The Witch Puppeteer and Her Vulture Puppets
Strange things were happening in the land and each one eluded the Chief Priest, the King, and his Council of Wise Men.
The palace was filled with great joy as the King had just married a second wife, one he hopes would bear him a Prince should his expectant wife put to birth another princess, as she had already bore him three beautiful princesses and now he desires a Prince. One who would take over his kingdom when he is gone.
However, joy did not fill the king’s heart, as he was dejected and troubled, his mind saddled with the thoughts of the strange events happening in his kingdom.
Pacing the royal courtyard for the nth time, he stops to recounts the strange and mystic events;
First a kettle (a group of vultures) hovered over his palace for 7 days in a row.
Secondly, just a few days to harvest, their farm lands and crops were invaded and destroyed by vultures. Soliloquizing he said; “this is even more bizarre, vultures are not known to behave this way; more so, they feed mainly on decaying corpse of dead animals and food waste.” “So why this?”
Lastly, their stream which is the only water source for the entire village was besieged and polluted by vultures, throwing the town into water crisis.
“What else could these evil vultures be up to?" He questioned, speaking to himself. This is an evil attempt to throw the land into famine;” He added, not knowing that the evils were just beginning to manifest and that the worst was yet to happen.
“Sound the Talking Drum” the now angry king yelled, pointing to two of the palace guards as he yelled out the order.
The sound of the talking drum was a summon to the eldest person in every household in the village, and being that the palace is located at the center of the village the talking drum could be heard loud and clear by all.
In no distant time, the kings square was filled with worried villagers who were all ears, waiting for the kings address, waiting to hear what was troubling the land and who or what was responsible.
Without further ado, the King spoke; “elders of Ulanlan, I welcome you to the Kings Square and I thank everyone of your for honouring this emergency summons. As we all know strange things are happening in our land and only together can we overcome. I challenge and employ every one of you to help in the quest for a solution to these mysterious happenings.”
“Look around and within your homes, get to know your neighbours and their activities, for our enemy might just be one within, and please bring your findings to the palace, bring it to your King, together, lets save our lands and ourselves.”
The King’s speech was abruptly interrupted by yet another bizarre occurrence as a big vulture in the company of two others delivered a baby size coffin to the palace before flying off into the dark and towards the forest while a strange and an unseen woman’s voice filled the air with laughter as they disappeared into the dark.
Grave silence consumed the kings square as everyone watched in awe and total disbelief. “This is witchcraft” yelled the Chief Priest.
The King immediately appealed to the elders once again to join forces in the mystic warfare and come forward with any helpful information, after which he discharged them.
In small groups, the elders talked about the vultures act as they walked home. It was the first of its kind as none of them have ever seen or heard of such in their existence.
The Chief Priest on the other hand, stayed back for a private meeting with the king, which lasted for about an hour. In the end, the king was very happy with the assuring words of the Chief Priest as he rained praises on him. “All I need is a fortnight and the gods will speak” said the Chief Priest.
While the King waited, he hoped and prayed that nothing strange should happen. He also hoped that someone would come forward with a helpful information, but his hopes were about to die, he was about to be struck with pain, an unbearable one, one that nothing in the universe could heal.
It was the last market day before the commencement of a small festival in the land, and his expectant wife had wanted to surprise him with his favourite meal, so she had gone shopping with some of her royal guards when her labour pains started. “The baby is coming” she muffled. Quickly she was rushed back to the palace into waiting hands of the mid wives. “Push my Queen you can do it, push” said a midwife.
Sadly, on the third push came a lifeless baby boy and with laboured breathing she asked; “Do I have a son?” “Yes my Queen” replied a midwife with her voice stuttering, “but…, I am sorry my Queen it’s a still birth;” as she stuttered further, struggling with the words as she spoke.
The Queen’s agonizing voice shook the palace, the King who was waiting for the news dashed into the delivery room as he heard the crying voice of his Queen, his wife, the mother of his children.
Sighting the still born child, his eyes turned red and with all his might, he fought back the tears but the pain was so great and unbearable and eventually against his will the tears rolled down. Consoling his Queen, he held her with his left hand, putting the right one over her head. Heavily pained, he bites down on his lower lips, letting go he spoke softly, with every word painfully pronounced “this is the evil work of the Witch Puppeteer and her Vulture Puppets”.
He further added; “this explains the baby sized coffin delivered by the vultures.”
The people of Ulanlan forbade sorcery on their soil, especially when it involved the life of a person. "This is a taboo, a sacrilege has been committed" said the king; A life has been taken with sorcery, a royal one, and the gods must be challenged before another one happens. “Call me the Chief Priest”, the King ordered.
Off, ran the fastest servant to the home of the Chief Priest. Great one, great one, the King calls. Getting no response, he knocked on the door which was left ajar and through the slight opening; he could see the chief priest lying helplessly on the ground with his eyes widely open.
“It is the witch vultures” cried his son as he emerged from the woods where he sought refuge. “Two vultures flew in with his Symbols”. He added.
They were two Symbols; one represents the Life and the other the Powers of the Chief Priest. Whoever finds both can destroy the Chief Priest. The witch puppeteer must have gone through grave lengths to find them.
The Symbol of Life hold the breath of life for every Chief Priest; their continued existence and good health depends on it. They are never to come in contact with it once they assume their sacred duties. Legends have it that they usually hide it at the peak of one of the tallest trees in the evil forest, a place where no man dares to enter, and a tree no sane person dares to climb.
The Symbol of Power on the other hand held the secret of their abilities to seek and consult the gods, confront and combat evil in the land without fear and to intermediate between the people and the gods, vice versa.
The news of the befallen Chief Priest had gotten to the King, the grave implication, and his final fate already known to him. That notwithstanding, he visited him with care givers.
Unfortunately, on the fortnight, the same day he had assured the King of words from the gods, the Chief Priest joined his ancestors.
The death of the Chief Priest, their only link to the gods, brought great fear and pandemonium to the village. “The gods have deserted Ulanlan” many said, as they journeyed out of the village in great numbers.
Things were mysteriously falling apart and the Kingdom shaking. The very existence of Ulanlan was threatened and the King had no more ideas. He sought help from neighbouring kingdoms but none could help.
One more mysterious event happened which led to the total fall of Ulanlan. A group of elders who were on their way to the palace were attacked by the evil vultures, which flew above their heads, clutching off their title caps as they flew.
Except for those who ran to safety, taking shelter in neighbouring homes, others who had their title caps clutched off fell gravely ill and eventually died.
This last event was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as people fled for their lives, deserting their homes and the life they once knew and enjoyed.
The king too was no exception as he fled with his household leaving his magnificent palace, his home of authority.
Ulanlan was eventually deserted as everything that had life left the village,
The Witch Puppeteer and her Vulture Puppets have won.
Evil has finally prevailed.
Stephen king said “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us and sometimes they win.”
So also, “good and evil exist in this world, sometimes they battle and sometimes, evil prevails.” Author unknown.
This tale was inspired by a 1930 event where the people of Anjikunu Village, at the shore of Anjikuni Lake in Kivalliq Region, Nunavut, Canada disappeared. Legends have it that about 2500 people including their livestocks, disappeared without a trace, leaving everything they had, including their treasures. Till date, the event is still a mystery and the case unsolved. The Anjikunu People's Disappearance
Wow. This was an enthralling read. Kudos to you sire.
I hate to think it -- though can't help or change it-- why must evil prevail at all? This is the very reason why I feel that the world is a very unbalanced place we live in.
Good question @dklef. I believe that only a metaphysical answer will suffice, unfortunately, I don't have one.
What a horror stories you have... Nice one... You can indeed start writing your novel.. Like harry potter :)
Hahahahaha
Thanks @geetasnani.
Great work this is. May God help us all. Thanks for sharing tho.
Thanks @jayfamous for stopping by.
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