The nature of the Dark Cave.
Ṣeyi felt the air get knocked out as he landed from another powerful hit, it took him several moments to regain his composure before he went up against his chosen opponent. Lakan for some reason was holding back and as he landed another blow on Akin's deformed face he could feel a part of himself receive the blow, it pained him to harm his allies but this was training and because of the urgency of the situation Bọlaji wanted them to reach the rank of Sẹriki in as little time as possible. Naturally, he would have told them to use the dark cave as a training standard, but because of the potency of the cave, he had them train with Lakan first; the training was very demanding, with the goal of landing at least one hit on the famed juggernaut of Ilu-ina. The training, of course, didn't affect veterans like Bọlaji and Yewande, and as for Bolu, the cripple Bọlaji had him training in a different area of the dark cave, an area safe from the Ẹboras that hunted it.
"How do you expect to survive if you're not capable of touching me" Lakan taunted.
"Just wait" Akin responded, "We will land a hit"
"Modupẹ" Lakan snapped, "Are you just going to stay there and do nothing?" he said as he gazed at the cowardly girl who stood in the corner and far away from danger. He growled under his breath, expressing his impatience; the girl lacked motivation. There must be a reason why she wants to be an Ẹṣọ. Besides the level of Agbara she possesses, she has the potential to be the most powerful member of the Eagle team but remains weak because of her slothfulness. He dodged one of Kenny's attacks expertly and landed a clean heat right before he jumped over Akin's rolling stone attack then mocked them again. "Are you sure you're attacking, or you're just dancing? I'm losing patience."
"Akin, Kenny" Ṣeyi said as he summoned his two companions, "The only way to land a hit is if we make him fall into our trap"
"What kind of trap?" Kayọde inquired.
"The kind where we all combine all of our strength" Ṣeyi responded. They all nodded in agreement. Instinctively, Akin attacked, hoping that Ṣeyi would do something to protect him; Lakan, feeling a little proud of his strength, decided to attack with one of his usual basic punches. The moment he felt his fist make contact, it hit a large rock that temporarily confused him; Ṣeyi attacked from behind, accompanied by Kenny. They had assumed that they could land a hit by simply confusing him with a double strategy attack, but Lakan was too seasoned a warrior to remain off guard for long. He recovered almost immediately and reacted with a counter. To his further confusion, two hands emerged from the shadows and stopped him from completing his counter.
"Shadow gate!" Lakan exclaimed in shock. He had completely overlooked Kayọde, the albino who could summon beings from the shadow realm, but how he wandered, the only way to access that power was to have full control of the Shadow-gate-Guardian something Kayọde's family had been unable to achieve for more than 4 generations. He tried to pull away from the pair of arms that immobilized him, but it was too late. Akin emerged from the ground and landed a clean hit. "Impressive," Lakan said with a smile on his face "You pass," all the combatants exhaled in relief, panting from the exhaustion.
Ṣeyi breathed a sigh of relief as they all fell back to relax their aching muscles; Bọlaji walked in, clapping in encouragement. "Very good," he said, "The roots are strong; now all we must do is share some knowledge and begin the training" Then he gestured for them to sit while he spoke to them.
"To begin with, we are all in danger," Bọlaji said, "Jaguna Baṣọrun is holding a grudge against us and will come after us to do us harm especially now that he knows we've discovered three more potent caves than the one he posted guards on. I guess that he is planning to plant the seeds of vengeance,"
"Is there a way to avoid getting him angry" Ṣeyi inquired.
"Ṣeyi my friend you are still a little naive to the ways this world," Bọlaji rebuked, "The greatest offence you committed against Jaguna Baṣọrun is being born. In the eyes of one so high in office and arrogance the only thing righteous and just is that which vows to his authority."
"In other words," Lakan added, "He has become too full of himself and his power."
Ṣeyi scowled then nodded his head in acknowledgement, "So what do we do?" Kenny asked.
Bọlaji smiled at that question. "We are the eagle team; the Eagle reigns supreme over the sky, the eagle is king, and the eagle will always go beyond the heights. We will fly over all obstacles and we will never notice the walls in our path because limitations mean nothing in the eyes of the king of birds. We will prepare" Bọlaji's words had a warming feeling for the rest of the team. "We need a winning strategy planned"
"Plan for the worst" Lakan said as he flexed his biceps,
"You're right, my friend," Bọlaji acknowledged. "if I were the Jaguna, then I would order all the Ẹṣọs under my command to kill all members of the eagle team. Which is why we are going to plant biannual training seeds into our new warriors within the next two moons" Then he focused on Ṣeyi "We will prove to the whole village and the Jaguna that we will never be defeated"
"So, we are going to participate in the event when the Alaafin visits the village" Yewande inquired.
"Yes," Bọlaji replied, "How else are we going to prove ourselves? We are an official team for this village; if we sit back and do nothing, then we will remain nothing, but if we take action now, we will be acknowledged. Will you support my decision and plant the seeds of progress?"
"Definitely! Gbabe!" Ṣeyi replied.
"You don't need to ask," Lakan responded, clenching his fist.
"Yes," Kenny said with a slight smile
"I will try," Kayọde said timidly.
"Yes," Modupe said as she gazed at Ṣeyi for motivation.
Yewande nodded, with a smile at her brother. Akin simply sat down with a twisted smile on his face, he would follow Ṣeyi to the pits of hell if he asked. Bọlaji nodded in approval. The team was united as one, and he could tell that if they were vigilant in their training, then a time would come when they would become a force to be reckoned with.
**************
Jaguna Baṣọrun was beside himself with rage; the eagle team started, despite his opposition, and was now beginning to flourish. He had once tried to force Bọlaji into disbanding the eagle team, but he hadn't counted on the watcher protecting the ignorant fool; why are the ancestors protecting him? He wondered. He is the Jaguna Baṣọrun of the village, the one who was once looked down upon by the villagers, and now he has proved himself to be one of the greatest heroes of Ilu-ina. But now that cursed child will spoil everything he's worked hard to protect.
In a sudden burst of fury, he struck a nearby stone with his clenched fist turning it to dust in an instant. "Bolaji dares to undermine me!" he exclaimed in wrath.
"Agba" one of his subordinates called bringing him back from brooding, "What are your orders, tell us what to do and it will be done"
Jaguna Baṣọrun struggled to compose himself before his loyal men, 'the way of the warrior is a rough footpath to thread; emotion will only dull the mind of the warrior,' he thought. He took a deep breath and then cleared his mind. "For now we do nothing" he replied, "Bolaji, Lakan and Yewande are still important tools for this village we will wait for them to come to their senses and return to us but as for Ṣeyi and the rest, at the first opportunity they will be sent back to the ancestors"
"Are you asking us to kill them?" A mystified member inquired fearfully.
"Anyone who will be detrimental to the progress of this village deserves nothing but death. Jaguna Baṣọrun has spoken," He replied with a vindictive look on his face. "I know what is good for this village, and I will ensure the village's safety; the weak have no right to become Ẹṣọ. The title of Ẹṣọ is reserved for only the few who are worthy"
"The Jaguna has spoken!" the first acknowledged.
"The Jaguna has spoken!" another acknowledged.
"The Jaguna has spoken!" they all acknowledged.
Jaguna Baṣọrun then looked at one of the other members of his team, "Send word to the other teams; there is a kill order on the cursed candidates of the village, namely the eagle team." Indeed, he can't kill them openly or through assassination since they are under the protection of the demon known as the watcher, but he can have them killed through other means; he just needs to be patient and find the right opportunity to strike.
**********
The preparation for the Bẹbẹ festival held within the Adegunju province and the whole of the Yoruba empire began almost immediately, all the villages in the land prepared earnestly to welcome the Alaafin of Ọyọ to their land. Bushes were cleared, floors cleaned, pit holes filled, homes painted, lands cultivated and so on. The king had dropped taxes, and he had also abolished all tolls at every provincial border for the rest of the seasons. This placed gladness in the heart of the people of the empire, and the sound of praises in favour of the king could be heard in every voice; the only set of people not allowed to take part in the preparation was the Ẹṣọ; they were busy preparing for the warrior's competition.
The eagle team had finally ventured into the dark cave discovered by Ṣeyi and Akin. The training was more intense than they had expected, and the Ebọra that dwelt within the cave were far more formidable than Bolaji had expected, but they still weathered the storm. All the other teams were also deep in training each one pushing themselves beyond their limits.
"Agba Bolaji," Ṣeyi said as they were resting from another gruelling training session. "Do you think we have a chance at winning the event?" he inquired
"Perceptive as usual", Bọlaji complimented, "It's true we, the eagle team, the weakest and most loath team of the village, will be targeted by all the stronger teams. The odds are against us and all I can see are the seeds of failure"
"So, it's impossible to succeed" Ṣeyi concluded,
"I didn't say that," Bolaji responded, "We have three seasoned warriors in this team the backing of the Balogun and we are strong, I am confident we will prevail"
"I'm still unable to use Agbara like a proper warrior," Ṣeyi said showing signs of emotional defeat,
"Never doubt yourself Ṣeyi, because I never doubted you" Bọlaji encouraged, "Not then and not now, remember the true strength of the eagle team is you the more confidence you exhibit the stronger the team as a whole"
Ṣeyi nodded in acknowledgement, "I will never doubt myself again"
"Good, now let's get stronger"
They marched towards the dark cave to continue their training; according to Bọlaji, the cursed beasts that inhabited the dark caves were popularly known as Ebọra, cursed evil spirits and ruminants from the last demon rebellion still lingering in the physical plane. In the beginning, the demons carved the power of the creator and in their foolishness, they sought to claim the power by force, the war within the heavens lasted but a short while because they were easily defeated and banished to the world of men. Those that were banished from the heavens were called Emi okunkun (Demons) and they took out their wrath on the sons of men. The demons unleashed a great number of abominations among men; they introduced foul knowledge, moulded flesh from the dust for themselves and mated with the daughters of men, and then they convinced men that God was an evil entity motivated by selfishness and greed. Within the next hundred years, the hearts of men were blacker than the debts of shadows. This resulted in the second demon rebellion, where even men rebelled against the will of the heavens; the man engaged in the dark arts and all forms of sacrifices, both human and animal. Thus, great destruction occurred and with that, the longest rainfall and the greatest flood the world had ever experienced. This was God's way of purifying the world of the filth of men, but for some reason, a few remained. These few lived in fear of the wrath of Oluwa-orun the great king of heaven the rest were drowned thus the age of the Oriṣa began, to ensure that the hearts of men were no longer corrupted by the deceits of the demons Ifa and the other Oriṣa came to earth to teach man the ways of the heavens. The divine law was passed, the demons had lost the ability to mould flesh for themselves, and they had lost the ability to endure a direct gaze from God; hence, they feared the sun and, above all, the power they once had over man had been taken away. They had been reduced to the position of wrathful harmless spirits, ever envious of those given the grace to live.
Ṣeyi landed another blow on the Ẹbọra that attacked him, a rat-shaped pigmy with sharp teeth; the little beast screamed in defiance and then died. "What did you say these things were again?" Ṣeyi inquired.
"Ẹbọra!" Lakan exclaimed, "Now get into the fight; I'm losing patience," he said as a group of rats-like beasts attacked. Bọlaji had told them that the Ẹbọra were descendants of the demons of old; since the demons could not mould flesh for themselves to live amongst men, they decided to take possession of the human body instead. The demons believed that this plan would help them infiltrate the living world but there was a flaw in this plan, the demons were unable to possess the flesh of their choice, the requirement for possession is that the victim must be willing to be possessed, must be of a weak spirit and must have a body strong enough to contain their immense power without breaking. Thus, the alternative was accepted, and the demons decided to take possession of other animate and inanimate objects. They became Ewele(Monsters) and the descendants of such monsters were known as the Ẹbọra,
"To the right, Kayọde," Bọlaji shouted from a vantage point, "and you, Kenny, attack it from the right!" the eagle team had reached the 3rd level of the dark cave and advanced towards the core of the dark cave. "Yewande kill it now," he commanded as the girl attacked the Ẹbọra with an arrow strike.
"How's the progress?" a voice echoed behind Bọlaji's ear. In response Bọlaji drew his short blade and was close to landing a hit on the stranger strong enough to sneak up on him, it would have resulted in a battle but he stopped his hand a few seconds before landing the fatal blow"
"You" Bọlaji called with recognition. "Where have you been?"
"Out! About and at the bear parlour" the other responded "How's Akin's progress"
"So, it is now you remember the seeds planted in this village by your tribe many years ago," Bọlaji mocked, "Akin is doing well," he responded after a short pause and a deep breath. "But I would advise you to spend more time teaching Akin his tribal chants, Afterall the Baṣọrun of the Adegunju province placed you in charge of our friend"
The man that Bọlaji was addressing was the representative of the Adegunju province, a member of the tribe sent to protect Akin as he stays in the village of Ilu-ina. The man smiled with a sinister look on his face and then spoke "Are you going to participate in the festival?" Bọlaji could sense the hint of excitement in the man's voice.
"No seed of deception planted by those against the eagle team can prevent us from taking part in the event" Bọlaji responded.
"Good!" the Adegunju member smiled
"But how did you locate this place?" Bọlaji inquired, seeing as this is the personal dark cave of the eagle team. He had gone through a lot of effort to conceal their meeting ground and this man located it in next to no time.
"Bọlaji, I am an Adegunju. There is nothing hidden from the eyes of a member of my tribe." He replied with a grin. "I just came to deliver a message"
"Which is?"
"Jaguna Baṣọrun intends to use the Bẹbẹ festival to end the eagle team" Basit informed, "To be honest the feathers of faith are not falling in your favour"
"We will prevail" Bọlaji voiced with conviction,
"For Akin's sake, I hope you are right"
They carefully observed as the eagle team fell another large Ẹbọra with ease.