Chapter 4 - The Staff of Judgement

Rhema walked a few paces behind his teacher. He had known teacher for as long as he has been alive, a sort of father figure but he never allowed Rhema to call him that. He had always preferred to be called teacher, because he felt that's exactly what he was to Rhema.

Teacher was a highgod, second ranked to the godking in authority but he never carried himself that way. He always tried his best to seem like an unassuming gentleman, who was content to keep quiet and only speaking when he feels it is right and would offer the best advise or information.

Right now though, the air felt heavier. Teacher was definitely angry at him. In all his years, he has learned to wait until he is spoken to. He had never seen teacher use magic past the rudimentary, but holding such lofty position in the council of high gods was quite telling.

He could already see the gears turning in teacher's head, calculating, creating and destroying plans, every step leading up to the next, analysing all potential outcomes and examining the improbable ones. Before he speaks, he already knows what he is going to be reponded with.

They entered the temple and headed for Lord Imila's chambers. Imila's chamber was a sort of library. It had a maze of shelves and books. Teacher finally settled into a chair but Rhema remained standing. Even if he had the privilege of being the student of the most powerful god in the city, he still had to be deferencial and respectful.

"Rhema" Teacher finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yes, Teacher" Rhema answered seriously, knowing this wasn't a time for quips.

"Why do you keep training, what pushes you to do it?" Teacher asked gently, looking at the boy.

Rhema tried to avoid his gaze, then he resolved to face his fears, this might be a chance at changing teacher's mind afterall.

"At first, it was because I wanted to see if I could do it, combat magic. I felt bored studying books and spells for years, I wanted to try something different..." Rhema said.

"..."

Rhema continued "And when I did try it, I felt more at home in combat than I ever felt in a library, it felt natural to me"

Teacher raised a brow.

"That's not what I really mean, what im trying to say is they seem to be training for two purposes. I feel like they had a sort of vision, some purpose to strive for while i didn't" Rhema corrected himself.

"I see" Teacher said. "Does one of the reasons involve the hundred year quest to become a god?" He asked

"Yes" Rhema answered.

And the other is? Teacher asked

"They are training to fight against chaos, the natural enemy of order. Order which binds the gods and all of creation". Rhema said.

"And you found all this while training?" Teacher asked patiently.

"I did but I couldn't get information on it in the city" Rhema said.

"And yet here you are vomiting information passed to you without verifying its authenticity. You couldn't find information because I withheld it from you. I knew the moment you started training but I ignored because I felt you would quickly get frustrated. I allowed you for so long but you are quite the tenacious child...What do you know about chaos and the hundred year quest exactly?" Teacher asked.

Rhema knew not to answer. He was going to be wrong regardless of what he said.

Teacher waved his hands and illusions came to life around them. He started "At the beginning there was only the Sea of Chaos, then the first land, Orundun Nla, the symbol of Ashe, order, life, came from Chaos, creation from destruction, and from it, Ochalla rose. Ochalla was powerful and took many forms, but he was alone and chaos surrounded him". He said as the illusions illustrated what he spoke about.

He continued "In response, he summoned the other gods: Imila, who wielded wisdom from the deep, and Oodua, who knew the mysteries of creation, Janaina, the sky, and Oshun, the earth. Then came children of Orundun Nla: the god of war, Ogun and the goddess of Fate, Eshuro. Following the creation of the other gods, Ochalla triumphed, Order over chaos".

"However, as Order took manifestation in the form of Ochala, Chaos also manifested into a giant called Irukerudo, the god of Chaos who hated all of creation. As Chaos tried to overthrow and disrupt the delicate balance between Chaos and Order, Irukerudo tried to consume the celestial god, if he had won, the new world would be destroyed and all will fall into Chaos. However, the triumph of Chaos did not happen since the gods were there to protect Ochala, the Lord of Order". Imila finished.

Rhema didn't really know what to think. He already knew the origins of the gods were mysterious but he wasn't expecting this story. He didn't actually know what to expect.

"Lord Ochala fufilled his mission and defeated Irukerudo. So we wont have to face chaos anymore, thus, making your training pointless". Imila said.

Rhema felt his face turn red from embarrassment. "But why would lord Ogun train them if there's no battle to be fought?" He asked.

"I never said there is no battle to be fought, I only said chaos is not our problem anymore. Ogun trains them because that is his nature. War must be prepared for. It would be unnatural if he didn't train them." Imila said.

"And what about the Hundred year quest? Rhema asked quickly, grasping at straws. "Shouldn't I train for that?" He asked.

"Haven't I been training you for that? All the spells and books you have been studying as been for nought?" Imila asked. "or is combat the only form of magic to be used?"

"No it isn't. There are six types based on the six primordial gods" Rhema said, "but why would souls have to be reborn into the earth before they can become gods? From your story, every god came to be already as a god but now we have to go on a quest to earth, only after succeeding in the quest do we become gods"

"That is part of the quest, don't you think? The pursuit of a knowledge, power and position beyond you, just like the primordials. You will find out in about fourty years when you come of age and you're allowed to go on the hundred year quest" Imila concluded.

"Lodd Ogun mentioned that chaos could rise again" Rhema said

"Yes, Chaos refused to give up his hold on creation, aslong as order exist chaos will always be on the horizon. He rose so many times to defeat the gods and in the last great war, he defeated the gods one by one until only Ochala himself remained, just as it was at the beginning of time" Imila illustrated

"Ochala sacrificed himself to preserve all of creation, taking Irukerudo out in mutual destruction. A balance of the scales. With Ochala's ’ dying breath, he separated the heavens from the earth to shield us from the outside world already tainted by chaos. In the event he, chaos, arose once more, Ochala left us a weapon, one powerful enough to destroy a primordial god... to destroy chaos before he could destroy creation..." Imila said

"And the chaos killer?" Rhema asked

"Chaos killer?" Imila asked, confused

"The weapon" Rhema asked holding the illusion of the staff in his hands.

"The staff of Judgement" Imila corrected

"Yes, Who would wield it?" Rhema asked looking hopeful.

"I hope there will never come a time when it is called to arms. But only the greatest among us even could... and that is not you, Rhema" Imila said crushing his fleeting hope.

He takes Rhema’s hand away from the staff and the illusion fades away.

"So you see, my pupil, you are safe. And it is nothing for you to concern yourself with" Imila said softly.

'Only the greatest huh' he thought to himself. Rhema tried to reign in a smile from breaking out. He had always been stubborn and willful. 'Lets see how that goes' he mused.