Uhie Ekanem

formerly known as Andiyene Ama Ekanem

 

Only child and daughter of Odo and Mbika, of the Mba clan, Mmirimiwa tribe, Nanyile.

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It is recorded that Uhie was born in Mmirimiwa and orphaned during The Bleed, a war between the Eriskians and the people of Nanyile. Growing up, she learned to adapt to her surroundings no matter where she was sent. Alone for most of her life, Uhie became known for closing herself to the world.

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Though she yearned for stability, she pushed such desires into the shadows. Life taught her that love made her vulnerable to loss. To Uhie, some people were born blessed, and others, like herself, were born cursed. She was known for her empathy toward those who fell into the latter.

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Uhie was widely regarded as curt and self-reliant, content with having no one to depend on but herself, until she met Nnamdi, a traveler from the tribe of Uwasaye, whom she encountered at the salt market in her village. Nnamdi was unlike the other men, one who stood beside her rather than before her. As those who knew her recorded, he became her first true friend.

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Uhie and Nnamdi later married, and she moved to Uwasaye to begin a new life with her husband, believing she might finally build the family she had never known.

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That hope did not last.

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A decree in the land condemned her children to the fire. With nothing left to lose, Uhie embarked on a journey that some would later claim stripped away what remained of her humanity. She stopped at nothing, not even threats to her own life, to see it through. If the gods had cursed her, she would face that fate head-on.