Urenma (The River Goddess) - Episode 31

Finally Urenma stirred from the floor and stood to her feet. From the crown of her head to the soles to her feet, she was decked in pure gold. The rage in her eyes against Nshaa had been replaced with tenderness. Gently Nshaa asked her “My queen, do you remember?” with an alluring smile on her face, Urenma answered, “Yes I do”. The court went silent for few minutes and was only ruffled by Ntani’s shrill voice “If this be the reason you brought me here, to reveal Urenma secret so that I will bend to your evil designs, then you are wrong! I swear by the true and honourable gods that if I get the chance to spill your blood on the battle ground I will not hesitate to do it!” Turning to Urenma, she shook her violently and shouted in her face “You are a good spirit Urenma! You are the head of the princesses of the gods; please don’t let him use you for his evil schemes!”

Urenma simply looked past Ntani as though she was not there. Her eyes looked glassy as if they were set on events tucked away in generations past. Nshaa moved swiftly and smacked Ntani on the face with the back of his hand and drew blood. The attack sent Ntani crashing to the floor. Nshaa barked with suffocating pride, “Show some honour to the queen! Don’t you ever handle her the way you just did! And mind you, she is no longer the princess of the gods; she is their queen!” From the floor where she lay, Ntani stared at Nshaa so hard as though her eyes could burn him to death and barked back at him, “You are despicable and nothing close to a god! My name is Ntani, the raging spirit of battle

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. Mark my words, what you have done today will hunt you and destroy you! I know Urenma, she is a good spirit, she will break out of your spell and pour her wrath on you!” “Leave me to worry about that. Now that contemptible human husband of hers, will suerly regret the day he laid his eyes on the beauty of Urenma and desired her. I will make him suffer a thousand times and beg for his life!”

Standing to her feet, Ntani responded, “I have said it before, of all the loath some gods I have heard of and seen, you are the worst! So all you have done from the time Obinze came to the river world and to this present have been out of jealousy? So to have her who once was your queen, you have done all this?” “Yes! And I will do much more” Nshaa gloated. Something interested happened which Nshaa did not pick up. When Ntani mentioned the name ‘Obinze’, Urenma who had been standing tranfixed, gazing upon her past life pecked her head up and darted her eyes about. Ntani saw her reaction and smiled to herself. Urenma could still be reached by the mere mention of Obinze’s name. Nshaa had scooped burning coals to his b---m; he just could not see it yet. Storming out of the court, Ntani tore apart the guards who stood by the door. Outside the court, she raised a cry and many gathered to her. In the open plains of the river world, the damned spirits and the armies of the river world took battle positions against the princesses of the gods who refused to submit to Nshaa.

Behind the princesses were Utebe and the rouge spirits, Ntani led the gods and the rouge spirits and appointed a leader over them. Her intention was to leave for Ukeh to offer a helping hand to Obinze. She knew it might be a while before Urenma would break free from the glamour of her past life as a queen.

Back in the court, Nshaa took Urenma’s hand and led her to the high places of honour reserved for the nineteen gods, which Nshaa had commandeered as the new god king of the river world. Out in the open, as new rounds of battles intensified, the princesses of the gods persuaded Ntani to stay back and fight with them.

Read " Riches Of The Dead-Ije (The Journey) " by the same author ( Ifeoma Isabella Okeke )

. Natani give in to their plea and stayed back. However the battle was an effort infutility, Nshaa wanted them busy with the battle while Ukeh burned.

Already Ukeh was agog with festival and fanfare as humans waited for the greatest wrestling match in igbo folklore. Behind the battle which raged in the river wrold, Nshaa and the nineteen gods, made ready to leave for Ukeh; and Nshaa was minded to leave with his new found queen, Urenma. Though hours has passed since Urenma regained the knowledge of her past life, yet she gazed upon that past life intently. As she peered into her life as a powerful ruthless queen, tears flowed from her eyes. Nshaa who sat by her said said reassuringly, “Cry not my queen, in a matter of days, we shall gain back all we lost, and not even the council of gods can stop us”. Urenma said no word. When the nineteen gods and a band of damned spirits were ready to move to Ukeh, Nshaa mounted the high steps of the court to address them “Make no mistakes! This battle we match to shall be unlike any in history. Will mortal stop us? No! But there are other gods and kingdoms which shall stand in our way. However we must stand and fight till our desire we have achieved. My queen who was taken away from me is now back!” At that the damned spirits echoed insanely.