Alade (Irunmole Saga)

by Jean-Marc Akerele

  The Portuguese and the Spanish had initially controlled the slave trade because they had established trading with the African coast, where most of the slaves were obtained. The two powers divided the trade between them, Spain taking the North Atlantic and Portugal the South Atlantic. But the incredible profits represented by the slave trade and the growing need for slave labor to transform the various colonies of these European powers meant that soon England and France had joined in the trade and it became a free for all. I was sold to an English slave trading company called the Royal African Company, where I was to be sent to the new colony of America along with a few hundred other slaves. We had been paraded on the auction block like livestock, having first been fed starchy and high energy foods for several days before the auction, to improve our health, and any lacerations from beatings were filled in with hot tar to hide them, and finally we were branded as slaves. Our skins were oiled until they were glistening and we were paraded in front of an audience who had no more regard for us than they did for a goat. We were brought out from the pen one by one to stand on a raised platform so that we could be seen by the buyers and before the bidding began, those that wished to, could come up onto the platform to inspect us closely. We had to endure being poked, prodded and forced to open our mouths for the buyers. Even I, in my interest to learn more of humanity, was rapidly losing my patience and I felt a smoldering anger begin within me. Humanity, it seemed, had much to teach me, for even as I felt a rising rage within me that could only culminate in blood and death, I also felt a growing kinship with the other prisoners, the Africans who so resembled my own race. I found something new growing within me; yes, a hatred for our captors and their unnecessary cruelty, but also a compassion for those being subjugated. I would not call Akharu and escape this madness; instead I would endure it with them.

  Ah, humanity! Much has been discussed about the Middle Passage, the nightmare which began with capture and ended with slavery, indoctrination and forced adjustment to life as a prisoner for no other reason than the color of one’s skin. It taught me much about humanity and not only its capacity for cruelty, insensitivity, and outright evil, but also its capacity for strength and survival in the face of unreasoning brutality. A few centuries later I would reflect upon this time, knowing that although I was among the first slaves to be brought to America and had personally experienced the savagery of the so-called ‘civilized’ Europeans, that I was by no means alone in my suffering for the Middle Passage had taken and swallowed the lives of between five and thirty million African souls, for the greed and sustenance of a few. The voyage itself lasted about six weeks and we were chained together hand and foot forced to lie side by side in ‘spoon’ fashion to maximize space and cargo, and thus profits. Disease was rampant as the filthy conditions we were subjected to only got worse as prisoners defecated, urinated, vomited and in some instances died, their dead bodies decomposing right there in that hold which was seldom cleaned. I watched others fall into despair and slice their own throats or jump off the boat into the shark laden waters, sharks who knew to follow the slave ship because there would always be the scent of blood, misery and despair in its wake. Others went insane, and so the crew would simply throw them overboard, as they did to the weakest or ‘low value’ slaves if they were running low on supplies. But through my experience something moved me, something which made me question my very origin itself. These Africans were as noble a people as my own race, and their captors behaved just the same way and just as brutally as I myself had done to humans upon my own arrival on Earth. Why did I feel I was so superior to them and why, if that was true, was I always in despair? As I watched new cultural identities being formed, by not just the various African tribes represented here, but by the mixture of European cultures of the crew, because of the transnational mélange represented here by the admixture of European and African cultures, I began to understand. Humanity, at times seems so barbaric and savage because they had only a moment in time in which to exist. Their short lives meant their passions burned with a much more intense flame than those of us long-lived races, and their hate and their love defined them as a race. They were not inferior to us; they were simply trying to do as much as they could in the short period of time remaining them. When we reached North America, some 3,700 miles later, we were once again fed well and cleaned but because of the stench of the ship the captain was not allowed to dock at port and instead we were loaded onto smaller skiffs and ferried into port. It was there, in South Carolina, that I was to begin my life in America, a life in which I would fall in love with all things human and utterly forget from where I had come.

  South Carolina's Low country holds a major place of importance in American history for many reasons, but perhaps most importantly as a port of entry for people of African descent. Anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of the Africans who were brought to America during the slave trade entered through ports in the Low country and it was no different for me. I arrived in the bustling port somewhat surprised at the backwardness of it having spent the majority of my time on Earth in the more cosmopolitan Europe, but since I was not here as a tourist but as a slave the point was moot. My fellow slaves and I were here to turn it into a thriving metropolis for our masters, and it was not very long before we arrived at our new homes. The next twenty years of my life were uneventful. I was an obedient slave carrying out my assignments with efficiency, but without using my physical strengths for I did not want to cause problems for the other slaves who would no doubt be punished for not being to match my strength and the overseers would assume they were holding back and beat them more. And there were those among the slaves who I could tell sensed something different about me and indeed they kept their distance, for they too worshipped the Orishas and had brought them with them, which more than likely meant that they had an inkling that I was not human. I stayed as far from them as possible and kept to myself. But I knew that I most soon leave this place for I was not aging and after twenty years someone would soon begin to wonder. They had tried to breed me, to no avail; my race very seldom makes offspring even with our own people and let alone with other races, though it has been known to happen. Having worked here for so long without incident I was given some leeway to do as I wished with what little free time I was given. Akharu was constantly troubling me, grumbling that it was time for us to move on and finally with reluctance I agreed. In 1732, I walked into the woods surrounding the plantation where I had lived and worked for twenty-two years and never returned. It would take me three years of careful travel through woods, forests, back roads and mountain trails to avoid the slave catchers to make it to New York and by the time I arrived there, having slain both animals and men aplenty on my journey here, Akharu and I were blooded again and I was ready to explore this world once more. America was growing rapidly, and a clever person, even a Black one, could make their place here if they had a plan. And I had a plan.

  15 In the present, I woke up from my reverie at the slightest touch of Sunshine’s lips brushing against my own, and opened my eyes to stare into her sparkling eyes which affected me in a way which I had never felt in all my years. It was obvious that I was in love with the Kpelekpe, and strange as it may have seen to others, to me it was the most natural thing in the world. “Hello, my love,” I whispered to her as she slid into my lap, “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Not too long,” she said while gyrating scandalously in my lap and nibbling my neck. “You needed the rest so I let you sleep.”

  “Thanks, gorgeous. What about Lulu, is she feeling better?”

  “Well she is back to her old cantankerous ways, if that is what you mean. She also talked to the Leopard Society; they are ready to talk.” “Really? That is good news, very good news. Some very strange things have come to light, my love. I will have to sit down and talk to you about my misgivings sometime soon.”

  “We have some time now to talk, that is unless you want to do something a little bit more energetic?”

  “W
oman you are insatiable! Okay, I guess we have time now, to talk that is, you succubus.”

  “So speak, but just remember you owe me some nookie.” “Well that is a debt I will very happy to pay. Okay where do I start? Since my life took the turn it did and since I was confronted by the involvement of Yemoja and Esu, I have had a nagging suspicion that I was missing something. My memories had become twisted and corrupted because of the long years in which I tried to purge myself of my past, yet when Lulu told me her story I found that there were many parallels to my own at least from a theological standpoint. It is not my place to tell you her story; that is for her to do but I will say that there is a deeper game being played by beings greater than our Orishas. But why they have chosen to take a hand in such things is beyond me. It is beneath them.”

  “What do you mean by ‘beings greater than our Orishas’? There are no beings greater than the Orishas, unless of course you mean-- oh shit. You are talking about the One? It is above such concerns, which is why the Irunmoles were originally created for, to run the cosmos for it.”

  “I know my theology too, Sunshine but I am telling you what I not only feel, but what more and more evidence is pointing to. Esu is not the God of Chaos; that is only how we have chosen to see him or perhaps how he has wanted us to see him. He is something far greater than that. And he has been taking a direct hand in a celestial drama that has been unfolding from the very beginning, and the Gods, all of them mind you, have been his puppets.”

  “Well if he is not the God of Chaos then what is he?” “Lulu’s people, the Bakongo, believe as much as we do in One God, a being they call Nzambi. Lulu explained this to me. But unlike us they have a specific name for the other half of Nzambi, the part that is the Anti-Creator. It is called Lungombe and it is one in being with Nzambi, inseparable and opposite like the concepts of Ying and Yang. I believe we have the same concept in our pantheon, for Nzambi is another name for Oludumare and that means that means that Lungombe is actually the God of Chaos.”

  “I don’t know Lucius that seems a bit of a stretch.” “Throughout my long life I have been manipulated by the Gods, and I had accepted this. But these last few years have shown me something else that the Gods themselves are not really in control of anything, they are being manipulated by another force greater than them. Until I heard Lulu’s story I had not thought about the possibility, but just now I retrieved memories which I had thought lost forever and there buried in my past I found the answers to questions that I did not want to answer. The final piece was to puzzle was Nana Buukun and what she had shown me so long ago, revealing the great lie that my people had been led to believe. I no longer know what exactly the One God is, for Nana Buukun is also something much greater than a simple Orisha. My vision has shown me that she is also a part of the Creator, and that makes the One God a Triple Being. It is very disturbing to me and so for this reason my love I am done. I will not build this weapon for Yemoja any longer, I will not accept this bondage and I will not do something that will so affect the balance until I have answers.”

  Sunshine examined me, a little alarmed by my open act of defiance to the Gods. “What is your plan, beloved?” she whispered in my ear. “First, I intend to make love to you, and then I intend to end this war with the Leopard Society. It was only my need for large amounts of dark energy to feed the weapon that I started it in the first place. But I was wrong; we don’t need to return to the normal world and why should we, when we can build our right here? We all hunger for atonement, for freedom from fear, and despair, so we will make that happen right here where the meddling Gods cannot see into, nor can they harm us except through their agents, who if we play this right will most certainly join us. I am tired of serving the Gods; it is time for me to serve the balance directly, for this is the way to atonement and to freedom not through bondage to Gods who have deceived us. I cannot do it anymore. I will not do it anymore.” I took a deep breath and stopped speaking just as Sunshine moved her face close to mine and said, “What was that you said about making love to me?”

  The seven Leopard Society Elders were elated, and the normally staid and stoic individuals were openly smiling. We had ceased our hostilities and come to a mutually satisfactory agreement in which we shared power, territory and profits, because after all we needed money too. The idea was that since this part of Georgia Avenue existed in a pocket of reality we would create an essentially free state where all supernaturals could come and be at peace, away from the pettiness of the Gods and their wars. It seemed to me that the darkness in me began to recede just a little, and when I saw Samantha walking openly outside of her apartment for the first time, I knew that I had done a good thing. But I was still a thoroughly corrupted creature and I still had my needs so from time to time Sunshine and I would take mini vacations for a few days and go off and slaughter and devour a few evil men and women for our own pleasure and sustenance. The year quickly came to an end and the next year was upon us just as quickly, and before I realized it another four years had gone by. Lulu had given the Leopards the spell to replenish their ranks and now they acted as the police officers of our little state, while my little group and representatives from the many supernatural races who resided here made up the ruling council. Shawn had shown himself to be surprisingly adept at administration and in magical matters Lulu had no peer, so I found that Sunshine and I had more and more time to revel in each other’s company, and our love for each other grew deeper and deeper each day. With her every caress, I could feel my veil of despair lifting just a little, I could see my life laid out in front of me, a life that was inseparable from her and our love. Four years after ending the war with the Leopard Society, I asked Sunshine to marry me, and she said yes.

  The Quandisa watched Alade as he frolicked with his mate, the Kpelekpe and knew that if she attempted to seduce him she would fail in her mandate. This one was beyond her powers and she silently saluted the Kpelekpe for capturing his heart. As a Goddess of Lust, love was not offensive to her, in fact it was the greatest pathway to her gates, but the lust she wanted to inspire in Alade was to have been for her so that she could spur him to his purpose, and ultimately bring him to the Interloper. But now she would have to change tactics. The amnesty offered to all supernaturals in this pocket realm had given her the opportunity to enter as many others had, and though most were genuine refugees, she was positive that more than one God had sent agents to find out what was going on in this place into which they could not see. The war with the Interloper was at a standstill and they needed the weapon to tip the balance, but instead, what did Alade do? He rejected his destiny and the darkness had receded from him and the weapon had not been born. He still had power, great power from all the slaughter he had consumed but the weapon was so much more than he imagined. What she needed was a trigger something to push him not only back into the darkness, but to send him voluntarily into the Abyss, where he would rise again, reborn as the Destroyer. Then she could approach him and feed him the lies she had prepared and he would come with her to the Interloper and she would be rewarded. She knew that she was overstepping her orders from the Interloper, for the Interloper would have been content with the status quo, with Alade’s rejection of his destiny. There was no need to force his rebirth, but the Goddess of Lust in her desperation to free herself from her own bondage was about to set the stage for a transformation which would forever change the cosmos, and she was completely ignorant of the chain of events that her actions would trigger. The Quandisa watched the faces in the room as they had made the announcement of their engagement, looking for a tool she could use, and in the face of a handsome leopard man she found it. For as they announced their engagement his face had not lit up in happiness for the couple, it had darkened with rage and jealousy that he could barely contain. This was the tool she was looking for and she would use it well. She walked over to the man and casually stood close to him allowing her scent and more importantly, her power to wash over him before saying in a soft voice, “All
the blood they shed and they get to live happily ever after. It doesn’t seem right does it?” He looked at her, startled that she was talking to him, and stammered a reply. “Yes,” he said speaking before thinking, “My own mate lies dead because of their murderous war and now I am forced to celebrate their joy. How many leopards did they eat? Pah!” He spat angrily on the ground. Realizing now what he had just said, he turned to her and noticed with relief that she was an attractive woman and a seemingly sympathetic stranger, and this calmed him down somewhat so he offered her his hand. “My name is Kilenga, what is your name?” Knowing that she had hooked him she took his hand, smiled her brightest smile and stepped close to him saying, “Hello, my name is Seku.”

  Yemoja was pacing furiously in her temple as dark rivulets of power were leaking from her form as she looked out from the Refuge to the one place on Earth where the Gods could not see and cursed herself for a fool. Alade had always been stubborn, why had she believed that he would be cowed by her anger? And at a time when she least could afford to punish him and risk harming him she was being forced to wait and see if the goal been achieved. Even her faithful leopards seemed to have abandoned her, as she had heard no word from them as to the situation inside. She only knew that Alade had pledged to forgo building the weapon and that he had found love in that dark place. No one could have predicted that, certainly not Orunmila, the absentee Witness of Fate who seemed to have disappeared. Perhaps he too had fallen into stasis. She felt a presence near her and spun quickly to find Esu standing behind her smiling. “Hello, my favorite Goddess!” he said jovially, “still having problems procuring your weapon?”