass bottles containing different magic potions. Inside the mansion during their discussion of the warrior's payment the Sultan did recommend that a few of his personal guard accompany him on his journey. He of course refused the extra men. Not out of pride or guilt if they were killed in action. On his many adventures and battles against demons, the supernatural, demigods, sorcerers and what not, he has been aided by some of the finest warriors and mages of Ikwubara. Some of them being generals, princes, monarchs while some were of a common background that had extraordinary talent. Udanganyifu's guard were capable fighters in their own right but this was a fight that weren't prepared for and Mikumbi had neither the time or the patience to give them proper training.
Mikumbi took out the broken cow horn from his rucksack. His eyes and the hand he was holding the horn glowed his signature bright neon yellowy green energy.
“Show me the way!” he said in a calm and commanding voice.
The horn brightly shone a bright blue energy, then the energy blazed a trail through the streets of Mzizima and kept travelling out of the city.
With his spear in one hand, his rucksack on his back and the horn in the other hand , Mikumbi started to follow the magical trail. Walking at a normal pace, through open grassy plains and a small tropical forest only stopping to check his bearings and to eat and drink. He followed the energy trail towards a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean.
The trail seemed to drop in to the sea. Was this where the Rirundi was hiding? Mikumbi checked again.
“Show me the way.” Mikumbi commanded the cow horn in his magic using state. Once again the bright blue energy trail dropped into the sea. He looked down at the cliff's edge to see the waves of the ocean crashing into the rock. He couldn't just jump into the sea from this height, the fall and waves crashing into the rock would break him apart. He could just teleport into the sea but his teleportation skills needed a lot of work. He'd have to find another way to get there.
Mikumbi kept walking along the coast. He spotted something in the distance. A few mud huts. They were also by the coast. “I hope they have a decent boat” thought Mikumbi “if not, it's going to be a long swim.”
As he got to the village he noticed something was a miss. No children at play. No women doing their daily chores. No men welcoming him at spearpoint and questioning words. All he could see was a few fishing boats but no signs of life.
“Hello?” the warrior shouted, only to be greeted by the sound of the ocean, “Is anybody here?”
He heard some muffled sounds coming from huts
“Come on out, I'm just a cute lost little boy in need of help!” Mikumbi said half jokingly.
One by one the men of the village came out of their homes, brandishing assegais with leaf shaped points.
They assembled close together with their spears in one hand.
“Who are you and what do you want?” said one of the villagers.
“Finally a warm welcome.” The wizard said in a sarcastic tone. “Have to say it's a little bit too much with spears.”
His wit did little to ease the tension that was built up by his presence. However Mikumbi sensed that his arrival alone was not the only cause of the villages tension.
The villager's face got angry and demanded in a low and serious tone, “I won't ask this question again, Who are you and what do you want?”
I am here on a mission, I come in peace and I need your help.” replied Mikumbi.
“You come in peace!?” the villager said in a questioning tone, “Yet you wield a spear?”
“Haven't you heard, there's a war going on and people need to be prepared.”
Mikumbi thought his witty reply would ease the tension. He really doesn't know when to quit.
The men of the village looked typical for this area of East Ikwubara. A mix of Cushitic and “Bantu” blood flowed through their veins. Round bulging foreheads, wide noses, some had prominent cheekbones, some were golden brown in hue while others were dark chocolate brown. They ran from medium height to tall. They all towered over Mikumbi.
“Drop your weapon.” commanded the villager.
“I will do no such thing.”
Mikumbi could see where this situation was going but there was nothing he could do about it apart from “convincing” them!
The Villager looked at and nodded to two men, one on each side of him, “You two, dispose of the halfling.”
The village spearsmen wasted no time as the pair rushed at the wizard warrior with spears in hand, one behind the other. As they got within attack range the villager in front leaped while the other forward rolled. The leaping warrior did a downward thrust to Mikumbi's chest while the rolling warrior aimed his spear at Mikumbi's throat. Mikumbi with only seconds to know what was going on, rolled to his left side narrowly avoiding this well choreographed attack. Mikumbi got of the ground quickly, his left side covered in mud and assumed his fighting stance.
“That attack was fucking awesome.” Mikumbi thought to himself. He'd never seen a technique like that in his long years of travelling the continent. It was clear that these villagers were warriors and they made certain that they weren't to be trifled with.
The roller fighter got straight up on his feet and launched a series of thrusts targeting Mikumbi's torso. Mikumbi started to parry the strikes with his spear, effortlessly, in the meantime the leaping fighter attempted to flank the wizard's right side. This tactic would work against most warriors. Mikumbi however wasn't most warriors. As the rolling spearsman kept thrusting, Mikumbi grabbed the opponent's spear shaft and stopped the thrusts. With some tactical and skilful positioning, Mikumbi rolled on his back with his feet firmly planted on his foe's torso. The momentum of the backward roll and speed, skill and strength of his legs launched the opponent onto the other warrior that attempted to flank him. The two fighters collided with a loud, crunching thud. They both slammed on the ground with one laying on top of the of the other. Both appeared to be knocked out.
Mikumbi flipped back on to his feet in a martial arts like style, He held his spear low and in his hand, while his other hand was open and close to his face. Both his free hand and eyes were glowing his signature green energy.
The villagers looked at this spectacle with bulging eyes and mouths wide open. They couldn't believe that this little stranger with a small spear and shortish legs managed to make two of their fighters look foolish. Worse than foolish. Pathetic.
Mikumbi turned to the other villagers.
“Wow, you guys have got some skills,” the wizard addressed to the crowd.
The villagers could only ask one question after seeing that display and the neon yellowy green energy emitting from his eyes and hand which had by now fully dissipated.
.”You're that warrior sorcerer Mikumbi?”, one of the villager blurted out.
“I'm also cute as well.” Mikumbi replied with his head tilted in a child like way as well grinning.
“You're rather tall for a pygmy,” another villager spat out.
“Why does everybody keep saying that?” The wizard puzzled.
The main villager that sicced his two fighters against the sorcerer slowly approached him and with a humble tone said, “On behalf of me and my village we apologise for attacking and insulting you.”
Mikumbi caught sight of something in his prereferral vision. One of the fighters he thought he dispatched was running towards him. With the sharp, iron pointy part of the spear being aimed at the wizard's face.
Mikumbi readied himself yet again, spoke his unusual tongue, his off hand started to glow, legs bent, spear low in one hand. Time to end this.
“Enough of this!” the head villager shouted at his village fighter. “You've clearly been bested, now yield.”
The beaten villager wasn't listening. He was far to busy attacking Mikumbi with thrusts. Yet again Mikumbi dodged and parried his opponents strikes. Mikumbi was beginning to lose his patience. He had a demon to vanquish and here he was was wasting time with man that couldn't except defeat from a superior warrior. Mikumbi side stepped his opponent's spear thrust and retorted with a powerful upward swing with the butt end of his spear. His foe's spear went flying out of his hands. However, the villager had no time to see his spear fly away, let alone retrieve it as he felt wizard's magically charged hand across his face.
“Enough!” boomed the wizard.
The villager screamed loudly as the wizard warrior released his magical energy from his hand. The pain the villager was under was excruciating like thousands of small, electrically charged needles washing over his whole body. The villager wanted to escape but he couldn't move any part of his body. Not even an inch. It felt like hours and there was nothing he could do about it but wait for the embrace of death. It finally came.
The wizard released the man's head from his grip. The body fell slack, face first into the mud.
The villagers ran to their fallen comrade to check and aid him.
“Now, where were we again? I can't rememb-” Mikumbi wondered.
“Is he dead?” asked one of the villagers, interrupting the wizard in mid sentence
“Who him? No, he's fine, just unconscious”
“Are you sure?”
Mikumbi gave the villages a sly look and grimace, “Trust me. If I wanted him dead. He'd be dead. Same goes for your other comrade.”

If you want the full first draft contact me on westafricanemperor@googlemail.com

this is great work. You can send it to my email....emmanuelesomnofu@gmail.com.
I'm a writer too.

Gonna bump this thread!

bump again!

Bump!
Hey you gotta advertise!

Here's another excerpt from my first short story Mikumbi. He's (Mikumbi) finally entered the Rirundi's lair. The Rirundi is a creature I made up. This creature is a mix of supernatural energy and body parts of dead animals and plant life.

If you like it and/or wanna read the rest of the story. Tell me!

The dry part of the cave was typical of most caves. Dark, with a mix of jagged rocks and rocks that have been smoothed through the process of water and time. Yet in the background, there was a strange blue speck of light, like a star in the night sky. The horn in his backpack began shaking and vibrating even more violently, banging into the other contents of his bag. Walking through the cave Mikumbi noticed large dents and scratch marks on the walls of the cave. Solid rock walls. Let's not forget the dried blood that painted the cave. Floor, ceiling and walls covered in dark red. No smell though. That made this place even more eerie. A place of death without the smell of it.
Mikumbi kept walking towards the blue light. The blue light grew bigger. The ankole horn more unstable. The warrior reached the source of the light, the lair itself. Pure nightmare fuel.
Bloodied and mangled corpses of both animal and humans were piled around the sides. Each shimmering with faint bright blue energy. A spell casted by the Rirundi to slow the down the festering.
“There's the smell of death,” said the wizard, “and you must be the Rirundi!?”
At the back of the surprisingly spacious lair was the grotesque trouble maker itself, the Rirundi.
Fifteen foot tall, torso of a large black rhino, six arms, each limb from a different animal and large branch of a tree. It's legs were giant octopi tentacles. The Rirundi's pure blue energy form pulsated through each body part, acting like and replace what would be nerves, connective tissue, fibres, bones and blood. The most disturbing thing about the monster's amalgamated appearance was it's head. It wasn't the multiple bovine horns on it's head. That was freaky enough.
It was it's face. Faces. Four human faces. Each of the faces looking different directions. What would be it's eyes and mouths, the openings replaced with blue energy.
It moved it's head with nervous, jerky ticks. Then the monster released a scream that sounded like nothing of this natural world. It charged the small warrior with incredible speed that didn't match it's size, bulk and mismatched body parts. Mikumbi only had milliseconds to react by cartwheel flipping over the Rirundi's gorilla arm that was being aimed at his head.
“Youzz, so much energyzzzz, must have itzzzz,” bellowed the demon in a strange electrical buzzing sound. The monstrosity was crouched low with all it's limbs on the ground.
“Come and get it,” the sorcerer said in a cocky tone. Mikumbi readied himself in his usual fighting stance with glowing eyes, free hand and spear tip.