Empires rise. Gods whisper. Lovers collide. Realms and Roads is a living story universe — free to read, impossible to forget.
Zugudini sagged against the drum. She had heeded the voices in the temple. She had beat ngomalungundu. Now, the throbbing subsided. Now she could know peace. A black wave washed over her eyes. Her head felt lighter. Light as a feather. Her heart was slowing down. Throb….throb…. Throb. A deathly silence descended over the temple. […]
Hondo had been unable to sleep that night. The thrumming of the drum had kept him awake. It only abated when he moved away from the temple. So he left Zugudini sleeping and the men working, and climbed back up the hill. There he tried to sleep again, but failed. He got up long before […]
Dande and Luba raced through the forest. It was already dark, and it took all their focus and attention to keep from tripping over roots. Both were used to long night marches. But a march and a sprint were different. They had barely slowed their pace. Now exhaustion was setting in. At their full strength, […]
The dry, bare grass on the hilltop rustled in the cool dawn wind. Hondo gazed at the valley below. The yellowing woodland was holding out against the drought, like a stubborn old man who no longer wants to live but is not yet prepared to die. A moyozi bird flew past, singing out its melodious […]
Luba’s dagger flew through the air and into his throat. The soldiers eyes widened in surprise and terror. Then he pitched forward and lay still. “The two of you can squabble later,” Luba said. She pulled the dagger out of the man’s throat. “We need to get going right now.” They dashed out the tent […]
For a moment, Dande couldn’t speak. His thoughts were racing faster than his mouth could. Hondo had stolen the drum. He had leaped into the Zambezi. He had survived and disappeared. And now, here he was, wearing a mask, and crouching before him. The way the men treated him. It meant that Hondo was the […]
For a moment, nobody and nothing moved. All of creation looked on in silence. Not even the wind dared stir. Then a man barked out an order, and the masked riders kicked their horses’ sides and edge in closer on the four. Dande, Chenzira, Luba and Zugudini clumped together, their backs to each other, and […]
Dande wandered through the forest. The odor of the acacias filled his nostrils. They were closer together here, and that made the going harder. The time-chiseled, drying tree branches reached out at him like fingers, pointing and poking fun at him. He listened carefully. The silence was oppressive. Not even the odd bird call interrupted […]
Rain drummed against the chamber walls. The silence stretched for what seemed to be an eternity. Then, voices erupted. Cries and yells of accusation and shock. Jendayi shot to her feet and raised an arm. The room fell silent. She turned to Dande. “What did you say?” “I said I am the leader of the […]
People poured out of the huts and onto the road. They brandished tree limbs and shouted at the top of their voices. The riders formed a tight circle around Zugudini, Luba and Dande. But soon, they realized that the shouts were not war cries. They were shouts of joy. The tree limbs were not clubs, […]