19 - He will find y*u.

Chapter 19 (He will find you.)

“Hurry now before he lands…” The woman uttered.

“Who… who is to land?” Tsote asked with his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Olkai…” Naruba replied.

“Can I meet him please?”

“Not today…” Naruba spoke leading the way out from below.

“But...” came Tsote. “You told the king, great owl needed him to bring me along.”

 He always stayed up in order to hear the Owl’s hoot from the peaks of the Olko hill because there was something about the owl’s hoot! Something he could not explain! He always waited until the owl’s hoots sounded to sleep! There was something about the Owl’s midnight hoots! Nevertheless, the woman was not going to let him explain.  

“True, fortunately here you are.” came Naruba shutting him up. 

“Then?”

“For the past fifteen years Olkai has been searching for you. Because you possess royal blood. And…”

“And what…?”

“You alone can retrieve the Olkai bead from the Kurota king.” The woman told him as they entered the trees.

“But that’s a very difficult quest…” Tsote replied. 

 “Olkai will be there to guide you…” His mother said.

“My friend Makita has always wanted to see him too…” Tsote said.

“Uh…” Came Naruba turning to him with wide eyes and surprise.

“Can I come bring her with me next time?” Tsote asked just when he remembered Makita and how worried she must be about his absence.

“You could dear but that’s up to Olkai to decide.” Naruba replied touching his face again warmly. “…. Now I’ll let you go!”

Tsote stepped into the stream, cold water washing over his bare feet and rising up his spin. The moment his feet touched the water, the fog started to form again concealing the woman who still stood on the other side of the stream. 

Coming back down hill was not as hard, he did not require the assistance of the beads. He was not going to beg them to show him the way… he made it through the tunnel to the two owls of stone that guarded the entrance to the tunnels. The fog was as he had left and it was early morning. The sunrays pierced through the fog to touch a few shadowy statues.

There were dark owl feathers littered along the stairs, as far down as the stairs stretched and he does not recall seeing any one or any owl here. This is when he remembered he had heard something, someone following him earlier when he was heading up these stairs! His hair seemed to stand on his body the moment it occurred to him once again!

The silence screamed at him and the stillness sent a tingling feeling up his spine. He froze! He squinted through the fog toward the last of the steps downhill and nothing moved apart from…portions of the sun were still piercing through the cloudy and misty skies around the hill and what wasn’t touched by light seemed like living shadows ready to pounce the moment the light died away totally!

Unfortunately, the sun was falling away over the eastern fog. Just then, a strange greyish figure in the shape of a Kurota leaped down onto the stairs below so much concealed by the fog. Dark ghostly owl feathers grew over its head back down its back. What could have been a Kurota’s broad fore limbs the likes of those of an ape were turned winged. Just around the tip of the wings, strange clawed and very thin fingers formed twice the length a Kurota has, Its nose was as solid and crustal the likes of an owl’s beak and its eyes empty socket so dark with like two twin passages to the underworld. Much of its dressing was rough and ragged as well as worn away clarifying how old the thing was! 

The creature collected into one form feather by feather as it drew nearer and this in a clear sort of wave across the stairs.it all of a sudden stood upright so perfectly its upper body and neck thickening to Tsote’s great surprise! When the creature landed and started collecting into one full figure, Tsote got so scared. And on stepping back, he got tripped by a rock. He stumbled and fell.

As the creature drew nearer, its claws sparked fire leaving deep scratch trails across the bare cold grey rock! Tsote crawled back in terror his hand landing on a rock and having no other weapon for self-defense; he took up the rock and thrust it towards the dark creature but the creature took the rock and crushed it to tiny pieces in one hand never glancing aside from the boy.

Tsote managed to his feet and this is where he contemplated running back to the woman uphill but there was no chance to. The creature lunged forwards, grabbed him by his neck. He was chocking for breath and so swiftly dragged him midair only to feel his back hitting back against the owl stone passage. Tsote struggled for a moment he thought this was his end...

“What a shame, for the son of a king to defend himself with a mere a rock…”

“Wh-who are you?” Tsote yelled but his voice could not sound out well.

“Not heard of me…?” Came the creature. “-very absurd.”

“No, let me alone… ugly!” Tsote begged feeling like life was leaving him.

“I have waited so long for you…” the woman stated adding quickly. “And what a splendid meeting…”

“I can’t bre-eath!”

“It won’t be long child…,” came the creature raising two fingers above his face the way anyone would ready to extract something from him. “You won’t even need to breath after here blood of my blood, after all, heart beat don’t lie and-, unlike the rest, you dread the sacred gift Klode gave you so freely.”

“Let go of me…!” Tsote Yelled as the creature sunk two of its claws into his eyelids! He struggled.

“The sense of smell is what I was left with to fill the weight of shame and purposelessness.” The creature spoke adding “-however, I’ve search for the M’Jeda for many years. Taken as many eyes as I could get my hands on. But none of them has proven worth my need! Your mother is Shorango. Isn’t it? Halfling you are!”

Tsote did not know whether to reply or not to!  Then it broke out in laughter!

“Sure enough yours could be of great assistance. Victory without bending knee as they expect of us…”

“Stop…!” Came a fine voice filled with power and authority. “You won’t have those Oladiya, not today nor another time lest you seek to stand in the way of change and dishonoring the origin of eternal light.”

At this point, the creature glanced up and immediately loosened its grip on Tsote’ neck.

“He is an offspring of mine Olkai and I have the right to do with him as I chose…” the creature spoke with a hissing voice.

“Not here, down the Olko slopes…!” Replied the creature which shadow was on Tsote from the top of the rock the creature had pressed him back on. The creature immediately released him and drew back quickly but fearfully and respectfully. It slinked back into the greyness downhill without another word. Tsote fell with a thud against his behind! His flesh regenerated around his eyes the moment the Owl’s shadow fell over him. His body hurt all over and when he glanced up he saw the biggest and most majestic owl he had never seen before perched on top the twenty-foot high rock seemingly curved from his image.

“Arise child… descendant of Oladiya!” Came the wise Olko Owl’s voice, warm, soothing and most welcoming. “Arise.”

“Olkai?” Tsote stated excitedly.

“Yes.” replied the Owl.

“You are not a myth as I thought…” Tsote began getting closer. “Thanks for coming…”

“I’m real child.” Olkai spoke with a soft tone. He spread out his wing. 

“Unbelievable!” Tsote complimented followed by a moment of silence. 

“I saw you when you parted with her…” Came the owl.

“But you did not show up…” Tsote told him.

“I was away attending to some important errand. The moment you wore those beads, I sensed you… and knew you would show up here any time sooner… after all nothing none Kobewa gets past here without one of the twenty one special Olko beads.”

“Why does he take people’s eyes?” he asked the owl.

“Well,” began the owl summoning him to walk downhill. He spread out his wings and came to the edge of the stair on which Tsote sat and focused his gaze down below where the creature just faded away. “There isn’t enough time. Your mother must have told you…”

Tsote walked over while massaging his hurting back and bruised neck. “Why… everything is attached to the beads…! And now my eyes.”

 “She didn’t tell you?” The owl asked in surprise.

“I don’t understand!” Tsote replied

“Your mother was a member of the M’Jeda until she deserted the M’Jeda…”

“Deserted?” Tsote asked. 

“Well, she turned her back on the advice of the M’Jeda, when the enchantment of the fog depended on the unity of the M’Jeda.” The owl responded.

“Why did you and the rest of the twenty members of the M’Jeda not help her recover the beads? You are powerful and wise…” Tsote asked the owl.

“Olko magic can do a lot of thing like resisting the expansion of the Yakunko Kurota influence to these parts and other stuff but not push the Kurota King’s dominion back to its tribe territory or even defeat them. The Shorango are powerful enough to win a few battles but neither can they win the ultimate battle against the Inka seed.” Olkai explained leading the way.

“As long as the Yakunko kings are still in the possession of the black seed, the Yakunko Kurota remains undefeatable. For that case we have avoided going into hopeless war against all past Yakunko kings until now but concentrated our strength on keeping Oladiya’s ghost Kurota from locating the M’Jeda keep and retrieving his eyes.” Olkai explained the more. 

“Keeping Oladiya’s Kurota away from its eyes, is the only way we can contain his expansion to the Untu tree and beyond. Without his eyes, his Kurota forever lingers in the great fog and less of a threat. This has been our task and a few others. Not till your mother hopelessly lost one of the twenty one beads to King O’mondo…” 

“I understand. But she did not intend to lose the bead!” Tsote responded blankly.

“Well, I know.” Olkai replied calmly. “But a mistake can never qualify your innocence dear child.”

“So she is…” Tsote began stammering in confusion. He instead swallowed hard.

“So they must be retrieved because the fog enchantment weakens every day. And Oladiya must not get free…”

“The major reason you needed King O’mondo to bring me along... ” Came Tsote.

The owl did not respond to this. Tsote was compelled to inquire.

“Certainly! Our hope lies in you alone.” The wise owl stated. “I believe she told you it took us years to find you…” 

“Yes but…” Tsote replied hesitating a little bit.

“Why me? And how exactly do you expect me to do this when even my Kurota cannot manifest…” The owl was graceful, smart and moved like a human with big-clawed toes the likes of an owl. Much of its body was feathered, upright and postured like men.

“You don’t require the Kurota to be your father’s son… who we are lies within and no one can redesign that apart from ourselves.” The owl told him. Tsote came to stand next to the Owl, which was his very height. 

“I understand but also I am not a qualified thief…” Tsote replied.

“The beads will guide you. Because that is one of their roles…”

“They no longer respond but mother said you will find me and…” Tsote told Olkai the wise Owl while looking at the content around his neck. He wore no Olko beads himself but Tsote knew he ought to.

“What about my beads…?” Olkai took it right out from Tsote’s mouth.

“Yes…” Tsote came in. “Are you not supposed to have one of the twenty one beads too?”

“She did not tell you…?” The owl smiled in silence. Then looked aside at Tsote.

About your beads… No!” Tsote said.

“I no longer needed them…”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m changing due to the imbalance.” Olkai replied sorrowfully. “And I can no longer contain the power of the beads alone. I had to share it.”

“With?”

“It’s a long story dear child… but trust me I survive. Even though it will not be long… Unless the balance has been restored.”

“How the do you survive...?” Tsote asked.

“Love…!” The owl replied calmly as always. Its voice was clean and peaceful.

“Love…?” came Tsote. “What about love…?”

“It is something that lost meaning to mortal men. A mysterious phenomenon you cannot understand at this early stage…” Olkai stated.

“Who doesn’t know the meaning of…?” Tsote began just when he remembered the tale of love between the goddess of the woods and a guardian of the Kuoka. “Ahhh! I see…”

“Well…” The wise owl interrupted glancing aside at him. “Best I start from the very beginning. Meanwhile we need to make haste…”

“Okay…”

“After the creation of the dry lands, the gods sung a beautiful of melody. This melody was composed of the power to create life. With the power of the melody, there was the sprouting of Untu, the most ancient of the tree, which branches reached so high in the heavens.