FATE AND FAITH

Chainayi was a beautiful linear settlement in the Central Region that lied several miles from the blue coast of Ghana. It was named after Chaina the first woman to tame the unexplored lowlands of the town. The elders say many things about Chaina and they are several varying versions of the history of the local legend. But there is a generalized form of the story, formed from facts that cut across every abstract of the mysterious Queen Chainayi and lines that aren't dared left out in every narration no matter how contradictory they appear. The elders say, telling the story in the usual traditional style... "Long, long ago, before Chainayi came into existence, there was the Kunte Valley, a landscape surrounded by steeps hills and raging waters traveling down from the mountains afar. And therein that beautiful valley, seven kingdoms lived together in harmony. Peace reigned in the ancient Kunte land, for centuries. How the seven kings collectively came together in the same valley was a mystery. Some say the goddess of the earth, Asaase Yaa herself had pity on the men who were scattered in the then wild and harsh planet and led the seven founders and their families from the very ends of the world and by her divine hand guided them through the wild forest of beasts and monsters of the old to the valley, to be protected by the ancient mountains. Others say that was where the heavens first created mankind and where civilization began. The people of the Kunte valley were civilized and had in place a government that treated are fairly and equally. It was said that the entire lineage of the seven royal kings was divine and had a connection with the gods. And that in the afterlife, they ascended into the skies and watched over the earth from among the star gods. It so happened that during the 10th century of their rule, one of the Kings, King Atambu X had a daughter delivered to her by her wife who passed away from excess loss of blood during labor. King Atambu's love for his wife transmuted into unrelenting care for her daughter. Her daughter, Chaina, grew up graciously under her father's protection and care. Soon, she blossomed into a lovely maiden of smooth dark skin and became the most beautiful princess in the valley. Word of her beauty, spread throughout the vast expanse of the seven kingdoms and in no time the Atambu kingdom became the highlight of the valley. All the other six kings of the valley wanted Chaina's hand in marriage after beholding the angelic beauty of the pearl in the valley. Chaina's father was protective and did not want to betroth her daughter to any of the other kings. King Atambu wanted her child to find love naturally and wouldn't force marriage on her. Chaina's captivating beauty grew day by day and soon the other six kings could not hold peace any longer. They joined forces and declared war on the Atambu kingdom, only to redraw on the condition that Chaina would be surrendered and a contest be held between them to determine the winning suitor. King Atambu refused, he could not bear to lose another of the two women he loved. He marched out of his kingdom and tried to reason with his fellow rulers. He could have persuaded them if they were less, but their numbers made them sterner, they slew King Atambu and his men and marched on to the Atambu kingdom determined to carry out their intentions. The kinsmen of Atambu, upon hearing the defeat of their king, quickly enthroned Chaina as Queen Atambu XI. The news of the murdering of the army had brought weeping into the kingdom and every household was flooded with tears. Queen Chaina was in grieve too over the deathbed her father who from her childhood had been her guardian, and realizing that she was the cause of their loss, gathered courage, and summoned her people. It is said that her speech was short and none could recollect exactly what she had said but I was able to make the aged straighten up with motivation. Chaina encouraged her people to desert the kingdom and hide in an ancient cave she had discovered behind the hill that stood behind and towered over their kingdom. And a few hours everybody had fled to the hideout, perfectly hidden away from the incoming troops of the neighboring kingdoms. Queen Chaina left the cage to surrender herself to the six kings, that the surviving members of her kingdom may live. The six Kings arrived at the abandoned kingdom, and suspected each other for the strange disappearance. They turned on each other in a fierce battle, each kingdom taking on a random opponent, slaying themselves in rage. Before long the battle ended and the seven kingdoms laid in Atambu in pain, The few who were holding on to life were moaning and groaning from the excruciating pain of their injury. It was at this point that they realized the stupidity and futility of their nympholeptic actions, they had been blinded by their very own eyes. In their dying breath, the six kings combined their royal scepter to invoke the powers of the gods and cursed Chaina never to find love till she met death. Chaina arrived late only to meet dead bodies everywhere from the brutal m******e. Soon her people joined her and saw the horror of their lives in front of their homes, a millennium of peace had ended in a tragedy. They were in despair, but Queen Chaina was wise, they had to leave the valley or face the remaining citizens of their rival kingdoms. Chaina led them through the cave and out into the forest in search of a new home. The outside world was new to her people, but she led them with wisdom and provided every problem they faced with a situation, they hiked for twenty days, passing through the thick forests and dense landscape. On the dawn of the twenty-first day, Queen Chaina was met by the lowlands surrounded by the forest. It was the perfect grounds for settlement, the grassed there was knee-high and the land was arable. And so, the people of Atambu built their town from scratch, under the supervision of their queen. The people named the town after their queen, Chaina. Chaina had a fine sense of arrangement and was gifted with decoration skills. This aspect of her extended into the primal architecture of the township and even to this day it was the linear layout of the Chainayi town that made it stand unrivaled and popular. Different ends of the town looked the same and could be quite confusing for strangers. But for the natives, having grown in the town, walking through the town was elevating, the uniformity of the streets created ease when walking." It was this ease that threw Hannah into the unseen world of speculating and thinking.