₦airaland Forum

#355 - PAPINA
Being a history of the exploits of the historical figure popularly known as Papina.
As compiled by Ame Bo, Chief of Tales Yet Untold
(Transcribed by Shugaryme)


PROLOGUE

It is known, and posterity shall bear us witness, that the greatest gift man can be given after life is freedom, for without it, the man capable of truly living simply exists. In this,the value of knowledge cannot be overstated. So the people of Azagba simply existed, for they knew not how to be free.

Common knowledge it is, and the tales abound, that once upon a sad time, every human mother cried the bitterest after her first child. Every mother, for Azagba was all that was known of the world, and nothing good, it seemed, existed beyond the Mountain Abode and the hills surrounding the lands that constitute Azagba. A few had ever ventured beyond it of their own free will, and none had ever returned.

Yet tales abounded, of seven headed monsters with fire in their eyes, and tails with heads of their own, of giant flying lizards that breathed fire, of creatures in the water large enough to swallow a thousand spiked chiefs, and of other monstrosities with whose description creativity fails me.

Every tale of terror however incongruent they may seem, always agreed that the worst terror lived in the Mountain Abode, and once when angered, had rained liquid fire of indescribable hotness on the people, killing countless. It would seem this tale is true, for the black path to the Mountain Abode had been identified as the fiery spittle of the Abode which had since solidified. The several rock formations nearby is also evidence of this, as some men of high learning insist.

What lived in the Mountain Abode, was long subject to the most absurd of tales, but since the truth has now become known, none of such absurdities deserve a place in our narration. With careful research, we shall try to distinguish between the factual and the fantasy, between the historical and the tales told by old women to scare their gullible grandchildren. At some point however, the line between the two might become blurred, as old age is not a friend of accurate memories.

We do know that once, new mothers wept bitterly, not because of the pain of childbirth, but in foresight, for every healthy first child belonged to the Mountain Abode. In this way, Papina came into the picture, for she was the first child of her father, the only seven-spiked chief of Azagba. It is unknown what her real name was, or what she truly was, for the facts defy common sense.

Some say she was supernatural from birth, others insist she simply had a normal abnormality until a supernatural nature was imposed upon her. We can only speculate.

Our various sources indicate that while every firstborn was taken to the Abode in it's tenth year, a few exceptions existed. Any child with any sort of impediment was kept for five more years. Papina fell into the latter category , for she could neither hear nor speak from birth.

However our story begins, not from her birth, as some would expect, but from her fifteenth year,some moons before the yearly Walk of no Return to the Abode.

Our most credible of sources who provide the backbone of this historical record claim, and I, Ame Bo agree, that our story began with a scream.

No part of this work should be reproduced in whatever form, electronic or print, or on any platform without my formal consent. Failure to adhere is plagiarism, and is punishable by law. Take note.

Shugaryme ©2015


DISCLAIMER
Characters and places mentioned in this story exist only in my imagination. Resemblance with real persons, living or dead, or with real places is purely coincidental.


Title: PAPINA
Prose genre: Fantasy
Narration style: This story is divided into short chapters which are each written from the point of view (POV) of the character they are named after. The narrative employs the 3rd person omniscient style. It can get complicated. Don't get confused

[quote author=Oahray post=29988404]*dettol soundtrack plays in background*

Oahray:
true... I wouldn't share my blushes with anyone. See as you know me finish

If I don't know you, who will?

Oahray:
chai! I didn't call you, I simply said 'my woman', yet you got a mention.

Ladies and gentlemen, viewers at home, please rise, let us chorus a 'hmmmm' and have a group blush

hehehehe
You are so not serious

Oahray:
ha! Since when did one woman represent every woman?

Why can't my woman represent all women instead? We'd all love womenfolk

Ok, Oahray, this isn't romance section.

Lol.

Good you know this isn't romance section