To Summon Death

Deep within the depths of the evil forest where the roots of 3 Iroko trees touch under the shades of the grand Iroko of the evil forest of Ilaro. The grand Iroko of the forest is also known as the forest king "Oba-Igbo". 12 witches sat patiently observing the 4 clay candles fuelled by palm oil. The candles were placed in front of the forest alter, the foot of a great Iroko tree designed with white chalk, human skulls and a host of other ritual items. Incised in the tree are several hollow spots, each spot occupied by a small stone with strange handwriting on them, obviously the stones stolen from the other villages. The witches were chanting

"Oba-Igbo ni Iba-Iroko"

(The forest king is lord Iroko)

"Guide our sisters as they serve you" the head witch chanted

"Mmmmmmmm, Ase" the others responded

"They will come back alive"

"Mmmmmmm, Ase"

"Destroy all the enemies of this forest"

"Mmmmmmm, Ase"

"Grant us victory and turn our enemies to dust"

"Mmmmmmm, Ase"

"And we will quench your thirst with their blood"

"Mmmmmmm, Ase"

"The forest king is the Lord Iroko"

"Mmmmmmm, Ase"

"Let our enemies perish at your word"

"Mmmmmmm, Ase"

"Keep us safe from your wrath"

"Mmmmmmm, Ase"

"As we worship, we will..." Suddenly they were interrupted

"EWO!!!!!" Ade shouted from the background, his mental cry distorted their meditation, the ground trembled, and trees moved

The next thing that happened shocked all the witches, three out of the four candles went out which symbolized the death of three out of the four witches out in the field

"Ha! Yea!" The eldest witch exclaimed

"ki lo sele?" (What happened?) Another witch asked

"Eje, Eso, and Ara," the head witch said with a heavy heart "they are no more; it is only Igbo-ojiji that lives"

"Who killed them!?" Another witch demanded angrily

"Yes, they will be avenged" the third witch scowled

"No sisters," the head witch said calmly, wondering who would have enough power to slay three very powerful witches "we must be patient, Igbo-ojiji is on her way, she might be wounded but she still has enough strength for translocation"

"Or we can summon the killer here in our territory where we have our powers in its fullest and kill him here and now!" A hot-tempered witch pointed out

"Yes, we must summon the killer here now" another agreed "here, our powers are equal to the gods" to this all the witches agreed

"Who is he" the hot-tempered witch demanded

"Ade the hunter" the head witch replied

"Ade" all the witches responded with all the hate they had within

"Ade!" The head witch chanted

"Ade we are the witches of the forest

We are your mothers; we summon you

Ade today your crown shall be taken

Ade how dare you defile the forest with your cursed feet

Ade the one who strikes a tree without apologising

Ade the hunter who hunts without the permission of the gods

Ade the fool who insults the Iroko

We the daughters of the forest summon you

Obey our call; you are a slave of the forest

You feed off the forest

You depend on the forest to survive

We are the forest we are the children of the forest

And we command you appear!!"

To their surprise, the one they had summoned did not answer their call, how, there is no way a normal man could have ignored the call of one witch let alone 12 witches who called him at the same time

"Ade how dare you to ignore the call of the daughters of the forest" the head witch chanted, with more determination

"Does your age exceed that of the forest?

Will you compare your hair to that of an old man?

Does your wisdom of life equal that of the forest?

Were you born the same day the seed of the forest was planted?

Did you exist when the Iroko bloomed its first leaf

(They then chanted together)

Ade o! Ade o!!"

Suddenly a ferocious fire sprouted amid the witches, the fire blazed with a vengeance, and then Ade walked out from within the flames. His demonic face was still distorted in rage and his eyes burning with strong yellow light

"WHO DARES TO SUMMON ME?" Ade roared

***

A lot of the people had returned to the village, most of them would have gone back to bed, but no one could sleep, they were all still filled with fear from the night`s events. Most of the elders and the elite warriors patrolled the borders of the village, keeping a sharp eye out for danger. Other able-bodied men surveyed the village to measure the magnitude of the damages done during the battle.

"Balogun" a young warrior saluted "apart from the three houses that the Ebora encountered on its way to the village, nothing else suffered the wrath of that beast"

"And lives? How many people have been killed?" The Balogun pressed

"The Otun was seriously wounded along with those assigned to guard Igbo-ojiji, and of course Adebisi and her unborn child"

"You're dismissed!" The Balogun said with a note of heaviness in his voice, then he whispered to Ogunlara who stood beside him "the child lives"

Ogunlara looked at her master in shock, how is it possible, how can a child survive such an ordeal as being burnt within the womb of its mother, it's impossible. Then the Balogun gazed at her, a strong gaze that said a lot, the last time he gave her those eyes, he accompanied them with the words "foolish girl when will you learn to see beyond the things that are already revealed". Then she thought how a child could have survived the ordeal, and then it clicked. The moment the child's mother gave birth someone must have taken it away from its mother right before the witch attacked. Ogunlara could not have contained her excitement, she smiled, but who could have done such an act.

The Akogun approached them with a jovial look on his face; Ogunlara could tell that the Akogun seemed to be in a good mood.

"If not for the grand efforts of Ade and the Akogun Ilu-ina village would have been destroyed" Ogunlara observed

"Yes!" The Balogun agreed, as he observed how the Akogun's progress towards them getting interfered by another warrior who seemed to be telling the Akogun something important "but now Ade is gone, the greatest guardian Ilu-ina ever had has left"

"You knew about his condition?" She asked

"A few of us knew, me, the Ifa priest, Adebisi, but she didn't care"

"Is it because he's a demon?" Ogunlara pressed

"No, he inherited the problem by mistake, you see hunters sometimes travel through several realms and discover many gateways. Sometimes while on the hunt, they meet strange beings in the forest. Ade is a mystery that even I cannot solve"

"Is that how he acquired his strange power?"

"Ade's case is different, but he's not a demon, he's a man, a man with a spirit so strong that he produces huge amounts of Agbara, more than enough to destroy the average human body, which is why his body was forced to evolve to contain the excess amount of Agbara. Each time he is forced to use that power, he forsakes a piece of his humanity"

"That's why he decided to give up the use of that power and live a quiet life"

"Until the forest witches came and ended everything" Ogunlara growled, "do you think he'll ever return?"

"That is his decision," the Balogun said in a calm tone

"What about the witches are they going to return?" Ogunlara inquired in fear "after all Ade's gone, now we don't have his strength to protect us"

"People are afraid that the witches would return, but I know they will never return," Balogun Alawo said, in a matter of fact way

"Witches are stubborn, they will return, and they won't stop until they have acquired our stone," Ogunlara said stubbornly

"And you forget that when Ade chose to leave, he was summoned by the witches, obviously they had summoned him to their territory the same way a spider would summon a fly, and with his state of mind I'll be surprised if any of the witches will make it out alive"

Ogunlara's lower jaw dropped as she realised that Ade had answered the summoning call to gain access into the witches' den, and then quench his thirst for blood and stay his voracious craving for vengeance.

"We must help him!" Ogunlara shouted urgently

"No!" He said holding her hand "if we get in his way, he'll kill us, his anger has only made him mad"

"But!" She said hopefully

"Let it be Lara, the only person who could've helped him is dead"

"But!" She said dejectedly

"I know Lara, some choices are very hard to make" then the Balogun started walking towards the eastern side of the village "let us go, we have a meeting"

Ogunlara had no choice but to follow her mentor towards the eastern forest.

*********

The ground trembled and the forest vibrated as Ade roared in anger, the evil forest mourned as another witch screamed in terror, as blood splattered all over the forest. Then Ade roared again filling the entire forest with dread several women were heard begging for their lives, and others cursed in hopeless defiance. The entire witches meeting ground was coated with the blood of its witches and the great Iroko tree that once stood tall and strong had now become empty and void because the spirits that once dwelled within the tree had fled for safety, abandoning those who had been faithful to them for 100s of years, the spirits of the tree knew Ade, they knew who he was, and they know what he can do should they ever vex him to rage and that's why they fled

"Please have mercy on me" the last witch pleaded "I know now that evil is wrong, give me a chance to change"

"DID YOU HAVE MERCY ON ANY OF THE CHILDREN YOU HAVE EATEN? NO!" Ade said "SHE WHO DOES NOT GIVE MERCY DOES NOT DESERVE MERCY"

As the witch tried to flee, she tripped over an exposed Iroko root and fell over, in her desperation to get away from Ade she started to crawl desperately putting as much distance between herself and the monster as possible. The effort was futile Ade was upon her in an instant and the next instant, he stomped on her with his left foot, driving the witch's ribs into the earth, her blood spilling all over the place. Then he raised his feet and stomped again, and then again, and then again until he had made sure that she was dead. But the anger remained and it still consumed him

"I need more" Ade roared, surrendering himself to the demon side

A strange sound among the bushes brought him back to earth; someone was hiding among the bushes Ade growled in excitement, then he lashed out with one of his most-potent chants a combination of both the fire and the wind chant to wipe the stranger out in one blow. To his amazement, a white light appeared and deflected the chant making it fade away in a cloud of smoke. The white light was all the information Ade needed to recognise that this newcomer's not a member of the witches whom he had just slaughtered, and it was at this moment that he realised his dreadful mistake, he had allowed the demon within him to take control of his body.

The Ifa priest emerged from the bushes giving Ade a judgmental look, the guilt that Ade felt must have burnt like the crimson fire. Now with his mind clear, Ade carefully changed back to his normal human form with downcast eyes

"Forgive me," he said

"My forgiveness has already been obtained" the Ifa priest replied, "but the forgiveness of the creator is another question entirely, you have done great wrong Ade"

"It is God that has wronged me, he let them take my wife and my child" Ade replied in pain

"And you forget Oluwa-orun is the master of both life and death, He would have brought both your wife and son back"

"Is it too late?" Ade asked in desperation "can they still be brought back?"

"That is the choice you made on your own in your anger, I'm sorry"

"I'm cursed" Ade wept bitterly "I've always been cursed, and I will always be cursed" then he fell to his knees in surrender looking up to the throne of the Olu-orun (sky king) he pleaded "forgive me" but there was no answer. The revelation hit him once more "there is no such thing as a holy demon"

"It is a choice that makes a man a demon; it is a choice that makes or errs a man, Ade, do not give up" the Ifa priest admonished "God is ever forgiving"

Ade had gone past listening to the words of encouragement he needed to be alone, so he turned his back on everything he once knew and ran away. He fled his old life, he fled from all his friends and rivals, he fled from the place he once called home and from all the memories that he treasures.

"Ade it is not over" the Ifa priest shouted in the background "even though you are what you are, Olodumare still loves you. You are a holy demon"

***

Ade ran towards the edge of the evil forest, the famous burial ground for those foolish enough to hang themselves, to prepare himself to face the same fate. Even though he was in human form, his demonic tears burnt his face, allowing the tribal marks on his cheeks to become even more pronounced.

"Ade" someone shouted from the background

"Don't come any nearer or I'll kill you" Ade exploded "how did you find me"

"I followed my conscience" Osi-Alara replied soberly "you are my friend Ade; do you think I'll let you do this"

"Forget about me," Ade said bitterly

"No! I will not" Osi-Alara countered, "come back to the village, you'll be treated like a hero"

Ade felt warmth in his heart; Osi-Alara truly was his friend, faithful to the end. He had a lot of happy days in Ilu-ina village.

"Babalakan is also searching for you" Osi-Alara continued

"And who else" Ade inquired

"Nimbe, Akogun, Osi-Balogun and a host of others" Osi-Alara replied "Ade you must"

"Dake" Ade whispered in order words he chanted for Osi-Alara to be quiet, then he brought out his wife's necklace from his pocket and gave it to Osi-Alara

"I'll keep it safe until someone merits it, or I'll place it in the shrine of Ifa as a memory of the sacrifice you've made for this village" Osi-Alara said

"I'll never forget Ilu-ino village that was where I spent the happiest days of my life," Ade said in a mystical voice

"And the village will never forget you," Osi-Alara said, "but you can still...."

"GO!" Ade commanded

"But?" Osi-Alara said, trying to convince Ade

"GOOOooooo!!!" He chanted, and this time Osi-Alara's body moved of its violation, forcing the man to walk away from Ade at a rapid pace.

"We will all miss you, Ade," Osi-Alara said sadly as he returned to the village

************

Osi-Alara returned to the village and reported to his superiors everything that transpired between himself and Ade, he told them of Ade's suicide attempt and how he had tried to stop him. Then he told them how Ade had dismissed him, using a chant too powerful for him to break.

"And that's how I found myself back in this village," he said with a broken heart

"Osi-Alara you tried, so don't blame yourself," the Oba of Ilu-ino said with a note of concern "I just wish he had returned, so we can give him a reward fit for a hero"

"There is a way," the Iya-lode said "we will take the necklace up to the shrine of Ifa and place it on a monument stone as a memorial of his sacrifice for this village"

"It shall be done!" The Oba acknowledged "and let it be that the story of "THE CROWNED HUNTER" be told within the Oriki of this village, the Oriki of this palace and to the next generation for all time" on saying this the king rose from his throne to acknowledge Ade's bravery.

Thus the tale was told to the next generations of warriors the actions of the crowned hunter, Ade-olode. Some say that he never committed suicide, others said that he returned to the spirit realm and then returned to the world again as a reincarnation of his formal self, the truth is none can understand the mystery of his disappearance.

But the true mystery is what happened to the child in Adebisi's womb?

***

The stranger's child

When the search for Ade the hunter began the Balogun and Ogunlara walked away towards the far end of the village concealed by a shadow chant. Ogunlara had inquired or rather complaint to the Balogun that they were needed in the village, that they needed to assist in the search for Ade the hunter but the Balogun refused to listen to her

"Ogunlara you know so little of the duties of a warlord" the Balogun scolded "I know you want to help your friends but your duty's to this village first"

With the scolding words that the Balogun had lashed out on his pupil, Ogunlara remained silent for a few minutes and then mounted up the courage to question her master again "so, where are we going?"

This time the Balogun smiled at his pupil "we are going to meet some old friends to seal a deal we made a few market days ago"

"You mean!" Ogunlara asked, alarmed

"Yes! Today they have come to seal the agreement" the Balogun said to his pupil "there is also something I need you to do for me"

"What is it?" She asked

"For now, I need you to be silent," the Balogun said as they reached a small clearing well away from the village and the watchful eyes of evildoers

At first, nothing happened, the ground was silent the crickets rendered a morning chorus to the rising sun, Ogunlara found it difficult to contain her impatience, at first she counted the number of stubborn grasses that were in the clearing, then she started to count the elephant grasses.

"Are they coming?" She said after she had started to count the leaves in the surrounding trees

"They're already here" the Balogun replied "just like us; they're waiting for something to happen"

"Well, we can't stay here forever," she grumped to the Balogun's amusement

"We won't haft to," he replied "it has happened"

As though on queue the strange men that Ogunlara met in the Balogun's hut a few market days ago appeared, their appearance seemed to be like a solid mass of glossy shadow compressed into a human form. They stood a good 6 feet or maybe 8 feet away from the ground, it's difficult to tell, to make things worst Ogunlara found it difficult to tell which one was a male and which is a female.

"We have arrived" the leader of the covered men declared "are you ready?"

"Yes" Balogun Alawo replied

"Good," the leader of the covered men said with a hint of pleasure in his voice, then he gestured to another one of the beings that stood behind him, even though Ogunlara didn't see the gesture because of the shadow concealment, she recognised it for what it was by the way the shadow cloaking moved. Then she noticed the leader pointing at her, instinctively she would have tried to defend herself again, but understanding the situation she pulled herself together and calmed her fighting instincts.

The being that the leader signalled, walked towards Ogunlara and stretched forth its hands to her as though it's about giving her something important, then Ogunlara got the message and also stretched forth her own hands to receive it. Then the strange being said something and HO! What a sweet voice she had.

"Please! Care for him as though he is your son, love him like a mother," she said in pain, this told Ogunlara that this female must be the child's mother.

"You're giving me your own son?" Ogunlara said in surprise

"The oracle demanded it," the woman replied "his name is Akin, now swear that you will protect him"

"I swear!" Ogunlara swore

"It is done." The woman wept, and then she walked away

Ogunlara now realised why the Balogun had brought her here, he needed her to take care of the child. She looked at the bundle of joy in her arms and smiled, the child was wrapped in white cloth according to the Yoruba custom and they had placed a large white feather on top of the child's wrappings to serve as a toy

"It is done" the leader of the strange beings pronounced "now Ilu-inọ is under our official protection"

"Good buy my son," the female shadow said in sorrow.

Then all the shadowed men vanished magically, or rather they trans-located back to their home village.

"Well," the Balogun said with a smile on his face "it is done, now Ilu-ina is a provincial capital we have succeeded"

"And this child?" Ogunlara snapped realising the gravity of her newfound responsibility

"You swore an oath," the Balogun chuckled "consider this a preparation for motherhood"

Ogunlara grinned in a long-suffering way, sometimes she hates this old man. Now that the sun had risen Ogunlara decided to have a look at the Childs's face, so she carefully removed the white cloth that concealed the baby's identity and exclaimed in shock nearly dropping the baby.

"Balogun" she called "this child is hideous," she said, gazing upon the child's ugly features "it has a hunchback! It's horrible!"

"Ogunlara," the Balogun said calmly "this child is the salvation of this village, if this child dies our village will die with it, don't worry, you are not alone, I will also help you to care for the child"

"His name is Akin!" Ogunlara corrected with tears in her eyes. She wanted something better, why was fate so cruel "why me," she said in pain

"I know no one else, I can trust no one else" the Balogun replied, "but don't worry, they will return for their son one day"

"So they'll be back?" Ogunlara asked hopefully

"Let's return to the village," the Balogun said

"As you wish Agba" Ogunlara replied

Both master and apprentice walked silently towards the village, neither of them spoke a word, but both knew that the events of that one night will forever change the lives of those who lived in Ilu-ino village and..... The baby started to cry

********

"Dear! Dear!!" Ogunlara consoled, hoping to stop its crying, but that only made it even madder

"I think it's hungry." The Balogun suggested

"What should I give it to eat?"

"Some milk would be fine"

"But I don't have any milk"

"But you do have breasts; after all, you are a woman"

"What did you say!!?"

"Nothing!"

The End

The tale of the Crown hunter explains the very foundation of the tale of the warriors of Oduduwa. This gives a detailed explanation of how Akin came into the village and why he is so important. Well, the story has finally concluded, or has it? Only time will tell. Watch out for the next instalment of the Warriors of Oduduwa and stay blessed.

The warriors of Oduduwa series

0. The first mission

The crowned hunter

The assassination attempt