18 - The Truth

Chapter 18 (The Truth.)

Naruba explained what she did to save Mama Erusa from her Kurota. No other Shorango could have this for Mama Erusa because Olkai couldn’t have accepted it either. She broke rules until she helped her build a shelter out in the depths of the woods where she always paid her a visit.

“But you could have come for me…! I have always lived in Marakusha no very far away from the banks of River Ulewo.” Tsote said.

“Many years ago, the fog hovered over all the dry lands and Untu’s knowledge of all things was paramount. After the loss of the balance, the spread of the Untu’s breath…, the fog was limited and so was the influence and knowledge of the Olko beads.” Naruba explained.

“So you mean to say, you could not find me…?” Tsote asked.

“Exactly as I already told you… not until Mama Erusa found you and got you wearing those beads, did I get to know you were not very far away from mother.” Naruba, his mother replied.

“Okay, well, the other thing is… I am a Halfling child. Every other child born of the Yakunko and another tribe dies at birth without question. How then do I get to live to this day if I too!” Tsote stated in question.

“You have heard about the tale of love between Olkai and the goddess of the woods. Haven’t you?”

“Yes… Klode Loved Untu the Goddess of the woods but she did not love him. She loved a lowly being. A Kuoka… and Klode cursed the Kuoka. And…” 

“Well, Olkai was the Kuoka…” Naruba Itonu said.

“Tale about him are only myths?” Came Tsote persistent with what he always thought.

“Yes. What you weren’t told is, Olkai did not die from the Plague. And its not his sprit haunting the great fog with dark feathers as you have always been told.”

“What’s real?” Tsote asked.

“Untu the goddess loved the Kuoka however lowly he was compared to the god of the Dry lands Klode. And so willingly, sacrificed her life to save Olkai from the plague.” His mother explained.

“So she placed it on the Yakunko?” Tsote asked.

“Yes…in short. Because they were Olkai’s worst enemies.” Replied Naruba.

“Then why did I not die like the rest born of Halfling children…?”

“Most Yakunko fathers don’t just allow their Halfling children to be born… because they know once it’s born, the curse take on its purpose. Similarly, had I not fled in time, O’mondo would have killed you and I!”

“I see. So how many others are there like me… alive?”

“You are the first born of a Shorango Priestess.” The woman told him.

“So Olkai has always known me…” Tsote inquired.

“Certainly but neither did he have a slight idea that King O’mondo dared to keep you so as you have always been…” She replied. 

“I want to see him…”

“He is very far away…” Naruba replied with a little smile. “But as long as you have your beads on, he will find you… just give it time.” 

“Well, did you love him? The Yakunko king, O’mondo?”

“Love him? Not!”

“Then why did you let him…”

“I did not just let him. It’s complicated but…” His mother tried to explain. She paused before she changed to start from a better point of view. 

“You have heard about the Yakunko and Shorango alliance.”

“Yes I have. We were told he broke the terms of the alliance…”

“Failure to honor the terms of a blood pact in the past, the consequences were death. And the Kobewa were initially the guardians of Tonyam tradition, norms and beliefs.”

“So the king had to die as a consequence…” Tsote complimented.

“My mistake was trusting king O’mondo when the fellowship of the keep warned me saying a Yakunko king in the linage of Oladiya could not honor anything when Oladiya himself never did.”

“I can see…” Tsote responded.

“So I could not return to the fellowship of the keep like nothing was wrong to resume my duties without correcting my mistake.”

“You could have killed him…”

“I did what I thought was best…” She said. “Knowing he would kill the child and the plague would spread to affect all members of the royal family. In turn, this would mark the end of the Oladiya’s linage.” 

“So who were those people from the river…that took you and left me?”

“They are known as the Avara.” Mama Naruba replied.

“I have not heard about them…” Tsote confessed.

“They rescued me… but they revealed that they could not pick you up from the banks of the river because the plague affected then!”

“Very strange your sisters did not appear…” Tsote complimented.

“Olkai told me they are still annoyed at me… I thought what I did about my mistake would satisfy them to end their bias on me. But for the last fourteen years, they have not appeared here…,” She told him. 

“I saw them…!” Tsote popped in quickly.

“Mhu?” His mother looked surprised.

“I saw them when we reached the Moshuno plains on my first journey to Sambura.”

“You saw my sisters and brothers?” The Shorango…?” The woman asked in surprise. “They guard the living wall of Adeni and are as rare as a shooting star.”

“We saw them…” came Tsote pausing. “They guard the wall?”

“Yes. They are eleven in number… and the wall is their responsibility.”  

“None Yakunko tribes believe it’s a sign of Good omen meeting them… but I don’t believe it.” Tsote revealed.

“Why?” 

“They must be wrong because half a day later we came to Nyathiku where most of the half Yakunko people live. And the village was filled with wounded survivors... Not long after the Shorango trekkers passed, we spotted smoke rinsing on the eastern edges of the Moshuno plains. Villages were burning down and I wonder what you would have called that!”

“Well, I have heard about that belief but not all other tribes. It’s only those with some Kobewa blood running through their veins that came up with this belief. But we the Shorango people don’t care what the tribes think.” Mama Nairuba told him while standing up. “Well, it better you get going before it gets late…”

“It’s not dark yet…”

“When the sun sinks away over the fog, the monster of the fog leaves the shadows to roam…”

“The fog monster?” Came Tsote. “Mama Erusa mentioned about that.”

“You have seen it?” Tsote asked.

“I can explain as we move…” Naruba Itonu said showing him forwards. “When our fore fathers took king Oladiya’s eyes from his sockets, they dipped them in Owls’ blood to keep his Kurota from roaming the dry lands or even entering the spiritual realm where he would be able to haunt the Kobewa.”

“So…”

“Keeping him in a state of search for his sight was Olkai’s idea and the reasons he will reveal to you when he finds you…”

“Don’t you know why…?”

“It’s not in my position to reveal the reason dear.” She told him. “However, you may chose not to wait for Olkai and simply ask your beads. They are your inheritance and if bonded well with, they can reveal to you as much knowledge as Olkai can because…”

“Because what…?” Tsote asked after seeing her hesitate.

“Well,…” Came Naruba motioning for him to follow. “When the Yakunko King Oladiya seized the Tonyam throne, he tried to turn the Kobewa priests to his side. Leshoto, the high priest led the Kobewa south in search for the Goddess of the great tree. We could not reach the tree until, Untu to goddess of the tree sent Olkai to meet us. We the Kobewa needed to survive and he would offer us a place along the slopes of the Olko hill.”

Tsote listened.

“What hurt our fathers most was when the Kurota king followed them to the Olko hill and attacked them!” Naruba Itonu said adding. “King Oladiya wanted to end the Kobewa thinking they would pose a great threat to his expansion goals later on… of course the Kobewa were not going wait until they were all dead and gone!”

“Leshoto from whom you and I descend, requested Olkai to teach them Olko magic so they could defend their weak. Olkai did not refuse. However, we weren’t Kuoka. AS humans we could only learn to Olko magic with the assistance of the former Kuoka guardians whose lives were contained in twenty master Olko beads.” Naruba went one.

“We were told the Kuoka were just mythical beings like the Vulko people…” Tsote complimented when Naruba gave him a strange gaze.

“Many out there think so but things aren’t what they seem my son…” Naruba replied starting down the steps of the pyramid. “However, to learn Olko magic required the sacrifice of time, seasons away from the rest to be able to focus and learn what was there to learn about the use of Olko magic and the Olko beads. The chosen ones were half female and ten male.”

“How long exactly?” Tsote asked with such curiosity.

“A period of nine moons…” His mother responded.

“So the spirits of the past Kuoka guardians dwell in these beads?” Tsote asked.

“Not all Olko beads dear.” His mother interrupted as she started back towards the tree. Tsote hurried checking his beads. “What you have there are called the red Olko beads. Two red Olko beads accompany each one of the twenty one master beads.”

“I don’t understand…”

“What your father, King O’mondo has is a master Olko bead. When Mofasa, my father inherited them, there were three on the string. He had to do a blood pact by dipping a newly fallen Olko bead in his blood. Remove that of his grandfather from the string and replace it with his.”

“So, when you inherited the beads, you had to perform a blood pact with another newly fallen Olko bead, remove your grandfather’s bead to add yours!” Tsote figured out what she was trying to mean.

“Exactly.” Naruba replied. “But the master Olko beads remains on the string down the generations. And its only after this blood pact, does the new holder get to hear the voice of the master Olko bead.”

“But…” Tsote looked confused as he touched his pair of red beads. He had a question but his mother seemed determined to complete her narration and send him off as quickly as she could. He knew this by how often she glanced back towards the falling sun.

“Yes…” Naruba Itonu said. “Sadly, by the time the twenty one returned, the Kobewa tribe was close to wiped out! They blamed Olkai for having not informed them that time up here moved slower than elsewhere in the world. He apologized and helped them make a plan. They attacked Oladiya in Sambura, a Yakunko city he constructing for himself southeast of the old Tonyam capital using slaves.”

 “How did the king take your beads and leave these…” Tsote asked.

“He took me by surprise. Tore them from my neck. Fortunately, the two fell to the ground. I held out my hand and drew them to me… I could not retrieve the master bead because of Thalko and his men… I had to run for my life. Meanwhile the child was already developing inside me quicker than usual babies.”

“What do you mean developing fast…” Tsote asked curiously.

“Unlike other Halfling children… you grew inside me faster than normal. As it came to evening, you were ready for birth….” His mother said.

“Impossible…” Tsote replied with total disbelief.

“You were formed over the night and born before the end of the next day… just like all the other Halfling children.”

“All past Halfling children were born like that?” Tsote asked getting ahead of her.

“Yes…” Naruba replied as she started back down into her shelter. Tsote followed her in only to spot a log table of fruits on the left side of the shelter.

“However, I lost mine and your grandfather’s red beads somewhere after your birth while I tried to get from Thalko’s men. I do not know how or where she, Mama Erusa found them but did well, getting them to you.” Naruba Itonu said while turning off to the right.

“Food. You have lots of food here….?” Tsote asked the moment he sighted the table arranged with food.

 “But you need to leave at once before anyone realizes you ever left…”

“I bet anyone has realized my absence yet down there.” Tsote replied turning to the left.

“Now you got your beads. They have always been every Shorango’s first hand companion and friend…” Naruba replied. 

“They helped me get past the king’s guards unhurt while coming up…” came Tsote. “-a few minute later they stopped responding. Right now I wonder how I am to get back past the guards unseen...” 

The long stone table concealed from Tsote’sview by a network of roots. Behind these roots, there were hundreds of baskets with different kinds of foods, jars of milk and fruits. Glowing roots hanging down over the foods as far in and arranged in categories! There were Fruits, breads, Sunflower seeds, pots of milk and so much more I will not mention all! 

The tree appeared to feed from these food supplements like an offerings. Naruba must have been fat but funny he wasn’t! He reached in and a network of glowing roots picked two ripened fruits and passed them over in a flexible wave…

 “I last saw this amount of food in Sambura.” Tsote complimented rushing to the table… 

“We call it Olkai’s dining table.”

“Okay…?” Came Tsote. “How do you get all these foods?”

“The foots are a collection of different food offerings different peoples have given to the goddess of the great Tree, Untu. They leave these offering on the three different white rocks located on three side so of the hill from where the children of Olkai collect it to his table during the nights of the full moon. Fortunately, the food does not easily rot due to the power of the Untu tree… have your fill quickly and be on your way.”

“How do I get back past the King’s men this time?”

“Your beads child...” Naruba responds. 

“But I told you they stopped talking to…” Tsote interrupted her.

“There must be a blood pact child… in addition to calling them by name.” 

 “A name…?” Tsote asked as he took a big piece of bread under his armpit and poured some milk in a horn cup and drunk quickly. It was nice! “They have names…?” 

 “She must have told you this…” Naruba responded. He took more and more until he realized some owl seated on top some rock across was eyeing him intently. Tsote paused and locked eyes with it. He looked embarrassed and placed the third cup down. He quickly started down back to where the table began. The owl’s gaze followed him.

 ‘Mama Erusa? She isn’t Kobewa and owned no beads…,’ Tsote remembered the beads telling him. “Then why did they assist me get past the King’s men without a blood pact or a request from them…?”

“You indirectly bled over them during the struggle earlier today…” Naruba Itonu said and showed him. “And don’t carry anything out from under the tree… she may not let you out.” 

“Uh!” Tsote gasped and quickly placed back everything he had greedily packed under his armpits and little leather bag! Finally, the woman motioned to him out back the same way he had come.