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Wildly considered the most powerful empire in African history, the Songhai Empire. Established in the 11th century under the rule of the Mali Empire in the Northwestern part of the African Continent. They gained independence in the early 15th century as the Mali Empire started to disintegrate. They finally out grew the past Mali empire in terms of strength and influence in the mid to late 15th century under the Sunni Dynasty and later the Askiya Dynasty. The Songhai Empire maintained their strength and dominance for over a hundred years until infighting finally brought the empire into decline. Well, that is what is believed and what historical artifacts tells us. Not much is known about the history of African nations prior to European colonization for various reasons. Historiography of the African continent prior to that were depicted through art or by word of mouth. After colonization written history was dominated by European academia so, the legitimacy of the history could be skewed. This has resulted in a loss of identity for the land and its people.
Fast forward to the 26th century, 500 years after the end of World War 3 the world looks vastly different. The world has split itself into 8 different empires: The Native Americas (consisting of Canada, half the territory of the former U.S, and Greenland), The Mayan Empire (consisting of Mexico, half the territory of the former U.S, the rest of Central America, and the Caribbean), The Inca Empire (Consisting of South America), Great Britain (consisting of Iceland, all of Europe, Turkey, twenty percent of the territory formerly known as Russia), Israel (all of the middle east, India, and Kazakhstan.), Korea (consisting of the rest of mainland Asia, eighty percent of Russia, and Japan), Indonesia (consisting of Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Antarctica), The New Songhai Empire (all of the African Continent, including Madagascar). Countries are pretty much non-existent and exist more like states or counties to keep each regions identity and history alive. However, it is more beneficial relying on the empire's collective resources and economy to flourish. The Empire benefitting most from this system was the New Songhai Empire. Their wealth and strength far surpassed any other empire in the world and the era was known as the African Renaissance. They were at the forefront of technology, art, music, and philosophy.
Naturally, with success there is envy and when envy develops between governments, inevitably it breeds conflict. So, the Songhai share the wealth and technology with the world in fear of war and there was peace. However, with wealth comes greed and humans (that it be our nature) are never satisfied with the status quo.
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"Calm mind. Calm mind. Calm."
My body is shaking and its hard to normalize my breathing. Should I keep my eyes closed or should I let my surroundings calm me? Even with my eyes closed all I see is red. I open my eyes to see our courtyard. Abundant greenery, flowers in full bloom, the plants and the water of the pond swaying with the slight breeze. When my eyes were closed, there was too much noise. My anger was blaring, screaming for a violent resolution. When I finally opened my eyes the view and the sound of nature finally emptied my mind. Calmed me to a point where I was no longer in such an anxious state. I need more training. A weak mind can never lead others, if I can't find peace within, then the peace I find elsewhere will someday become corrupted and worthless. Recited the teachings of my father in my head. I decided to sit in silence until my mind was blank, my body still, and my breathing calm. The throbbing pain I felt on my body from bruises also started to numb as my body returned to a normal state.
"Rahjah"
My mothers voice broke through my trance, in her voice I heard the tone only a mother would have for her child when she was worried. I got up quickly to present myself to her. I only recently overtook my mother in height but for a woman she would be considered tall. Her hair at this moment was braided and put up, a sign that she was to appear before people in an official capacity. Her eyes were a deep brown that hid the warmth in her heart that she had for her family, but freely announced her ferocity for anyone that wasn't. As I walked up to her, I could feel those same eyes studying my expression, my appearance, and my body language. Makes me want to avoid eye contact all together. "Child where is your shirt?" as her eyes continue to scan me and stopped on my bloody knuckles.
"I wanted to sunbathe during my quiet time, so it was removed" I still was trying to avoid eye contact. Her face turned from worried to annoyance. She looked to her right to see a knuckle shaped bloodstain on the stone wall.
"You and your brothers tell the stupidest lies." Her expression then shifted to seriousness "Your Father 'Emperor Amare' has requested to see you in front of the palace in front of the Baobab tree." She looked me up and down one more time. "And for my sake please make yourself presentable. If you and your older brother want to fight, at least come out of it looking proud." I finally looked into her eyes. I saw pride and strength in her eyes, and it filled me with confidence. I know longer wanted to break eye contact.
"Yes mam, I will hurry down to baba" she nodded in agreeance and turn to let me back into the palace. My mother always pulled me up whenever I struggled with my emotions. I lose control sometimes and lash out. To them to put such emotion out into the world was unbecoming of a leader, of a ruler. The excessive show of emotions can be manipulated and can be seen as weakness. Its okay to have passion but for only your responsibilities in public and only for yourself in private. My father had no tolerance for it, he would send me away to cool off in the courtyard. My mother on the other hand taught me how to meditate and the importance of silence, prayer, and faith. She took it personally that I let things get to me to such an extent.
I walked back through one of the back patios past my mother. As I walked through the green and gold halls towards my room, my mind started to race as to what my father wanted to talk about. It was rare for our father to summon us, with how busy he is running the empire he only called us to meet with various diplomats within the empire. Other than that, the only time we would see him would be at meals or he would pop up during some of our physical trainings and educational lessons. There was no one scheduled to come to the palace, so I wonder who has come this time. I entered my quarters and quickly hopped in the shower, brushed my hair, and put on a suit. Once finished, I headed towards the front door where my little brother was sat, legs crossed in front of it. From what I could tell, he had his PCC (Personal Computer Contacts) active and seemed to be busy typing on air.
"Talib" he nodded to acknowledge my presence and kept typing away. He was the baby of the family, two years younger than me. Two or three inches shorter than me and a normal but lean build from not taking his training seriously. He had blond twist to show off his rebelliousness in contrast to the rest of the family. He still had his baby face that would make him cute to young women, his facial hair hasn't materialized but that only added to his innocent look. He made it a point to spend most of his time in the digital world. Constantly tinkering with gadgets and trying to improve the technology that we had available to us to suit his needs more. "What are you working on this time?" without looking up at me he answered.
"I'm trying to increase the bandwidth of my Wi-Fi chip." He lifted his right wrist where you can see the faint scar of the incision where his chip was placed. "My schematics for my projects don't download and upload fast enough for my liking."
"What's the rush?" I asked perplexed. Any pictures or videos that came up on my virtual screen was always instant. He stopped typing, stood up, and turned on his virtual projector. We were then surrounded by a giant detailed schematic, detailing every part and dimension. He was right however, some of the parts and dimensions took a bit more time to render than others. Although I wasn't as into this stuff as my brother was, I knew what he was attempting would have ramifications if done carelessly. "If you increase the bandwidth wouldn't that open you up to hackers? Increased bandwidth usually spells something worth taking for anybody that's looking. Continuous random IP addresses won't save you nowadays." He cracked a smile.
"That's why I'm trying to develop an invisible IP." I now knew whatever he was talking about was above my head, so I didn't push further. He closed his projector and sat back down to continue typing. "Did baba summon you as well?" I nodded, so he called Talib as well, that means he must have also called Baako. My older brother, the one who was responsible for the bruises on my chest. I shifted uncomfortably for a bit. "I was told to wait for all of us to gather, and then mama would take us out to the Baobab tree. Why would you think he was call us there? He has a perfectly good throne room for formal meetings and office for informal." I saw right through his complaints.
"You just don't want to go outside." I said with a smirk.
"It's HOT!" he said with a brattish voice.
"Its not as bad as you think there's a rare breeze today." He let go a big sigh and continued to type. At that moment however a booming voice came up from behind us.
"Ndugu why are we sitting around? Baba is waiting for us!" His voice was full of gusto and confidence. His positive energy was filling up the room. The sight of him made my body ache a little.
"We were told to wait for you and mother to go out." I couldn't hide my annoyance and aggression in my voice. He gave me a perplexed look. My brother was five years older than me, an inch taller, and a stocky and muscular frame. He had his dreadlocks tied back and it looked like he just edged out his full beard. We probably had the same level of brains, but his emotional and strategic intelligence exceeded mine. My brother came in close, grabbed my head and hugged me. However, I didn't immediately reciprocate.
"Rah, are you still dwelling on this morning? Nakupenda ndugu yangu, you are strong, more so than any person I've ever sparred with. That includes baba and mjomba, how will we improve if we pull our punches." Don't get me wrong, I loved my brother. I looked up to Baako. He was a shining example of strength and a leader to Talib and I. I just hated losing to my own flesh and blood, and my pride never let me overcome that. I need to get over that flaw soon. I finally wrapped my arm around him and tapped his head to acknowledge his words. He disengaged with a comforting smile, but as he opened his mouth to speak our mother came rushing forward. She hurried through us and beckoned to follow her.