Slowly they walked down from the palace, orderly at dawn and with the eldest priest who had led the way chanting in eulogy to adore the witches who have always been believed to be present at the T-junction though in spirit because no eyes can see them except they want to be seen.
The priests were the worshipers of Ifa; the deity of divination. This was a germane way to be able to seek knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. But this fact does not make Ifa the only deity being worshiped in the village of ifa-ile.
There was also Ogun, the deity of iron whom the hunters of ifa-ile particularly worship as according to them, he will always guide their way in the forest and even bring them games to hunt.
But even the king was serving neither of these deities because he served Sango, the deity of thunder and as a king he wore the ability to summon his god whom shall smite his enemy down with thunder from the sky.
The reason why most of the people even the priests will bend to his will was because of the power he welded but not the witches who appeared to be on top of their world and issue command as they would always want.
There were different deities worshiped in Ifa-ile as it was common to them as according to their custom in which there was no universe religion but lesser spirits and a greater God.
While the God common to them all was called Eledumare, it was believed that Eledumare cannot be worshiped directly but by the worship of deities; the lesser gods.
It was not as if the priest were not powerful, of course they were, as they were always surrounded with their charms and their deity Ifa who would tell them the future and how to avert any evil coming from it.
The priests were always like the waters that cannot be touched or hurt in any manner as their Presence was always felt and cannot be disrespected or hurt.
No doubt, The priests were the most respected after the king or would it be more preferably to say they were respected in their own unique ways. With this, even the congregation of the priests has the divine power to elect the king or remove the king as no person or group can be bid to place this action aside the priests who will perform some rituals and offered necessary sacrifices needed to be done.
If these rituals and all were not done, before crowning the king, the crowned king would fall dead before the cock crows the following day.
The witches were the black birds that flew without being seen. Evil manipulators who smiles as they collect the day and gives the night.
The witches who were not afriad to widen their wings began to torment the village of Ifa-ile just because a king in a long time sought their help.
Even before they rendered the help, they had placed him under some stringent conditions which was mainly for them to be worshiped as they see no reason why they can't be worshiped like every other deities since they possessed their own powers and can get their wills done even with a strike of their finger.
The second condition was the fact that they wanted flesh as food and blood as water. The blood of an Infant baby boy born at dusk must be spilled as this would always be a symbol of their covenant which would go on and on and forever.
Even as the breeze was injecting with maximum endurance, they all jumped into their garments; all the elders of the village, the chiefs, the priests and the king who will not hesitate to wear his beads around his neck and around his wrist as he carried his hoarse tail whisk before he stared at his queen who was still buried in her sleep.
He set on the journey with the rest of the elders, and the chiefs who were already gathered and waiting for his presence at the gate of the palace.
The beads which must always hang around the neck and always around the wrist, the horsetail whisk which must always be seen with the king and his staff which was always fixed in his left hand was all the compulsory accessories of the King.
The priests were always dressed in their white garment as the deity of divination was pure and should be worshiped as pure. In one of the priests hand was a white fowl, as according to them, a ritual cannot be performed where an infant baby's blood shall be spilled and a fowl with not be killed as a means to wash the land and make their sacrifice acceptable.
Even as the morning was still friends with the thick darkness that overshadowed the earth, they all walked in a linear step led by the eldest priest and followed by the King, then the rest of the elders, the chiefs and finally, the rest of the priests as they all continued to chant in songs for their sacrifice to become acceptable and all evil in the land should henceforth be wiped out.
The infant baby, who had been snatched from his mother as quickly as he was born for every child born at dusk shall be the sacrifice as it has always been done in the land of Ifa-ile right from the days of their fathers was seen rested in the very arms of the eldest priest as his cries will not cease to stop.
Slowly and slowly, they all proceed to the T-junction and the witches who were believed to have been present at the T-Junction in their unseen form gossiping and laughing hysterically as they have for long became the main deity of Ifa-ile.
The witches were believed to be a group of women who were humans in the day but spirits at night as no one can really tell if a woman was a witch in the day light where they would be back to their human form and executing every social and economic activities like everyone else.
It was widely believed that a witch cannot manifest their whole power alone which signaled that their power when they are alone was limited and can only be unlimited if they have come together in their spirit form and gossiping about the next evil to do.
It is only with this, that they can do and undo and for this reason to which even the witches were so aware of, they made sure they can never be caught alone as they always did everything in their power not to be known or revealed themselves to anyone and even if there was a need to reveal themselves to orchestrate their plan, they do so with another faces and in group as they would always continue to laugh loudly in contempt.
Even before they left the palace the witches in their spirit form have seen them coming as they continued to dance slowly with their eyes rolling both to the right and to the left. Their mouth in the same fashion was opened widely as it continued to emit ugly laughter but no physical beings would be able to see or hear all these except only they needed them to hear or feel them.
The witches were coven of old women and young girls who were almost immortals as they would live for a long period before death would visit them. The young girls were initiated as a witch by their grandmothers or mothers who would do everything to make sure the group exist forever and even though they live very longer than a person was supposed to live, the group will continue to fester in numbers.
The closer they get, the more happy the witches were as it was another morning to drink the blood of the sacrifice which would be offered to them. Every coven has a leader and there was no difference from the witches of Ifa-ile as their leader was always seated before the iroko tree sighted at the T-junction and no one on earth will dare to cut down lest the person has bitten the tail of a dog and a definitely must get bitten by the dog.
The witches were always in their black rags and their hair which would always be scattered all over their head looking so unkempt. Their claws were dirtier and longer than that of a tiger and their foot which marched on the ground as they will not stop to dance and laughing hysterically as the priest, king and the rest continued to get closer.
The T-junction was a three-way interwoven road just before getting to the river that served as a border to the village of Ilupeju.
The feelings of the presence of the witches at the T-junction was made known to them by the breeze which was shaking the bushes, the sudden and rapid earth quack which almost swallowed the priests and king, and even their voices which they made everyone to hear as their leader rose to her feet, and the rest of the witches stood at attention, holding their waist firmly.
The eldest priest who will not see them but was quite known to the witches because he has been the one in charge of the sacrifice for a very long time started chanting with the baby in his hands which he continued to point to the four corners of the village and the fowl he used to circle the baby's head.