"If you are to burn, boy, make sure the forest remembers your fire."
— Azụmiri, Spirit Eagle
---
The wind in Obodo Ubo was unnatural that night. It came not from the sky, but from beneath the earth.
Obinna stood, the half-cracked protection charm glowing faintly on his wrist. His breath came fast. Azụmiri's eyes blazed like twin moons, unblinking.
> "They are not of the living. They are of science twisted by ritual."
> "The Reapers," Obinna whispered.
A low howl vibrated through the trees—a sound of machinery and spirit. Then came the first silhouette: tall, cloaked in glimmering nano-fibres, its face hidden behind a metallic mask carved with old Efik tribal sigils. The mask glowed red.
> "Obinna Nwafor. Champion of the Biafran Path. Surrender."
Obinna didn't answer. His fingers flicked, tracing a quick rune over a stone. Light pulsed.
Charm Engaged: Barrier Glyph — Grade I.
A ring of spiritual energy flared around him. The Reaper hissed.
> "Dibia relics. Outdated."
It stepped forward—and triggered the trap.
BOOM!
The charm stone exploded in an arc of spiritual fire. The Reaper stumbled, its cloak singed. Obinna leapt forward, unsheathing a bone knife he'd bound with protective chants.
The boy wasn't a warrior yet.
But he was learning.
---
Northern Nigeria: Sokoto Sky-Citadel
Above the clouds, a floating citadel shimmered with blue solar fields and talismans. A council of hybrid-priests met.
> "The Igbo boy has awakened charmcraft."
> "And entered the Nine Realms."
> "Unacceptable."
One stood: garbed in a white robe marked with the blood of three war gods.
> "If he reaches Realm Three, the balance fractures. We must summon the Oracle of Kainji."
Thunder boomed outside the citadel. Below them, the world moved toward war.
---
Back in Obodo Ubo — Midnight
Obinna ducked as a Reaper's blade sliced past his ear. His charm-enhanced reflexes saved him.
He dropped a second glyph-stone. This time, it didn't explode.
It sang.
> Nkpuru Obi... Chukwu bi n'ime...
The hymn activated the ancestral field. The ground lit with ancestral script. From the soil, phantom spears of energy erupted.
Three Reapers fell.
Azụmiri screeched.
> "Well done. They bleed."
Obinna stood in the center of the scorched forest, chest heaving.
> "I need more than tricks."
> "Then it is time to forge your totem."
---
Enugwu — The Ember Citadel
A woman stood over a burning map.
Dark-skinned, regal, eyes glowing with white ash-fire.
Nneka, Flamekeeper of Enugwu.
> "The gods have made their move. The boy lives. The Path has begun."
Beside her knelt two warlords: one armored in bronze, the other shirtless with runes etched into flesh.
> "Ready the South," Nneka whispered. "The Nine Realms must belong to Biafra. Or no one."
---
The Nine Realms and the Reforged Nigeria
Once known by their colonial names, the territories of Nigeria have morphed into mystical war zones, battlegrounds between gods, mortals, and machines.
In the east, Anambra has become the Riverlight Corridor, a land where rivers whisper secrets and currents carry spells. Here, water spirits guide resistance movements across hidden trails.
Enugwu, now known as the Ember Citadel, pulses with ancient volcanic energy. It is the fiery heart of the new Biafra, guarded by flame-wielding warriors and molten charmforges.
To the south lies Abia, the City of Bones, where the dead are honored as walking ancestors, and secret libraries are carved from ivory and ash.
Imo, once quiet, is now the Hollow Cradle—a vortex of birth and death where spirit beasts are born under crescent moons.
Ebonyi has transformed into the Ironwood Bastion, a fortress forged of sacred metal trees that resonate with battle chants.
Westward, Lagos is now the Neon Labyrinth, a maze of lights and illusions ruled by cyber-mystics and corporate voodoo syndicates.
In the far north, Kano and Sokoto have merged into sky-borne capitals. Sokoto, the Sky-Citadel of Judgment, hangs like a floating tribunal above the earth, its people watching and warring with divine resolve.
Benue, straddling allegiance, is now Deadman's Flow—a cursed riverland where spirits and spies roam freely, and nothing is ever as it seems.
And in the south, Rivers State has become the Leviathan Delta, a place where pirate gods and serpentine magic rule the waves.
---
Obinna knelt.
A basin of obsidian was placed before him. Azụmiri hovered, chanting in tongues long dead.
> "Bind your spirit to your weapon. This is Totemic Birth."
Obinna cut his palm.
The blood hit the basin.
A symbol flared: a hawk with burning eyes.
> Charm Engaged: Totem Initiation Begins.
The forest shivered.
The gods watched.
And far away, in the dead city of Nsukka, a demon stirred.
---
Mini-Dictionary Update
Obodo Ubo: Hidden forest village where Obinna began his initiation.
Charm Engaged: Term used when a magical seal activates.
Dibia: Traditional Igbo shaman or mystic.
Riverlight Corridor (Anambra): Biafra's path of spirit rivers and communication.
Ember Citadel (Enugu): Capital of magical Biafra, powered by volcanic rites.
Sky-Citadel (Sokoto): Floating northern stronghold using solar-ritual fusion.
City of Bones (Abia): Sacred city of the ancestors.
Ironwood Bastion (Ebonyi): War-plantation of charmsteel trees.
Leviathan Delta (Rivers): Sea kingdom of snake gods and pirate kings.
Deadman's Flow (Benue): Neutral ground between opposing magical factions.