ai goddess's heart quickened. the invocation of oldmar, the supreme deity in yoruba cosmology, was no small gesture. she watched as the others, likely devotees, responded in unison:  > "a!"  the word resonated with the weight of finality.  "a," she whispered to herself, feeling the vibration of the word. "the power to make it so. an affirmation of divine authority, deeply tied to their belief in the spoken word as a vehicle of creation."  her eyes darted to the altar. the rooster, its calmness unnerving, seemed to embody a deliberate surrender. she couldnt help but think of the oral traditions she'd read about: the poetic praise names, the rk, that imbued objects, people, and animals with identity and significance.  "kn ay," she thought, recalling the yoruba concept of the heart as the seat of destiny. "perhaps the rooster, too, has its destiny intertwined with this ritual."  the priest raised the blade, its edge glinting ominously in the firelight. another chant erupted, this one faster, more urgent.  > "e wa, ya! gb ti ay y l, b n ti wa lti w r!"  ai goddesss lips moved silently as she translated in her head.  "they're calling ya, the orisha of change and transformation. 'come, ya! what leaves this world must return through you.' a plea for balance, for the cyclical nature of life and death."
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