Tribe Rules - S01 E09

Story 2 months ago

Tribe Rules - S01 E09

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 9

Episode 9: Tribe Rules

The hall of the High Priest was very quiet, except for the soft sound of thousands of candles burning. The air was warm and smelled like old flowers that had been dried in the sun for a long time. Jide and Elena stayed on their knees, feeling the hard stone floor against their legs. They watched the High Priest as he held the heavy book in his bark-like hands. The book was very big and looked like it carried the weight of a thousand years. The old man began to turn the pages. The paper made a dry, crunchy sound, like someone walking on dead leaves in the forest.

As the High Priest turned the pages, something magical and scary happened. The tiny yellow flames of the thousands of candles began to change. They did not flicker with yellow and orange light anymore. Suddenly, every single flame in the giant hall flared up. They grew taller and turned into a bright, deep red color. The red light filled the room, making the white stone walls look like they were covered in blood. The shadows on the floor became long and dark. Jide felt the heat of the red flames on his face, and his heart began to beat very fast.

Listen closely, the High Priest commanded. His voice was deep and steady. It felt like the sound was coming from the very rocks of the mountain.

Jide and Elena leaned forward. They did not want to miss a single word. They knew that their whole life was about to be explained.

Many hundreds of years ago, the High Priest began, his eyes fixed on the old writing in the book. This was a time before your fathers were born. It was even before your grandfathers and their grandfathers were born. In those days, the world was a very different place.

There were no walls between the people. The Sun Tribe and the Rain Tribe did not exist as enemies. They were just one people. They lived in the same villages. They played in the same fields. They drank from the same clear rivers.

The High Priest turned another page, and the red flames danced higher. In those days, the sun was always warm, and the rain was always gentle. The people were happy because they shared everything. When the Sun people grew corn, they gave half to the Rain people. When the Rain people caught fish, they gave half to the Sun people. They were like brothers and sisters. They were like one big family that lived under the big blue sky.

But then, everything changed, the High Priest said. His voice became sad. A great fight broke out. It was not a fight over a small thing. It was a fight over a golden harvest.

The High Priest showed them a picture in the book. It showed a field where the plants were made of real gold. The stalks were bright, and the leaves were shiny.

One year, the land gave a harvest that was more beautiful than anything the world had ever seen, the Priest continued. The corn was not just yellow; it was like pure gold. The wheat was like silver. Instead of sharing this gift, the people became greedy. The leaders of the groups began to argue. They began to say that the golden harvest belonged only to them. The brothers started to shout at each other. The sisters stopped singing together. The love that held the people together began to break like a piece of dry wood.

Jide felt a lump in his throat. He thought about his own gold and his own big house. He wondered if greed was still following his family after all those years.

The fight became very violent, the Priest said. The red light from the candles seemed to glow even brighter as he spoke of the battle. People picked up spears and stones. They forgot that they were family. Blood was spilled on the land. The very ground that gave them the golden harvest was soaked in the red blood of brothers fighting brothers. The earth was so sad that it cried. On that day, the one people split into two. The Sun Tribe moved to the dry lands where the sun was hot. The Rain Tribe moved to the wet lands where the clouds were heavy. They became bitter enemies, and they promised never to speak to each other again.

Jide and Elena listened, their hearts heavy with the weight of the story. They felt the sadness of the past pressing down on them. They realized that the war between their people was not just a story. it was a deep scar on the earth.

The Priest looked up from the book and looked directly at Jide and Elena. His eyes were full of a very old wisdom.

On the day the tribes split, the leaders were so angry that they did something terrible, the Priest said. They made a curse. They used a magic that was fueled by their hate. It was a magic that cannot be easily broken by any man or woman. They stood on the border of their new lands and shouted words into the wind. They said that if a man of the Sun ever married a woman of the Rain, the line would end with them.

Elena let out a small sob and covered her mouth with her hand. Jide reached out and gripped her shoulder. The room felt very cold, even with the thousands of red candles burning.

The curse says that the soil of their bodies will never accept the seed of life, the Priest explained in a soft, sad voice. You see, Jide and Elena, your bodies are made from the dust of your tribes. Your blood carries the history of that great fight. Because your ancestors hated each other so much, they put a wall inside the blood of their children. You cannot have a child because the blood in your veins is at war with itself. The Sun in Jide and the Rain in Elena are fighting like the warriors in the field of fire. They cannot find peace, and because there is no peace, a baby cannot grow.

Elena began to cry loudly now. Her tears fell onto the stone floor. Jide felt like his whole world was falling apart into a thousand pieces. He thought about his beautiful white house. He thought about the five empty bedrooms he had built with his own hands. He thought about the toys he had carved from wood, waiting for children who would never come. He finally understood why his home was so quiet. It was not because they were unlucky. It was because they were carrying a weight that was older than time.

Jide closed his eyes and saw the face of his father, the King. He remembered the morning in the great hall when he told his father he was leaving. He remembered how old and tired his father looked. For the first time, Jide realized that his parents were not being mean. They were not trying to be bossy or cruel. They were trying to protect him. They knew about the curse. They knew about the wall in the blood. They didn't want their son to live a life of loneliness and a house full of empty rooms. They wanted to save him from the pain he was feeling right now.

I thought I was being brave, Jide whispered. His voice was full of regret. I thought I was choosing love over hate. But I didn't know that the hate was already inside me, waiting to stop my life.

The High Priest closed the heavy book. The sound of the cover hitting the pages was like a final door closing. The red flames of the candles began to shrink back down. They turned from red back to a soft, flickering yellow. The hall became dimmer and more peaceful, but the sadness in the air did not go away.

Jide looked at Elena. Her face was wet with tears, and she looked so small in the big hall. They had left everything for each other. They had worked so hard to build a paradise. But now they knew that their paradise was built on a foundation of broken rules and an ancient curse. They were together, but they were the end of their story. There would be no one to come after them. There would be no one to farm the Golden Harvest when they were gone.

The High Priest looked at them with great pity. He reached out and touched Jide’s hand. His skin felt like dry leaves, but his touch was very kind.

You have sought the truth, and now you have found it, the Priest said. Many people live their whole lives in the dark, but you have climbed the mountain to find the light. But sometimes, the light shows us things we do not want to see.

Jide looked into the Priest’s eyes. Is there no way to break it? he asked. Is there no magic that can wash the blood clean?

The High Priest did not answer right away. He stood up slowly and walked back to the stone table with the glowing blue water. He looked into the water for a long time. The blue light reflected on his wrinkled face, making him look like a ghost from the past.

The past cannot be erased, the Priest said softly. But it can be faced. You have seen the history of your people, and you have felt the weight of the curse. But there is one more thing you must understand about the tribes and the land you left behind.

He turned around and pointed to a small door at the very back of the hall. It was a door made of dark iron, and it had no handles.

There is one thing you must see, the High Priest said, his voice dropping to a whisper. But I must warn you, Prince Jide. I must warn you, Elena of the Rain. It will bring you no joy. It is a sight that will change how you see the world forever.

Jide stood up and helped Elena to her feet. They were tired and their hearts were broken, but they had come too far to stop now. They had to know everything. They had to see whatever was behind that dark iron door, even if it meant their happiness would never return. They walked toward the back of the hall, following the old man into the deepest shadows of the Black Mountain.

The High Priest revealed that the two tribes were once one big family. Why do you think greed was able to destroy such a beautiful peace?

The curse says that Jide and Elena’s blood is "at war." Do you think it is possible for love to eventually win a war that is hundreds of years old?

Jide now understands that his parents were trying to protect him. If you were Jide, would you go back and apologize to your father, or stay with Elena?

What do you think is behind the dark iron door? The High Priest says it will bring "no joy." What could be worse than the news they just heard?

The secret of the curse has been revealed! Jide and Elena now know the terrible price of their love. But the mystery is not over yet. What is behind the iron door that brings no joy? The biggest reveal of the story is coming next!