Part I

1563 DFS ended with the death of Gànà Olùdiàllà, leader of the Alááshu. The eight ofòkù and four orògò came together in Uwára at the Alááfin's palace to vote on Olùdiàllà's successor, the first serious election since Olùdiàllà's second election. After that, they had simply confirmed her each year as if it was a formality, but the late Ofòkù of Nijaay had left behind a successor with much about her to be desired. Olùdija was her name, inexperienced and aggressive, and it turned out that the other ofòkù were not keen on voting her to be the Gànà. Especially Amèàboro, Ofòkù of Ewo-Ife, would much rather see herself become Gànà.

The council in Uwára should have concluded as quickly as it could, because the Alááshu had to respond to a new development in the southeast. Eastern Ewo-Ife, which was outside Amèàboro's control, had unified after decades of turmoil, and their new queen or oba had set her sights on the Alááshu. The idea that she could invade and beat the Alááshu was preposterous, but it would be a good reason to beat her and invade eastern Ewo-Ife, so it could become part of the Alááshu once more. While Olùdija and Amèàboro both recognised this and supported a war, Olùdija managed to discredit Amèàboro's bid because she, as ruler of the western Ewo-Ife, could become disproportionately strong and that could destroy the precarious balance between the seven ofòkù.

The argument scared the other ofòkù and orògò so much that Amèàboro had to drop her promise of war, in a twist of fate just days before a letter arrived from Oba Ofugèmi, the Queen of the Delta: Ofugèmi was on her way to Uwára with a light retinue to visit the Gànà and the Alááfin. While she made no promises, Ofugèmi hinted at a desire to become an ofòku herself, a step down, in service to the Alááfin. The letter appealed to the Alááfin and Amèàboro became its champion, because such an ofòkù would strengthen the south regardless and supporting war had already cost her support. Naturally, Olùdija opposed the contents of the letter and made a critical mistake in suggesting to kill Ofugèmi upon her arrival in Uwára. Appalled by her words, the ofòkù of Olòyà, Soyofàn, Lesife and Bochòmu forced a vote and chose Amèàboro, giving her five votes. The ofòkù of Diwewe and Tazaraga, and all four orògò chose Olùdija, also giving her five votes. The law demanded Alááfin Jona Sanòwá to break the tie and she chose Amèàboro.

Olùdija was furious. She had been winning, but that one comment and a forced vote had taken the position of Gànà, which her mother had held for over twenty years, away from her. And what for? To work together with traitorous delta folk. Olùdija rode north and upon reaching Nijaay, called for the banners of all her noblemen. She was going to become Gànà, if not by the easy way, by the hard way. Those who had voted for her came to her aid: she would reward them after she had won. Amèàboro was not so lucky and received only the support of the Alááfin herself, and the Lady of the Lesife, who feared a war would ravage her lands regardless of her neutrality. Soyofàn, Bochòmu and Olòyà stayed neutral, so Amèàboro's situation did not look so good, but on her way to Ewo-Ife, she encountered Ofugèmi.

Ofugèmi had failed to reach Uwára on time but she met Amèàboro on her way back. Her first thought was to use the civil war to invade the Alááshu anyway, but on second thought she came up with a much better scheme. The time to gamble , to climb from beggar to queen, from queen to Alááfin, had returned. She offered Amèàboro her support in the war and she returned to her queendom, took her army and marched west into the Alááshu. Although her realm was unrecognised by the Alááfin, Ofugèmi claimed to be of higher rank than Amèàboro, and she, not unaware of Ofugèmi's successes, handed over the command of their combined armies. They marched north from Ewo-Ife to meet up with the Ofòkù of Lesife, their last real ally.

Meanwhile, Olùdija had marched south as fast as she could, receiving new additions to her army every day. She found the gates of Uwára closed and the Alááfin prepared for a siege, and Olùdija, who knew that she could not afford to ignore the capital, reached out diplomatically. Alááfin Jona Sanòwá accepted, as she feared that her decision to support Amèàboro and her smaller, poorer army could cost her the throne. Olùdija convinced the Alááfin to switch sides and she was proclaimed Gànà. After that, Olùdija and Sanòwá both sent summons to the neutral ofòkù, who began to gather their armies to help finish what seemed to be a short, one-sided civil war after all.

Despite the bad news, which almost drove Amèàboro to surrender, Ofugèmi pushed on and reached the outskirts of Uwára from the east soon after. Now only the capital was between her army and Olùdija's, and only time was between her and certain defeat, if the other ofòkù joined Olùdija. Ofugèmi did what she could best and she broke into the city, putting on the appearance of a harmless merchant. She found the city preparing for conflict and she organised a secret meeting with a few members of the Alááfin's family, including a potential claimant, Káyugwá. She aided them in setting up a plot to assassinate Sanòwá and coronate Káyugwá, open the gates and let in Ofugèmi. After letting the leaders of the Héllénìkì know about the plan, so they would not try to stop Ofugèmi, she escaped Uwára and watched the plan go in motion.

Alááfin Jona Sanòwá was poisoned by a pygmy in her harem, who was the only one blamed in the initial investigation. After that, Káyugwá and her supporters arranged for her coronation and she took power, proclaiming Amèàboro as the only Gànà of Tozàn and then letting in Ofùgemi and her entire army. Ofùgemi took the Orange Banner slave army that functioned as the Alááfin's guard along with the Héllénìkì Tágwá Bòráó, attacking Olùdija west of Uwára as quickly as possible. The day was won, Olùdija's vassals scattered and Ofùgemi now the most powerful woman in and around Uwára. She built her camp west of the city and pressed the Alááfin and the Héllénìkì to camp the Tágwá Bòráó and the Orange Banner next to her camp.

But she was not done yet. She persuaded Amèàboro to tell the neutral ofòkù to return home with their armies and to not give chase to Olùdija immediately. Then, Ofùgemi arranged for the Katazu, leader of the Kayaist faith and the only one who had stayed truly neutral during the whole affair up to now, to find out about Káyugwá's plot to murder Sanòwá, minus her own involvement. The Katazu abandoned her neutrality and began openly speaking out against Káyugwá, not long before she told the people everything she knew about the murder plot.

Ofugèmi took her most veteran soldiers and marched into Uwára as quickly as she could, claiming to act in the name of the Katazu and the Kayaist faith. She had nominally been a Wúgist before, but to get all doubt out of the way she had no problem professing her Kayaist faith in public before the Katazu. With her men, she closed the gates of Uwára and rushed the rest of her army inside, leaving the Héllénìkì and the Orange Banner locked out. The Alááfin in her palace only had a hundred guards or so at this point, so Ofugèmi marched in almost unopposed and gave everyone in the Great Mudbrick Palace, including the whole Alááfin's family and Alááshu's government house arrest. In correspondence with Amèàboro and the Katazu she published a death list with names implicated in the murder plot, although most of those people were definitely innocent and simply claimants who could rival Ofugèmi.

Ofugèmi executed every name on the death list, killing about half of the palace's inhabitants. She found the best heir to the Alááshu and forced her to legally adop her, before also executing that heir. After the adopton, Ofugèmi changed her name to Zùlema and the Katazu, now far beyond the point of no return, had no choice but crown Ofugèmi or Zùlema as the new Alááfin. Amèàboro also confirmed the coronation as the Gànà of the realm, although the tables had turned and it was now the Gànà who was powerless and the Alááfin who actually ruled.

Alááfin Zùlema was almost finished, but Olùdija, although defeated, spit in the face of her claim to the throne. Zùlema demanded every ofòkù to send all their soldiers to fight for her against Olùdija, accused of treason. The first one to refuse her, the Ofòkù of Diwewe, saw her land invaded by Zùlema's army - including the Héllénìkì and the Orange Banner, who were loyal to money and the most legitimate Alááfin respectively - and was herself put to the sword. The other Ofòkù complied, too divided for the possibility of a league to form against Zùlema. She took the combined host and chased Olùdija all the way to Nijaay, where a field battle sealed the Ofòkù's fate and returned the peace to the Alááshu of Tozàn in 1568 DFS.

Alááfin Zùlema of course returned her own realm, the east of Ewo-Ife, to the Alááshu, and ruled it personally instead of relying on the military nobility. Her ambition would be the end of the ofòkù.

Map