Art Prompt Writing Contest: A God's Wrath
Kilanko’s heart beat steadily as he ran. He had prepared for this, for glory he would go any length. The plan was simple; infiltrate Oyo and get the symbol of power from the shrine of Sango, the thunder god. The axe of Sango was a symbol of Oyo’s strength and he was going to steal it for his people.
His escape route was the dark forest, forbidden to anyone but the chief priest and the king of the Oyo people. It was supposed to be the gathering place of spirits and headless men, but the sky was bright and the forest crawling with critters like every other forest. He had run for a few hours when he decided to take a water break, the Alaafin of Oyo was an old man and wouldn’t give chase, the chief priest was also an old man, but he was once called the man with a thousand steps. It was believed he was carried by Sango’s wind to hasten his missions. Kilanko hardly believed such tales, no priest had ever been able to outrun him in battle.
The tears of the town crier had been shed. The kingdom of Oyo was in disarray, the gods were angry and their wrath was blind. The sky would roar and the earth would tremble until the axe is returned, the perpetrator would also run mad after being visited by Sango. The king summoned Ogbontarigi the chief priest.
“Kabiyesi o, may your crown remain long on your head, your shoes long on your feet, and authority long on your tongue.” Ogbontarigi greeted in salute.
“Ogbontarigi, what is this I hear about the shrine being invaded” he asked.
“My king I was as shocked as you. I do not know who dares do such a thing” Ogbontarigi replied.
“Can you not find the criminal by looking into your seer's calabash” the king inquired.
“No my king, the gods are furious and won't heed a call for vision, but I have invoked madness upon he whose mother had chosen to give birth to a mere rat. He will wallow in the problems he brought upon himself.” Ogbontarigi replied.
“The one that wields the arrow of the gods I salute you.” The king said raising his hands in salute of Ogbontarigi. ”But what can we do to appease Sango, the wrath of the gods is frightening and fierce, we must avoid it at all costs.” The king continued.
Ogbontarigi smiled, this was the time to make demands, he relished those moments the best.
“We will need a sacrifice. To appease Sango we will need 3 goats, 2 chickens, 6 yards of fine clothe, 2 kegs of palm oil and 7 tubers of yam”
“All that just to appease him?” the king asked wondering if they were throwing a feast.
“Yes my king, Sango is angry and his rage is not easily quelled. This is just a token to stop him from sending down thunder and lightning” Ogbontarigi confirmed.
The king understood what was at stake, but he wondered why the gods kept getting greedier.
The forest started to get darker and the trees bigger. Kilanko began to feel out of place. He could no longer hear the singing of birds, or the movement of small animals running to avoid him, but he ran still. His legs began to feel heavy and the cut where the axe cut him began to sting. Theres was an hidden blade on the handle of the axe, the only way to avoid getting nicked by it was to know it was there in the first place. Kilanko had no time to proper treat the cut, it was a small cut, and he was a warrior.
The trees started to grow taller and the path he was taking seemed to take him in circles. A storm was brewing; the sky seemed to be covered in a blanket of darkness with thunder roaring long and loud. Kilanko was starting to lose his nerve, he had not prepared for this. Was the weapon really cursed? What had he gotten himself into?
He immediately dropped the axe at the foot of a tree and continued running while offering loud apologies to no one in particular. The cut began to sting even more as he ran, the sky grew angrier. He could feel eyes watching him, was he to die here? Not yet, he would continue running, and he was almost out of the forest. As he got to a clearing where he could get a good glimpse of the sky and he was stopped in his track by the image before him. The blanket of darkness was dispersing revealing a clear sky in the middle of it, something was descending, someone.
As Kilanko watched the heavens waiting for the arrival of a god a large stick rammed itself against the backside of his skull, knocking him out instantly. It was the chief priest. One of his apprentices had followed Kilanko to the edge of the forest before reporting back to him. He always made sure to coat the sharp edges of the axe with a potent poison that induces hallucinations.
There was no god coming from the sky, just a chief priest who knocked out a man staring into the midday sun.
The prompt
Image credit: @torico
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