OKAFOR RALLIES HIS students together the following afternoon and declares he has gathered them for "special training". Without further explanation, he leads the group back out of the Bladesmen's practice chamber and along the railed walkway overlooking the courtyard. Due to his lack of elaboration, the nine speculate excitedly over what this could mean while trailing behind him.

Jabari suggests that they must be headed out to defend N'graza under the king's direction. More subdued and spiteful than ever, Ejike counters that it is more likely Okafor intends to join the scouting party in Mejanno and show them how to move through enemy territory unnoticed. Rafi believes their teacher simply needs as many hands as he can get to retrieve a batch of weapons needing maintenance. Zakkai and most of the other initiates agree with him.

On the opposite side from the Bladesmen's section of the base, Okafor leads them through a creaky door. The atmosphere inside is quieter by far, and a woodsy aroma draws them in. Down a narrow passageway they go, and on the other side, they find themselves in a library as massive as it is cozy.

Okafor turns to the group and says that since he has business he must attend to, and Folabi remains otherwise occupied, he must commit them to the care of a trusted colleague, Second Elder Imani Olayinka of the Librarians' cell.

Though her manner of dress is in keeping with the other members of the council, draped in a cyan garment speckled with maroon details, she wears it more stylishly than any of the men do. Her inner tunic is not a drab brown, tan, or white intended not to be noticed. Its dye renders it a rusty hue matching the ornamentation on her outer coat. Even its crisp collar contrasts the unadorned hems along the neckline of other tunics.

"You are blessed to be entrusted with a batch of such vibrant young talent," Olayinka remarks as Okafor turns to leave. "Worry not, for I shall instruct them well. May God watch you on your assignment."

"Thank you, Lady Imani." Okafor's stern gaze narrows on Zakkai and Ejike in turn. "Her word is as good as mine. Give her no trouble in my absence."

When he stalks off, Olayinka beckons the group follow her into another section of the library, bracelets clanking against one another on her wrists as she moves her hands. Her graying dreadlocks are studded with silver rings which gleam in the light as she turns.

"Where is Elder Okafor going?" Rafi asks. "He never told us."

"There is a stirring to the south which the queen would like him to investigate. He will return to us shortly, I assure you."

"So, you are instructing us until he returns?"

"Yes, and in particular, in light of the growing tensions around us, I have chosen to focus on expanding your group's familiarity of the history and geography of our region. For some of you, this will be education, and for some of you, this will be reminder and expansion of that which you already know. In any case, I shall engage your minds as Elder Enu exercises your bodies."

She stops in an area already set aside for an instruction of sorts, with nine chairs lined up on one side of a long table. Zakkai scoots one out and settles down between Rafi and Jabari, Ejike notably choosing a spot on the far end of the table. Before beginning, Olayinka furthers her hospitality and emerges from around a corner with a pot of tea. A dark brew spiced with cinnamon and accented by citrus.

Hanging on the wall in front of the initiates is a map, but clearly only a local map, and an artistic rendition at that. None of the coasts are visible, Esraya and her entire commercial network is nowhere to be seen, and the vibrant colors painted onto the canvas are meant for dramatic effect, not sheer accuracy.

First, Olayinka reviews the general geography of the area. She takes Zafanya largely for granted, the 'protector of the savannah', she calls it. Instead, she references other lands in relation to it. Esovidda and N'graza are only two of 163 territories sprawling across the western half of the savannah which are under the queen's protection in return for yearly tribute. The Uka'an tribe immediately to the east is the only tributary situated in the opposite direction.

To Zafanya's north is the broad Ivanyi River which holds mountainous T'kalla and its twelve tributaries at bay. Olayinka explains that T'kalla once held considerable territory in the savannah, but immediately after ascending to the throne, Queen Jokuye had declared them unwelcome guests and waged a great war to drive them out. What T'kalla lacks in agricultural abundance, it makes up for with the skill of its craftsmen and blacksmiths. Elder Okafor immediately springs to Zakkai's mind.

She speaks only briefly on the land immediately south of Zafanya. Tei-Gata is a nation which has been a rival in times past, but has since focused its attention on the desert trade routes farther out. If Zafanya is the protector of the savannah and T'kalla is the giant in the mountains, Olayinka says Tei-Gata should be thought of as the gateway to the south.

The overview of history she embarks on next is meant to acquaint the group with the broader context so in later lessons, she may dive into greater detail and they not lose their place. And so Olayinka proceeds to describe the various divisions of Zafanyan history. First, The Founding, where the teachings of Christ led one tribe of many in the undefined savannah region to form a settlement and begin to spread their ways among the others. At that time, Zafanya had been ruled by kings, which held true through the following period, The Occupation.

During the Occupation period, Zafanya and the land that would one day become T'kalla had both been conquered by an ancient western empire known by a dozen different names. This dark era saw the Christians persecuted and entire region oppressed under the patriarchal teachings of a misguided prophet whose writings had drifted up from the southwest centuries prior.

The First Age of Heroes had seen the first Zafanyan queen arise, a heroic princess who had led a multitude of tribes into battle against their oppressors. Breaking up the empire that had oppressed them, they created many of the smaller tributaries which now rely on Zafanya for protection to this day.

Following this were the Age of Refinement, the Age of Visions—in which Queen Ayo had risen up and uttered her famous prophecies which were later written down in a treasured book, and the Second Age of Heroes. After that, the Age of Assimilation, the Age of Ascendency, and the Third Age of Heroes, followed by the Second Age of Visions.

More recently were times that Olayinka recounted firsthand, what she claimed modern day scholars wished to brand a Fourth Age of Heroes. She protests the notion, but this is the time in which Queen Jokuye had ascended to the throne, proclaimed war on the T'kallan Empire meddling on her doorstep, and driven them back to their rocky homeland.

"Under the strategic leadership of Great Elder Yakuba," Olayinka says, "we prevailed time and time again over the T'kallans, fulfilling the penultimate prophecy of Queen Ayo. She spoke of 'strongholds torn down' and 'encampments wide as the day is long' being set ablaze 'in a whisper, quietly in the night'. The war ended as she foretold, 'a great leader, esteemed by his people, dashed to pieces on the rocks, devoured by vultures on the shores of his own land'."

Zakkai scoots forward in his seat. "Elder Okafor told me that the Great Elder preceding Riuki stepped down following the war. Was that Yakuba?"

"You have spoken correctly."

"Why did he step down in the wake of such a glorious victory?"

Olayinka's face conveys an expression as if the years have abruptly caught up with her. "It was a trying time for all of us. We gave that fight our all, and none more than he. With that victory, Yakuba took his chance to step down on a high note, leaving his life of celibacy behind to finally take a wife and raise up a family. We miss him greatly to this day, but after all the years of his lifespan he must have lost in fretting over the state of this empire, none of us fault him for seeking a quieter life."

"Do you think this coming war with the Kalguri will be similar to the one you fought in a decade ago?" Jabari asks.

"If it is against the Kalguri alone we fight, they stand no chance. Were they to last one month against the queen's might, it would indicate to me that she only toys with them."

Zakkai squints. "Your wording seems to suggest you believe the Kalguri are not alone."

"I do not wish to speculate, but I also will not attempt to discourage your curiosity. Whoever the Kalguri have chosen as allies, they are clearly not alone. Whether it is a renewal of T'kallan hostilities, a coalition of savannah tribes, or a renewed holy war from the west coast, I cannot say."

"You have no suspicions of your own?"

"I am not Queen Ayo," Olayinka says. "I will not attempt to predict the future. I know the past better than the back of my hand, but the future is out of sight."

Zakkai takes a peek at the back of her hand, and instantly, his esteem of the only female elder on the council swells. Branded into her left hand is the distinctive mark of a Battlemaster. She may tend to the library in these times of peace, but she is no one to be trifled with when called to arms.

"Whatever the situation may be out there," Rafi says, "I believe Elder Okafor will bring back clarity and closure."

"Most likely so. I will not speculate on what he might find, but when he returns, much will be made abundantly clear."