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Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter One - Latest from the Final Years
Race with the Fate
"Our fate cannot be taken from us; it is a gift." - Dante's Inferno
He saw him seated at a corner table opposite to him. Noticing the necklet the stranger wore, widened his eyes under the mask.
A frail and aged man seeking alms had his eye on a middle aged man who had just cut off from the main street in the market and had entered into the crooked alley. The white breaded vagabond walked slowly towards the alleyway and once he was in the back alley, he corrected his position and started walking briskly, only his disguise looked aged but his movements were sharp and quick. He approached the middle aged man from behind and knocked him off with a karate chop, hitting him elegantly on the back of his neck. He carried the unconsious victim on his shoulder.
Somewhere in the middle of the jungle upon the Keera mountains, The Poet sat on a chair inside his camouflaged tree hunting cabin. Before him, arms chained to the ceiling, was the unconsious victim that he had kidnapped from the market. The Poet was not satisifed, the man before him looked a bit shorter. He convinced himself that he may pass during the real time. Beside him on the table was a neatly folded white kings robe and a tiny needle. He had come back from a long travel and the message should reach the Emperor without further delay.
The Poet moved to the enterance which looked like a bunch of dry leaves and jumped down over three branches to reach the ground. Suspended from the plank of his invicible cabin was a body covered with white cloth. He carried the body to the end of the cliff and dropped it into the vast depth of the ridge. No one had travelled alive into such a deepness to account the menancing species that dwelled in it's drakness. The body, including the cloth, would disappear in no time.
Ever since Pachonthi, the assassin's guild, was dissolved, The Poet was on the lookout for the tiny spark who had become a burning ball of fire. He was sure, sooner or later, to be face to face with his fiery foe. The Poet had been preparing himself for his meeting with Fate by creating decoys of himself as a backup plan. He kept the kidnapped victims as long as they survived, dressing his dupes exactly like himself - a white tunic with sleeves and attached hood tied around by a fake Pachonthi belt, pants and leather boots. During the needed hour, he would use his decoy either to lure the imminent enemy into a trap or fake his own death.
Next morning, the homeless man wandered around the market. There were not many passersby as most of them were at Palace Plaza to witness the statue opening ceremony of the Emperor. With the corner of his eyes he noted a stranger walking behind him. He knew he was followed, as he had taken all the wrong turns and his follower tailed him. Not a professional, asserted The Poet disguised as the homeless. He stopped before a fruit shop requesting for fallen fruits, all the while keeping a check on his pursuer. Suddenly, the stalker approached him and handed him a note. He grinned at The Poet, exposing his unkempt teeth and walked away hurriedly. The Poet was not able to decode the message, it seemed an alien language. He read it several times :
Inow woo yu ar. Meatme inmasc pab doring sonseat.
That afteroon, the Poet hooded in his white costume, followed the strange man from roof tops. He noted that he was an heavy drinker, intoxicating himself from the oval wooden flask tied around his hip. He made several tiny stops and indulged himself in small coversation, clearly indicating that he was not welcome. A vagrant, confirmed The Poet. The tramp found a doorstep and slept for a while under the shade of the awning. The Poet had enough chance to eliminate him, but was curious to know what was written in the note. He returned to his cabin and read the message again. It made much sense after rearranging few letters :
I know who you are. Meet me in Mask Pub during sunset.
The Mask Pub was a famous recreation club at the far end of the market place - only one rule of entry, the visitors must wear a mask of their own choice which permitted them anonymity as well as removed gender differences. A kind of liberty that The Poet was never able to relate with.
Wearing a Shadow Mask - white face with dark holes for eyes, nostrils and mouth - the Poet sat beside the bar at a table around the walled corner that permited him to monitor the front door without bothering about the suituation behind him. A stout man, with a clumpsy turkey head mask pushed his way inside. He looked around and started walking towards the bar. The Poet quickly got up and rolling a black scarf around his masked face, walked towards the chicken mask man. The clumpsy man appologised to the stranger with a black scarf who had bumped into him.
The Stout man looked hard through his tiny eyes and saw his target appearing from behind the bar and taking a seat at the corner. He reached The Poet and initiated a conversation.
"I am smart, ain't I ? For fixing a rendez-vous at a crowded place", he announced proudly.
"How do you know who this is behind the mask", questioned The Poet.
"I see things", the man took a mysterious voice and moved his fingers before his face.
"Tell me what else you saw", The Poet demanded.
The man shrugged the question. The bar maid served them draughts, and the man refused to drink from it.
"I ain't just smart, I am clever too", he said. He took out his flask and sipped from it. He smiled and the distilled spirit leaked through his tooth gap. The Poet left his ale untouched.
"A brothel, and you will help to set it up", demanded the chicken mask. After taking a sip from his flask, he threatened, "else I announce who the homeless man wandering in the market actually is and what he does for living".
The Poet placed a tiny money pouch on the table.
"I ain't just clever, I am a financial expert", mocked the man.
The Poet sat starring at him. After a while, he dropped another small bag on the board.
"I ain't just an expert, I am loose-lipped", the man said with a worried tone finishing his sentence by blaberring with his lips. A third sac took its place before him.
Satisfied, the turkey mask pointed his right thumb at The Poet. He reached to collect the bag when he sensed a warm and rustic fluid forcing itself out of his mouth. His throat burnt and with a sudden gush he spitted blood over the bags through the tiny hole of the turkey mask. His face looked like a bleeding chicken.
A while back, The Poet identified him by the flask tied around his hip. When he had entered the bar, The Poet knocked into him and in that brief moment pierced the flask with a poison needle.
The man circled on the floor of the pub like a headless chicken and after a while became motionless. The Poet quickly grabbed the bags, and moved around the bar. He stopped and turned to check the glimpse that he had caught while he had got up.
The Poet saw him seated with a red masquerade mask at the other corner of the pub opposite to him. Noticing the necklet the stranger wore - the vial holding the Demon Eye, the eyes of The Poet widened under his mask.
As a trapped prey, The Poet watched the man with the red mask walk out of the pub. Without further hesitation, The Poet stromed out through the main enterance and pursued the stranger, knowing well who he was.
Thus, the chase began - the Hunter in Wind ran after the Hunter of the Wicked. They quickly climbed walls, with similar skillset, using anything slightly protruding as a grip. At one such ascend, the man above him kicked a particle loosely hanging on the wall. The tiny sharp piece of stone hit the mask of The Poet, the force created a crack line on the right cheek. They continued sprinting over the roof tops leaping from one building to the another. The man with the Demon Eye necklet suddenly threw shuriken, the ninja stars, at his pursuer without turning back or aiming or reducing his momentum. The Poet, who was close behind his attacker, held to a pole on his way and dodged the star weapons that were rotating quickly towards him by spinning the pole with his hands. One star scratched his leg under his knees. He jumped back on the roof floor and the stinging pain in the knee made him kneel down, at the same time the man running away from him leaped to the next building.
Suspended in the mid-air for a brief moment, he turned to face his pursuer and removed his red mask. From behind, the setting sun crowned his head. The crack line in the Shadow mask below the right eye looked like a stream of tears, when the kneeling Poet saw Sena with a ring of light around his head posing as the Prime.
And in the race, Fate had won.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter One - Latest from the Final Years
A fall like a Thunderbolt (part 1/2)
(Rated-R)
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake - Napoléon Bonaparte
"Mistake after a grave mistake chisels the tomb", the Poet cursed to himself.
An anonymous tramp he had never seen at the market place before - a jumbled message that doesn't convey a message - accepting to meet a stranger at a crowded place - failing to kill the one to be killed - a murder in plain sight - moreover, the grand finale, a chase across the city.
The Poet stamped his fist on the table in his hunting cabin. Sena had left him alive to play with his later, The Poet asserted. Sena's judgement was clear - make The Poet to marinate in fear. Sena had played with his ignorence and arogance. The child The Poet had seen training had grown mastering the art of riding along with one's own esteem. Even when Sena was a tiny spark, he used to look at the tree top where The Poet used to watchover him. And now, Sena had masterly stripped the disguise of The Poet. The bait, a clueless vagabound, had just followed Sena's instruction, just like how the poet lured himself into the trap blinded by his own pre-eminence.
The Poet, completely exposed, felt lonely for the first time. Age weighed on him that he could not remove the vision of the Prime. The Poet felt tired. He wanted to engulf himself inside comfort. He thought about the only wonderful moment in his isolated life. After a long time The Poet closed his eyes voluntarily and tried to find solace by getting back into his past :
He sat on top of the clock tower watching the barricaded pirate village. He was monitoring the building at the southern end of the settlement. The prison was heavily gaurded. Eventhough the lathargic pirates were not vigilant, their sheer number will defeat a small army. The prison held inside an item that was precious to the Emperor. The message was short, intensifying a mixture of Love and Danger - The Flower whirls in the wind, bear in mind, no harm reaches the hind.
"Moonflower, yes, the new recruit", confirmed The Poet, the one who had eased his work. Moonflower was captured by the pirates for committing an act of espionage when impersonating a barmaid. The Poet must act fast to liberate her, as he could not imagine the state of a pretty young girl in a Pirate's Prison.
The Poet counted eighteen gaurds circling the inner premises. He climbed down the clock tower and reached the gates of the Pirate Village. While he approached the main enterance, he flipped his sleeves aiming at the two gaurds at the gate and couple of tiny sharp blades escaped immediately from his cuffs. One entered and the other slit the throats of the clueless pirate securities. He opened the huge wodden gate and slowly walked inside the Pirate's Prison Village.
A white hood cover his head and a black scarf was spun around his face exposing only his calm eyes which were fixed on the four patrolers before him. A grey sleeveless outdoor overgarment hung loosely from the shoulders, attached to the neck with a tiny lace. He had both his hand behind him while walking and a thin taillike followed him.
The patrolers ran towards the intruder holding their sword high above their heads and shouting their suprise. The Poet exposed the taillike with his left-hand. It was a metal whip that he held behind and dragged with him while walking in. He threw the whip elegantly at the advancing pirates. The thin and flexible blade made waves in the air before reaching the closest pirate and sliting his torso. The victim stood for a while, looked down at his bloody body and then fell flat to the ground without making a noise. The thud stopped the other three advancing attackers in midway. They looked at the gore with wide eyes.
Four more joined the other three and all the seven circled The Poet moving adjecently along with him. The Poet pulled out his right-hand and introduced his rapier to the neck of the nearest gaurd. He continued walking in the center and at a silent moment he used his iron whip to send two more into the air. The rest four moved before him and blocked him like a wall. The Poet waited patiently. Two came rushing towards him. At the exact time, The Poet pulled his whip backwards tripping the running pirates. When they both were suspended perpendicularly before him, The Poet inserted the sharp edge of his rapier into the left eye of the floating pirate. He screamed in agony while the other, as soon as he hit the ground started crawling backwards crying in fear. The Poet made small steps towards him, all the while, drawing a line with his pointed sword on the ground between the legs of the escaping pirate. He looked at the last standing pirates and saw them seeing the oil barrels getting sprinkled with the blood of the man on the ground.
The gaurd on the watchtower finally reacted. He shot a single fire arrow at The Poet, who quickly used his whip to pull the oil barrel towards him. The flaming bolt blasted the barrel and the fire spread further over the spilt lube. The two men who had backed off to the fortified prison gate saw the unknown caped warrior emerging out of the fire. A spark spread on his scarf which he did not seem to mind. The spreading fire on the cloth emitted its shadow in his eyes, making them glow sharper, looking at which one of the pirate swallow his fear and the other trembled.
The Poet eliminated both of them with his rapier and hurriedly opened the prison doors, when he heard the alarm bells resonating around the Pirate Prison waking up every sleeping pirate anchored at the bay of Narukukana.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter One - Latest from the Final Years
A fall like a Thunderbolt (part 2/2)
(Rated-R)
On noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, an idealist concludes that it makes a better soup. - H.L. Mencken
The Poet waited in the shadows of the huge pillars, allowing the maddened pirates to run past him. He efficiently moved from a cover to another and reached the tiny wall of sandbags. He slit the throat of pirate on gaurd, before fencing over the sacks. He sneaked past a group of alert pirates and entered a small storage room. While waiting for the oppurtunity to move forward, he noticed two items placed on a metal table. He collected them and ran quickly reaching the far end of the hall.
There was only one locked room at the other side of the hallway. He pushed the eye-level sliding slotted peephole on the door. His rectangualr vision met with a kneeling young woman's back. Couple of whiplash mark uglified the smooth and healthy skin. Her arms were stretched, and The Poet assumed that it should be attached to the side walls. He kicked the door open and standing behind kneeling Moonflower, he liberated the Emperor's hind from the clutches of the chains. She took long to stand up and when she turned to face him, The Poet was mesmerised by her beauty that he forgot all his poems.
At the cell door, The Poet gave her the golden daggers that he had picked up on his way from the storage room. She made a courtesy nod back at him. They both stromed out of the prison room and reached the large hall. From the main door opposite to them countless pirates entered. Chandramukhi took a siting position behind The Poet.
"Were you asleep during the stealth class ?", she asked. The poet did not reply. Chandramukhi looked around her and noted that the pirates were no more charging but stood shaken. Some were retreating. She turned to look at the stranger who have come to rescue her and it was her turn to be stunned by his appearence.
The Poet had removed his overgarment by untying the lace around his neck, exposing his special combat garment which he liked to call the Knife Suit.
He demonstrated his Knife suit to the onlookers. He held a sort of control clutched inside his fist. With an upward pull, he awakened four blades on each forearm. A single pointed short knife projected from the shoulders. When he did a downward push, the blades retreated into a single line acting as a defense rod. His leather ankle boots were permanantely fixed with numerous tiny sharp edges and applying pressure to the toes ejected eight cutting short swords along each of his leg. He wore a knife belt with throwing knife fixed pointing outwards. And finally his back, along the spinal line the lethal edges of the chainsaw knife were peeping out.
"Cabbages for the soup", Chandramukhi said smiling at the pirates.
The courageous pirates ran towards the couple. Chandramukhi fought with very few of aggressive pirates with her golden dagger. The Poet handled the rest with ease. From time to time she turned to watch the elegant moves of The Poet - once she saw a sharp object ejecting from his elbow enter into the pelvic area of an attacker - next she saw his defending the heavy blows from the sabres and scimitars with his forearms ; sparks registered the weapons meeting - at one moment, she saw him sweeping couple of pirates to the ground by slashing their ankles - and finally she saw him running towards the enterance door over the fallen pirates crushing whatever bone that met with his ankle boot . She followed him quickly.
"How fast can you run", The Poet spoke to her for the first time. Chandramukhi made a weird face. "Well, run and climb", he concluded. Without a pause he contnued, "Get to the top of the watchtower and join me at the entrance with the fire blot and not to forget the bow. Don't be late, else meet me at our funeral."
Chandramukhi smiled and took a steep turn away from The Poet and ran towards the watchtower. On the way, she dodged couple of gaurds and jumped over several soldiers. She escaped a sword attack by rising in the air with her legs spread parallel to the ground. She reached the watchtower and inserted her dagger into the solidiers feet while still hanging onto the ladder. He fell off to the ground. She climbed over the platform and recovered the bow and the fire arrow.
From the top of the tower, she saw the stranger battling his way towards the main gate. Several pirates were following him. The stranger neither attacked nor defended nor escaped. He was simply pushing all the barrels around the prison ground area. She saw him fastly reaching the gates. She quickly climbed down the watch tower and joined The Poet at the enterance.
The bolt from the bow ignited the oil barrels exploding everything that it can take with it's tremendrous blast.
Inside his tree cabin, a fall of a dead branch on the roof, brought The Poet to reality and he worried that even his Emperor friend did not recognise him when he had walked past him, but Sena out of doubt had played a ploy and The Poet had volunteerly gave himself. The Hunter in the Wind had fallen, just like the Hunter had, on the day he brought him the message :
Reaching his Den at Narukukana, he was shocked to see an urgent message from the Emperor. Dressed up for the rainy night, he stood under the window of the Motel at the center of the town. He heard the moaning from inside. Rain drops were falling everywhere, and thicker drops were falling from his cheeks. Back at his Den he prepared a reply note for his friend -
Peacock dances in the rain,
As happy as the mane.
Prey is for you to obtain,
Rest assured of your gain.
He thought deeply for a while about the days he had roamed with Dashakantha on the paths of Daboya eating the stolen apples with laughter. With rapid thoughts of loyality, The Poet got up and took another lamb's bone from his reserve. He carved the truth on it and delivered it himself. Disguised as a tribes-man from Keera Mountain, he entered the dining hall of the Palace. In a brief moment, he looked at the sunken eyes of Vettaiyan. He left as silently as he had walked in.
At his tree cabin, the past provoked anger in The Poet. "I need more decoys", crushing his teeth, The Poet stromed out of his tree cabin.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter One - Latest from the Final Years
Myth of Self
And set a watcher upon her, great and strong Argus, who with four eyes looks every way. And the goddess stirred in him unwearying strength: sleep never fell upon his eyes; but he kept sure watch always. - Aegimius (fragmentary Ancient Greek epic poem).
"He is watching", said the man seated on the floor leaning to an open box full of jewels. "Who", demanded the leader. "The Gaurdian", replied the man.
The weather was warm, but the climate of the Kingdoms was not soothing. The demise of two kings on the same day had consequences. Kottaipatinam was unable to find its successor and Kalingapuri stood weakened when the young prince Veera Mahendran was elected as the King. The Nobels of Kottaipattinam were against Vadhana Devi presiding the throne, even when the search of Sengodagan brought vain.
Vadhana Devi, the sister of Sengodagan, was the daughter of King Rishikodagan of Kottaipatinam. Sengodagan was expelled from the kingdom by his father after his marriage with Yamuna Devi, the daughter of Kochadaiiyaan. The death of King Rishikodagan happened during the wedding day of his daughter with the Prince of Kalingapuri. The same day, before removing the head of Rishikodagan from his body, Rana, the Son of Kochadaiiyaan, slitted the throat of Raja Mahendran, the father of the bridegroom, Veera Mahendran.
The Nobles of Kottaipatinam argued that it was the master plan of Rana to eliminate all powers from the Kingdom - firstly, got his sister married to Prince Sengodagan, secondly, had mesmerised Princess Vadhana Devi in his charm and finally, eliminated the King. Thus, Rana had the full authority to claim to the throne of Kottaipattinam. They claimed that Vadhana Devi was under the influence of Rana, and for the goodwill of the Kingdom, the Princess should not be allowed to become a sucessor to the throne. They ordered and organised a massive search to bring back their hier, Sengodagan. They pronounced that until the new King Sengodagan was not appointed, Rana will not be judged for his crimes against the Kingdom. They concluded that the King will be their Saviour who will feed the conspirator Rana to the worms.
The Nobels futher demanded the Panel to expel Sena, the brother of Rana, from the Kingdom. They made their point by stating the Rana had brilliantly brought in his members into the Royal Family, and moreover, they recollected that the prime member of the family was executed after found guilty for treason against their Great Kingdom. Finally, they rested their argument stating that Rana was the Initiator of the Chaos.
Vadhana sat silently watching all the arguments. She felt participating in such discussion were inutile as Rana was People's King, but sincerely hoped her brother would return to clear of the allegations against Rana. Her silence fell heavy over Kottaipatinam - poor administration drowned the entire Kingdom into crime and violence.
Anarchists were flooding on the streets of Kottaipattinam. They circled the lanes as a group of liberated cage animals, causing destruction where ever they stepped into. They attracted the off-track citizens by misguiding them with false promises and convincing them about a future that was not possible. In between their insincerity, they looted and ransaked the whole Kingdom. They out numbered the scared gaurds and marched forward to take down the capitol.
A hand glided into the window hole of a jewellery shop and seized a grand ornament which brought smile to the man's face but that was the last time he saw his hand sticking to his body. A sharp blade had sliced his arm, the chop dropped the hand inside the shop's floor and the screaming robber onto the ground.
A group of four men cornered an young lady across the lane. She held tightly to her weeping young son. Their intentions of the men were clear, when one of them pulled the kid away from her while the other picked on her clothes. The kid stood starring at the man who had just jumped behind the three attackers. A tiny knife flew past him hitting the back of the neck of the eloping man. Crossing three other motionless bodies, the infant reached his mother and hugged her.
Several woman gathered around a wodden door and tried to break it open. Inside was the family of a merchant, his family scared behind the locked door. Suddenly it rained all over the attacking ladies. They found that the shower was brief and the drops were lamp oil. A single fire torch fell behind them. They ran away.
A group of anarchists looted the habour area. One stealer skipped past his group and entered the massive opening between two anchored ships. He heard foot steps behind him, but there were no one when he turned. He continued and approached a large abadonned chest. With a greedy smile, he reached the treasure box, and that was when his chest met with a karate chop. He fell to the ground crying in pain. The other members ran towards their screaming partner.
"He is watching", informed the wounded man. "Who", demanded his leader. "The Gaurdian", replied the man.
They all heard the footfalls from behind them. Slowly but steadily they saw a silhouette of a warrior holding a long sword. His stride was banging on both the ships, and the anarchists realised that they were cornered. The footsteps grew louder exposing the star studded leather boots. The star buckle of the belt shined in the moon light. The blue top embedded with diamonds glittered in the pale light of the night. One of the scared anarchist saw the throat of the advancing Gaurdian turn blue for a fraction of a second. The chin was tiny and rigid over which the lips carried a tiny smile without exposing the teeth. The nose bridge was narrow and sharp under a shiny plained forehead over which few strands of hair danced with the wind. The eyes were tiny, but sharper than the blade of the long sword.
The Anrchists looked up at Rana who crushed their crime in his shadow.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter One - Latest from the Final Years
The Wall of Trees
King Sorubhan of Katrupuzha and King Gauthama of Karimedai endeavoured stabilising their governance after the downfall of the Two Kingdoms. Violence spread like rapid fire, but through their able administration they brought the affairs under control. But monetary instability was least of their worries. Their Kingdoms were weakened with the treaties imposed by the Emperor and now the Emperor claimed Kottaipatinam for himself, and had sent an appointee to resolve the confusion over the hier to the throne of Kottaipattinam. Spies informed them that, the Emperor was planning to install a member from his state to rule Kottaipatinam. King Sorubhan and King Gauthama held a secret meeting and shared thier inquietude over the non-representative decision of the Emperor, moreover, during the coarse of the meeting they expressed their disturbance over the Emperor's puppet King Veera Mahendran. By accuring the Two Kingdoms, the Emperor will slave down Katrupuzha and Karimedai too. No vassal treaties will be respected, but the Kingdoms will be royally looted and the free citizens will become mere serfs working their who life producing for the Empero and nothing left for the future generations.
"The Palace is yours Rana. Don't mind the Nobles, they will accept you as the King", Vadhana affirmed to Rana, whom she met in the public garden.
"I am not here to argue, the immediate threat to the Kingdom is more menancing than elective quarrels", replied Rana. "I received a message from Sengodagan to meet him at the frontier", he announced to her.
Vadhana hopped towards Rana and hugged him with immense joy.
"But why at the frontier, this is his Kingdom anyway", Rana expressed his incertitude before leaving the park. Vadhana stood thinking, before going back to the Palace.
Rana found himself being followed by a dark clothed form and when he turned to check, it hid itself behind a shade. Rana slowed down encouraging his pursuer to initiate the attack. The clumpsy frame jogged unevenly behind Rana, and suddenly leapt onto to his back. It clutched him with it's thin fingers crowned with sharp nails. The cloak around it's head dropped during it's vigorous attack, exposing the thinning hair and bald patched head. Rana quickly hauled his attacker and threw him to the ground by gripping his clothes. Hanchabadra grinned at his master while lying on the ground. He crossed his legs and tried to whistle, no sound escaped from his shrinked lips. Rana pulled Hanchabadra to his feet and hugged him.
"How is your arm ?", Rana asked Kacha, to which Kacha demonstrated his arm's stength by slicing the air. Rana tapped his shoulder appreciating their reunion.
Hanchabadra was a deformed man who was the aid of the child-hood friends Sengodagan and Rana. Together they have embarked into numerous treasure hunt adventures around the five Kingdoms. He was a loyal servant whom the friends treated as a member in the family. Kacha was the son of the wrestler Vrikoda, the personal body gaurd of Rana's Father. He broke his arms while swinging across the cave walls at the Gulf Of Bharavi. When Sengodagan was expelled from the kingdom, Rana had sent them away too, as he was not prepared to explain to them his plan of taking down the king, also he never wished them to be part of his personal ploy. Rana had called back his friends when he got the invitation from Sengodagan. He expected the dark days will end through their union, and together they will celebrate a new dawn.
Hanchabadra moved in circles after hearing about the meeting with Sengodagan. Kacha expressed that he knew what had happened and he would have supported Rana, if he had been permitted to. Rana smiled and nodded at Kacha while pulling Hanchabadra to his side. The three friends travelled on horse backs to the frontier. On the way, Hanchabadra made faces at the birds circling around the sky above him. He grinned.
Sengodagan stood alone before the wall of trees at the forntier. His companions who had come to meet him halted and got down from their horses. A tiny thought swayed inside Rana disturbing him since he had received the inivitation from Sengodagan. Before he could stop him, Hanchabadra hopped quickly towards Sengodagan. On his small route over the green grass, Hanchabadra turned and grinned at Rana from time to time registering his contentement.
The cold breeze hitting his face made Hanchabadra to close his eyes rejoicing every single moment. Sengodagan welcomed him with open arms and a huge smile. He gathered his faithful companion around his chest and tapped him on his back. Kacha felt at ease watching the smile on Sengodagan's face.
Hanchabadra's body shook in happiness. No noise esacped his mouth. He turned and grinned at Rana while still tugging to Sengodagan tightly. Before Rana could return the smile, he noticed the stretched corner of Sengodagan's lip wrinkling into anger. He looked back at Hanchabadra whose grin was turning into a smirk. Blood streamed out of from the corner of his lips. Kacha stood shocked.
From behind the wall off trees, King Veera Mahendran appeared on his horse back surrounded by his private body gaurds. Sengodaga threw a dagger at Rana, the one with which he had stabbed Hanchabadra in the chest. The sharp blade approached cutting the air faster when scandalized Rana suddenly fell onto the ground. Rana was pushed by Kacha and the blade travelled above Rana's eyes before piercing into the shoulder of Kacha. The sight of the flying dagger resembled the vision Rana had at the Lake of Ghosts - he felt something fastly approaching cutting through the air that distracted him and he moved, by the time the projection on the transparent wall was of a dragger covered in blood, too close that it could hurt.
"Your head will bow to our sword Rana, just like how you executed our fathers", Sengodagan shouted with a menancing voice standing beside King Veera Mahendran. He slowly pushed Hanchabadra to the ground.
"You will witness how I deliver you to your tomb". King Veera Mahendran sat on his horse starring at Rana, when couple of his men started running towards fallen Rana and wounded Kacha. Suddenly the advancing solidiers looked shocked and halted midway. A small army of Kottaipatinam emerged behind Rana.
"Coward, next time you face me, I will teach you how to be a man", Sengodagan talked inbetween excessive teeth grinding and jaw clenching. Rana turned back and saw few soldiers running towards them. His head spinned, he was unable to follow. When he returned his vision back at his friend Sengodagan, his sight met with the back of his riding foes. Sengodagan and King Veera Mahendran rode away on the same horse. Sengodagan turned and a evil smile escaped from the corner of his lips before they disappeared breaking through the wall of trees.
Rana got up and rushed towards Hanchabadra. He stumbled couple of time before skidding towards his fallen friend and in a singular action, he took Hanchabdra's head and placed it on his lap. Hanchabadra's grin had not yet faded away. Rana shook him vigoursly, but Hanchabadra lied over his laps starring at him. Images of Hunchabadra ran before Rana - the small man performing an Emperor's walk, the deformed angel grinning after been caught stealing peanuts, the hunchback beauty chasing butterflies, the limping peacock dancing around the kids, the golden-heart putting up a sad face and grinning immediately after, thier boon companion trying to drill between the friends by sticking his face inbetween them.
Further away, Rana noticed Kacha was moving on the ground in pain. Tormented, Rana looked up at the emptiness above him with his upper lips moving crookedly in agony just like the single lightening that flew past the sky. His silent misery was broken by a resounding thunder which echoed his Father's voice over the vastness above :
Pagaivanin Pagayai Vida, Nanbanin Pagayae Aabathaanathu. [A friend turned foe is a much bigger threat than nemesis.]
... to be continued ...
-
Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Two - Locked within Oneself
Presence of an Opponent
You, Rana, have fought your own slow death. This closes down the options leading you into a path where your Death will be Quick. Youngman's words picked the eyes of Rana. He quickly woke up. Over a blurred vision, he saw his brother nearing him. Sena bent down at Rana and his necklet danced before his brother. Another of Rana's vision became reality - There was a red eye dangling around his neck.
Rana hurriedly moved back pushing his feet as fast as he could, as the images he remembered from the Lake of Ghosts were horrifying which potrayed Sena inhumane. He lifted his head and found that Sena was normal standing beside Vadhana and Kacha.
"Next time, you should wait for me", Sena told him trying not to sound like a brother. Rana did not reply, he started correcting his clothes. He walked to Vadhana and stood close to her staring at her eyes.
"Next time, make sure to inform me", Rana told Vadhana before stroming out of the room. Vadhana stood guilty over sending the personal gaurds after Rana after he had expressed his incertitude at the public garden just before leaving to meet her brother Sengodagan.
The brothers walked abreast, followed by Kacha with a bandaged arm. None spoke until they reached the Council Hall.
"Actions stay verbal only, so don't over react inside", Sena adviced his brother. Rana stood still looking at his nails. A while later, Sena approached the huge door and the trio were ushered in.
The hall was large and circular. An empty throne was right in front of them placed on a platform elevated by three steps. Beside on a princely chair, Vadhana sat watching the council. Three rows of benches were arranged at either side of the hall, where the Nobles were seated. Directly opposite to the throne was the visitor's podium where the trio took their chairs amoung several others.
An aged member and the Head of the Council stood up and walked forward to the center. He greeted the Princess, then his fellowmen. After a brief detailing about the current suituation, he announced the agenda of the needed hour. Then, the wise Nobleman invited the war strategist Yesodha Putran to address the council.
Yesodha Putran had won many wars without actually fighting any of them. He was considered to be the greatest strategist who could invent warmaking methods that would stumble any empire. He was not a practitioner but a theorist. He walked to the center and after greeting the gathered crowd, Yesodha Putran started his analyse on whether to challenge the Emperor.
"Both doers and thinkers are needed to end a perpetual war. And with that honor of a thinker, I suggest we surrender", he declared.
Loud murmurs echoed inside the hall. Several stood up and shouted insanely at Putran. Vadhana sat silently and the Head of the Council watched her silence without uttering a single word. Rana smiled hard by moving his shoulders way too high while looking at the circus before him. Sena sat calmly beside him. When tranquility was restored, Putran continued, "I won't appologise before this council for my words, as my statement stands true, even if it's not patriotic". The council members started hooting when the Head of the Council brought back silence in the hall just raising his right hand.
"My research states that going to war will be fatal", continued Putran. "With the accord of our Kings, King Dashakantha was unnanimously accepted as the Ruler of the Rulers. Breaking our King's will would fracture the treaties and relationships shall slide like a mud wall in a flood". He paused and then contiued to put forward a crucial indicator before the council, "The Central land is thrice bigger than the all other Kingdoms united. And there are thirteen tribes - the founders of our lands - dwelling and governing the surroundings under the Emperor's direct guidence".
Putran looked down at his notes and recited his study over victory to the panel :
- The only way to reach the Central Kingdom is through the waters, under unpredictable and unimaginable weather conditions. The oceans are clutched by the Emperor's pirate partner, Leader Adhi. These are ruthless men. (Putran paused and starred directly at the eyes of several Noblemen). And, we don't have the naval power to attack simultaneous from all fronts.
- Out of 13 tribes 7 support the Emperor directly. They all are well versed in guerrilla warfare, an art our soldiers are not trained in. These tribals form a subordinate army of Central Kingdom. If successful in crushing them, the few men who may rest in our army should face the biggest marching soldiers on the face of this earth. The tribals support to the Emperor is to gaurd their ancestor's land. Three groups, the valiant ones, who opposed the Emperor were neutralised. And the rest have no choice but are weak.
- Our foot soldiers need to pass the fort Aiyan, if the Palace has to be taken down. That can happen only if we can set out foot on the Central Lands crossing the sea. Fort Aiyan is maintained by the salves of the Emperor and a huge war cannon called Vettai crowns the fortified castle hunting down any intruders.
- As we know now, Kallingapuri is under the influence of the Emperor, whose army will out run our men like a walk over the soft sands.
- The personal army of the General secure the Emperor. They are not normal warriors. The General changes his methods within the shift of the wind. (Putran remained silence for a while, for the message to sink inside the listeners).
- The other two Kingdoms will not support us due to fear. Eventhough they are against the admistration, the Emperor had never troubled them. They will anyhow look to profit from the suituation. As a reminder, Our Nation was never amicable with the other Kingdoms. Negociations will end even before a start.
He looked directly at the Princess and sumersied, "Going to war with Emperor Dashakantha is fatal. Ceding is not the option I propose, nor the war as a solution. New amendments should be proposed and implemented to save the Fall of our Dynasty", Putran inferred before taking his seat beside Sena admist loud and angry murmurs.
"We need to talk", whispered Sena into the ears of Yesodha Putran, to which he acknowledged by nodding his head at Sena.
"He is the one who invited the doom", shouted a Nobleman at Rana, "like Father like Son. They should be thrown out".
Rana kicked an empty chair before him. He growled in a menancing voice, "Dare you touch me". Sena stood up and pulled Rana back, all the while staring at the cursing Nobleman.
"Enough", yelled Vadhana. The Council Hall restored itself with permanent silent.
A thick desk seperated the brothers. "Being at the mercy of anything that you cannot control is like a floating log over the sea during an hurricane. You don't know where it would land you", Sena said calmly.
"I am getting tired of all your saintly phrases", Rana complained, "you sound like a toothless man and somtimes I feel that we are not talking the same language. Where were you ...", Rana paused, "What really have you done for us, my brother, for me to sit through your preaching sessions".
"Nothing. If I had, then your head would be rolling on the ground instead of sticking to your neck", replied Sena.
Rana laughed, "Last words of Father". With a serious face he demanded, "Tell me, what is the point in enlarging all these glory and pride when a man cannot save his own head ?"
Sena's eyes flickered. His nose widened. His fingers formed a fist.
"I am a warrior. I dont carry a myth, I carry a sword", Rana informed his brother taking a serious tone.
Sena punched the desk with his fist to bring an end to Rana's ignorence. Rana circled around the desk and stood before Sena and threatened his brother, "The revenge inside me has sinked, it is replaced with fury. Don't even try to do what you just did again".
The brothers stood staring at one another and then they raised their arms not to shake but to crush each other's throat.
... to be continued ...
-
Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Two - Locked within Oneself
A Flight Together
"That's my master eye !", grumbled Rana while sticking a wet cloth over the red ring around his punched left eye.
"That's my wisdom tooth !", muttered Sena with his fingers sticking inside his mouth between the cracked lips which had taken a blow.
"How old am I ?", asked Vadhana to the brothers seated before here. The brothers looked at each other. Without waiting for an answer, she continued with annoyance, "I have an empire to run and I can't come running each time you pull each other's hair out. What would have happened if I had not intervened".
"Hope would have sliced Faith, or, Faith would have torn Hope", murmured the brothers.
"What ?", she asked, "I don't remember seing you brothers quarrelling when you were at the age to dispute over a pebble. What happened to you both now ?"
Rana got up and held Sena's hand. He pulled him and said, "Come, I will take you to a place."
"Where ?"
"To the east, where you can bury your tooth", Rana joked.
"The light from the dawn will purify your sight", replied Sena.
The brothers sat under the Big Tree infront of their birth house. Nothing much had changed, except branches of strains due to non-maintainance were prominent in the building as well around the small garden.
"That's where you sat counting the flying birds. You were weird at that time itself", Rana said humourlessly. Sena Smiled. Vadhana was taking a small walk around. All three were floating on the same pool of memory.
A gaurd approached Vadhana. After a brief discussion with him, she waved at the brothers and followed the messenger.
"I die to see our Queen in a tiny frock, just like during the good gold days", Rana said earnestly. Sena smiled.
Sitting over the small paltform in front of their home, the brothers kept the entire day between themselves. They talked about their mother's delicious food and amused over their Father's childishness about chasing them around the garden. They watched the corner where their Father trained them in sword fighting using wooden sticks and looked at the patches where they rode on their horses along with their Parents. They discussed about their uncle and his jokes.
"I searched for Yamuna, still looking for her", Rana said sorrowfully. Sena sat silent. Rana looked at his brother gazing at the blue sky. He maintainted silence too. Sena took out a compass, but the needles seemed to be stuck. He pocketed the item back. Time passed.
"Vampires ? Do they even exist ?", Sena frowned his face.
"Yes. At the Valley of Vampire", asserted Rana with enthusiasm. "They worshipped their king called Pha, even after his death centuries ago. They beleived that he was walking around protecting their clan, and I beleived in his golden teeth should worth a lot. Pha was sleeping, well when he was not roaming around, inside a concrete tomb. A group of people suddenly became allergic to the heat from the sun. Then, their eyes became hyper sensitive to the light. So they started dwelling in the dark. Due to whatever deficiency, they started loosing their teeth. Being the King, Pha got his Vampire teeth installed with gold".
Sena laughed.
"So, we broke inside thier cave", Rana continued, "and pale men, women and children who gaurded the tomb with their sharpened teeth attacked us. It's a kind of their clan's ritual to sharpen their teeth to resemble their Pha's. It was Hanchabadra ...", Rana paused. He looked the other way and then after taking a breathe he continued, "We found the tomb, but the teeth was well glued to the skull. We were out numbered. When I was fighting the Vampires, Hanchabadra and Sengodagan carried the skeleton over their shoulders. While they were running, the skull on the shoulder of Hanchabadra starred at him with clunky jaw. He did not sleep for a week after the escape".
"I would like to visit this Valley", wished Sena. "Not Possible, I blasted the enterance of the cave", Rana shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever was inside, stays inside".
"Where is Pha now", asked Sena. "The toothless skull hanging over the bony body is buried deep underground. Stories in the wind whisper that Pha still roams around and his Vampire Clan are still searching for their Skeleton King. We have to check out on them some day", Rana laughed.
"A Headless Horseman terrorised a rich town", Sena told his brother. "That thing on a huge black stallion with red eyes rode over the dark lanes. People were terrified that they refused to leave their houses. That night when I visited the town to enquire about the Headless Horseman, I arrived late at the deserted town. Before me was Headless Horseman. Sweat ran down my temple ...", Sena paused, and then continued, "I tell it to you my brother, none should hear about this - the sight made my knees to tremble".
Rana laughed so hard that he almost tripped to the ground.
"So", an annoyed Sena said, "it stared at me and rode away. The next morning I asked the townsmen whether there were any casualities. None reported, but the claim was that every night a family keeps a basket of candies outside thier house".
"Candies ?", questioned Rana, "Should be a wierd witch !".
"I tracked the devil's foot print and reached a ranch. It was run by a poor, widowed farmer with his two sons who were less than ten years old. The following night I waited for the Headless Horseman and stood face to face with it on the street, no trembling this time".
Rana tried to controll his laughter, but ended up brusting.
"Really a 'No'. I was not governed by fear anymore, as I know who the Headless Horseman was, rather 'were'. It was the kids of the poor farmer, the younger one sitting over the elder's shoulder who was riding the horse. They covered themselves with a huge black cloth which ended as a cone above, rigidly fixed with sticks looking like a headless neck. They applied some special effects to their costume including red strains. The poor horse was blinded as they had cut a red floresent paper into a shape of an eye and stuck it on the fly mask making the horse visionless. These kids were mistreated and chased by the dwellers just because they were poor and weak. All they wished for was the candies that their father could not afford to buy them. And eventually they suceeded in accuring a lot each day".
"Were the kids punished ?", asked Rana curiously. "No, the mystery stayed unsolved", Sena winked at Rana. "Their father prepares delicious soup. One day I will take you there".
"What happened to the town then ? Did you warn the kids to behave themselves ?", asked Rana. "The town was not hauted anymore by a Headless Horseman, but by two. The legend of the Headless Horsemen continues", the brothers laughed out loud.
"Rana, we are not fighting a Human War here", Sena spoke in a much deeper and serious tone.
"I understand", Rana asserted.
"Preparation is not what we need, we have to obtain more knowledge on what we are confronting", Sena assured.
"How could we accuire it ?", Rana wondered.
"I had always noted a group of twelve men been mentioned, whenever a topic about our Father comes up", Sena said.
"Yes, the Wise Brothers referred them too. Also, I think they are the ones I saw at a bar drinking from a single bowl", Rana explained.
"Yes, it's them. The description matches", confirmed Sena.
"How are we going to find them", Rana questioned.
Sena took out his compass. It's needles shivered and started to spin slowly. Sena smiled.
... to be continued ...
-
Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Two - Locked within Oneself
Witness of Evidence (part 1/2)
Study the past if you would define the future. - Confucius
"The Emperor is a Ninja !", exclaimed Rana.
Rana and Sena cut through the crooked paths in the forest and entered the thick regions of the jungle on their horses, Rahbar and Nameless.
"Dashakantha and the annonymous man called The Poet were trained in the same secret university as mine", replied Sena. "Dashakantha was famously known as Vettaiyan for his fiery patience and cunning attacks. He was the pupil who had spent more years with the Guild and his last few days concentrated on training the mind".
"This Poet guy ? Where does he fit in ?", Rana questioned. Sena rode in silence.
"I fell like I know you well, at the same time you are the perfect stranger I have met", Rana complained.
The ground before them started to look flattened due to the effect from frequent marching. Sena signaled Rana that they have arrived. They got down from the horse and after attaching the beasts to a bark, they walked over the flat floor. The trees became scarce as they advanced and they arrived into a oval plain land. The opposite gave a hill facade, on the right ran a tiny stream of water and the left was densed with bushes. The brother heard footfalls over dry leaves. Twelve men approached the brothers , squeezing themselves between the shrubs. The Twelve Disciples of Time registered their presence in front of Rana and Sena. They looked aged and fragile. Their bodies were covered with a simple dark piece of cloth. None spoke except One, the Speaker.
"Our Last of the Days has arrived, standing like a split second before us", said the Speaker to his fellowmen. They all stared at the brothers. Rana looked at Sena.
"Thus, the Witness will be the One to whom the Evidence shall pass", the Speaker announced.
"Why does he have to speak in such manner", Rana whispered to Sena. Sena ignored his brother and knelt down. Rana followed his brother.
"You have come after hearing to many, we tell you only the final Piece in Time. Uniting them will reveal to you the veracity", saying so he closed his eyes. The rest eleven closed their eyes and started chanting in incomprehensible language.
Thus, the Twelve Lost Sailors whom the Time brought to shore, roamed the World for a century waiting for their turn to narrate the Tricks of Tasks to the Seeds of the Father :
"Your Father is the Wisest of All Men, the Son born out of the Spirit of the Fathers", started the Speaker. "We have not met your Father, neither his Wingmen, but we were given wisdom by the One and Only who watches us All".
Several thousand years back, existed a civilisation of not the intelligent but of the innovatus. A peirod when Man was not able to understand himself - how he laughed, what made him cry, which brought him pain, when he was joy, why he was tired. After the Light was removed from one source and restored into another, the Man wondered about those he could see and those he could not witness. He found a sort of container, hundred and eight to be exact, and coined his first definition to understand the cylinder as all energies within an energy. With that aspiring energy of thought, he realised what he contained inside himself. He started to dive into his own emotions. And an handful found a depth inside.
These Special Men started questioning the mind that governed their emotions - if mind is a part of the body and if it can float, why not the body too. This principle thought brought them to coin their first concept Laghima - weightlessness. Their study continued drawing its energy stored inside the cylinder, gifted to them by the Creator himself. Just as the study, so extended their search. They stumbled upon an unexplainable Natural force over the sands where once water had flown - Godwin, the anti-gravitational force. At that specific point, rocks floated, but never the Man. They became curious and closely followed Mother Nature. Examining the concept of Laghima and Godwin, they unearthed the power, a kind of psysiological force residing inside Man and they named it Ego.
If this inside force, Ego, can leviate a man, then a similar force thrusted upon should carry the body too, they infered. Thus, they invented the first flying machine, Vimana.
Sucess failed them, as it was not a proper Time. But their record is lost somewhere around the nothern mountains, deep or above, the Seeker shall find it. Absence of evidence is not an evidence of absence. Confusion should only start once the Seeker found this record, as there are different kinds of Vimana - to fly over land or to fly under water - what should interest you is Kaara. Without it, you will be doomed before the one He calls the Clown. Build the Vimana, float in the air, before it's already late.
"Really. After you explain and before I understand, the world would end", Rana murmured at Sena.
The Speaker looked at Rana angrily and yelled, "This war began even before Mankind, and reigned through various wars involving many Realms of Time. Man just accounts from where he started to understand, the rest he did not put much effort to know. Facts of Time do not cease to exist because they are ignored. Thus, ignorant as he was as always, Man designed the hour at his own convinience ignoring the basic Evidence of Time".
The Speaker breathed heavily. Rana looked at the Twelve disciples wide-eyed. Sena calmly manipulated his mind by feeding it with the informations he was receiving.
"The Darkside were winning," continued the Speaker. "All the demon warriors assembled themselves inside a Twin City. The cities were over flowing with deadly monsters hungry to feed on the flashes of the Light. They were ready to attack the Capital City of Lights. They noticed a flight - a bright light resembling a shooting star - above in the sky. Slowly Vrishis tore the sky and when they realised the Light to be an attack missile, the Time to react seized to exist. Vrishis, the ultimate bomb made out of the all the energies sources of the universe, hit between the Two Cities. None were alive to witness the mushroom cloud."
"A Vrishis is waiting at a known palace. The outcome in the Battle of Three will deceide whether this world, the Human one, will fall under the shadow of a similar cloud."
"At the end of the Battle of Three, if the Brother's stand, then this World will fall."
... to be continued ...
-
Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Two - Locked within Oneself
Witness of Evidence (part 2/2)
As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee. - Swami Vivekananda's speech at Chicago, September 11th 1893.
The Speaker approached Sena. He looked from above at the risen face of Sena glittering purity his eyes. But the Speaker also found a deep anguish lining at the corner of his lips.
"Chanciness is a Curse bestowed on Man at the right time when he took his first breathe", said the Speaker, "but as your Father was born from above, you are blessed with the boon of very great ability. I can see in your eyes, the phrophecy that worries you, and I know when Time arrives, you will take the fall to keep your split half standing."
Sena listen to his words spoken by the Speaker.
"We are Time Keepers, not Fate Fakers", declared the Speaker. "All three Worlds are one and the same even if resided by Makers, Executioners and Influenced in their respective Worlds. The only difference is Time, as they vary their own identity. In this World, Time exists only as Future, where Man runs tensed, but always forward. Future is a line between the Birth and Death. What had happened - the Birth, defines what should it be leading to - the Life, the way it shall be done - the Death.
When a stone is thrown, the Future is not where it lands, the Future is that, it will land. The Path the stone takes branches itself from the Line of Future and converges itself bowing before the definite end.
The prohecy is about the End and not a Prediction", the Speaker paused and looked at the brothers and said, "One will Show the Way, the other will Guide".
The Men of Wisdom walked silently towards the hills. The Speaker stopped and whispered into the ears of the Listener. The Listener calmly approached the kneeling brothers. "You have come here for a story, then, listen one more from me too", he said.
"A man", narrated the Listener, "insulted his Love. She saw him as everything for her, but the arogant man rejected her, an insult she could not bare. His father once took him to a soothsayer to forsee his future. The fortune-teller guaranteed wealth for the young man. The man did not believe as his fate seemed not possible - been born to a normal father will not permit him to become rich. He will do what his father did, just like how his son will continue.
One day, he got an opputunity to change his fate, he escaped a rich merchant from robbers. The trader gladly offered the man a collared work. The man realised his efficiency to alter his kismet, he attempted to kill the merchant to gain his wealth but was caught and beaten-up. The man ran back to the astrologer and cried. Wise do not wait for a change, they find ways to alter, the foreseer said. He assured him that if he married to the daughter of the merchant at a specific point in Time, he should acquire more than just wealth.
The man was suprised when he found that the daughter of the merchant was none other than the girl who was madly in love with him. He convinced her about how a changed man he had became and obtained her accord to marry him. But the angry merchant stood between him and his wealth. Time fixed by the forecaster started to feed onto the present quickly. The man finally succeeded in eloping with the girl, but the last second of the determined Time had passed.
Late, he sat on the boat on which he had kidnapped the merchant's daughter. Before him was a map. He hurriedly used time and distance measuring instruments and marked a tiny island at the corner of the map, the Space in the Sphere of Time where yesterday at his place was still a today. Gaining a day's chance, he rowed to the island and before the evening sky he married the daughter of the merchant on the island under the time fixed by the soothsayer.
At the same moment, the merchant died in a lightning strike. The man took it as a sign of his victory over his destiny and walked with his wife to inherit the fortune of his father-in-law. Buisness flourished, it was like whatever he touched turned to gold. But he could not touch his own wife. She took her vengence on him for insulting her love. She slept beside him, she provoked him, but always carried a sharp tiny knife buckled around her left thigh that threatened his manhood if he tried to approach her. None of his wealth could wipe his tears.
The richest man died of oldage. He reached the Holy House and spoke to Fate who was seated beside the Creator. I have conquered you my Fate, he boosted. I was destined to die poor and here I am before you as a wealthy man, he explained.
Fate replied, You were never destined to accuire wealth, but to rot in an unsucessful marriage."
The Listener joined the Speaker who glanced at Sena for a brief moment. They started to move forward, when the Speaker spoke without facing the brothers :
"mRdayopaliptaM ... yathaiva bimbaM mRdayopaliptaM tejo-mayaM bhrAjate tat sudhAntam ... Just as a mirror with dirt smeared brightly shines when well cleaned, Evil has to be removed from our World for it to shine brightly again."
The Disciples of Time disappeared into the thick jungle.
... to be continued ...
-
Chaturmukaha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Two - Locked within Oneself
A Strategy for the Strategist
It was past noon when Rana and Sena walked through the streets lined with shops to reach the place where Sena had fixed a rendez-vous with Yesodha Putran and the Head of the Council. Rana stopped before a jewel shop and expressed his wish to offer his brother an item of his choice. Sena continued walking giving him his smile as the reply.
The brothers passed by a young platform vendor making objects resembling animals with thin metal wires. The lady was pulling the long strip of metal wire and quickly moved her fingers coupling the wires efficiently inbetween the gaps. She used a small instrument with a pointed nose to detach the giraffe from the bundle of wire. She placed it in front of her on the floor beside a tiny population of animals. On the mat both pets and ferals shared the same space. Sena halted and asked his brother to get him a family of sheep and a wolf.
"Seriously", Rana exclaimed, "you don't want a ring, but figurines of sheeps and a wolf".
Rana returned back with the objects and before handing it over to Sena, he complained about the high-cost. Sena advanced further and handed the 'toymates' to the little girl who was playing on the street with peebles in her hand. The girl's face widened with a broad smile. She immedately put the tiny animals on her laps and started to narrate to herself her first story.
"You asked those for that girl ?", Rana asked. "Yes. You bought lunch for the lady and I bought happiness for the kid".
Yesodha Putran listened carefully what the brothers had to say. The Head of the Council sat attentively beside him.
"But my investigation, which is thorough by all means, did not stumble upon a devastating device. If that's true, the weapon is threatening", the strategist announced. "And this bomb, it's exact location unknown, will detonate if the Emperor is killed in the battle ! That gives another reason under probability not to go for war".
"And the Clown, what could it be", asked the Nobelman. No one gave a reply.
"The Vettaiyan Palace is a heavily gaurded maze. An architect had redesigned it, maybe to hid the bomb somewhere inside", Sena said.
"Firstly, we should have it confirmed. Secondly, entering the Palace with force is a possibility, but where should we search once inside, for that we need the floor plan of the Palace detailing the maze set-up - whatever that is suppose to mean. Thridly, what should be do once the bomb is found ?", wondered Rana.
"No, we won't force our entry, it's impossible to get past the waves of warriors. For the floor plan, I can't confirm for now, but I think we may have a complice who is a close assosiate of the Emperor. For defusing the bomb, Monk shall take care of it", summerised Sena.
"Monk ?", exclaimed Rana. Sena did not reply.
"But before we come to the point we just discussed, we have to get the accord of the Kings to encourage the Council to come to a favourable decision, including Queen Vadhana", explained the Nobleman. "The war declaration must be approved by the Council of one hundred and twenty-four Noblemen without being overruled by the Head of the Throne. Canceling the decision of the Council had never happened, but I fear we are going to write it's first occurrence. Queen Vadhana is not ready for war as she contemplates in settling the dispute through new treaties and terms as suggested by Putran. She considers Kottaipattinam shall not withstand another war."
"I can try to convince her", Rana assured the group and prepared to leave.
Sena stopped him. "Rana, be more prepared to part to the northern mountains to look for Vimana Records".
"Why me ?", argued Rana. "Because you are the treasure hunter", replied Sena.
Once Rana left to meet Vadhana in the Queen's room at the Palace, Sena discussed various prospects to win the war with Yesodha Putran and the Nobleman. He briefed them, assuming a war suituation, about controlling the outflow of information by tracking spies and invading corruptors to extract facts and data about their employer. He briefly spoke about his past - his job and his training, to gain the confidence of his listeners. They strated jotting down the strength of their army, and evaluated it's growth by including all support fronts. The three men spoke in turns, each and every time, they nodded their head in accordence with the speaking one.
... to be continued ...