[ WP ] We 've seen epic fantasy worlds based on historical Europe ( i.e . LotR ) and historical East Asia ( i.e . Avatar ) . Write about an epic fantasy world based on historical Africa .

He stomps his bare feet on the cracked earth underneath. There is no water. No moisture. Not a drop of life in the soil. Only dust rises from his dance. 
 
 His bone skull mask covers the top half of his face, leaving his toothy grin underneath. 
 
 `` It wo n't rain,'' I say. `` Your dance is not elegant.'' 
 
 His feet do not stop. They are pale against his dark skin. Spots of pink-white also decorate his hands and arms like patchwork. 
 
 Above, the sun crackles and flares. I watch a sunfly flit and burst into flames. They're supposed to be good luck. They have magic. Only a little but a little can still do something. My master used to gather them all up in jars and use them for cleaning spells or to purify water. 
 
 He's gone now. Gone with the water and the plants. Gone with all of the other sorcerers. There is only Gamen, the fool dancing before me, and myself. 
 
 Gamen is of the Elephant tree of magic. He uses brute force. Dance. Song. 
 
 I follow the Viper. She is blood and pain. My master said that she took the most and gave the least. My arms were marked with white scars. Some deep. Some not. The deeper the cut the more powerful the spell. 
 
 I am an old woman. My flesh is full of spiderweb scars and tracks of white where I'd gone so deep I'd seen bone. I have little magic left. I have little hope left. 
 
 It's been three days since Gamen or I have had anything to drink. We make do with blood from smaller creatures but the thirst never leaves. It is an itch. A scratching sensation in our mouths. 
 
 He is young. He dances for a long long time. He dances until the sun is gone and we are left in the dark. 
 
 `` We will try again tomorrow,'' he says, certain we can save them. Certain we can save ourselves. 
 
 I hold my knife tightly against my hip. Young Gamen will save us but not how he'd imagined. The elders had promised me they'd come for our bodies but somehow I thought the flood would take us before then.
