Chapter 21 - The Burden of Leadership
Khisa's muscles burned as he pushed through his training drills. The morning air was crisp, the sound of wooden weapons clashing echoing across the field. He and his closest friends—Ndengu, Naliaka, and a few others—were now fourteen, their bodies lean and hardened from years of relentless practice.
"You're getting stronger," Ndengu remarked, wiping sweat from his brow.
"So are you," Khisa smirked, dodging Ndengu's strike and countering with a quick jab.
The sun was high as Khisa wiped the sweat from his brow, his muscles flexing with the effort of grinding limestone into a fine powder
Limestone had the potential to change everything. Bricks took months to set properly, slowing down construction, but if they could create cement, their buildings would be stronger and faster to build.
Ayaan proved herself to be invaluable as always, without her Khisa could never achieved so much in so lityle time.Lime mixed with clay and heated properly could form a binding agent that could hold structures together even in floods.
His first attempts had been failures, the mixture either too weak or too brittle. But today, as he poured water over his latest batch and watched it harden smoothly, he felt hope. "This might be it," he muttered.
Naliaka walked over, picking up a small hardened sample. She knocked on it. "Feels strong."
"We'll need to test it," Khisa said. "If it works, our buildings will last for generations."
Later that night, Khisa sat in his now reformed hut, it's was much better than before but the comfort of the 21st century is unmatched, discussing the future with Ayaan.
"We're growing fast," Khisa said. "Trade is increasing, but we still rely on bartering. If we introduce a currency, we can control the value of goods."