The dhow coursed through the waters of the Tozàn Sea. It sailed a favourable wind over the nightly waters, where the sun, clouds and even the moon were missing from the heavenly blanket, and only stars guided the ship's way. The Tozazìrì or Manatee, as the sambuk-type dhow was called, was an old merchant vessel, returning to Tozàn with a freight of nuts and foodstuffs imported from the Kóngò area. Its captain, inexperienced but a scholarly young man, was called Haléfó Bùwòwì and he came from an ancient house of merchants with a history so old it had been forgotten by most. Together with the old man També, the merchant of the ship, Haléfó was pestering the helmsman.

"It's too Haisa-damned dark to see anything." The helmsman cried for the umpteenth time.

"But it's never been easier to determine where we are." Haléfó pointed towards the stars, a smug grin on his face.

"And that is exactly our problem! According to our position, we could be in Olòyà at any time now, or rather: crash into the marshes or beaches around the lagoon entry!" The helmsman said.

"You've never sailed around the city by night, right?" Haléfó asked. The helmsman shook his head.

As if on queue, a great light suddenly appeared on the horizon. "Ta-dah!" Haléfó muttered and També could barely maintain his posture. The helmsman's jaw dropped.

"Gowawè's Lighthouse." Haléfó said. "You need to steer a few degrees to starboardside relative to the tower, until you see a second lighthouse to starboard. Keep portside of that and you'll enter the lagoon just fine. There is a third lighthouse to make sure you enter the harbour safely too, but it should almost be dawn by then. Welcome to the best lit port in the world."

"Who built them?" The helmsmen asked.

Haléfó shrugged, he did not know the answer. També raised an eyebrow.

"They don't teach youngsters much of history, do they?" També asked rhetorically.

"Gowawè built that lighthouse, of course. He was once the king of Olòyà, back in the Rain Period. During those years the alááfins did not rule much at all, so Olòyà had their own king. To boot, it was the ancestors of Gowawè who built the city, so he had a right to rule it too.

He imported granite rocks from the north and dug deep trenches which he filled with concrete on the border of the sea. Before he began with the tower, which is fifty men tall, by the way, he built sea dykes and a military wall, because he righteously feared both the sea and the savage raiders who in those times still came from the west, in the days before the Ataràmè brought stability to the region. The tower itself was made from granite and houses two families. Each night one of the families is responsible for lighting the beacon. They visit the market each week to get the wood they need to keep the fire burning all night.

The second lighthouse is the Umíófira Lighthouse, built by the Umíófira village. It's a much older lighthouse, built on top of what is said to be the foundation of six other lighthouses. The current one was built only a few decades ago, but it is said that the first one was built in the days of Abedan. Back in the day, Olòyà might have not existed, or it might have been little more than a fishermen's hamlet. However, Umíófira was around and the locals used to trick incoming vessels into running aground by using false lights on the water. It made the sailors thing the lagoon was land and the land was the actual lagoon.

It is said Alááfin Zùlema himself or a governor under him personally made an end to this practise. He rode to Umíófira, made them build the first lighthouse and paid them to maintain it. From the lighthouse, the wreckers could make an honest wage and became the best navigators of the lagoon, and instead of deceiving, they would guide ships to Abedan.

The third lighthouse has no name, but it signals the entry to the western coastal marshes. There are quite a lot of fishermen who live there, so it is to help them find their way at night. It's not too tall, though. There used to be more lighthouses, but Olòyà has lights everywhere, so it's not an issue anymore."

"What about Abedan?" The Helmsman asked.

"Never heard of it? It used to be a city, presumably bigger than Olòyà. It was to the north of the lagoon past the island city. Every ship had to sail past where the current harbour is and then continue north for another hour. And the canal did not exist back then, obviously. When ìnàwo were first invented, they could not even sail through the lagoon, much like we can't just sail up there in a large ghanjah. They all had to stop around Olòyà, switch their cargo into barges, and sail up to Abedan."

"It's a great thing we now have Olòyà instead, right?" Haléfó asked.

Tembé grinned.

"If only you knew what your family was up to in Abedan's days. Maybe you'd live up to them one day."