THE FOREST OF KUDU...

Source

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Ezra looked around once more. There were no more zouls to prevent his final task. He carefully pockets the Sindle-Wand, and slowly approaches the fountain. One step away he pauses again, and he takes in the magnitude of the moment...
Today he would become immortal, and then all his detractors would get to feel the full scale of his wrath...

It had all began three years ago when the King of Zambe had died. Ezra had been one of the many kingsmen who then aspired to ascend the throne. But after seven full moons of political battle, the oracle had spoken, and Ezra had not only been denied the throne, but he was also to leave his position as a kingmaker. So had his descent begun.
Ezra took it all in stride at the time, he knew that indeed no oracle had spoken. It was all the handwork of those who hated his prolific rise to prominence among the Zambe people, and now they had shown their hands to him. He was definitely on his way down, but not if he could do something about it. That was when his quest for the fabled Fountain of Doom had been sparked.

In Zambe folklore, the Fountain of Doom was what helped the Zambe army conquer their enemies during the great wars. It made a few of their generals immortal, and they then speearheaded waves of attack on the enemy ranks without sustaining a single casualty. Thus, all enemies of the Zambe people had fled for their lives. It was ironic, it was called the Fountain of Doom, but its waters gave eternal life.

But no one really knew where the Fountain was. Folklore had it that it was hidden deep in the dangerous Kudu forest, where the zouls (the spirits of the later sacrificed generals protected it from mere mortals). So Ezra had set out for Kudu forest, with the sole intent of returning an immortal, and showing the people of Zambe who truly deserved to ascend the throne...

That was a little over two years ago, and Ezra's journey had been far from smooth. First, at the outskirts of the forest he had encountered all sorts of wild and strange animals. He had expected this so he had come armed with his spear, slingshot and a machete. He was to find however, after his first kill, that only a weapon laced with a bit of his own blood would harm any of the animals in Kudu. So he had taken his blood, and smeared it over his spear and machete.

For three moons Ezra put down all and any strange animal he encountered. And on the fourth moon he reached the place where folklore referred to as the "Hazy Thickets of Kudu". Here weapons were of no use, as this was the home of all the dead sorcerers and high priests who once lived among the Zambe people.

Ezra knew about this as he had consulted a high priest before he began his journey. At the edge of the hazy thicket, he brought out some items from his bag, placed them on the floor alongside some remnants of his last kill, and proceeded to recite some incantations. After hours of repititive recitations, a shadowy figure appeared, towering high above Ezra. Ezra didn't look to the figure's face, that meant instant death. He simply waited with his head bowed until the figure handed him a slender object; the Sindle-Wand.

With the wand Ezra made his way safely through the Hazy thickets, but it still took him a full year to negotiate its magical paths. Then he came upon the fountain, and of course, the fabled zouls...

They were many, as far as Ezra could see, they were zouls everywhere. The battle that ensued was better seen than told. Ezra, summoning the power of the wand, fought with the skill and magic of a thousand sorcerers. But what truly gave him the victory was his raw untainted determination. His desire for vengeance over what the Zambe kingmakers meted to him rose far above the zouls' will to prevent a mortal from reaching the fountain. The battle lasted for a couple moons, magic against mystery. And finally Ezra was at the verge of fulfillment...

He smiled to himself as he made to take the long awaited step to immortality. "I am Ezra!", he screams as his feet makes contact with the water. Then suddenly he feels lightheaded, and his voice fails him. He struggles to leave the water but it was too late. As he felt his soul been sucked away from him, he pondered; no one had ever mentioned that immortality meant becoming a zoul. Now he would be trapped here forever...
He crumbled, and just before his last breath he remembered the last part of the folklore, and he had a profound realization; to live forever, we first must die...

THE END

#SladenSpeaks

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Written for @zulfikaraw's Write About Adventure Contest

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