The night has come. As is her custom, Asma got up, shaking the last vestiges of daytime induced slumber. As she slipped out of her lair, sniffing the night air for threats, Asma raked her tongue over her fangs and allowed herself a smile. For over three centuries, Asma has roamed the lands that would later be called Somalia and Yemen. To these people, she was known as the Night Demon, terror of the desert. Mistress of the Night.
"Asma, come back," comes a sleepy masculine voice. Asma turns to look at her longtime companion Suleiman Barok. Tall, muscular and dark-skinned, the proud son of Bantu tribesmen, Suleiman rose to his feet. A long time ago, when the nation of Somalia sold Bantus into slavery, Suleiman fought against those who nearly destroyed his people. Once upon a time, Asma and Suleiman were enemies.
Slavery has been a dark stain upon the undiscovered glory of the Motherland of Africa. Long before Arabs and Europeans targeted Sub-Saharan Africa's lands, peoples and treasures, there were mighty African kingdoms and empires in this part of the world. The Bantu people are quite widespread across the vastness of Africa. Among the Bantu's many enemies are the Somalis, who fancied themselves different from them and somehow superior to them. Ethnic and religious differences have always pitted the African against his brother, this is truly nothing new.
Suleiman Barok was born in southern Somalia to a Bantu chieftain, Idris Barok, and his Somali wife Noor Osman. In those days, it was considered scandalous for a Somali woman to marry a Bantu man. Although Suleiman's tribe had embraced Islam ages ago, the Somalis saw them as somehow beneath them. A Somali warlord named Ibrahim, leader of the Wahid Clan, invaded Idris Barok's territory, and sold his family into slavery. When Suleiman grew to manhood, he ran away and joined other rebellious Bantus. Together, they started an uprising against their Somali oppressors.
Suleiman Barok and his followers won numerous battles against Ibrahim and his men, but the Somali tribesmen outnumbered the Bantu rebels. In time, Suleiman was captured, and would have been executed by Ibrahim if not for the timely intervention of Asma. Like the Angel of Death, Asma the Vampire descended upon Ibrahim's camp and slaughtered the Somali raiders before freeing Suleiman.
"Spirit, I thank you for saving my life," Suleiman told Asma that night as he genuflected before the apparition that had delivered him from his enemies. Asma looked at the tall, dark and handsome Bantu warrior who bowed before her. Truth be told, Asma had not come to save anyone, but she'd come to slaughter Ibrahim and his tribesmen for venturing into realms that she considered hers. Still, Asma found Suleiman quite comely and obedient, attributes that she liked in a man. That's why Asma spared Suleiman and turned him into one of the Undead.
"Follow me," Asma replied, laughing, her voice snatching Suleiman out of his reverie. The Bantu Vampire gawked as she threw off her cloak, revealing a curvy body that models would envy. Suleiman cast an admiring glance at Asma. If he still breathed, the Undead Bantu would have held his breath. Centuries of living in the darkness had added a luster to Asma's dark skin, and her curvy body was simply to die for. Temptress from Hell, Suleiman thought, amused.
Asma took off across the sands, with a speed that a gazelle couldn't match. Suleiman sighed before taking off after her. The nearest settlement was Bandar Beyla, inhabited by Somalis who had given up the nomadic lifestyle for a more sedentary one. Typically, Asma and Suleiman steered clear of towns and cities, where the notoriously xenophobic locals would take notice of them. In the desert, it was easy for super predators like themselves to catch weary travelers.
"What is this place?" Suleiman demanded as he landed on a rocky outcropping which led to the entrance of a dark cavern. Standing in front of the cavern, Asma was conspicuously silent. Asma turned to look at Suleiman, and he saw that her eyes were bright crimson, something which only happens when a Vampire is horribly hungry or upset.
"This is where I was made," Asma said with a sigh, and in that moment, the Somali Vampire looked so vulnerable that Suleiman put his arms around her. Asma pressed her head against his chest, and listened in vain for his heart beat. Like Asma, Suleiman no longer breathes nor does his heart beat. The only sustenance they require is the blood of living creatures. Sunlight, air, food, water, those are the requirements of the living. All the Undead need is blood.
"I see," Suleiman said in his deep baritone voice. He recalled the many times Asma alluded to her creation. As a Vampire, Asma has the potential to live forever, but all Vampires were once human. The eternal species ignores the truth of its origins. At least humans know that they evolved from apes or monkeys or something called the Missing Link. Vampires don't know where they come from. They've always been around, but must have a beginning, like all things.
