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     Kolonkan saw her old house jumped off her horse and ran inside.  She spun around looking at the fireplace, the old walls, her feet moving in grass, leaves and palm fronds.  “It seems smaller?” She looked at her brother.

     “I know–because now you are bigger.”

     Kolonkan came outside and hugged her brother.  Tears welled in her eyes.  “We are home.”

     “You know I didn’t think I could feel this way again.  I thought we would be away forever, but now that we are here I don’t ever want to leave.”

     “I know brother.  It feels like a dream.  Promise me we will stay.”

He hugged her,  “if the spirits will it, if the mansas can talk to them again, if they fight with us.”

Look what one can find when one digs!!

Balla looked around his father to see a stooped over boy. “But father, how could he become king?”
“Don’t let his looks deceive you. Don’t always trust your eyes, but trust your heart. He may very well be king someday. The spirits may well be testing him… and you. Don’t butterflies come from caterpillars?”
“But so do moths. I fear he is a moth, father.”
Doua made a face not knowing if he was angry because of the joke or happy because his some was quick witted.

I’m new to this website building thing so excuse the lack of indentation! I’m working on it

The medieval empire of Mali will become a moasic of farmers, blacksmiths, herdsmen, fisherman and professional traders. The professional traders will be called Wangara in the west and Dyula in the east. These traders were Malinke, Bamana or Soninke in origin but usually practiced Islam. The Dyula traders from Mali will open the Akan goldfields enabling Timbuktu and Jenne to become major ports of exchange (from History of Africa 3rd edition by Kevin Shillington p.104)