One evening, as the red sun dipped below the horizon, Sango and Ogun stood before Oya beneath an ancient baobab tree. Their eyes locked like clashing swords.
"I will prove my love to you, Oya," Sango declared, his voice booming like the heavens themselves. "With my power, I will light up the sky and make the earth tremble in your name!"
Ogun scoffed, his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest. "Love is not proven by fire and noise, Sango. It is forged with patience and endurance like iron tempered in the flames. I will craft weapons so mighty that none shall stand against them not even you."
Oya raised a hand, silencing them both. The wind around her swirled, lifting dust into the air. "If you wish to prove your worth, then let the heavens bear witness. Show me the strength of your spirits, nut heed my warning-this contest must not destroy the land of our people.'
Both gods nodded, determination set in their eyes. The challenge had begun.
Sango was the first to act. He raised his arms, his crimson robes billowing, and with a defeating roar, he summoned a storm. Lightning forked across the sky, striking the earth with explosive force. The ground quaked, and trees split apart as fire and energy crackled in the air.
Ogun, unfazed, stepped forward. With a swift motion, he drew his mighty blade, one he had forged from the heart of a fallen star. He raised it high, absorbing the lightning that rained down. Sparks danced along the blade's edge, but it did not break. Instead, Ogun twisted his grip and swung downward, cleaving a massive boulder in two.
The people who had gathered to watch gasped. The clash of gods was unlike anything they had ever seen.
Sango grinned, his eyes gleaming. "Impressive, Ogun. But can your iron withstand the fury of the storm?
Before Ogun could answer, Sango stomped his foot. A wall of fire erupted from the ground, racing toward his opponent. The flames roared like a hungry beast, eager to consume all in its path.
Ogun planted his feet firmly and slammed his sword into the ground. Instantly, an iron barrier shot up, shielding him from the inferno. The flames licked at the metal, but they could not penetrate. With a mighty push, Ogun surged forward, his sword glowing red-hot from the heat.
their battle raged on, Sango launching bolts of lightning, Ogun deflecting them with precision. Each strike shook the heavens, and the people feared the land itself would be torn apart.
At last, Oya had seen enough. She narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath. The winds around her howled, gathering strength until they formed a raging tempest.
"Enough!" her voice boomed, cutting through the chaos.
In an instant, the winds knocked both gods off their feet, sending them sprawling. The fire died, the lightning stilled, and the air grew eerily calm. Sango and Ogun, breathing heavily, looked up at the goddess they both desired.
"You fought as though I am a prize to be won," Oya said, her tone sharp as a blade. "You think love is about proving strength, but love is a force of its own that cannot be claimed through war."
Sango clenched his fists. "Oya, I only sought to show you my devotion."
Ogun wiped the sweat from his brow. "And I wished to show you my endurance.'
Oya looked between them, her gaze unwavering. "I am no weak woman to be conquered. If I am to love, it will not be because of fire or iron. It will be because my heart wills it."
Silence fell. The two gods, for all their might, had been humbled by the wisdom of the storm goddess.
Then slowly, Oya smiled. "I have made my choice."
The gods waited, their rivalry momentarily forgotten.
And as the winds whispered through the trees, Oya took a step forward, toward the one who had truly won her heart.
The silence stretched between them, heavy as the weight of a storm before it broke. Sango and Ogun, both mighty in their own right, stood side by side, waiting for the goddess's verdict.
Oya gazed at them, her dark eyes reflecting the power of the tempest she had just summoned. She saw Sango's raw passion, his fire burning as fiercely as the lightning he wielded. She saw Ogun's quiet strength, his patience as steady as the iron he forged.
She took a step forward. Then another.
Stopping before Ogun.
Sango's fists clenched at his sides. The air around him crackled, but Oya did not waver.
Ogun, for once, did not celebrate victory. He simply looked at her, searching for the truth in her eyes. "Why me?" he finally asked.
Oya tilted her head, the wind playing with the red beads in her braided hair. "Because love is not just fire, Ogun. It is endurance. It is something that withstands both heat and storm, something that does not shatter even when tested." She touched the hilt of his sword. "Like iron, it bends but does not break."
Ogun exhaled, relief flickering in his expression, though he did not gloat. Instead, he nodded, understanding that this was not just a victory, but a bond forged by something stronger than competition.
Sango's laughter broke the quiet. It was not bitter, nor was it filled with anger. It was the laugh of a warrior who had met his match and learned a lesson. "Ah, Oya," he said, shaking his head, "You truly are a force greater than any storm I could conjure."
Oya turned to him. "You are powerful, Sango, but love is more than power." She stepped closer, placing a hand on his chest where his heart raged like an eternal blaze. "One day, you will find someone whose fire matches yours."
Sango smirked, though his eyes burned with something deeper than pride. "Perhaps. But until then..." He lifted his hands, and with a final clap of thunder, the storm clouds dispersed. The sky was clear once more, the battle over. "May your love be as unbreakable as Ogun's iron."
With that, Sango turned, his crimson robes flowing as he walked away, vanishing into the horizon with the last whisper of the wind.
Ogun looked at Oya, his hand reaching for hers. "We have much to build together."
Oya smiled, her winds wrapping around them both. "Yes. And we will forge something stronger than even the gods themselves."
And so, under the open sky of the Yoruba land, where the rivers still danced to the rhythm of the gods, the goddess of the storm chose the god of iron. Not as a prize, but as an equal.
Their love would endure, shaped by the fires of passion and tempered by the patience of steel.
THE END.