20 - Olkai

Chapter 20 (Olkai)

The tree became the mother of the woods and that is green across the dry lands. Its power was only second to that of black seed of creation…” Olkai narrated. The Owl led the way with its wings held behind as though they were fingers.

“With the power of this giant tree, Klode was given the rights to create the Kuoka in addition, positioning them in kingdoms across the dry lands. The kingdom of the birds were the first of the Kuoka and my fore fathers were made kings of the kingdom of the birds Ashe created the rest of the Kuoka, a young goddess known as Untu climbed down the tree from the heaven on the nights of the full moon specifically to play in the woods.”

“To play…?”

“Yes…” came Olkai.

“She was first seen by Sura, the wise tortoise and queen guardian of the reptile kingdom. Because we were friends, she led me to there and I saw her. I fell in love at first sight… and that was the first mistake I ever made...” Olkai said adding. “What we did not know is, she knew we were watching but like any pretender…”

Tsote listened. Much of this he was never told.

“With time I Chose to show myself to her… her reaction on our first encounter is what made me realize she was a goddess. With time I learned many things like the number of realms, creation was made of in addition to discovering that the great Untu tree was tree the line between the mortal and the spiritual realms. And a lot more when we became better friends. I cannot tell it all.”

“I would love to hear it all…”

“She told me she was coming down the tree to play in the fields the the past four hundred years earlier before my coronation. That did not matter much more than she finding me the most interesting of all Kuoka species. At the rise of the full moon all Kuoka guardians met at the great tree were they sourced their Olko powers to lead and guide the rest in their specific kingdoms. Unfortunately, Klode noticed the Presence of the Goddess. And who knows if every later mistake he did was a result of his hidden admiration and love for her…”

 “How did you know he loved her…?”

“I would never have known without the arrival of the children of the sea. When they came, the gods chose her to guide them to a safe settlement on the dry lands. They sent her after realizing the cruelty of the Kuoka against the first tribe of men. When the second tribe of the children of the sea arrived, Untu the goddess would reveal herself to them alone as specified by the god. She was tasked with guiding them and all other men expected to arrive later to find a peaceful co-existence with the Kuoka in the dry lands. But this would not be possible unless she spoke to Klode, creator of the Kuoka.”

“He did not accept…” Tsote complimented.

“He accepted the humans to settle along the eastern shores of the sea if she promised that she would love him back as he loved her…”

“She did not…, the myths say…” Tsote spoke.

“Ah!” came the Owl. “She would not accept but made a mistake to promise him her love. So she was bound by her promise as a goddess… and I would be the one to suffer the consequences when he found out later that we loved each other.”

“How did he find out…?”

“When the humans came, Klode sent the Kuoka into war against them. And he went to meet the league of the gods for answers as to why they sent the most corrupted children of the sea to the dry lands where they did not belong without his consent! Truth is they despised Klode for some reason I can’t say and it angered him…”

“This is when the gods requested the goddess to assist men find co-existence and peace with the Kuoka of the dry lands. She chose to guide men through the Kobewa tribesmen and that’s how they became priests and priestesses of the Tonyam kingdoms or the realm of mortal men on the dry lands. They were the last of the of the tribes of men to arrive on the dry land…”

“To ease the tension among the league of gods, she promised to love Klode against her own will. This is when Klode stopped complaining and let the humans settle and flourish along the shores of the eastern sea.” 

“I get…” Tsote replied as Olkai continued.

“Nevertheless, the gods were not done with burnishing criminals of the Vulko realm. More men were coming ashore and this required the expansion of the humans, which Klode could not allow because the goddess was avoiding him. He loved her and felt hollow. The humans were united and one with a king and an empire when he realized the goddess was avoiding him because she was in love with a Kuoka, a lowly being.”

“He wished he could curse another goddess but couldn’t.”

“So he cursed you…”

“Exactly…” came Olkai. “He cursed me with a plague that would spread to undo the kingdom of the birds but Untu was not going to let it. In addition he betrayed the gods by robbing the black seed of creation so as to wipe the hopeless thirteen tribes of men she was meant to guide off the dry lands. What follows there you must have heard from the common tales…”

“Yes but the tales have been twisted here and there…?”

“Well, Klode chose to use one of them specifically the Yakunko to destroy the rest when he used the Black seed to awaken a part of men that the gods had locked away within them. This was the dark side of men known as the Kurota. However, he did this by promising them might beyond what they have never known. However the release of the dark side of men led to the splitting of the breaking of the Black seed.”

“The Yakunko say it never broke…”

“They have their reasons dear…” The owl said. “Others say it was only a mistake… which we cannot deny.”

“I understand but what about the balance…” came Tsote. 

“Well, the balance is another complicated subject.” Olkai responded with a sign of relief. “But I believe you have heard something from the tales…”

“Yes. but…”

“Very well…” Olkai started while avoiding the confusion and complication in Tsote’s second question. “What I can say is that the great tree drew its life from the black seed. And the twenty-one Kuoka guardians drew their Olko magic from the tree’s Olko beads. Without the tree, the Olko beads don’t work, without the Olko beads, the Kuoka guardians cease to rule…”

Tsote listened and kept the pace as well.

“And when the black seed broke, the great tree and source of our Olko magic started declining. When the tree started to die, the Kuoka started to fade from the intelligent beings they were into mere beasts of the wild.” He waived a side and the fog seemed to draw back into the depths of the forest leaving illusionistic moonlight misty forms of different animal species.

“This is what they are under the fog…” Olkai said.

“And outside the fog…”

“They are hopeless prey to men…” Olkai replied as the animals drunk from the streams and treaded through the ferns and mossy undergrowth lively. 

 “They are safe under the fog,” He continued. “And we believe losing the beauty of his very own creations wasn’t Klode intention because he himself was left shocked, rendered powerless, lost his sight. He was weak and unable to undo his mistake with the black seed! Meanwhile Oladiya, commander of the Yakunko tribes came into the possession of one half of the black seed.”

“But the gods are powerful and…”

“They are when the black seed is whole amidst them… not when it’s half and broken…”

“Is it true then that they no longer can hear our cries…?” Tsote asked.

“They do but no longer got the power to respond…” Olkai explained quickly adding. “However, Untu, the Goddess tried to save me from Klode’s curse but there were only two options available. The first option was to let the plague kill me. The other was to repulse the plague to affect another being. The later was a better option and had the honor to make that ultimate choice.”

“So it was you that chose the Yakunko….?”

“”Yes…” came the wise using roots to form a bridge over some falling ground. She added as they started across. “Because they were had become a darkness across the dry lands claiming everything that once belonged to my species.”

“I understand…” Tsote replied.

“Unfortunately the Olko tree, which was the source of my life, was gradually dying from the loss of the balance. Saving me when the tree was dying meant I would still die no matter what…”

The curse would cause a killer plague on the Yakunko limiting them from having children with their sister tribes and increasing in number. In addition, she committed her life to the survival of the tree. Her spirit would become part of the tree until the restoration of the balance.”

“The Yakunko say she died of the plague too.…”

“With time, every tale will lose meaning.” The wise owl responded rubbing his wing into his shoulder. They were the same height if I must mention. “But the truth in the beads will never fade

“Mother said it was your idea taking King Oladiya’s eyes… when you could have ended him forever, there and then!” Tsote asked another question.

“Putting it right, the Black seed seemingly elevated him-” Olkai stated. “Making like a god and nothing can undo what he is... Only the black seed with its halves put back together.”

“He wasn’t a god…” Tsote interrupted.

“True he wasn’t! Neither did Klode intend to make him inevitable. The breaking of the Black seed did! He had become immortal with the ability to possess whomever he wished to, wherever and whenever he wanted to! He was a one-man Kurota army he himself alone. When we learned what he and his Kurota were capable of, we had to find a solution. Splitting him with his eyes, would ease our struggle.” Olkai explained.

“Without his Kurota, we had his Kurota ineffective and trapped in enchanted fog neither dead nor alive! Before, his Kurota roamed allowing him ability to possess, kill and conquer whomever and wherever he wished! Therefore, when we got the chance, we used it… but nothing would have been possible without the goddess’s assistance.”

“You still speaks with her…?”

“Often,” the Owl replied. “I hear the faintest of her voice whispering to me through the creaking branches of the great tree…”

“The Black seed is still in Sambura Mama Erusa said. Why did you not retrieve it too after having defeated Oladiya…?”

“It’s highly guarded by spirit Kurotas of all the past Yakunko warriors and only royal heirs to the Yakunko throne can get near it…”

“How do I get back mother’s beads then?”

“The beads will guide you but stay cautious about the ghost Kurota…” Olkai said. “I know you have been told in tale that I am robbing Yakunko boys of their Kurota gifts but its Oladiya himself trying to get the right eyes that can help him locate the M’Jeda.”

“Except for Mama Erusa’s tale, I believed less in other tales. And even on the nights of the full moons, I stayed awake into the nights waiting for your hooting which brought me a dream which I wished I enjoyed experiencing over and over again.”

“Well, your blood possesses Shorango blood and being partly Yakunko, your eyes are the only ones that can help him see through the enchantment of the fog. And we don’t want him to locate the M’Jeda and its ten Shorango keepers whatsoever. We only need the beads back to seal the crack in the enchantment.”

“Ten?”

“The twenty one are divided into two teams. One that guards the Great wall of Adeni made of ten male and female Shorango whereas the second is also made of ten members. And these are responsible for the M’Jeda keep. Do get confused cause the beads bond them…”  

“Okay…”

“However, the M’Jeda and the Adeni answer to no other but your mother, the Shorango high priestess. Not until she lost her beads. And without her, they aren’t as strong as they used to be...” Olkai explained, “But the M’Jeda is the one under threat…”

“Well, where is the M’Jeda located…?”

“I cannot say…” Olkai said leading him further down. “But it’s illuminated by the moon Obelisk. Oladiya cannot locate it. But will if you let him have your eye.”

“My eye?” Came Tsote “why would I give anyone my eye…?”

“He has claimed so many other Kurotandi boys eyes for the same reason but all in vain. They too did not just give up their eyes like you may think…” Olkai explain. “The only difference is, your eyes will help him locate the M’Jeda unlike all the other boys’ eyes he has robbed in the past.

“Uh!” Came Tsote.

“With your eyes, he can see the M’Jeda from wherever he is… -glowing like a night fire on a moonless night in the middle of the western woods.”  

All this while they were walking downhill. They followed some path, which he did not realize while he came up. 

“I understand but how do I get the beads to respond to me again? They…” Tsote started confusedly.

“Show me your palm.” The owl uttered. 

Tsote held out a hand and hardly had he even unfolded his hand, it was slight.

“Ouch. That hurts…”

“Hold your beads and say my name thrice…” The Owl told him.

Tsote looked puzzled when he grabbed the beads with his bleeding palm capped in his other hand. Moreover, for a few seconds he did not know what to call the beads. He looked confused…

Tsote looked up at him and said his name thrice. There was a moment of silence. Some sort of chill rushed through his body. The beads were glowing again and melting over his chest into an interesting pattern, the way they did they got him through King O’mondo’s Yakunko guards at the foot of the hill. Tsote glanced down at them. All of a sudden, he heard a voice resembling Olkai’s coming from the back of his head and breath against the hair on the back of his head.

“My name friend… what is your name?” He looked up and Olkai who earlier stood a meter inform of him was there no longer!

“I…” Tsote spun in confusion. He remembers Olkai stood in front of his when a few seconds ago. Right now Tsote stood solitary. When he spun, Olkai was not behind him. He blinked fast and rubbed his eyes to clear his sight. Alone on a rock path facing a steeply falling cliff. A lump filled his throat. He swallowed hard before he completed his name… “My name is Tsote…”

“You have done well…” Olkai’s voice came again. 

“Uh!” Tsote’s heart thumped again. The voice came from where he last saw him standing. He span and there he was. He gave him Tsote a little shove.

“We need to make haste now…” Came the wise Olko Owl. “And when it’s all over, the first sound of the melody of the ascendants will begin.”

They came out from the trees into a clearing. Tsote could hear the sound of running water a few feet ahead.

“Why don’t you teach me the song…?”

“It will require you the twenty one Olko beads to be able to learn the melody of the ascendants child.” 

In some way, Tsote understood and if Olkai would help him learn the song of the ascendants, he was ready to do anything be it retrieving the beads from the king. The owl responded as they came to the edge of a long cliff, which bent away following the river. Five feet below, the river was flowing past. 

To their right, they could make out faint grey images of the king’s camp along the banks of river Ulewo. Meaning the Owl and he were just a few yards ahead, down the river. A very safe distance away. However, the sun was just about to rise. Tsote looked puzzled!