The evening started out nicely enough. Mamadou Diallo walked through the streets of Metropolitan Accra, Ghana, strutting confidently like he owned the place. Even at night, the Ghanaian Capital remains alive and active, much to Mamadou's delight. Folks walked by on their cell phones. Cars sped by on rocky roads. The night clubs, the bars and the all-night marketplaces were booming. Out of all the cities in West Africa, Accra was Mamadou's favorite...
Anyone looking at Mamadou Diallo would see a well-dressed, big and tall black man with a shaved head and slick goatee. He was built like an athlete, yet carried himself with the serenity of a monk. Confidence is a thing, and it cannot be faked. Mamadou Diallo looked to be about thirty, but he was far older than that. He was once a proud citizen of the Songhai Empire, which ruled much of the Sahel and Western Africa centuries ago. How could this be? Well, Mamadou is a Vampire, and that's just for starters...
Mamadou was once a soldier in the Imperial Army of the Songhai Empire, and he fought everything from Arab invaders to European colonials in his time. He was once the favorite warrior of General Hamideh, brother to the Songhai Emperor. The valiant African warrior met his end at the age of thirty while visiting the City of Bamako in the Nation of Mali. After a lengthy military campaign, the most decorated garrison of the Imperial Army of the Songhai Empire went to Bamako for some rest and relaxation. Fate had other plans for Mamadou.
While on leave from their duties, military men around the world are known to frequent bawdy houses. Most seek women. Some seek men. All seek pleasure. Mamadou had heard wonderful things about the women of Bamako, and wanted to satisfy his curiosity. That's why he went to a particular boudoir. A beautiful Malian female Vampire named Malika seduced Mamadou and turned him into one of the Undead. Mamadou and Malika were lovers for a long time, traveling across Africa and the Arab world for ages. After a century together, Malika and Mamadou parted ways. It was time for the African Vampire warrior to be on his own.
For quite some time now, Mamadou Diallo has built a life for himself in the King Said Quarter of Metropolitan Accra, the Capital of Ghana. The Quarter is popular with wealthy foreign residents, and in such a neighborhood, the strange and the eccentric are tolerated. Mamadou's neighbors think of him as a weirdo, since he only comes out at night, and throws lavish parties on a regular basis, but they don't suspect his true nature. A Vampire doesn't get to live for centuries without being cautious and adaptable.
On this particular evening, Mamadou had gone to visit store owner Fatoumatta Jatta, a lovely lady whom he met two years ago. The mysterious beauty has quite a hold on the Vampire's non-beating heart. Fatoumatta Jatta is what many would consider a Witch, and she is disliked by folks around metropolitan Accra for consorting with demons and spirits. Mamadou and Fatoumatta are lovers, and he cherishes her because she is a rare breed of mortal, one who can handle the existence of the supernatural without losing her mind. Such mortals are rare indeed...
"Welcome back, lover," Fatoumatta said to Mamadou, and the tall, slender African lady, a native of the Gambia, threw her arms around her lover and kissed him. Mamadou kissed Fatoumatta passionately, and then they went to the living room. Mamadou was thrilled when he saw the meal that Fatoumatta had prepared for him. The meal consisted of soup containing a mixture of animal blood and wine. Vampires do not eat, since their system cannot process solids, but they do like drinks, and not just blood...
"Hmm, beloved, you've spoiled me," Mamadou said, and he drank the mixture of blood and wine as Fatoumatta looked on. When Fatoumatta first met Mamadou, she was at a very sad point in her life. Fatoumatta was once married to a man named Ismail, who was wealthy and handsome, but a tyrant behind closed doors. Ismail used to beat Fatoumatta like a drum, and one day, she poisoned him as revenge. Fleeing her hometown of Banjul in the Gambia, Fatoumatta moved to the City of Accra, Ghana, to hide. Mamadou was one of the first people whom Fatoumatta met in her new life...