BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES: ORIGIN OF THE DUEL PART 2

I was enlisted in to the EKO MARINE CORP Special Forces training in EKO DEFENCE ACADEMY, Akodo towards the end of my twenty first years. I specialized in Demolitions and Explosive hardware.
I became a Demolition Expert. I was posted to the Ordinance Section of EKO MI8 (MILITARY INTELLIGENCE) as 2nd lieutenant after graduation from the Officers Economic School (OES).
My stay in the Ordinance Section was interrupted via my deployment to The FACT(Finance And Counter Terrorism) unit, a special task force established to tackle international money laundering, funding of terrorism and other national security related crimes within the provisions of the Security Threat LAW.
FACT is a technical unit specialized in tracking down terrorists, their funds and sponsors.
We detect their ghost bank accounts and trace the movement of the funds to specified dealers of various illegal arsenals utilized for planned strikes on detailed targets and we proceed to intercept and neutralize.
The “TEAM” comprise of young proactive professionals from Britannica Empire, Arcadian Republic, Tartary Empire and EKO Republic.
I was the only Ekosian chosen to represent the republic on this Elite Strike team.
“I applied for the slot 6months before the circular went viral, you lucky son of a gun. GBOSA! For you Segezy “said Ophidius my colleague and best mate from the academy to me as I boarded the EKO-707 Amphibian Helicopter routed for Kinshasa to resume duty.
“Call me when u touchdown. Am gonna miss u man” Ophidius said as the aircraft lifted off the surface.
OPHIDIUS SERPENTES is a mixed breed Ekosian.
His father was a Brazilian snake charmer while his mother was an indigene from the OLOWOGBOWO ancestry. He benefited from his mother’s ancestral heritage through his enlistment into the EKO MARINE CORP.
We were training mates in the academy and we both got posted to MI8 within the same Ordinance section.
A communiqué was being circulated in our division stating that interested officers who were willing to join the newly established FACT Unit should apply through the CO’s office.
The communiqué informed that there was only one slot for the most outstanding officer in the department.
Ophidius relentlessly tried to convince me to apply together with him but I declined standing my ground on my distaste for competition.
I wasn’t ambitious but Ophidius was, so he applied immediately the communiqué was released.
He didn’t even wait for the Circular, he hurriedly applied and his application was kept in view.
Serpentes was equally a good soldier from a generation of pedigree; his father was a renowned Occult consultant for the Brazilian government.
“The CO wants you in his office ASAP Segezy. What have you done this time?” voiced out Serpentes.
“Me? You know me well enough to understand that I have a passion for keeping a clean slate”. I uttered.
“Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Mr No- Nonsense. Oga dey call u sha” Serpentes said and he walked down the corridor humming our action theme anthem. I walked to the CO’s door and knocked.
“Knock knock!”
“Come in” answered our CO. The auto-door opened and I walked in.
“Sit down Alagbede. Did you apply for admission into the FACT unit programme?” queried my commanding officer, Major Adekunle Sekoni.
“No sir” I responded.
“Why?” probed the CO.
“I wasn’t interested sir?” I replied.
“How come the letter of transfer on my desk has your name on it?” My commander queried.
“I am flabbergasted sir.” He gave me a stern stare and handed me the letter he took from his desk.
“You leave first light. Kinshasa is the new location for FACT’s K branch. Congratulations lieutenant! And please do us proud. Eko o ni baje o!” said the Major.
“O baje ti!” I responded and gave a sharp salute, turned around and left the office en-route to the officer’s mess.
I was the only Ekosian member of F.A.C.T. at Kinshasa. My career with the unit took me from continent to countries round the globe requiring the services of this elite squad.
Eventually I was posted to the new E branch at Eko Republic. When I returned home, it was decaying from corruption.
I returned here on special espionage duties to unravel the activities of a mysterious crime cartel known as the “SYNDICATE”.
The SYNDICATE was a top level crime cartel with influential members of the society.
I was the best field agent ever produced by FACT.

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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BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES: ORIGIN OF THE DUEL

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.

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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BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES: ORIGIN OF THE DUEL PART 3

I played major roles in bringing down a lot of “SACRED COWS” like past military dictators, corrupt public and civil servants plus politicos and crime cartels throughout my tour of duty which started in Kinshasa.
Suspects were given fair trial and sentenced if found guilty. All cases tied to the new SECURITY THREAT LAW were forwarded to the WORLD COURT OF JUSTICE, Hague.
These cases fell under the category of war crimes, thus F.A.C.T. agents were sworn enemies of the UNDERWORLD.
Council members of the SYNDICATE are avaricious ‘gerontocratic’ despots of the society but their identities are unknown.
I became a cold war hero after a lot of major arrest of these crime lords and their cohorts. I felt fulfilled and thought “At last fate has steered me towards my destiny”.
F.A.C.T has a total of 800 agents posted globally to various target sectors. I was agent CODE NAME: ALPHA-7, my lucky number.
When I resumed at E branch in Alausa, the capitol city, I swung into action and soon became an Enigma within the branch in less than 8weeks of resumption of duty.
In a bid to bring down the SYNDIK8, I was sleuth and relentless with my investigation and so doing I stepped on toes.
One sunny afternoon I went on a courtesy visit to my father at Epe, only to find him lying on the floor of the living room fatally wounded.
I rushed him to the nearest EKO health facility where he was placed under admission at the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) of the facility.
“How is he Dr?”
“Not so good Major”
“What’s the matter with my father, Dr?”
“The cancer has gone terminal” said the doctor soberly.
“What cancer?”
“Oh! You didn’t know?”
I was furious. I couldn’t believe my ears. The great Ogunlagun has cancer?
“No way” I thought.
“Its cancer of the duodenum” said the doctor softly.
I was silent for a few seconds, and then I looked at his name tag. Dr Sanyaolu Oladimeji.
“Sanya, you have to do something. I will do whatever it takes to sustain the medication”.
“You have to understand Major, it has gone terminal. There is nothing much we can do at this stage. Let us pray for a less painful transition, I will do best to reduce the pain. You can see him briefly”.
I opened the door and entered the ward. I faked a smile and walked to Ogunlagun.
He had emaciated and was receiving intravenous sustenance in bed.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, in just 48hrs my father had emaciated nearly to his cadaver.
“The great Masquerade! How are you holding Dad?” he smiled back and hissed.
“They poisoned me son. Our Enemies” said Ogunlagun. I bowed down my head and sat on the bedside chair; I held my father’s left hand and gazed into his palm.
“Olokun. No! This can’t be happening” I wailed.
“Fi ara buruku bale. Don’t pity me you son of a lioness! Get a needle and take my blood for lab examination. Do you think I trust these quacks calling themselves doctors? Telling me I got cancer. Hmph!”
I hurriedly went for a needle and sample bottle and returned quickly with both.
“Hold still Dad” I tore out the needle and plugged it to the syringe and then inserted it into a sharp visible vein on Ogunlagun’s left fore-arm.
“Go ahead stick in the needle son” said Ogunlagun anxiously.
“I have taken the sample dad. Even in death you are stoic to a fault. I heard the cancer pain is excruciating”.
“The only pain I will be feeling even in death is you not unraveling this mystery that cost me my life. Find out what they poisoned me with and track down the source” said Ogunlagun angrily.
“I promise you dad, I will put away all those who are responsible for this. I smelt a rat from the moment I heard cancer. You are Stronger than I am father and they do this to you?”
“You have no idea who you are Ogunsegun Ina Alagbede! They took me down to get to you son. You are next, OMOKUNRIN. They are coming for you, so listen and listen well” said my father authoritatively.
A Black and White Raven perched on the window and gazed into my eyes. I was perplexed, I gazed back and images and texts flashed through my cerebrum.
I felt my left eye twitch. I felt it deep down something bad was about to happen. My father began to recite our ancestral native eulogy inserting my name into the lineage.
“Asiko to!” wailed Ogunlagun in pain.

To be continued…

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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BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES: ORIGIN OF THE DUEL PART 4

“Father, Take it easy” he asked me to pass him the glass of water on the bedside table, I gave it to him and then he recited some incantations took a sip and passed it to me to also take a sip.
He stared directly into my eyes and said “Fulfill your destiny”.
The raven on the window side cawed, spread its wings and flew away.
When I turned to check my father, he was gone with his eyes wide open. I closed his eyes and kissed his fore-head.
“Sleep well Great One, till we meet again”. My eyes were bloodshot, I was boiling fire! I went down memory lane and remembered one of my father’s numerous wise saying to me- “The Great Lion can’t dwell amongst Hyenas”.
It is customary for an Elder Masquerade to pass on his Spirit of vengeance to his successor immediately before his sojourn to the other side, henceforth his philosophy and norms lives on in the new host and successor.
It is a rare occurrence of spiritual primogeniture and hasn’t occurred since the Old Ages.
For the first time in over 2,000 years, the transfer of patriarch spirit in a manner of primogeniture is an event that will surely change history.
Is it for good or bad? That is an answer that will be obtained within the course of events.
This is the beginning of my story, this is my epiphany, and this is my emancipation, the birth of a legend and the RISE OF THE ORACLE.
I had my dad’s blood sample analyzed at the Forensic lab at E branch covertly.
My father’s blood was poisoned by rare synthetic venom obtained from a rare hybrid Serpent from Rio in Brazil.
I learnt furthermore that it can be administered through food, water, skin and it stays in the body system for 48hrs before activating its enzymes.
I drove home when I was done at the lab. When I approached Tinubu boulevard, I took into cognizance two Military standard Hummers parked two blocks away from my flat, I checked the registration numbers and it read EKO-MAR SQD-3 and EKO-MAR SQD-6.
“What on earth are the MPs looking for around here” I thought and I drove closer to my gate. I was surprised to see the MP BLACK MARIA parked right in front of my gate. I parked my hummer, put on my shades and alighted.
A senior officer and Six Regiment MPs lined up in front of the gate, they were paired up and their rifles were aimed at me. “Stand down” their commander ordered and walked towards me.
The MPs holstered back their weapons, saluted their commander and took the at ease stance.
“Major Segun Alagbede?” queried the commander, a skinny, tall and fair complexioned fellow.
“Yes Officer, any problem?” I inquired. He held out a scroll which he placed right in front of me.
“I have a warrant here for your arrest by F.A.C.T command for treason” said the officer in charge.
“This must be some kind of mistake. Me? Treason? No no… This can’t be happening” I said vociferously.
“Come with us quietly or we won’t be reluctant to use excessive force” bragged the officer.
As the officer spoke, four of the six MPs took the dagger formation around me and aimed their rifles at me again. I began to have lucid thoughts of anger, depression and confusion.
What in the blazes is going on? Kilonshele?” pondered my wailing soul. They had no compassion for my unfortunate dilemma, they were ready to take me in or take me down.
“What am I to do?” questions, questions.

To be continued…
NOTE: The aim of this post is meant to enlighten our readers and fans, so the stories are chronicled and posted randomly on a weekly basis. Interested readers and followers should rely on the numbering of the chapters in parts and collate to get a full insight as the Tale elongates to unfold the mysteries behind the BLACKSMITH. Thanks for your understanding and support.

Stay tuned to this blog for more posts on the BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES UNIVERSE.

BLACKSMITH CHRONICLES created by SIMISOLA OPEODU.

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