Saara knew she was a storyteller from the moment she told her first lie. Though her stories have developed beyond the ramblings of a child, she still appreciates the thrill of a well-told tale.
The Final Strife is Saara El-Arifi’s debut novel, the first part of a trilogy inspired by Ghanaian folklore and Arabian myths.
The world of The Final Strife is an amalgamation of both my heritage and history. It draws on my Ghanaian and Sudanese roots while recreating aspects of colonisation through the lens of fiction. The result is both fantastical and raw, diverse yet heart-breaking. Here are just some of the things you can expect to see:
ONE: The tidewind
Influenced by the Abu Dhabi desert where I grew up, the sand dunes of the Farsai desert stretches across the land of the Wardens’ Empire. The sand in the empire is blue, which serves as a dramatic backdrop against the scenes of the novel. Every night between the clock strikes of twelve and two a phenomenon occurs called the ‘tidewind’. The tidewind is a hurricane that whips up the desert sand into something very, very deadly. It’s a lethal kind of curfew.
TWO: Ridable lizards
Who needs horses when you can ride 18ft lizards? The creatures, called ‘erus’, transport citizens around the empire. They are docile creatures bred for their speed and stamina. Boey is an eru who makes a recurring appearance in the book, she’s a juvenile eru with blue scales, and perhaps one of my favourite characters! The most affluent people ride in carriages that attach to a harness around the eru’s waist. The carriages are specially designed to arch over the swinging movement of the eru’s tail as it walks.
Talk about arriving in style.
THREE: Wardens
There are four wardens who reign over the empire. Each of them lead a different guild: Truth, duty, strength and knowledge. Their rule is absolute, wielding fear as a weapon against their subjects. For every atrocity wrought in the novel, you can follow the thread back in history. The wardens represent so much more than villains, they are representations of the poison of colonisation, and how actions of assimilation can go on to silence aspects of our history for years to come.
FOUR: Blood magic
There are three blood colours in the empire: Red is the colour of the elite, blue the colour of the labourers, clear the colour of servants. Only the red blooded can yield magic. They do this by writing their blood into runes through a device called an inkwell. An inkwell is a metal cuff worn around the wrist with a hole where a stylus is inserted directly into the vein. Blood beads at the tip and allows the red-blooded to write in their blood. Gross, but effective.
FIVE: Aktibar trials
Every ten years the empire runs a competition to discover the next leader of the empire. Each guild sets a round of six trials held once a month for six months. It’s a lavish spectacle drawing in crowds from all over the empire. The start of the novel sees the Aktibar commence for the first time in ten years. Only the red blooded are permitted to compete…until now.
I could go on! But what would the fun be in that? You’ll just have to read the book to find out more.
