1. Flashback
It's afternoon, a boy looking slim but tough sits on the branch of a tall neem tree. He sports a dirty locked hair , bedecked with cowries and dust. The ends of the hair are tinged orange and brown , colourfully matching the condition of it's young host. His once beautiful black skin was now covered in bruises and looking pitiful. He steadies himself and licks his heavily cracked harmattan stained lips and hums a popular war tune. The once beautiful village was plunged into war by the evil bokor ( sorcerer) whose thirst for the throne could even be seen by a breast feeding child. As a result, the once serene Zewu village which was home to both holiday seekers and justice seeking victims of crimes became a nightmare in the course of a day.
As he watches the smoke rising from the burning huts, his stomach rumbles as the scent of burning flesh permeates the air around him.
He licks his broken lips and immediately bows his head ,ashamed of his actions. He continues humming, stopping involuntarily to absorb the smell of burning flesh again and simultaneously giving himself the hard knock on the forehead . He grumbles and pours out lamentations from within.
Most children who are either between or below the ages of puberty were killed by the fires , some were sold into slavery and some, like the willed Atsu were lucky enough to escape, but running wasn't something the boy wants to do at the moment, not that he was confident in his hideout because he actually wasn't.
The neem tree he sits upon was on the hills of the village outskirts. Spotting him won't be a trying task for any passerby, it would be more similar to a hunter spotting a rare exotic bird feather from a tree.He chose this spot since it was overlooking the apocalyptic scenery painted by the slave raid and helped him to gnash his teeth more ferociously as he sprayed overloaded curses into the bright but solemn sky. A few days ago, he was eyeing the prettiest girl in the whole of Zewu village, he looked plumper and his locks where oiled and had a beautiful luster. He had a pretty sister and though they were orphans, his sister wasn't forced into marriage since the manual work he does in conjunction with the family profession as a hunter was enough for them to live on. The village saw nothing wrong with it since Atsu went through the necessary rites of puberty to be deemed "man of the house". They had the hut their parents left behind , which they humbly shared with their grandfather and only elder, - Togbui Atama.
Everything was going on well until two days ago when slave raiders invaded the peaceful village under the command of bokor Deku.
It was obvious that the man was a treacherous traitor.
Being the Chief's right hand, he could be regarded as someone close to the stool itself .He became thirsty for power after the King died in a clan war and decided to pressure the old regent Deglo Kwasi, into making him the heir since there was no immediate royal blood in line. The snake toothed Boko could already picture Deglo Kwasi's temporary position as regent ending after a few market days. There was never a time the power seeking sorcerer stopped torturing the old man in his mind anyways.
The Chief died without a son, which was why according to custom, the oldest elder must take up the position as regent until an heir was found. The regent, his fellow elders and Sadiku, the left hand Boko of the now deceased Chief will not hear of the boko's pleas to be blessed as the successor to the stool of the Zewu village. They rebuked him on many occasions, calling him a green fruited adult. The veteran Boko felt humiliated by the proverbial correction of the elders. And tries to use juju to usurp the throne. When asked, the bokor only counters with trash talk and threats.
Following this incident, Sadiku, the presiding Bokor over the shrine of 'Sogbladza' the thunder deity which was better known to civilians as the justice court, was asked by the elders to make a divination to ask the gods who should wear the akoble (parrot tail) as the chief and guardian of the stool. Divinations made on such matters were rare, since new blooded heirs were normally chosen by the elders through observations made from wrestling matches and the accomplishments of the said heir. The names of the candidates were then submitted to the regent to make a choice. In the present case however, the elders asked for a divination because of their fears that the protective powers of the stool against evil intents towards it might buckle under the frequent pestering of the boko's 'dark flames' , even before they might be able to make any observations. Secretly, they prayed that the black horned Boko respects the results of his colleague's oracle beads. For they were unsure what to do if Boko Deku does the opposite with the death of the chief who appointed them, the two bokors could only be removed from power after a newly installed Chief deems it so. So it's not like the elders could kick Boko Deku as they wish.
When the results of Sadiku's oracle where later relayed to Deku, he was overcome by envy and jealousy to hear that a young adolescent boy was better than an experienced adult and boko(as he believes himself to be).
With an air of nobility, bokor Sadiku had entered the market square on the supposed day of divination under the scanning but respectful gazes of the Zewu villagers. He spread his mat and took out his oracle beads, a few dried bones and some seeds which he gently laid on the mat. After fondling them for a while, he brought down his white cloth from his shoulders after formalities had been observed and tied it into a skirt around his waist. Taking a calabash of palm wine from his staff bearer, he said a long prayer, occasionally pouring the wine to the dust and sipping some to spray to the skies. " Mawu Sogbolisa Adanwudela,... God of our ancestors,the great author, maker of fingers and toes, the one who goes to war and never loses, the one who comes out of an ant hill and it breaks down, commander of the night and day, the... ". After the long prayer, the staff bearer said their purpose of gathering. The bokor then sat on his mat and threw the beads and bones into the air after another infinite round of fondling. In that instant, there was a loud rumble of thunder, the Bokor appeared to be in a daze as he started talking as though he were intoxicated. He spewed endless proverbs and called the gods by their attributes . Sadiku spoke of the presence of a young adolescent who would save Zewu and the whole of the Glinwu clan from collapse "... It is he the gods have chosen."
There were whisperings in the crowd as people shot dirty glances at Bokor Deku. Out of embarrassment and humiliation to save his face from the mocking stares of the villagers and the now favoured Boko Sadiku , the evil in Boko Deku finally broke free and led him by the neck. He slave raided the village at night and snatched the akoble from the regent's bodiless head while the old man was still in his sleep.
The plan was to help the raiders in capturing the village and in return, a ready market for slaves is opened to the Boko where he is paid three times the normal amount of cowries for the children he gives out to the gang as slaves every 6 months .
A meager sum of men numbering not more than a few hundred were spared the shackles of slavery to keep the cycle of birth running with the depressed and heartbroken women. Meanwhile, a small fraction of the gang stays in the village to aid Boko Deku's dark magic in keeping the manpower of the village weak and extremely vulnerable. Zewu, once a Haven has now become a slave breeding farm. The women cried until they were sure blood would flow out the next moment. At night, low whisperings could be heard in almost every hut as the psychologically crushed women pray for the return of Sadiku who was believed to have taken up the task of seeking aid and hiding the sacred royal stool.
Since the time of the ancestors, it had always been believed that the royal stool though small and unable to be used as a throne was touched by divinity and as such, possessed so much authority that it makes you want to kneel and kowtow whenever you're in it's presence. So according to reasoning, it is held to be very powerful and commanded more authority than a flimsy 'akoble' . So when there are wars , the stool was hidden by a group of three people comprising of at least a Boko to prevent the loss of the main Kingmaking ingredient. So until he shows up to keep the raging bulls of Deku's sorcery at bay, whatever attempt the men might make to fight back will be rendered useless if it doesn't fall in the category of ' a careless attempt.'
A flash back to the ruthless execution of a brave vigilante during Deku's raid drives Atsu out of his reverie. He looks up and calls to the unbiased and unfailing justice dealing whips of Sogbladza to lash the souls out of Zewu's enemies and help him set his sister free. His grandfather had disappeared on day one of the raid. Probably sold into slavery. He slaps his chest and cursed all the more at the thought of this.
"Lamentations made from empty stomachs don't reach the gods my friend. At least sip some water and pour the dregs to the dust to satiate the thirst of Mawu Sogbolisa before you do anything. Or do you have to be reminded of simple customs? " Atsu holds his breath, abruptly pulling out the matchet awarded him for his rites of puberty. He screens the ground below for the owner of the voice but sees no one. He straightens his back and does his best to speak with a manly voice " who's there? Identify yourself or prepare to clash with my matchet!." The response he received was as calm as it was before. Putting him a bit at ease. "I come in the name of Sadiku, would you like to draw his wrath by killing his only student ?" As Atsu lies in wait unsure whether to let his guard down or not. The seemingly normal shrubs of Kpetoe shakes and gives birth to the voice again, "I come in peace, please save your matchet for the bigger war ahead." At this point a wild swarm of bees flows in the direction of the Kpetoe shrubs. The swarm was wild as though threatening to sting any onlooker to their death. In their wild motion, they rose off the ground ceremoniously to the level of a man. When they finally died off, a boy of around eighteen years of age comes into view. His head is cleanly shaven and a white calico cloth hangs upon his right shoulder and sweeps neatly under his left armpit. He carries Sadiku's revered oracle