Year: 1886
Akenzua stood on the balcony as the sun rose over his kingdom.
The last day of 1885. The final moments of a year that had transformed him from prince to king. Behind him, the palace hummed with morning activity. Before him, the city awakened.
Markets setting up in gray light. Children running through streets still cool from the night. The smell of cooking fires drifting from a thousand compounds.
They don't know what's coming. They can't know.
Three years since his wedding. One year since his coronation. The visions had shown him what was coming, even if the exact timing remained uncertain.
The math was brutal. But today, for the first time, the math offered something that almost felt like hope.
---
The foundation was laid.
The forge burned day and night. One hundred and fifteen rifles per month. Two thousand weapons stockpiled. Quality acceptance rates climbing.
Two hundred and fifty soldiers trained to professional standard--men who could fire in formation, hold position under fire, advance and retreat on command.
Not enough for a war. But enough for the beginning of an army.
The alliances were forming. Sokoto had agreed to formal discussions. The Ekiti territories were incorporated.
The council was holding. Fifty-five percent, narrow but stable. With Osaro's network dismantled, the opposition had lost its organizing center.
Phase One was complete.
Now came Phase Two.
---
The map dominated the strategy room's eastern wall.
Akenzua stood before it with Esohe and Oronmwen.
"The Itsekiri succession is fracturing. Three factions, each claiming legitimacy. Our opportunity."
"Two factions have signaled willingness to accept our protection," Oronmwen said.
"And the third?"
"Pro-British. Negotiating with the Royal Niger Company."
"Then they don't succeed. Within six months, we move on Warri. Our candidate takes the throne with Benin's backing. The Itsekiri territories become our vassal state."
"Integration, not alliance," Esohe said.
"Yes. Full integration. Their territory becomes Benin territory. Their coast becomes our coast." He paused. "Warri becomes our naval base. Shipyards. Port facilities. The foundation of maritime power."
"The Ijaw?" Oronmwen asked.
"House by house, channel by channel. Their waterway knowledge is irreplaceable. We offer partnership--Benin protection in exchange for naval service and delta control. Those who refuse learn the cost."
"And the Igala?"
"The Niger-Benue confluence controls northern trade routes. We approach with offers of alliance. If they refuse, we approach with armies." Akenzua traced the rivers on the map. "By 1890, Benin functions as a naval and river empire. Warri provides ocean access. The Ijaw control delta movement. The Igala secure our northern flank."
"The Urhobo? The Isoko?"
"Agricultural support and trade networks. Every territory serves a purpose. Every integration strengthens the whole."
"And beyond that?" Esohe asked.
"Beyond that is the vision that keeps me awake at night." Akenzua pointed to the broader map--one showing territory far beyond Benin's traditional sphere. "Lagos here--British-held now, but the finest natural harbor on the coast. We must take it before 1897. Ibadan here--the largest city in all of sub-Saharan Africa, a million people in the Yoruba heartland. The shattered Oyo Empire, waiting for someone to reunite it.
"East, there's Calabar and Onitsha, gateway to Igbo country. North, there's Kano and Sokoto--if we can bring the Caliphate into alliance, eventually into federation. West, there's Dahomey and its Amazon warriors, and beyond that, Ashanti gold.
"By 1897, this must be not a kingdom but a federation. Fifteen states, each with its own governor. Benin City as the federal capital, like Washington in America or Paris in France. State capitals at Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Calabar, Sokoto. Federal railways connecting every major city. A national army of a hundred thousand. Ninety million people. Four million square kilometers.
"A nation-state too large to conquer, too integrated to divide, too powerful to ignore."
Three territories first. Then the Yoruba. Then the north. Then the west. The foundation of a nation large enough to survive what was coming.
---
"And if we're wrong?" Oronmwen asked. "If the British move before we're ready?"
"Then we've made our stand. Then we've done everything we could." Akenzua walked to the window. "But we won't be wrong. We won't fail."
Esohe joined him. "You've never told me the details. What you saw in the fever visions."
"I saw Benin burning. The palace in flames. Bronze plaques being loaded onto ships while British soldiers posed for photographs." His voice was flat. "I saw everything our ancestors built being dismantled, shipped across the ocean to be displayed in foreign museums."
"And this changes it?"
"Every rifle we build. Every soldier we train. Every territory we integrate. Each one is a vote against that future."
"You can't know that."
"No. I can only work as if it's true."
---
The evening brought the inner circle together for the final meeting of the year.
Igue brought production reports. "One hundred and fifteen rifles this month. We've exceeded the target."
"And artillery?"
"The first cannon passed testing yesterday." A rare smile crossed his face. "Small caliber, but functional. We can make them now."
Artillery. The weapon that had broken every African defense the Europeans had encountered. The weapon they now possessed the ability to produce.
Osarobo emerged from his shadows. "Osaro is quiet. Retreated to his estates. But a man like Osaro doesn't surrender--he waits."
"And Henderson?"
"Recalled to London. His replacement, Gallwey, arrives within months. Young. Ambitious. Believes Africa's future is British."
Oronmwen reported on the northern alliance. "The Sokoto delegation confirms. The Caliph himself is considering coming next year."
"If he comes personally, it means the Muslim north is prepared to work with us against European expansion." Oronmwen met his brother's eyes. "You've built something real, Akenzua."
"We've built it together."
"No. The vision was yours. The drive was yours. Father would be proud. I am."
---
The meeting ended. The circle dispersed.
Akenzua remained alone before the map.
Esohe found him there. "The ceremonies begin at dawn."
"I know."
"What are you thinking about?"
"Phase Two. The Itsekiri integration within six months. Naval facilities at Warri. The Ijaw waterway agreements. The Igala alliance or conquest."
She moved to stand beside him. "We're more ready than we were yesterday."
"Is that enough?"
"It's all we have."
---
At the New Year feast, Akenzua played his role. The young king, projecting confidence while calculations continued behind his eyes.
When the ceremonies concluded, he stood alone in the great hall. The bronze plaques on the walls caught the dying firelight.
He touched one of the plaques.
You faced your enemies. You made your choices. You passed this kingdom to your children, until eventually it came to me.
I don't know if I can save you. But I will try.
---
Akenzua walked to the balcony.
The city spread below, bright with New Year celebration. Drums echoed from the market plaza. Children ran through decorated streets.
His people. His responsibility.
Somewhere out there, British traders were preparing their own reports. Mapping the same roads. Measuring the same walls.
The race continued.
But today, the foundation held.
And tomorrow--tomorrow the expansion would begin.
Phase Two: Warri for naval power--first major port outside Benin City. The Ijaw for waterway control--mastering the Niger Delta's thousand channels. The Igala for northern rivers--controlling the Niger-Benue confluence.
Phase Three would bring the Yoruba: Lagos as the great commercial hub, Ibadan as the population center, Abeokuta and Oyo and Ijebu completing the western sweep.
Phase Four would integrate the north: Nupe first, then the approach to Sokoto. The Caliphate's thirty million people joining the federation.
Phase Five would extend west: Dahomey with its warrior traditions, eventually the Gold Coast with Ashanti gold.
The nation taking shape--not an empire of conquest, but a federation of states united against European colonization. Federal capital in Benin City. State governments across the territory. Railways connecting Lagos to Kano, Ibadan to Calabar. A nation-state built to last.
Esohe found him there.
"The ceremonies are done. The year is turned."
"Yes."
"What now?"
"Now we build. On the foundation we've laid, we build. Fast enough that the British can't catch us. Strong enough that they can't break us. Large enough that they can't swallow us whole."
"And if it's not enough?"
"Then we'll have done everything we could."
She took his hand.
"Happy New Year, my king."
"Happy New Year, my queen."
They stood together, watching the city celebrate below.
The foundation was complete.
Now came the conquest.
---
THE EXPANSION BEGINS...