The bamboo-made house always fascinated the whole neighbourhood. Even though they knew he was a Scavenian,they still found it intriguing,fascinating. Even scary. Maybe,cos he was the only Scavenian living miles and miles around here. Here,being the big city,was a place that almost all of the six Ngamé tribes had large numbers living together,that is except for the Scavenians.
The city of Merkö was a massive place that housed thousands of Seers,thousands of Physios,thousands of Enforcers,thousands of Femures,thousands of Empathosians,and yet just a handful of Scavenians,hardly up to 200. Though the city was filled to the brim,expansions and new estates were springing up on the outskirts of Merkö town. Everyone wanted to come live,work in Merkö town.But not the Scavenians.
Scavenians are a very disciplined tribe that hold their ancestral homes in high regard.They aren't particularly fond of 'unnatural' dwellings,and that has been the major reason for their reduced number in Merkö city or any other city for that matter. They are mostly hunters,farmers,herbalists and wine makers. Quite a reasonable few are doctors,soldiers,cops. These reasonable few,are the ones who live in Merkö city,to practice what they spent years in school perfecting. While the majority of the Scaven tribe live in villages or in the woods,these few choose to be a part of the civilized society,believing their unique abilities are best put to use in the city.
Scavenians share a strong bond with nature. They can communicate with all kinds of creatures. They are capable of healing almost all types of physical or spiritual ailments and injuries with their herbs and potions. Regarding magical properties,they are also high on that list as they make the strongest charms,amulets and wards. As great hunters,their tracking skills are second to none,their affinity with the woods helping them navigate seamlessly through it. This tracking ability stands them in good stead in the police force,the army,or any military outfit. They are also shape shifters,or at least everyone of them has the potential,but only a handful can actually change into animals. This ability is the highest power of the Scaven tribe and it usually requires a lot of willpower and concentration hence many are deterred from ever learning it.
Scavenians,due to their dispensation to magic,have magicians,a few sorcerers,and fortune tellers. They always need to be around plants,around nature. Hence,they dislike moving to cities with limited natural resources where everything is built by man and not nature. The few that move, make their dwellings in every town or city,look like a zoo or an amusement park.
Ogalé's house was no different from an amusement park in Merkö city. A big house made with bamboo sticks,sitting at the end of the road with a swamp behind it. This was always going to be a huge attraction,considering the wonderful edifices,the smooth tarred road,bustling joints and night club that were all stationed in that same street.
When he had bought the land,many decades ago,he had had the foresight to buy the swamp behind it also. He wanted to recreate the environment he had grew up in with his brothers and sisters. He didn't want any developments ruining his little haven. Twice the Ministry of Works and Urban Development had come to buy the swamp from him so they could fill it up and create a road so as to link it with other streets. Twice he had refused. Recently,they developed a new tactic. They came and started work without permission. When he had confronted them,they claimed the swamp was unhealthy to the residents of the area citing numerous complains that had been laid out to the Ministry of Health and Social Integration. He had left them without saying a word. The next day,machines and equipments started getting bad. They were replaced but the new ones also became unusable. Soon all equipments were down and work stopped. A fellow Scavenian was brought to identify the cause of the problem and rectify it. The unfortunate young man couldn't trace any foul play to Ogalé. Everything was linked to the swamp like Ogalé intended. Made it look like there was something living in the swamp,jinxing government's efforts. After a week,the construction company abandoned all thoughts of making a road there,and the ministry fired the young Scavenian it hired. Since then Ogalé had lived in peace,with his neighbors largely keeping away from his property,believing it to be cursed.The story of the Mermaid living in the Swamps had made the rounds back then and Ogalé was fine with that.
Occasionally,visits came from other Scavenians and crack heads. He didn't have many friends or family so the visits were more from crack heads than people from his tribe. He had leaves and roots these drug seekers sought and he made the most enticing blend of ethanol wine with crushed berries.
He had his customers,and these set of people knew better than to visit him at odd hours. He was angry a little when he heard a knock that morning,and after checking his Sphere to identify who was at the door,he had dismissed the unrecognisable teen. His anger was only increased when the teen had claimed to be Dioha,the God of war,his young friend who had been murdered. Disbelief and anger had caused him to open his door. Everything had gone downhill from then on. One hour of some very interesting storytelling passed,but in the end he was convinced that this young teenager was Dioha.
But after believing that Dioha was indeed alive in that body,another problem presented itself. One he had to take care of himself. One year had passed now in this world since that incident. He felt bad for the part he played but believed he chose the most appropriate option available to him. Things regarding Dioha were seldom straightforward and easy.
Ogalé sat behind his house drinking palm wine with a little sprinkling of some unknown roots. He was watching the swamp intently,his little haven,when a pigeon dropped on the little wooden table in front of him. He observed the pigeon for a while before picking it up. He untied the little paper tied to the pigeon's wing which hadn't been visible not long ago. The words 'I BELIEVE WE HAVE A PHENOMENA ON OUR HANDS,BROTHER. RELATED TO YOUR GODFRIEND' were scribbled boldly on the note. The last line made Ogalé spill some of the drink on himself. He cursed inwardly,
'Dioha,now what?'.
He got up with his drink and went inside.
Inside the house,Ogalé went into a dimly lit room.In the middle of the room, a round glowing object was floating in mid air. The only source of light in the room was from the object. This was the object known as the Sphere. Ogalé had spent quite a fortune to acquire this glowing orb from a master alchemist. This object allowed Ogalé to read future patterns,communicate with similar Sphere holders in the world,and see things without having to travel there in person. Ogalé gazed into the orb and spoke a name, "Anu". The mist in the orb twirled several times and finally settled revealing a quaint old face.
"Ha. There he is. Oga,Oga." the face teased in the Sphere.
"Show me" Ogalé said.
"Haba. Come on,where's your pleasant self? No hi or hello big brother. Mama raised you better than that" his elder brother chided.
"I am sorry. Now,can you please show me?" Ogalé said after rolling his eyes.
"Not so fast,old man" the other man in the Sphere answered. At this point,Ogalé couldn't help but break into laughter.
"Me,old man? Who's older,you or me?" Ogalé said between laughs.
"I am not old. I'm just way advanced. You know i can still whoop your ass anytime any day."
"I'm well aware of that," Ogalé replied.
"Good. Now here's something mouthwatering." Anu said as the mist twirled rapidly in the orb and settled again revealing a woman holding a baby. The woman's face was not visible as she was looking down at the baby in her hands,and since whatever medium that was transmitting the image to the orb was above,the baby's face was visible.
"Isn't she cute?" came Anu's voice over the image of woman and child.
"She is. What has this got to do with Dioha?" Ogalé asked trying to hide his disappointment. He didn't want this to be another of his elder brother's prank on him.
Anu was the most talented Scavenian in his family,but he was also the black sheep of the family. His major problem was he played too much. He never took anything seriously. Even his decision to leave the entire Ngamé geographic area to go dwell with humans was an idea he never really thought about. Ogalé believed if Anu had really thought about it,he'd have known his decision would meet very stiff opposition in the form of their father. He wouldn't have been disowned from the family. But no,Anu was always carefree and jovial. Radical too would fit in nicely.
"Well,a very beautiful Seer friend of mine had a vision. She saw a huge fire burning intensely in a tomb,an underground tomb that bore the symbol of the Enforcers" Anu interjected,waking him from his reverie.
"Go on."
"In the middle of the flame lay a baby,unburnt and asleep. A baby seer. Pretty lil thing looked ordinary,except it wasn't ordinary." Anu paused,a mischievous grin on his face.
"What stood out?" Ogalé asked,holding his breath. Anu exhaled audibly and heavily,looking serious all of a sudden.
"It was calling your name."
Ogalé frowned. That didn't sound right. A baby seer calling his name? How was this even related to Dioha? Thinking about Dioha,he decided to know the sex of the baby.
"Is the baby a male or a female?"
"Female. Can you believe she was calling your name?" Anu sounded pretty excited.
"No,i can't believe it.But it must have been for a reason. I can't really understand why..."
"Hold on,old man. You're not that important around here. The child wasn't screaming your name."
Ogalé nodded in acknowledgement. He had already figured his brother had turned off the road and was headed to familiar territory. Pranks. He waited for his elder brother to continue.
Anu knew Ogalé was waiting for him to continue but he didn't continue. He kept winking at Ogalé, keeping his outrageous grin on all the time.
"Will you tell me what made her stand out? Or why you think she is connected to Dioha? Ogalé asked patiently.
"Really?! How she is connected? How about this? A burning Seer in...No no no,that came out wrong. A baby seer in a burning fire down at the Enforcers' tomb. How's that for connection?" Anu sounded riled,but Ogalé knew he was just playacting.
Someone must have knocked on Anu's door cos he looked back and yelled at whoever it was, "Coming!!! The baby had a faint glow about her. Maybe not too faint,cos the human nurses and doctor around at the time of her birth saw it too. The glow has only just gone down because she's been cloaked. My friend said the glow had a faint signature. A signature of death." Ogalé's eyes widened at that point. 'Reincarnation' thought Ogalé.
"This might indeed be related to my friend. Can you put a cloaking spell on the child? I don't want others knowing about her existence"
"Already done that. Oga,"
"Yes?"
"Why don't you think this baby is Mujayi's Watcher? Seeing as there's no Seer Watcher on the council over there" Anu asked with a glint in his eyes. "Watchers are born normally like other babies to protect their identities. So,no matter how powerful your Seer is,she wouldn't have been able to see the reincarnation sign," Ogalé replied smiling. He knew his older brother was hoping he wouldn't know so that he could show off his smart ass. Not satisfied,Anu asked,
"How did you know? Who told you?"
"I have my ways brother"