The hero travels through the dream-like world of adventure where he must undergo a series of tests. These trials are often violent encounters with monsters, sorcerers, warriors, or forces of nature. Each successful test further proves the hero's ability and advances the journey toward its climax.

• 1. After leaving Niani, Sogolon and her children first stay at Djedeba with king Mansa Konkon who was also a great sorcerer. One night, after they have been there for two months, the king summons Sunjata into his palace. The king lives in a dark labyrinth, and when Sunjata finally finds him, Mansa is sitting in a room filled with beautiful swords. He informs Sunjata that it is his custom to invite his guests to play a game of wori, but that the stakes are very high. If the king wins, Sunjata will die, and if Sunjata wins, the king will grant him any request. However, no one had ever defeated the king. Sunjata knows that the king is setting a trap for him on behalf of Queen Sassouma, and when he simultaneously beats Mansa at the game and reveals the treachery, the king angrily exiles him from Djedeba. Sunjata thanks him for the hospitality, but promises to return.                                                  2. Once again, Sogolon and her children go into exile. They head west toward the town of Tabon whose king has long been an ally of Niani. His son, Fran Kamara, was a close friend

of Sunjata. But the king does not want any trouble from Sassouma and her son, and so he
advises Sogolon to travel as far away as possible. He suggests the distant court of Ghana,
but allows them a few days rest before they depart. During that time, Sunjata and Fran
Kamara rekindle their friendship, and Sunjata promises that he will pick up Fran on his way
home from exile and that they will win many battles together.  
3. The exiles set out on the long journey from Tabon to Ghana in the company of a merchant
caravan. After arriving at the imposing palace of the king, Sogolon asks for asylum and is
surprised when the king responds in her own language and grants her request. The exiles are
given every comfort befitting their rank, and for a while, it seems as if they have found peace.
But after only a year, Sogolon becomes very ill. The king decides to send Sogolon to his
cousin King Tounkara of Mema on Niger river where the moist air will restore Sogolon's
health.  
4. The king sends messengers ahead of the exiles so that an escort is sent to meet them and
lead them to Mema. They are greeted warmly by the king's sister and are informed that the king himself is away campaigning against mountain tribes. When the king returns he reaffirms
the hospitality offered by his sister and takes Sunjata under his wing. When the boy reaches
15 years of age, the king takes him on his first military campaign. He dazzles the entire army
with his strength and bravery, and when they return home, the people praise the young
warrior. After three years, the king appoints Sunjata his viceroy, and because he has no
children, the people assume that Sunjata will also be his heir.  

• 1. O-usu arrives at the stronghold of the Kumaso heroes to learn that they are planning a big

feast. O-usu awaits the night of the feast and then dresses himself in the women's clothinghe
received from his aunt. As he mingles among the partygoers, the two Kumaso leaders, who
take him to be a beautiful maiden, spot him and ask him to join them at the main table. Suddenly, O-usu turns and kills the older Kumaso hero with his saber and then chases after
the younger one when he tries to escape. When O-usu captures the second Kumaso
chieftain, this man asks O-usu for his identity, and O-usu reveals that he is a prince, the son
of Emperor Keikô. The Kumaso leader, impressed with this young prince's bravery, gives
O-usu the name Yamato Takeru (the brave one of Yamato). Upon receiving this title,
Yamato Takeru kills this man, too. 
2. Yamato Takeru then moves on to Izumo, another area that had not yet submitted to the
central rule of the Yamato leaders. (see map) In Izumo there lived another powerful local
hero, and Yamato Takeru befriends the Izumo hero with the secret hope of killing him. To
this end, Yamato Takeru comes up with a plan: he makes a fake sword out of wood and
straps it around his waist. Later, when the two men are together, Yamato Takeru casually
suggests that they exchange swords and joust. As a result, the Izumo hero is left defenseless
with the fake sword, and Yamato Takeru cuts him down. 
 
 

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