The holy orders of Kaya
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI

Map of Ewo-Ife in 1413 DFS

Ewo-Ife, 1413 DFS...

Idùna and Fèla-Odùn's successor, Má-Kano, leaders of the Holy Orders, had written the Alááfin in a desperate attempt for aid against Agoba, the city that would not fall. If the city was not taken then the Karògù could not continue and the heathens would continue living in Ewo-Ife. Agoba was more than just that, however, it was also home to the Temple Má-Kano's Order of the Temple was named after. He and his order desired the Temple, once a symbol for the all-father, the god of life Bí, but now a symbol for the Obibo people as a whole and supposedly holy to Kayasha too. The Alááfin on her part had never interfered with this war, which had been Idùna's and the Alááfin's daughter Olùde's to fight. Idùna was nearing the end of her fifties, however, and Olùde was death, as was Fèla-Odùn. Má-Kano was a dedicated soldier who did not do under for the previous generation, but the Karògù had been an effort that had already lasted 27 years. It was a struggle to conquer a large area, but nevertheless a slow struggle that could have been over already, had the invaders, Kaya's Army, not been composed of peasants on the one side and a rather small, though professional, force on the other side.

The Alááfin was now 79 years old but she showed no particular haste with dying. When she received Idùna's plea, seven years after her daughter's tragic death in Ewo-Ife, she reversed her policy of non-interference. Her eyes glinstered with the same determination she had had when she had made the decision to conquer Soyofàn. That day, she had only been 22, fresh out of regency, in the days her nickname was still "the young". Oh! How she had lost the naivetè and adventurous attitude of back then, now a cold and serious ruler with no appetite for humour, insubordination or unnecessary risks. The Alááfin, who had reigned for so long that everyone, even family, addressed her as "the Alááfin" and it had been ages, perhaps when her husband died two decades ago, since someone had called her Nyanché, missed her youth. She missed her sense of adventure and all the foolish risks she had taken, but even so, she had not lost her determination. Alááfin Nyanché had decided to conquer Soyofàn, not invade, attack of besiege. She was the Alááfin and therefore victory was guaranteed. Old Nyanché, Nyanché the Long-Lived, now 79, had made a decision once again. She was going to conquer Ewo-Ife. All of it.

Nyanché marshalled all divisions of the Army of the Yellow Standard and summoned General Kóshù, her fifth child, commander of the Army of the Orange Standard. She promoted her other living children, Princess Achi, Princess Máráwa and Prince Káyábi, and she placed them at the head of the Yellow Standard. Her granddaughter and heir apparent, also called Princess Máráwa, daughter of Olùde, would take care of matters in Uwára. The Alááfin was going to war.

She had a litter prepared, one that could be carried by ten men or by an elephant. When Nyanché started the march south, she practically spent the day being carried by an elephant, placed down in the evening while servants constructed an elaborate tent around the litter, and in the morning she would be placed on the back of the elephant again. In total, she brought a dozen elephants to carry the generals and the best archers. They were fearsome beasts to face in battle, but she found that they were more durable if used as machines to spread fear among the enemy with simply their imposing size. If the general, the rider and a drummer were carried by an elephant, the general had a mobile vantage point as well as a way to quickly convey orders through the talking drums.

Before the army would arrive at besieged Agoba without a plan, however, Nyanché took a look into the situation at hand. Agoba was besieged on three sides: north, south and east. it had been impossible to leave through one of the three gates since the siege had begun, but in the west, Agoba bordered the Ilesi River. Along with a long, slender island in the middle of the river, also controlled by Agoba, this river proved to be the city's trump card. With their control over the water they could endlessly bring in supplies from the north, which was too far to attack directly. Kaya's Army had no navy and therefore no way to contest the river with Agoba, but this was a different story for the Alááfin. She ordered the construction of eleven large oared warships in Uwára and filled them with longbowmen. They sailed down the Ilesi River at a slow pace to match the Alááfin's army. By the time Nyanché approached the West Bank of the Ilesi, her ships had taken control of all movement on the river and Agoba was truly besieged.

With the water no longer contested, Nyanché shipped herself and the army to the other side, placing the camps of the large Yellow Standard and the small Orange Standard side by side facing the south of the city. She sent a messenger to the city with word for its leader Sagwo Ilusi. He was told to surrender the city immediately and that then his life and that of everyone inside would be spared, even the heathens. Idùna and Má-Kano had not even dared to protest that with the Alááfin, who had survived three Katazu, and the fourth one would never have the spine to speak up against the universally respected Alááfin. To their luck, Ilusi sacrificed the messenger to Orògùn, god of war and as such, sparing heathens was off the table.

Sagwo Ilusi had been taken by a rage from inside. Hatred against Kaya, caused by an unknown force. Blades in the city were sharpened, a battle was coming. Ilusi called the priests of the old gods, the babalawo, to divine a victory. The Babalawo of Safò, god of thunder, rejected the call. He would have rather surrendered than commit to foolish suicide. Many babalawo of lesser status joined him. Only the babalawo of Orògùn, Oya, goddess of fire, and Uyògòn, god of the sun, answered Ilusi's call. Each one of them made the greatest sacrifice they could personally afford to gain access to the divine answer: the Babalawo of Orògùn torched his mansion and all the wealth inside, the Babalawo of Oya torched the Temple of Oya, one of the most ancient in Agoba, and the Babalawo of Uyògòn sacrificed his wife and seven kids to his god. They compared their visions and came to Sagwo Ilusi with a single message:

'My lord' the Babalawo of Orògùn spoke. 'The god of war, who presides over victory, has demanded a sacrifice in the coming battle. The enemy will attack in a week's time and when they do, we must give up the walls sooner than we could.'

'We will feign a retreat to your palace' the Babalawo of Oya added. 'But you and the real army will flee through the north gate. The enemy will not attack from the north. Then, we will set the city and everyone inside ablaze. We will sacrifice Agoba, our greatest good.'

'Agoba will burn well if we prepare a fire.' The Babalawo of Uyògòn continued. 'It will incinerate the entire enemy army, because they will all enter and we will burn the Alááfin, who will insist to witness her victory. Kaya will be defeated and the Ela will win.'

Sagwo Ilusi nodded solemnly. 'We will do everything that must be done.' He said. 'We will do what the gods demand.'

Ewo-Ife, 1413 DFS...

The white, cold light radiated from Chukwu's pale skin, whose appearance was as unstable as a whirlwind. He was the enemy of Kaya, deceiver of men, harbinger of chaos and destruction. To the old gods, however, he was a saviour. Uyògòn, Orògùn and Oya had grown accustomed to his presence, how foul and sickening it was. They had also grown accustomed to the tears and cries of Agoba, whom they had tied down to a stake, a pyre beneath her feet. They were expecting Kaya, their enemy, and they were going to sacrifice Agoba to give Chukwu the power to take her down. They felt no remorse for the loss of the city, the girl, since despite her best efforts, she was no match for Kaya, and so there was no use for her. She was not the same as Aga-Obibo anyway, Oya had even accused Agoba of killing Aga-Obibo. The accusation made no sense because Agoba was only a new form of Aga-Obibo, the girl just had no memory from before.

Kaya could see them, she could see all, but she was not ready yet. Besides, Chukwu was not wrong: if they sacrificed Agoba and all her people, in his name, he would become incredibly strong. Maybe not enough to outright kill her, but he would easily defeat her. His next move would be to consume the old gods and use their power, among others, to perhaps destroy Kaya once and for all. It would be a long process, it would take at least a hundred years, but Chukwu and Kaya had that patience. There was no way she was allowing him to defeat her, but her pride demanded her to attack soon. To be considered invincible and near-omnipotent, to be praised for defeating evil, one had to act the part.

Her lieutenant Wúgi had left her side on his own accord. He had spirited to the north of Agoba on the back of a Firefinch to Ubònìke, the Caves of the Flame, to seek Obi, the Keeper of the Flame. As he entered the caves, the skies outside darkened until the only light was a flickering light in the depths of the cave. He had never been here before, so deep in foreign territory. Yet here was the heart of the Obibo, only ten marches away from Agoba.

'You are a foreign one.' A voice said to Wúgi.

'Are you Obi?' Wúgi asked.

'I am Obi. What brings you here, foreign one? You are not Obibo.'

'I am now. Centuries have passed since I set foot on this land, when the man Havàsè delivered me to Ewo-Ife. You do not merely protect Obibo, you protect my people. And I ask your help, Obi, so you can save your people.' Wúgi said.

'The last time I left Ubònìke, Bí had been killed by Kaya. After I left, she killed Safò. The Obibo are divided and the Flame wavers if I act too bluntly. And now you ask me to help you?' Obi asked.

'They intend to sacrifice Agoba to kill Kaya.' Wúgi said. 'On one side, the Alááfin, the greatest driving force for unity of the Obibo since Zùlema, and on the other side, Sagwo Ilusi, deceived by Chukwu. He intends to burn the city including the temple and all the people.'

'That cannot be true!' Obi insisted.

'Chukwu is the real foreigner here. If Kaya was born as a Goddess of the Obibo, Chukwu took shape as the enemy of the Obibo. Regardless of how you feel about the old gods, Chukwu's power he gained from those same old gods is a bigger threat to that Flame of yours than the infighting between the Obibo. Besides, if you choose a side, the infighting will be over sooner.'

Obi sighed.

'Away with you, I make my decisions alone.'

Wúgi bowed his head and flew away.

Agoba, 1413 DFS...

Princess Achi had taken the southern wall on the west. She was steadily progressing deeper into Agoba, because there was little enemy resistance once she had actually taken the wall. On her right was her brother Kóshù, who lead the superior Orange Standard, slave soldiers drilled into obedient worship, who was having just as much success as her. The eastern wall would be under attack by Máráwa and Káyábi, the other two children of Nyanché. Now the walls were secured Nyanché herself was brought into the city to witness the victory of her children. It seemed the enemy was still deciding whether to make a break for the north, which had been left open to allow them a chance to flee, so they would not fight to a costly death, or whether to stand and fight.

Sagwo Ilusi stood with the three babalawo who had told him to burn the city while his army was ready to leave through the north gate. His soldiers were uneasy, many of them would rather die in Agoba, but they were just yet obedient enough to listen to Ilusi as he promised victory. Ilusi raised his torch, ready to light the first pyre of hay and oil, when suddenly the heavy iron point of an arrow converged with the softer parts of his brain. He collapsed, dead on the spot, and the babalawo and soldiers looked around in their vicinity, shocked and also afraid of a second arrow. The enemy could not be this close, the city was filled with civilians! It had to be one of the inhabitants of Agoba or a soldier of Ilusi who shot that arrow.

The culprit showed himself, climbing down from the roof opposite to the army. He kicked the smoldering torch and put out the fire, placing himself between the fuse and the soldiers.

'Soldiers of Agoba, why are you defending the northern gate?' The killer asked. 'There are no enemies there! We are under attack from the south and from the east, but you are allowing them inside! The people of this city, you planned to burn them for the sake of "victory"! The Sagwo's victory, not yours! I killed Ilusi to make this easier for you, soldiers of Agoba, but tell me what you prefer: maybe a "victory" after you have lost your home, your wives, your children, your entire families forever, or a certain death with honour facing the despicable followers of Kaya.'

The killer turned to the babalawo. 'That priest may claim to speak for Orògùn, but when in the generations of worship we gave him has he ever supported cowardice? My name is Ogù-Moro and I was a courtier in Ilusi's palace. I am a citizen of Agoba and I will defend this city until my final breath.'

Ogù-Moro turned his back to the soldiers, expecting death, but instead he achieved his goal. One by one, after the most courageous one had take the first step, the soldiers turned south. Falling back on personal ties, each went to their respective neighbourhoods to defend it against the oncoming Yellow and Orange Standards. The generals of the Alááshu were surprised by the return of resistance, more motivated than ever. Kóshù and the Orange Standard were not impressed, however, because the enemy had no leader. The slave soldiers surrounded, outflanked or simply ignored the attacking enemies until opportune moments where the defenders were tactically outnumbered and consequently killed. Kóshù pushed forward with great speed even with the returned resistance and what the defenders had known already now became fact: they would die with honour, but victory was out of the question.

It led to an on the one hand stronger resolve with some defending soldiers, on the other hand the surrender of some others. Not everyone was a hero, after all, and not everyone was prepared to die in battle. The generals accepted surrender because it proved tactical and before the day was over Agoba had fallen.

The palace of Ilusi was cleared out for use by Alááfin Nyanché, who personally commended the bravest soldiers and handed out minor titles of nobility. From her temporary seat she directed the Orange Banner north-northeast and the Yellow Banner east to break the will of Ewo-Ife once and for all. Idùna and Má-Kano were tasked with occupation and keeping the peace, but under Nyanché a genocide among the heathens was mostly avoided.

The Alááfin's first act was to visit the Temple of Bí together with Má-Kano and the Order of the Temple. Hundreds of their fellows had given their lives to see this temple and as the highest religious figure bar the Katazu, the Alááfin herself made a public appearance in front of a huge host of the thousands of soldiers and peasants who had taken part in the Karògù, giving them all Kaya's blessing and strength, as well as the promised absolution. After this Nyanché was carried back to the palace, exhausted. It would be her last public appearance.

In the following years she returned to Uwára, but her children solidified the Alááshu's hold over traditional Ewo-Ife. In the east, one city of Obibo people remained, as did the Isles, and to the north lay Ida, ancient land, but for how long no one knew.

Map of Ewo-Ife in 1417 DFS...

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