The Legend of Ahdis
Ahdis was born in the Deep, miles below the surface of the Disc of Agê.
To tell the legend of Ahdis, it is necessary to relate a tale from the life of the wondrous Aziza known as Obea, who was born from the space of Jo’s Disc, and was a frequent guest to all the Discs of the Fonlands. The original Azizas of the Fonlands originated on Jo’s Disc and versions of them appeared in their wake on every Disc as they explored the Fonlands. The first azizas of Age’s disc begat the mmoatia, yumboes, and any other humanoid dwellers of the Disc of Age who manipulated the Essence generated by the foliage, known as life magic.
Obea, the Luminary, was in a fit of worry. Jo was presiding over the ceremonial Shooting of the Stars that could be seen by all inhabitants of the Disc, as well as some dwellers of overlapping discs. The Stars who took part in the Shooting would glow incredibly bright, then use the main wind current that moved around Jo’s Disc to create wondrous streaks of color in space caused by their quick movements and random configurations that were dictated by the movement of the winds.
Jo used this movement of the Stars who took part in the Shooting to energize the wind currents, and the event was a regular occurrence that dwellers of the Disc looked forward to. And Jo had asked Obeo to stand next to her in the ceremonies, a rare honor reserved for true idols of the Disc, usually Stars that she rested on as she broadcast to everyone watching the Shooting of the Stars. Obea wanted to look worthy of standing beside a Vodun who was a woman of impressive stature with stern and handsome features that commanded respect. Obea was beautiful as well, her skin was golden light that created a soft glow around her. She had full lips that were a darker shade of gold to match the color of her irises. Thin braids of an even darker shade of gold flowed from her head and hung down to her torso. Obea was a being of light, an impressive sight even to the fantastical beings who inhabited the Fonlands.
But Obea wanted to wear something amazing as she stood next to Jo, not out of a desire to outshine Jo, but to show how impressive it is to be in the Vodun’s presence. She went to the Disc of Gu because of the incredible craftsmen there, and she made an appointment with one of the Nok called Nise who specialized in armor for feminine bodies. Nise was a female craftsman and blacksmith and she was known for her elaborate and sturdy creations.
“I have witnessed the Shooting Stars of Jo’s Disc before,” Nise explained as she lay out large sheets of paper with preliminary sketches for the piece she wanted to make for Obea. “A friend took me and I was nervous because there’s no ground on that Disc. I am happy my work will be on display at such a spectacular event. I hope that you see something here that you would like to wear as a host of such an occasion.”
Obea smiled at the colored sketches Nise had produced, any of them would have been appropriate for a Star Warrior of the Vodun Jo and she wished that the Force and Spirit azizas were with her to help her choose. Her favorite and the one she chose had a form fitting bodysuit made of white metal that covered her feet and her arms up to her wrists. There were adornments of thick yellow cloth cut into rectangular panels that hung down at the waist forming a skirt. The yellow cloth was expertly woven into the metal of the chest and shoulders to create elaborate patterns that were mirrored on the back. There were shoulder and knee pads of the thick yellow fabric and yellow accents down to the feet. It was a stunning suit of armor and Obea eagerly put it on to confirm that the white metal was extremely sturdy, but also allowed her to move easily.
Nise stared at Obea proudly as the breeze blew gently through the fabric that was woven into the metal structures of her workshop. Her forges glowed brightly as the winds stirred and Obea was happy to give Nise the payment of a satchel of Grootslang’s precious gems.
“I will save some of these for your next armor,” Nise promised. She was honored to armor an Aziza of the Disc of Jo. The Azizas were known as powerful surrogates of the Vodun Jo all around the Fonlands, and armoring one of them would raise Nise’s profile. The Nok enjoyed an impeccable reputation as some of the best craftsmen of the Fonlands, particularly their work produced as blacksmiths, and now Nise would be able to distinguish herself from her kin.
Obea left Nise’s armory on foot, eager to move around in her new armor, and as she crossed the great plains of Gu’s Disc before she took flight for home, something solid slammed into her side and sent her tumbling across the plains.
She was shocked despite the integrity of the armor that had shielded the brunt of the blow, and she was shaken as she got to her feet.
“You are a shiny thing,” a large buffalo that was almost twice her size said from a distance. It stalked closer to her as it talked. It had long horns that curved up in wide curls from its ears, and they came to intimidating points. Its face was long and it looked young, strong on its study legs, and there were reeds and flowers braided into its coat that made it beautiful and intimidating.
“I will excuse a mistake, dweller of Gu’s Disc,” Obea said as she began to approach the buffalo. “You must have been in a hurry and did not see me. I will accept your sincere apology.” She glared at the buffalo, the golden skin of her face locked into anger that betrayed her pleasantries.
“No apologies here, shiny thing,” the buffalo said with a delighted growl as the two faced off in the prairie separated by a few feet. The buffalo watched with wonder as Obea began to glow and levitate. The flame of Gu’s disc was high overhead and the day was bright and pleasant, but Obea still shone so brightly that the buffalo had trouble looking directly at her. “You are hurting my eyes and that is an affront to the Za, the strongest family of the Hira. I am Za Mane and I will demonstrate my strength and brutality.”
“I am Obea, Za Mane, and you have attacked me unprovoked. Apologize for your recklessness, or entertain me with a battle that will only bring you shame. I know that the dwellers of Gu’s Disc value strength and glory in battle above all else, but there is no glory for you here, Za Mane. You are Hira, a monstrous lot known the Fonlands over for your power. I am happy to humble you and disgrace you before your kin, but you still have a chance to avoid all that. I require an apology.”
Za Mane lunged at Obea with a horn, and Obea dodged it easily, zipping around Za Mane’s large body like a flicker of light, landing blows quickly and then zipping to another spot. Za Mane bucked and jumped, thrashing its horns wildly as a seething red energy began to emanate from the top of the horns. When Obea noticed, she retreated.
“Apologize for your mistake and then we will both go on our way,” Obea said from a distance and the red energy continued to pour from Za Mane’s horns.
The buffalo’s eyes were glowing red and energy began to ooze from its eyes like blood. It began to drool and it looked crazed.
“You are strong, shiny thing. You are a real battle and I can unleash a fury! This will be glorious, shiny thing, our battle will resonate through the ages of the Fonlands. Even if I do not survive, thank you for the glory that our meeting will bring to my name.”
Then Za Mane attacked Obea relentlessly and Obea could easily defend herself against the attacks, but they came at such a dizzying and crazed speed that she lost control of the battle. She was stuck defending while Za Mane wielded its horns like a double sword, as it moved so deftly on its four hooves that it was able to kick and punch at her as well. Obea kept her eyes open for a clear shot to turn the tide of the battle, but Za Mane was too frantic to be predictable and Obea noticed the flame of Gu’s Disc setting as she ducked and dodged the raging buffalo.
Obea was furious that the buffalo had locked her down so easily for so long and she took one of the horns to her torso so that she could get a clear shot at the buffalo’s neck. She sparked light in her hand as she connected with the blow and Za Mane would have tumbled away from her under the force of that blow, but Obea grabbed one of the horns that was still seething with red that was glowing hot to the touch, and she spun the buffalo before hurling it away from her.
Obea took flight after the buffalo as it sailed over the overlap of Gu’s Disc onto Sakpata’s, and she drove her fist into the body of the buffalo, driving it through many tips of mountains before it went flailing into the rocks below. Obea hovered over the crater where the buffalo had impacted a mountain of Sakpata’s Disc, and she was startled when Za Mane leapt from the debris and bit down on her arm, its eyes still bleeding red energy. Obea pounded a fist against its head, but Za Mane whipped its head violently, causing Obea to flail back and forth until she was able to muscle the momentum away from the buffalo and she whipped her arm so fast that the buffalo lost its grip and went flying again.
This time, Obea watched the form of Za Mane shrink into the distance and when it was far enough away, Obea flew at the speed of light and punched the buffalo as hard as she could. She was met with a shield of Za Mane’s red energy and there was so much of Obea’s force against the shield that it sparked brightly down as a large bolt of lightning that struck a large flower below; they were over the Disc of Age, above the jungle where Golden Trumpet presided and she was inundated by the energy as Obea was thrown away by the force.
Obea plunged from the sky and into the forest side of Age’s Disc where she slammed against a large tree so hard that particles of her golden form were embedded into the tree trunk. Za Mane met Obea on the forest floor as she healed herself and readied to commence the battle. She didn’t notice the pieces of her exposed hand that were left in the tree were absorbed and a knot in the tree began to form, she was glaring at Za Mane and ready to unload her anger.
They charged at one another and even though Za Mane had displayed extraordinary strength to that point, and continued to attack ferociously, it was ultimately no match for the Aziza in her new armor that had taken a brutal beating from the buffalo but was still pristinely white with its yellow accents. Za Mane managed to wound Obea one last time before the battle ended. They were in a dark part of the Disc of Age that straddled the forest-jungle divide and Za Mane impaled Obea’s hand with one its horn. Obea used the distraction to strike the killing blow that left Za Mane of the Hira dead. When Obea removed the horn from her hand, drops of glowing white plasma dripped onto the ground before she healed herself. The plasma burned into the thick, rich soil and descended. As it sank deeper, it formed into a pod that eventually cooled.
Obea was far away from the Disc of Age by the time the mmoatia known as Ahdis emerged from the once smoldering pod of plasma. She carried Za Mane by the horns as she flew to the spot where she had first encountered the buffalo and she left the carcass in the field where she had burned the grass to create a Veve of Jo that was slightly modified to indicate that it was done by one of her surrogates.
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