Chapter Three - Imila Agbonirregun

“Teacher I..”

“how many times?” he asked with a tired sigh. “ how many times have i warned you, Rhema?”

“I haven’t actually counted. Quite a few?”

“Don’t dig yourself a deeper hole than you already are in, boy” his teacher said sternly. He then looked towards the towering figure at the back and then at the temple guards. “leave us” he said to the guards.

Then he turned to the two people that followed him out of the temple and motioned for them to leave too.

The instructed all bowed and dispersed as fast as they had converged on the boy. Leaving Rhema, lord Agbonirregun and Ogun who still stood afar off saying nothing.

With almost everyone gone, Rhema felt the atmosphere tense “teacher, i only-”

“We will deal with you later” lord Agbonirregun said cutting him off. “I thought we had an agreement, Ogun? He said curtly

“We did not come to an agreement, did we? You made demands and I didn’t agree to it. How does that count as an agreement, Imila?” Ogun said dismissively

“Do the men of the earth still proclaim that you are as straight as a dog in your ways or has time finally had an effect on your perspective?” said lord Agbonirregun.

“.….” The war god just stood silently

Rhema was confused to how they were acquainted. Yes, they both were High gods, the High god of war and the High god of wisdom and foresight, but high gods only stayed in their respective domains.

They hardly interacted in the public, unless there’s a conflict or when they are called by the god king, and as far as he knows, they weren’t close nor had he seen them speak to one another.

The only gods his teacher spoke to more often than not was that trickster, Eshuro and the godkings consort, Yemo.

He had thought he brought the high god of war to this place at first but now it realised that there was more to this meeting than it seemed.

The silence irritated Imila. He knew Ogun wasn’t one for words, but what he lacked in poetry he more than made up for it in persistence. He already deduced what Ogun was here for and Ogun knew that he had realised it too. It was about the boy.

“If you would not say anything then there’s no point to this quibbling. Unless you have the permission of the king then I see no reason why you would intrude my domain without my permission.” Imila said without the softness he used to speak to Rhema earlier.

The war god observed the boy this time before replying Imila

“ You have not honoured any of my invitations, neither have you accepted any official meetings with me…besides I was pursuing an enemy from my battlefield. I pursued him to this place not knowing I would meet you here, but now that I have met you here, I believe now is a good time as any.”

“I do not accept” Imila said as though he was bargaining with a disgruntled trader. “You would have to go through official channels then maybe, just maybe I might accept”

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Now it dawned on Rhema why the war god never seemed to be fast enough to catch up to him. He thought he was fortunate but now he realised that he was used as a means to another cause. War is the battle but strategy is used to execute it.

The war god used him as a pawn to unofficially intrude another domain, but what could they possibly be arguing over? They were saying a lot but were not revealing anything.

“The boy has great potential, he wont survive if you keep protecting him and forcing him in to be in the library.” the war god said a bit forcefully, as though it was a command and not an observation.

Imila turned to the boy with a wry smile “is that so? You wont survive if you keep studying?” he said amusedly.

Rhema was surprised at suddenly being put on the spot. They have had this discussion once before and he was prohibited from going to the battlefield to train. He thought for some time before deflecting with questions of his

“but teacher, don’t you think its time I start my training? I have studied enough books haven’t I? I know enough spells to use in many fields including combat. Why would you let me learn all of that if I’m not going to use any of that knowledge?”

Lord Agbonirregun softened at the boys rapid fire questions. The boy was a wonder, he soaked knowledge like a sponge but he was also stubborn and impulsive. He was young and still had a long way to go before he would reach where he wanted him to be.

An invisible ethereal field emanated from Imila, surrounding Rhema and Ogun. It was a god field. Everything within this sphere was under his control. No sound would escape this field and no eavesdropper would hear anything.

“Your mind is your most powerful weapon. All battles begin here” he says as he gently taps Rhema’s head, ”before they end here” he says motioning to the world around them. Rhema frowns. “Am I wrong, Ogun?” He asks whilst still looking at the Rhema

“No, you are correct. The mind is the first battlefield, before the physical. You must conquer the mind before you temper your body. Victorious warriors win before they even step on the battle field, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” he says with his eyes still on the boy.

Rhema knew his chance would sooner go if he doesn’t think of something quick. It came to him “But teacher, Lord Lakaaye thinks I’m ready” he said looking hopefully to Ogun for support.

“Does he?” he said taking his eyes of the boy and now looking at Ogun. “Does he truly believe a young boy, just weaned of milk would be ready to participate in combat training? Do we give swords to children now?” he asked.

Ogun took some steps forward to close the distance but still respectfully keeping a distance. “We might not have agreed on where the boys place lies in Orundu but he holds great power and must be able to defend himself when the time comes.” he said now sounding like a general going to war.

“Defend himself from who?” asked Imila

“In the event of an invasion. Chaos would always try to distort order, it has come before and it will come again. The boy would have to be ready or there would be another needless casualty” Ogun warned sternly

“Isn’t that why you have an army at your command general? Or are you so weak you need the strength of a child?” Imila said mockingly

Rhema was surprised, he had always had his suspicions about why the kingdom had its standing army train so furiously, when there was no one powerful enough to challenge the gods.

“I pray a day will never come where he has to fight, but you, the wisest of us all, know that one cannot deny their inner nature. A scorpion must sting, a phoenix must rise out of its ashes” the war god pleaded

Imila seemed to consider his words for some time before he coming to a decision.

“He is a child, and he is under my care. I wont be sending a child to war. Let children be children, they are only going to be little for a while. They should not be worrying about warfare at their age lest they start growing grey hair three thousand years before they should.” said Imila. He places his hands on the boy and looks straight at the boy “This is my final declaration, there would be no more training. ”

Rhema felt his heart drop. His teacher was a lenient god but when he gave a declaration, all other gods adhered, even the godking considers his words. He looked towards the war god hopefully but he was no longer there. He must have left immediately he knew he wasn’t going to have his wish.

“Rhema, come with me to the sanctum, there are some things you need to know” Imila prodded the boy. He began to walk back towards the chiselled stairs on the mountain leading to the temple at the top.