by Marion Hill
I felt all the eyes of the table on me. “With all due respect, I have read the Book of Kammbi—several times, in fact. But this Eternal Comforter concept is still giving me trouble. How do you know that a voice inside of you can tell Diakono Copperwith that he can’t be morrim of the kahall? How could it keep him from the thing he most desired?”
“I can tell you haven’t read the Ryianza,” one of the diakonos seated across from me replied, looking down his long nose. “Kammbi said in Book 7 that he would always be with his people, even after he sacrificed himself for all of us. The Eternal Comforter is the gift he left us so that we could always remain connected with him.”
“Before we get too deep in conversation, let’s eat,” the morrim said. “Diondray, your question is why Diakono Copperwith is going with you.”
The second esperahs brought the rest of the food and served us. I was thinking about the Diakono’s comment when I looked up from my plate and saw Maisa coming to the table. She was wearing a simple white dress with pink trim. Her hair fell just above the shoulders, and she had a presence that got everyone’s attention.
“Better late than never,” the diakono with the sharp nose commented.
The morrim gave that diakono with a sharp look. The diakono dropped his head and returned to eating.
“Thanks for the compliment, Diakono Alvarez,” Maisa replied and sat to my left, at the end of the table.
“Maisa, thank you for coming,” the morrim said. “And all your help in these past few days has been appreciated by all of us.”
She smiled at the morrim after his comment. I could feel my legs shaking under the table. I wanted to get up and pace around the table. But I couldn’t.
“Diondray asked a question. Why would the Eternal Comforter keep Diakono Copperwith from becoming the next morrim of this kahall? Also, hasn’t the Eternal Comforter kept you from something as well, Maisa?” the morrim said.
“It is not what we want, but what Kammbi wants for us,” Maisa replied and looked at me.
“That sounds like protocol. Of course we want to do what Kammbi wants. Does that convince our visitor?” Diakono Alvarez replied.
I liked Diakono Alvarez after that comment. He had an independent streak in him. I wondered what got him to become a diakono.
“Why don’t you tell us?” another diakono with a deep voice asked.
Diakono Alvarez was quick to answer. “Do you know how many believers and followers of Kammbi tell me they want to do what he wants? After every service, I get prayer requests from our congregation saying they want me to pray for them about doing what Kammbi wants. Then a hard choice comes to them from the Eternal Comforter, and they want another prayer session from me on what to do. Didn’t you just pray about doing what Kammbi wants? He just gave it to you, and now you want me to pray for you so you won’t have to do it.”
I watched all the diakonos and the morrim nod in agreement. Their nodding told me they’d all had the same experience with the congregation.
“Obedience is the hardest thing to do, even when you want to,” Maisa said.
The morrim smiled at her comment and replied, “That’s why we celebrate the Festival of Sinquinta every year. Oscar Ortega obeyed immediately and without question. And that’s why Diakono Copperwith and Maisa must do what the Eternal Comforter wants. Obedience brings the reward.”
After the morrim’s comment, I realized what my issue has been all of these years.
Chapter 13
THE DAY HAD ARRIVED. The Festival of Sinquinta would begin in a few short hours. I had spent the last three days after the morrim’s feast in my room rereading the Book of Kammbi and finishing a new themily.
Now I had to pack up my stuff, and it hit me that when I left this room, I would never come back to it. I had gotten used to the big window, the comfortable bed, and the three meals served to me by Second Esperah Carranza. It would all be missed.
I heard a knock at my door before I could continue to reminisce about my time here at the kahall.
“Ready to go,” Maisa said as I opened the door.
She was wearing an orange blouse with dark blue pants. Her hair was placed in a ponytail and accentuated the roundness of her face. She was striking.
“Ready.”
“From this point, Diondray, we will spend a lot time together.” She smiled as I gathered my suitcase.
I followed her out of the room and stepped forward into the next phase of my life.
We arrived at the Ortega Hills about fifteen minutes later. Maisa and I chatted quite a bit on the drive, and we learned a little bit more about each other’s families. She still had this mysterious presence. But I was starting to get comfortable being around her.
The Ortega Hills were magnificent. I thought back to when I had first seen them with Diakono Copperwith. They gave off a peaceful vibe that made Maisa and I stop talking as we got closer. It seemed like those hills were endless, cutting deep into the horizon.
“We have a spot all ready for us,” Maisa said after we got out of the automobile. “The morrim made sure we have one of the best spots to see the entire festival.”
“That was kind of him.”
“He didn’t do it to be kind.”
“What?”
“You are going to be a part of the Festival of Sinquinta.”
Maisa looked over at me after that comment. If she wanted to see surprise on my face, she got it. Who had decided I was going to be a part of the festival?
“If you are going to fulfill Oscar’s prophecy, then you have to be a part of the festival. Remember from your reading of the Book of Kammbi, Oscar was a stranger when he first arrived amongst the Mayza tribe. He attended the tribe’s celebrations and spoke to them in that arena. Since you are Oscar’s second coming, in a sense, you must follow the same path.”
We reached an area where a hill was divided into two sections. Both sides of the hill were decorated in red and green paper that went to the top.
I followed Maisa on a walkway that was created by a division of the hill. What would I be doing in this festival?
Maisa led me to the end of the walkway. We walked up the side of the hill for a short ways. There was a cave created in that part of hill. Maisa and I sat at the cave’s entrance. I looked out and saw the people coming onto the walkway.
“Most of our city will be here shortly,” Maisa said.
“What will I be doing?”
She gave a wan smile. “You should know. You have read Baramesa Book 1, when Oscar Ortega arrived in this area.”
“I’m going to eat amongst the Mayza tribe?”
She nodded and said, “Let’s look at the people of this city, one last time.”
Maisa turned away from me to watch the people coming into the area. I didn’t know what I was going to do, and I got up to pace.
“Please sit down!” Maisa said.
I didn’t want to, but I didn’t have much room to pace. The area inside the cave was tight.
“Please sit down. The Festival of Sinquinta will be starting soon.”
I returned to my seat and didn’t look at Maisa. I gazed out at the people coming onto the walkway and trying to get seated on each side of the hill. She was not kidding about the entire city coming to the festival.
“Are you okay?” she asked and touched my left shoulder.
“Yes,” I replied. But I did not look at her.
“I didn’t mean to scare you. I just thought since you had been here for some time that you had adjusted to our city.”
“I didn’t know I was going to participate today.”
“Please look at me,” she replied. “I was told you had read the Book of Kammbi. At least the seven books of the Baramesa, and you knew Oscar Ortega’s entire story. So I thought you would know that you were going to be a part of the Festival of Sinquinta.”
“How would I know that?” I asked and turned to face her.
She lowered her eyes with a remorseful look on her face. “You are r
ight. You are a stranger. I should have not expected you to know our ways, even if you have read our book. I’m always going forward without thinking things through.”
Before I could respond to her comment, I heard a loud sound in the distance. I looked out at the people who were still coming into the hill. But I could not tell where that sound came from.
“The horn will play for a while until the morrim of the kahall of Santa Sophia arrives,” Maisa remarked.
I heard the sound again. This time it was louder. The horn had a low pitch and was deep. I thought I felt the cave shake after it played.
The horn got louder as I saw five men coming onto the walkway. The men were dressed in red and green. Their shirts and pants were blood red with green stripes on the sleeves, wrists, and pant legs. They were all about the same height and size. I could only tell the difference between the men because the first one of their group had cloud-white hair like the morrim, while the other men all had a distinct feature of their own.
“Diondray, those men represent the elders of the Mayza tribe that Oscar Ortega met when he first arrived,” Maisa said. She had leaned over and said it in my ear because the horn had drowned out all the noise.
“Am I going to join them?”
“Yes.”
I watched the men reach the end of the walkway. They were just below us, and I had no idea what I was going to do with them.
THE MORRIM AND THE diakonos arrived on the walkway. Diakono Copperwith was the tallest of the diakonos and stood right behind the morrim.
They were all dressed in their white shawls with red trim, and all the people focused their attention on them as they walked toward the men who represented the elders of the Mayza tribe.
Maisa touched my shoulder and pointed to an area at the end of the walkway behind the elders.
I looked and saw a small table with a pitcher and a plate of cherries. The morrim reached the table and stood on the right side of it. The diakonos stood behind the elders, who were sitting on the ground.
“Welcome to the Festival of Sinquinta,” the morrim announced. His voice carried throughout the area. I didn’t know if he was wearing a microphone or not. “We are here for another year to celebrate Oscar Ortega’s journey from the South Country to these hills that bear his surname.”
I cut my eyes to look at the people. Everybody seemed intently focused on the morrim’s words.
“His journey took place two hundred and fifty years ago. It is still relevant today. And I would add now more than ever. Because Oscar trusted Kammbi when he told him to leave his homeland, we have received the reward of Oscar’s obedience.”
Maisa finally moved her hand off my shoulder. I shot a look at her, and she gave me a reassuring smile.
“Diakono Alvarez, please read from our beloved book,” the morrim continued.
Diakono Alvarez stood on the left side from the morrim, behind the Mayza tribe member furthest away from Maisa and myself. I recognized that sharp nose from the morrim’s feast. He had the Book of Kammbi in his right hand.
Diakono Alvarez opened the book and said, “Oscar arrived on the twenty-first day in the month of Aym. He came to an area of the hills where an opening was created and met the elders of the Mayza tribe for the first time.”
The elders rose and walked to the table where the Morrim gave them a stalk of cherries and a glass of cherry juice.
“Oscar and his companion, Reuel, stood in front of the elders and told them about Kammbi. He spoke about Kammbi’s sacrifice for all of humanity in order that all people could have a relationship with Abbahim,” Diakono Alvarez continued.
I heard a loud growl, and that turned my focus away from the diakonos and the elders. The people began to murmur as a leopard arrived on the walkway.
“Here comes Reuel, Oscar’s faithful companion,” Diakono Alvarez said.
But the leopard ran past the Diakonos and the elders. It came up the hill toward Maisa and I in the ridge.
“Reuel, stop!” Maisa yelled.
The leopard ignored her plea and came straight toward me. I wanted to move, but my body was frozen. I could only stare at the menacing look of the leopard when it leapt toward me.
I felt the cat’s leathery skin against my face and upper body. Reuel knocked me over . . . gently. I shivered all over, but I embraced the leopard.
“That is why today’s Festival of Sinquinta is different than all the other ones before it,” the morrim said.
Reuel got up off of me, and I stood while everyone was looking at us. Their faces were bewildered, and it seemed to dawn on them all at the same time that I was the one to fulfill Oscar’s prophecy.
“COME, DIONDRAY AZUR,” the morrim said.
I walked down from the cave, and Reuel joined me. I looked down at the leopard. It seemed to have a smile on its face. I would usually have been frightened of such an animal. But I’d lost any fear I had of this big cat after it jumped on me.
“Please sit in front of these men,” the morrim continued.
I obeyed his instructions, and Reuel sat next to me. The elders stared at me while holding the glass of juice and cherries. I wanted to look away, but I felt an energy that made me look at them.
I received a glass of juice and a stalk of cherries from the morrim. I held up the glass and looked at the redness of the juice. I had to focus my attention on something besides everyone staring at me.
“Diondray and the elders, please hold up your glasses.”
We did.
“Now take a bite of the cherries.”
The cherries were sweet and delicious. I swallowed them rather quickly and wanted some more.
“Now take a sip of the juice.”
The cherry juice was bitter, and I wanted to spit it out of my mouth. Quite a difference from the cherries I had just eaten.
“Pour the rest of the juice on the ground.”
I poured out the juice and heard the splash of it hitting the ground.
“We have celebrated Kammbi’s sacrifice for all of us. The juice poured on the ground represents the blood he shed for our acts of passha. We can never repay him for his sacrifice. But we can always recognize and honor what our Lord did for humanity.”
I rubbed my tongue across my teeth in order to get the bitter taste of cherry juice out of my mouth. I wondered if that juice was bitter because of Kammbi’s sacrifice.
“This Festival of Sinquinta is different from all of the others. For the first time, we have someone from south of the Great Forest here with us. And you all saw how Reuel, a seventh generation descendant of Oscar’s companion, approached him. No leopard has ever done that in all the years I have led this festival.”
The diakonos left their position behind the elders and came up to Reuel and me.
“I must say on this day that our Lord has honored his word,” the morrim said. “We have the person who will fulfill Oscar’s prophecy here with us.”
The diakonos placed their hands on my shoulders.
“I have believed in and followed our Lord a long time,” the morrim said. “I must admit even I had my doubts about this prophecy written in the Book of Kammbi. However, with the events that have happened since Diondray Azur’s arrival into our city, my belief in him has been strengthened more than ever. I will finally live in a world where everybody will believe and follow in Kammbi.”
I heard the people clapping. I couldn’t see them because the diakonos surrounded me.
“The diakonos will bless Diondray Azur as he begins his journey in the fulfillment of Oscar’s prophecy.”
A deep, resonant voice read out words I almost knew by heart. “Because of your obedience in leaving your homeland to come to a new land, I will continue to make your name great. Even though you have lost a child due to your act of passha, you will have a descendant who will unite the entire land. And the people will believe that Kammbi is the Lord of all. Those who have always believed in me and those who didn’t believe in me will create a new people, establishing pea
ce and sanctification throughout this land.”
I bowed my head as Diakono Copperwith read the words.
“Now with the blessing received, we will end this ceremony with the elders and their music,” the morrim said.
The diakonos moved their hands away from my shoulders and returned to their positions. I looked up and saw the elders rise from their seats. They turned away from me as the horn played again. Reuel snuggled next to my thigh, and I knew what my destiny had become.
Thanks for reading Diondray’s Discovery and joining him on his adventure in Kammbia.
If you enjoyed it? Diondray’s adventures continue in:
Diondray’s Journey, United Kammbia Series Book 2
Diondray’s Roundabout, United Kammbia Series Book 3 (coming soon)
You can sign up to be notified of new releases, giveaways, special features from the world of Kammbia, and book reviews:
http://marion-hill.com/entry-into-kammbia/
You can connect with Marion:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kammbia/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kammbia1
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kammbiamh/
If you’ve enjoyed the book and have a moment to spare, I would really appreciate a short review on the page where you bought the book. Your help in spreading the word is gratefully appreciated and reviews make a huge difference to helping new readers find the series.
Thank you!
About the Author
Marion Hill is the author of Diondray's Discovery and Diondray's Journey, the first two books of the United Kammbia Series set in the fantasy world of Kammbia.
Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. He has lived in Atlanta, Georgia, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Living in those cities helped create the world of Kammbia. Marion currently lives in San Antonio, TX and is working on the third book of the series, Diondray's Roundabout, due in the fall of 2018.
