TRAILING SHADOWS

All around was green accented with luscious hue of flowers and vibrant brown of trees of variant sizes. The trees bore different fruits with beautiful hue of colors all around. It was a sight to behold. As if that was not enough, the birds lightened the atmospheres singing various melodious tones here and there.

b.u.t.terflies did not lag behind too. They flavored the air with their brightly colored wings, adding life to the whole area..Here it seemed everything was competing for beauty.

A few persons walked to and fro around the forest region, busy carrying out their duties, some fully clothed, some especially males, moved with bare chest. The ones who were not fully clothed had white spirals about their arms and legs that glowed softly. Each and every one of them exerted a soft pressure on their surroundings.

These people could pa.s.s as just normal villagers doing what they do except for the fact that their dressing consisted of a dominant white color with white spirals on their arms and legs.

These people were in fact not normal people as humans were cla.s.sified. They were spirit beings, occupying a plane of reality, free from the corruption of technology and man foolishness. Although their existence was partly to serve mankind but that did not mean they were lower beings.

They were in fact Irunmoles, created even before Humans ever walked the earth. The existence of Irunmole"s spanned from the time of the great rebellion of Olosi(1). Even at that time, it was safe to say that the orisha was nonexistent.

Then were the days when Eledumare-The great trinity was still very much active. Eledumare as a whole was neutral universal energy until Olofin emerged from it into existence, modifying Eledumare. Following him were Olokun and Olorun who emerged later. Together they formed the Great Trinity. The great Trinity was the first existence of universal consciousness.

Comprising of Olofin(2) Olokun(3) Olorun(4), the trinity sought to create existence like themselves. And hence, set about creating the universes. Time was of no great importance to them as they were beyond the limits of time. Creating and creating, they built worlds and dimensions for other existences to occupy once they were created.

And then, they created the first Rebellion. They created Olosi to man the earth while they focused on other creations. Busy on their creations, they failed to take note that Olosi had fallen in love with the darkness and void he saw on earth and hence rebelled.

Olosi had thought he could mann earth and have earth know him as its supreme creator. So, he sought the darkness and created deformed creatures who would later be known as demons.

Then, he prepared to march against his creator, wanting to have the true power of creating perfections, as Eledumare did.

By then, The Trinity was aware and they struck out with rage and fury at Olosi insurrection. They refused to take his insolence and attacked him with righteous fervor, in the process, destroying many of the other worlds they created.

Mars was rendered to a desert land. Venus became even hotter as Lightning rained all about. But Olosi was made of the same immortality as they were. They created him equal.

It was The Trinity"s mistake. They could not destroy him because he was the firstborn. The first conscious existence they had created. And Out of love for this first born, he was sealed.

Sealed deep in a dimension called Orun Apaadi(5). And then, the Demons he created were banished to the deepest recesses of Orun Apaadi to await their destruction at the end of time.

It was at this notion, Obatala was created, to take Olosi"s place. But Eledumare would not make him as powerful as he made Olosi.

The trinity did not want another rebellion due to the taste of power. However, seeing as Obatala worked hard to set the pillars of earth In order for Eledumare garden- Earth, The Trinity created other beings to a.s.sist.

Beings with even lesser power than Obatala to mann the various sections of the world that Obatala had marked out. These beings were the first G.o.ds.

The Orisha

And then, man was created. Created into an already prepared world to live. The Orisha came down from Orun periodically to admire the pet of Eledumare, man and also to carry out their functions to mann various parts of the earth.

As man increased, the followers of Olosi who were demons had been escaping their bounds, and frequenting Earth.

Spreading darkness , bitterness and strife in the heart of man, corrupting Eledumare pet.

At dire times, Orisha would be deployed to arrest and bind the sinister demons back to orun apaadi and expel their influences from man life.

This made their work of manning the earth even more tedious. And so, the G.o.ds cried to Obatala " This work is too much for us."

Obatala thought and thought.

The Orisha were doing a great job. He could create more to increase their efficiency but Eledumare forbade him, restricting the Orisha to a maximium of 401 Orisha.

The only solution was to create a taskforce under the individual orisha. These beings he would create were going to be far lesser than the Orisha but yet capable of taking down demons in battles.

And so, he created the Irunmoles and divided them accordingly to each Orisha in Orun Emi Ogun(6).

The irunmoles were messenger spirits also and could be deployed by the G.o.ds to deliver blessings and prayers in their place.

However, going down to earth without crossing into Orun Apaadi which was the 2nd heaven. The first heaven contained the sun, moon and stars. While the third heaven was called Orun rere(7) and was the dwelling place of Eledumare, the Orisha and Irunmoles.

So, to get down to earth meant crossing through an unfriendly realm of demons and evil creatures. Therefore every Irunmole had the innate ability of a warrior.

Hence, they were called Emi Ogun.

Despite the fact that they were awon emi(8), their lives were similar to mankind.

They could fall inlove, marry, procreate, grow and eat. The only differences were that they had a very long span of life. A typical Irunmole lived an average of 2 centuries with lifespan at 4 centuries before dispersing into energies, at death.

They were also able to bend white light into any shape they wanted, crafting powerful weapons to fence away demons.

Aside from that, their exposure to the orisha and eledumare granted them supernatural abilities that manifested and became more p.r.o.nounced with time and consistent meditations.

These abilities also were a vital point in determining who lorded an Ilu Orun.

Each Ilu Orun was was presided over by a prime. A prime was the most powerful Irunmole in any Ilu. a.s.sisted by 2 Alphas, A prime would maintain peace and decorum in his domain as well as keeping the focus of everyone on Eledumare via his intermediary, Obatala.

Except in Obatala ilu orun.

Just as the Orisha were subject to Obatala, so were the various ilu orun subject to ilu orun that obatala presided over.

And that Obatala Ilu Orun, the system of governance was different.

Instead of a prime a.s.sisted by 2 alphas, Ilu Orun Obatala had an Elder who oversaw things , a.s.sisted by 2 Primes who were in turn a.s.sisted by 4 Alphas.

At the center of this ilu was a huge all white building that served as HQ which housed the summit meetings of all the other primes. It was still building that The Elder dished out missions and a.s.signments to all subordinates. All of that making Ilu Obatala the highest ranked Ilu in all of Orun.

Meanwhile, in the middle of thick vegetation were three persons walking on a pathway that snaked its way through the forest.

The man in the middle was very bald and very aged. Sporting a bald head with grey beard that ran from his earline down to his chin , with increasing size. He wore a white robe that had luxuriant white collars that fell around his shoulders. In his left hand was a staff with which he used to steady himself as he walked. He was The Elder
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Beside him, at his right was another aged. Though not as aged as he was but one could safely say, this man was middle aged due to the taut face and silver beard at his chin that he tugged at occasionally. He also had a huge sword behind him.

At the other side of The Elder was someone very much younger and less experienced. He had a carefree manner unlike the others who had grave expressions. Behind them, were three irunmoles in glorified battle mood. Their aura was constantly oozing out, scaring away potential danger before it got any closer. They were the Elite Irunmoles who had higher ranking than the regular irunmoles and were a.s.signed on guard duty for The Elder.

The carefree one, pinched on a reed of gra.s.s, pulling it as he walked along. Gazing intently at the reed, he crafted it into various shapes.

"Elder, I still don"t understand why we have to walk over to Ilu Ifa when there are better ways of getting there faster." He grumbled.

The Elder kept silent and clenched harder at his staff. Seeing this, Maerius, the third prime jumped in.

"Ah, be silent, Sunday. You haven"t even crossed to the second half of your life and you are still complaining."

"Ah.. I am 130 years old already. Almost at the second half. Its not until I reach there before I can complain over this injustice." He chewed on the reed now.

"Eh… ewo le leyi. (9) Who should be complaining? We or you that still has the vigors of youth. " Maerius shook his head.

"Children of nowadays eh. Emi o mo nnkan to shey yin oh(10)" He added , still shaking his head.

"I am not a child" Sunday retorted, red lines crisscrossing his temples already.

"Da ke si be.(11) It is because of you we are making this trip." Elder cut in sharply.

"Your destiny seems tainted already. As your father…"

"Don"t you dare go there. Don"t you dare call yourself my father. The only thing you care about is how to save your face." Sunday interrupted, pointing the half chewed reed at The Elder.

As he did so, the irunmole behind him unsheathed their weapons as light flashed about in their hands. They quickly moved into formation, forming a semi circle around Sunday.

"Leave us."The Elder raised his staff. Turning slowly, he stopped to face Sunday.

"What I do ,I do to uphold to uphold the glory of our existence. I do what I do to protect you. Because, I… AM.. I AM YOUR FATHER"

Sunday chuckled sadly as the guard irunmoles slowly fell back.

"A father who knows nothing about his child is not worthy to be a father. Ewo ni.(10)" He spat out.

Third Prime swallowed hard. Sunday and his father had never been on good side. It seemed what Sunday has always wanted was recognition but the father, treating him as the last child would waive him aside. Always.

Perhaps ,If Elder had paid a little more attention to Sunday, things would not have generated to this extent.

They wouldn"t even have had any need to make the trip.

Recently, a seer had given a prophesy about Sunday. The seer had gone close to Elder, ignoring all the guards around her. She had spoken to him thus.

"First Prime, The Elder. Out of darkness came light. Out of nothingness came existence. A son you"ll have will bring the reverse of the case. Prepare all of Orun. Sound the battle cry, for Your own, carries the speck of darkness. "

That was it. And for decades, He had been careful, trying to watch every of his children. Particularly the male. After all, the seer had said "a son you"ll have",

And just when Elder thought the prophecy was failed, Sunday began exhibiting strange characters.

So, he really didn"t blame the elder. Not that he appraised the way the elder distance his self from Sunday.

But rather, he felt if The Elder had been more caring, a lot would have been prevented.

ROOOAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRRRR…

A roar boomed through the air as dark tingly aura shot out in all directions, breaking Maerius" series of thoughts.

In front of him was a p.r.i.c.kled bane winged wolf, towering over at them at a height of 9feet. The wolf was drooling as he approached the party, licking its mouth.

"p.r.i.c.kled Bane Winged Wolf…" Maerius muttered under his breath.

" Defensive triangle. "

In a split second, the guard irunmoles had released their auras, maxing it to repel this sinister beast. But it just didn"t work. They were moving to surround The Elder and Sunday inside a triangle when the wolf charged…

The wolf ran, stamping its claws into the soft ground as it drooled on. Its eyes were locked on the persons before its eyes and it was aiming to ram into them directly. The eyes also began to turn reddish as its hairs stood out into p.r.i.c.kles and thorns. This was the attribute that gave it the name "p.r.i.c.kled Bane Winged Wolf."

"Come" Maerius said . He was in front of the triangle now, feeling for the hilt of his blade. Once the beast got within radius, he would slash once and that once would be the kill.

Steeling his eyes now, he drew his left leg forward while his fingers played at the hilt of his blade.

"3rd Prime, pa da.(12) awon irunmole e pa da. Leave it be. A p.r.i.c.kled wolf does not attack just like that." The Elder said with calm a.s.surance, calling to Maerius to fall back.

Seeing this, the wolf charged. And then it leapt, springing itself forward as its open jaws began closing onto Sunday"s head.

Sunday watched with calm eyes too. He saw the wolf leaping at him.

He saw the irunmole"s falling back.

He had thought The Elder wanted to take on this Rare Cla.s.sed Beast by himself alone.

But then, a second thought crossed his mind. The elder saw him as a child. Taking down this beast that was powerful enough to send shivers down the spines of elite Irunmole"s would prove that he really was no child.

Yes, this was his way of outrightly shaming his father. By taking down this beast, he would be able to rival Elites or even Alpha Irunmoles. By then, The elder would come to respect him.

Yes, he would respect him.

Sunday ground his teeth as a burst of energy was expelled from his body, spreading his aura into the air. He clenched his fists now. Waiting.

Time seemed to move slowly. Seconds ticked and ticked. The wolf drew nearer and nearer. To any one around, one would think he was attempting suicide.

But he didn"t care about that.

"Elder has made no move now. It looks like he wants me to prove myself. I"ll show you, father. I"ll show all of you"

*** ***

The elder looked with steady eyes at the freckled wolf that had just sprung out from the forest to attack.

He was taking Sunday to Ilu Ifa to divine his future and to know what next step to take. Ifa was the Orisha of divination and going to that ilu meant he was going to the realm of prophet Irunmoles who could properly ascertain the future of his son.

He loved Sunday so much. And he didn"t want to lose him.

That"s why he ventured out on this journey.

At Ifa place, they could find solutions to expel the shadows creeping into his life, as prophesied by that seer.

But he wasn"t sure.

So far, he had been protective of Sunday so he could say confidently that the seer was wrong. But… No… She can"t be wrong.

A p.r.i.c.kled bane winged wolf was a Rare cla.s.s Beast that was drawn to fated beings. Its appearance here was no mistake.

In Orun, there were demons present. Though not in Orun rere but in a section reserved for them called Orun Apaadi.

Orun Apaadi was another realm where beastly creatures roamed also, aside from demons. Originally, It had being created as the garden for Eledumare where he created several creatures, mighty and strong. Creatures with untold strength.

However after the great rebellion, Eledumare was pained and then swore by himself never to create any other beings with high power levels. That was when Obatala was created. The demons who had fled to Apaadi had also contaminated the beasts making them dark and vile.

But for the sake of thefact that the Beasts were his secondary conscious creations after Olosi, he refused to erase them from existence. Instead, he sealed them up in Orun Apaadi .

Seeing a beast here in Orun Emi Ogun was not meant to be. Especially A rare cla.s.sed beast.

There were three cla.s.ses of beasts in Orun Apaadi. Common beasts, Rare and Mythical beasts.

Common beasts were beasts that bore similarities to creatures on planets earth. For example, the 10ft golden lion. Because of that, they were the most common creatures in Orun Apaadi. Mythical beats were beasts that had infused so much darkness as a result of interactions with demons. This fusion with darkness had made them the most powerful beast cla.s.s, capable of taking down dozens of Primes.

On the other hand, rare beasts were drawn to fated beings and appeared mostly when a being was tampering with fate. They were a sign that something was wrong somewhere.

The p.r.i.c.kled wolf appearing here, far away from Orun Apaadi meant something was definitely wrong.

Already the guard Irunmoles had formed a defensive triangle around himself and Sunday. He watched as Maerius walked with unshaking confidence to the front of the triangle as he felt for the hilt of his balde.

Maerius had not even know the full capabilities of a this p.r.i.c.kled bane winged wolf and he was already standing so confident, preparing to strike at it.

So Arrogant! He exclaimed.

In a way, he liked Maerius"s c.o.c.ky arrogance. Rare cla.s.sed beasts were creatures that one could never know the true extent of their powers unless they used them.

Unlike the other cla.s.ses of beats where soul gazing could give you an understanding of it capabilities. However, only a few Irunmoles could soul gaze.

"No, if Maerius gets in the way of this beast, I may never truly know who it is that drew the beast to us. It is drawn by fate so it will only attack what or who is causing imbalance in fate."

"3rd Prime, pa da. awon irunmole e pa da. Leave it be. A p.r.i.c.kled wolf does not attack just like that."He ordered, watching as them fall back.

All except Sunday. His eyes widened.

"No, it cant be. It can"t be Sunday. It has to be someone else. Oh Orisha Obatala, let it be someone else"

The Wolf leapt up, closing the distance between itself and the irunmoles as it bared its fangs ready to clamp down on flesh.

It saw the Irunmole fall back but didn"t seem bothered at all. It seemed to the beast that they were retreating except one.

One young Irunmole. An easy meal.

It closed its jaws now on Sunday"s head.

But Sunday was faster.

Quickly, he pushed his weight to his right foot, bending in the process and avoiding the wolf"s jaws by mere inches.

He had just a second to react. A second later meant he was done for. From what he had known, Rare Cla.s.sed beasts were extremely fast.

It was now or never.

Sunday channeled all of his energy into his Right arm, making it glow brighter than the other arm. His face went pale as a result of the energy he was pulling on.

Then he adjusted to the left, Firing his glowing fist into the ma.s.sive cheek of the wolf, throwing it off momentum, into the air.

AWUULLL… The wolf whined as it crashed into trees, slipping down into the bushes below. It lay there stunned.

It had not expected that amount of force.

Once Sunday realized this, he knew it was his chance.

He felt drained, as his aura became increasingly aggressive. This was a result of the damage he dealt out. Auras of irunmoles fluctuated according to damage received and dealt out. Now his aura increased greatly, steadily shipping at his energy.

He wanted to stay back and relax a bit. After all, the wolf was stunned. For 3 seconds now, it was down there, dazed. He could just do that but wanting to stay back to replenish his energy was signing his death contract.

His feet blurred now, as his hands were flung back and body lunging out. He arrived at the head of the wolf in a second.

Already, the wolf had begun to stir.

POW!

His fist dug into the head of the wolf spending beams of light across.

The wolf whined now.

It seemed too easy. Too easy? He almost drained himself out, dealing his first damage to the wolf. That wasn"t too easy. And besides, it was Rare cla.s.sed.

For him to stun a Rare cla.s.sed beast...

That was a feat applaudable. "Father would respect me now" He smirked.

But it was rare cla.s.sed…

"Aaargghh…" He screamed, pain tearing through his whole nerves as teeth dug into his legs."

"No…"

The wolf had bit into his legs and was attempting to gobble him up from beneath.

He had to do something. He could not show weakness.

Clenching his fists, Sunday yelled in fervent rage now. He raised his two hands up into fist. Light shone through the fist and symbols flashed about hands.

"IMOLE MO…"(13) The light shining at his hands suddenly morphed into short double ended daggers.

The daggers in turn glowed sharp yellow as heat spread through his hands. He wasted no time. Any time wasted, he could be gone. He slammed into the snout of the wolf with unchained fervor.

The wolf stopped swallowing for a spilt second.

Then, it rose up so fast that Sunday did not even know when he was spat out. His head hit the rocks as he landed sending sharp jolts of pain coursing through his body. The wolf was angered already. It howled loudly as its aura burst out, uprooting the trees around him.

It was enraged.

"No… I am going in, Elder." Maerius muttered, drawing his blade. He pushed himself forward but felt a resistance at his chest, limiting him.

It was the Elder who used his staff to block his motion.

"You go, when I say you go, Maerius"

"It is a rare cla.s.sed beast. For Eledumare"s sake, you saw the extent of its aura. He… Cannot.. Handle… It…" Maerius said, pointing at the wolf.

The wolf had already puffed its mane, making its hairs stand all straight as it raised his wings.

"I know. That"s what I am counting on" Elder said, maintaining a forward gaze.

"No. You can"t be serious" Maerius" eyes widened, realized what The Elder meant. "HE IS YOUR SON… YO…"

Maerius couldn"t complete his statement. A force of concussion hit him clearing himself and the guards off the ground.

The elder was faster though. He had exerted his aura out absorbing some of the concussion wind but even at that, the elder staggered backwards for 10 meters. From the corner of Maerius" eyes, he saw that the wolf had flapped its wings, attacking them with strong winds.

AWUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLL!!! The wolf howled at them, attacking with sonic booms.

Maerius was deafened. He was trying to gain a footing of himself when the sonic boom hit him hard, unsettling his attempt. He saw that the elder couldn"t deflect the attack this time as he too tumbled in the air.

But he knew the elder and even the other elites with him would be okay soon enough.

He was worried about Sunday. Sunday was a D ranked Irunmole, the weakest with them now. How was he holding up? .

(A/N)

Hey, guys, I am so pleased to be dropping another chapter of trailing shadows. I actually was going to post it yesterday. Its Thursday now. But yesterday was my birthday so I used all that time to chill out.

But, no more birthdays for more. I mean, you only celebrate your birthdays once, right? So, I would be posting regularly. Except when the ASUU strike is called off.

ASUU strike put all universities in Nigeria on hold. If its called off soon enough, it will affect my regular update. Because the university would be trying to rush us up and aaiiiieee, I am but a fresher.

Imagine how that would tell on "very aspect of my life. I might even have to take a leave from Comican Arts during that time.

That"s if the strike is over this month. Which I hope not, so that I will be able to finish up volume 1 of this book. I tell you, By then, you would love this book.

Because, I am going indepth into all the various sections of Yoruba myth that has been forgotten. Although, I add my own touches to the book but its still original material. XD

And I want to start writing another book. Its 100% sci-fi. I don"t know if to call it Transmigration themed too. Because, it is all about a hardcore gamer who imagines himself in the game he plays and ends up realizing that his Imaginations are real.

If I write it, would you read?

Hey, before I start blabbing on. TRAILING SHADOWS… What do you think would happen to Sunday? Comment what you think so I can be merciful on him. For I intend to give him a b.l.o.o.d.y fight with him as the loser. Lol.

And thank you balogunfuadkayode for helping out with the translations. Appreciate.

(T/N)

(1)owner of the left part.(2)Owner of the secrets.(3)Owner of the seas and waters.(4)The Lord of the skies and galaxies.(5)Realm of the unpure. h.e.l.l

(6)Realm of the spirits of war-Another term for Irunmole (7)Realm of the pure. Heaven (8) The spirits(9)Which one is this one? (10)I don"t know what is wrong with you.(11) Be quiet there.(12)Third Prime , return. Spirits of war, Return…(13)Light Saber