Age of Sango(Naija Demigods Chronicles #1)

Oshe, Where Are You?

The day was bright and fair as a sweet dream; the sky was its own blue and free of clouds, the sun shined with mild intensity like it didn't get a good night's rest and this to Kola was a perfect day to laze around. He stood alone near the middle of the courtyard in the babalawo's compound and thought to play around with oshe before he went on to more important things like sleeping, which seemed like all he did these days with the exception of eating, that is when he wasn't thinking about his impending battle with Iku. Not that he minded his constant naps and food. It was a nice change of pace from working and starving on the streets.

Kola reached into himself to summon oshe but the battle-axe did not appear. Again he tried, but still no response. Concerned, his first thought was to find Ogun but the war god came and went as he pleased never staying for more than a while so he sought out Sangosakin instead. He found him in the room he had moved into after Kola took over his former.

"Ek aro baba" Kola greeted almost prostrating but the old man got up quickly and held Kola shaking his head indicating no. When kola straightened up the babalawo idobaled.

"Kabo Kabiyesi. What brings you to me this morning?" he asked him using the Yoruba dialect offering Kola a stool. Kola replied him using same.

"I tried calling oshe to me but it's not appearing and I can't find it anywhere."

"You've finally noticed." the baba said.

"Noticed what?" Kola inquired.

"I saw Aroni take it."

"What???" Kola shouted outraged. "When??? How???"

"The dog-headed spirit took oshe some nights ago. I saw him while I went to urinate in the night. That it took you so long to notice is saying something, Oba. And that something is not good."

Kola got to his feet and started pacing back and forth like a caged lion, fuming. He could not believe his weapon was stolen from right under his nose. He began to lose his nerve; he felt a lot less powerful without the axe.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Kola accused.

"Sorry Oba but It was the middle of the night and I am an old man." the babalawo said sheepishly.

Kola narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the babalawo. Sangosakin's expression was unreadable. Not that he was good with reading faces anyways.

"So how do we get it back?"

"Aroni is in an evil forest a little distance from here but bothering this forest. You can get it back from him by journeying east from here."

Kola noticed the babalawo used the pronoun you instead of we.

"You will proceed till you get to a small river which is the home of many evil water spirits. You can't swim across the water; they will pull you in and drown you so you will have to run across. I'll give you a charm that will enable you to walk on water. Once you pass there, turn southwards and head up until you get to a big rock. You can't miss it."

"From that point enter the forest. You should be close to oshe by then that you will sense its location."

"How did you know this information?" Kola asked Sangosakin suspiciously.

"I am a babalawo." He replied vaguely.

"Why don't I just ask Ogun to make another one for me." Kola shrugged.

"If Ogun finds out you lost oshe, he will kill you."

Kola swallowed hard. "He can't touch me I'm his Oba."

"Then act like one and go and retrieve what is yours."

By the time the sun was overhead Kola was dressed and carrying a bag pack filled with dried pieces of meat, a couple of biscuits he found and twelve medium-sized bottles of water and a change of cloth. His fear of Ogun was his primary motivation for embarking on the trip. The babalawo gave Kola a small red pouch that contained the said charm for walking on water after he'd escorted him to the edge of the forest east of the compound. He also offered Kola some last-minute advice on finding his way.

"Remember the sun rises in the east. Always note its position during the day. At night look for..."

"I know, I know..."

Sangosakin gave Kola a machete to chop through the vegetation when they are dense and for defence from wild beasts. Kola prayed in his heart to Olodumare that he would not encounter any predator or evil spirits.

The first few hours passed without incidence but as the night came, it brought with it many adversaries. Kola's first fight was with the mosquitos. They crowded him whining like they had much to complain about. Making regular stops on his flesh, they gave painful pricks with their proboscis and drew blood from him like evil little biological syringes. Kola could stand the bites but what he couldn't suffer was the buzz.

He sprinted hoping to outrun the insects. His brilliant plan seemed to work for a while until he caught his foot on a root and fell. Then the haze of insects seemed to multiply as if in vengeance of his planned abandonment. When dusk finally arrived and Kola decided to sleep, the bush babies decided they'd like to have a chat. They cried all night long adding to his torments. The mosquitos plus the beasts made Kola's rest very fitful. The short intervals of sleep he got that night were sabotaged by nightmares of little demonic babies trying to smother him.

The next morning with eyes that were puffy as if he'd been beaten and thousands of raised flesh like goose pimple; irritations from the bites, Kola stumbled through the forest. He cut his way through dense, suffocating undergrowth, combating the air which was moist and heavy. Kola hoped for the rain but the weather continued to tease him for the day. He had spied a large black snake once when he was about to take a turn. The serpent hissed at him as if to say 'stay away or else'. Kola heeded the wise reptilian advice and double-backed to find another path.

At night when the temperature dropped, Kola cursed the forest bitterly. The jungle seemed to have a consciousness and some sort of friendship with the firmament because no sooner had the words left his mouth the heavens broke and the rain began. The trees refused to provide any respite from the torrential downpour. Kola was soaked through and he caught a cold.

Shivering and wet from the rains, that same night Kola heard the sound of feet on wet leaves approaching him. He hoped Sangosakin had sent him assistance on the quest so he called out "Who is there?"

"I am Egbere." A plump short man replied coming into view.

"I need assistance to find my mat of wealth, if you find it we can share its riches."

Kola thought it weird and declined.

"I can assure you of riches beyond your wildest dreams just follow me," Egbere said.

His voice was very compelling and Kola started to imagine himself owning a glorious mansion and cars and...

Though Kola wasn't well versed in his mythology he remembered a legend told to him as a child by his grandmother about a malevolent spirit that inhabits woods and can be seen at night preying on the greed of men. What was its name again? Was its name not Egbere?

Kola snapped of the compulsion and did what he does best. He ran.

On the third day, Kola arrived at the water body just as the sun began to set. The river passed through the rainforest wide and obscure, Kola decided to rest and eat before trying to overcome his next obstacle. He chewed on the irregular shaped piece of meat that had started to develop mould and drank from a bottle emptying the plastic container. Kola was down to his last three bottles of water. He wondered if he should return home. Home he smiled. When did he start thinking of the babalawos hut as home? If that compound was his home, then he had one of the strangest families ever.

Whilst at the bank, a leopard came to get a drink from the river. He spied the wild cat the same time the beast noticed him. Once again, Kola fled. He scuttled up a tree as the beast gave a chase, climbing the tree as well. Cornered on a large branch, Kola closed his eyes and cowered by the trunk waiting for the beast to enjoy its feast. The leopard approached Kola slowly; when it got to him it nudged him with its large head purring like a domesticated feline. It licked his hair then laid down close to Kola.