The handiwork of the Gods

Chapter One

The cries of the not already dead women and children of Umunne village competed against each other in the first nkwo of Onwa Ano (the first day of the fourth month). The slit throats of men, women and children lined the streets with blood and body fluids oozing out of their injuries. Dead bodies stacked upon each other. A sight terrible enough to shake even the toughest and bravest of men. From a distance a raging fire is set upon the shrine of the village deity, 'Alusi-Nne'. A sunrise ago, the thought of something like that would have been laughed at and termed impossible. Definitely they will strike anyone that even harbours such thoughts. But now, it seems nothing is impossible after all. Are the gods dead or are they just silent?

The once beautiful and glorious village which attracted foreigners from far and wide now attracted only scavengers. The brown sand which carpeted the length and breadth of the village is now soiled by blood. Who would have believed that in just two days, one of the most prosperous villages would turn into a pile of ruins.

It was rumoured that once a gang of robbers, who heard of the hidden treasures of the land, came to steal and plunder from the village. But when they arrived, they were filled with awe of the beauty of the village and instead decided to live there and enjoy this masterpiece of Mother Nature instead of destroying it. With time, it became an inward joke that to cure a person of the habit of stealing bring the person to Umunne.

Off course, due to the hospitality of the people, they welcomed visitors with open arms and smiling faces. It is said that their hospitality is the secret to their wealth. Once, an elder was asked the reason of the kindheartedness of his people, he once again told the legend that has been passed down from generations to generations during their regular moonlight plays.

A long time ago, before men were born, the supreme god 'Chukwu' disguised himself as a homeless child going from deity to deity seeking help. But he was continually turned away. After walking for a long time, he met 'Nne' who welcomed him and treated him well just like a true mother that she is. When 'Chukwu' wanted to go, he asked her to make a wish and it shall be granted. But instead of seeking wealth, power or strength like any other deity would have done, she requested for peace and happiness for her children. The supreme god, who was pleased with her response, granted her request and added wealth and protection of her children. And as time went on, she and her descendants lived and inhabited there naming the place 'Umunne' after their ancestor 'Nne'. And till this day, 'Chukwu' has been true to his word. Therefore, to maintain the legacy of the great mother 'Nne', the villagers are always hospitable to people. And it was this virtue that the warriors of Igbo-ukwu exploited in turning a village into a slaughter house.

Two Onwa's ago, the village deity, 'Alusi-Nne' which is a small deity compared to the deity of the powerful Arochukwu and Igbo-ukwu kingdoms through the old dibia, Ezenne, predicted the coming of the warriors of Igbo-ukwu kingdom and ways to win the war. But what did the ndi Ichies', the titled men do, they laughed at him and instead suggested a replacement Ezenne calling him inefficient and old. For how else will the village of 'Umunne', a fortress to many, surrounded by a rivers to the east, rocks and mountains to the north, and forest and bushes to the west and south be attacked. It was just impossible for a village which has never gone to since her history becomes threatened by the warriors of the famous Igbo-ukwu kingdom who they have no affiliation with. Surely, it was a misinterpretation of the message of the gods by the dibia and he needs to be replaced before he leads the village astray. Before the next three market days, the Ezenne was replaced and it seemed from then, the gods became silent.

The next Onwa, being Onwa Ano, which marks the beginning of the annual Nne festival, the people of 'Umunne' received more visitors than usual. But with the god's silent, they did not bother about it after all, no news is good news. During that period, the people of 'Umunne' are required to welcome and treat and visitor kindly till the next full moon, when the festival will come to a close in order to receive Nne's blessing for the year.

That was when the Igbo-ukwu warriors arrived, unknowing to anyone but themselves and disguised as passer-by's coming to witness the events and also gaining favours from Nne. They infiltrated the village, getting all the valuable information necessary.

The night before the end of the festival, a loud cry was heard from the far east of the village, waking even the heavy sleepers. As people ran out to the source of the noise, men clad in warrior clothes jumped out from neighbouring bushes killing people irrespective of age or gender.

At dawn, the village had turned into a graveyard except for the noise made by stray animals.

Meanwhile, while the villagers ran to the scene of the shouting, they were seven people that did not go and they were the Osu's serving at the village shrine, at the hilltop. When they saw houses going up in flames, they fled into the bushes in different directions running for dear life.

One of them, a girl named Nneka, ran in opposite direction to the noise. After running for some minutes, she stopped and hid behind a tree. Just then, one of the warriors scouting the area stopped and lunged into the bush to take a piss. He heard someone breathing quickly and went in further to discover a girl hiding behind a tree. Coming behind here her, he jumped and caught her, pinning her to a tree.

With the thought of taking a piss forgotten, he called out

"Here" and at the same time dragging her out to the open space

Just then, footsteps were heard and a group of men appeared. Their center parted and out came a man who seemed to be the leader of the group.

His face was covered with war paints (marks made by indigo and charcoal from burnt wood). But with the vague features Nneka could see, she knew he was very good looking. She have heard stories of a few selected men blessed with good facial features by the gods but never have she imagined a man to look as good as this. The two short lines in between his ear and right eye, which would have marred the face of many, only succeeded in adding more grace to his face. In Umunne, the mark would have meant that the person suffered from convulsion at birth but she wondered what it meant in his own village. The war marks on his chest was more brightly coloured compared to those of his companions. His, was drawn in a regular pattern down to his lower abdomen indicating that he was a man of status and great importance. But at such young age, Nneka wondered. He doesn't look like he is older that her with more than 6 years. Or perhaps he looks younger than his age. His chiselled jaw looked like it was carved by the best wood carvers. His eyes held a blank expression. He flexed his muscles unconsciously as he approached. Maybe trying to exercise his sore muscles. The wrapper hung around his waist looked very expensive with little slits around it. She could tell he is not hairy as hairy as Ezenne, the chief priest of Umunne, the only other man she had closely looked at . The hairs on his skin stood as if on alert. He continued moving towards her in perfect strides. The soles of his feet gripped the ground as he walked; like a predator studying its prey intensely.

"I saw her hiding in the bush" the voice of her captor interrupted her thoughts, snapping her back to reality.

"pl.. please, please, don't kill me" she stuttered, closing her eyes.

"You are as an 'Osu' " a deep velvet voice said as if in response to her plea

Surely, Nneka would have stayed for days admiring the owner of the voice if she had not heard the last word he mentioned. She had been called 'Osu many times that it became her name, but never before has it hurt like this. The way he emphasized the word shook her to the core: made her feel like a disgrace to the society, someone unworthy to associate with normal people. Because surely, she was not normal. No normal person would stand like an idiot an admire someone who probably led the people that had murdered everyone she cared about and loved (even if they are only few). And set fire on the shrine that have protected her since she was a babe.

"We take her with us" was the last thing she remembered hearing before being dragged away.

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