Indoda promised both Ilanga and Inyanga to Ukulwa as his brides. Deeming Ilanga fairer than her sister, Ukulwa placed Ilanga as his first wife and Inyanga as his second. Inyanga was unsatisfied with this arrangement, but bit her tongue and endured the insult in silence.
Both sisters bore Ukulwa a son; he named Ilanga’s son Amandla, gifting him with strength. Yet to Inyanga’s son he gifted a keen sense of mischief and named him Okubi. Inyanga endured this insult in silence as well. Ukulwa ignored his youngest son in favor of his first, even gifting three beautiful maidens to Amandla in marriage. To Okubi, he gave nothing. Inyanga could not endure any longer, so she went to her dearest friend, Ukufihla.
Ukufihla, knowing Inyanga had suffered too much, created a plan. Knowing how much Ukulwa prided himself on his battle prowess, Ukufihla challenged him to fight off twelve of his night-creatures. If he won, Ukufihla would gift him the knowledge of cheetah-taming, a secret he guarded jealously. If he lost, Ukufihla would take anything he wanted from him. Ukulwa, believing he would never fail, accepted the challenge.
The first night-creature was a scorpion, which Ukulwa easily defeated. The second and third creatures, both serpents, followed the same fate. The following four creatures, all jackals, attacked as a pack. After a hard battle, Ukulwa came out victorious. The eighth and ninth creatures were a pair of hellhounds, Ukufihla’s treasured animal. Ukulwa nearly succumbed to their poisonous bite, but slayed them in the end.
After the ninth creature was slain, Inyanga came to Ukufihla, worried that he would lose his closest-guarded secret. She asked him to call off the challenge, but Ukufihla just responded with a smile and sent in the tenth creature – a mngwa. The monstrous tiger nearly took Ukulwa’s life, but was slain as all the others had been. The eleventh creature, a kongamato, suffered the same fate.
Ukulwa demanded to know why Ukufihla wasted so much time on weak animals, to which he just smiled and revealed his twelfth creature.
Inyanga recognized this creature and wept for joy.
It did not recklessly attack Ukufihla like the others did, instead watching the god with intelligent rose-colored eyes. When he stepped forward to attack, it leapt into the air with strong, graceful wings, but did not attack back. They repeated the dance again and again, until the sun was beginning to set. Once the moon had risen, the creature finally landed and approached Ukulwa. They engaged in a vicious battle, but, to his horror, Ukufihla realized that whenever his sword landed a blow, the wound would close immediately.
It was an ophezulu, the divine beast, Inyanga’s greatest creation. Under the moonlight’s embrace, it was invincible.
Ukulwa, who did not care to know his wife or her creations, did not know what it was, and, after expending all his energy trying to attack, collapsed in exhaustion. The ophezulu came to Inyanga’s side, whispered its love, and left. Ukufihla, victorious, took Inyanga as his own wife and Okubi as his adoptive son.