Chapter One: Zélie

Zélie is finally chosen to spar and defies Yemi’s taunts, turning a defensive bout into a real fight. Before Zélie can win, Bisi warns that royal guards are coming, and the trainees rapidly disguise the arena as a seamstress’s shop.

The guards extort increased “maggot” taxes and the lighter guard assaults Zélie, threatening worse. Mama Agba pays what she can and shields Zélie until the darker guard compels their exit. Afterward, Mama Agba rebukes Zélie for endangering everyone and explains restraint: they train to protect, not to provoke slaughter.

Mama Agba recounts Orïsha’s history—the ten maji clans, the loss of magic eleven years ago, and King Saran’s Raid that killed the maji—framing their lessons as survival under oppression. She emphasizes the staff’s creed and the need to fight smart against dishonorable power.

In private, Mama Agba tempers discipline with care, urging Zélie to choose the right moments. She graduates Zélie, gifting a collapsible metal staff etched with symbols of past lessons. As Zélie accepts, Tzain bursts in with alarming news: “It’s Baba.”