"The Ajekèr is dead"
The silence was deafening. The murmurs were silent.
Until it was not.
The whole kingdom broke out in chaos, their combined effort making the royal castle shake from their roots. This spelt doom for them.
The people of Ibuzo would take damnation anytime, than what is to come. Ishaka.
That demon of a man, literally, will make hell feel ashamed of itself when he is done with Ibuzo. The gods must be slumbering and they choose the worst time for it. Wails rose high in the sky, people threw themselves on the floor while innocent children looked on, ignorant of the doom that loomed over their formerly bright future.
Inside the castle, high elders of the council, important dignitaries were trying to make a decision. The options are few and each one worse than the other.
"Consult with the gods, Njala. They will know what to do", a balding man with rings on his head spoke up.
"The gods are silent this time, Azula", the high priestess, an old woman who's skin was hanging off her frail bones, shook her head.
"What do we do? Ishaka must not climb that throne", another elder spoke up.
"The ancestors forbid it. Ibuzo has been at peace for the longest time now and Ishaka spells doom for that peace. Imagine the wars he will force us into, the death. I can just smell it by the thought of it", the man with rings on his head, Azula spoke up.
"The serpent will only choose a decendant of Ceres. It has never been heard that the great Konjhó gave his venom to someone that did not come from the loins of Ceres and Ishaka is the only living decendant that Ceres has", a female with distinct features spoke up. Scales covered her pearly whites sleeves and her pupils are slits.
"Oh, you cambions have to come up with something this time around", a bearish man spoke up, tufts of hair flying around his lips when he spoke.
The woman with distinct features hissed, her tongue coming out in slits.
"Don't you dare call my people that degrading word. We have worshipped Konjhó for centuries, keeping the balance between the two worlds, you should be grateful", she snarled at the angry bear.
The whole hall erupted in noises, each elder defending their clan profusely.
One thing kept eight clans together, their gods.
Oshoro clan, the serpent's clan. These people have reptile-like features, live in thickets and they worship the great serpent Konjhó, a god among them and their ancestor.
Aja clan, children of rain. Like their name insinuate, they leave a trail of water anywhere they go and they can open the skies.
Ceres clan. Children of the throne. Each of them have beautiful features and naturally exume royalty.
Rijo clan. The king makers. Their distinct nature is the rings on their head. The thinner the ring, the closer they are to die.
Agana clan. A clan of women. They don't birth men, neither do they mate with men. They grow, get pregnant by mysterious ways and birth women. Their goddess, Ngene, a god of harvest and fertility.
Bjöñker clan. The bear people. Tufts of hair grow all over their bodies and with their animalistic instincts, they sometimes walk on all fours, eat raw meat and thrive in the wild.
Egichi clan, the coven of witches. Every one of them, down to an unborn child is a witch.
Tijani clan, a bearish people, warrior hearts. They were built for brutality and bloodshed.
Each clan on their own cannot function so an alliance was formed among eight powerful gods. Each one throwing their weight around and Ibuzo was formed. Ceres was built to rule and Oshoro was the balance between the demon world and the human world, he gets to choose the next ruler. Rijo was meant to bless and ordain and Egichi was built for witchcraft. Tijani and Bjöñker made great worriors while Agana and Aja worked hand in hand. A beautiful alliance was formed and the city came to be. A mythical city, hidden from the rest of the world, flourishing together. That was three thousand years ago.
Ajekèr is the title given to the chosen leader and their partner. Amongst all Ceres' children, an Ajekèr is chosen and they rule until death and a new Ajekèr is chosen in the same fashion but the problem is that Ceres was never a fertile god. He had only one child and this has continued amongst his decendants, one or two children. They have multiplied over the years, spreading rapidly until Ishaka was born.
Oh, his birth brought death. An ignored prophesy from the Egichi clan.
'A demon will walk amongst us but he must be cut down before he takes form. Ceres will sacrifice one of his own'
Of course the Ajekèr at the time was not willing to kill his other child because of some prophesy so it was ignored. Ishaka was given life for Ceres to be wiped clean so Agana laid a curse on Ishaka, an infertility curse. That way, he would not reproduce more demons but the hair on his head cannot be touched. Only a true blooded Ceres can put an end to him. He will live for a thousand years if it means that a true blooded Ceres has not been born.
How can their be one when the whole clan has been wiped out? Ishaka has lived long, and will keep living.
The high and heavy doors of the council room opened, signalling the entrance of Ebime. Ebime looks young, not older than nineteen but the people of Ibuzo knew better, Ebime was at least two hundred years old. Egichi's child and blessed by the goddess herself.
"Your uproar disturbs the gods", she stated calmly as she floated towards the elders who bowed respectfully.
No sound was made as she gracefully floated to the middle of the room, her observant eyes on them.
"Ajekèr has been received", she announced and while it is good news that the late ruler and his wife has been received, the bad news overpowers what would have been the excitement of it.
"A new Ajekèr has to be crowned before the red moon, Ebime. Ninety days is all we have, what should we do?", Azula asked.
"Don't Ceres have a living child?", Ebime asked, to the bewilderment of all the elders.
"Ishaka should never rule us", Arog, head warrior of the Tijani clan spat out angrily but recoiled at the look in Ebime's eyes.
"My apologies Ebime"
"In the other world, a youngling awaits the serpent's venom. This will be a good time to inform you all that the late Ajekèr has a living child. Have hope", Ebime waltzed out of the room, leaving the elders estatic and confused.
"Indeed, the gods have all the answers", a hopeful voice declared.
The whole hall erupted in hopeful whispers as they imagined the possibilities of having another ruler that was not Ishaka.
An uncertain hope fell on the Ibuzo people. While the children played like their lives depended on it, the wise elders could just sniff a war. Thousands of years of peace was about to be broken and for their sakes, they have to be prepared."The Ajekèr is dead"
The silence was deafening. The murmurs were silent.
Until it was not.
The whole kingdom broke out in chaos, their combined effort making the royal castle shake from their roots. This spelt doom for them.
The people of Ibuzo would take damnation anytime, than what is to come. Ishaka.
That demon of a man, literally, will make hell feel ashamed of itself when he is done with Ibuzo. The gods must be slumbering and they choose the worst time for it. Wails rose high in the sky, people threw themselves on the floor while innocent children looked on, ignorant of the doom that loomed over their formerly bright future.
Inside the castle, high elders of the council, important dignitaries were trying to make a decision. The options are few and each one worse than the other.
"Consult with the gods, Njala. They will know what to do", a balding man with rings on his head spoke up.
"The gods are silent this time, Azula", the high priestess, an old woman who's skin was hanging off her frail bones, shook her head.
"What do we do? Ishaka must not climb that throne", another elder spoke up.
"The ancestors forbid it. Ibuzo has been at peace for the longest time now and Ishaka spells doom for that peace. Imagine the wars he will force us into, the death. I can just smell it by the thought of it", the man with rings on his head, Azula spoke up.
"The serpent will only choose a decendant of Ceres. It has never been heard that the great Konjhó gave his venom to someone that did not come from the loins of Ceres and Ishaka is the only living decendant that Ceres has", a female with distinct features spoke up. Scales covered her pearly whites sleeves and her pupils are slits.
"Oh, you cambions have to come up with something this time around", a bearish man spoke up, tufts of hair flying around his lips when he spoke.
The woman with distinct features hissed, her tongue coming out in slits.
"Don't you dare call my people that degrading word. We have worshipped Konjhó for centuries, keeping the balance between the two worlds, you should be grateful", she snarled at the angry bear.
The whole hall erupted in noises, each elder defending their clan profusely.
One thing kept eight clans together, their gods.
Oshoro clan, the serpent's clan. These people have reptile-like features, live in thickets and they worship the great serpent Konjhó, a god among them and their ancestor.
Aja clan, children of rain. Like their name insinuate, they leave a trail of water anywhere they go and they can open the skies.
Ceres clan. Children of the throne. Each of them have beautiful features and naturally exume royalty.
Rijo clan. The king makers. Their distinct nature is the rings on their head. The thinner the ring, the closer they are to die.
Agana clan. A clan of women. They don't birth men, neither do they mate with men. They grow, get pregnant by mysterious ways and birth women. Their goddess, Ngene, a god of harvest and fertility.
Bjöñker clan. The bear people. Tufts of hair grow all over their bodies and with their animalistic instincts, they sometimes walk on all fours, eat raw meat and thrive in the wild.
Egichi clan, the coven of witches. Every one of them, down to an unborn child is a witch.
Tijani clan, a bearish people, warrior hearts. They were built for brutality and bloodshed.
Each clan on their own cannot function so an alliance was formed among eight powerful gods. Each one throwing their weight around and Ibuzo was formed. Ceres was built to rule and Oshoro was the balance between the demon world and the human world, he gets to choose the next ruler. Rijo was meant to bless and ordain and Egichi was built for witchcraft. Tijani and Bjöñker made great worriors while Agana and Aja worked hand in hand. A beautiful alliance was formed and the city came to be. A mythical city, hidden from the rest of the world, flourishing together. That was three thousand years ago.
Ajekèr is the title given to the chosen leader and their partner. Amongst all Ceres' children, an Ajekèr is chosen and they rule until death and a new Ajekèr is chosen in the same fashion but the problem is that Ceres was never a fertile god. He had only one child and this has continued amongst his decendants, one or two children. They have multiplied over the years, spreading rapidly until Ishaka was born.
Oh, his birth brought death. An ignored prophesy from the Egichi clan.
'A demon will walk amongst us but he must be cut down before he takes form. Ceres will sacrifice one of his own'
Of course the Ajekèr at the time was not willing to kill his other child because of some prophesy so it was ignored. Ishaka was given life for Ceres to be wiped clean so Agana laid a curse on Ishaka, an infertility curse. That way, he would not reproduce more demons but the hair on his head cannot be touched. Only a true blooded Ceres can put an end to him. He will live for a thousand years if it means that a true blooded Ceres has not been born.
How can their be one when the whole clan has been wiped out? Ishaka has lived long, and will keep living.
The high and heavy doors of the council room opened, signalling the entrance of Ebime. Ebime looks young, not older than nineteen but the people of Ibuzo knew better, Ebime was at least two hundred years old. Egichi's child and blessed by the goddess herself.
"Your uproar disturbs the gods", she stated calmly as she floated towards the elders who bowed respectfully.
No sound was made as she gracefully floated to the middle of the room, her observant eyes on them.
"Ajekèr has been received", she announced and while it is good news that the late ruler and his wife has been received, the bad news overpowers what would have been the excitement of it.
"A new Ajekèr has to be crowned before the red moon, Ebime. Ninety days is all we have, what should we do?", Azula asked.
"Don't Ceres have a living child?", Ebime asked, to the bewilderment of all the elders.
"Ishaka should never rule us", Arog, head warrior of the Tijani clan spat out angrily but recoiled at the look in Ebime's eyes.
"My apologies Ebime"
"In the other world, a youngling awaits the serpent's venom. This will be a good time to inform you all that the late Ajekèr has a living child. Have hope", Ebime waltzed out of the room, leaving the elders estatic and confused.
"Indeed, the gods have all the answers", a hopeful voice declared.
The whole hall erupted in hopeful whispers as they imagined the possibilities of having another ruler that was not Ishaka.
An uncertain hope fell on the Ibuzo people. While the children played like their lives depended on it, the wise elders could just sniff a war. Thousands of years of peace was about to be broken and for their sakes, they have to be prepared.