Chapter 10 - The gathering

Rhema felt a very sharp pain in his chest, almost as if he were the one that was stabbed. His vision started to waver, slowly though, enough to see an enraged Janaina try smother Eshuro with the biggest pillar of flame he had ever seen, it consumed Eshuro and another ten miles to the west.

The other primordial gods sprung into action, fiercely engaging Janaina. In her prime, she could have faced two of them without being overwhelmed. But she was spent from a war and was also facing four at the same time. The gods eventually subdued her. Where was lord Ochala in all this? he thought.

Surely he wouldn't just let her be beaten. He tried to find godking but his vision was already dim. He could not see anymore. "You must escape", the voice of Janaina said in my mind. "Corruption...". "Chaos..."

Just when he thought his heart would burst, he felt a hand on his shoulder. The images evaporated. The old master, lord Imila Agbonniregun, stood next to him, his face pinched with concern. Glowing hieroglyphs danced round him.

“Forgive the interruption,” he said. “But you were almost dead.” That’s when Rhema's knees turned to water, and he lost consciousness.

When he awoke, he was curled at teacher’s feet on the steps below the empty throne. They were alone in the hall, which was mostly dark except for the light from the hieroglyphs that glowed around him. He briefly wondered how his teacher must have entered.

Rhema stood up and looked around the throne room. His teacher said nothing while Rhema did so. He took a shaky breath. Then asked "Are the gods truly immortal?"

“Hardly immortal, my dear. In fact...” Teacher's voice trailed off. “But nevermind that. What did you see in your vision?”

Rhema thought he probably should’ve kept quiet. He didn’t want to be judged for breaking any rules, but the vision had terrified him—especially the moment when he’d saw the gods had betrayed their former king.

But Teacher's kindly expression made it hard to hold back. He ended up telling him everything. Even the part about seeing a Eshuro, the black and white god, the god of fate, balance and roads in the throne room.

Teacher sat for a moment before standing “You saw a very old event, Rhema"

"The gods betrayed their king, didn't they?" Rhema asked in a whisper.

His teacher sighed. "Things aren't that simple, the images you saw are the recordings of time from the beginning but the only ones you remember are the memories you could comprehend. You understand a bit about betrayal, war, power and duty, and that's why you remember them, but every other thing you couldn't comprehend were quickly forgotten"

"I do...I do not understand what would make the gods turn against their king" Rhema said with rising anger. He remebered the feeling of being stabbed, the pain, the hopelessness whdn his eyes couldn't see.

"Why would the gods go against the very thing they were created to uphold?!" He continued.

The air shimmered and five gods joined in the throne room. Rhema took a unconscious step back. He saw them again, they who had just betrayed him...no Lord Ochala, he felt like it was him. What he saw might have happened centuries ago but he only witnessed it moments ago. The sword bursting out from his chest was still fresh in his mind.

"Rhema" lord Ogun spoke. "How were you able to bypass the barriers?" He then turned to face lord Imila, "or did you grant him forbidden knowledge to trespass?".

Lord Imila had a mask of irritation "If I had such knowledge, we wouldn't have to project our consciousness here, now would we?"

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"To be blunt, I wouldn't put it past you to do so" another god spoke with a voice almost as heavy as lord Ogun's. He was muscular, tall and bearded, with fiercely glowing skin, the color of polished pennies, golden eyes like miniature suns with a harsh light. He was wearing a golden red robe and wielded a long golden double edge axe. I recognized him, he was Olukoso. The god who replaced Janaina as the elemental god.

"Petty quibbling as always, you lot never change, what will you do if lord Imila planned it? Because I doubt any of us would be able to see through his ways" a goddess said.

Rhema recognized her as one of the gods Chaos had smashed out of the battlefield. Then he remembered. He quickly scanned the room and he swiftly found who he was looking for. A primordial in black and white. The one who instigated the rebellion.

"You!" Was all Rhema could say taking a few steps forward.

"Yes...me" was all Eshuro said with its ever present smile.

"You caused all this?" Rhema demanded. In another scenario, he wouldn't have dared speak up in the presence of unfamiliar primordials.

They might just smite him or turn him into a bug. But he felt empowered, he felt rage welling up from the inside. He looked around. "No, all of you are in this" he said with a sudden realisation dawning on him.

"Be silent" Olukoso spat out. "Imila, reign in your ward before I turn him to ash" The atmosphere became heavy. The air felt hot.

Rhema's heartbeat accelerated. For the first time in a hundred and sixty years of his life, he felt he might actually die. This wasn't training with Lord Ogun or his teacher, where they would be holding back on him. He felt he could literally be turned to ash if he spoke out of line again.

"You will do no such thing" lord Imila said. ".....He saw the age of the gods, his mind is in disorder, he's too young for his mind to fully comprehend it-"

"He's not living here alive, now that he knows what has happened...forbidden knowledge, lord Oodua would not trust him to keep that knowledge to himself, the godking wouldn't allow him leave here with that knowledge." Eshuro cut in softly.

"...His memory can always be wiped. We don't have to worry about his knowledge....unless you saw something occur in time that we don't know about? Eshuro" the last of the five finally spoke. She was a very tall goddess and possessed a well-built body. She had shoulder-length raven-black hair and striking silver-grey eyes and a silvery robe.

Rhema was shocked, memory wipe? That was long forbidden, they wouldn't do that to him would they? He looked to his teacher but was met with a stony face. He knew all he needed to know. It was forbidden but it had been done before and to him no doubt, considering how the option readily came up.

Eshuro chuckled "Indeed I have, the boy will have to make a decision moments from now... that decision will determine the future of Orundun Nla...no...of the entire universe." He said, almost as if it didn't matter whatever happens. He..she.. it..looked unconcerned.

The gods were silent. All eyes went to the boy standing at his teachers side. Rhema was truly confused, he couldn't follow their conversation and all of a sudden he was the center of attention. He felt fear, insignificant in their eyes, an ant in the midst of giants.

He almost cowered, then he recalled his military training from Lord Ogun. He couldn't cower in the face of overwhelming power, he should face it head on, without fear.

He took a quick breath and stepped out of his teachers shadow. He didn't know what to say but he knew he had some leverage now. A decision to make. He wasn't sure what exactly, but he will milk it for what its worth.

He walked a few paces, stopping in the middle of the gathering. "What decision do I have to make?" He asked Eshuro.

Eshuro simply laughed eerily, it filled the entire hall.

The gods looked on at the spectacle. They knew they couldn't force answers from the oracle, it spoke when it had to and the rest would be revealed in time.

"Be patient, young one" Eshuro said.

Rhema felt disgusted. From another person it would have felt normal...but from Eshuro it felt mocking.

"Eshuro, Where's Lady Janaina?" Lord Imila asked suddenly. She definitely entered the temple.

Rhema was surprised to hear that name. What did she have to do with all of this?

"The Thunderflame will soon be upon us" Eshuro said and the hall descended into silence once more. "She wanted to come this way, but I led her down another path. She is coming."

"How can she find her way if you already change her path?" Lord Ogun asked.

"Eshuro must be leading her here then" Olukoso pointed to the accused.

The accused just kept on smiling.

"Eshuro is that true?" Lady Oya asked.

Eshuro laughed again and in a sing song manner started said. "The boy brings her here. He can't hide himself from her. He has the scent of the one above all"

The hall descended into silence once more as all eyes fell on the boy. Rhema began to see a pattern. He wasn't in this place by coincidence. He had always known he was never like the other souls in Orundun Nla. How much different was he? he wasn't sure, but he knew it. He felt it in his gut, his being. And now he felt something he had never felt before...

Sooner had those thoughts come up, the hall lit up in a blue hue at the far end. A figure wreath in lighting walked foward slowly.