The Legend Of Karachuo

The young man was without doubt Ochieng" and the lady was that enchantress the former had met a few hours ago. Right now, they were strolling in the mysterious land the lady had made.

"Now, for how long have you been in the skies?" Ochieng" asked after walking for some time.

"Since one thousand two hundred seasons ago if I can remember..." The lady answered with a calm expression.

"You have lived for over a thousand seasons! Why are you so young?" Ochieng" cut her short with a twitching mouth.

"Yes Ordainer. I was promoted when I was only sixty seasons old. Normally, one"s appearance does not change once one is promoted. If he is promoted at the age of five hundred seasons for example, in the skies he will be the same person with five hundred seasons. Up there, there is no aging neither changing in appearance" The lady explained.

"So, that is how is it... May I know my ancestor"s name." Ochieng" nodded in realization before asking while scratching his head awkwardly.

"What did you call me?"

Instead of answering, the lady turned to him and harrumphed with reddened eyes. She released a powerful aura that pressured Ochieng" to the point that he found breathing difficult. He felt as if a whole mountain was falling on him.

"But you are one thousand, two hundred and sixty seasons old for heaven"s sake. What is wrong with call..."

Ochieng" riposted but before he went too far, he felt a resounding slap on his right cheek. He felt his head spinning before he staggered with his vision blurring. When he managed to stabilize his poor self, he saw the lady standing right in front of him with a grievous expression. He felt wronged and could not help but ask while rubbing his right cheek.

"Why?"

"Never call me ancestor again. I am not dead yet...and by the way, do I look like like an ancestor to you?" The lady"s brows st.i.tched in displeasure.

"I am so...sorry." Ochieng" rolled his eyes in apprehension.

This lady was over three hundred years old for the sake of "Were", the G.o.d of their land. She was definitely older than most of his ancestors yet she was adamantly denying the fact that she was one. Why did it cost him his cheek?

"Now, that is more like it. Let us go." The lady laughed before continuing with the walk.

"You haven"t told me your name yet." Ochieng" cried out .

"Okay, I am Akinyi Nyalando Jaber." She turned to the young man and smiled.

"Oh, so you are a Lu. You really deserve the names...I am Ochieng" Lwanda..."

"Nice to meet you Lwanda. How is everyone from home doing?" Even before Ochieng" finished, the woman extended her arms to greet him with a wide grin.

"They... are...fine." Ochieng" answered while greeting her confusedly.

Just when he thought Akinyi would make him more uncomfortable, a beast appeared before them. The beast was not very huge, it was just the size of a mature hare. It looked like a kitten and her furry skin was pink in color. It was exquisitely cute.

"Oooh, little pinky, you are here." Akinyi laughed warmly upon seeing the beast. She bent down to fondle the beast that was currently nodding its small head vigorously.

Ochieng" also reached out for it to do the same but was met with sharp eyes like daggers from the kitty. It was looking at him as if saying, "not everyone is qualified to touch me."

"She is called the heavenly kitten. She was promoted alongside me and I have kept her as a pet since then. I am a lover of animals as well, so the best the One from above could do for me was to give me a partner. She is actually a beast and it has several roles in the skies." Akinyi explained still fondling the kitten.

"She"s beautiful." Ochieng" complimented.

Somewhere far away from this place, an old man in his late seventies was busy weeding in his garden of vegetables and flowers. He was a slim and tall man. He had long dark hairs on his head. His whiskers were also dark with a tincture of white. The brown goatskin he wore fitted him nicely. Despite his old age, he was still energetic and still had a straight back like a spear. The way he held his hoe while cultivating his land showed how strong he was. If not for his wrinkles, one could think that he was a young man at his pinnacle.

Not far away was his rather large hut. Being a cultivator, the hut stood impressively among vegetables, flowers and trees of different kinds. His home looked like it was some formidable painting of a paradise on canvas.

Just in front of the hut, there was another small hut which emitted smoke endlessly. Behind the small hut was a beautiful garner full of millet and sorghum. It was clear that the small hut was the old man"s kitchen. In front of the kitchen, a white haired toothless old woman sat on a mat woven with palm leaves. She was weaving a basket while singing a folksong delightedly.

As both were still immersed in their works, the surroundings suddenly turned dark. The old man lifted his his head only to see a large purple cloud above. His eyes shimmered and he smiled widely revealing his only two to three teeth.

The woman was not seated far from him. She managed to see his lack of composure. Even though she was also bewildered by the situation, she could not understand at all what was happening. This was because she was just an ordinary human. The old man or her husband on the other hand was a gifted person. He was a prophet who had been selected by the Council of Prophets to help the current Ordainer to serve mankind.

"Mzee¹ Nalianya my husband, can you tell me what is going on?" The old woman asked.

"Bibi² Nyalongi, Ochieng" whom I have to serve is heading here soon." The old man said with mixed emotions.

"You mean the thirty seventh Ordainer is already with us?" The woman asked with raised brows.

"Yes. He was born eighty seasons ago in Lu tribe. He is the son of Ong"am, the former chief of Odindi clan. Odindi clan is one of the clans that make up the Karachuo division in Lu tribe. In my dreams, I saw him coming here in two moons to come. I am leaving you soon my dear wife." Nalianya clasped his hands while looking at the purple clouds. Tears were already flowing from his sunken eyes.

"It will be my honor to see an Ordainer after all. You are going to save mankind from evil my beloved husband. Even if you were going to die, I will not at all regret." The old woman stood with the help of a stick that was lying beside her. She walked to the old man and held his chest before saying tearfully.

"Since he is coming soon," The old man sighed before continuing, "Send a message to my sons, daughters and grandchildren so that they can greet the Ordainer. It will be a blessing to all of us."

It was a common knowledge that only the wizards knew much about Ordainers. However, since the Ordainers needed a few gifted people to walk by their sides in their quests, it was inevitable that a group of special people knew one or two about them. Nevertheless, their knowledge compared to wizards was not worth mentioning because whatever they knew was too little. Examples of such people were the prophets.

Before the old woman said anything, they saw a group of people walking through their gate. The turned to each other unknowingly and shook their heads helplessly with smiles.

1. Mzee is a Swahili word meaning "elder"s.

2. Bibi is a Swahili word meaning grandmother or wife or old woman depending on circ.u.mstances used.