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Subsequently, the translator presented the King with Bruno’s gifts: an exquisitely crafted half-body suit of armor, a sharp sword of nobility, a small elegant glass mirror, and a delicate wool blanket. These were the gifts the Portuguese Royal Family had prepared in advance for the powerful natives, similar to their initial encounter with the Songhai Empire.
King Nzinga Mbemba looked at these gifts with interest.
He tested the armor for its firmness and the sword for its sharpness, nodding in approval. Then, he looked at his reflection in the small mirror, displaying astonishnt and admiration. As for the wool blanket, the King, living in the tropics, did not quite understand its usefulness but touched it anyway, acknowledging its softness.
Of course, this wool blanket was not deliberately infected with the smallpox virus, as the Western explorers would do in the future in Arica. Smallpox itself originated in Africa, and the King had experienced smallpox himself in his youth.
King Nzinga Mbemba nodded in satisfaction. He ordered the foreign Samurai to kneel before him, then announced that he would bestow lavish gifts in return.
Hearing the King’s command relayed by the translator, Bruno and Paulo looked at each other. They glanced at the hundreds of elite warriors surrounding them wielding long spears, hesitated montarily, then prudently knelt in homage. Soon after, the guards, on behalf of the King, reciprocated with gifts of pure ivory and green malachite for the foreigners. Upon seeing the valuable return gifts, the two n instantly forgot the humiliation of being forced to kneel.
"On behalf of the great Christ, by the decree of the Pope of Ro, Pope Sixtus IV, and the King of Portugal, we have traveled to the East in search of brothers who also believe in the Lord, to the prosperous kingdom of Priest King John, where lies the Gate of Alexander and the Fountain of Youth, to together oppose the evil and mighty Ottoman followers of the crescent!"
Bruno then revealed his mission’s purpose: to search for the Kingdom of John.
"The Divine Descendant of the Cross Pillar God, the grandson of the son of the High Priest from the riverside city, and the Great Chief of Porto have given orders to the Tribal Warriors. They are sent to the East to find another Tribe that believes in the Cross Pillar God, the land of the Priest Chieftain John, where lies a Gate of Stone and the warm springs of spring, to join forces against the mighty Tribe of the Moon God, the Ottoman people!"
King Nzinga Mbemba fell into deep thought.
First, he shook his head because the Tribe of the Moon God was clearly more powerful than the Tribe of the Cross Pillar God. Heading north along a tributary of the Congo River, after several days of land travel and following the river to its end, one would reach the basin of the Great Lake, all dominated by the Tribe of the Moon God. Even heading east along the main Congo River, landing at the Great Lake and continuing east through rift valleys, mountains, and jungle all the way to the coast would still bring one to the lands of the Moon God Tribe.
The Moon God Tribe was so nurous and so powerful! As in the Voodoo belief, the tangible Moon greatly exceeds the wooden Cross in grandeur. How could the Tribe of the Cross Pillar God ever hope to defeat them!
The King then nodded, for he had indeed heard of the Cross Pillar God’s Tribe from the High Priest. Traveling along the Congo River to the East, landing at the Great Lake, passing through rift valleys, turning to the White Nile, it would take just over ten days of travel to reach the edge of the Cross Pillar God’s Tribe. But if he continued north along the river, he would encounter the extrely powerful Divine Descendant Tribe of the Moon God.
"Mwene Congo who is favored by the Heavenly Divine knows of the faraway eastern Tribe of the Cross Pillar God, where there are stone buildings, warm springs, and even the Divine Descendant Tribe of the Moon God!" the King’s translator respectfully relayed.
"The great King of Congo knows of the realm of Priest King John, which holds the Gate of Alexander and the Fountain of Youth, as well as the wicked and mighty Ottoman people!" The Translator also respectfully relayed.
Bruno’s mouth fell open in surprise, happiness coming so suddenly and unexpectedly. The dark-skinned ruler actually knew of the realm of King John! Since the ti of Prince Enrique, for countless years, for generations, their search had continued. And today they had finally fulfilled the Pope’s charge; perhaps they would be sainted for this montous discovery! They had finally accomplished the King’s command; surely, they would be ennobled and rewarded!
Bruno was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. Containing the fervor in his heart, he carefully asked the King if there was any token he might take back to fulfill his mission.
King Nzinga Mbemba nodded, visibly moved by the loyalty of the foreign Tribe’s warriors. He thought for a mont; such a distant Magic Artifact would likely only be with the Voodoo High Priest. He too had heard of the various Tribes of the continent when he was a child from the Voodoo High Priest.
"My warrior, you seek from the Voodoo High Priest the Magic Artifact of the Cross Pillar God," the King commanded, and the ssenger trembled, his eyes full of fear, but he complied.
The thought of the Voodoo High Priest also made the King shudder inwardly. That thin old woman had lived for far too long. She was already alive when his grandfather was born. After his grandfather died, she was still alive. After his father died, she continued to live. Perhaps, even when he died, she would still be there.
The people of the Kingdom revered this withered old Voodoo High Priest, for legend had it that she could extract the vitality and souls of people with her powerful Magic Artifacts and Voodoo, sustaining her eternal life. The Voodoo High Priest and the twelve mbers of the Priesthood were like an immovable mountain, firmly suppressing the King’s power.
The Voodoo High Priest lived in the jungle far from the city, and it would take two days for the Envoy to travel back and forth.
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