Chapter 3: Three Rivers, One Fire
With Olowu defeated and Gbonka and Timi temporarily quieted by fear of the King's volatile temper, Sango turned his attention inward, to the volatile politics of his own household. The Iyaafin, the wives’ quarters, was a palace of its own, a place of beauty, intrigue, and silent wars waged with charm, cooking, and potent magic.
Sango had three principal wives, each a force of nature in her own right, reflecting aspects of his own fiery personality.
The delicate balance among them was maintained by Sango's careful (if inconsistent) attention, but jealousy was a constant companion in the palace. Oba watched Osun’s flirtations with growing bitterness; Osun watched Oya's unique, deep bond with the King with calculating envy.
The tension became unbearable for Oba, who felt her status as senior wife was eroding daily. Osun, recognizing this profound insecurity, saw her chance to eliminate a rival.
Osun approached Oba with a performance of sisterly concern one afternoon while Oya was away at the market. "Sister Oba," Osun began, her voice a smooth balm. "Our Lord the King is tired. He needs the deep magic of the old ways. A love charm, a juju from his Nupe homeland, to bind his heart to his rightful senior wife."
Oba, desperate and naive, took the bait instantly. "What must I do?"
"It requires sacrifice, Oba," Osun whispered conspiratorially, weaving a convincing tale of a potent medicine that bound a man’s soul to the one who made the offering.
Blinded by desperation and love, Oba agreed.
The discovery came later, when a young servant noticed the King's fury as he understood the implication: poison, dark magic, an assassination attempt by his own first wife.
His rage was immediate and apocalyptic. He overturned the table with a single, powerful sweep of his arm. Palm wine and food splattered across the floor. "Poisoner! Assassin!" he roared, his eyes flashing with the raw, elemental fire he commanded.
Oba, paralyzed by the sight of his fury and the colossal misunderstanding, couldn't speak, couldn't explain the trickery. Sango didn't ask. In his paranoid, temper-fueled mind, there could be no other explanation. His trust was broken. He ordered her execution for regicide, a harsh and immediate punishment that shook the foundation of the kingdom.
The domestic bliss of the Aafin was shattered. Sango’s trust evaporated. He looked at Osun and Oya with suspicion, even as Osun comforted him with crocodile tears. The King's fire had turned inward, burning his own house down, marking a tragic shift from triumphant ruler to paranoid tyrant.
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