Merkó city. The hub of the entire Ngamé race. The richest in terms of commerce, economy, business. This was the largest and most populous city among other Ngamé cities. There was Port Nexus to the South, Adnar to the North, Aba and Ikah to the East, then Balkwark in the center. Merkó was to the West. These were all mega cities but Merkó was the grandest of them all, the pick of the lot. Year in year out, people from all over Ngamé migrated to Merkó city or its outskirts as the city gradually became overpopulated. Merkó city alone was believe to house more than 30% of the entire Ngamé population.
Merkó city was once dubbed by someone as 'the city that comes alive in the nighttime'. This statement was very true. In the daytime businesses and trades thrived. At night, those in the business of pleasure and traders of comfort made a living. This was a city that spent money as fast as it made it. It wasn't uncommon to see those who toiled all day under the hot sun sit to spend all they made in the night, knowing tomorrow they start afresh. Saving was something of a strange concept to them. Legally, it was easy to make money but it was harder to hold on to it. If you weren't bewitched into giving it out to a stranger, you could be paying for leisure trips you never get to take. The government made certain of that. Interestingly, Merkó city was one of the safest cities to live in. This isn't to say there were no unscrupulous beings lurking in the shadows after dark, rather the policing and security has been near perfect. No one could explain why a city with such a large population was able to control its crime rates. Maybe no one except the Watchers, whose Council Headquarters was buried in the depths of Merkó city.
The Watchers, seven of them, were all avatars of the Gods and Goddesses the people of Ngamé worshipped. They wielded absolute power over their subordinates. They were the direct link between the people and the Gods. Many of the Ngamés revered the Watchers as Gods because in a sense, they were Gods. As far as the people could tell, these were their Gods living with them, in the flesh. They mingled with the populace, though no one could boldly say they have sat with this Watcher or that Watcher. There weren't pictures of them anywhere and most people who crossed them usually didn't live long to tell the tale. If you got lucky, you had just your memories wiped. These were beings who lived in secrecy, surrounded by secrets, their rule a mystery. They took what they wanted, whenever they wanted, however they saw fit. No negotiations whatsoever, except amongst themselves. They passed their laws and decrees through Chiefs who were the official traditional rulers of the tribes. So the people were more familiar with their rulers, the chiefs. Chiefs could be removed, changed, killed. But Watchers couldn't. They normally grew old, died, and returned in new, younger bodies.
So it had come as a terrible shock to the whole Ngamé world to learn that the God of War had been murdered. These Watchers grow old and die not because they were immortal but because it was preposterous to kill them. Who would dare go up against a God? Who, in their right minds, would risk their families and generations? Killing a God may be easy but living with the consequences was hell.
To kill a God, one had to deal with Azuka's Shield, a force field that repelled any and every foreign object apart from its wielder and whatever or whoever he is holding. There was no known way to mortals on how to bypass that defense mechanism. Even if somehow, one managed to bypass the shield, killing a God meant the person forfeiting his or her life. Because once the Watcher dies, the perpetrator turns to marble instantly. Yet someone, somehow did the impossible twice. Succeeded in killing a God and no marble statue found at the site. This was a very big dent on the power and authority of the Watchers. Two rebel groups had risen up within the last eighteen years opposing the sovereignty of the Watchers after the death of Dioha. These groups were squashed without mercy by Aganju, the Watcher of the God of Volcano, Violence, and Desert.
The first rebel group had come into existence a year after Dioha's death. They had gathered over 1,000 followers and had begun rejecting the bylaws of their respective regions. After the notice was brought before the council, the Watchers had deliberated on a course of action. All of them except for Aganju, had proposed giving out severe punishments to errant followers and possibly public deaths to warn the people. But these punishments had only served to encourage others, giving the rebels the fuel they needed to preach for their cause. Aganju had moved in swiftly when the rebels had grown from a thousand to a thousand four hundred in the space of two days. He slaughtered 1,700 men, women, and children in just one night, leaving their mangled corpses hanging by their doorpost for all to see. It was a terrible and awful scene. One which some members of the council were aversed to. But it was very effective. Fear crept into the hearts of the people and they turned away from any gathering.
Nine years later, and another rebel group rose up, bigger and more proactive than the first one. They attacked without warning, mostly targeting temples and schools. They posted memes online and on popular edifices, berating the Watchers as mere mortals who pretended to be Gods. This greatly angered Aganju who always prided himself as being a God, not a Watcher. He acted swiftly and ruthlessly once again, not waiting for any deliberations from the council. This time he killed the rebels in the open and in broad daylight. He needed everyone to see and fear him. The rebels fought back determined to prove that the Watchers were mortals and could be killed. The rebels were mostly Enforcers, parents whose kids had all died in the Watchers Test that same year. Aganju was particularly thrilled killing the Enforcers. They were direct followers of Dioha, and had slightly better fighting attributes compared to other tribes. Aganju made light work of them. His shield made sure he took no damage while he dealt massively without restraints.
The battle lasted three days. Aganju had gone to all the regions alone and singlehandedly killed men,women and children in their thousands. After the third day, the remaining rebels had called for a cease fire, writing to the Watchers Council through the Enforcers' Chief. The Council had ordered that every one of them be present at a location to be tried and served with their punishments. They heeded the council's directives and made themselves available on the day of the hearing. Of course there was no hearing, no trial. Aganju interrupted proceedings and slaughtered everyone present except the chiefs of the different tribes, who were the proxies for the Council. But he did kill the chief of the Enforcers, something of a personal vendetta. In total, Aganju laid waste to 5,207 lives in 3 days. During his three days killing spree, the only phrase he kept screaming repeatedly was,
"I am the God of War! Fear me or die!!!"
Eight years on from that day, an uneasy peace reigned over the inhabitants of Ngamé, particularly in the Enforcer tribe. Aganju was swift to kill anyone who opposed him as the God of War. These were trying times for everyone. Even amongst the council, the mood was oppressive and foul.
Osoóse, God of Nature, was against Aganju, but for the commandment passed down by the Gods themselves that 'Watchers are forbidden from fighting each other', Osoóse would have taken him on.
Mother Ngam, oldest and unheralded head of the council, didn't approve of those killings but she also couldn't stop it, believing it to be a necessary evil to cleanse the land and keep the peace. Her fear was Aganju growing too powerful in the council. This would be problematic with time as decisions could be easily swayed to his favour.
Eshu, the God of Wisdom, Wine, Music, and Sex could care less. He knew Aganju had the ascendancy right now so wisdom, was staying with whoever had the floor. It wouldn't be prudent to swim against the tide. He was quite comfortable with how things were.
Orsun valued nothing else above her beauty. Mortal lives were feeble and fickle, easily extinguished. Why be concerned about it when she could live forever, staying beautiful throughout the ages, never ageing. As the Goddess of Beauty and Divinity, she had better things to concern herself with. It didn't matter if Aganju was popular these days, she was more popular than him. She was practically the only one who could shut him down. The lovesick God of Violence couldn't keep his hands off her, willing to do all her bidding. So in truth, she held the high ground in the council and will continue to do so.
These were the feelings in the Chamber of Echoes before a scrawny looking kid found his way into the chambers calling himself Dioha, the God of War.