Order of the WEB - The Trial 2

Nana had barely managed to make it down the hills in time. He looked at the rising sun and let out a low but deep sigh. The weather was still cool, the night chill lingered, but the little warmth from the rising sun hit his face. He had changed from his usual outfit up on the hills; he would bake in his usual clothes since the hills were normally very chilly as compared to the base. He was now in a pair of blue jeans, a sleeveless ash hoodie and a pair of Sankofa sneakers; he didn’t use to be a big fan of their sneakers; but since he was mandated to wear them because they sponsored the Red Hills Arena, he had grown used to them. His duffel bag was draped over his shoulders, his red cap in his right hand; and he seemed prepared for his trip to the Ashanti Kingdom. He looked behind, taking one last look at the red gate that served as an entrance to the Red Hills and smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in ten days.” He said, as he put on his red cap and walked off. Today was the first day of his trial, minus that he had to be back on the Hills by the eleventh day from this morning. He knew this being his final trial, wasn’t going to be an easy one, and with what he had been sent to investigate, he knew for certain that the success rate of the trial was clearly below fifty percent. However, that didn’t bother him as much as what Akose had told him. He had never really put much thought into death, unless of course when he was facing Esi, that was a different case all together, but being told you were going to die; now that was special. Apparently Akose’s ability had evolved and now she got glimpses of the future and past, like the time to her space manipulation; and she had caught a glimpse of him dying. In her vision his right hand had been cut off and he was caught in the middle of two attacks. She hadn’t seen his opponents, but according to what she saw, his death was clear. He unconsciously touched his right hand as he thought of it. Why now?

He walked towards the trotro station on the side of the usual busy road; it was as if it was afternoon already, traffic was heavy and people were everywhere. Of course, it was a market day, he had forgotten all about that. The sudden sound of a loud horn caused him to turn on reflex causing him to bump into someone. He turned to find an old man about a couple of inches shorter than him stagger backwards. He immediately caught the old man before he lost his balance.

“Opanyin, are you alright?” Nana asked as he helped the old man. The old man just mumbled angrily in response, shaking Nana’s hands off him.

“Children of nowadays, you don’t watch where you are going! Nearly made an old man break his hip.” He complained bitterly causing people passing by to look at the two of them. Nana tried to smile, but he was not doing a good job hiding his embarrassment.

“Opanyin, I am really sorry. It wasn’t my intention. I hope you are alright?” Nana asked respectfully. The old man sized him and nodded begrudgingly. The old man looked to be in his seventies at the very least; he was slightly hunched over on his walking stick. He was in a pair of togas and a faded fugu, he wore a pair of leather sandals. He had a bald head. The only hair on his face was his grey beard. He looked frail, yet somewhat energetic at the same time. Something felt familiar about the old man, but Nana couldn’t quite figure out what it was.

“We thank the gods.” Nana said with a smile. “I’ll be on my way then.”

“Oh, the lack of respect amongst these new generations is something to be ashamed of; if only our ancestors were alive to see this. If this had happened in the good old days, a young man would have asked how to be of service to the old one, but no! Not in this generation.” The old man wailed; Nana who had turned around and was just about heading back on his way quickly returned to the old man, to prevent him from causing a scene, as he seemed to be drawing more and more attention.

“I’m sorry old one, how can I be of help to you?” Nana asked as politely as he could. He was beginning to lose his cool; he had to catch the earliest trotro in order to be on time. He couldn’t afford to lose a minute.

“Now you are moving in the right path young man.” The man said tapping Nana on the shoulder with his walking stick.

“The old ways must never be ignored; they must be adhered to and respected in order to attain enlightenment.” He continued to preach. “Now per the old ways; you are obliged to do one thing for me, without complaint, or risk carrying the curses of the dead ancestors.”

“Yes, sure thing.” Nana said without paying much attention, he just wanted to get to the station. “Whatever you need old one.”

“Good, I like your eagerness.” The old man said proudly. “Now I want you to carry my things over there, I’m going to the Ashanti Kingdom, and my back is killing me.”

Nana gave out a huge sigh of relief as he heard what the man said. It meant they were both heading in the same direction; killing two birds with one stone. He saw the bag the old man was pointing to; it was twice the man’s size. Was this old man travelling with everything he had in his life? How did he even get it here in the first place? Nana couldn’t help but wonder which poor young soul had been made to carry the load before him.

“Of course old one, it won’t be a problem at all.” Nana responded heading for the bag.

“So you plan on living up to your promise?” The old man asked with a sinister smile Nana had failed to notice.

“Yes please.” Nana bent down to pick up the bag and found himself struggling. Nana stared at the bag then at the man in shock. How was this possible? How could the bag be that heavy? The old man just smiled back like everything was normal.

“What? Is it too heavy? They just don’t make strong young men like they used to in the past. What do they teach you people in the Arena?” The man complained. Every muscle in Nana wanted to just leave the old man behind and go on his way; but he had heard of the curses of old people, and with Akose’s vision and this being his last trial, he couldn’t risk it. He put in more of his strength this time and managed to carry the bag.

How is this bag so heavy? Who the hell is this old man? Nana thought to himself.

“Let’s go then.” The old man said walking in the direction Nana had just come from.

“But, the station is this way.” Nana said pointing to where the old man had been coming from.

“I know.” The man said walking on.

“If we don’t go now we will have to wait a long time for the trotro to fill up.” Nana explained. The old man walked to Nana and took his duffel bag.

“Let me help you with that.” He said hanging it on his shoulder. “Who said anything about trotro?”

“What are you talking about?”

“We are walking to the Ashanti Kingdom.” The man announced, guffawing as he walked.

What did I just get myself into?

In the Second (Now First) Elmina Vassal Chief’s Palace…

The palace had been restored; all the damage from four years ago had been fixed. It had taken long, but they had managed to finally return the palace to the way it was meant to be. It hadn’t been easy doing the restoration, especially since their duties had significantly increased after they climbed up to the first vassal.

The Queen walked to the throne room at top speed.

“Where is the Chief?” She asked the Royal Guards standing at the entrance of the throne room.

“He’s gone out my Queen.” The two answered in unison.

“This man never listens.” She said in frustration, white mist began to emanate from her.

“Easy mom, it’s a bright warm day, we can’t afford to have everyone here dry and trembling.” Her eldest daughter said appearing behind her mother, the younger sister following closely behind.

“Akosua, your father is going to kill me one of these days.” The Queen complained as she rubbed her temple. She looked at her younger daughter; and smiled lightly.

“You know it has been four years since you came out of your exile. You really have to return to acting like the daughter of the seco- I meant first Vassal Chief.”

“That’s what I have been trying to tell her.” Akosua added. “All she does is train all day.”

“After the attack on the family four years ago; I really can’t afford to lazy around. My power has decreased greatly and I have to make sure to restore it all.” Esi Mansah said with a serious look on her face. Her mother and elder sister stared at her with total confusion. What was she talking about? Decreased greatly? She single-handedly protected the house against the Eliite Warriors of the former First Vassal Chief.

“You know, now that I think about it, she has always been this way mother.” Akosua chuckled lightly.

Mansah stood there flustered. She had been released from exile after she defended the palace four years ago; but she still hadn’t fully adjusted. She still blamed herself for the attack. She had a lot of making up to do.

“We heard from Esi last night; she sent your father and I a message.” The Queen said, her daughters followed her into the throne room.

“Are you kidding me? I barely hear from her at all these days, but she somehow always sends her grandparents messages instead.” Akosua complained, feigning tears.

“Well, what do you expect? Not only am I a great mother; I am an equally awesome grandmother.”

“She actually just wanted to tell us one thing.” The Queen went on. “It’s about Nana.”

The Queen’s words rang in Esi Mansah’s ears. She hadn’t seen her son since after the first stage finals four years ago. She had tried to get into contact with him, but it wasn’t possible to contact anyone in a Specialized Arena, since they were closed off to outsiders, except during special events. She had rehearsed what to tell him when they spoke for the first time. Not that they hadn’t spoken before, but she had never told him who she was during the times they met. They had never spoken as mother and son.

“You trained him well I must admit.” The Queen said with a smile.

“What do you mean?” Mansah said with a nervous smile.

“Come on, we all knew you snuck off to train him when he was preparing for the SCT.” Akose added.

The two sisters laughed lightly; their mother took a seat in her throne.

“What did she have to say?” Mansah asked.

“Well, I don’t know how you’ll take this; but your son is the King of the Red Hills Arena.”

Mansah stood there, frozen with excitement. Her little boy had grown well and strong. King? Even she hadn’t seen that coming. He had done a lot of growing within the four years. What exactly had he done? How much had he trained to make it to the top of the Red Hills?

“If I remember correctly that means he’ll be fighting in the Royal Family Battle right?”

“Yes.” Akose answered their mother. Then she realized what their mother was trying to say. “Oh… I see.”

“See what? It is after all normal for the king to be in the Royal Family Battle.” Mansah added.

“That’s not what she was referring to? We have two from our family in that battle; your Nana, and her Esi.” The Queen said with a knowing smile.

“Wait, Esi is also the head of her Arena?”

“Yes.”

“That means-”

“Your son and my daughter will be facing off in the Royal Family Battle. I hope he’s ready for that.” Akose said wrapping her arm around Mansah’s neck.

Day two of the Trial…

Nana panted loudly as he struggled to stay on his feet. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been this worn out. He was almost at his limit. What the hell was this old man?

“You see, that’s my problem with this generation, you are not made of stern stuff.” He said walking towards Nana. “You should be thankful you ran into me kid; I am going to whip you in shape, though it won’t be literal. Looking at you, losing any more weight is going to ruin your balance; I can’t help but wonder how you trained to make use of your size though. You must have had a good master.”

Nana’s head was filled with unanswered questions. It was day two and he still hadn’t arrived at the Ashanti Kingdom. How had he been talked into this? How did this man know about his weight and balance just from looking at him; and how come he was tired and this old man had barely broken a sweat?

“How do you do it? How do you move like that?” Nana asked in between breaths. He adjusted the heavy bag on his back and took a deep breath exhaling and stretching. The old man stopped, laughed and shook his head.

“It’s easy; I don’t make useless movements; every move I make is aimed at making my next step faster. You kids these days focus too much on making flashy movements. Getting better is not about looking good or a flashy physical transformation; it’s about being efficient, doing something that will normally take fifty percent of your capabilities; with just ten percent or even five, but achieving the same results. That’s the correct meaning of being strong.” He took the bag off Nana and flung it over one shoulder without as much as a grunt. “Easy.”

Nana stared in shock, it had been a while he had felt that- shock, and it excited him, his blood boiled. He wanted to learn, he wanted to be able to become efficient, better.

“Now before you ask me to teach you-” The man three the oversized, heavy bag at Nana. “I’ll only consider that, if you can make it to the Ashanti Kingdom by night fall. We seem to have another hundred kilometres ahead of us.”

“It has been roughly thirty hours since we set off, and we’re now only halfway there?” Nana sighed out of exhaustion.

“Well, that’s your fault. On my own, at full speed, factoring in rest; I could have been in the Ashanti Kingdom in fourteen hours. I’m too old to do it like I did when I was younger.”

They both continued their journey on foot, it was afternoon but cloudy; making their journey bearable.

“So, kid… tell me what ability do you have?”

“I don’t have any ability.” Nana replied as they walked.

“What?”

“I have never really needed it; Tumi works fine for me.”

“Kid, you have a lot to learn.” The old man chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“We are going to find your ability before we part ways.” The old man took a step and disappeared from Nana’s sight. He’s fast! Nana took off after him.

“Watch how I move, and try doing same.” He said once Nana was behind him.

Who the hell was this old man?

“I am going teach you the old ways.” The old man said with a sinister smile.

Big Head hated having to blend in with the regular people. It might have been the wise thing to do, but it didn’t mean he had to enjoy trying to be normal to avoid detection. He stood behind a man who was twice his height and build. The man was testing Big Head’s patience. He was holding up the line with his indecisiveness, even the kenkey seller looked frustrated. The customers behind him grumbled with dissatisfaction, but knew better than to confront the overly built man who could probably break the average person in two.

“Excuse me, big one, would you be quick? We are all hungry here.” Big Head said as calmly as he could. The man turned to look at him, a deep scowl on his face.

“Do you have a problem?” The man said; he seemed as if he would burst from his tight t-shirt anytime now. 

Big Head sized him up. He could take him easily, if he wanted to. He was all muscles; nothing to back it up. Just one clean hit; and his head would roll off his body. Regular people were so fragile; it was sad. Maybe he could at least teach this one a lesson without drawing too much attention.

Boss, we’ve found him. He seems to be lodging with an old geezer; but it is him alright. Do we proceed?

They’d found the king who was supposed to come and investigate them. It had taken a few days longer than projected, but they had found him nonetheless.

Do a little more recon, report back and await my orders. I have to go and inform the other two about this. He had to go and tell his brothers now. They had to make a move now.

“What is the problem? Are you too scared to speak now?” The voice of the big guy in front of him pulled him out of the temporal telepathic link.

“Excuse me?” He looked up at the big guy. He had almost forgotten all about him. He didn’t have time to deal with ants. “No, I’m okay; let’s do this later.” Big head said tapping the man on the shoulder and walking out of the line. Those gathered there were confused; they had been expecting a confrontation.

Big head didn’t have time for this; he had better things to deal with. People to get rid of… kings to kill.

The Queen mother had tried sleeping, but she hadn’t had much success there. Her husband had been away without a word for almost two weeks. It was dawn, and the sun was just about rising as she walked into the throne room.

“Has anyone told you how beautiful you look in the morning.” A familiar voice said. She chuckled lightly.

“Flattery won’t save you from this one.” She replied.

“I know I should have said something, but time was of the essence. And I mistakenly left my communicator when I was leaving, so I couldn’t call.” The Chief explained as he walked towards his wife. “Where are the girls?”

“They left earlier for the Red Hills, they want to watch the tournament.”

“Ah, the arena tournament.” He said grabbing his wife by the waist.

“Where did you go?” She held his head between his palms.

“I went to spend some time with our grandson. I had to teach him a few things.” He responded with a smile.

“Wait… what do you mean?” The Queen said letting go of his head.

“It’s a long story. Let just say the Elders gave him a trial too much for him to handle; I had to do something about it. Something big is coming.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Your brothers are not dead. I met Quick Feet.”

“What?” The Queen said with shock. That wasn’t possible; she was there when they were taken down. She had killed Quick Feet herself!

“Why did they move the Royal Family Battle to the first event? It’s normally the last!” Debrah said pacing up and down. He was angry; everything was a mess; their King wasn’t yet in, and if they wanted to win this battle, they needed him. The rest of the members of the royal family were all gathered in the waiting room.

“Where is our King? He’s supposed to be back today right?” Dasebr3 asked nervously. Akose was quietly sitting down trying to distract herself from their current predicament.

“Calm down everyone.” RT said from where he was sitting. “We know what to do even if Nana is not here. He made us prepared for it.”

“RT is right. You all need to chill.” Dziedzorm said from behind the screen of his handheld console. “He’ll be in.”

Dziedzorm saying that helped calm their nerves. Dziedzorm had never been wrong. Enyonam gave Akose a reassuring look, and Akose responded with a weak smile. The sound of a horn echoed throughout the Red Hills and the sound of spectators at the Arena cheering loudly followed. It was time to begin.

Dziedzorm for the first time willingly shut down his video game and got up from where he was. He had an unusually serious expression on his face. He adjusted his glasses and walked forward.

“I, Dziedzorm invoke my position as interim King in the absence of our true King, Nana.” The remaining members of the Royal Family bowed and acknowledged their interim leader. They rose and all looked at him. He looked totally different when he had a responsibility.

“Let’s go show them the difference between their leaders and our true King.” A sinister smile spread on his face.

To be continued…

Note from the Author

Hey guys, yet another Thursday. So this chapter is more talk and less action. There’s also a lot of scene movements too. It’s quite a loaded chapter and I hope you make it to this moment. Thank you for reading and thanks for your support. Next week will be action packed!! I promise!

Yours Faithfully,

everydayGladiator