Unbecoming

The abducted Maker's Messenger was finally conscious, He was thrown into the dungeon which was shared by Dangali and Tunau

" I know you, You are a palace guard, What crime did you commit?" Dangali started

" I cannot explain how I got here," the Messenger replied

" Are you sick?" Dangali asked

" where am I?"

" You are in Arzika prisons"

" No... I was praying in Emir Hana's Palace.

" Emir Hana of lumana?"Tunau and Dangali asked simultaneously

" Yes, why does my voice sound different?"

" Are you sane, you are a personal guard of Arzika, do you need a mirror?" Tunau asked

" No I am not, something must have happened to me, I am the Maker's Messenger, I deliver revealed messages to him" The messenger persisted

" Emir Arzika have returned from lumana or has he tempered with your identity?" Dangali was brainstorming" you can never trust the demon, he must have exchanged your identity with the guard which means the guard has replaced you in Lumana, you were thrown into prison because you cannot be killed now, because once you die, the thief representing you, would be stuck with your identity for life,"

" No this is not good, the person would reveal false messages, and emir Hana always listens to me,"

" Emir Arzika has begun his mission to conquer Lumana," said Tunau

" You are telling me that I am in Nasara,"

" You have been imprisoned, You are neither a stranger or visitor, You are just a tool, when Arzika gets what he wants , He might release you" Dangali said

" Release? Does Arzika release prisoners?" Tunau was rhetoric

The Maker's Messenger walked to and from the small room guided with strong iron bars" there should be a way out, why are you both imprisoned?"

" Long story," Dangali replied

" what about you?" The messenger directed to Tunau

" I hate to remember"

"Arzika is evil, You must have heard of him," Dangali said

"I heard a lot, He rules the land that places a curse on residential Strangers " replied the messenger

" Yes, This is his stepbrother who He imprisoned for years while I was imprisoned for aiding Hamza" Dangali snapped

" Hamza?"

"Do you know him?"

" There is a hamza in Lumana palace whose identity initiated a chaos in the Palace" the Messenger said

" We are talking about the same person, now I believe your Identity has been stolen,"

" The Emir believes in what I tell him, We need to do some thing,"

" what is your intention, we are locked up,"

" What are you thinking?" Tunau broke his silence.

" I will go into deep prayer tonight, something should come up"

" You want to practice your beliefs in Arzika's land, are you a clown?" Dangali threw.

" Leave him, what have you suggested with your beliefs since you got here? I am a prince of the land and I have been locked up for decades , I still don't comprehend how I have remained sane! I watched my mother die and I couldn't raise a finger, I became a slave in my father Land, I swear, Arzika must pay for this" Tunau yelled.

" You are shouting "said Dangali.

Lumana

The training were endless, Amir had become more physically and mentally fit, His fighting skills amused the Emir. The atmosphere was so tensed as they practiced, Hamza was natural commander, There was power in His voice.

" Soldiers of Lumana, this might be my first battle but bear in mind, We must not let him win this time, remove you fears and fight like your lives depend on it!"

The soldiers were all attentive , he charged them and they cheered at intervals, Emir Hana had never been so proud.

" Let me remind you, We don't care about his immortal army , they are not a match , they are cheats, We are not going to the battle field to kill them, our aim is to give Amir the space He needs to face Gamsheka, We are mere defenders and distractions, Amir needs all the strength We can give to him to enable him end Gamsheka once and for all!"

The soldier cheered more , then they were given a long break.

Hana was summoned by the fake Maker's Messenger, innocent Emir Hana who had been expecting such didn't hesitate, He left for the Messenger place at once.

" Welcome back, this is one of your longest prayers" Emir Hana said.

" I have received the messages, your lost son is finally here and Arzika made it possible, that's an exemplary action, it seems Arzika is turning a new leaf,"

" He did that for his selfish reasons , He is afraid of Hamza,"

" You should be scared too,"

" Why?"

" I couldn't get the full message, it caused a lot of my time, I am sorry to tell you this, You hate the old beliefs but you are already practicing it unconsciously, Hamza, the new son is using the old beliefs and you are doing nothing about it,"

" I don't understand you,"

" He is tricking everybody, His ideas should not be welcomed, He is already taking over everything "

"Is someone who hates Arzika a bad person?"

" I am just delivering a divine message, he shouldn't be trusted completely,"

" No, You said something entirely different about him before now, your recent words are unsatisfactory. Is this all you got after the long prayers?"

" You shouldn't trust someone who was brought up by a thief,"

" The abductor was not a thief, He wanted a child to save his wife,"

" And he stole a royal?"

" How did get to know about this?"

" I saw it all in the revelation."

" Would amir still conquer Gamsheka?"

"He will if you do what I have told you, Gamsheka wants the battle to be last and He is ready to find another means.

Hana was thrown into distress, he was so disturbed, is there something actually wrong with Hamza? He thought, He did his usual by visiting His Father's grave, then He proceeded to the indoor training arena where he met His boys chatting and laughing. He walked to them with His guards and They honored him.

" I can see you are having a break,"

Hamza nodded as he sipped his milk

" The fresh milk was your mother's favorite too, " Emir Hana talked with a long face " Amir, I think you should go to bed already" the Emir said , he partially glowered at Hamza , Hamza noticed the discomfort in his Father's eyes.

" Where is barau?"

" Barau has been quite moody, He sleeps early this days, I think baba Yerima's illness worries him"Amir replied

" Go to bed Amir, .... You" He directed to hamza " We shall have a little talk in my Chambers."

Hamza nodded as he obeyed the Emir, they got to the Chambers and the conversation began,

" Who are you?" Hana asked, He turned his back on hamza, Hamza was confused , but he was prepared.

" Did someone tell you anything again Baba?" Hamza paused" You are a very good man, even if I had evil intentions , your kind heart would have made those thoughts disappear, I used to think that Arzika was the only enemy I had, but my return to Lumana had made me understand that I have more enemies,"

Emir Hana didn't want to be blunt but he couldn't help it

" Hamza," He turned back and faced him" I am confused, "

" About what?"

" Hmmm, don't bother, I will find out,"

" Baba, you don't trust me and I understand but you won't regret it if you trust me completely. My desire is to see you happy, I have no beast in me neither am I possessed, anybody telling you that I have hidden agendas is actually the demon"

" Are you telling me that the divine messenger is also evil?"

Hamza was shocked " did he also say something bad about me?"

" Hamza, it is time you left, I will figure it out myself,"

" Baba, you worry too much, if I was evil, I wouldn't involve the Soldiers of Lumana in strenuous trainings, I wouldn't give up everything to train Soldiers whom will in turn kill me, I am not someone who knows the past but I am quite sure it has been so long you saw Amir genuinely happy. Baba, I am not evil or possessed , I am just someone who likes to hunt down bad people to please myself, I have been pretending to keep Myself happy, I mean, what is there to celebrate after finding out that you were a prince but have always lived like a pauper? locked up like a prisoner whilst watching other children play, when I was little, my only friends were the sticks I used to practice swords fighting.....my foster Father committed a huge crime and he deserved to be punished but a part of me hurts when I remember all what he had passed through to protect me, I miss him so much but I didn't let it bother me because I have an assignment baba and I must complete it" Hamza reduced his tone" I am sorry Your highness, They could continue feeding you with lies but the choice to believe them is yours, because what ever your choice is, it wouldn't stop me"

" Shut that hole on your face! You can't talk to me in that manner!"

" I apologize," Hamza had tears in his eyes " I am not happy, I am trying and they think I am evil, this was not my plan, I was on a self inspired mission and I have sacrificed everything," Hamza sniffed heavily, He switched his mood rapidly as he wiped his tears " Baba, You know I am strong and I know you are too,"

There was a knock on the door, the guard came to deliver a message " the Divine Messenger requests to see you,"

" I should be leaving Baba" Hamza said but hana didn't approve it " go to the rest room and stay there but remain breathless" Hana whispered to hamza and hamza submitted

" Let him come" the Emir directed to the guard.

The Maker's Messenger walked in slowly.

" Your royal highness, I must tell you this, I couldn't wait till sunrise,"

" What's it?"

" It has been confirmed, this is Gamsheka's tool for his last attack,"

Hana was puzzled " what tool?"

" Hamza, he must be killed,"

" What has come over you? you already told me that, "

" But you are not serious about it , I have been on the mat for long to get this divine message"

" You may leave, I will come to your Chambers myself" Hana said, the fake Messenger wanted to go on but hana didn't let him.

After a while, Hana called out on Hamza who was behind the curtains.

" He is lying," Hamza said.

Hana smiled" I don't need any more proofs, that person is not my Messenger,"

" What do you mean?"

" My divine messenger will never reveal a message to me even if an ant was eavesdropping, something bad must have happened to him..... you may go to your chambers, everything is clear once again,"

" Yes Baba,"

" Wait, You could spend the night here, it would really mean a lot, tell me everything about your child hood and growing up, how you became so good at swordfighting , everything,"

" Really, We might not spend the night sleeping " They both laughed,Emir Hana was relieved.

Barau visited his family house, he always came at noon, he had some few words with his uncle and it was all about Hamza.

" I have never seen the Emir so pleased , with the way it's going, Hamza might snatch Amir's title."

" I am glad you are beginning to see it the way it should be, hmmmmm, Barau, while I was away to sell my farm produce, I visited a wise man in the neighbouring Emirate who did some findings on Hamza, truly Hamza is the Emir's son but he is possessed by a trickster demon , We could actually save Hamza"

"How? I still find it difficult to forgive him for what he did to the Queen"

" Here," Jikau stood up and brought out a bottle filled with a green liquid " it will be potential in 5 sunsets, we need to remove that demon with this liquid, Gamsheka attack is in ten sunsets,"

" How did you get this?, I hope it will not Hamza,"

" Don't bother. Just a drop of this will save him and we shall all be saved, We need to be discreet with this plan for if we make a little noise about it and the demon finds out, He would look for other means, You can only do this since He thinks you are fond of him." Jikau and Barau looked into each other eyes for a while" I will hand it to you, you have to been very careful with it."

Arzika dungeons

" What did you find? You have been on your knees all night," Tunau threw.

" It wasn't too clear, but I see an demon cry for help after something like an eclipse occurred" replied the Messengers

" You are right! you are right! The day goes into night and comes back to the day again, my Father said so" Dangali was excited

" What does that even mean?" Asked Tunau

"Arzika would be doomed whenever this happens " Dangali Whispered

"When would it happen?" Tunau was inquisitive.

" We should be attentive, it might happen soon" The messenger said

Tunau stood up to peep through the small holes on the wall " I will be at alert, i just hope you are right,"

" The reverse would occur if his destruction visits at night " Dangali added

Some guards walked towards their dungeon, they bought in another defaulter into Tunau's dungeon.

" Who are you and what did you do" Dangali asked

" I stole from Arzika's farm house, my name is Bako ,I was given 5 sunsets to spend in prison"

" That's very fair, it seems you judgement didn't pass through the Emir, but since you have a little time with us, you shall make the best of it " Dangali said

Lumana

The days ran fast, they were fully ready, their swords were sharpened, the Armours shined as the sun rays penetrated, it was five sunsets to Gamsheka's attack and there was no signs of nervousness in Lumana soldiers.

" We won't attack at once, We shall be divided and Amir will be on the second row, remember, focus on their fists, We shall be blocking and ensuring they drop their swords!"

Emir Hana invited his sons for a royal dinner, He felt they hadn't been feeding too well due to the trainings, Jikau was also invited and finally he met Hamza personally, Emir hana advised that they all visit Yerima after the dinner.

" You should know a little about your family " Hana directed to Hamza.

They all chatted happily while they ate but Jikau eyes were on barau, He kept reminding Barau about their plan with body gestures, then a royal guard walked in with a keg of fresh milk.

" My prince , the Milkmaid has brought your desired,"

" Thank you," Hamza said, the guard dropped the keg on the table.

" You are addicted to this milk," Hana said as he chopped his beef.

" I can't even stand the smell," Amir added.

" Let's just say we found our differences, I took after Mama," Hamza joked

" It is a wonderful drink" Barau said, he was sitting next to Hamza, " sorry, I am not at ease, permit me to use the loo, " As he stood up to leave ,he intentionally hits the keg containing milk with his arms and the Clay keg fell spilling the whole milk .

" I am so sorry, I will get another one," Barau apologized.

" It was clearly unintentional, allow the guard get another one," Amir said

" No I will , I insist,"

" Let him be, He wants to see the milkmaid daughters, He has an eye for Them," Hamza jokes and they all laughed

Barau got another keg which He used to collect the milk, He successfully applied some drops of the green liquid into the milk, He hid in one of the corners where the guards rarely paid attention to .

Hamza who was already craving did not hesitate to empty a cup of the milk, the lemon poison wasted no time, Hamza felt like his throat was being punctured with needles and the pains got worst. He held his neck and warned Barau who was already filling his own cup by saying " don't drink, there is something in the drink,"

" What's wrong?" Amir asked with great concern.

Hamza still held his throat and began to spit Large clumps of blood.

Emir Hana asked her guards to call for the Physician at once, they carried him to his chambers.

Gamsheka noticed that the fire in the Clay had gone off , He was overwhelmed like wise Arzika! Hamza's fire was no more, Arzika sang the song of Victory!

Hamza chambers

"Lemon poison?" Hana exclaimed

" Yes your highness, the rarest and the most dangerous poison, it is uneasy to prepare,the raw form of the poison is the only antidote, "

" Can we prepare it? the Milkmaids are been interrogated but they are not cooperating"

" Your highness, we need to torture them more , they need to give us the raw form."

" Do something!" Amir had lost it " what are you physician for? Hamza must not die!"

" What is hamza fate?" Hana asked

" Hamza is really special, lemon poison kills in a twinkle of an eye,"

Hana broke down, Amir was sitting beside Hamza who was doing his best to survive, He was struggling to breathe, with tears rollings down his cheeks, he forced a smile " they got me" Hamza managed to shutter.

" no you are not leaving, We shall fight Gamsheka together, we shall! " Amir's chest pounded.

" The pain is severe, help ma baba, I can't die yet " Hamza cried.

Hana walked fast to the Messenger's place who was still on his mat, Hana ran amok as he pushed the Messenger away from the mat.

" What are you doing?" the Messenger asked the enraged emir.

" I asked you to pray but you are cursing!"

" May you be forgiven,"

" See, if hamza dies, I will send you out of the palace! He must not die!"

He left,still in rage, He went to the room where the Milkmaids were being apprehended but nothing good came out of them too.

Barau was in the middle, He and Jikau walked back to the Family house where Barau handed the bottle of the liquid over.

" You almost used half of it, you only needed two drops" Jikau said.

" He is gravely ill, when would the demon leave his body?" Barau said with a shivering voice.

" Obviously, he is the demon himself,"

" what do you mean? "

" If his death will save us, so it shall be,"

" Death? No, how can we fight gamsheka? The emir is a shadow of himself, Amir is depressed and we all know what happens whenever Amir gets depressed, Baba you told me that the liquid was the cure , that it would kill the demon inside him,"

" Barau! He is the demon, accept that, what do you want me to do? Do you want to give him the antidote? You will be caught if you try that, "

" Baba jikau, I can't fight the battle alone, Gamsheka could win and take over Lumana,"

" So be it!"

" Baba!" Barau yelled.

" When you can't win them, you join them,"

" Did you manipulate me?"

" You hate him. Why are you finding it difficult to understand that Hamza was a worst demon? Gamsheka is better than him,"

Barau panicked , he hit himself on the floor

" What's wrong with him?" Jikau directed to Kadada who was being quiet.

" You have to take it easy with him" Kadada said.

" No one should stand in my way!"Jikau slammed.

" Jikau, my son won't do anything funny. He is fully aware of the consequences,"

Jikau left the both them while barau sobbed "who the hell is Baba Jikau?"

" Son be calm, you are on the right track, just do your best at the Battle,"

" Mama, I have committed murder, " Barau cried more and buried his head in her blossoms.

Hamza's chambers

Hamza skin appeared more pale and white, He was shrinking but was not giving up, Amir and the Emir were almost always with him.

" Why are you like this? Gamsheka will attack in two sunsets and you are all moody, We cannot win like this," Hamza heartbeat was audible, it was very slow.

" Hamza, I cannot do this without you" Amir said as he sobbed.

" So , what will you do? you want gamsheka to win? don't grant his wish, I am the poisoned one and you are both are looking like ghosts, You cannot back off now, You have been doing it without me, I am fulfilled I met you,"

Emir Hana was so bitter " save your strength, son"

" Maybe you are about to loose me the second time but there will a third time , I promise, I can't die while Arzika lives....Baba, this should be the last battle, you shouldn't retreat,"

Amir couldn't stand it anymore ,he left in anger while the guards followed him, but amazingly , he made an announcement, He encouraged the soldiers to gather their horses and be in possession of their armours "Gamsheka is near, this is the last battle, no retreat and no surrender, We fight till we Die!"

Hana took a deep breath, He held Hamza's hands and they were so cold " Hamza, thank you, rest now, I will ask the guards to stay by the door, you need some privacy"

" No retreat baba, no retreat" Hamza spoke faintly.

Emir Hana held back his tears. He walked to Amir's chambers and met him preparing.

" Take it easy"

" I am trying baba" Amir sniffed" Hamza is changing, His feet are dead, He is getting cold" He managed to control himself " I will grieve after we win this war, get your horses and your personal soldiers, come to the the battle ground with only your lenses and your swords, give the horns their final break."

Hana held Amir's hands " I am sorry for making you go through all this" Hana said and they had a tight hug.

The physician said to Hamza" save you strength. You need it"

" I.. " Hamza couldn't talk anymore, he was beginning to see what he could not comprehend, obviously The end was near.

" rest well Hamza, you will be left alone"

The Final battle

They didn't follow the initial plans, the battle was led by Amir and the General, Barau had arrived late and was among the soldiers, Hana and his soldiers took their position on the hilltop, they all watched From the hilltop.

The battle began usual, the Soldiers ran into each other, the Soldiers of Lumana obeyed Hamza's rule. They were defensive, but the Gamsheka's Army were merciless,the battle lasted for a while and Gamsheka was winning, many Lumana soidiers were down, Barau and Amir fought Gamsheka with all their strength but it was obvious that Lumana was on the edge of failure.

Hana stopped viewing "My soldiers, we need to join them."

One of his Soldiers asked him to wear back his lens, he had sighted some body.

The conqueror was coming, His horse ran like it had ten legs, He destroyed the heads of Gamsheka's soldiers, everyone wondered who he was, obviously, he was without armours.

" I see the Prince without armours" Hana remembered the words of the messenger, the battle became intensed , the sight of Hamza restored Lumana's soidiers strength, Hamza called out Amir's name, Amir and Barau saw Hamza and the battle took a new turn,Gamsheka could be easily recognized, He was always with the red Scarf, Gamsheka knew there was a problem, but before he could think of a solution, Hamza snatched the three edged dagger from Amir and left it piercing through Gamsheka's chest. gamsheka roared as be knelt on the blood stained ground, His army became easy meats as normal sword could pass through them, The soldiers of lumana slashed their throats, Amir inturned beheaded Gamsheka and raise his head to the sky , the Lumana Soldiers cheered, they were victorious! Emir Hana joy knew no bounds ,then the quick eclipse occurred.

Nasara

Bako was out of the dungeon, He did as he was instructed, the unusual eclipse had occurred, He ran out to make the announcement that Nasara was free , Arzika had been defeated, the citizens thought he was mad.

Arzika trembled, the clay pot fire was burning faster than ever, his mayyu had mysteriously vanished, and unfortunately, his guards were already informed, they knew his time was up, Tunau was released and they moved to attack Arzika who was indeed powerless.

The death of Gamsheka exposed all his cohorts as they all became weak. the Maker's messenger had also regained his identity

Arzika had only one way to escape but he didn't mind, the escape plan required him to denounce the Stranger's curse and place it upon himself, he did that and became invisible, no one knew the path he followed .

Tunau was free, He was grateful to the Messenger and promised to take him back to Lumana and also , he would want to know more about the Maker's beliefs

The search

Along side some lumana soldiers, Hamza and Amir searched for barau, the cleaner in his family house had told them that he left with a sword stained with Blood, Barau murdered his uncle and his mother due to the position he met them and she also Found the lifeless body of baba Yerima.

Emir Hana was so confused " Jikau has always been a bastard" Emir Hana interrogated the cleaner and she quoted.

"I know they always do something odd together but I could not say it, the Queen was also a witness, Kadada and Jikau were horrible, I knew about it but they promised to slay my family if I ever mentioned it to anyone, I was stuck with them, I didn't notice when Barau walked in"

Before the search for Barau began, Hamza's survival was questioned, he was also confused, someone used the window , the person came in and drop some liquid on his lips but he was too weak to see the person, and he gradually began to feel better.

" I felt better and called on the guards but they didn't reply me, so I also used the window, snatched a sword from an amused guard and ran of to the battle field."

Fortunately. Barau was found in the woods, he had cut his wrists with a sword and waited patiently for his death, Hamza saw him first , he called on others and Barau was taken to the palace where he was treated.

Upon recovery Barau explained how he returned to the place, crept into Hamza's room and gave him the antidote " I had poured some of the poison into another bottle before handling the main bottle back to my uncle"

He apologized for everything. He never knew his uncle worked for Gamsheka.

" I was battling to make lumana better and they were making love while my Father laid lifeless, my mother and my uncle! they must have done a lot more! they obviously killed my father, they deserve to die" He cried bitterly.

Emir hana asked the guard to search Jikau's room and they found all their voodoo tools and charms, indeed Jikau was the wolf."

"Kadada was an impostor , she came from family with a lot of gold diggers , she wanted to be Queen by all means, Jikau liked her but she preferred yerima because she thought he would become the Emir, they must have had a bigger mission and they felt it was coming through " Hana thought, But he did not tell his sons about these tales, people involved were all dead, Hana forgave barau and fully adopted him.

Epilogue

The fake Maker's messenger had also met his waterloo and He was arrested.

The Maker's Messenger returned with Tunau, Dangali and Hankarau, Hamza was extremely excited to see Hankarau , Tunau was pleased to announce that Arzika had run for his dear life but above everything , the Emir was happy with the Maker's Messenger return.

" You were right , but the messages were interchanged, it was Hamza you saw without armours in you revelation," Hana said.

Lumana was free, the coast was clear, Emir Hana stood at the highest part of his castle to take a view at the evergreen Lumana, Hamza joined him, they both laughed over everything,then Hamza dropped mine stone

" Your highness, I think I need the Map now, Arzika is not dead yet, "

Emir hana was expressionless.