| The Mad Men of Mashariki |
Fiction
The Madness of Mashariki was furious at this turn of events. What was the point of victory without bloodshed? Something had to be done. To assert itself and quench its anger, it spoke through Kassa. “General, order the soldiers to burn down the entire town of Empress Menen. No survivors.” That night, watching the inflamed people run around as they screamed themselves to a smoky death. Watching the heads of others being chopped off like leaves, watching bodies roast and burn before his eyes, as streams of blood flowed, the Madness of Mashariki roared. Kassa had now conquered all the districts and provinces on the east side of the North, from Semien to Maryam, Shewa, Gojjam, to Wollo. As he had told the Gondar boys years ago, all the North was now under him. “I, Kassa Hailu, elect of God, son of David and Solomon. I am the King of Kings. Savior of God’s people,” he declared after he defeated the last enemy forces. His church crowned him Emperor Tewedros II. And he became known from then on as Tewedros. Tewedros had a vision of unifying Ethiopia. And no one could stand in the way of that. “If there be any regional princes or lords who refuse to recognize me as emperor, kill them and give their lands to the poor,” he instructed the generals. Because of this, his people loved him and overlooked his tyranny. But the Madness of Mashariki was not pleased with Empress Tewabech. Many times, she had limited the madness of Tewedros. Stopped it from fully raving with her suggestions of benevolence. Then Tewabech died. How the Madness rejoiced. How Tewedros grieved. How the Madness gained strength. How Tewedros lost control. For months, he refused to bury her body, unbelieving that she was gone. When he finally accepted that she was dead, the Madness of Mashariki came to the core, reigning fully with no restrictions. Tewodros heavily taxed his people. He also demanded that the same people should feed his large army of fifty thousand soldiers. He decreed monogamy for all men and beat the common people who came to seek his justice. And believing himself to be God’s chosen, he opposed the church—it was his way or his way. It was the best of times for the Madness of Mashariki. This was a high that it had not felt even with Shaka of the Zulu. This rollercoaster of madness could only go up. His advisors, thinking that a wife would reign over him again, convinced him to take another wife. But this second marriage only kindled the madness further. His new wife, Empress Tiruwork, was from the line of King Solomon himself and had intended to become a nun. Having been forced to marry Tewedros, she despised him. She felt they had forced her to marry beneath her dignity, marry a highway robber. She abhorred the man. For affection, Tewodros turned to alcohol and other women. Not long after, his chief general was killed when they were out in battle. “Take all the 500 prisoners we’ve captured to Dabareq market, and stone them to death,” he ordered. But even that could not calm him. He still commanded the killing of everyone in the nearby enemy districts. About 7,000 people. 61