22/01/2022
In the beginning God created the first man. He was made out of brown earth and his name was Adam. He was a black man and exceptionally beautiful to behold. Adam was given the power of command, so that he could speak things into existence and instruct other living creatures as well as the elements. Adam was also given a locket which he wore by a chain around his neck always. This locket and its necklace were made of Domiferrum, the most indestructible material upon the earth that came to be known as gods' steel.
The content of Adam's locket was a single strand of light taken directly from the Divine. That strand of light caused Adam's locket to permanently radiate an energy called Logos, the energy of Divinity. Logos is the greatest energy in all of existence and it gave Adam the power to manipulate time and space. With his locket, Adam could recreate time if he was not pleased with its passage, he could adjust the dimensions of the Earth’s space and alter sub-atomic particles even smaller than dark matter. In short, he could do anything.
Adam was not just the first man, he was the first god. The first of the black gods who ruled the Earth. Adam knew that the energy of Logos did not naturally occur anywhere upon the Earth. This was because it was not native to the Earth unlike the other energies: Kineros – the energy of motion; Aquamos the energy of water; Terrenos the energy of earth and Dãh the unique energy of the human mind.
There was also Arcanos the energy of darkness; Solaris the energy of the sun; Lunaris the energy of the moon; Malevolos the energy of chaos and destruction. The most precious of all the energies of the Earth and the most mysterious (because even Adam could not search its depths) was Chí – which is the energy of life. However, none of the Earth’s naturally occurring energies could alter time and space the way Logos did for Adam with the exception of one.
Adam discovered a highly unstable energy which he named Discorsos. It was the energy of Disharmony and it had the power to alter time and space but it was far too unstable. Its existence however was proof to Adam that the Energy he required could be created from the earth's core energies. This was how Adam became the first man to produce Cré – the energy of universal balance and harmony.
Cré was a rare and exceptional energy to produce. It could open doorways in time and reconfigure all manner of natural phenomena. Adam could produce Cré energy as he pleased but all who came after him struggled greatly to do so, even the black gods who ruled the Earth through the first four ages of humanity’s sojourn upon it.
In the 22nd century AD, a prophecy came to the attention of those who had the ears to hear upon the Earth. It was a prophecy directly from the Scribes of Heaven – the immortals who write the scripts along which human affairs interplay upon the Earth. The Scribes revealed via that prophecy, that a child was about to be born; a glorybearer. That distinct line of superhumans imbued with diverse powers from the heavens who par fois were even mightier than the gods; albeit only for a single lifetime.
This child… the glorybearer; was indeed special. A masterpiece of the heavens. He would have the ability from birth to produce Cré, the energy of universal balance and harmony. The prophecy also stated that he would be raised by the gods but it did not specify which ones. That seemingly innocuous omission threw the world of the gods into a frenzy, as almost every god desired to become this glorybearer's adopted parent.
Since the prophecy did not exclude any, every one of the black gods could rightly assume that they would be the best god to raise the glorybearer. This translated into open contest amongst the gods on who would take possession of the child at birth; for what better time it was assumed, to claim the child, than at birth?
It meant age-old alliances and bitter feuds were immediately reignited as the gods aligned into their various camps, each with intent to find the child first.
By prophecy, the child would be born in the city of Lagos and there was a great anticipation of his birth by all. Even the most callous of the gods, were willing to become protective parents for his sake.
Ekwensu god of deception and Esu god of darkness converged with their allies atop the mythical Idanre hills for a strategic meeting. Even though both gods had been fierce rivals in the past, they both agreed that an alliance was the best option for them at this time. The unique thing about this alliance was that both Esu and Ekwensu were leaders of their respective clans of gods, many of whom didn’t see eye to eye as individuals but now were forced to work together to achieve a common purpose.
Ekwensu had in his ranks, Eke the python god, Egbesu god of warfare, Anyanwu sun god, Eren god of fire, Uyai god of beauty, Eben god of weapons, Owan moon god and Aru god of villainy; who was also his daughter.
Esu was the leader of a clan of gods that included: Omila god of robbers, Kojo god of cults and secret societies (who was also Esu's nephew), Sopona god of contagion and disease, Okwakwa the harmattan god, Magun god of boundaries, Osa-oke the mountain god and Awodi god of flight.
As per their nature, neither Ekwensu nor Esu fully revealed their hand. Ekwensu had kept back N'anya god of assassins who was his secret ally, from being a part of that meeting while Esu had asked Orisa Ibeji the powerful twin gods who were his allies, to stay away from the meeting.
“We are on the verge of a crucial moment in our history.
Esu spoke in a voice that conveyed clarity and confidence as he addressed the assembly of gods.
Tonight, a child is to be born. A glorybearer. The child’s peculiarities mean that he has the power to influence the two most important factors for success in any endeavour: time and opportunity. It is crucial this child does not fall into the hands of our enemies. That would be a disaster… even though we are who we are and we fear nothing.
Esu's last line made several of the gods to nod in affirmation but it was only Ekwensu that spoke thereafter.
“Truly we are who we are. For us, there is no nobility in defeat. Give me always an ignoble victory over a noble loss. Nobility is by the standards of men. We are gods and our standards are who we are. If we be evil as some say, then let our standards be the procurement of victory tonight by the most evil of means where necessary. Let nothing suffice for us this night except victory!”
Ekwensu's words were rousing onto warfare… for those who needed rousing. Eben god of weapons, was always in warfare mode so he had little need for Ekwensu’s words. However, Eben did have need of an answer to his question and it was an audacious one… but audacity represents the good manners of a god.
“You both speak well but my question is would either of you be willing to lose his life for this cause in the manner you so earnestly urge the rest of us to do? I don't think so. I don’t believe either of you is in the business of sacrificing yourselves to procure victory for others.”
Esu's eyes glowered as he cast them fiercely upon Eben before turning them upon Ekwensu to whose clan of gods Eben belonged.
Ekwensu may have been raging inside of him as well due to Eben's provocative words but he maintained an external aura of the greatest calm as he responded to the god of weapons:
“You should know better than this Eben. I hold you in high esteem for your mastery in weapon making and the conduct of warfare but I cannot make a believer in me out of you. The burden of faith is yours alone to bear. You cannot follow me if death is not a thing you already have in your pouch.”
Although he had spoken several words in his deceptively calm response, Ekwensu knew he needed only one word to further rile Eben (which was his intent). That word was carefully hidden amidst a smattering of others but it went like a dagger straight through the heart of the god of weapons.
“Who are you calling 'follower'?” Eben raged as he instantly summoned a Domiferrum sword flashing tremendous pulses of Discorsos energy which would give him dastardly power for at least a few minutes before the highly unstable energy dissipated.
Esu could restrain himself no longer.
“Sopona!”
The god of contagion immediately became a dark mist which streamed itself in a flash at the god of weapons. That dark mist penetrated Eben's orifices even though the god of weapons emitted an extremely bright flash of his Chí energy in an attempt to halt the contagion... it was a hopeless attempt.
Sopona's mist overwhelmed the god of weapons in mere seconds as it ruthlessly decimated his Chí (which is the energy of life), so that every part of Eben- god of weapons, started to rot and crumble visibly before the on-looking gods. After a brief but useless struggle followed by the most harrowing of screams, the god of weapons was reduced to no more than a scattered pile of stinking soil.
When the black mist reformed into Sopona god of contagion, the look on his face just after consuming the god of weapons, was no different from that of a man who just wiped his hands after an unsatisfactory meal. This was not lost on Ekwensu or any of the other gods present.
“He's not coming with us”, Ekwensu told Esu pointedly.
“Why?” Esu asked with an expression of disbelief which was completely disingenuous of course.
“We are going to abduct the child not to kill him. We cannot be distracted. Sopona stays back.” Ekwensu spoke with finality prompting Esu to shrug his shoulders in response. Ekwensu spun sharply from the god of darkness to address the remaining gods:
“gods of the earth, we converge in Lagos!”
A few minutes past midnight, at the world-famous Lagos University Teaching Hospital, a coolly air-conditioned room was being shared by two mothers who had both put to bed adorable baby boys only hours before. Their healthy sons were sleeping in cots beside their mothers in a picture perfect setting that portended nothing of the magnitude of calamity that was upon them.
Esu and Ekwensu passed through the walls into the room using Arcanos energy and its ability to permeate through solid mediums.
“How do we know which child is the right one?” Ekwensu asked Esu.
“We will test both of them by fire… Esu replied as he cast a huge bale of dark fire (which is armour-piercing for armours made of most earthly energies).
… the child that does not burn is the glorybearer.”
Esu started with the baby boy to his left, streaming an excessive blast of dark fire directly at the child which would speedily kill the child and eliminate any time-wasting before their rival gods could arrive the hospital.
Incredibly, the child did not burn. Even in his sleep he exuded an impenetrable armour of Cré energy which protected him from any possible harm.
Ekwensu should have smiled but instead his eyes dimmed as he created a powerful barrier of Arcanos energy micro seconds too late to protect Esu as well, from the double-tongued fork of lightning that tore into the hospital room smashing Esu viciously against the reinforced concrete wall. Ekwensu needed no telling; Sango, god of lightning and thunder was here.
Showing superhuman reflex, Ekwensu directed a terrible blast of Arcanos energy in a sharp 180 degree arc against what he knew was inevitably going to follow. That Arcanos blast was repelled brilliantly by an even mightier blast of Kineros energy as Ogun god of war came storming into the fray.
With Sango attacking from Ekwensu’s left flank and Ogun from his right, Ekwensu allowed himself to be sucked into their middle before using concentric bands of intense Arcanos to permeate all three gods including himself, from the thirteenth floor of the hospital complex where they were, down in the blink of an eye to the ground floor.
In doing this, Ekwensu provided Esu a free run at grabbing the child Glorybearer, or so he thought. Osun the female marine god whose speed defied human understanding snatched the glorybearer right in front of Esu and flew off with him into the night sky. Esu who also possessed incredible speed gave hot pursuit of her but just outside the hospital walls he was brought crashing to the earth by a blaze of red lightning- the signature of Amadioha, counterpart god of lightning and thunder.
Amadioha wielded a machete made of red lightning which he used to hack violently against Esu's skull but the god of darkness' Arcanos armour protected him from death although each blow made his head ring in shattering pain. Esu was saved by the trio of Okwakwa- harmattan god, Awodi god of flight and Omila god of robbers who encircled Amadioha, engaging him in fierce battle freeing Esu to continue his pursuit of Osun and the glorybearer she carried.
Esu knew he could still catch up to Osun because she was constrained by the child she carried and could not move at her greatest speed as the baby’s body could not withstand movement at such speed. It was thus advantage to the god of darkness, in what was a frenetic race between the gods.
Read the full story for free here:
https://innermagnitude.blogspot.com/2022/01/glorybearer.html?m=1
