"Who exactly is this person with the book." Mboya asked unable to understand.
"Marwa Sarara was a prophet from Kuru tribe several seasons before the eighteenth Ordainer appeared. He was a prophet known to work alongside Ngoro Gokore, the seventeenth Ordainer. Of all the Ordainers we ever had, Ngoro was the one who faced the greatest of challenges apart from the very first one. His quest was filled with mysteries and we thought he could give up..."
Straightening her back after a long sigh, the Saint witch started narrating with a sorrowful face. She was looking up like a caring sage who had lost her beloved ones. Her hands were behind her back and her figure was still hovering above the altar with great elegance. Everyone could not help but pay attention lest they miss the details.
"I happened to be the head of this compartment at that time," She continued, "Black fiends were roaming around Keniya like it was their own land. Their aerial beasts were flying across our the land's sky with ease feeding on human blood to nourish themselves. Since the very first Ordainer died, this was the very first time the people of our land met with the true wrath of those from the dark world. They died in large numbers in their hands."
"The One from above was filled with great grief during that period. Unable to control himself, he started crying. His cries brought about large rains in Keniya. The rains took three moons to cease being the longest rainfalls ever experienced in our land. The people drunk the One from above's tears without knowing."
"These rains were accompanied by great thunders and lightning giving Ngoro Gokore power that he had never had before. He killed several people from the dark world making him the only Ordainer to ever kill the highest number of those enemies of mankind. On the second day of the third moon a hundred and fifty four seasons after Ngoro began his work, Marwa decided to take him to the peak of Keniya mountain at the heart of Kuyu tribe to battle one of the great kings of the black fiends who was in hibernation. Kings of black fiends are extremely powerful and any Ordainer who met them suffered a lot in their hands."
"Wizard Kerithu Mulingo, witch Mogina, sorcerer Muthoko, Lu tribe head Ogutu, Kuyu tribe head Wainaina, Kalek tribe head Chamuada and other gifted people were present that day. Other black fiends were also present. I was there as well and saw with my own eyes how those gifted people fought alongside each other against the black fiends. I was also fighting of course but each one of us was watching the battle between the black fiends king and the great Ngoro."
"It was the greatest battle I had ever watched. Under the dark clouds filled with lightning they fought. Their fight was also watched by the heavens. The heavens rumbled with thunderstorms. We managed to kill every black fiend after an hour, but the two were still battling. We could not help because only Ordainers can kill these kings. Every part of their bodies was filled with wounds. From the wounds, blood mixed with rain water flowed. We cried as rains washed our tears away."
"After three hours, we saw both figures drop. They both succumbed to their wounds and died there. The rains intensified, the thunderstorms became louder, the lightning became even more scary. The One from above was apparently mourning the fallen Ordainer. We stood at the top of the mountain for five good days as he continued crying."
"When the rains finally stopped, before we took Ngoro to the Sanctum Tomb of Ordainers, we heard Marwa cry out, 'The prophet of the Ngoro order shouts on the snowy peak of the great mountain of Keniya saying; the One from above has seen our pain. He has seen our dear fighter fall on these snows this day. He has seen the number of humans the black fiends have slain."
"With a painful heart he has decided to bring an end to this war between these enemies of ours and ourselves. Therefore, several seasons to come, to see that he is fully prepared for this mission, he is going to send someone walking with a book from the dark world. With this book, he will help the Ordainer of that era completely destroy the people from the dark world. He will be put under the torments of the eradication flames in the Hall of Righteousness and from there, he will transform, getting power to help the Ordainer in his course'."
"When he stopped, a flame came from the sky and burned down the dead black fiends. We also lost a few gifted people. We carried Ngoro to the Sanctum Tomb of Ordainers and after we laid him to rest, we all ascended to the sky. I was made a guardian of this compartment and I don't know what happened to the rest."
Everyone remained silent after hearing the long story. The women even held their chests while shedding tears. Kuru's head was hanging in an off-the-wall manner. His face had deep wrinkles. Whatever he was thinking about only he himself knew.
"Hu!"
The Saint witch sighed before smiling. The others were also woken from their trance. They turned to Mboya simultaneously before bowing their heads.
"Long live Mboya."
They recited together, the woman above the altar included. Mboya wanted to say something but when he felt some energy sweep through his entire body, he knew things were not going to be the same and he kept quiet.
"Moraa, I am leaving him in your hands. Make sure you take him to the first floor and ensure that all the wizards and witches cast a spell of activation on him. After that is done, make sure you bring him here and take care of him until the current Ordainer arrives. You will know what to do when that time comes." The witch gave her instructions before disappearing.
Moraa heaved a long sigh of relief when she saw the problem that was giving her an explicit headache being solved very easily. She turned to Mboya and smiled.
At this moment, Jade Eagle had arrived in the cave where the other three lions were almost finishing their meal.
"You can't be on a feast and fail to invite me, that is so unfair, especially when you are eating my favourite."
As soon as the bird landed, Ratong' who had long transformed into the mysterious lion jumped into the cave and started bolting down the pieces of Mammoth Gazelles that its fellows had hunted. Jade Eagle also contracted to its normal size and joined Ratong'.
The two of them left the other three lions and Ochieng' looking at them with bitter smiles. These were the strongest beasts here and without Ochieng's intervention, no one would dear go against them.
'They roam the forbidden lands eating the sweetest of fruits, the healthiest of herbs and the purest of waters. The people of our land die seeking their flesh and blood. They resemble the little gazelles we see but were blessed with huge bodies and thick skins that no ordinary lion can tear apart. They are the Mammoth Gazelles. Their meat is the finest and most delicious. Their blood is an elixir that never clot nor expire...'
Upon seeing the skin of other two dead Mammoth Gazelles nearby, Ochieng' suddenly remembered the story about these beasts he was told by one of his clan elders when he was still a child. He jumped to those gazelles to keep them but remembered his backpack could not even carry a single one let alone all of them.
'How am I going to keep them... Ehe!?'
Just when he was wondering how to store them, he heard a 'weng' sound before the beasts vanished altogether. Even the ones that were being eaten by the bird and the lion disappeared leaving them looking at each other with great shock and fear.