That boy's words of have been haunting me ever since, and despite all my attempts to not think about it, I am unable to get that encounter out of my head.
"A prophet." I say under my breath.
Back in the age of the Nchāren Empire, a prophet was a figure who inspired both fear and respect, his status was second only to that of the emperor himself, though unofficially his standing was arguably higher. And it was with reason, a prophet was known as god's spokesperson, acting as the intermediary between the divine and us mere mortals and relay His word to us. Even the emperor could not carelessly act before one. As such, the symbol prophets represented held great weight in our culture.
An illustrious position like that, of course, brought its own lot of problems. Namely, the emergence of self-proclaimed prophets, if left unchecked they would indoctrinate some gullible individuals and create turmoil amongst the masses.
That boy could very well be one of those, but I don't think he is.
I idly look at the books laying around. From theses tomes a prophet is a foreign concept to the people of this era. Yes, they know what they are from the edifices and texts we wrote about them, but little else. It also seems like a prophet have never made an appearance since the fall of Nchāre, which is a bit concerning. It has been thousands of years already.
But just a month ago this boy comes out and proclaims that the world is in danger. Saying… no, commanding that it is my burden to save it.
As if it makes any sense.
How could I have the power to save anyone, let alone the whole world? Yet, 'Nothing good ever comes from ignoring the words of a prophet', history on them is clearer about it.
So, can I afford to do just that if he is really the real deal?
The kitten on my lap jumps off then darts unto the window above my bed, it turns to me, meows one last time before jumping out of sight. A second later I hear a knock on my door.
"Hello aunty!"
I stare a bit surprised at my new visitors.
Onana, Yenge, and Ebako stand at my doorstep. Yenge, who greeted me a second ago, gives me a hug then proceeds to invite herself in. It doesn't escape Onana's notice who looks at her with mild irritation but does not say anything.
She and Ebako greet me next as I let them in. Yenge is already seated on my bed; she has taken one of the tomes that was laying on it and is looking through it with a deep frown on her face.
"Woah…" She speaks. "You're just like Pa, you can read so many, and it doesn't hurt your head."
Ebako scoffs. "It is nothing extraordinary. You are just stupid."
Onana intervenes before Yenge has the chance to react. "Enough! Ebako don't talk to you sister like that. Yenge don't touch other people's stuff, where are your manners?"
I shake my head in amusement, these two will never stop with their squabble. I feel a bit sorry for Onana who has to deal with them constantly.
"Alright." I clap my hands to claim their attention. "Let's get started, yes?"
They all calm down and move to sit around the table. The stacks of books I have been using were cleared out so they can put their own study materials.
I have been helping Uncle Owono's kids with their studies for some time now. It all started when I found Yenge crying her eyes out at a corner of the house, she was frustrated that their tutor kept scolding for her lack of effort during their lessons, so I offered her to give her a hand.
As it turned out, it was not because she was lazy or not working hard enough that she performed poorly. It was simply due a particularly short attention span of hers, and once I found the right method to keep her focused, she visibly performed better. It wasn't long until all her siblings followed suit, albeit for different reasons. Ebako followed because of competitiveness, Onana to keep an eye on the two, and Kembe and Tatchou out of curiosity. Their tutor was all too happy to have me help out, if it meant that it will ease his workload, according to Tatchou.
"By the way, are Kembe and Tatchou not joining us today?"
"They have combat training today." Ebako answers while solving arithmetic problems. I look curiously in Onana's direction.
"And you are not training with them?" She visibly flinches, raising her book a little higher in a cute but futile attempt to hide.
"Ah… Umm… I don't feel too well. It is best that rest today."
Ebako scoffs.
"Liar—" Yenge accuses quietly.
"—And I could not leave the two of you alone anyway. You would have bothered aunty Vyswe'eyaga, otherwise."
"—Hey."
"That's not even true. Yenge yes, but not me."
"What—"
"—Calm down, no need to start another argument. As for you, Onana, you should not make it a habit of skipping training. You don't want your mother to hear about it, do you?"
She shakes vehemently, promising not to do it again. I glance at Yenge's work, so far she has correctly answered all her mathematics questions.
Deciding to tutor them was not only because I had the free time to do so, but also because it gave me the opportunity to update my general knowledge of this age. Kayin had taught me to the best of his abilities for me to amply navigate this world, yes, but it was ultimately shallow compared to what I learned with the children. Helping them is also a welcomed distraction from my… real problem.
About two hours later I round off with their work and bid them goodbye for the day.
I first taught of taking a nap before their arrival… But now the idea of staying in that stuffy room does not seem so appealing anymore. It is also about evening, there should not be so many people out now, so maybe I should take a walk, to clear my mind a bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~
As expected less people are roaming around. My headache has receded a bit too.
I am at the same square where Ewa and I were a few weeks ago, a little part of me had hoped that the griot from last time would be here today but I never heard of or saw him again. Ewa did say that people like him travelled a lot and never stayed at the same place for long, still I was looking forward for another interesting story.
I sit down on the same bench we sat and dig into the small packet in my hand and bring out a small round treat called puff-puff, pastry made of sweet dough that has been deep-fried in oil, a bit similar to what was made in Nchāre.
Whether back then or now, there is nothing that calms my nerves quite as well as eating something good. It is a bad habit that I had tried to put an end to, but without success. It doesn't help that this place has a variety of delicious food too. Still, it is a testament of how prosperous and peaceful the city is…
Even after a month nothing horrific happened, no wars, no deaths en masse, and certainly no end of the world. Then why do I keep thinking about it? Why am I not free from the fear that grips me?
"Why did he never come again?"
"Why did who never come again?"
I start at the voice, looking up.
"Ah… Kayin, good evening."
"Good evening… May I?"
I make some space, and he sits next to me. A long silence ensues, as we just observe the people walking around. I glance at him from the corner of my eye… He looks comparably tired from this morning; his work today must have been draining.
"You look troubled."
"…Do I?"
He grunts a bit, "Vyswe'eyaga, I know you are in no obligation to tell me about your issues, but—"
"—What would you do if someone told you that the world is about to end? Hypothetically speaking."
He looks at me bewildered, caught completely off guard by my question, then his expression changes to a pensive one.
"Hypothetically... I would ask where that person had gotten that information from."
"It is a prophet, he tells you... that a great evil will spread unto the world, and that many people die because of it."
"A... prophet? I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say."
I don't know myself.
Why am I even telling him this?
No, I know why. If I'm being truthful it is because I just want to share my burden with someone... Even if that someone doesn't completely understand the scope of it.
"Let's just say you believed that prophet, what would you do?"
"Vyswe'eyaga..." He says urgently. He grips my shoulder firmly, and I face him completely. "What you are saying is becoming more and more distressing. Are you alright"
"I don't know, am I? A prophet came to me a month ago, telling me the world is at risk and that I have to save it." A laugh escapes my lips. "Can you believe it? Me, saving the world."
He nods his head with a serious face. Did he really get it? "Okay… Please, start from the beginning."
I stare at him for a second.
Bah.
What do I stand to lose?
So, I tell him of my encounter a few weeks ago, the Nchāren boy whom I think is not really a boy, of the powerful sorcery he is able to wield with seemingly no difficulty, and of the prophecy he heralded. By the time I was done my puff-puff had become cold and the sun had already neared the horizon, colouring the sky in deep shades purples, pinks and gold.
Kayin is now leaning back into the bench, his eyes searching from something in the sky as he tries to digest all the information I gave him.
Finally, he sits upright, pinching the bridge of his nose, and speaks.
"Are you sure he was telling the truth?"
"I am not sure… But I feel that he is telling the truth."
"You said that prophets, real prophets, are never wrong in their prediction, right?" He voice was even but eerily ominous. The gentle night breeze had gone stale.
"Yes." Was all I managed to say.
"Then why, why is it just now that you are talking about it?" He looked at me with a hard expression… and with something else, something similar to how that boy looked at me that night… Disappointment.
It became unbearable to meet his gaze, so I dropped my head. "I…"
…Because I would have preferred it if it had been someone else, because I don't want to believe it, because I'm a coward.
I see his feet move, he is now standing and looking down at me as I look up.
"Let's go." He says abruptly.
"Go… where?"
"We must speak to uncle, there is no time to waste."
Upon arriving on the domicile, we headed straight to uncle Owono's study, we seem to have interrupted him as—for the first time I have come to know him—he was working.
"We need to talk." Kayin announced immediately.
Uncle Owono looked up from the papers he was examining and raised an eyebrow at our sudden intrusion.
"What is this about?"
Kayin looks at me and I reveal, once again, what happened to me a month ago. Not long after the room fell into complete silence.
"A prophet, huh? So that is why you have been behaving so depressingly. Vyswe'eyaga, you are a very clever girl… But at the same time so ignorant."
"E-Excuse me?"
He stands up and walk to his shelves, then return after picking up a scroll from it and spreads it on the table in front of us. It is a map.
"The boy said to go north, right? That would be the Nguo, I don't see any other place."
Kayin leans forward to better observe the map. "We can't be sure; it could be someplace along the way. Afterall, he did not specify how far north we needed to go." Uncle Owono nods in agreement, and I am completely lost.
"What… are you doing?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Kayin retorts.
"Why are you doing this?"
He sighs, "I figure it would be useless to try to alert the authorities about this... Prophecy. They will very certainly not believe us. You also cannot go there alone—the land has changed profusely from what you used to know."
"You will accompany me?" I ask to them both.
"I am too old for this, but Kayin here surely will."
I look at Kayin who is meticulously observing the map. I don't know what could be hiding there, it could be dangerous, yet he is still willing to come with me. I don't even know what to say. I simply cannot understand why they are so unphased.
"Tell me Vyswe'eyaga." Uncle Owono tilts his head curiously. "Why are you so scared? This is obviously your Calling so why are you doubting so much?"
I swallow hard, tightening my hands into fists on my lap. I feel so ashamed that I wished I could disappear from the face of the world.
"It should not be too big of group, better to attract as little attention as possible." He just sighs when I hesitate to give him an answer. "Forget it"
"Is there any notable area that you know of?" Kayin asks from the side. I take a closer look at the map, as expected there are many landmarks which have changed over the years that they are barely recognisable.
I point at a spot where the 'Nguo' is charted. "This used to be a countryside at the time of the Empire, it was not very prominent though... Except maybe for its beautiful landscapes."
"…I see. Apart from that, we will need to stockpile for supplies, and hire people for the travel, it will be dangerous."
"It should not be too big of a group, better to attract as little attention on this as possible." Adds uncle Owono, to which Kayin nods. "Ike would be a great choice; he is strong and dependable. I will ask him to pick other members."
I watch silently as the pair debates on the preparation, they occasionally include me to have my opinion on the supplies we may need and other auxiliary things.
At the end, it was decided that we will travel in three days. Kayin will commission Ike to gather a small party of other mercenaries to accompany us first thing tomorrow as well as buy all the supply. The next day he will round up with his duty at the Archaeology Institution and we will leave Asso on the third day.