Those who are chosen
The night owl screeched beneath the night sky, disturbing the peace and silence of the night. It is believed that the owls are evil spirits hunting beneath the night sky and the screech is a symbol of their hatred for those privileged to dwell among the living, the greatest desire that they have in the black rock they call a heart is to place a potent curse on anyone foolish enough to wander out in the middle of the night. Another belief is that the owl is a human witch in the form of an animal on the hunt for human sacrifices, and anyone foolish enough to be seen by the keen eyesight of the knight flyer would never be seen or heard from again.
It is a common belief amongst the Yoruba people that the evil forest, with all of its dark enchantment, increases in potency during the night, and the potency would reach its peak at exactly midnight when all the phantoms are most active; it is also true that the essence of the forest also expands within the dark. The major reason why it is forbidden for anyone amongst the youth and also females to be out and about in the late periods of the night, especially the females carrying life within their womb, is that only the demons and witches would view a newborn as fresh meat. There are only a few capable of venturing out into the night and returning home unharmed by the phantoms of the dark and they are the Ẹṣọs, the chosen warriors of Oduduwa and the protectors of the empire. The warriors of Oduduwa are the lords of the land and the protectors of those who are innocent; it is the duty of the Ẹṣọ to ensure that the evil forest never expands its borders into any human territory.
Once every moon, the Balogun, the highest ranking Ẹṣọ for each village, would explore the outer rims of the village, chanting into the protective spirit barrier to enhance the defences of the village. A great wall of palm frond and mud was built surrounding the village carefully fortified with numerous chants to prevent the menacing creatures of the night from invading the village. The wall does not only serve the purpose of protecting the villagers from spiritual aggression; the wall also protects the village from the attacks of invaders who wish to enslave the people of the village. The Balogun walked quietly towards the market square. Naturally, it would be assumed that she was going to enhance the village's defences as usual, but tonight she was out for a different purpose. The past few days had been busy: meetings with the representatives and also the meetings with the envoy from Ọyọ. She signed in exhaustion, retreating that she ever coveted this position. The rank of Balogun indeed has a great deal of advantages, but it is also plagued with a great deal of responsibilities, such as responsibilities that would cause her to sacrifice the comforts of sleeping comfortably at home. The elders of the village had gathered along with the representative from the Adegunju province and all the Jagunas in preparation for the final preparation before the arrival of the Alaafin of Ọyọ. The Balogun smiled. Tonight would be the night when the fate of the village would be changed forever because this meeting was to choose the teams worthy to participate in the warrior's event of the Bẹbẹ festival. Those who are able to give a splendid performance are guaranteed to be acknowledged not only by the village but also by the entire Yoruba empire. This was the only chance she would have to get the eagle team recognised by the province, Jaguna Baṣọrun had slandered others into believing that she was incompetent and in her foolishness approved the appointment of the eagle team as an official team of the village, no doubt he's trying to have her removed from the position of Balogun of the village. It is true that if the eagle team should fail to prove their worth, then the overly ambitious man would use that as a way to remove her from this post the diplomatic way since he's not brave enough to face her in combat directly. The Balogun reached the market square and greeted the chiefs who had arrived before she did. The memory of how she outsmarted Jaguna Baṣọrun in the previous meeting flashed in her mind, and it made her grin slightly. She took her place next to the Baṣọrun of the Adegunju province and observed the fire in the centre of the market square, it is believed that the flames are potent enough to scare away the invasion of evil spirits.
"Great warriors of Ilu-ina village, I greet you," she said as she began the meeting
"We greet you", all the chiefs, and Ẹṣọs replied in Unisom.
"I believe everyone is present", she continued, looking around as if to find someone missing.
"Gbogbo wa wa n bibie" (We are all here) the Iya-lode announced.
"Okay," the Balogun responded "Jẹ n bẹrẹ…" (Let me begin)
"Before we begin" Jaguna Baṣọrun interrupted, "We need to send away those who are not needed"
"Explain yourself" the Baṣọrun of the Adegunju province voiced in a hostile tone.
"I'm talking about Bọlaji," the Jaguna responded in a calmer tone; he had expected the Balogun of the village to challenge his protest, but for the Baṣọrun of the province directly handling the situation, he knew he had to choose his words carefully. "The eagle team is new and therefore incapable of…"
"Silence!" the Baṣọrun of the Adegunju province declared much to Jaguna Baṣọrun's dismay. "You are not the one to state who is worthy of being here, the eagle team has been recognised by both the village and the province"
"I understand," Jaguna Baṣọrun said hastily with a slight vow.
"Hum! Ọdẹ" (idiot) the iya-lode mocked.
"Hissss! Oṣi" (foolish) the Iya-loja hissed,
Jaguna Baṣọrun had no choice but to sit down quietly to hide his face in shame; never in his whole life had he been shamed in such a manner, and what make it more hurtful is that he's been shamed by his actions. Bọlaji observed this as well and realised that if Jaguna Baṣọrun, his formal mentor, fails to control his building rage, it can develop into hatred; the same hatred would eventually develop into an obsession, the uncontrollable desire to destroy the object of his hatred. He signed in frustration that someone would need to talk to him before things get out of hand: "The seeds of hate often breed the fruit of blood, vengeance and death".
"Jaguna's of Ilu-ina village" the Balogun called, "ẹ sọrọ soke!" (Speak out loud)
The Jagunas' of the village began to greet the Balogun one after the other, with Bọlaji standing up to pay his respects last; Jaguna Baṣọrun was infuriated that Bọlaji would even consider himself equal to the rest of the seasoned Jagunas of the village but chose to hold his peace. The foolish eagle team had already humiliated him before the council of chiefs already, it had taught him to be careful when handling someone as despicable as Bọlaji in future. As Bọlaji concluded his greeting, there was a squawk from a nearby branch, which interrupted the meeting. It was the eagle Bojubọle, as Ṣeyi and Akin had named it. There must be an important reason why the eagle had squawked immediately after the last Jaguna of Ilu-ina and the Baṣọrun of the province chuckled at the people's reaction. The bird must assume that it is a part of the meeting since the Baṣọrun remained silent, and the rest of the Ẹṣọs didn't say a word.
"As you all know, you have been summoned here for a purpose" the Balogun continued. "And that purpose is to select those who are worthy to compete in the presence of the Alaafin (Emperor) of Yoruba land." She took a deep breath before she continued, "Remember, most of the other villages within this province will be sending their warriors as well, and the competition will be serious; there is the possibility of injury or even death. So, consider carefully before you answer the call of a warrior." All the Jagunas nodded their heads in acknowledgement of her words.
"These are the kind of warriors we need for the upcoming event" the Akọgun declared the moment the Balogun took her place on the seat. "those who are faithful to the oath of Oduduwa
Strong both in will, mind and body,
Determined to win and combat-ready,
Those who have the ability to make quick decisions and are capable of understanding the environment,
Those who are seasoned by continuous battles,
Those who would serve as the role model to the younger generation, (he focused on Jaguna Baṣọrun as though trying to tell him something),
Those who will bring honour to their tribes and this village,
These are the people who are capable and worthy of representing this village in the next Bẹbẹ festival,"
All the Jagunas gazed at the Akọgun with admiration and nodded in acknowledgement of his words, as the elderly warrior took his seat with dignity. There was a brief silence as the elders basked in the aura of the Akọgun's greatness, but then it was on to business; the team leaders were now expected to declare their team competent or incompetent to perform before the Alaafin of Ọyọ.
"I, Sẹgun Mofẹdamijo of the Shark team here, declare my team competent to perform before the Alaafin of Ọyọ. We have been preparing for this for years, and we will not shame this village", he declared confidently.
"And may the fortunes of the ancestors lead you to victory" the Balogun acknowledged,
"Aṣe!" the elders acknowledged.
"I Sẹgun Ooni of the Lion team declare my warriors competent to compete in the presence of the Alaafin of the Yoruba empire and we will prove that the lion is the king of the forest"
"May the roar of the lion team tremble the foundations of the entire province" the Balogun acknowledged.
"Aṣe" the elders acknowledged.
The one called Agba Nimbe rose to his feet "I, Nimbe of the Rhino team, hereby declare my team competent to compete in the presence of the Alaafin, and we will charge through all the opposition", he declared.
"May the fortification of your team never fail in the moment of need" the Balogun blessed
"Aṣe" the elders acknowledged,
Then Jaguna Baṣọrun rose to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster trying to compete with the Akọgun's charisma and made his declaration "I Jaguna Baṣọrun the head of all the warriors of this village" he stressed with a serious glimmer in his eyes, "Make this declaration, the elephant team is more than capable of competing in the presence of the Alaafin. The elephant team will also win and prove that Ilu-ina and the Adegunju province are nothing to laugh at, we are the strongest in the land"
The elders grunted in approval, the Baṣọrun of the province nodded in approval, and several others agreed by voicing the words "Bẹ ni", meaning true. The Balogun chuckled to herself, she had to acknowledge that the man knew how to move the hearts of those around him if only he could find a way to control his pride. "May your words be proven true in the presence of the Alaafin!" she blessed.
"Aṣe!" the elders acknowledged,
Jaguna Baṣọrun sat down, satisfied with the result of his performance, thinking that nothing else would happen, but to his shock, Bọlaji rose to his feet, is this fool going to place his entire team in danger?
"I, Bọlaji of the eagle team, hereby declare my team competent to perform in the presence of the Alaafin of the empire" This turned out to be a shock for all those present at the meeting. Bọlaji had that determined look in his eyes and they all could tell that he was desperate to get the eagle team recognised as one of the strongest forces in the village.
"Are you sure?" the Balogun inquired carefully so as not to hurt the boy's pride
"You better ask him," Jaguna Baṣọrun shouted in irritation, "that boy doesn't know what he is …" his angry outburst ended as soon as it had started, the Baṣọrun of the Adegunju province unleashed a powerful blast of spirit aura that threw him back several feet's.
"Silence," he said calmly "This is a conversation between the Balogun and the Jaguna in her care." The Baṣọrun said, the Jaguna recovered after a few seconds and silently walked towards his seat. He acknowledged that he had spoken out of turn and remained silent for the rest of the meeting, none of the other chiefs responded to the harsh treatment of the head of the Jagunas of the village because he more than deserved it.
"I acknowledge that the eagle team is young and inexperienced, but I believe that we will not fail to make this village proud", Bọlaji continued as soon as the commotion ended. The environment was silent for a short while then the Balogun spoke.
"I acknowledge the fact that the eagle team has put in a lot of hard work into becoming great warriors of this village," she signed, "So, your team will be tested first before the arrival of our guests, and if they can prove themselves then I will allow you to compete with the other teams"
Bọlaji smiled in relief; he knew that the Balogun might object, considering that the eagle team was the youngest in the village with less than a year's experience, but if they were able to pass the test, then they would be given the chance to prove themselves and dash Jaguna Baṣọrun's efforts to dissolve the team. "Thank you," he said, "The eagle team will prove that even though we are young we are not weak, these are the planted seeds of faith"
"And may God grant you the grace to prove yourself not only to this village but also before the Yoruba empire," she said with a smile.
"Aṣe" the chiefs acknowledged,
The Akọgun rose to his feet again and faced all those on the meeting ground "The warrior selection has been made, Jagunas, train your warriors and ensure they are capable enough to fight in the presence of the Alaafin," then he focused on the female chiefs "Iya-lode, Iya-loja and all the other dignified women of this village, you are all in charge of the entertainment (Cultural dances and displays) and the food, compound heads you are all in charge of ensuring that all guests are properly taken care of and warriors not all members of your teams are allowed into the event most of them are expected to see to the security of the village"
"A ti gbọ" (We have heard you) the chiefs replied.
"And finally, the last issue on the agender" the Baṣọrun of the Adegunju province voiced "the challenge of the Balogun", he declared. The realisation shocked the Balogun. She had all but forgotten about the challenge. The Balogun of Kutuje village had issued a challenge against her, and as a ranking Balogun herself, she was obligated to accept. The only problem with this challenge was the fact that the Balogun of Kutuje village was guaranteed to kill her due to the nature of his covenant, and since the challenge was official, the provincial leader was not allowed to interfere with the fight.
"I guess I had better prepare for the fight," the Balogun said hopelessly
"No," the Baṣọrun of the province commanded, "The Akọgun will be the one to fight that mad man," He concluded, "You will be busy doing something else"
"But …" the Balogun protested,
"I have spoken!" the Baṣọrun declared and this silenced all the protests that the Balogun would have made.
The Akọgun nodded in acknowledgement of the Baṣọrun's declaration knowing that the wise king had solved one of the problems. He was the Akọgun, and unlike other Ẹṣọs, he could stand up to the Balogun of Kutuje village, but there was still one technical issue: "I do not hold the title of Balogun." He voiced, "and the challenge is from one Balogun to another."
"Let me worry about that", the Baṣọrun of the province declared. "I promise you on the day of the fight, you will hold the title of Balogun without the death of your niece." The Akọgun smiled, encouraged by the provincial leader's words, and sat down more assured of the future of the village.
"Is there anything else that we need to discuss" the Balogun declared,
The market square was silent since there was nothing to talk about. The Balogun raised her hands, gesturing for refreshments to be served, and Jaguna Baṣọrun brooded in silence, angered by the fact that everyone was concerned for the Balogun. He was silently pleased by the challenge issued by the Balogun of Kutuje village. Had the Balogun of Ilu-ina died in that battle, then the next candidate for the post of Balogun would have been as good as his. There was still hope; after all, there was no way the Akọgun could fight. As long as Ogunlara was still the Balogun, it would take a miracle to unseat her from that position.
Thus, the meeting ended between the village elders concerning the hosting of the Alaafin of Ọyọ; the eagle team would be subjected to a test. Bọlaji began to mentally calculate the odds of success and then realised that the test would not be carried out on veteran warriors like himself and Lakan. No, the test was specifically for Ṣeyi, Akin, Kayọde, Kenny, Modupẹ and Bolu. He gulped down his cup of palm wine and suddenly felt uncomfortable; he made up his mind to push them further into their training if the eagle team was ever to prove themselves.
*************************
The meeting was brought to a close an hour later as the cock crowed three times, they all left the market square to their respective homes. There was enough palm wine to round all the elders but not enough for them to get drunk; after all, it would send a bad message to the villagers if one of the elders of the village was found drunk in the market square after an important meeting. Unknown to them, something else was present in the market square while they held the meeting; not even Bojubọle, the silent eagle with its keen eyes, had noticed the stranger. The intruder had remained in the market square, hidden amongst stacks of tables long before the elders had arrived, and throughout the meeting, he concealed his presence without moving an inch. A single mistake would have meant his death; unlike most of the other chiefs, he noticed the Adegunju members posted outside the market square with strict orders to kill any who interrupted the meeting, and he was also aware of the Baṣọrun's unique skill, which enabled him to scan the environment with his far-seeing eyes. He could not count how many times the Baṣọrun was close to sensing his presence; luckily, that didn't happen, and now it was over, and he had all the information he needed. The stranger slipped away under the covers of the shadows amongst the houses of the unsuspicious sleepers and finally through the barrier that fortified the walls of the village before reaching his goal which lies in the forest beyond.
The depths of the forest are filled with great mystery, and within that mystery are those who do not fear to venture into the evil forest in the late hours of the night, those who continuously embark on the path of evil, ignoring all the consequences. The stranger was given the name Kazadoom, and his malice ran deep; he patiently waited for the spy to reach him. His nefarious schemes depended largely on the meeting that was held; he had a blindfold on his face, and an oversized vampire bat sat comfortably on his left shoulder. As the spy approached, he felt a shiver run down his spine at the sight of the crimson orbs that served as the bat's eyes. The spy trembled as he reached the Malevolent lord of evil; he bowed his head as he approached his master, not out of respect but out of fear. Deep down, he knew that to gaze directly into the eyes of one so evil could end with him losing his life.
"Well," Kazadoom demanded with a hint of desperation in his voice,
"Yes!" the spy replied quickly, "all the Jagunas voted that their team will participate in the Ẹṣọ's event"
"Very good" Kazadoom complemented and from the tone of his voice there was a hint of a smile
"Thank you, my lord," the spy said humbly
"And this is your reward" Kazadoom said handing the spy a small sack filled with white beads
"I'm fine my lord," the spy said in a coded way to reject the money. He knew his master well; once he was done with his pawn, he'd dispose of it without a moment's hesitation.
"Not to worry boy" Kazadoom assured, "You are the only spy I have in this village, you're too precious a resource to lose now, so you should enjoy your earnings while you're still alive" There was a hint of malice in his tone threatening the boy that he should accept the reward or else…
"Thank you, my lord," the spy said as he accepted the money
"And remember…" Kazadoom stressed,
"Not a word to anyone" the spy concluded. At this, the evil lord chuckled. "You have my silence my lord but I do plead for my freedom"
Kazadoom chuckled once more his emotionless heart bold enough for the captive to see and this time at the spy's hopeless state "No one can be free from the chains bind you to every whim of a tyrant, You want freedom? Claim it if you can" the bat on Kazadoom's shoulder screeched at the spy and this caused the poor man to tremble uncontrollably, the bat then took flight into the sky as following its instincts to hide from the rising sun. The two men stood silently without a word passing between them, and for the spy, that moment lasted longer than his heart could bear. Then Kazadoom suddenly turned around and walked towards the forest, leaving the spy on his knees. He had a lot on his mind to even notice that he had forgotten to dismiss his loyal servant.