Chapter 31: Veil of Eternity: Confronting Destiny's Dance
Chapter 31
Veil of Eternity: Confronting Destiny's Dance
The group's pause was a silent standoff until Bayo, driven by a sense of urgency, made a decisive move. With a swift motion, he drew the pen across his finger, a bead of crimson welling up. Amina's cry was a sharp note in the quiet forest, her alarm disproportionate to the minor wound Bayo had inflicted upon himself.
As if on cue, nature seemed to respond; a clap of thunder rolled overhead, and the wind sliced through the trees with newfound intensity. Bayo's body convulsed with tremors, his form a blur of motion against the stillness of the others. Outside their sheltered circle, rain began to pour, a deluge that mysteriously spared their immediate vicinity. These convulsions, though alarming to those around him, were not mere spasms of pain. They were the physical manifestation of a profound connection — a synchronization between Bayo's human form and the power of the orisha, Aroni.
As Bayo grappled with the intensity of his affliction, his mind raced with determination. The sight of Aroni, the enigmatic orisha, had ignited a spark within him — a resolve to unlock the mysteries that bound him, both in the forest and in the confines of the Harvard Computing Laboratory. Though seemingly chaotic, each tremor was a step towards alignment, a process through which Bayo sought to transcend his limitations.
Bayo's blood droplets came alive on the forest ground, painting elaborate designs resembling horns and faces on the leaves and bark. The symbols glowed with an ethereal green fire, a silent burning that did not consume but seemed to awaken the very essence of the woods around them.
The gravity of Bayo's plight anchored him to the spot, his groans punctuating the tense air as his body succumbed to uncontrollable shivers. The escalation of his condition was palpable, each tremor more violent than the last.
Amina's heart raced as she watched Bayo's body convulsing with tremors, a blur of motion against the stillness of the others. Her fists clenched at her sides, the weight of helplessness pressing down on her chest. She longed to reach out to him, to offer comfort and support, but uncertainty held her back. Farid, sensing her inner turmoil, positioned himself before her, a silent barrier of caution. His presence, though reassuring, also served as a reminder of the gravity of the situation. Amina's gaze flickered between Bayo's anguished form and Farid's steady stance, torn between her instinct to act and the need for restraint. The tension in the air was palpable, each moment stretching out like an eternity as she grappled with her emotions and the unfolding crisis.
As Farid stood before her, his demeanor reflective of a lifetime steeped in tradition and adherence to rules, Amina couldn't help but feel the weight of his upbringing. Growing up in a household steeped in tradition and a strong sense of order, he always harbored a cautious attitude toward anything that might disturb the harmony he held dear. Her warning to him hung unfinished, a testament to her desperation, but Farid's stoic demeanor remained unmoved, his resolve fortified by years of upholding tradition and resisting change.
Amidst turmoil, Adeola's demeanor mixed gentleness with apprehension, creating a delicate balance. "Hey there," she murmured, her hand gently resting on his chin as if trying to steady him amidst the turmoil swirling inside him. Her embrace was instinctive, a refuge in the storm, yet the contact sent a jolt through her, a shock that echoed the turmoil she sensed in Bayo. Adeola couldn't shake the mystery surrounding Bayo's spiritual essence, especially with Orunmila's cryptic warnings adding to the intrigue. Yet, even with the forewarnings echoing in her thoughts, the sight of Bayo's anguish compelled her to remain steadfastly by his side.
Adeola's support for Bayo was unwavering, yet as his tremors ceased, her complexion drained of color, leaving her to wonder if her presence had been the balm that soothed his affliction.
Bayo rose, a newfound vigor in his stance, his eyes alight with an azure luminescence that commanded awe and trepidation. As their eyes met, a strange sensation washed over Bayo, and suddenly, a lush gateway materialized, twisting into existence before them.
"The realm of Aroni," Adeola murmured, her voice a fragile thread of sound, yet her eyes sparkled with the thrill of impending revelation. As Emeka surged forward with reckless urgency towards the swirling vortex, a sudden burst of emerald mist pushed him back, causing him to collapse in a heap.
The group gazed into the depths of the portal, each absorbed in their thoughts about what lay beyond. Feeling an inexplicable pull, Bayo was the first to step forward, crossing the threshold with a fluidity akin to a shadow melding into darkness. Bayo always had a sensation that he alone could pass through the portal, a sensation he couldn't quite explain but attributed to his birthmark. His departing words, "Just give me a moment," hung in the air, carrying a sense of promise and uncertainty.
Bayo stepped into a world where the ordinary laws of nature seemed rewritten. The air was thick with the scent of incense emanating from all directions, infusing the forest with an otherworldly essence. The towering canopies reached skyward, their branches intertwining to create a natural ceiling that filtered sunlight. Despite this shade, the forest floor remained illuminated as if the trees were luminous beings within their enclosed universe.
As Bayo turned, taking in the ancient woods that towered around him, a voice broke the silence, weary yet resonant. "I have a pet," it began, "and it has grown quite stubborn."
Bayo's eyes, alight with an inner fire, searched the surroundings for the speaker. All around him, the forest stood silent save for the rustle of leaves underfoot. "What pet do you speak of, elder Aroni?" he asked, his voice tinged with the frustration of the uninitiated.
"The creature in question," the voice returned, heavy with a sigh, "is a wolverine."
Bayo's gaze lifted skyward, seeking the unseen Aroni. "What hue adorns your pet, elder?" he inquired, his impatience manifesting in the rhythmic tapping of his foot. "And where might it dwell within this expanse?"
But Aroni, ever enigmatic, offered no direct answer. Instead, he posed a riddle, "Consider the essence of this forest's design," he said cryptically. "What do you perceive as its underlying structure?" The question hung in the air, a challenge that beckoned Bayo to look beyond the surface, to understand the very fabric of the realm he had entered.
Bayo's frown deepened the taunts of recent days echoing in his mind. "A rainforest, perhaps?" he ventured, recalling the peculiar events that preceded his arrival. Aroni's sigh, laden with disappointment, urged him to delve deeper into thought.
After a brief pause, Bayo reconsidered his answer. "Could it be a temperate forest?" he said, but Aroni's responding sigh carried a subtle undertone of disappointment. "Observe the constancy," Aroni implored, hinting at the unchanging climate of the forest.
As Aroni wove an illusion of seasons around him, Bayo remained still, his senses alert to the subtleties of the environment. The forest seemed untouched by time, a realm where growth and stillness coexisted in a delicate balance.
"That will do," Aroni's voice broke the contemplation. "You stand in Eternaforest." The revelation was swift, and with it came a vision of a brown wolverine, along with two potential havens: the northern expanse with its fallen trees and the southern burrows scattered amidst the landscape.
Bayo faced a dilemma, with the vastness of the Eternaforest stretching before him, a challenge to his limited time. With less than three days at his disposal, the journey to either pole seemed an unconquerable task, the sheer scale of the land defying comprehension. The choice lay heavy upon him, each option a path woven with uncertainty.
Bayo stood at the crossroads of Eternaforest, the weight of his decision pressing upon him like the dense canopy above. Bayo looked up at the sky, his heart silently reaching out, but the comforting presence of Aroni had vanished, leaving him to grapple with a solitude that felt both comforting and overwhelming.
In the tales of the forest, Aroni was a mysterious figure — a deity with one arm and one leg, possessing the ability to transform into any creature or plant, his horn a symbol of his formidable power. Hunters whispered his name with reverence, for to have Aroni's favor was to know success. Yet, like Èsù, Aroni was a master of mischief, wielding his magic with a capricious hand, as likely to lead one astray as to guide them true.
With time slipping through his fingers like the sands of an hourglass, Bayo acted. He plucked two leaves from the forest floor, their dry whispers a testament to the passage of seasons unseen. One was crafted into a box, while the other took on the form of a star. These were skills honed during solitary moments, now imbued with the gravity of his destiny.
He arranged the leaf in a rectangular shape with one side facing north and the star-shaped leaves pointing south, serving as quiet markers along the upcoming paths. It was the ancient method, relying on chance and intuition, where the forest's whims determined the outcome.
Bayo's heart was a drumbeat of resolve, even as resignation's shadow loomed. He had never sought to wrestle with destiny, content to accept the hand dealt by the cosmos. But now, as the trial of Eternaforest beckoned, he found within himself a spark of defiance, a desire to stand against the tide of inevitability that threatened to sweep him away. This was his stand, his moment of truth in the eternal green.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone