[ 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 .

Sho'ka lay low with his body spread along the branch, his breathing flat and quiet as he waited for those below him to move on under the oppressive heat of the day. 
 
 They were the Heena, tall bipedal creatures with the snouts and hair of dogs, and harsh guttural voices. They wandered across the plains in their ever-quest for food and water in packs of five or six. Sho'ka understood the hunger and the thirst of these things, but could never explain their aggression. All his life he had grown up on tales of these savages, living in the squalor of the plains while human's fire kept them out of the various villages and towns. They were reason humans built walls. 
 
 This parade below him was nothing of the creatures he'd learned though, nothing of the squabbling rabble's he'd seen from afar. This group were aimed straight like an arrow, disciplined and focused. 
 
 They trudged in single file, carrying spears of vibrant colours; yellow, blue, purple and red they bobbed beneath him like a rainbow of death as the column marched on. There were a lot of them, a lot to be grouped together and not be fighting. He slipped down quietly, using his body to lithely slide amongst the branches as he'd seen of the serpent. What *were* they doing? 
 
 He hoped they would not see him here, those creatures were usually too busy shuffling along in the dirt to look up at the majesty of creation, or to spy a small boy with ebony skin lying amongst the leaves of the orange tree. This group seemed different though, so he kept his descent quiet, and calm. 
 
 He was closer to them now, the stench almost overpowering as the warm air lifted the stink into these lower branches. The noises were no longer the babble of many minds, however bestial, but sharp snatches of conversation drifting up with the dust. Fangs flashed white every time they opened mouths, the red tinge of earlier feeds almost sent him climbing back to the top branch. 
 
 There was a frank and open style to the conversation, they told of co-operation and conquest, of new beginnings, and outside forces promising wealth and revenge for obedience. It did n't take a village elder to realise these things were preparing for an attack on the human villages; the human villages they were currently heading towards. Sho'ka's village. 
 
 Sho'ka forced his hands to stillness as they vied to slick themselves to a greasy paste against the branches. His mind raced with questions, but no thought struck home more aggressively than warning his family, his parents and his siblings. Having seen thirteen rains he was the oldest of his parents brood, and with his mother currently heavy with child he needed to get word out quickly, he needed to protect them. 
 
 The pack were almost passed him now, and as he he stared into the backs of the final few with a racing mind the wind changed direction suddenly, and the last three seemed to stop as one. They raised giant wet noses into the air, and ears lifted in anticipation as they smelled human flesh, Sho'ka's flesh. 
 
 He dropped silently to the ground, using the soft under-brush surrounding the tree to cushion his fall on the far side. He peered out and saw the three turn, noses still in the air as they made their way slowly towards him, spears gradually dropping. They had n't seen him yet, but it was probably only a matter of time. He could make a run for it, but humans and Heenas were very close in that respect, it would be a battle of equals. He eased the bow from his back, but he knew that if it came to that, he would quickly lose; he would still be conscious when they fed upon him with the eagerness of mongrels. 
 
 As if the thunder god had woken early however, an ear splitting drone suddenly seemed to fill the air. With audible curses the three oncoming Heena's turned, and seeing the pack behind them break out into a lolloping jog, they grumbling noisily, and ran after. Sho'ka did n't know what it was, but that clearly no thunder. 
 
 Sho'ka stood alone, unsure of what to do. He crouched, rubbed his sweaty palms against the bark of the tree, and nocked an arrow to his bow. Keeping low, with his body in the densest of the undergrowth he could find, he followed. 

