I am Segun Ina-Alagbede a.k.a. the BLACKSMITH. I was an exemplary gifted craftsman with impeccable skills beyond comprehension. My father the great- Ogunlagun Ina Alagbede was my master in the art of war the Masquerade way and he taught me well. I began training with him at the temple on my 7th birthday; my first weapon was the Scimitar.
“Ibi to ba ti le la tin ba omo okunrin (a man is made for tough situations)” said Ogunlagun to his young son.
I charged towards him with great vigor and swung my sword in the direction of his knee, he suddenly rebound my strike back and I was thrown to the floor like a log of wood. A Masquerade is an African Warrior trained in the art of mysticism, cloak and dagger, mano a mano and fencing with the IDA- the sword of death, the vengeful spirit of a potent warrior.
“IJA-KADI was born before Judo and is very lethal, concentrate and plan your moves to throw your opponent flat to the ground in a submissive fashion”, uttered Ogunlagun.
I also mastered IJA-GBOKITI, a deadlier form of ancient martial arts quite older than aikido and kung fu. A profound combat school of thought infused in Yoruba philosophy of anatomy and forces of movement. The scholar’s prime objective is the mastery of the incantations aligned with body movement; this allows the fighter to extraordinarily deliver fatal attacks subconsciously.
“Well done! You have mastered the most deadly art in the realm of combat and you have developed an uncanny ability to hurl yourself towards your opponent with tremendous velocity plus power and thus making you the youngest OLUJA at Sixteen years of age to emerge from our clan in centuries. Now you will choose a craft from the list in front of you, but choose wisely…hmmmmm, a skill that will enable you to master and utilize the four elements of balance in our universe, instructed my father on my 16th birthday and thus is the beginning of my chronicles as the BLACKSMITH.
I spent my mornings in our “FOUNDRY OF HERITAGE”, our historical workshop where generations of blacksmiths forged relic and antiquities from weapons to household objects. I continued to smote my hammer upon the “ANVIL OF LIFE” sprouting my seeds of knowledge implanted into my DNA by my genealogical patriarchs of great wisdom. The furnace is lit; the cauldron is filled with molten iron about to be poured into prepared casts while I sweated profusely.
“Impressive, now dip it into the water, remove and go outside to dip it into mother earth…Viola! You have your weapon perfectly forged and blessed for honorable duty”. My father never stopped reiterating the power behind the mastery of the “Four Elements of Matter”. They are EARTH, WIND, FIRE, and WATER. Iron is from earth, according to legendary anecdotes of old, OGUN the god of iron cleared the pathway when he arrived earth paving the way for all other deities into this world. Wind is the pneumatic power that blows the Fire hot enough to melt the iron while water cools the iron to form. He told me great tales of great Masquerade warriors that lived amongst in silence until chaos is awakened; they are summoned by the sixteen forces of the land to restore order. It is presumed by my father that we are descendants of these great Warlords, Kings Guard and Assassins of Justice.
Our training and grooming had been kept clandestine for ages, Ogun the great god of iron was the first of these elite progenitors.
Legend says the “First shall be the Last and the Last shall be the First”, Legend also said Ogun will walk the earth again as man, not just a man but an indestructible man of steel.
It is a belief of faith that he will overcome the forces of chaos and restore order to rule for generations, sometimes I ask myself if this tale was a myth or a true prophecy?
Questions lingered in my mind and stirred my intuition to uphold the fulfilment.
After the completion of my physical and mental training, the next phase was my Spiritual Enlightenment and Orientation.
In order to become a Supernatural masquerade, one must learn the “DARK ARTS”. To fight evil, a seasoned warrior must study its Modus Operandi, to cover my light I cloaked myself in darkness because I am a Dread man.
A glimpse of my physique in full regalia and paraphernalia will strike fear into the hearts of malevolent men. I later veered into Sorcery, witchcraft and Divination.
I studied the art of my adversaries with practice and execution and became a Warlock at the age of 21, but with all these abilities, I was restricted from using them in the world of SEEKERS.
I was a young Super soldier on standby; I carried a burden of formidable power which I was barred from operating except in training. I hoped with all my heart for chaos to submerge from the pits of darkness so that I would honor duty as a warrior of fate waiting for the fulfilment of my destiny.
It’s unknown to folks of this world, that darkness reigns supreme. Only the practitioners of the Dark Arts are privy to the ominous nature of the world, some bad eggs amongst them took this privileged knowledge for granted and used it to meet their selfish ends.
As an EEGUN NLA, am gifted with the eye of OLOKUN and the wisdom of IFA, OLOKUN sees all IFA knows all. The Darkness had always existed conflicting with light to deceive men of the world, same trick, and different era.
I sometimes wonder why I have to fold my arms waiting for the emergence of the “SONS OF PERDITION”, while they are running the affairs of the world under the guise of politicos, crime bosses, tyrants and bandits. Is this the world I swore to protect with my life? A world turned against its prophets and defenders.
I held dear to me norms and culture of my training and this was my code of conduct, Patience really is a virtue.
“Ibi to ba ti le la tin ba omo okunrin (a man is made for tough situations)” said Ogunlagun to his young son.
I charged towards him with great vigor and swung my sword in the direction of his knee, he suddenly rebound my strike back and I was thrown to the floor like a log of wood. A Masquerade is an African Warrior trained in the art of mysticism, cloak and dagger, mano a mano and fencing with the IDA- the sword of death, the vengeful spirit of a potent warrior.
“IJA-KADI was born before Judo and is very lethal, concentrate and plan your moves to throw your opponent flat to the ground in a submissive fashion”, uttered Ogunlagun.
I also mastered IJA-GBOKITI, a deadlier form of ancient martial arts quite older than aikido and kung fu. A profound combat school of thought infused in Yoruba philosophy of anatomy and forces of movement. The scholar’s prime objective is the mastery of the incantations aligned with body movement; this allows the fighter to extraordinarily deliver fatal attacks subconsciously.
“Well done! You have mastered the most deadly art in the realm of combat and you have developed an uncanny ability to hurl yourself towards your opponent with tremendous velocity plus power and thus making you the youngest OLUJA at Sixteen years of age to emerge from our clan in centuries. Now you will choose a craft from the list in front of you, but choose wisely…hmmmmm, a skill that will enable you to master and utilize the four elements of balance in our universe, instructed my father on my 16th birthday and thus is the beginning of my chronicles as the BLACKSMITH.
I spent my mornings in our “FOUNDRY OF HERITAGE”, our historical workshop where generations of blacksmiths forged relic and antiquities from weapons to household objects. I continued to smote my hammer upon the “ANVIL OF LIFE” sprouting my seeds of knowledge implanted into my DNA by my genealogical patriarchs of great wisdom. The furnace is lit; the cauldron is filled with molten iron about to be poured into prepared casts while I sweated profusely.
“Impressive, now dip it into the water, remove and go outside to dip it into mother earth…Viola! You have your weapon perfectly forged and blessed for honorable duty”. My father never stopped reiterating the power behind the mastery of the “Four Elements of Matter”. They are EARTH, WIND, FIRE, and WATER. Iron is from earth, according to legendary anecdotes of old, OGUN the god of iron cleared the pathway when he arrived earth paving the way for all other deities into this world. Wind is the pneumatic power that blows the Fire hot enough to melt the iron while water cools the iron to form. He told me great tales of great Masquerade warriors that lived amongst in silence until chaos is awakened; they are summoned by the sixteen forces of the land to restore order. It is presumed by my father that we are descendants of these great Warlords, Kings Guard and Assassins of Justice.
Our training and grooming had been kept clandestine for ages, Ogun the great god of iron was the first of these elite progenitors.
Legend says the “First shall be the Last and the Last shall be the First”, Legend also said Ogun will walk the earth again as man, not just a man but an indestructible man of steel.
It is a belief of faith that he will overcome the forces of chaos and restore order to rule for generations, sometimes I ask myself if this tale was a myth or a true prophecy?
Questions lingered in my mind and stirred my intuition to uphold the fulfilment.
After the completion of my physical and mental training, the next phase was my Spiritual Enlightenment and Orientation.
In order to become a Supernatural masquerade, one must learn the “DARK ARTS”. To fight evil, a seasoned warrior must study its Modus Operandi, to cover my light I cloaked myself in darkness because I am a Dread man.
A glimpse of my physique in full regalia and paraphernalia will strike fear into the hearts of malevolent men. I later veered into Sorcery, witchcraft and Divination.
I studied the art of my adversaries with practice and execution and became a Warlock at the age of 21, but with all these abilities, I was restricted from using them in the world of SEEKERS.
I was a young Super soldier on standby; I carried a burden of formidable power which I was barred from operating except in training. I hoped with all my heart for chaos to submerge from the pits of darkness so that I would honor duty as a warrior of fate waiting for the fulfilment of my destiny.
It’s unknown to folks of this world, that darkness reigns supreme. Only the practitioners of the Dark Arts are privy to the ominous nature of the world, some bad eggs amongst them took this privileged knowledge for granted and used it to meet their selfish ends.
As an EEGUN NLA, am gifted with the eye of OLOKUN and the wisdom of IFA, OLOKUN sees all IFA knows all. The Darkness had always existed conflicting with light to deceive men of the world, same trick, and different era.
I sometimes wonder why I have to fold my arms waiting for the emergence of the “SONS OF PERDITION”, while they are running the affairs of the world under the guise of politicos, crime bosses, tyrants and bandits. Is this the world I swore to protect with my life? A world turned against its prophets and defenders.
I held dear to me norms and culture of my training and this was my code of conduct, Patience really is a virtue.
To be continued in BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES: ORIGIN OF THE DUEL Part 2
Stay tuned to this blog for more posts on the BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES UNIVERSE.
BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES created by SIMISOLA OPEODU.
To know more about the BLACKSMITH UNIVERSE look out for THE BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES ISSUE 001 coming soon…
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