CONQUEST

THOSE AIMING FOR THE THRONE

"What the fuck was going on." Only this six words remained in Folarin's mind as he stared at the kneeling priestess, he lost his former composure as he ran towards her and tried to pull her up "High priestess, please stand up, this is embarrassing and confusing for me."
   "No i shall remain on my knees in your presence."
"Lady, you are giving me a headache here, what if someone sees you. Please stand up and explain what is going on here."

Yewande was hesitant to stand up at first but she did as she noticed the effort Folarin was putting to drag her up, noticing she had stood up Folarin calmed down his confused mind and asked "What is going on, why in the world are you bowing to me and what do you mean, i shall 'guide' you."

Yewande let out a deep breath and explained "As you know, the god that gave me my powers was Orunmila, the god of wisdom and divination and sometimes he shows me visions, visions of the future that could affect the entire Yorubaland, this visions are usually of wars about to happen or of a great blessing about to happen and a few months ago, i received a new vision as well as a command but this vision was different, it wasn't something that affected only the Yoruba people but people of other lands as well."

Yewande's eyes began to sparkle as she looked at Folarin like she was looking at the most precious gem in the world and she continued saying "in this vision, you were there, chosen by the gods, you created a new era of peace that not only included the Yoruba people but also the people from other lands, a new era, one filled with prosperity and joy and you were the one to create that era, it is your destiny as the chosen one of the gods."

Folarin looked at her and was about to laugh because he thought it was a joke but looking at the serious look on her face, he knew she wasn't joking, he suppressed the urge to laugh and started thinking about the situation seriously, what Yewande had just said was different from what the cube showed him, with the cube, it would have been enough to reduce or even stop the influence of colonialism on the African continent but this time, Yewande was including the goal of building a utopia for different tribes of Africa, just thinking about it alone gave Folarin massive headache, he had noticed something ever since he arrived in this world, it was that the tribalism was really intense, each tribe wanted to prove they were the strongest, the Yorubas, the Nupe and the Benin people all stood on their own side and rarely do they mingle except when it comes to official things like trade and even then there was still intense tension between them, this could be further proven with the fact that most of the officials of the Oyo kingdom had chosen to support Abeo rather than Adetola because Adetola's mother was a Nupe princess and they saw him as someone who had tainted blood.

If it was truly what the gods wanted that he should unite the lands, it was equivalent to giving him an extra burden and a problem to solve, Folarin looked at Yewande and said "Hey, aren't the gods being too demanding, creating a utopia, do i look like jesus christ or something? I already had my hands full with the first task they gave me now they give me another?" Yewande tilted her head as she put on a bewildered expression and asked, she didn't understand who this Jesus Christ was but the way Folarin spoke was like someone that had met the gods before"You've had contact with the gods before?"

Folarin realized he might have misspoke but he acted calm and replied "Something like that, look, i am busy with something else right now, i do not have the time to think of creating a utopia." Yewande's eyes were calm as she replied "You cannot escape this, it is inevitable, you can try to run from it but i can see that the destiny the gods have placed on you is something you cannot escape from." Folarin stiffened at her words, he realized something from what she said, the cube did give him incredible abilities and advantages but at the same time, it was also a shackle, a shackle that connected him to the gods of this land, a shackle that ensured that whatever the gods wanted from him, he would have to do or else just like the cube had given him new life, it can also take it away, sure he was extreamly pissed when he saw the injustice and suffering the black people would endure years from now and he was motivated to change that, another reason that motivated him was his own personal life, the cube had made it clear to him that if he should refuse the task he was supposed to do, it would destroy him and his soul, in other words he would completely cease to exist, as someone who had died once already, the concept of death was very scary and all the more reason why Folarin treasured his life, if this task to create a utopia is just like the task to reduce or stop colonialism in the future, he would have no choice than to comply with the wishes of the gods.

Folarin sighed and said softly "this is all too much, i have neither influence or power, i am just one man, how am i supposed to do all this things the damned gods wish of me." Yewande ignored Folarin's rude remark towards the gods, if it was someone else, she would have slapped him or her for sullying the name of the gods but Folarin was different, he was chosen by the gods so in Yewande's eyes, anything he does was excusable, if this was a video game, Folarin would notice that Yewande's favorability towards him has almost reached the level of reverence, this showed how dedicated she was towards the gods, with her calm and beautiful voice, she said to him "i don't know what it is you are struggling with but if it is influence and power you are worried about, there is one way for you to gain both those things at the same time."

"How?" Folarin asked with his eyebrows raised and with a smile on Yewande's face, she replied "Become the next king of Oyo."

Meanwhile in another part of the palace, only two men were here, if people could see their faces, they would immediately recognize this two men as Ira, leader of the Mosuro family and his eldest son Banjoko, Ira had a look of pure anger on his face as he said "Damn that old man, damn him to hell. We gave him so many precious horses and not even get anything in return." Banjoko frowned as he said to his father "Do you think one hundred horses was too much father, i think the King may have begun suspecting something."
Ira calmed down and began to think, after a while he replied "Yes, that bastard may be old but he is not a fool, the Nupe horses are something he has been trying to get for years and we showed up with a hundred at once, it would be stranger if he didn't suspect anything."
"But wouldn't that mean our plan has been exposed." Banjoko said with a frown on his face
Ira smiled and said "Don't worry son, you know the personality of that bastard, if he was planning to kill us, he would have the moment he began suspecting us, he doesn't have long in this world and the battle for the throne is intensifying, there's no way he would risk infighting at this moment or it would really weaken this kingdom and leave us prey to our enemies."
Banjoko calmed down and then said with a conflicted look on his face "Father, are you sure this is the right path, you do know the Nupes are merely using us to weaken the kingdom's strength so they can strike."
Ira also put on a solemn expression on his face and replied "This is something i wondered myself but i realize this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, for the first time in the history of the kingdom, there is a hole in the royal power, both princes are completely not suited to the throne, why should the throne be limited only  to their bloodline, they have ruled long enough and it is time to let other people rule also, with the help of the Nupe, we will become rulers of this kingdom, as for the Nupe people, we will deal with them after using them, remember this son, we must succeed in this, now that we've climb the back of the lion, we either subdue it or die so the only options we have from this moment forward is success or death, we have no time or liberty for doubts, we will wait and pretend to continue supporting Abeo for now, the moment that old bastard passes away will be the moment we strike."

Ira looked up at the beautiful night sky and smiled as he mumbled to himself "The throne will be mine." There was a glint in his eyes as he said this, one that held intense ambitions.