THE BEGINNING

It was a quiet evening. The people of the Zaandi Clan were all happy, like one big family. The girls were at one side of the field singing and dancing while the boys were at the other side playing football. The Elders were outside enjoying the peace that comes with the quiet evening. The farmers were just returning from their farms, the hunters, from the forests and the market women, from the markets.The Zaandi Clan was a clan which existed in the eastern part of Amigo (an ancient Country). Its history dates back to the early 1940's. The Zaandi Clan had a Chief who was the ruler over them. (Every clan had a Chief as its ruler). He was kind and nice but he was also very strict. Up till date, no one ever knew his name, not even his late wife knew his name until she died. All the villagers knew him as Chief and that was how he was addressed. The Elders addressed him as Chief while the Children addressed him as Elder Chief.The people from the Zaandi Clan had a population of about 150 persons which can be considered to be big when compared to other clans around, after all, the neighboring clans around just had a population of about 70 to 100 persons, thus the neighboring clans respected and feared the Zaandi Clan. The Zaandi clan dealt mostly on food production while the neighboring clans focused on the production of clothes, so most times, when the Zaandi women go to the market, they usually exchanged their food produce for clothing materials.The Zaandi Clan was surrounded by 3 major clans; The Zumba Clan, The Salmi Clan and the Mazil Clan. These three clans had a population of 70, 80 and 100 persons respectively.The Chief of the Zaandi clan had a daughter whose name was Zeruta. Zeruta was the only child of her father, Chief. Thus, he cared and loved her, but despite the love he had for her, he was still strict to her as he would be to anyone.Zeruta was 4 years old when she lost her mother to a war. Her mother was killed by a warrior from the Mazil clan. This happened about 12 years ago, currently, Zeruta is about 16 years old. Zeruta loves using the bow and the arrow, she has been secretly training with it for 10 years without the consent of her father. She was naturally skilled in it and could create one for herself out of any material, she was a very good strategist, she was wise and smarter than her equals. When she turned 16, her dad decided to get her a gift, while he was going through her things to find out what kind of gift she lacked that he could give to her, he discovered something strange.He saw a weapon beneath her box, it was her bow and arrow. The Chief, as a wise man that he was, didn't immediately turn furious, he decided to monitor his daughter and find out the truth behind the bow and the arrow.He sent guards to spy out on his daughter's activities; they discovered that Zeruta always went to a particular place in the forest but after following her secretly, they always lost her. This wasn't because they didn't know the routes in the forest nor because they were not very good at spying but because Zeruta was simply too good. Due to her consistent training and practice, Zeruta had learnt how to hide from people even while standing before them. She had learnt to blend with her surrounding and go through the midst of people without them sensing anything. This was something she learnt by herself without the aid of a tutor.The guards always followed her but never caught her, they always lost her, this continued for about two weeks. In the third week, the Chief lost his patience and called his daughter, Zeruta."Zerutaaaa", the Chief called out. "Yes Dad", Zeruta replied.The Chief then inquired about the bow and the arrow which he saw beneath her box and also asked of her continuous movement in and out of the forest. Zeruta, a very honest and intelligent girl told her dad the truth, how she loved using the bow and the arrow and how she usually went to the forest to train however, she didn't tell him how she was skilled in making bows and arrows from various materials.The Chief turned furious, but as an old man, he knew how to control his temper so he stopped her from using the bow and the arrow. He ceased the bow and the arrow from her and destroyed them. He advised her that the bow and the arrow is a tool of destruction and that it was a weapon that could cause death to people around them. He also reminded her that it was a bow and an arrow that led to the death of her mother. He ensured that the guards removed anything relating to a bow and an arrow from Zeruta and also instructed that Zeruta's movement to the forest should be stopped. Thus all wooden and metallic materials related to a bow and an arrow was removed from Zeruta's room.Zeruta was so sad, she cried throughout the night and refused to eat. She wasn't sad because of the bow and the arrow, she could make another, she was sad because her dad reminded her of her mother's death, and that it was due to a bow and an arrow. She started having second thoughts about using the bow and the arrow but she still had great sorrow in her heart. She cried until she slept off, then, she had a very weird dream, one which she never forgot.