Family Umhlaba Heirs
The Umhlaba Heirs
The Sun-Blooded Blades of Africa
Overview
Born from a forced union between the Blood of Mansa Musa — a line tied to the wealthiest mortal king in history, carrying divine prosperity and unyielding will — and the Dlamini Covenant — an ancient clan of solar-judged warriors from Southern Africa — the Umhlaba Heirs are a hidden dynasty feared in both the magical and mortal worlds.
To the public, they are a diamond-mining conglomerate spanning Africa and South America, as well as the world’s largest supplier of specialty ammunition — bullets forged with celestial alloys, powdered mythic bone, and runic inscriptions capable of killing almost anything that walks under the sun or hides beneath it.
To those who see beyond the Veil, they are something else entirely:
An assassin-blooded family whose warriors are whispered to rival even the combat prowess of the Vance line.
Origins
The union that birthed them was not love — it was a political act enforced after the magical World War II to secure loyalty and control between two of Africa’s most powerful bloodlines. The children of this bond inherited:
Mansa Musa’s divine command of wealth, logistics, and resources — granting them the ability to move armies or weapons without anyone realizing until it’s too late.
The Dlamini’s solar blessing — bodies honed to perfection, reflexes beyond mortal limits, and a deep-seated, judgment-driven instinct that lets them find a target’s moral weaknesses before striking.
The first generation swore never to be pawns again — and they kept their oaths. By the 1960s, the Umhlaba Heirs had taken control of their own destiny, operating globally without allegiance to any pantheon or empire.
Structure & Operations
The Umhlaba Heirs are split into three branches:
The Crown Branch – The ruling family who maintain the “diamond empire” façade, hosting diplomatic events and managing multinational companies.
The Powder Branch – The weapons division, crafting bespoke ammunition for the magical and mundane alike. They can forge rounds that pierce divine wards, explode into chains of sunlight, or silence a god’s name forever.
The Shadow Branch – The assassins, spies, and infiltrators. Members are trained from youth, often living in “civilian” life while running long-term operations. Their work is surgical: never messy, always quiet, and rarely leaving a trace.
Young operatives, especially those stationed in America, often work in small, tightly bonded units, executing precise hits and intelligence gathering without drawing attention to the main family.
Appearance
Glamoured Form: Elegant, modern African aristocrats — fine tailored suits in deep earth tones, accented with gold, diamond cufflinks, and hand-carved walking canes hiding weaponry.
True Form: Skin with faint golden undertones, eyes glimmering like molten sunlight, and hair that subtly shifts color depending on the angle of the light. When preparing for battle, ancient solar tattoos appear across their skin in burning gold patterns.
Personality & Reputation
To the Mundane: Visionary business magnates, philanthropists, and guardians of African economic independence.
To the Magical World: Living shadows. Silent judgment. If you see an Umhlaba assassin, you were meant to.
Their code is strict: they do not kill children, they do not kill without moral cause, and they do not miss.
Current Status
Today, the Umhlaba Heirs remain an open secret in the magical underworld.
Governments contract them without ever knowing their real name.
Pantheons avoid provoking them — even the Vance think twice before crossing the Heirs openly.
Their diamond shipments are protected not by locks or guards, but by the fact that anyone who tries to steal them is found days later with no wounds… yet utterly lifeless.
The Umhlaba Heirs – Elders of the Crown
The Five Blades of the Sun-Blooded Dynasty
1. Queen-Mother Nkosazana Umhlaba – The Silent Dawn
Title: Matriarch of the Umhlaba Heirs, Keeper of the Solar Oath
Appearance: Regal and statuesque, skin like polished ebony, hair wrapped in a golden gele. Eyes burn faintly with inner sunlight. Wears flowing Ankara robes woven with threads of pure gold.
Specialty: Unseen Diplomacy – Can enter any meeting, even one magically warded against intrusion, and leave without anyone realizing she was ever there. In assassination work, she is the “remover of obstacles” — a hit executed without bloodshed, often by making an enemy disappear entirely.
Personality: Unshakable, serene, and strategic. Speaks rarely, but every word is treated like law by the family.
Reputation: Said to have once attended a divine summit uninvited, whispered something to three gods, and within a week, two pantheons were at war — and the Heirs were richer than ever.
2. Kgosimotho “The Ivory Blade” Umhlaba
Title: First Blade of the Heirs, Warden of the Shadow Branch
Appearance: Towering and broad-shouldered, adorned with ivory arm guards and beadwork chestplate over a modern tactical suit. Carries an ornate Zulu iklwa (short spear) forged from meteoric iron.
Specialty: Perfect Strike – Can kill with one blow, every time, no matter the weapon or target. His precision is so absolute that even magical regeneration fails if he wills it.
Personality: Disciplined and militaristic, but carries himself with the calm confidence of a master warrior. Treats battle as sacred ritual.
Reputation: Known for ending the reign of an immortal vampire lord in Lagos by “killing his shadow” before striking the body. The bodyguard companies of three continents still tell his name in training manuals.
3. Makeda “The Sun’s Whisper” Umhlaba
Title: Mistress of Intelligence, Eye of the Powder Branch
Appearance: Slender and elegant, with braided hair wrapped in golden wire and a single amber lens covering one eye. Often seen in a tailored white suit with a ceremonial khanga draped over one shoulder.
Specialty: Absolute Infiltration – Can pass as anyone, anywhere. Mimics voice, mannerisms, and scent so perfectly even magical familiars cannot tell the difference.
Personality: Warm, charming, and deceptively disarming — until the moment she strikes.
Reputation: Once impersonated the queen of a small African nation for six months, using the position to dismantle a human trafficking ring and assassinate its magical backers. None realized the real queen had been “on retreat” until Makeda returned her, unharmed and grateful.
4. Oba Thulani “The Last Breath” Umhlaba
Title: Executioner of the Crown, Final Word of the Elders
Appearance: A tall, lean man in a long, flowing black agbada embroidered with silver suns. His face is always partially veiled, showing only his piercing eyes.
Specialty: Silent Death – He can end a life without making a single sound, no matter the environment. Even magical wards fail to register the act until it’s too late.
Personality: Reserved, cold, and utterly without hesitation. Treats assassination as an act of mercy to those who have overstayed their time in the sun.
Reputation: Once walked through the middle of an armed mercenary camp in broad daylight, killed their leader in front of them, and left. No one saw him enter, and none dared move while he departed.
5. Princess Zinhle “The Gilded Jackal” Umhlaba
Title: Youngest Elder, Keeper of the Diamond Gates
Appearance: Striking and fierce, with gold-plated dreadlocks pulled into a high ponytail, wearing a sleeveless dashiki over combat armor. Her hands are adorned with rings of gold and carved bone, each a different family blessing.
Specialty: Hunter’s Patience – Can track a target anywhere in the world, even across realms, without ever being seen or sensed until she chooses. She is also a master of environmental kills — turning a battlefield, a street corner, or even a gala into a trap.
Personality: Sharp-witted, arrogant in her skill, but loyal to the bloodline above all else.
Reputation: Took down a rogue god’s avatar during the Cape Town riots by luring it into a festival parade and collapsing an entire float on it — without anyone realizing she was the cause.
The Scariest Truth About the Elders
Only these five — and perhaps a handful of their chosen — wield magic openly.
The rest of the Umhlaba Heirs operate purely through skill, training, and inherited instincts… yet still cannot be detected by most magical beings before the moment of death.
Even the Vance admit privately that if the Heirs ever turned their full attention to eliminating a family, no one — divine or mortal — would survive