The Cannibals of Caliba 01

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Far below the plains and valley of the Old Earth, by the moving fogs and dense brown grove full of red

mangroves though it appeared above the Ngwal Ocean water level is Caliba, a slightly small land surrounded

by huge rocks held on by tiny yet fragile-looking ones. It is what some people call today the Stone Age.

The people of Caliba are gifted with the traits of fertility hatched on their DNA coupled with that they rarely

feel the murderous pain childbearing entail. The source of this gift is yet to be revealed even to this day. As

time passed by to the time of the great plague, many people died of the plague. All over their environs, there

were houses and farms with no one to till the ground and live in them yet the Calibians flourished in

population despite the death occurrence. Soon the news of their increase went across turns and villages like

wide fire, it struck envy and unexplained hate. They were evaded by slave traders and their enemies. One by

one, they began to lose a loved one. The land known for peace become a land fi lled with great sorrow. This

hellish act went on from generation to generation till a very old man whose years had experienced both joy,

pain and sorrow went to the Ngwal Ocean for divination on what to do. His name was Isi Ala. His grayed-out

hair had a unique cornrow style that grew out lengths to this shoulders, he had a straight but concise tribal

mark on his forehead down to his left eyebrow. He spent years by the ocean seeking, pondering for guidance.

Pleading the gods his fathers before him had worshiped to come to their rescue yet no god helped. It seemed

that they had abandoned the Calibaan to their faith. Still, Isi Ala continued his plea till his back became fully

bent and his knees feeble.

He pondered on many things "Why didn't the gods help?" He sometimes wondered. He never thought that

maybe, just maybe the gods kept away because they needed the Calibaans to fi nd their strength.

After many years spent on consecutive pleadings made by Isi Ala. He met Ngwal Apata, the God of the Rock.

He was the most aggressive of all the gods and was never worshiped by the earthen because of his unfriendly

attitude. His feet and hands were rocky but his face was like that of the glowing moon. He rarely laughed or

smiled and has no friends either. Seeing that no gods came to the Calibaan's rescue, he decided to usurp the

opportunity.

It was a surprise to Isi Ala when he came to the rescue. Due to how desperate he was, he did not see anything

wrong with the assistance Ngwal Apata had decided to render. One of the reasons, he decided to help was

because he had not received any offerings for a long time.

"Thank you Ngwal" Isi Ala paid obeisance

Without beating about the bush, the god went to the matter at hand "In the time of crisis, I will open my

rocks and they will be a refuge to you. In the time of war, I will unlock the gates of my boulders, they will act

as a shield for you."

These were the words he said to Isi Ala, they made a covenant, and the promise passed on from generation to

generation. The meats of those sacrificed were eaten by the people and their blood splashed on the rocks.

However, the god gave a condition for his help of which Isi Ala promised to keep his end of the bargain and

he did. He assigned the killing of the sacrifice to the Obiri tribe of Caliba. They were the most prestigious and

noteworthy tribe who seemed loving on the surface but wisely wicked within to anyone who is not of the

Caliba blood. The sacrifice entailed the killing of foreign blood to preserve the lives of the people as an

offering to the gods. So far, at least in that age, the women of Obiri had been successful in bringing strange

men to be sacrificed but soon the news traveled that the Caliba women were not to be trusted because of the

men they had come in contact with panned out disappearing. Though their findings were not factual the

rumors had already created fear. The inability to get a new sacrifice created an uproar in the land, not too long

Isi Ala died.

The time came for them to sacrifice foreign blood but the Obiri tribe could not bring anyone to the shrine.

The Ngwal ocean arose in anger year after year reminding them of his rites, the rock guiding the village spun

around in anger still there was no new sacrifice. Another plague fell from the sky and killed many more

people, more enemies began to spring up. They plotted ways to attack and kidnap the children of Caliba.

The herds of black silhouette eagles in the evening sky alerted the watchman who rushed to the Village

bearing news of intending raid about to befall them. The young and old, weak and able crawled hurriedly into

the guiding rock. The rock opened and shielded them, it continued to protect despite their failure in

redeeming the pledge.

The raiders came and met empty houses even the animals were nowhere to be found. They of course

wondered where the people were as their belonging were in their houses, prepared foods on their tables, and water pots boiling on the fireplace. They searched for them but they could not find them. When the evening

sun began to set they went back to where they hailed from passing on a rumor about the disappearance of the

Calibaans.

The people of Caliba were overjoyed but it was short-lived as the first woman to enter the rock died so also

was the last man that had entered. The dead bodies were swallowed up by the rock as it spun in anger and

then stood calmly on the tiny rock as nothing had happened earlier. The day of joy became a day of sorrow,

the people wept, moaned but it didn't bring back the dead. The head of the Obiri tribe could not hold the

pain of losing a loved one, the first woman who entered the rock was his wife and the last man who entered

was his only son. He saw no hope to live and decided to sacrifice himself.

The news of the disappearance of the Calibaans had traveled far, it brought many warriors and raiders into

the village. The rock continued to shield them. When the next raid was about to happen the head of the Obiri

tribe went in first, he was killed so also was the last person. Many who left Caliba with the intention to escape

ended up dead. Their bodies were washed back to the shore of the Ngwal Ocean. The people felt caged,

trapped, and became despondent. The quest to kill became their obsession, the insanity that kept them alive

to this day.