Baba Elawo smiled down at the young adults, saying, "Raise out your right palms".
They did as instructed.
Baba Elawo then turned to his side, pulling out a hide pouch hung underneath his clothes. He held it in his hand, flipping it open to thrust in his hand and pull out something.
Kolanuts.
Baba Elawo stepped forward, placing the biconvex-shaped nut on Danji's palm; being the first in the line.
He then said, "Danji, break the nut into two and take a small bite on a half".
Danji held the soft nut with both bands, breaking it into two and taking a small bite as instructed.
"Good. Now pass that same bitten half on to the next person. And they will do the same and pass on to the rest", Baba Elawo completed.
Danji looked down at his palm, then at the girl that stood next to him, smiling with her right hand extended out.
He growled under his breath.
Shutting his eyes with furrowed brows, Danji heavily placed the piece on Kamyla's hand. She received it, turning to face Baba as she took a bite as well.
She cringed at the extremely bitter taste of the nut before passing it to the next.
And just as they were told, the piece travelled right to the end where the last boy chewed the remaining portion. Baba Elawo then nodded. "Now hand me the unbitten half".
Danji did, having Baba Elawo clutching onto it.
He smiled, "Now that you all have prepared for a Convent between you and our Ancestors, you must commit your vows. Place your fists across your chest and repeat after me".
"... I".
"I!" They recited simultaneously.
"Descendants of the Sah'Jangi Empire and children of the holy grounds of Diowo village..."
"Pledge my soul to the Ancestors of our land and submit to the vow of secrecy to the Sacred Warrior Ritual..."
"Nothing seen, heard, touched and felt in my physical form during the trials of the heinous forest, shall be retained in my memory the moment I succeed the test and return to your soils..."
"And if I fail, the memories shall perish with my physical being in the diabolic woodlands..."
"This, I swear unto you, favour me through the test to prove my courage, dignity and pride as your descendant and heir!"
Baba Elawo then took a bite of the kolanut half in his hand, dropping the remaining portion to the ground.
He struck his staff.
The children slowly bowed, "Ihiwea!" They then looked up.
Baba Elawo suddenly struck his staff to the ground three times.
A ruffle came from the forest bushes at their sides. All the children turned to the thick vegetation, sighting the leaves shake vigorously as something slowly emerged from behind it.
Three tall beings then stepped out of the forest, taking a few steps onto the village grounds. They were dressed in long shreds of colourful patterned fabric; covering them from head to toes.
Their height exceeded that of a normal tall human being, having any trace of their skin underneath hidden.
Masquerades.
They were specifically regarded as the Masquerade of the Evil Forest. The gatekeepers to the forest of demons and fiends.
They only appeared when summoned by the Chief Priest to take humans into the Evil Forest to either be tortured and killed gorely as punishment; or in their case, to be subjected to the vile entities as a way to test them worthy of being warriors.
The three masquerades looked down at the line of children staring up at them. Most of them immediately grimaced in fear, feeling the dark aura that surrounded the strange beings.
Baba Elawo then spoke, "Turn to face them and bow".
They obeyed quietly.
"Now, extend your left hands".
They followed.
The three masquerades then raised their hands underneath all the clothes, extending them to the children.
Baba Elawo added, "Place your hands on theirs one at a time".
Danji, being the first, stepped forward, placing his hand on the masquerade's.
He instantly hissed, feeling a sharp pain spread across the back of his hand. He slowly stepped back into the line, lowering his gaze to look down at the ancient symbol carved onto his skin and decorated with his blood.
He had been marked.
Kamyla then did the same, grunting as well before stepping back into the line to look at the symbol on her skin.
After a few moments, all the children had finally been marked, before some of the men of the village walk forward and handed each of the children a dagger of the same type.
The children then looked back up at the masquerades. Without any words being said by the Chief Priest, the masquerades slowly turned back to the forest, taking a step closer.
The children gripped onto their small weapons, with their bodies slowly consumed with nervousness and fear.
Baba Elawo then said, "Fear is the beginning of success, my children. Make sure to embrace it not hide it from it".
The children all looked at him, before slowly looking over their shoulders to the other villages.
Each family member of the children stared at them with teary eyes, waving heavily as their hearts feared for their safe return.
No one was sure who would make it out or not. No one was sure if any of the children would even return in the first place.
They could only hope and pray for them.
After all, they had no other choice. Each village of a kingdom of the Sah'Jangi Empire was to produce at least twenty participants for the Warrior test which was held twice a year; either by force or choice.
Normally the male child.
But given the low population of the Diowo village, they had only twelve and more shockingly, a girl amongst.
Their test was to go into the Evil Forest and survive till nightfall.
Kamyla gazed at the crying children and women that stared at her, seeing them shake their heads at her actions.
She then looked at her grandmother, sighting the warm smile on her face. Mama Uyrè gave her a subtle nod, enough to encourage her not to look back with any regrets.
Kamyla smiled back. Rhou then stepped forward to stand next to her, rubbing its head against her shoulder. She chuckled lightly, patting his head.
"Sure, you can follow". It chuffled.
All the children slowly turned back to the gatekeepers, watching them proceed forward.
With heavy hearts, the children carefully trailed after and walked into the Evil Forest.
• • •
Night time finally came...
The entire population of Diowo village surrounded the brim of the Evil Forest, staring keenly at the narrow entrance path the children walked in with.
Chatters and whispers travelled in the air of the worried people, already frightened with the amount of time that had already passed after sunset, the family members of the participants broke down into tears, panicking over the safety of their children.
All except Mama Uyrè, who sat on a stool in the front of the crowd, holding onto her walking stick as she stared calmly at the forest trees.
She remained silent and unmoved by the tension around her.
Baba Elawo stood closest to the forest, staring forward with his eyes locked on the part they were supposed to come out from.
Suddenly, the bushed ruffled, seizing the attention of every single person around — absolute silence.
With the leaves of the plants ruffling even more, the three Masquerade slowly stepped out, causing all eyes to raise to their tops.
They slowly walked forward, having another ruffle behind them; three children trailed after.
All eyes peeled at the sight of three boys that slowly leaped out, barely dragging themselves on their feet with their bodies covered in dirt and injuries.
Two were on their feet, bleeding from their faces, arms and chest; dragging the last by the shoulders, whose both legs were bleeding with a dislocated joint.
The masquerades stepped aside, giving way for the boys to proceed closer to the population.
They immediately fell to the ground. Their families quickly rushed forward.
"Oh my God!"
"What happened!?"
"Quickly, bring water!"
"So much blood!"
"Help my son! Fast!"
They pulled their children to their arms, with others bringing the already prepared health care to attend to the survivors.
Ilo and Mama Chyma quickly ran forward, looking down at the survivors. Their hearts broke.
"Where is Kamyla!?"
"Kamyla? Where is she!?"
They asked with teary voices, staring down at the weakened boys that were struggling in immense pain.
Them and other members that immediately noticed Kamyla's absence began to panic. All eyes slowly pulled to the Chief Priest, noticing him talking lowly to one of the masquerades.
The masquerade then bowed, finalizing their conversation. Baba Elawo grimaced, turning back to the people staring at them.
He lowered his gaze, saddening his expression as he slowly shook his head.
Mama Chyma gasped, immediately grasping onto her pregnant belly.
Ilo froze.
Their eyes widened, showing the pain and tears in their bewildered expressions.
Ilo slowly fell to her knees, having tears run down her cheeks as her lips hung open. "Kamy..."
Loud cries broke through most of the crowd as people fell to the ground, lamenting and wailing about the harsh fate of both Kamyla and the remaining boys.
Baba Elawo bit his lips.
Taking a few steps forward, Baba Elawo trailed his eyes through the half-broken crowd, before falling his eyes on Kamyla's grandmother.
She remained still on her seat, staring vaguely into the space forward. There was no specific change in her expression.
Baba Elawo then cleared his throat loudly, grabbing a few of their devasted attention.
He announced, "The winners! Of the last Rlëongē of the year out of twelve participants are, Danji Sambo! Ajefe Eyo! And Cöfwu Gamo!"
The family of the winning children clutched onto their wounded sons, shedding tears of joy.
Baba Elawo sighed once more, raising his staff in the air. "By the power invested in me by the Ancestors, I declare this Rlëo—"
"LOOK!" Someone shouted within the crowd, pointing at the forest.
All eyes snapped in one direction.
A set of bushes began to ruffle, followed by a small grunt that echoed out.
Their brows shot at the sight of who stepped out from between the branches and leaves.
Ilo and Chyma gasped.
With her head faced down and her back arched backwards, Kamyla groaned, struggling to pull her feet forward and into the village grounds as she clutched onto the limbs of the injured white tiger on her back.
Their jaws dropped.
Kamyla finally pulled to a halt, calling out, "Mama!" She fell to her knees, gently lowering the tiger off her back and to the ground.
She looked up at her grandmother, "Mama! Rhou is hurt!" Tears filled her eyes.
No one said anything. No one made move. Everyone was still frozen in shock.
Kamyla furrowed her brows, "Why are you all looking at me!? Please help him!" She turned to the unconscious tiger struggling to breathe as it bled from numerous injuries on its abdomen.
No one did anything.
"Why are you all standing there!?" Tears slipped from her eyes.
Baba Elawo slowly stepped forward, staring at Kamyla's body from head to toe.
"Unbelievable..." He blinked twice.
She had not a single scar on her body. Not a scratch, swell, bump or tear. Her body looked completely unharmed like she didn't just crawl out of the Evil Forest.
But that wasn't the most shocking part.
How in this world did she walk out of the Evil Forest without the escort of the masquerades?
Without them, no mortal could go in and come out. Once a person stepped in, they would instantly get lost and lose all connection and trace to the human world.
So how in the name of the Ancestors did Kamyla find her way out alone?!
Even the masquerades stepped back at the sight of her still standing and breathing. They couldn't believe it as well.
And as tempting as it was to ask her how she made it out perfectly safe, everyone then remembered the vows they took before the test.
A vow that would erase their memories of everything they saw and faced within the forest the moment they stepped out in success.
Baba Elawo's suddenly cracked into a smile.
Kamyla sobbed, looking down at her injured tiger. She shedded more tears as she rubbed its head. "Please don't die, Rhou... Please..."
In the midst of the confusion and shock, Mama Uyrè slowly stood up from her seat and walked up to her grandchild.
Going down to squat next to Kamyla, Mama Uyrè slowly raised her hand to touch Kamyla's cheek, making her look up.
Mama Uyrè smiled, "Well done, my child".
Kamyla whimpered, "Will Rhou be okay?"
"Of course, he will". Mama Uyrè gazed over her shoulder, signalling a few maidens with the medicinal herbs to step forward.
They obeyed quietly, not sure how to react to the turn of events.
Mama Uyrè then turned back to Kamyla, extending her arms to receive her into a hug. Kamyla wrapped her arms around her, breaking down further.
Baba Elawo then turned back to the crowd with a calm expression, re-announcing, "The winners! Of the last Rlëongē of the year out of twelve participants, are, Danji Sambo! Ajefe Eyo! Cöfwu Gamo! And Kamyla Odjafah!"
The people were still left stunned.
Baba Elawo continued, "By the power invested in me by our Ancestors, I declare this Rlëongē solidified in both earth and above! From the Diowo village, the new sworn warriors of Sah'Jangi Empire!"
He struck his staff to the ground.
All heads slowly bowed.
Baba Elawo's smile widened, staring down at the little girl still in her grandmother's arms.
A chuckle escaped his lips, "This is going to be interesting..."