A battle on the barren land and the tale of the stones

The dark forest, though calm and peaceful during the night holds many dark secrets within the branches of its trees and none but the strongest of men would dare to brave the forest at night. On this very night, three Leopards dared to seek passage through the forest two Ẹṣọs and one hunter. They moved within the shadows without being noticed by the spirits waiting impatiently within their dens for a foolish mortal man to trespass their divine domain. They did not know that their trees had been defiled by mortal feet or that they had come close to feasting on mortal flesh. Thus, they remain oblivious to the fact that the warriors of Oduduwa had passed by unhindered, unchallenged and completely in control.

'I am an Eso

The guardian of the Yoruba Empire

And I have sworn an oath

To the people of my tribe

I am a legacy

A servant of lord Oduduwa

I am an Eso, I am a light

I am a guardian of Oduduwa

I am a defender of the innocent

I am the heartbeat of my tribe

I am the Leopard shadowing the trees

And I am the guardian

Who walks in the shadows of the night?

The green snake, hidden in the green grass

As silent as the spider

And as wild as the Leopard

My chant is like the snake's venom

And my charms are feared by many kingdoms

The trees are my brothers

The soil is my mother and friend

We speak to the winds

We speak to the earth

We can make ourselves valuable to the gods

We are divine

We are the warriors of Oduduwa'

The three Leopards landed in a small clearing at midnight on Ade's orders, they stood on the forest floor and searched the vicinity for any unwanted threats

"Why did we stop?" Babalakan demanded

"It's midnight and we're too close to the evil forest" Ade responded

"We will rest here" Osi-Alara added

"Well, I'm still ready to go" Babalakan grouched "so let's go"

"You go," Ade mocked "but we need our rest, if you're so strong then you can take the first watch"

Babalakan growled in reply

The evil forest is said to be a strange realm and the level of Agbara that flows from its outer fringes is said to increase during the night, which is why men never travel too close to the evil forest at midnight those who do never return and if they do return then it is with madness or with a fatal sickness. Ẹṣọs on the other hand, are different they are the only ones equipped to handle the dangers of the wild. But no warrior would go seeking trouble simply because they are equipped to handle it.

Ade began to make a campfire while Babalakan brought out a calabash of palm wine from his bag, Osi-Alara brought out some dried meat from his bag and they all started eating, after all, it had been a long day

"Well, let's get drunk" Babalakan said as he passed his calabash of palm wine to Ade

"Sorry, but getting drunk in a situation like this can be dangerous" Ade replied as he took a swing of palm wine and then passed the calabash to Osi-Alara

"Well, we must be doing something productive with the time" Osi-Alara observed as he took a sip of the wine

"How about gossiping" Babalakan inquired

"Gossiping is meant for market women, and we are Warriors, we must maintain our self-respect," Ade said puffing his chest out proudly

"So we sit down and do nothing" Babalakan grumbled, in a long-suffering tone

They sat there looking at each other for the better part of 5 minutes, each man carefully taking only one Calabash full of palm wine while chewing down some dried meat, to their amazement Ade started chuckling to himself.

"What is the matter?" Babalakan inquired

"Do you remember the time when Ori-Alara asked Ifa Tinuke to be his second wife?" Ade replied

"You mean the daughter of the Ifa priest? Yes, I know her, my brother had her name on his hit list for years" Ori-Alara added with a chuckle "He seems to know the names of all the radiant females of the village, and in his greed desires to marry them all"

"That was one bold-looking girl," Babalakan observed "she slapped all the evil intentions clean off his face"

"Not to talk about the pride of the Alaramide tribe" Ade added, which got them all laughing, "he became the laughingstock of the whole village"

"And the only thing he talks about is the pride of his tribe as though he is some kind of a god," Babalakan said in between chuckles "The only thing he uses his station for is hunting down beautiful women"

Suddenly Osi-Alara stood up and faced Babalakan with the fury of a large Lion "don't you ever insult my tribe or my brother again" that knocked the smirk off Babalakan's face in an instant "especially when you forgot to mention the time he cried for our mother to hold him during our first mission in the Igbo territory" which started another spasm of laughter

The camp became lively, rich in the laughter of grown men, alerting all the phantoms of the night to their exact location

"Don't ever tell your wives that we were gossiping, it would be a blow on the image of a warrior" Babalakan Observed

"And a blow on our manhood" Ade added

Just then a large rodent ran through the camp, it was so dark that none of them could tell what it looked like, but they knew the sensation, it was the sensation of pure evil flowing out of a harmless animal, and it filled their hearts with dread. The rodent paused for a second to look at the three men right before it vanished into the trees

"And we call ourselves men," Babalakan said after a long pause, trying to restore the good humour of the camp "a big chunk of meat walked into the camp of three mature men and all they did was to look at it"

"Indeed, this is a big blow to our pride as men" Osi-Alara agreed "to allow a piece of meat, flee from our plate"

They had expected Ade to contribute to the self-inflicting play of words, but the only response they were able to get from him was the loud display of silence.

"Ade what's wrong," Babalakan asked, noticing how silent Ade had become

"That animal was not an ordinary rodent; it was a transformed spirit" Ade replied

"A fight?" Babalakan asked

"No," Ade responded "it's a spy"

"They know we're coming" Osi-Alara sighted

"Should we move on?" Babalakan inquired

"Yes! They don't know what we are capable of doing, the only thing that the spy saw were three worthless drunks, foolishly leaving themselves open to attack" Ade observed "we will use this to our advantage, but from now on leave your incisions activated, we are now behind enemy lines"

"Finally, we're going to engage in a fight," Babalakan said in excitement

"I wonder why those stones are so important" Osi-Alara thought aloud

"Because the stones are part of Oduduwa's many gifts to the children of the Yorba Empire, the gift of defence, to protect his children when he is no longer able to protect them himself" Ade replied

"So!" Babalakan exclaimed "you know the story behind the stones"

"Only one of the many stories, which is close to the truth" Ade answered

"Tell us" Osi-Alara voiced eagerly.

"The stones are part of Oduduwa's legacy, he brought them with him from 'Orun' (the heavens) he said that these stones 13 in number, have the natural ability to repel evil spirits and to make full-blown demons weaker" Ade voiced gazing intently into the fire

"So the stone prevents evil spirits from invading our village" Osi-Alara observed

"They also prevent the demons from invading the Yoruba empire" Ade added "most especially the 13 strongest demons in the group, the greatest threat to mankind, not just the Yoruba empire. The ones called the "Ogo-omo" the strongest that ever existed"

"We've heard about them, but I was told that there are only 12 of them," said Osi-Alara

"Make no mistake my friend there are 13 of them and I assure you they will not stop until all of mankind has been turned to dust," Ade said with all the seriousness he possessed

"There are 12 and I know this for a fact because it is proven, the 13th demon is said to be a rebel" Babalakan countered, looking straight into Ade's eyes subconsciously preparing for an argument.

"We're saying the same thing the last demon was initiated hundreds of years ago, it is now a mindless beast wandering the lands like wild deer," Ade said concluding Babalakan's analysis

"Some say that the last demon still retained his humanity," Babalakan said

"There is no such thing as a holy demon," Ade said as though that concluded the conversation,

The two Ẹṣọs had a deep suspicion that their friend meant far more than what the words sounded like, from the way he gazed into the evil forest to the years of suffering revealed in his eyes. It could all be seen plainly from the expression on his face. "What happens when a boy who was mad returns home 50 years later with his sanity restored"

"No one would recognize him, not even his own family" Osi-Alara pointed out

"He loses his position as a son because his whole life had been wasted away in madness for 50 years, life means nothing because it was never lived, no memories, no history, the only footpath that exists is the one leading to the graveyard," Ade said in a mystic tone

"So," Babalakan said, bringing Ade back to his senses "why were the stone taken in the first place?"

"Any item of power is known to be capable of achieving great good and great evil, I might not know why the stone was stolen, but the power of the stone is immeasurable. The stone is like a Calabash filled with the strength of a million Warriors in the wrong hands it can be very deadly" Ade replied "we must find the stone before its power is unlocked"

****

The next day the 3 men had a quick meal of cassava flakes (Gari) mixed up with cool sugarcane water and then they were rushing off through the trees at an even faster pace than the previous day.

"Akija Village is only a day's journey from here" Babalakan observed "Do you think that someone else could have gone this far" he wondered

"No" Ade put in confidently "sometimes money or the need thereof, dulls the human wit. They're all looking in the wrong place"

"Ha!" Babalakan exclaimed with pleasure

"How about a race," Osi-Alara said to his comrades, also filled with the excitement of victory "first to reach the evil forest takes half the prize"

"Not interested," Ade said

"I don't race anymore" Babalakan answered

To Osi-Alara's amusement the actions of both Ade and Babalakan spoke otherwise with a sudden burst of energy the three men shot through the forest like wild Panthers, nothing stood in their way. Each man skilfully evaded the tree branches while still maintaining their velocity with impressive accuracy, for them, each tree simply passed by unworthy of their notice. The one who was most impressive in his skills to travel through the trees was Babalakan, he shot through the trees with such force that he left his two friends far, far behind. He could taste victory in the air, this was the only reason why he let his guard down one moment, a moment too late. The trees simply vanished and to his absolute shock, he was moving with so much force that he couldn't stop, even if he wanted to. Babalakan found himself high in the air at about 80 feet above the ground without anything to grab a hold of to break his fall, so he simply accepted his fate and braced himself for impact. The ground shook and the sound of Babalakan's fall could be felt beneath the earth and above the ground.

"Babalakan!!" Both Ade and Osi-Alara screamed, rushing towards their friend to see if there was still a chance to save his life. As they reached him Ade pulled him out of the sand and tried to find out if his heart was still beating "he's alive" Ade said in a panicky voice

"The gods be praised" Osi-Alara pronounced

"Of course I'm alive," Babalakan said in a third voice "it's a good thing that you told us to keep our incisions activated; if not then I really would have died"

Ade and Osi-Alara were overjoyed to see that their friend Babalakan is still alive. They once again exchanged comradely greetings as though they were meeting for the first time as foolish as it seems then Babalakan stood up though from the way he moved they could see that he was a little unsteady on his feet but otherwise he was whole.

"The great Eso of Ilu-ino who can stand before the man of iron and will" Ade praised

"Yes!" Babalakan acknowledged with his head swelling "I am not a man who can be killed easily; I stand before great men because I am great"

"For you to have survived such a fall means that you have wrestled with the gods, you are a man" Osi-Alara praised as he patted his friend on the back

The laughing and rejoicing stopped the moment the three warriors realised that they were standing in the middle of barren land, a small piece of land void of life right down to the undergrowth even the nutrient that should be in the soil was missing.

"It seemed like two very strong Balogun's had a meeting here" Osi-Alara observed, in other words, the two Balogun's had engaged in a 'to the death battle. "What is this place?"

"To stumble into barren soil in the middle of the forest was impossible," Ade said "I know! I'm a hunter"

"So the question is not what this place is? But rather what happened here" Babalakan sighted out "Osi find out what you can from the soil"

Osi nodded in acknowledgement right before he squatted to touch the earth, at first his face was calm and his countenance was normal but then his Agbara exploded startling his two friends. Ade immediately realised that they had walked into a trap. The soil beneath Osi-Alara's fingers gathered itself together preparing a sudden attack that would have killed Osi-Alara, but for Ade pushing him out of the way.

"It's a trap!" Osi –Alara shouted, the moment he snapped out of his trance

In an instant the earth came to life, it began to move with a strange aura leaking from the surface. Then strange monsters began to sprout from the undergrowth, their forms seemed human but one could say that if these beings were human, it had been a long time ago. Their flesh had long since dried up in rot, human bones perturbed from the leathery skin in unimaginable angles. It seemed like they had been created from the barren soil itself. The evil apparitions approached the three warriors screeching in defiance, Ade smiled, to him these things are nothing.

"200 against 3" Babalakan said "it's not fair," he said in a worried tone

"These are sole feeders!" Ade said to his two friends "their true name and origin has long been forgotten, smash their skulls to kill them"

The moment the three men charged, Babalakan's body expanded, it became a mass of rippling muscles, much larger than it used to be, the full effect of his activated incision had come into play. Unlike most Ẹṣọs, Babalakan's tribe is different, while all the other tribes made covenants with various entities like the earth, the rivers or the gods to pass these covenants down to the next generation. Babalakan's tribal ancestors never made any covenant whatsoever, but still received the Agbara enhancing incision, and this forced the Agbara to dissolve into their flesh enhancing their physical strength beyond humanly possible.

As Babalakan landed a blow on his victim, its skull exploded at the sudden impact, what is surprising was how easily Babalakan found it to move his large bulky body

Osi-Alara though a little dizzy from his recent conversation with the earth still had enough strength for a fight, especially when it comes to battling minor foes like these. Osi-Alara in the heat of the battle revealed the secret chant of the Alaramide tribe, a chant feared throughout the Yoruba Empire. Small flames in the form of candlelight appeared on the tip of his middle finger, the venom of a scorpion the official animal covenant of the Alaramide tribe. It was believed that their founding father was the reincarnation of a great warrior from the spirit realm, who had returned to complete his mission on earth, the name Alaramide/Aramide meaning 'my body has come' a popular name among those believed to have returned from the spirit realm. The Lion tribe, a title they are commonly called by because they are the most respected tribe in the whole of the Yoruba empire, once Osi-Alara strikes down a bone joint with the scorpion's sting the bone joint is instantly rendered numb and all the nerves in the spot neutralized slowing down his opponent making it easier to put an end to the battle, should he strike all the joints in the body, then his opponent would be temporarily paralysed.

Any beast with the ill fortune to face the wrath of Osi-Alara's scorpion sting chant was instantly turned into a helpless pup, ẹṣọs who possessed the covenant of the animal was called 'Era n-bayon' (beast-like man) all Alaramide members are known by that name because of the nature of their covenant. All human beings can store within their bodies a maximum of two covenants, in Osi-Alara's case he had the covenant of the earth and the covenant of the scorpion, the legacy he had inherited from his ancestors.

Ade was fast and though hunters might not have a strong family history like the ẹṣọs they were still seen as a very important aspect in the warrior's evolution of power, especially for the ẹṣọs. He had the covenant of the wind, a strong Agbara potential and like all hunters, he lacked an incision, but that didn't slow him down, the hunters are exceptional fighters, especially in situations like this one. The hunters knew the secrets of the forest and almost all the challenges that they might face, according to rumours the hunters are responsible for some of the most powerful chants utilized by the warriors.

Ade had the ability to chant into the wind to shape it into any form he desired, he also could focus the wind attack power into a single spot thereby making it as sharp as a blade, and he took out ten soulless beasts with one swing.

The battle ended quickly, the three men fought bravely and they were victorious they didn't break a sweat,

"As I said, this is highly unfair" Babalakan complained

"We won, didn't we?" Ade scolded "and we're still alive"

"What he means is that they should have brought more" Osi-Alara corrected "then it would have made the fight more interesting"

"Oh!" Ade exclaimed, looking around the barren land again "I think I know what happened here"

"The soil told me that they were here, the witches of the forest, they were the ones who drained the essence of this land" Osi-Alara pointed

"How could they have gained such power?" Babalakan wondered

"The stones," Ade responded "they have unlocked its power, but from all indications, they still lack the knowledge of how to control it"

"They're witches, they'll learn," Babalakan said in irritation "Osi-Alara did the soil say when it was abused?"

"Yes! Yesterday" Osi-Alara responded

"This complicates things," Ade said "now we have limited time. We must move now" on saying this he jumped into the trees flanked by his two friends.