He could smile at a chip of a bird or get scared of a laugh of a hyena. He enjoyed the food he ate more than before and understood things much faster. He felt he was a superhuman at the moment. The five beasts that walked around him were not much different from him. They had grown stronger and more flexible.

Ratong' had become more stronger and at the moment, if it met Jade Eagle with that mysterious power, it could need just a single thought to destroy that bird. Of course this also meant the speed at which Ochieng' could travel at had increased by leaps and bounds. Ratong' could also expand to be larger than before therefore being able to carry even more things and people on its back. Since humans were incapable of flight, this was an added advantage to Ochieng'. Nevertheless, Ochieng' still remained the strongest in this group. After all, his ident.i.ty was not ordinary.

Also, during this time, Ochieng' became a very good friend of Akinyi Nyalando. They had shared many insights and his knowledge about his roles had improved greatly. He came to have a good understanding of the Saints.

"You have never told me where your homeland was 'Jaber'¹."

One afternoon, when they were strolling through the trees of the colorful land, Ochieng' asked.

"I was from Kach Division, a division found at the north of Karachuo. I came from Ngili clan, a clan where Obadha Ongoro came from." The lady answered with a tuneful voice raising up her small head proudly when she talked about Obadha.

"Who is Obadha Ongoro?" The young man asked curiously.

"You do not know Obadha?" The lady turned to him with eyebrows shot up. She could not believe he did not know anything about that legend.

"Mmm." The young man nodded.

She put her hands together behind her back and once again lifted her small head up and started narrating as her beautiful eyes shone with admiration,

"Obadha was my great great great grandfather. He lived several seasons before the emergence of the first Ordainer. He was best known for his way of spear. He used it to to conquer other tribes as easily as no one had ever done. When he hunted, he was known to be swift like the cheetah and attacked like the leopard. He was popularly known as the walking spear."

"He had trained his way of spear to a level that no normal human being can. In fact, it cannot be an exaggeration to say that no one has ever reached his level when it comes to that path. He merged with his spear such that when he held it, he was the spear and the spear was him. During his time, no Lang warrior infiltrated our land for fear of getting into his bad side. Of course there were no black fiends, so they never threatened the world."

"One day, the warriors of bows and arrows or the Masi warriors walked into Lu tribe as they were traveling around the world. Since the time of our ancestors, they had been known to be the most powerful people ever. At first, they had no problem with our people but when they saw how beautiful our land and women were, they attacked. Actually, since their land is quite far from ours, they did not know of the existence of that behemoth. Their first attack led to the death of very many Lu warriors and civilians."

"One day Obadha went to harvest fruits and honey in a nearby forest. With a basket in one of his hands and his spear in the other he walked. Along his path, he met those red headed people. Seeing how murderous they looked, his blood boiled and he dropped his basket. Lifting his spear, he walked courageously towards the warriors and fought them single handedly. Specializing in bows and arrows, their other martial skills were a little lacking."

"As his skin was cut, Obadha fought. With his spear in his hands, he walked past those Masi warriors killing them one by one. It was a b.l.o.o.d.y scenery. Even though he almost died at that battle, he gave our Lu warriors an easy time dealing with those people. He became a respected figure in our tribe since then until his death. However, his fame diminished with the appearance of the great Luanda Magere. The Legend of Luanda overshadowed those of his likes and their names were forgotten by the pa.s.sing of time."

"But the Ordainers do more dangerous and heroic things than what he did, what makes you admire him that much?" Ochieng' asked scratching his chin.

"That was one of the greatest things he did before he died. A few moons before that day, his clan had been destroyed by the ancestors because they angered them. Seeing his clan being reduced to rubble, he could not bare the pain and ran to the clan shrine. With a swoop of his spear, he brought a mountain down demolis.h.i.+ng the entire shrine and other clans. This made the ancestors huddle in fear. That day, the spirit of 'Were' appeared above his head in a form of a flame to pay his respect. He became weaker since then and decided to keep a low profile. He was seen again when he ma.s.sacred those warriors."

Ochieng' was left shaking his head in wonderment after he heard that long story. If what Akinyi told him was true then that Obadha had to be a fearsome figure.

"What do you think Ochieng', if people like Obadha and Luanda existed when the first Ordainer was created, do you think Keniya could have suffered in the hands those creatures from the dark world?" The lady suddenly asked after a long silence looking at Ochieng' waiting to see how he made a fool. of himself.

"I don't think so. Their power was way too abnormal." The young man nodded.

"But, are you aware you are wrong?" The lady asked with a grin.

"What do you mean?"

"Even though the black fiends lack strength to destroy mountains, the Lord of darkness made them taking in into consideration such monsters. So even if they existed, there was nothing they could have done to help mankind from the hands of those people. Ordainers on the other hand are made to specifically deal with them." The young lady explained with a smile.

"So that is how it is..." He nodded in understanding.

1. Beautiful one