The journey to his enthronement came with a lot of rituals to ancestors and deities that had acted the roles of progenitor to them. Akile was accepted, not only by the people but even the deities. His reign soon witnessed the most dreaded times in the history of Araromi. His worst nightmare started on the night his eulogy was sang across the empire by the poet who was born to say all kinds of words on origin, death, achievements and pains of the people of Araromi.
> Akile, son of the favored hunter, One who confronted leopard,Tore it into two halves, Only with a dry jaw, From the lamb he slaughtered with his sleeves, King Akile the great, Sipping water from a basket, Suspending his enemies in the waves of the sky.
That same night, Araromi was looted. Every home recounted their loses. Some in kind but most in relatives who were carted away as war loot. King Akile became so troubled that he left his palace and took a walk round Araromi, asking various questions about the invaders. No one was able to describe how they looked.
Few days after Araromi was invaded, Epetedo received an August visitor who repeated the same gesture of Araromi. This was the story of all the settlements around the region and it gave King Akile, the paramount ruler of the empire, a sleepless night. Out of his worries, one night, as he went round his palace, visiting each room, he found his most beautiful queen, Ara who slept and hung her legs on the wall. Different agitation raised Akile's heart. Witchcraft in the palace? How could a queen of all people, subject herself to being a member of the occult? His troubles increased, his heartbeat became faster. That same night, as he walked back to his chamber, a chirping sound like that of night crickets made him look through the wooden window only to find that the palace guards were feasting on what seemed like a wild cat, hunted down while strolling the night.
In this short reign, King Akile knew that there was no peace in Araromi. He decided to consult the deities through the ancestors. There must be a way out of all these.
***"Chief Priest, I know you are aware of all that is happening in Araromi and its environs. As the mouthpiece of the gods, help me ask the ancestor what we have done wrong to be paid back in this coin."***
The chief priest poured libation on the image of Samosangudu, the deity of war. He sang the pynagerics but the good kept quiet. It's going to be a sleepless night for Akile. He had refused being King. His mother appeared to him in his dream and ask him never to lose the golden opportunity to be an emperor. One that his father was deprived of. Now, look what is happening. His reign has never known peace or recorded any good thing for Araromi. As he returned to his palace, the cry from mourners slowed him down. He could hear the Queen wailing on top of her voice. Their only son and child had gone missing. One of the palace guards gave an account about a recent raid by the same set of invaders who had robbed Araromi of her relative peace. It is true. The crown prince has been adopted by unknown armed men. This was the height of it for King Akile. With anger he returned to the black chambers of the witches who had pledged support for his reign. In a harsh voice he spoke rudely to the invisible witches.
> Mothers of the night! Mothers of the dark!! Bats that sleeps in the day, Fly at night, Mothers that feed through the mouth, Excrete through the same mouth. Do you worry that Araromi will no longer sleep? Have you all gone to sleep that wakes you at night? Mothers who can do everything for their dying children, When would you wake to defend Araromi?
Akile kept eulogising the witches but they could not speak. They knew he hurt. He was so pained at their silence that he said:
I will never come to you, shameless mothers of the night.
As he turned his back to leave the dark shrine, three women who were stricken in age appeared. Instead of seeking their help, Akile blasted them with abuses. What pained him the most was how they would just sit and watch the raiders take away his only son. He turned his back and left the scene, leaving the witches stranded. They were his greatest ally but they have failed him.
It was with anger that these witches appeared to the raiders in the deep forest where they had built a camp. But they met a repel. Agbatiogun, the lead of the raiders was so powerful that he charmed the witches, made them sit on the grasses like a trunk of fallen plantain tree. If the witches were defeated, who would rescue Araromi from the claws of Agbatiogun and his army of looters and raiders?
Watch out for part two…….
85.518 SRY