Chapter 8 - Chapter 6

A Covenant among Friends

The moment Bọlaji dismissed the eagle team, Oluseyi, with his closest friends Akin, Kenny, Modupe and Kayode, wandered out on their own. Ṣeyi suddenly had a strange idea and shared it with the others, and as usual, they agreed without question.

"We need to become stronger" Ṣeyi observed, "We must all train harder, we must gain power, we must prove ourselves"

"Easier said than done," Kayode observed, "For now we are the weakest team in the whole village, Bọlaji, Yewande and Lakan don't count they are from other teams"

"How do we get stronger? Seyi?" Akin inquired

"We pray?" Modupẹ suggested.

"Good idea, Gbabe!" Ṣeyi said brightly.

"We pray," Kenny said, "But to which god?"

"To the biggest and the strongest God of all," Ṣeyi said brightly "The king of Heaven, Eledumare."

"Will He help, my covenant is very hard to control," Kayode pointed "For the last four generations not one of the members of my family has been able to control the shadowgate guardian, and if I cannot control it then I must retire,"

"It will work", Ṣeyi said with confidence, "I tried it once a long time ago, and I was not disappointed; he always answers prayers" (he said this reminiscing about his adventure to Ẹdẹ village). God always answers prayers but not in the manner demanded of man.

"Then let's do it!" Kenny said with a hint of excitement.

They all walked towards the Ẹṣọs garden, their friendship keeping them together but the one driving force is the desire to get stronger. They reached the Ẹṣọs garden a short hike after and ignored the judgmental looks of all the other seasoned warriors, ridicule is the consequence of the lowly who attempt to reach the top. They managed to find a quiet corner in the garden where they could talk and there they began the prayer.

"I think our team needs a team covenant, a code that we will all abide by" Ṣeyi suggested.

"Bẹ ni (Yes)" Kenny agreed, "A code that is unique to us members of the eagle team"

"A covenant between us and God" Modupẹ whispered.

"Then let us begin, Gbabge!" Ṣeyi said.

They stood forming a small circle; Ṣeyi placed his right fist in the centre of the circle, and the others emulated the action, touching fists with Ṣeyi's.

"This day, we bow to be protectors of each other; when we go to battle, we fight as one, and that is our bond", Akin said bravely.

"Aṣẹ" The others chanted

"The strength of one is the strength of us all" Kenny chanted.

"Aṣẹ"

"This day we renounce any other Oriṣha and serve no other god. The only other God we serve is Oluwa-orun (The king of heaven)" Ṣeyi said.

"Aṣẹ" the others chanted.

"We will protect each other even if it means our lives" Modupẹ chanted shyly.

"Aṣẹ" They chanted

"Today, all other oaths, all other laws and all other covenants will be slaves to the laws of God, and God will dominate all", Kenny chanted, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Aṣẹ"

"And…and… Our strength belongs to God, and so do we," Kayode said timidly, and Ṣeyi smiled in response.

"Aṣẹ"

"As our forefather Oduduwa served Oluwa-run, so will we serve God with all our strength," Kenny said.

"Aṣẹ"

"Now we are more than just teammates", Modupe said. "We are now a family, bound by a covenant which is sealed by the Agbara of God", Modupe chanted, sealing it with Agbaran'la.

The white light radiated suddenly and then blended with the light that filtered through the leafy canopy of the Ẹṣọ's garden, a white flower suddenly bloomed from the soil at the centre of the circle. The five astonished youths gazed in awe as the flower reflected the rays of the sun glowing in illuminance light shimmering the smile of the heavens.

"I believe Oluwa-orun, heard our prayer and has granted us his blessing," Modupẹ said with a smile; she couldn't help but gaze at Ṣeyi intensely with a smile on her face.

"We," Kenny said in excitement, "are going to be the most powerful term in this village," and the others couldn't keep the excitement contained.

"Yes," Kayọdẹ said with a smile "I can feel a new kind of strength; we are going to be the best"

"What are you doing here?" Ṣodipọ screamed, "You are not real warriors, and you are not needed here. Get out"

"Skinhead!" Ṣeyi mocked, "Are you sure you have washed off all the smell of the pit latrine off your stinking body?"

"It was youuuuuu!!" Ṣodipọ roared in uncontrollable rage, unwittingly attracting unwanted attention. "by the pride of my tribe, I will end your life here"

The truth of the matter was that Ṣeyi used his switch ability to transport Ṣodipọ into the worst pit latrine in the whole village; Bọlaji had said that he wanted Ṣodipọ out for the whole week, and Ṣeyi needed a genie pig for his stink gag. The thought of getting even with the tribe-obsessed future leader forced a smirk on his face, the very smile that drove Ṣodipọ into a huge burst of rage. He charged straight towards Ṣeyi while chanting beneath his breath in an attempt to kill the subject of his rage. In one shot, he trampled on some of the flowers that were supposed to add to the serene environment and smashed through most of the small trees in a blind rage. The goal he had was lofty; he was so arrogant that he didn't stop to think about his actions. More than five matured Ẹṣọs charged in to stop him.

"Ṣodipọ," one of the Ẹṣọs said in disappointment, "Do you not know that fighting among warriors on this sacred ground is forbidden?"

"How dare you use a life-threatening chant here?" another scolded.

"He insulted me" Ṣodipọ roared, "an insult on me is an insult on my tribe, by the pride of my tribe this day he will die"

"Agba (elder)," Ṣeyi greeted, "We were here minding our own business, he was the one that just charged in and started to shout at us," and then he flashed his innocent face as proof.

"No!" Ṣodipọ roared, "He's lying…"

"Gbẹnu dakẹ (Be quiet)," an elderly Ẹṣọ scolded, "We were all here and we saw you walk in not more than a moment ago, so how did they provoke you?"

"five days ago…" Ṣodipọ began but was cut short by Kenny, who knew that if Ṣeyi continued to talk, the tide of the event might get shifted.

"Five days ago!" Kenny shouted, "They are asking about what happened now, why did you try to kill us now and not what happened five days ago"

"Be silent cockroach…" Ṣodipọ scolded but was in turn scolded by another Ẹṣọ, "He's right about what happened now, what heinous things have they done to result in you disobeying the laws of the Ẹṣọ's garden"

"They… They…they" and then Ṣodipọ was silent. He just couldn't blame them for anything because they had done nothing.

"My people," another one of the elderly Ẹṣọs greeted, "I think the boy wishes to take action for a previous action done against his personage and thus his uncultured action (If a frog his hoping during the day then is after its prey or fleeing a predator)"

"You have a point," another one of the warriors said, addressing the elder.

"So what have they done to you?" another asked.

At that point, Ṣeyi felt his blood rate rise; now, the situation was about to change and not in his favour. Ṣodipọ smiled with a sinister glim in his eyes and then said with all the confidence he had.

"This fool that calls himself a warrior used his power to switch me into the pit latrine behind Gbamileke's house," he said while trembling in rage.

There was a sudden silence, and then the warriors tasted the air by breathing in the flavour, noticing the difference. To Ṣodipọ's dismay, one of the Ẹṣọs made an exclamation, "Chie!" which broke the barrier and forced all the warriors to break down in laughter. No one was immune to how contagious the laughter was even the elderly Ẹṣọs busted out laughing, everyone except Ṣodipọ. Most of the Ẹṣọs fell holding their sides because they had laughed so hard.

"It's not funny" Ṣodipọ growled and immediately regretted it because it caused the warriors to fall into another spasm of laughter.

It took a while before the Ẹṣọs were able to control themselves, they had to sympathise with the Alaramide member. It's not easy for someone so high in social status to be brought so low; had it been an older warrior who was exposed to such a humiliating experience, he/she would have committed suicide to escape the shame.

"We have heard you" the elder Ẹṣọ said with a hint of humour in his voice, "So tell me, what proof do you have that Ṣeyi sent you into the pit?"

Now Ṣodipọ was the one in the dilemma, he couldn't tell them that Jaguna Baṣọrun had ordered him to frustrate their efforts in finding a meeting ground. He couldn't tell them that the only reason they did what they did to him was because he'd been following them for more than a week due to his spite towards Ṣeyi and Akin.

"It was a prank…" Ṣodipọ growled, "By the pride of my tribe, he did it to me"

"But there's no proof," Kayọde said in a sad tone.

"What is your proof?" the elder Ẹṣọ demanded now Ṣeyi smiled. Bọlaji had advised him to keep his ability to use the switch a secret, something he didn't appreciate back then and now it's paying off. No one knew that Ṣeyi had such a tricky chant; hence, Ṣodipọ found himself the centre of ridicule. He had acted impulsively and, in the process, was close to endangering the image of his Agba Jaguna Baṣọrun; he couldn't tell them that he was told to prevent the Eagle team from having a meeting in a public place. Jaguna Baṣọrun had only one goal: to ensure that the eagle team was disbanded, and the first step was to prevent the eagle team from gaining numerical strength.

"Eeerr!" Ṣodipọ exclaimed uncomfortably, "I'm sure…I'm …" then he was silent.

"We must report this to the Balogun" one of the higher ranking Ẹṣọs suggested, "He intended to kill Ṣeyi for a crime that he didn't commit"

"Yes, take him to the Balogun," the Ẹṣọs cried out together.

"Are you going to punish me because of this cursed child?" Ṣodipọ growled in indignation, "I am the heir to the head of the Alaramide tribe my rank is higher than his, he is a cursed child"

"Foolish little boy" the elder Ẹṣọ voiced in a stern tone, "We are Ẹṣọ, warriors of honour. You insulted all the Ẹṣọs of the empire by picking a fight on this sacred ground, you must be punished"

Three elderly Ẹṣọs grabbed a hold of Ṣodipọ while he protested violently but was rendered helpless by strong hands; he was forcefully taken away from the Ẹṣọs garden.

"Well," Ṣeyi said with a sinister smile "At least the smell in the area has improved," the rest of the group sniggered in response.

 "Thank you, elders, for helping us," Modupẹ said, bowing slightly to the Ẹṣọs who had helped them. "Ṣodipọ would have killed my friend if not for your intervention"

"Just keep that boy away from trouble," one of the warriors scolded as he gazed daggers in Ṣeyi's direction who responded with a smirk.

The Ẹṣọs finally dispersed to continue with what they were doing before the disturbance, and Ṣeyi and his friends could finally breathe easily once again.

"Ṣodipọ seriously ruined the moment," Kenny said bitterly "At least he was shamed, it ends well"

All the other members of the team nodded in acceptance, Akin gestured towards the entrance of the Ẹṣọs garden in a suggestion that they should do something else but was interrupted by a loud screeching voice. The one who spoke was Ọpadọtun, the village prince, and he shouted from behind Ṣeyi, which gave him a sudden fright.

"Agba Ṣeyi!!!" he called loudly disturbing the peace of the garden once again, "I have done as you have commanded"

The words came out so suddenly that Ṣeyi was close to jumping out of his skin, a few of the other warriors chuckled at the embarrassing moment for Ṣeyi while others looked at him angrily because he had disturbed the peace of the garden again. They all looked at the new, unexpected intruder and were shocked to see Ọpadọtun, the prince of the village, facing the number one troublemaker. He had a smug grin on his face and a proud look in his eyes.

"Are you trying to scare the world out of me, crown boy?" Ṣeyi reacted angrily.

"Agba Ṣeyi," Ọpadọtun called again still smiling unparsed by Ṣeyi's reaction. "I have done what you told me to do," he said proudly. 

"What?" Ṣeyi said in a confused tone. "I asked you to do something?"

"You asked me to apologise to all the other leaders of the village," the prince said brightly, "and you will train me to be a great warrior king because I am a prince"

"I never made such a promise," Ṣeyi said in indignation, "are you trying to get me in trouble?"

"But agba Ṣeyi, you told me to learn from the elders for the village"

"fair enough" Ṣeyi nodded on surrender, "so…"

"So you'll train me to be an Ẹṣọ," Ọpadọtun said in excitement,

Ṣeyi chuckled in amusement. The young prince had gone around the village apologising to every elder for his immoral conduct, but what confounded him was the fact that the prince trusted him even though he was kidnapped, threatened to be abandoned and tormented (so to speak). By yours truly Oluwaṣeyi, so why is the prince looking up to him like a puppy searching for an owner?

"Please train me to be like you, a fearless warrior" Dọtun pleaded, "I have so much to learn, I also want to join the eagle team"

The rest of Ṣeyi's friends stared at the young prince in shock, the boy had a notorious reputation. How did Ṣeyi, the troublemaker, turn the prideful young prince of the village into a humble child?

"Wonders shall never end" Kenny said in surprise.

"Very good Dọtun," Ṣeyi said with the little measure of authority he could muster, "Now you're free to go"

But Dotun didn't leave; quite the opposite, he stood his ground and waited for Ṣeyi to give him another order. Ṣeyi didn't realise that Dotun had spent the rest of the night in deep meditation; the excitement was just too much. It had taken more than half the night for him to finally find sleep. During his meditation, he noticed that Ṣeyi was one of the few warriors in the village who feared nothing, not even his father, yet many who dwelled in the village had a healthy fear of the boy. They might not openly admit it, but he could see it in their actions, the way they avoided him, spoke about him while his back was turned, and even avoided direct eye contact. He was a menace, yet they endured him; Ọpadọtun distinctly remembered what Ṣeyi did to one of the elders of the village. Agba Ẹgbẹyẹ, a mouth old man filled with hot air, Ọpadọtun usually remembers how the man keeps visiting the palace for hours of useless talk with his father. The Ọba would usually tell some of his attendants to tell the old man that he's unavailable when he was a little short-tempered; Agba Ẹgbẹye enjoys reliving the glory days of his youth at the expense of his father's time. His stories always sound bogus because they always depict him as the hero and everyone else as the villain, "All lies," his father said after another session of enduring the old man's company.

"Then why do you still listen to him" Ọpadọtun would ask,

"No matter how foolish the words are, a man of his age must still be given some measure of respect" the king responded, "He is one of the elderly who made a lot of failed decisions in his life and he refuses to blame himself for those faults"

"So who will he blame?" Ọpadọtun asked again,

"Everyone else but himself, in his eyes, he is the saint," the king replied, "and I need to learn from his failures" Dọtun nodded in understanding, but then the same old man walked into the presence of the king with his face twisted in pain and his eyes red with tears. The stubborn old man had met his match, and he had been humbled; how was this possible?

The old man reported to his father how he was insulted by two children. The king couldn't believe that someone could damage the old man's ego. He confessed that he was the one who brought the shame upon himself, he told them that he was walking towards his home after a short visit to the Palm wine parlour when he coincidentally encountered the two rascals. As is the culture of the Yoruba, both Ṣeyi and Akin greeted respectfully, but the old man, knowing them for what they are, spat in disgust and said something equally offensive. "Those who are cursed do not deserve the respect of those who are pure" These are the very words he later came to regret. Ṣeyi enraged by those words, he retaliated mischievously.

"Akin," He said loudly, "a lot of the elders of this village were born foolish"

"Yes Ṣeyi emm…" Akin replied not knowing the direction of the conversation,

"If you don't greet them, they will call you disrespectful," Ṣeyi continued, emphasizing each word, "and if you greet them, they will spit and call you a monkey. So how are we supposed to behave?"

"Ṣeyi" Akin said, "Should we also abuse them since they are too wicked to accept our greeting"

"I don't know o, and they usually say that those heavy with age are wise," Ṣeyi continued with venom in his voice, "in this case, the old man that likes spiting is foolish, full of hot air. Always going to the king's palace to beg him for a chieftain title, as if he deserves it"

The words stung the old man right down to his core, there was nothing he could do but walk away in regret. It never occurred to him that Ṣeyi would retaliate so coldly or that he would be bold enough to spite him so proudly. Ṣeyi believed that the old man didn't deserve to be left alone, and he wanted to vent all his frustration on the man right there and then. So both Ṣeyi and Akin followed the Agba Ẹgbẹyẹ very closely, saying hurtful things to his back without actually referring to him directly; the only thing the elderly man could do was endure the two foul-mouthed boys. They followed him for the better part of two hours before they left him alone thoroughly disgraced and extremely regretful. The story spread like the wind throughout the entire village, and the king could do nothing to reprimand the two boys for their rudeness because Agba Ẹgbẹyẹ asked for the treatment by being rude first. The level of respect the two boys received from that day greatly increased, no one wanted to suffer the same fate as the old man. A few days later, the two boys coincidentally came across the same old man and greeted him respectfully; the two boys received the same respect in return.

Ọpadọtun, the prince of Ilu-ina village, remembered this account well; he also remembered the time when Ori-alaramide organised a big party on behalf of one of his nephews's achievements. Ṣodipọ Alaramide was chosen to be the next Oloriẹbi (Tribe head) of the Alaramide tribe, being the son of a prestigious tribe in his arrogance invited most of the prestigious families in the village except for the impoverished families and the accursed. Thus, members of the eagle team weren't invited, and several others were scorned by the head of the Alaramide tribe. It was a grand celebration up until Ṣodipọ was called; he was gabbed in the most exquisite native attire available, one that glittered with the sun and caused all the beholders to wonder in awe. Ṣodipọ walked towards the pedestal of honour with utmost grace, allowing his ego to become more brazen, and with the cheers of those in attendant, his smile couldn't be more conceited; he stood tall and proud, but it was all in vain. The humiliation that followed was shocking. Ṣodipọ began to address the people, thanking them for attending the celebration, then a bucket of animal waste suddenly appeared above his head and emptied its content all over Ṣodipọ's newly sewn traditional attire. The reaction, a loud cacophony of laughter, the village taught that the joke was part of the entertainment. They knew that Ṣodipọ purposely refused to invite the eagle time out of spite, but they didn't expect the eagle team to retaliate in such a manner. They knew who was responsible, but no one could point the accusing finger. Ṣodipọ had to cover his face in shame for the next three weeks; not even his uncle could do anything about it, even though he is the Oloriẹbi of the Alaramide tribe.

Ọpadotun finally realised that true power comes with conquering one's limitations, idolizing his father and craving his father's office was a show of his princely weakness. Power isn't something that is given; power is something that has to be earned. Something that he had to learn with sweat and hard work; just like Ṣeyi, he intends to prove himself. He found out that Ṣeyi was a law unto himself in his twisted way, bounded by his principles and his reasons, ready to apologise when he's wrong and to defend his honour should he be wronged. He gave all the elders of the village their due respect and fought back. If he felt insulted, the village might have rejected him, but Ṣeyi never allowed anyone to force him to reject himself. The reason why he had the burning desire to idolise the only person who was able to strike him down despite his father's position.

"I want to be like you" Ọpadọtun shouted,

They were all taken aback by Ọpadọtun's confession, Ṣeyi laughed,

"Ṣeyi," Kenny inquired "What did you do to this boy?"

"Nothing" Ṣeyi responded, "Let's go, we don't need this troublemaker disturbing us"

"What!" Ọpadọtun cried out in indignation, "You will train me to become an Ẹṣọ"

Ṣeyi didn't reply; he just kept on walking towards the garden's entrance, and he failed to recognise the critical gaze of all the other on-looking warriors. He was flanked by his friends, and he had the same sinister smile on his face, hinting that multiple evil schemes were running through his mind.

"Agba Ṣeyi," Ọpadọdun shouted once again and this time in desperation, "Please," he pleaded after a short pause fighting back the tears in his eyes, normally he would order Ṣeyi's obedience as the prince of the village but he knew Ṣeyi would simply refuse. Ṣeyi stopped the moment he heard the prince plead and turned to face the boy with a smug smile.

"So you want to be a warrior like the rest of us?" Ṣeyi asked,

"Yes, Agba Ṣeyi" Ọpadọtun replied,

"We start with the first rule, where are your friends?" Ṣeyi said,

"Friends?" Ọpadọtun inquired in a confused tone. The word friend was a foreign concept for the prince, Ṣeyi assumed that the young prince was so used to bossing everyone around that he had chased everyone who wanted to get close to him away. He had no friends except for his father and assumed that he needed no one to stand by his side.

"These" Ṣeyi said gesturing to Akin, Modupẹ, Kenny and Kayọde, "are my friends, my brother in arms, we fight together and we fight as one"

Ọpadọtun looked down in despair, he noticed the shrubs growing on the soil and marvelled at the beauty, the dew on the leaf and the way the little gem glittered before his eyes. He noticed the white flower and its majestic beauty, and then he faced his mentor and sighed.

"I don't have any friends" he replied,

"Then you are not worthy to become an Ẹṣọ, Gbabe!" Ṣeyi said, "Find some friends that you trust and then come back" With those parting words, Ṣeyi walked away with purpose, leaving the confused little prince behind to ponder his words.

"Ṣeyi you were a little hard on the prince," Kenny said after a short pause.

"No, the truth is no warrior can stand alone," Ṣeyi replied, "I've learnt that lesson many times over, babe! Besides, I don't want him disturbing us. Let's go, jare" They could have gone somewhere to cause trouble, but then there was a loud alarm.

"Ẹṣọs of Ilu-ina village," the Ọtun-balogun chanted

The Akọgun summons you,

It is time to prepare for war,

Sharpen your cutlasses and

Tighten your hoes

It is time for the warriors to prepare for war

The Akọgun summons

So hasten to answer his call

It is time for the warriors to prepare for war…

 

The summons of the Akọgun of the village was one that no one should take lightly; every single warrior under the Akọgun's charge rushed to the training area in preparation for the evening training, which would prove to be very interesting.

"Welcome," The Akọgun growled as he watched all the young Ẹṣọs reach the training ground, "I hope you're all ready to die!" he sneered with sinister blood lust in his eyes.