Chapter 1 PROLOGUE

Before there was such a thing as night or day or the noon in between, the sky above was inhabited by the old gods. The gods were led by the powerful Ọlọ́run, who ruled as lord of the heavenly realms. Below the lord of the heavenly realms lay a treacherous depth that mirrored the sky above. The depth was of only water and primordial monsters, but Ọlọ́run would not allow these beasts to exist in isolation and so he sent Olóòkun to conquer the seas. Olóòkun was victorious and, as a result, was granted dominion over what he had conquered, and so Olóòkun was lord of the sea.

The old gods were three, and soon Obàtálá became discontent with playing second fiddle in heaven, so he sought to create the land. With the permission of Ọlọ́run and the advice of Ọ̀rúnmìlà, the impartial spirit of divination, he set about his task.

"A long white chain so you can climb down

Some sand in a shell, you should go and get now,

A white hen, and a palm nut

For what you want."

- Ọ̀rúnmìlà to Ọ̀bàtálá

So Obàtálá climbed down the white chain until there was nothing but nothingness between the territory of Olóòkun and Ọlọ́run. He threw the shell with sand, and so there was ground, he threw the hen to the ground, and the hen began to scratch the hard surface, scattering the sand to the ends of what was now earth. By this singular act, did the sand become mountains and deserts and valleys and canyons. Obàtálá now summoned a spirit and planted the palm nut. The spirit served as Okun or strength for the palm nut to grow, and from the Okun and the palm nut did the forests spring forth. And the bushes and the flowers and the grass and every living thing that did not breathe in oxygen. Obàtálá then named the land Ife, and it was there he settled down, becoming the first lord of the land.

Soon, Obàtálá became dissatisfied and began to sample the product of the palm nut he had planted. He drank palm wine, more and more until he was drunk. And in this drunken state did he create with clay, figures which he thought he had made in his image. Obàtálá then asked Ọlọ́run to give the figures his breath of life. Ọlọ́run did as he asked, and Obàtálá saw that what he made - was not good. Disgusted, he avowed the palm wine, and in his sober state, created new beings from clay. Ọlọ́run breathed life into these new creatures, and they were called man.

Man was beautiful to look upon, man built beautiful houses in which to live, man learned to make sacrifices and to speak what the gods spoke. The gods were astounded by the knowledge of man, their wisdom, and their ability to invent. But more than they were astounded, the gods were terrified... terrified by man and the capacity of man for evil.

Of all the gods, Olóòkun was most unhappy with the creation of mankind. He had not been consulted, and as soon as he could, he washed the world in flood, destroying most of humanity. Man, however, did not despair; instead, they built drainages and canals. They, walled cities and gated fortresses, in a rare show of the indomitable spirit of mankind, humanity in unity created ways to live even when some gods obviously wanted them to die... but that was years ago – thousands of years ago.

My name is Osun, the guardian deity of storytelling, and in line with the spirit of divinity, I shall tell you exactly what the future holds for man.

In the year 2050, diseases will ravage the earth. New beasts will be created, and nuclear warfare will create a spectacle of violence that will shock even the gods. You should know that as a spirit of divinity, I can see into the future, but there is more than one path. What you humans call the future is an intricately woven tapestry created by the Kadara, also known in Greek mythology as the fates. If a man wakes up on the left side, his destiny will take a different turn than if he wakes up on his right. If he drinks water, his destiny will take a different turn than if he fasts. The very concept of destiny is as broad as the idea of space and time itself. What divinity allows us to do is to see into the many paths a man's life can take. The higher the Okun of a spirit of divinity, the higher the probability that it will see and predict an accurate future. It is on this basis that I tell you, not everything I predict will happen as foretold, and humanity can still change its future.