Legacy of Orïsha, #2
Children of Virtue and Vengeance
by Tomi Adeyemi
Contents
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR: ZÉLIE
Overview
Faced with Nehanda’s looming executions, Mama Agba insists on being the sacrifice for Zélie’s binding ritual. On the mountaintop, she offers final guidance to the Iyika before Zélie performs blood magic. Mama Agba ascends in light as Zélie synchronizes the maji’s lifeforces, gaining the power of ten hearts beating as one.
Summary
Zélie resists Mama Agba’s decision to be the sacrifice needed for the moonstone binding, but Mama Agba insists time has run out: Nehanda has declared the war over and captured maji will be executed soon. Mama Agba comforts Zélie, promising that their ancestors and loved ones will live through her breaths and incantations.
They ascend to the mountaintop where ten maji and the elders form a ritual circle; Amari watches from behind Tzain, still restrained. As Sky Mother’s song rises, Mama Agba moves around the circle, offering guidance to Dakarai, Kâmarū, and the others, steadying Tzain, and urging Amari not to be defined by her mistakes but to have faith in a greater plan.
At the center, Mama Agba presents herself in ceremonial armor. Zélie marks her with blood and intones the command. The ritual ignites: white light threads through the circle, ten heartbeats drum in Zélie’s chest, and lifeforces coalesce toward the center as winds howl and tattoos blaze.
Blood magic floods Mama Agba’s body, illuminating her like a starfield. As the pulses synchronize, her essence brightens to a comet’s flare, signaling the sacrifice’s completion. Zélie lands, heart thunderous with the merged rhythm of ten hearts, feeling Mama Agba’s love within the power.
Grieving yet resolute, Zélie vows not to fail, lifting Mama Agba’s fallen cane as a sign of responsibility and the newly forged unity that will confront Nehanda and the impending executions.
Who Appears
- ZélieReluctantly accepts Mama Agba’s sacrifice and performs the binding, uniting ten hearts and gaining immense synchronized power.
- Mama AgbaChooses to be the sacrifice; offers final counsel to the Iyika; ascends in light during the binding ritual.
- AmariWatches bound; receives absolution and encouragement from Mama Agba to trust a greater plan.
- TzainStands by Zélie; shares a tender farewell with Mama Agba and is urged to care for others and himself.
- DakaraiSomber at the ceremony’s start; receives guidance from Mama Agba to trust his visions.
- Na’imahBegins Sky Mother’s song, providing the ritual’s somber, unifying melody.
- KâmarūSmiths ceremonial elements for Mama Agba and stands in the ritual circle.