The History
It had not always been Ayize’s fathers wish to become the priest of the city. In fact, he had planned to run a shop or be a lawyer. However, it was not in his fate. Instead, he was chosen as a young man to replace the ancient man who spoke with the gods at the time. The boy picked by a shaking, aged hand was rebellious and hardly one to follow orders. Not one person in the whole city thought he would make a fair priest, for he was a hooligan. There was always that one child in the classroom or groups that stood out the most, and Shinlaka was that boy. At the age of sixteen he had begun his training, which was late in his years to be honest, and though he finally started to take things seriously, a world crashed around him. The woman he loved, a near-eighteen year old, had become pregnant. Who could they tell? This was terrible!

When Shinlaka told his master, the man was very upset; and yet. . .oddly understanding. The boy was put at a slight ease when he was not berated for his act, but he still was not sure what to do. The wise man only bowed and said “let it happen.” For days Shinlaka wondered what he meant, and came to the obvious conclusion that he was supposed to let his (now ex) woman have the child. A month after that meeting, the priest died and Shinlaka was instated through grand ceremonies. No one was to ever know that the baby born seven-ish months later was his son. Instead, Ayize’s mother left the boy on the steps for Shinlaka to find. Ayize was raised as his own, and told in secret once he was near eight that Shinlaka was his biological father, not an adoptive. He was also told the origin of his name and how Ayize meant exactly what the old priest had said. It all began to make sense, however. . .

The news was startling at first, and the boy didn’t understand his family situation, but he nodded and agreed to keep it a secret. He also never knew which woman of the tribe was his mother, though he often spoke with her when buying food in the market. She gave Ayize presents on his birthday, and always stopped to chat him up after rituals and meetings. It pained her soul to know that she could not hug her son and tell him how much she loved him, but they had broken enough rules. More, however, were to be broken. Ayize was not a normal Zulu boy, and he discovered this far earlier than one would expect. At the age of thirteen when he played with his friends, he found himself experiencing feelings that didn’t feel “right.” So he told his father.

Shinlaka was furious, now being older and wiser, trained in the ways of their people.