The fort was an ancient stone structure perched high on a rocky promontory with incredible views of the ocean below and the mountains behind. What made the fort's location special was that it was surrounded by a beautiful and fertile valley large enough to accommodate the building of a city. It also had a river that brought the rains year round from the mountains, through the valley, to the fort, and ultimately to the ocean below.
The fort had a unique feature. A single tall tower on the northwest corner of the walled courtyard accessible only by a spiral staircase with a single, large, round room at the very top with windows on all sides with magnificent views in all directions.
When Tumaini and Kipanga mounted their successful raid on the fort they were impressed by how well preserved and how well laid out this fort was. It was made of stone, with 30 meter-tall walls surrounding it on all four sides with beautiful and massive doors facing each cardinal point.
Kipanga and his men had started their assault at night. Quietly and stealthily, all dressed in black, they climbed the walls with their special thin, elastic, and extremely strong ropes. Their ability to climb in each other's shoulders, create swings and trampolines with their ropes, stick anchors on the walls, jump from one hook and swing and trampoline to the other was a sight to see. And, in the middle of the night, they were like ghosts floating up the wall in complete silence.
Once inside, they quietly opened the east facing door to let Tumaini and the rest of Kipanga's team enter. These doors were made of a special metal alloy that made them extremely strong. They were attached to an ancient mechanism that quietly activated their opening and closing.
One by one, they managed to subdue the guards without making any noise. Tumaini saw how each of Kipanga's men had a shiny T-shaped metal tool that they held and activated with one hand. When applied to the correct vertebrae below a person's neck, the snapping motion would hit the right nerve endings and disconnect all motor functions. Tumaini could see the guard's eyes just wondering what was happening as they fell to the ground. In less than 10 minutes all the guards had been immobilized and tied down with their special ropes.
Kipanga and his team were finally reunited with their families and were immensely grateful to Tumaini for guiding them there. Tumaini saw and felt the love as the families met and hugged and kissed. All he could think about was Akili.
The fort was a big place. It had four similar large buildings against each of the four walls that could be used for dormitories, dining areas, or storage. The tower rose from the north west corner of the wall and, at the center of the courtyard, there was a magnificent 1000-year old pine tree providing shade to most of the area below it creating a very peaceful and beautiful place. Tumaini knew this was the right place to get things started.
After a few days, Akili had arrived to the fort with Kusudi, Matumaini, and Askari. Akili and Tumaini had kept in touch with the help of Zamani, the ancient pine tree in the courtyard.
Hekima had introduced Tumaini and Zamani as soon as they arrived to the fort. Hekima had explained that Zamani was the first plant arrival on Earth millennia ago. Zamani proceeded to describe how he came from an ancient world in another galaxy and how his ancestors had done the same, jumping from galaxy to galaxy over billions of years. He said his lineage was known as the Conductors and their quest was to ensure that evolution around the universe progressed unimpeded as intended.
Zamani had been Hekima's teacher and mentor. Zamani explained that like Tumaini, Hekima was identified as a link in the evolutionary chain in this planet. Zamani recognized his unique ability to connect with living things beyond the plant world early on and that the connection that Hekima and Tumaini had forged was one of the strongest connections to the life force of the universe the Conductors had ever experienced.
As life began to unfold in the fort, Tumaini, with the help of Akili, Kipanga and Kusudi, built a magnificent round table at the top of the tower that would sit 7 people. He called this the Study and the first 7 members of the Study were Tumaini, as the chair, Akili, Kusudi, Matumaini, Kipanga, and Askari, and, in a few years, Pichicuaz, Tumaini's successor.
Tumaini met with Zamani, Hekima, and, now, Akili every morning to talk about different things and for guidance as the embarked in the building of their city. Zamani was very happy for Tumaini and Akili to be there. He explained that communication between plants and humans in this planet had never happened before. Zamani knew that this connection would happen at some point but did not know how long it would take. He also was happy to help Akili develop her plant communication levels just like Hekima had helped Tumaini many years ago.
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