Oyi ga'aje (son of the soil)

The Confrontation

Tall, broad shouldered, and sharp-eyed - Agaba was everything a warrior prince should be. At twenty, he accomplished a feat no military personnel had ever done in the history of the existence of the Idoma kingdom, he commanded more respect among the soldiers than men twice his age. He spoke little in meetings, but when he did, his words struck like iron - to crown this all up, he is the heir of the Igoche bloodline.

He was born with the mark of the celestial being, the sign of inheritance, and he is to take the role of clan leader after his father’s death.

His peers admired him.

The people adored him.

But his heart beat differently.

Where Eponu saw risk, Agaba saw opportunity.

Where the old prayed for balance, Agaba thirsted for dominion.

And in secret, he had begun to gather those who believed the same.

The night after the meeting, Eponu returned home, He refused food and sought solace in rest. As he lay in his room, Agaba visited him.

The room smelled of old oils, burnt herbs, and leather bound scrolls. Outside the moon floated above Otukpo like a spirit lantern. Eponu’s spear leaned against the ancestral altar.

“you’ve heard the people speak”, Eponu broke the silence.

“I have”, Agaba responded.

“and what do they say?”, Eponu asked.

“that you’ve gone soft”, Agaba said bluntly. “That you wait while the kingdom bleeds”.

Eponu nodded, unbothered.“let them say what they must. Wisdom is never loud”.

Agaba stepped forward. “But leadership must be”.

A pause. The candlelight flickered, as a gush of gentle wind blew through the window.

"you think I don’t act because I’m weak”, Eponu said. “But I move slowly because I see farther than they do. The wrong strike will fracture us. Whoever is doing this - knows us, Our systems, Our bloodlines, they’re not outsiders”.Eponu ended with a gaze of suspicion as he looked at his son.

Agaba’s expression sharpened. “you suspect someone within?”

Eponu stood, walking toward the window. “I suspect everyone”.

Another pause, this time filled with tension.

“Including me?”, Agaba broke the silence.

Eponu turned sharply, with a strong gaze, he sighed and said, “No, I raised you better than this”.

Agaba smiled, with a wicked grin, his face carrying the expression of the devil.“then you failed”.

He stepped forward from the shadows. Eyes narrowed. Voice calm.“you were right, the threat is not outside the walls, it never was…”

Eponu froze, shocked, and confused.“what are you saying?”.

Flashback of when Agaba raided the Tiv villages without permit played in his mind, but he wasn’t able to connect the piece.Agaba met his gaze, and something flickered in him.

“the bloodline killings. The attacks…” with an evil grin smile, he spread his arms, “…that was all me”.

A dead silence. Even the wind seemed to stop.

“you…?” Eponu’s voice cracked. “You orchestrated this?”

Agaba’s smile faded.“I reformed us. I’m cleansing us”.

“you murdered children”, Eponu yelled.

“I culled the rot,”, Agaba said, voice rising. “The bloodlines were an obstacle to achieve a Neo-Idoma nation, the Idoma nation I dreamed of, the one I believe will conquer the Earth and spread our powers. Why did you think the gods gave us these powers?, we are hoarding the blessings meant for humanity in general. The Idoma nation needs to move from the decree of a greedy King. As we speak my loyalists are eradicating the Ofu lineage...” Agaba smiled with an evil grin “…The bloodlines will serve as an obstacle as they have swore an everlasting loyalty to the Ochi’doma, so they had to be deleted. I want to build something stronger and greater. Something born to dominate the Earth, Dad?”,Agaba concluded as he threw a devilish glance towards his father, as if asking if he will join his cause.

Eponu reached for his spear.“you are no son of mine”He swung the spear at him.

He dodged.“I never wanted to be”, Agaba whispered.

He jumped through the window and disappeared into the night.

The spear attack attracted attention from his chamber guards, they barged in. They held Eponu, as he attempted to chase Agaba.

Immediately that night, Eponu summoned the full military council to the military fortress - the military council consist of 5 military chiefs, all under Eponu’s control, among them were Eponu’s two eldest sons.

He told them everything. They found it hard to believe - until reality erupted in a burst of red light.

The fortress exploded.

Fire burst round about the fortress. Screams echoed into the hills, screams of burning military chiefs, including Eponu. Ash blanketed the compound like cursed snow.

The military chiefs were all wiped out, suffering the same fate as the infants of the massacred bloodlines.

That same night, Agaba’s forces rampaged the Igoche hamlet, as they massacred all the sons and daughters of Igoche.

Agaba stood on top a hill, the wind was gentle but it carried with it, the horror of hell. Below the hill was the Igoche hamlet covered with red flames, the wind was rich in the stench of burning human flesh.

Only two bloodlines remained untouched: the Achadu, and the Ofu bloodline.