Sundown in the town of Mogadishu, Somalia. With the darkness settling across the land, honest citizens retreated to their homes to await the return of the sun. The age-old metropolis has seen better days, but it has withstood everything from natural disasters to a brief American military invasion, and prior to that, multiple wars with neighboring Ethiopia and Italy, to name but a few. It is the town that Asha Elmi calls home, and she wouldn't trade it for the world. For three decades now, Asha has been the Xamuul Marwada or Sentinel Lady, a burden which she embraces with all of her might.
Peace is seldom long-lasting in Somalia, or anywhere on the planet earth, really. For a time due to covid, the radical groups stopped with their attacks upon urban centers, giving metropolitan Somalis a false sense of security. Deep down inside, the Somali people knew that the peace would not last. They hoped that the radicals had grown tired of killing and become cowed by the global plague. The truth was much more sinister. The radical groups dwell in the deep desert, and usually wander into the towns and villages to carry out attacks. Well, lately they've been silent, and everyone feels relieved. Everyone except Asha, of course.
Asha knew that the radicals had met with grisly ends, and they've been torn apart and consumed by a foe that was beyond even them. The monsters were back, and as usual, the weapons of mortal men were useless against them. What good was a rifle or even a grenade launcher against an undying monster that has walked the earth since before the time of the first crusade? With the rabble of the desert already consumed, the monsters were making their way to the cities and towns of Somalia. Once again, the Somali people were prey, and the Xamuul Marwada had to come out of retirement...
Of all the creatures that dwell upon the planet earth, humans have the worst memories. Most humans find it hard to remember a time when they were prey. The smart ones acknowledge that once upon a time, they were prey for wolves, lions, tigers and bears. Well, there were other things that dwelled in the primeval darkness before Man took control of the planet earth and transformed the environment. Monsters, the stuff of myth and legend. Many of those things had a craving for human flesh. The race of monsters didn't die off like so many of the things that once preyed upon Man. They simply went into hiding. Fortunately, a group of women have always fought the monsters, and those women are known as the Sentinels...
"What troubles you, beloved?" asked Abdisalam Elmi, and the tall, slender, silver-haired and dark-skinned Somali businessman wrapped his arms tenderly around his darling wife Asha. They'd been together for decades, and started a beautiful family together. The couple's sons Farah Elmi and Ammar Elmi were currently studying at the prestigious Addis Ababa Science and Technology University in the City of Addis Ababa, Capital of Ethiopia. Abdisalam and Asha led ordinary lives, running their small restaurant near downtown Mogadishu. Just another middle-aged couple eking out a living in the Somali heartland. Asha looked at Abdisalam and tenderly stroked his goateed chin. He found it annoying, but she really, really liked doing that to him.
"I worry about our people, that's all," Asha replied by way of explanation, and Abdisalam sighed, for he knew where this argument was going. Twenty two years ago when they met, the nation of Somalia was under attack from enemies both within and without. The American military thought they could play conqueror in Somalia, and soon wore out their welcome. Of course, the Somali people had a much more insidious enemy, the Hilib Cunid or Flesh Eaters, descendants of Dhegdheer, the Demon Queen of proto-Somali mythology.
"Monsters, I have here the head of your queen, Dhegdheer, if you return to Somalia's towns and cities, you will suffer the same fate," Asha declared, while brandishing her slain foe's head in the air. Dhegdheer's Army of Monsters, most of whom wore human disguises, gaped in shock and awe as Asha, a seemingly ordinary young Somali woman, stood over their leader's body. Dhegdheer had been around for thousands of years, and slaughtered more humans than could be counted. To see her vanquished by a mortal woman astonished the monsters...
