Revelations 1

There is nothing more uncomfortable than teleporting. Tricky as they may be, though, there's nothing fun about it, if you snooze you might just end up leaving a limb behind. The suction of air is nothing short of ghastly. By the time we materialised to the designated location, a battle had already commenced. "That witch!", complained Ta-hawa. I noticed her holding a piece of her hair. It must have been the only thing the stygian blade touched, "c'mon, the actions coming from over there", she said.

I took in my surroundings. We were at a harbour? No… at Waterfront at the helipad rides near a lot of tetrapods. From a distance, a massive booming of cheering spectators at the Green Point Cape Town stadium overclouding the ongoing activity at the Waterfront.

The docks were over flooded by Munssu, yet, neither of our allies felt overwhelmed. General Nzinga glitched from one Munssu to another leaving, a trail of corpses. David Kufu and his pack went after the Wand of Galatea, however, princess Ngoma remained. She, much like all in David's pack used the Order of Assassins' Hidden Blades. There was something immaculate about the way she chose to administer her kill. Her cuts were clean and in precise areas. While slicing the throat of a Munssu with her left hidden blade, she used her right to protrude through another's throat.

No one noticed us which, Makela used as profit. As soon as she could get on her feet she gave me a beatific smile, winked and joined the blood party. Excited by her challenge, I too, decided to join in.

I sent Nimzy on a round trip, leaving a trail of decapitated bodies. I moved from one kill to another. Shifting gears like an automatic transmission. My Ark would follow my flow; spear gear piercing across the abdomen of a Munssu, sword gear slashing across the neck of another. I had not felt that awesome in a while.

I released the Gaddafi on a group of Munssu approaching the docks on jet skis. A pile of corpses laid around me by the time Nimzy returned to my left hand. The salty sea breeze masked the pungent of blood and grim. The crowd in the stadium roared as a striker marked a goal.

Their roar was so deafening, the yelp of Munssus as a blade stabbed their chest; their shriek as life left the bodies; the disappointment on their faces knowing that they would not witness another sunrise, see their loved ones, the realization of incomplete promises summarized in a compound of shriek and explicit bewilderment was masked under the roar of fans as another goal was scored.    

I momentarily stood in awe as I watched the Warrior King do his thing.

Heru-kwa-Nzinga was phenomenal, that is, to say the least. He was able to administer the Glitching effect and the Adrenaline Manoeuvre simultaneously. He moved like a demon masked as a man.  The bewilderment cemented on the faces of his kills were petrifying as if they only realised they were killed, right before they could even react. Not far from him was princess Ngoma, solely using her hidden blade effortlessly.  Just like General Nzinga, each step forward left a trail of corpses behind.

Ta-hawa was closer to the helipads having the best time of her life, and much like me, she stood planted in a fixed position waiting for her kills. I stroke the fine wood of the Gaddafi to morph it back to beads.  I was not going to wait for kills, with my ark in dagger gear in one hand and Nimzy on the other, I was going on a hunting game.

Suddenly, a man stepped out of the ranks. I was sure he was not there a few seconds ago. He approached me, unvexed by the catastrophe. "Juda…", he started.  He was close enough for close combat and yet, I remained.

He was a middle-aged blond-haired blue-eyed Caucasian with the body of a former wrestler or medium-weight bodybuilder.

His long wet hair covered half his face, dressed in a white suit, white tie, white shirt and shoes, he looked like the male version of a Wall street Banshee.

He gave me a mirthful smile. "you look so much like your mother", his voice was displeasing. "yet as brave and as daring as Knox Boyega, your father", he said. What? Fear overclouded me, until then, I did not know my father's name. I was no longer aware of my surroundings. The fight around us turned into a distant whistle.

"what… are you saying?", I asked finally. "allow me to reveal what I am certain your Oracle has eluded from you. I have been waiting to finally meet you, though, not in such circumstances", he gestured to Makela who had just decapitated a Munssu. "who are you?", I asked.

"your father was my childhood friend, my best friend and brother", he chided my question. "of course, his origins were unknown to me at the time, from, what I was told", he grimaced.

"We were fed from the same breast. Slept in the same cradle and grew up in the same house. The content of his colour meant nothing to us, to me…", he confessed.

"Much like your Brothers who grew up in the Apostlehood, we too grew up in the teachings and idealism of Templars", he said. "There was something special about your father. The way he fought and moved. At the age of eighteen, we had crippled your African counterpart. We were glorious until your mother came along.", he said bitterly. "she was the one Apostle he could not kill", he made a fist. "your mother was sent to kill the only Bearer who moved and fought like an Apostle. I never knew why, though it had not mattered to me. At several confrontations, he began to mellow. His views became distorted", the melancholy in his voice echoed across the docks.

"It was at an ambush, thus, I learned that all this time my brother had been a spoil of war. A memento to my father who killed your grandfather. My father Adopted your father and trained him like his own to destroy the Creed. A grand plan until your mother", he scorned, probably at the thought of her. "it was love…", he lamented. "Knox fell in love with your mother and discovered his true identity. He was a Son of Kufu".

"you are Eisenhower. YOU KILLED MY PARENTS", I drew my Ark into spear mode.

Deucalion made a peace sign. "I loved your father more than my family. YOUR MOTHER TOOK MY BROTHER AWAY FROM ME", he spat. 

"Don't, you dare!", he noticed I was about to pounce on him. "Lubaya the Maditau. Oh yes, I know her…", he said as he noticed bewilderment beguiling my face. "has made an errand boy out of you. RUNNING around killing Templars as if it was a just cause. BUT what has she told you about that night? The night your parents were murdered.", he asked. "you killed them… and would have done me so if not for the Odum", I replied.

"ALL LIES. Shall I reveal what actually happened that night? You see as the Angolan Civil War lied a cover-up for our true intentions. Little did I know that the order was to assassinate Knox.

By the time I arrived it was too late…", he said regretfully. "your father was dead on the floor whilst your mother's corpse laid on top of his. Here's the interesting part", he stopped.

"She reminds me of your mother. They are completely different, albeit, there's something there. A type", he stalled as he gestured again to Ta-hawa who was now wiping her blade while the other two, the Warrior King and the princess stood on top of dead bodies with their blades drawn.

Deucalion was defenceless but it was probably what he wanted. "this was an ambush. There was no Super Nova", said Heru-Kwa-Nzinga.

"TRUE. Now that you are all done playing with your food. Allow me to enlighten you all", he gave a mirthful guile. "your parents' bodies laid dead on the floor in their own pool of blood whilst four Odum and the Maditau stood before it. She had your mother's bloody Ark in her hands. I found them DEAD.  I was the only TEMPLAR present", he just released a bomb. "that's… a lie… impossible!", Ta-hawa trembled.

"Yes, the Odum did stop me but that was from trying to kill her. I was clouded with rage. I knew what your mother meant to Knox, and the only person who knew how much your father meant to me was dead!", we all knew what he was trying to convey…

"Lubaya the Maditau, Oracle of the Kongo of Kemet killed your parents because they decided to leave the Creed. By the time Templars arrived, I was the only one found alive, wailing as I held Knox…", he gritted his teeth.

"Powerless I let them take you… and this is what she made of you. What she could not… with your father. An instrument to the Creed.", he spat. For a moment, silence had intruded the unceremonious gathering of foes. I had no strength to stand… Void overtook my reasoning. My mind, hollow… 

"The Creed claims to protect its own yet it only protects its doctrine. It's a one-way road. Your parents broke an unforgivable law; abandoning the Creed which is punishable by death. Such medieval punishments were primitive even to the founders of the Creed", he spat as he knelt to turn over one of his fallen brethren. He grimaced, "I  attended his daughter's christening", he lamented. "it seems that you wish to make the children of my men and women parentless, much like you", he remorsefully looked at the dead bodies of his soldiers.

"Your leader has turned the Creed into a Number's Gang", he continued. The Maditau? "she…", I muttered… "JK… no…", cried Makela.

"Think about it for a second…", he said. "had she told you of your parents? was she transparent at your curiosity or had her response only favour your commission?", he asked bitterly.

"There is no transparency within the Creed. Do not take my word for it. Ask the Monarchs whom you befriended. Why are three out of four Kongo Prime kingdoms hostile to the Maditau and their Creed? Why do the Kinks bear no solid alliance with the Apostles?", he asked. "even you", he pointed at Heru Kwa Nzinga. "Heru the Great, son of Nzinga had to forfeit his Apostlehood", Heru said nothing to oppose that statement.

"The Apostles' Creed has been corrupted by the Maditau! How many lives have you taken, Apostles?", he pointed at Makela and me. "how many wives have you turned to widows? How many children have you left fatherless? Motherless?", I immediately thought of the boy who knelt next to Jed Carter. "you administer violence as a means to achieve peace… then we are not so different", he admitted. "how many have you laid dead? Hundreds? Thousands? For what? Service to a Creed of murderers and killers? You put the Holy Grail apart and the history involved, and you will realise we do not differ from each other."

Suddenly, I was back in the cottage on the bank of river Nzadi just a day before we journeyed to Mavoyo. I felt the same, a bombardment of revelation, and just like then, at that moment… at the docks in the dim of the night. The salty breeze defiled with the pungent of dreaded anxiety, the cold air pressed against my cheek as if a betrayal kiss to such bitter revelation. My mother had warned me of this… I had to act with my head and not with my heart. It was easier said than done…