SUBFURA BOOKS — NAVIGATION ▼
CHAPTER
Chapter 5
CHAPTER TITLE.
The Mystery of the Hunch Back
Saga/Series
BOOK
The First Mission
GENRE
Historical fiction, African fantasy/mythology, Epic fantasy, Action and adventure
READING TIME
8 to 12 minutes.
STORY ARC
The Enchanted Forest
📖 First Mission CHAPTER LIST ▼
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📖 First Mission CHAPTER LIST ▼ | ||
The mystery of the Hunch Back
At sunrise
the company woke up with a start, because of Akin’s scream of terror,
the loud shout happened so suddenly and they all assumed that they were
under attack. At first, they were confused by the sudden noise, Ṣeyi was
the one who immediately noticed that Akin was not present in the camp,
where had he gone?
“Agbako’s taken him!” Kunle exclaimed,
“Akin,” Ṣeyi shouted, moving towards the source of the scream,
“No Ṣeyi,” Adekunle said, “he might kill you as well, we must run,”
“He’s
not dead,” Ṣeyi snapped forcefully breaking free from Kunle’s grip,
“I'm going to find him,” he shot, before he ran off into the bush in
search of his best friend followed by Iba-ile.
They did not need
to go too far because they found him easily, Akin stood transfixed with
his eyes focused on the eagle, “Bojubole,” as it perched on a branch
afar off, and there was obvious fear in Akin’s eyes.
“Akin what happened?” Ṣeyi inquired,
“I saw a black evil spirit standing beside the eagle,” he responded, explaining his unannounced morning disturbance,
“What did it look like?” Iba-ile asked,
“It was black, it had no face, and it was black!” Akin replied, “I’m not lying!” He screamed after a short pause.
“It might be the watcher,” Ṣeyi observed,
“I know,” Iba-ile responded understandingly, “but just in case it’s not the watcher, we must go,”.
Ṣeyi
suddenly noticed something weird about his best friend, Akin was not as
big as he was the previous day, for some reason he was growing smaller,
which is quite unusual, but then Akin had not eaten well since the day
before.
“Akin you’re much smaller,” Ṣeyi said
“His
digestion, that’s why he’s always hungry. let’s go and eat before the
sun gets too hot,” Iba-ayo said coming out of the bush before they
reached the camp, Akin fainted with the words “I’m hungry Ṣeyi,” for the
first time in his life Ṣeyi felt the horror of losing a friend.
“Akin! What's wrong with you? Help him” Ṣeyi shouted as he tried to revive his first and only friend.
“He
is losing blood, this is an unusual boy, either the gods have cursed
him or he cursed himself,” Iba-ayo observed while lifting Akin’s
unconscious body.
“Leave him here, let him die there is nothing we can do for him,” Adekunle spouted rudely “he’s weak,”.
“No!”
Ṣeyi shouted “don’t let him die, we can still help him,” he said
desperately hoping the others would listen to him, and also concluding
his observation of Adekunle’s personality, Adekunle cared about nothing
but himself at his young age, how this is possible, Ṣeyi couldn’t tell
but now his primary concern is his best friend’s health.
Akin
began to convulse, he had a fever and he started vomiting a foamy white
substance. Iba-ayo began chanting in spirit to calm Akin and to prevent
his death while Ṣeyi began to hopelessly panic.
“Ṣeyi,” Bọlaji said suddenly, “there’s something black in the trees,” pointing to a nearby branch.
Iba-ile
responded quickly, jumping into action as quickly as his body would
allow, using a kind of speed that Ṣeyi could not describe, he vanished
into the forest canopy. Bọlaji wasn't idle either, he picked up one of
his calabash shells and threw it into the trees just ahead of what he
had seen with an inaudible chant. The leaves in the area where the
calabash hit immediately dried up and withered away and for a split
second, Ṣeyi saw the black shapeless entity move from one tree to
another, but his concern now is for Akin. The poor hunchback was now
vomiting the white substance combined with his blood.
“He’s dying, and I can’t stop it,” Iba-ayo said, “he needs food,”
“Then I will go and get some food for him, there must be a tree around here that grows fruits for one such as Akin,” Ṣeyi shot.
“No Ṣeyi, that thing will kill you also, you're needed to serve me, your friend is useless,” Adekunle admonished, “don’t go,”
“Nobody
is going to die especially not Akin,” Ṣeyi openly declared, with those
words Ṣeyi ran into the forest in search of more food while Iba-ayọ
placed all the remaining food in his possession into Akin’s mouth to
keep him alive.
Ṣeyi ran into the forest not knowing which
direction he was going, to his shock something moved rapidly beside him
and when he turned to see what it is, it was gone. Ṣeyi didn’t spend any
time dwelling on this instead he kept on running and then he heard a
sound coming from behind, the black mass appeared before him and his
fear of death suddenly washed through his body like the sensation of the
snake’s venom leaching the life from his soul. How is he to become a
true Ẹṣọ if he is dead, his fear consumed him like a fever, he couldn’t
run and he couldn’t fight, he just stood there waiting for death to come
fighting against the temptation to cry or to beg for mercy.
The black form moved closer to Ṣeyi, “where is Iba-ile?” he wondered, “dead?” He thought desperately.
“Ṣeyi?” It spoke shattering all of Ṣeyi’s fears.
“How did you know my name?” Ṣeyi asked after a short pause
“I always knew you Ṣeyi,” it answered, “That boy must not die,”
“You mean Akin?”
“Yes,
if he dies there will be war and my masters would execute me. The boy
must not die, he is the symbol of peace and strength,”
“But where can we find food? He needs food,”
“Come with me,” the black form admonished, then dashed into the forest without seeing if Ṣeyi would follow.
Ṣeyi
had no other choice but to follow its instruction without question, it
was quick moving and fast, soon Ṣeyi had lost track of it, he couldn’t
keep up, but he followed his instincts surprisingly he found the black
form waiting next to a heap of yams, fruits and cassavas.
“This is all I can gather. it should be sufficient”
“Thank you,” Ṣeyi replied.
“Take
this,” it said, giving Ṣeyi a calabash filled with a black kind of
milk, “After Akin has eaten give it to him, it is a form of stimulant
that will temporarily slow down his digestion and keep him alive but
only for a week, after that his digestion will gradually return to
normal,”
“Give me more, just in case he needs it,”
“Not too
much or he’ll die, his digestion must be justified, if he doesn’t eat,
his system would begin to use his blood instead, now go,”
As Ṣeyi
turned to leave, the black thing strucd Ṣeyi behind his head and he was
knocked out instantly and just before Ṣeyi passed out completely he
remembered the words of the Osi-Balogun, “a warrior never turns his back
on a stranger,”
******
“Ṣeyi, Where did you find all this food?” Iba-ile questioned
“What happened?” Ṣeyi asked as he regained his consciousness
“I
went after the black spirit, but it moves faster than an eagle and
flies higher than the clouds. It seemed like the black spirit was
manipulating the covenant of the air,”
“Akin!” Ṣeyi screamed,
“He’s fine, the food you found is already half consumed, your friend Bolaji boiled the yams and Iba-ayo gave him the fruits,”
“The food? I did not find it; the food was given to me,” Ṣeyi voiced.
“By who?”
“The black spirit, for one reason, it was concerned about Akin’s wellbeing,”
“Or interested in him for an evil cause, only time would tell,”
“It saved Akin’s life,” Ṣeyi pressed.
“True,”
the warrior responded, “but to what ends, an ancient Yoruba tale talks
of children being born and with them, they carry a thousand secrets,
gifts from Olodumare, Akin is indeed special. They might need him for a
special ritual or something else,”
“Yes,” Ṣeyi replied, not quite understanding what Iba-ayọ was talking about,
Remembering
the medicine that the black being gave him, Ṣeyi stood up and walked
towards his friend, Akin, who at the moment is almost back to his normal
size, he had already eaten 2 tubers of yam and several fruits.
“Ṣeyi,” Akin greeted,
“Akin,” Ṣeyi responded, glad to see his friend in good health.
“You
both have met well, but we have very little time, it is now early noon
and soon Agbako would be on the move, we must reach the enchanted forest
before sunset,” Iba-ayọ said with a grin.
Adekunle charged
towards Ṣeyi with a look of disapproval on his young face, “Ṣeyi, you
are such a fool, sacrificing your life for, such a worthless person.
Hunchbacks are nothing but human trash,” Adekunle snapped.
“At least it’s better than risking my life for someone like you, Adekunle!” Ṣeyi retorted, “Because you are not worth it,”
Adekunle
was shocked by Ṣeyi’s response, and surprised that Ṣeyi even dared to
reply, before he could respond Iba-ayo interrupted.
“It is time
for training,” Iba-ayọ said, “if by late noon you are unable to master
the chant of the leopard shadowing the trees, we will have no choice but
to travel by foot, are you ready Ṣeyi?”
“Yes!” Ṣeyi responded
“I'm ready too,” Akin added, with a piece of yam in his mouth.
Immediately
after breakfast Ṣeyi gave Akin the medicine to drink without explaining
the source, Ṣeyi believed that it should remain an unanswered question.
he might not have trusted the being that gave him the medicine but he
had no choice in the matter, it seemed that the being had a better idea
of Akin’s problem than Ṣeyi did. Their training began with Iba-ile
testing how strong they were, years of evening practice and harsh
training was fruitful because Iba-ile declared them ready to learn the
special chant almost immediately.
“Ṣeyi, you both are strong
enough, now is the time to master the ways, pick a tree and try to climb
to its nearest branch as quickly as possible.
Ṣeyi and Akin
complied and each picked a tree with large branches, years of stealing
mangoes from Oloyede’s tree was finally paying off.
“You climb that tree like a pregnant woman,” Iba-ayo teased
“What!
Do you think it is easy to climb trees, let me see you try it?” Ṣeyi
snapped, and in reply to Ṣeyi’s protest Iba-ayọ ran up the tree like a
monkey and was on the nearest branch in less than 5 seconds, the
shocking revelation caused both Ṣeyi and Akin to loosen their grips on
the trees, they both landed flat on their backs with a loud thump.
“How did he do that?” Akin asked,
“He moved like the monkey and stalked like the cat,” Iba-ile replied,
“But it’s hard to do it,” Akin said.
“It only seems hard because you can’t do it, the question is how can you do it?” Iba-ile said
“How?” Ṣeyi asked
“You pray,” Iba-ayo replied,
“Which
deity do you serve?” Iba-ile asked, now this was a very surprising
question for both Akin and Ṣeyi. They had never worshipped anything
before, not even any of “the 7 great Orishas,” Ṣeyi despised Ifa the god
of visions, whom they worship with cola nuts. Ṣeyi despised them all
though he respected them, he would never serve them. The reason for his
despising them was obvious, he is destined to be offered as a sacrifice
to one of them one day. Why would he worship the gods that desire his
blood as food? He made a vow never to kiss their feet or humble himself
to them because these so-called gods that made the villagers of Ilu-inọ
hate him, they have done nothing for him, therefore, he intends to do
nothing for them. He finally responded.
“I serve the God with no shrine,”
“Me
too,” Akin quickly added, Akin always followed in Ṣeyi’s footsteps, if
Ṣeyi chose to be a fool then Akin would be the greater fool, this action
shows how much Akin idolized his best friend .
His mind was made,
if there is a god without a shrine and has no interest in human
sacrifice, then that is the God that Ṣeyi would serve. A God that is not
corrupted by blood lust, or by pride, a pure God, one that is worthy to
be called God.
“So you worship Olodumare, the king of heaven,” Iba-ayọ said.
“Who?” Ṣeyi asked, astonished that there is a God that fits his description.
“Oluwa-orun
(King of the heavens) Ọrun is where all the deities came from and he is
the king of heaven, he has no shrine and He is the source of all power
and strength and life,” Iba-ile added
“Why doesn’t he have a shrine,” Ṣeyi asked
“Because
the earth is not worthy to build a shrine for him, his shrine is in the
heavens. Only 2 out of the great seven Orishas are allowed to come to
the heavens, Ifa (the god of visions) and Esu (The trickster god). It is
believed that all those who serve him control, “Agbara’n la” (the
ultimate power), pray to him, if you must serve a God like Him then you
must pray to Him”
“No, where was he when I needed Him, I lived my life alone, I serve no god,” Ṣeyi replied.
“If you pray, you will grow stronger, it is a promise,” Iba-ile said
“If you pray and only by praying,” Iba-ayo added.
“Is He interested in human sacrifices?” Ṣeyi sneered doubtfully,
“No,” Iba-ayọ replied, “the only thing he desires is faithfulness,”
Ṣeyi
could tell from the way they were looking into his eyes that they were
not mocking him and from the tone of their voices that every word runs
deep, he could tell that prayer is a serious business. He had nothing
else to do so turning around to face the tree he had picked for himself
and though his pride was against it he issued a small prayer.
“Oluwa-orun
if you truly are God, then show me that I am destined to serve You,” he
said this more to himself than to the God that he had no faith in, but
that was more than enough because his prayers were answered immediately.
Ṣeyi felt a new level of perception, it was as though his mind was
moving beyond his body. He felt a strange kind of elevation within his
spirit, it felt like a foreign body had invaded his aura filling him
with a new seductive kind of power. A power that he had no idea he
possessed, he finally fell into a trance.
Ṣeyi saw himself as a
leopard running with such strength, skill and stamina that he felt a
strange kind of uneasiness in his body. He felt like a dog being
unleashed from its chains, then he opened his eyes and realized he was
the leopard, nothing was impossible for him to achieve as long as he
could imagine it. The tree that was once a stronghold that towered above
him had now become a stepping stone, in an instant, Ṣeyi ran towards
the tree and jumped upon the nearest branch like a monkey as easily as
Iba-ayọ had done earlier. Encouraged by Ṣeyi’s progress Akin followed
Ṣeyi’s lead and was able to reach the branch after 3 failed attempts.
“They learn quickly,” Iba-ile pronounced
“The
only thing they have mastered is the basics, to learn Takes a moment,
to master? That takes a lifetime,” Iba-ayo replied, “now listen you
two,” he called to the two novices who seemed preoccupied with their
newfound strength. “it is true that you have just learnt the chant of
the leopard shadowing the trees, but this is the first step to a more
advanced chant which you will master in years to come,”
“We have wasted too much time here, let’s go!” Adekunle snapped,
All
the Ẹṣọs agreed, after packing their supplies with Akin carrying most
of the food they left the camp using the skills that Ṣeyi and Akin had
just learnt. The new form of transport made it easier for them to travel
quickly, but it was hard for Ṣeyi and Akin to keep up with the more
experienced Ẹṣọs, but they were soon able to adapt to the situation of
travelling by jumping through the branches of trees, but soon started to
feel their leg muscles sore.
At sunrise the company woke up with a start, because of Akin’s scream of terror, the loud shout happened so suddenly and they all assumed that they were under attack. At first, they were confused by the sudden noise, Ṣeyi was the one who immediately noticed that Akin was not present in the camp, where had he gone?
“Agbako’s taken him!” Kunle exclaimed,
“Akin,” Ṣeyi shouted, moving towards the source of the scream,
“No Ṣeyi,” Adekunle said, “he might kill you as well, we must run,”
“He’s not dead,” Ṣeyi snapped forcefully breaking free from Kunle’s grip, “I'm going to find him,” he shot, before he ran off into the bush in search of his best friend followed by Iba-ile.
They did not need to go too far because they found him easily, Akin stood transfixed with his eyes focused on the eagle, “Bojubole,” as it perched on a branch afar off, and there was obvious fear in Akin’s eyes.
“Akin what happened?” Ṣeyi inquired,
“I saw a black evil spirit standing beside the eagle,” he responded, explaining his unannounced morning disturbance,
“What did it look like?” Iba-ile asked,
“It was black, it had no face, and it was black!” Akin replied, “I’m not lying!” He screamed after a short pause.
“It might be the watcher,” Ṣeyi observed,
“I know,” Iba-ile responded understandingly, “but just in case it’s not the watcher, we must go,”.
Ṣeyi suddenly noticed something weird about his best friend, Akin was not as big as he was the previous day, for some reason he was growing smaller, which is quite unusual, but then Akin had not eaten well since the day before.
“Akin you’re much smaller,” Ṣeyi said
“His digestion, that’s why he’s always hungry. let’s go and eat before the sun gets too hot,” Iba-ayo said coming out of the bush before they reached the camp, Akin fainted with the words “I’m hungry Ṣeyi,” for the first time in his life Ṣeyi felt the horror of losing a friend.
“Akin! What's wrong with you? Help him” Ṣeyi shouted as he tried to revive his first and only friend.
“He is losing blood, this is an unusual boy, either the gods have cursed him or he cursed himself,” Iba-ayo observed while lifting Akin’s unconscious body.
“Leave him here, let him die there is nothing we can do for him,” Adekunle spouted rudely “he’s weak,”.
“No!” Ṣeyi shouted “don’t let him die, we can still help him,” he said desperately hoping the others would listen to him, and also concluding his observation of Adekunle’s personality, Adekunle cared about nothing but himself at his young age, how this is possible, Ṣeyi couldn’t tell but now his primary concern is his best friend’s health.
Akin began to convulse, he had a fever and he started vomiting a foamy white substance. Iba-ayo began chanting in spirit to calm Akin and to prevent his death while Ṣeyi began to hopelessly panic.
“Ṣeyi,” Bọlaji said suddenly, “there’s something black in the trees,” pointing to a nearby branch.
Iba-ile responded quickly, jumping into action as quickly as his body would allow, using a kind of speed that Ṣeyi could not describe, he vanished into the forest canopy. Bọlaji wasn't idle either, he picked up one of his calabash shells and threw it into the trees just ahead of what he had seen with an inaudible chant. The leaves in the area where the calabash hit immediately dried up and withered away and for a split second, Ṣeyi saw the black shapeless entity move from one tree to another, but his concern now is for Akin. The poor hunchback was now vomiting the white substance combined with his blood.
“He’s dying, and I can’t stop it,” Iba-ayo said, “he needs food,”
“Then I will go and get some food for him, there must be a tree around here that grows fruits for one such as Akin,” Ṣeyi shot.
“No Ṣeyi, that thing will kill you also, you're needed to serve me, your friend is useless,” Adekunle admonished, “don’t go,”
“Nobody is going to die especially not Akin,” Ṣeyi openly declared, with those words Ṣeyi ran into the forest in search of more food while Iba-ayọ placed all the remaining food in his possession into Akin’s mouth to keep him alive.
Ṣeyi ran into the forest not knowing which direction he was going, to his shock something moved rapidly beside him and when he turned to see what it is, it was gone. Ṣeyi didn’t spend any time dwelling on this instead he kept on running and then he heard a sound coming from behind, the black mass appeared before him and his fear of death suddenly washed through his body like the sensation of the snake’s venom leaching the life from his soul. How is he to become a true Ẹṣọ if he is dead, his fear consumed him like a fever, he couldn’t run and he couldn’t fight, he just stood there waiting for death to come fighting against the temptation to cry or to beg for mercy.
The black form moved closer to Ṣeyi, “where is Iba-ile?” he wondered, “dead?” He thought desperately.
“Ṣeyi?” It spoke shattering all of Ṣeyi’s fears.
“How did you know my name?” Ṣeyi asked after a short pause
“I always knew you Ṣeyi,” it answered, “That boy must not die,”
“You mean Akin?”
“Yes, if he dies there will be war and my masters would execute me. The boy must not die, he is the symbol of peace and strength,”
“But where can we find food? He needs food,”
“Come with me,” the black form admonished, then dashed into the forest without seeing if Ṣeyi would follow.
Ṣeyi had no other choice but to follow its instruction without question, it was quick moving and fast, soon Ṣeyi had lost track of it, he couldn’t keep up, but he followed his instincts surprisingly he found the black form waiting next to a heap of yams, fruits and cassavas.
“This is all I can gather. it should be sufficient”
“Thank you,” Ṣeyi replied.
“Take this,” it said, giving Ṣeyi a calabash filled with a black kind of milk, “After Akin has eaten give it to him, it is a form of stimulant that will temporarily slow down his digestion and keep him alive but only for a week, after that his digestion will gradually return to normal,”
“Give me more, just in case he needs it,”
“Not too much or he’ll die, his digestion must be justified, if he doesn’t eat, his system would begin to use his blood instead, now go,”
As Ṣeyi turned to leave, the black thing strucd Ṣeyi behind his head and he was knocked out instantly and just before Ṣeyi passed out completely he remembered the words of the Osi-Balogun, “a warrior never turns his back on a stranger,”
******
“Ṣeyi, Where did you find all this food?” Iba-ile questioned
“What happened?” Ṣeyi asked as he regained his consciousness
“I went after the black spirit, but it moves faster than an eagle and flies higher than the clouds. It seemed like the black spirit was manipulating the covenant of the air,”
“Akin!” Ṣeyi screamed,
“He’s fine, the food you found is already half consumed, your friend Bolaji boiled the yams and Iba-ayo gave him the fruits,”
“The food? I did not find it; the food was given to me,” Ṣeyi voiced.
“By who?”
“The black spirit, for one reason, it was concerned about Akin’s wellbeing,”
“Or interested in him for an evil cause, only time would tell,”
“It saved Akin’s life,” Ṣeyi pressed.
“True,” the warrior responded, “but to what ends, an ancient Yoruba tale talks of children being born and with them, they carry a thousand secrets, gifts from Olodumare, Akin is indeed special. They might need him for a special ritual or something else,”
“Yes,” Ṣeyi replied, not quite understanding what Iba-ayọ was talking about,
Remembering the medicine that the black being gave him, Ṣeyi stood up and walked towards his friend, Akin, who at the moment is almost back to his normal size, he had already eaten 2 tubers of yam and several fruits.
“Ṣeyi,” Akin greeted,
“Akin,” Ṣeyi responded, glad to see his friend in good health.
“You both have met well, but we have very little time, it is now early noon and soon Agbako would be on the move, we must reach the enchanted forest before sunset,” Iba-ayọ said with a grin.
Adekunle charged towards Ṣeyi with a look of disapproval on his young face, “Ṣeyi, you are such a fool, sacrificing your life for, such a worthless person. Hunchbacks are nothing but human trash,” Adekunle snapped.
“At least it’s better than risking my life for someone like you, Adekunle!” Ṣeyi retorted, “Because you are not worth it,”
Adekunle was shocked by Ṣeyi’s response, and surprised that Ṣeyi even dared to reply, before he could respond Iba-ayo interrupted.
“It is time for training,” Iba-ayọ said, “if by late noon you are unable to master the chant of the leopard shadowing the trees, we will have no choice but to travel by foot, are you ready Ṣeyi?”
“Yes!” Ṣeyi responded
“I'm ready too,” Akin added, with a piece of yam in his mouth.
Immediately after breakfast Ṣeyi gave Akin the medicine to drink without explaining the source, Ṣeyi believed that it should remain an unanswered question. he might not have trusted the being that gave him the medicine but he had no choice in the matter, it seemed that the being had a better idea of Akin’s problem than Ṣeyi did. Their training began with Iba-ile testing how strong they were, years of evening practice and harsh training was fruitful because Iba-ile declared them ready to learn the special chant almost immediately.
“Ṣeyi, you both are strong enough, now is the time to master the ways, pick a tree and try to climb to its nearest branch as quickly as possible.
Ṣeyi and Akin complied and each picked a tree with large branches, years of stealing mangoes from Oloyede’s tree was finally paying off.
“You climb that tree like a pregnant woman,” Iba-ayo teased
“What! Do you think it is easy to climb trees, let me see you try it?” Ṣeyi snapped, and in reply to Ṣeyi’s protest Iba-ayọ ran up the tree like a monkey and was on the nearest branch in less than 5 seconds, the shocking revelation caused both Ṣeyi and Akin to loosen their grips on the trees, they both landed flat on their backs with a loud thump.
“How did he do that?” Akin asked,
“He moved like the monkey and stalked like the cat,” Iba-ile replied,
“But it’s hard to do it,” Akin said.
“It only seems hard because you can’t do it, the question is how can you do it?” Iba-ile said
“How?” Ṣeyi asked
“You pray,” Iba-ayo replied,
“Which deity do you serve?” Iba-ile asked, now this was a very surprising question for both Akin and Ṣeyi. They had never worshipped anything before, not even any of “the 7 great Orishas,” Ṣeyi despised Ifa the god of visions, whom they worship with cola nuts. Ṣeyi despised them all though he respected them, he would never serve them. The reason for his despising them was obvious, he is destined to be offered as a sacrifice to one of them one day. Why would he worship the gods that desire his blood as food? He made a vow never to kiss their feet or humble himself to them because these so-called gods that made the villagers of Ilu-inọ hate him, they have done nothing for him, therefore, he intends to do nothing for them. He finally responded.
“I serve the God with no shrine,”
“Me too,” Akin quickly added, Akin always followed in Ṣeyi’s footsteps, if Ṣeyi chose to be a fool then Akin would be the greater fool, this action shows how much Akin idolized his best friend .
His mind was made, if there is a god without a shrine and has no interest in human sacrifice, then that is the God that Ṣeyi would serve. A God that is not corrupted by blood lust, or by pride, a pure God, one that is worthy to be called God.
“So you worship Olodumare, the king of heaven,” Iba-ayọ said.
“Who?” Ṣeyi asked, astonished that there is a God that fits his description.
“Oluwa-orun (King of the heavens) Ọrun is where all the deities came from and he is the king of heaven, he has no shrine and He is the source of all power and strength and life,” Iba-ile added
“Why doesn’t he have a shrine,” Ṣeyi asked
“Because the earth is not worthy to build a shrine for him, his shrine is in the heavens. Only 2 out of the great seven Orishas are allowed to come to the heavens, Ifa (the god of visions) and Esu (The trickster god). It is believed that all those who serve him control, “Agbara’n la” (the ultimate power), pray to him, if you must serve a God like Him then you must pray to Him”
“No, where was he when I needed Him, I lived my life alone, I serve no god,” Ṣeyi replied.
“If you pray, you will grow stronger, it is a promise,” Iba-ile said
“If you pray and only by praying,” Iba-ayo added.
“Is He interested in human sacrifices?” Ṣeyi sneered doubtfully,
“No,” Iba-ayọ replied, “the only thing he desires is faithfulness,”
Ṣeyi could tell from the way they were looking into his eyes that they were not mocking him and from the tone of their voices that every word runs deep, he could tell that prayer is a serious business. He had nothing else to do so turning around to face the tree he had picked for himself and though his pride was against it he issued a small prayer.
“Oluwa-orun if you truly are God, then show me that I am destined to serve You,” he said this more to himself than to the God that he had no faith in, but that was more than enough because his prayers were answered immediately. Ṣeyi felt a new level of perception, it was as though his mind was moving beyond his body. He felt a strange kind of elevation within his spirit, it felt like a foreign body had invaded his aura filling him with a new seductive kind of power. A power that he had no idea he possessed, he finally fell into a trance.
Ṣeyi saw himself as a leopard running with such strength, skill and stamina that he felt a strange kind of uneasiness in his body. He felt like a dog being unleashed from its chains, then he opened his eyes and realized he was the leopard, nothing was impossible for him to achieve as long as he could imagine it. The tree that was once a stronghold that towered above him had now become a stepping stone, in an instant, Ṣeyi ran towards the tree and jumped upon the nearest branch like a monkey as easily as Iba-ayọ had done earlier. Encouraged by Ṣeyi’s progress Akin followed Ṣeyi’s lead and was able to reach the branch after 3 failed attempts.
“They learn quickly,” Iba-ile pronounced
“The only thing they have mastered is the basics, to learn Takes a moment, to master? That takes a lifetime,” Iba-ayo replied, “now listen you two,” he called to the two novices who seemed preoccupied with their newfound strength. “it is true that you have just learnt the chant of the leopard shadowing the trees, but this is the first step to a more advanced chant which you will master in years to come,”
“We have wasted too much time here, let’s go!” Adekunle snapped,
All the Ẹṣọs agreed, after packing their supplies with Akin carrying most of the food they left the camp using the skills that Ṣeyi and Akin had just learnt. The new form of transport made it easier for them to travel quickly, but it was hard for Ṣeyi and Akin to keep up with the more experienced Ẹṣọs, but they were soon able to adapt to the situation of travelling by jumping through the branches of trees, but soon started to feel their leg muscles sore.
CHAPTER RECAP
Akin’s scream wakes the group at sunrise, and panic spreads when he’s found missing from camp. They discover him frozen in fear, staring at an eagle and a black, faceless spirit. As Akin’s strange condition worsens — shrinking, convulsing, vomiting blood — the group races to save him. A mysterious black being appears to Ṣeyi, provides food and medicine to keep Akin alive, but at a cost. The chapter ends with Ṣeyi and Akin learning the “chant of the leopard shadowing the trees” and taking their first steps toward becoming true Ẹṣọs.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Thank you for sticking with Ṣeyi and Akin through this rough morning. Chapter 5 is where the mystery deepens — who is the black spirit watching them, and what does it want with Akin? I wanted this chapter to feel urgent, like you’re running through the bush right alongside them.
Next chapter we move back to the village of ilu-ina, only this time there is a crisis and the true reason for The Watcher's decision to send Seyi out of the village is revealed. I hope you had a pleasant read.
Subfura Community Discussion.
Prediction*: Who do you think the black spirit is, and why is it helping Akin instead of hurting him?
Opinion*: Adekunle said “hunchbacks are human trash.” Was Ṣeyi right to stand up to him like that?
Favorite moment*: What hit you hardest this chapter — Akin collapsing, the black spirit talking, or Ṣeyi’s first prayer to Olodumare?
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