Report to the Hand of Olodumare

The sun lit up the giant palm tree at the centre of Ile Ife, a symbolic gem of nature that embodied the origin of the Yoruba people. Its sixteen branches were a testament to the sixteen principles of Ifa, a sacred practice and way of life created by Orunmila in his first life. It was a practice dedicated to Olodumare, the Supreme being. In the hands of a mere mortal, this way of life was a path to spiritual awakening. Still, in the hands of an Orisha, the possibilities were endless. 

The temple of Ifa was under the great palm tree. Its roots were so large that they cracked the ground open and left pockets of spaces underneath the tree. The sun shone through these spaces and lit up the underground tunnels. The spaces were forged into the largest ifa temple in the Yoruba territory. The awos engaged in their sacred dances and songs praising Olodumare at a large hall in the temple. The engravings on the walls were aesthetic. 

Voices came from Orunmila's lair within the temple. "Let me take part in the opening ceremony, I beg you, wise one", Orisade said with one knee on the floor. "We rehearsed this Orisade, and only the best performers were chosen. You should know that favouritism only brings division", Orunmila said while seated at the centre of his lair with his white ancestral staff in his hand and his white robe on his body. The room was lit by torches hung on every corner of the wall. Various relics and artefacts were displayed, from colourful masks to animal parts to calabash, staffs and different sculptures of different sizes. 

There was a short pillar at the centre of the room. A hollow bowl was calved on the top of the pillar and filled with water. There was a large white piece of clothing like a curtain on the wall behind Orunmila. "You know I can perform as well as them, wise one. It brings great honour to my father to see me marvel in front of the great kings and orisas from various kingdoms", Orisade said. 

Orunmila let out a sigh of concern. "Orisade, awo tin je ki awo wuyan (An awo that makes awo appealing to one). You set standards amongst your peers. Of all the awos born without the essence of Olodumare, you are the most talented. You work the hardest too. Sometimes, I wonder if you were born of an Orisa. Your weakness is this bondage your father has placed upon you. It eats up the good in you. You must not live for others but yourself and let others benefit from the life you choose for yourself, but not the other way round", Orunmila said.

"Truly, you deserve to be at the centre of everything, but we can't be great at everything. Even I have my own shortcomings. The rehearsal was conducted with the utmost diligence, and those picked were chosen fairly. I cannot distort the order of things with sentiments, my child", Orunmila said. "Now leave me. I must attend to urgent matters", the wise one said calmly. The disappointment in Orisade's eyes was evident, and he knew there was nothing more he could say to change his mind. "As you wish, wise one", Orisade said before walking out of the room. 

Orisade paced through the strings of beads at the entrance of Orunmila's lair. He was so angry that he overlooked Ifaromi, who stood at the corner of the door. Ifaromi heard everything. He felt sorry for Orisade in a way. He knew his troubles, but Orisade was challenging to be friends with and hard to cheer up. He had always been a lone wolf since he joined the disciples of Ifa. Ifaromi wondered why at times. He was the son of the second richest man in the Kingdom. His wealth was second to only the Ooni's wealth. He was handsome with a well-crafted figure, and his ase could have rivalled his own if he had the blood of an Orisa. Everyone wanted to be around him, but he was cold and scary. Only a few didn't mind his stern nature. Ifaromi snapped back from his thoughts. He walked into his father's lair, but Orunmila was nowhere to be found. 

Akingbade brushed aside the bushes while he walked through the forest of Igbesa, northeast of Gberefu Island. His feet sunk into the wet mash as he paced forward. The cool breeze of the rainforest sent chills down his spine. His destination was just ahead of him. At the centre of the thick rainforest rested a palm tree with various engravings and a white cloth tied to its mid-section. He walked up to the palm tree and knelt down on one knee. Some markings appeared on the white fabric as though they were burnt into it by the atmosphere. 

Akingbade tapped his left deltoid three times, and the emblem of a messenger of the Hand of Olodumare appeared on it. He began to use his ase by speaking to the atmosphere in the ordained language. "Inti enu ba wi lafefe ngbo (it is what the mouth speaks that the wind hears)", he incanted. The wind formed a strong circle around him and blew apart from all angles as if it cleared the environment around him. The trees and bushes wiggled as a testament to the wind's strength. The wind gathered around him again and remained like a force field. 

"Kosi ilekun ti afefe koleshi (There is no door the wind cannot open),

Tigi ba nagoro, kole duro ti afefe ban koja (if the tree stands strong, it cannot stand as such when the wind passes)

Iranse Olodumare loduro si waju e (The messenger of Olodumare stands before you),

Jen wole (let me enter)", he chanted. 

The emblem on his left deltoid shone, and the palm tree absorbed him. 

Akingbade was sucked into a room in the astral plane, an infinite world between the world of the living and the underworld. It was an abstract world that was a passage for departing souls into the underworld and connected both worlds. It was not a world that any being, living or dead, could inhabit without divine intervention. Orunmila was such an intervention.

The Orisha of wisdom's mastery of atmospheric power allowed him to create rooms in the astral plane and mould them into his chosen places. These rooms could be accessed by those who Orunmila had marked and them alone. The only other Orisha with such an intervention was Ala, the Orisha of earth and the underworld. 

Eight tall chairs were mounted on elevated stone altars, each to an altar. Seven of the chairs were occupied by Orisha Agbas, divine messengers of Olodumare who administered the affairs of the sect known as the Hand of Olodumare. One chair was empty. The other chairs were occupied by Orunmila, Yemonja, Oritse, Umunaaja, Anyawu, Ikenga, and Sarkin Aljan. Akingbade knelt on one knee and bowed before them. "Greetings, divine ones", Akingbade said.

"What message do you have for us, Akingbade" Orunmila asked. "A ship docked at the shores of Gberefu Island yesterday evening. It was carrying foreigners, white people", Akingbade said. "This is the third time this month such has occurred", Umunaaja said. "The frequency now disturbs me", he added. "Yes, it seems our lands are beginning to get noticed more often", Orunmila said. "It could be because the Songhai Empire and their neighbouring territories have taken kindly to foreign visitors. We should have levelled their cities a long time ago and made slaves of them", Sarkin Aljan said.

"We protect, we do not destroy unless it is indispensable, and certainly, we do not conquer", Yemoja said. "The three shrines of Olodumare are our only concern, and they belong to our territory, not theirs", she added. "Yet our will to keep the shrines unblemished remains under threat as long as those foreigners intrude on our lands. They do not have the resilience to resist the darkness in these lands. My stand remains the same. Wipe them all out", Sarkin Aljan said. 

"To protect the will of Olodumare, we must ensure not to spread the despair of Okunkun", Orunmila said. "Yes, but it is only a matter of time before we are exposed. These foreigners are not to be underestimated, and they have some strange and powerful tools in their care", Anyawu said. "For now, we do the barest minimum till we find an everlasting solution", Orunmila said. "I trust you took care of the situation, trusted messenger", Umunaaja said. "Yes, divine one", Akingbade replied. 

"Are we certain that Oba Akran has nothing to do with these frequent disturbances?", Yemoja asked. "Our messenger remains rooted among his guards, and our suspicions have not been confirmed", Akingbade said. "Any news from Warewa?" Orunmila asked. "She remains concealed in the Kingdom of Benin, and she is yet to make contact", Akingbade said. "Very well, we must prepare for the festival tomorrow. Leave us", Yemoja said. "As you wish, divine ones", Akingbade said. He tapped his left deltoid three times, and he disappeared.