I Am Supercede |
by Cool105 |
The Orisha Warrior Ogun (god of Iron), disgusted with the atrocities and injustices of humanity, sought out and found a spirit uncorrupted. He will embody the essence of Ogun. He will be a weapon of true Justice. His strength will be derived from the forces of Orisha. A ferocious spirit, he will fight for all that is Ogun. All that is wrong will be made right. He will not be bound by the laws of this planet nor its inhabitants. He will supercede all. He will be SUPERCEDE. His name is Leo Van Horn. On March 4, 2001 a baby was born in St Vincent's Hospital on Staten Island to 1st Lt. Leo Van Horn and his wife Belinda. It was a traumatic birth. The baby was born 3 months premature. But proud father that he was,Leo saw the fight in his child to live and proudly gave him his name. Leo Sherwynd Van Horn. The baby went from incubator, to ventilator to finally a bed. After countless examinations and observations it was determined that Leo was delayed. But by all accounts, Leo was perfectly normal child on the outside, less the unusual birthmarks. Four almost fashionably placed bladelike marks on each thigh and arms. But despite all the poking and prodding by the doctors, Leo never made a sound. They called it mild autism. But nevertheless, 2 years, 6 pediatricians and 4 hospitals later Leo was finally able come home. When Leo was three years old his father was called to Iraq. It was two years post 911. He was killed 5months later a victim of friendly fire in Bagdad. Although far too young to fully comprehend what happened to his father, he saw his mother's tears. He watched his mother struggle to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. By the time Leo started school, mamma worked mainly to buy her "medicine". It made her happy when she took it. She would laugh, dance and sing...for days. The problem came when she couldnt get her medicine. The only time she didn't beat him was when she was stoned. But still, Leo was a good boy. He knew enough to keep the house clean and do his own homework. He was a very bright boy, but his little vocal impairment kept him in his own little world. He had no friends. But it was his unusual sense of right from wrong at his age despite all he'd been through that drew the attention of Ogun. Beating after beating in a seemingly endless cycle. When Belinda couldnt g et her fix, she became another person, a violent person. But a boy's love for his mother is just what it is. Leo was 9 when he came home dreading what state of mind his mother would be in. Upon opening the front door, a stench was in the air. He called for his momma as he walked through the apartment. He walked past the kitchenette by the front door and through the small livingroom. He then walked down the hallway passed the bathroom to his mother's bedroom still calling her name. The stench grew stronger. The bedroom door was half open. He opened the door to find his mother sprawled across the bed, half naked, eyes fully dialated and lying awashed in her own excrement. Leo stood in the doorway motionless. Minutes seemed to be hours as he stood watching his deceased mother. Finally, Leo turned around, walked down the hallway, back through the living room, passed the kitchenette and through the front door without looking back. Leo just started walking and kept walking and walking. Growing up in the projects of Stapleton Houses on Staten Island, it was so easy for Leo to just vanish. He couldnt process what he'd seen. He just knew he didnt want to be there or anywhere for that matter. He made most of his moves at night as he slept during the day in the woods of a park. He somehow felt safe there. Scrounging for food in dumpters, he stayed as invisible as he possibly could. Slipped onto the lower level of the Staten Island Ferry one night,then onto the subway. He stayed underground a few days unnoticed. Wandering through the tubes, instinctively staying clear of the deadly third rail. Napping here and there, he never stayed long enough in one spot to be noticed. Those rare moments when Leo did sleep, he literally turned the world off like a light switch. When he finally rose from out of the tunnels of the New York City Subway system, he found himself on the streets of the Bronx. He came across Van Cortlandt Park and ran as fast as he could into the woods warming embrace. The woods gave him shelter, peace and security. It gave him everything he needed to cut himself off from everyone and everything. But unbeknownst to him, it brought him closer to the man that would open his eyes and save his life. His Name is Enuk Acha. A sole resident of a small island in the Philippines. Since Leo started his journey, his mind had been bombarded with thoughts when he was awake and dreams at sleep. Some dreams had him swimming with great whales fathoms below the ocean depths. Other dreams had him feeling water currents caressing him, carrying him far away. Then their were the dreams of his father in the heat of battle. Those dreams were frequent and turned into nightmares as explosions tore through towns and s hrapnel carved into flesh tearing them from the bone. Leo had no idea these images were not of his own subconscious. But more of a deliberate cerebral intrusion. Slowly ever so delicately preparing this 9 year old boy for the weight of the very world he chose to abandon. It was during his slumber in the woods that Enuk revealed himself to young Leo. A somewhat older man, short black hair, olive complexion. Under the cover of the woods, and the powerful influence of Enuk, Leo would remain asleep for 3 days. As he dreamt, Enuk spoke to the boy his words of wisdom. Simple enough for a little boy to understand, he explained the ways of the world and why people are the way they are. He stressed to him the importance of justice and right from wrong. Leo paid attention and hung on every word as best he could. What he didnt know, he would ask. Much to his surprise, Leo found his voice in this dream. On the third day, Enuk taught him the ways of Ifa and all of the stories of the powerful Orishas. Olodumare (governs over all the Orishas), Yemaya (the mother of all and governs the oceans and seas), Chango (god of Thunder), Oshun (goddess of love and governs the rivers), Oya (governs the winds and cemetaries), Elegua (Warrior governs the roads and pathways) and of course Ogun (Warrior god of iron and all metal). Enuk explained to young Leo their significance to the world we live. He went on to explain in great detail the special bond between Leo and the Orisha Warrior Ogun. How with his mighty cutlasses, Ogun carved the path to the earth from the heavens for the Orishas and in return was granted power over all blades and metal. With that said, Enuk further explained Leo's purpose and the vital part he would play in saving the world. Leo was speechless. Enuk knew that although he had protected the boy physically in the woods,he would be extremely weak, dehydrated and thereby very vulnerable, possibly near death by the time he'd awaken. He knew the boy needed to be at his side in order to live. He also knew there'd be only one way to bring him clear across the world to his side. The amount of energy it would take to achieve this task would be extremely draining on Enuk, but Leo's survival as well as the fate of the world depended this act. Before allowing the boy to wake, he explained to Leo what he'd done in order communicate and tell him what he had to know. He stressed to him the importance of following his words to the letter when he'd awaken if he wanted to live. With a stroke through the boy's scruffy hair, Leo's eyes opened where he first laid in the woods of Van Cortlandt Park. Just as the old man said, when Leo awoke, he was so stiff and so weak. His throat felt like sand paper. His mouth felt like it was filled with gravel. Chango had lit the skies and shook the ground with his thunder. Oya's winds bent the trees and whipped the rain into his face. It was hard to focus, he felt so lightheaded. He was scared. His dream came back to him in bits and pieces as he laid on the muddy grass. Enuk's words echoed in his head like a cannon. Leo struggled to his knees. He looked up to the stormy sky and uttered the most dire words he had ever learned........Meferefun Ogun.........with that, Oya pulled the last breath from his lungs with one loud gasp. As if uncorking a bottle a pearly green and black vapor rose from his open mouth and eyes. The vapor rose high above the boy's head and as it grew, it began to take shape. Leo's body disappeared into vapor and in his place with a smash against the ground stood a figure over 9ft tall. The world would come to know him as the savior of many li ves, justice personified in its purest form...............The Mighty Supercede is Born. |