Alade (Irunmole Saga)

by Jean-Marc Akerele

  Over the next few months they kept me working at a frenetic pace as it seemed that there was an abundance of enemies who needed to be punished in my own unique manner. Sometimes they would have me leave a person lost in the madness of a terrifying dream which I had crafted in their minds until that person finally gave in to whatever demands that Niño’s people were trying to extract from them and at other times I was the most brutal of executioners, always killing but never softly and always harshly to set an example and cement my reputation in this underworld in which I now lived. My powers continued to grow exponentially as my dark actions stimulated new growth in the vortex of despair which now held sway deep within me. I found new ways of utilizing my dark ase which was transforming into something far beyond the energy with which I left my home with. I was no longer limited to psychic skills and I found that I could actively affect the physical world in ways that were previously impossible to me without the reciprocity of the Gods. I was free of that necessity now, the need to exchange my devotion for the continued renewal of my power and I was now a free agent. I could invade minds and break them or mold them how I saw fit and at the same time my hunger for spiritual energy grew and I found myself sometimes seeking out conflict for the sheer joy of slaughter and the dark energy that it injected into my deviant soul. I served Niño and his people for access yes, but I soon realized that I would have done it for free. This darkness in me was not a separate entity but an inseparable part of me as much Alade, as my name, and I reveled in it and the freedom that it promised me. I stood by the apartment building on 6921 Georgia Avenue once more waiting for Niño’s people to come pick me up I was looking forward to the night’s events. They always surprised me with the work that they required of me and tonight I was feeling particularly vicious. Hopefully, they would provide me with a decent outlet because if not, then let’s just say that someone else would have to suffer instead. And now a person’s innocence or guilt was of no concern to me all. All that mattered was whether they could scream.

  Elsewhere, Yemoja sat on her throne in her great temple in Ile-Ife watching the drama unfold. She could sense the various energy currents moving through the fabric of reality and knowing the damage that the Earth’s imbalance was causing, she wept for it wounded her to the quick. What had gone wrong, she thought to herself? This war with the Interloper was never supposed to have been and even though the Orishas had struck the first blow the Interloper had taken a great toll upon Yemoja and her siblings. Many of the Orishas now were in a state of stasis, a comatose like dream state which is the closest thing to death that these Gods would ever experience, weak and defeated, useless to Yemoja in her ongoing effort to win this war. Angrily, she stood up, shaking off her reverie, refusing to fall victim to despair just as her tool Alade had been forced to in pursuit of the power she had placed before him. She had made her tactical move and now she must trust in the strategy which she had formulated so long ago and allow her great weapon to grow in the heart of darkness where she had sent him. As long as Esu kept his word and remained aloof of this struggle, the tides of this war would change and the Orishas would be ascendant once more. But where was Orunmila? The Witness of Fate had disappeared at a time when she most needed his counsel. The usurpations of younger Gods could be soon wiped away and the balance would be restored just as it was when Ile-Ife was born so long again, and he was nowhere to be found. The grand purpose of that magical land called to her and she sat down once again upon her throne and found her eyes closing, her memories drawing her back in time into the celestial mists of Creation, a time of great achievement not only for the Orishas, but for all the many Gods who at that time walked upon the Earth. And as she fell deeper in her dreams she remembered a name, a name from the before time began, the name of the one whom in their pride and arrogance they had all forgotten; the name of Oludumare, the One True God, the entity that had created all the Gods.

  It is sometimes called selective memory, the ability to recall the events of the past in a manner that is only advantageous to the person doing the remembering, and the various Gods and Goddesses of the Earth suffered from a healthy dose of it. They knew that they were not the omniscient, omnipotent beings that their worshippers believed them to be but in their pride and greed they began in time to believe this great publicity and soon became blind to the truth; that they too were created for a purpose by a higher being, that they too had a responsibility in maintaining the balance of power in the cosmos. Many eons ago the One True God Oludumare had been rudely snatched from its state of cosmic contemplation by a strange urge that had begun to take shape deep within its being and it began to sense that it needed to put into place certain actions if it was ever to be able the return to its peaceful contemplation. For even the One God had duality in its nature and it was this constant war which raged deep within it that had awoken it. But this was not some petty power whimsical in its desires and actions; no, this was the very stuff of creation, the energy and form of the cosmos which was everything and nothing, both Chaos and Order. So Oludumare reached out with its power and first created celestial messengers who would carry its will to the far corners of the cosmos, and its message of life and Order out of Chaos. The first messenger was called Orunmila, though in truth all the messenger Gods were created by this action, but human perception and indeed their own perception of themselves, had altered the original idea into so many variations that each culture had their own version, such as the Hermes for the Greeks, Aput for the Egyptians and even for the Italians there was Corvus. But Oludumare was above such concerns and its only goal was to finish creation and restore the balance so that it could return to its mighty contemplation of the cosmos. It called forth four hundred and one Irunmoles, supernatural beings created out of its own substance and sent them forth to do its bidding, and to create the Earth, so that there would be a beacon of Order in the roiling Chaos that it was. It was Orunmila, who persuaded his siblings, the other Irunmoles, to take part in creation, that this action, though unprecedented, was magnificent and could only benefit them all. Through the powers granted them by the One God, they shaped the unformed mass of energy that had been placed there by Oludumare into the Earth, dividing the land and the waters and used this energy to give life to the planet itself so that it would act as an anchor in the quickly growing cosmos, the foundation of Order in the universe whose natural state is Chaos. Privileged because he was the Witness of Fate, Orunmila was allowed to choose two hundred and fifty-six of the Irunmoles to serve this creation, and they in turn became the Orishas, supernatural beings who would act as a link between Oludumare and its creation, the universe. In time, these Orishas grew in power and continued diligently the work of maintaining the balance, and so it was decided to create humanity to populate the earth and to further the cause of Order in the Universe. They would serve as the medium through which the knowledge of the One True God would pass before reaching the humans who in their ignorance and fear began to worship them as Gods and soon turned their face from venerating Oludumare, and instead began to worship its servants. Ironically, Oludumare did not need the worship; its existence was independent of humanity and indeed all of creation because all of creation was Oludumare. It was this worship that the Irunmoles accepted from humanity which changed them, and it was this worship and perversion of Oludumare’s potent energy which in turn gave rise to a new phenomenon; new beings began to rise out of the ether, created by the desire and will of humanity, those super-complex biological machines, whose need to impose Order upon everything was innate and divinely inspired. It was this innate power of humanity to make Order out of Chaos on a lower level that in turn gave these beings greater powers and eventually transformed them into the Gods they became. But the gift was a double-edged sword; for now, without the constant influx of energy from the worship of their faithful, these new Gods would weaken and fade into a dream, their powers and pantheon often absorbed by their rivals, as the Gods soon began to realize this and made war upon each other out of greed
and a twisted hunger which had caught them and would not let go. The war between the Gods raged on for many millennia, taking its toll and soon out of the original two hundred and fifty-six Irunmoles who came to the Earth, only a few now remained. The Mesopotamian Gods absorbed the Egyptian Gods who were in turn absorbed by the Greek Gods, who were in turn absorbed by the Roman Gods, who were in turn absorbed by the Eastern Gods. This vicious cycle continued and threatened to shatter the balance that Oludumare had entrusted them to maintain, and it could not be allowed go on at least not without some safeguards in place. It was at this point that the remaining Irunmoles, seeing the world being overrun by these new gods who knew nothing of Oludumare and of the balance that they must maintain, these young Gods who knew only of their hunger and thirst for more power for power’s sake only, forced the Orishas to come together, driven by a vision and fearing that they would fail in their sacred task. They decided upon a course of action that would forever change the world and the way they interacted with it. They believed that their responsibility to maintain the balance had changed due to the nature of these new beings who called themselves Gods and knew nothing of their own origins. They must dedicate their energies to preventing their expansion, but to do this meant abandoning the shepherding of the Earth. They needed a solution. They needed a powerful proxy to work in their place while they battled the creeping menace of the new Gods. Orunmila, the Witness of Fate had foreseen this, and many millennia before had suggested a course of action to act as a buffer to maintain the equilibrium of the universe. It was because of his vision that Ile-Ife had been born.

  Orunmila was waiting patiently for the others to arrive. It had been a long time since he had been together with his siblings and he was looking forward to it. They had chosen a star cluster outside of the solar system to meet, a place they called the Refuge, a symbolic gesture to their origins and also a strategic one; the younger Gods had developed strange and unusual powers that made these precautions necessary. What he hoped that they would achieve must remain secret if the balance was to be maintained, and if they could achieve it then the more aggressive of his siblings would be pleased, for it would free them to prosecute the war against the entities calling themselves Gods. But there was much more to this than met the eye, and he sighed as he watched his siblings begin to arrive in their own idiosyncratic ways. While he watched Obatala arrive, materializing on a cascade of talking drum notes, he shuddered as the vision his master had granted him came to the forefront of his sight. He must not fail in this task and because of the sight granted him by the One True God, he knew that this meeting would be a success, but it would come with grave consequences which would come back to haunt them later. He must take measures to protect the balance, even if it meant sacrificing his own existence. Ogun, walked in casually, covered from head to toe in metal armaments and implements, as if having returned from a stroll in the stars, while Sango and Yemoja drifted in as multicolored mists, with Olukun dusting them as a light rain; Oya flew in on the back of some magnificent reptilian creature that belched star fire, and close behind her, as if they were in a race (they were) Osun came flying on the back of a magnificent Pegasus; Ori appeared quietly next to Orunmila, to whom it was closely tied through prophecy; Osonyin, Oko, Ososi and Oke all appeared simultaneously in their assigned places looking serious and moved to have been invited to this meeting. And finally, Nana Buukun appeared as a mighty leopard, black as night and just as mysterious, with implacable green eyes blazing from its feline face. But there was one who had not yet arrived, an unknown quantity, a blind spot to Orunmila’s vision that not even the One God could clear. Why was that, he wondered? How could this entity be beyond Oludumare himself?

  “Pondering the profound questions of creation, my old friend,” Esu said, having appeared quietly behind him. He had said “old friend” and not “brother” for he was brother to none of these beings, a creature apart, as different from them as they were from the humans.

  “No, my old friend, I was pondering the many questions I have about you.” “Hah! Better stick with creation, it will be less frustrating. Anyway, I wanted a quick moment with you before the meeting started and everyone’s egos start to make things more complicated than they are. You were given a vision yes?”

  “How could you possibly know that?” “Well you are the Witness of Fate, so it would make sense. After all it is only for that reason that all the others have chosen to attend this meeting. They know that the One communicates with you, and they fear you for it. They long ago abandoned their posts; they most probably fear the One’s wrath, though truly they do not understand the One at all.”

  “And you do? You know the mind of the One? Don’t make me laugh Esu.”

  “And why not? Laughter is healing, and are we not here to heal a festering wound? Besides, has it ever occurred to you that I might just be the One God?” Orunmila looked at him dumbfounded for a long second before laughing heartily. “You are always a breath of fresh air Esu. But in all seriousness, I know that you did not pull me aside to make me laugh, and not only that, I am surprised that you are even here. After all you are not one of us; you are under no obligation to attend, God of Chaos.”

  His eyes glowed briefly with the internal forces that were always at constant war within him, and he took a moment before answering. “Orunmila, my old friend, despite being the God of Chaos my job is not to destroy things; it is to maintain the balance by being Chaos. What you are attempting to do today has the potential to redress the balance but also even greater potential to destroy it. In your visions, I am not present for a reason, but I am here now to fill the gap. When you and your siblings have achieved your goal, the goal that you have yet to share with them, you must take Yemoja and Yemoja alone and confide in her these words of mine: Your plan will work but you must have a plan within a plan, because in time another God will rise to challenge the very fabric of creation, a God greater than all these younger Gods combined and it his blindness and his arrogance he will precipitate creation’s destruction. But you Orishas will not be strong enough to fight unless you prepare. Of all the others only the two of you have the foresight or power to put in place a plan. There will be war and in war terrible weapons must be forged if you truly wish to win, and to put an end to all battles for once and for all. I say to her this; she is the Goddess of the Waters so she must use her powers to pervert the beautiful thing that you are all trying to achieve. In the light, there must be a beacon of darkness so that when the time comes you may use it and destroy this interloper who is even now quietly growing in strength.”

  Orunmila was shaken to the core for his powers had allowed him to see the truth of Esu’s words. He leaned heavily on his ebony wood staff, drawing strength from its carvings, and feeling fear for the first time since he first came into the presence of the One God. “And how shall we set this in motion?” he said, “My siblings have not yet agreed to my plan of action and without it your warning is meaningless.” “Leave that to me, they will do anything, including cooperating with each other, if they think it means thwarting me, at least most of them will.”

  “This plan will take more power than I or Yemoja possess.”

  “Then you shall have more power.”

  “From where?”

  “From me.”

  “You would give up your power for our cause, for Order? Tell me why, Esu?” “Because I give up nothing and I lose nothing Witness, for my power is unchained! I am Chaos, yet without Order in opposition to me I am nothing. This is selfpreservation pure and simple, even though I do so enjoy your company old friend. Now let’s go talk to the others, now shall we?” Esu vanished and reappeared in his assigned seat in the great hall, causing much mumbling and whispering. He smiled a big silly grin and said “Irunmoles shall we begin?”

  I sat in the chair opposite the naked and badly beaten man who lay gagged and bound in front of me. It was just the two of us, nevertheless I watched him carefully. I knew that if the position had been reverse
d I would have feigned a worse injury than was real, to give myself an edge, a possibility or little a ray of hope that I might escape this situation. But there would be no escape for this man, whose crime quite frankly justified his punishment. And I was his punishment, a fitting one for the dark passions which haunted the deepest recesses of this pedophile’s soul. He had molested several members of one Niño’s business partner’s extended family, and though he had escaped the law, and could have easily received street justice, they did not want that. They wanted a pain and torture which only I could give, so I raped him spiritually and tore his mind apart with visions of horrors unimaginable, while at the same time I worked on his body with the simple tools of a maniac’s trade, a perfect symphony of pain and madness which I fed upon, drinking it deep into myself and watching my dark ase grow. The men to whom I had been loaned to did not understand what I was; they knew nothing of Ile-Ife, ase, or supernatural beings such as myself, but they knew that Niño knew things, things they did not understand and more importantly they respected his power as a priest of Orunmila. And in the end, I was just a slave, working for the access I needed, and as I worked I became more and more vicious, less myself and I soon became the boogeyman of the criminal world. But even as I lifted the pedophile and hung him back on the whipping post, I thought about how even the most ruthless killers now shunned me, and I remembered the words that the two avatars had told me. I would never be accepted because I would never be one of them, no matter how dark and depraved my actions were; I would be a tool and nothing else. I let the man’s fear wash over me and began to speak to him, outlining what I planned on doing next to him. “Ian Gregory, what a wonderfully proper name you have, very English in its symmetry. Please don’t try to talk. I am after all, not expecting any answers. I just wanted to apologize for not having the good manners previously to announce to you what was on the menu, so I aim to rectify that now by telling you what you are now in store for. As you now know I can reach into your mind and play with whatever I find there, and I am sure by now you can probably feel me bleeding your vital energy from you. What I am doing is very like what a spider does; I am injecting venom of a sort into you and once it has done its work I am slowly drawing out the nourishment that my venom creates by digesting you at the spiritual level. Make no mistake Ian Gregory you will die from my ministrations, though not today. The onus is on you though; if you provide me with a magnificent meal you will live to tell the tale today, if you do not, well let’s not think about that scenario for now, because it would be a slow and extremely drawn out painful death, so that I could maximize your final output.” I could hear him screaming through the gag and watched him struggle against his bonds and in his rising dread I found the thread I needed and snatched at it with my power, following it to the terror that would give me what I needed. I held it tightly in my mind, locking myself into place and said to him, “Very good Ian Gregory. Now please stop squirming; I need to flay a few feet of skin from your back now, and moving around will only make it hurt more. And if you ruin my art I will be very upset and will have to castrate you. I am probably going to do that anyway since you are a disgusting pederast, but who knows I might just I will let you hang on to them for a little while longer. I think we will save that pleasure for a later date. For now, we’ll have to play it by ear okay? Are you ready? Good, then let us begin.”