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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong. - Secret Life of Water (2005) by Masaru Emoto (1943 – 2014)
Day Zero Four - Where Waves Go To Die (part 1/3)
The buzz of Ganesha Shanka woke up Rana. The previous night, he was convinced by Nobleman and Yesodha Putran to take rest and he had slept inside the pavilion. The trio had worked over the night on several attack and defense strategies to push back the enemies stationed at the gate, but none seemed to work as they willed. Several military models was scattered on the floor illustrating the air of frustration that had occupied the cloth room, which were sent flying to the corners by Rana's feet when he hurried towards the exit.
Nobleman and Yesodha Putran were also startled by the early wakeup call. Getting outside, they were stunned to witness the grand armored elephant units of Kottaipattinam being moved from the camp into the defense zone by Sultan and his merchants. The herd was followed by several camel driven chariots, inside which an archer and a spearmen stood behind the charioteer. The center was crowded with foot soldiers of different military class, who were jogging to get into a configuration. The ground archers, all the four divisions, were positioned at six points outside the infantry unit. Kacha moved around on his horse verifying the newly installed siege weapons positioned between the swordsmen and the bowmen. Huge bags, their mouth tied with a rope, were attached to the wooden barricade at regular intervals. Kanakavalli and Kali were examining the giant balloons. The barracks were packed with soldiers and the arrow firing catapults were operational. The watch towers and the forefront of the defense zone looked deserted.
Rana saw Sena holding on to Ganesha Shanka in his right hand. Sena's eyes held a deep calmness when he supervised the assembly of the Empires United army before him.
"Padma Vyuha", Yesodha Putran whispered, overwhelmed with surprise. Nobleman watched the men and the animals walking together in harmony. Vadhana, accompanied by Swathi and Swetha, joined the trio. The Queen of Kottaipattinam, through a slight eye movement, directed her two bodyguards to join Kanakavalli.
The Chief of the Allied Forces looked ahead of him under the semi dark sky. The dim light from the torches elaborated the new structure that the enemies were building over Karmegha. The war elephants were replaced by two different types of siege weapons. Men who resembled deformed monsters, substituted the horse cavalry. A pack of infantry unit stood around guarding the battering rams. Rana used his telescope and counted a dozen of demolishers ready to be dashed on to the barricade walls. A captain stood beside each battering ram commanding a small unit.
"Urmi Vyuha", Rana heard Nobleman utter a mild cry.
Further from the huge army, similar set of enemy soldiers were gathered near Vettaiyan Palace - the reinforcement units. Rana turned his telescope and zoomed on Fort Ayan. There were vigorous activities on top of the stronghold happening around Cannon Vettai. He returned his sight towards the palace and identified a fast movement behind the corridors. The image appeared and disappeared behind pillars, and finally came to stop beside The General. Rana watched the Emperor's army commander saluting Vettaiyan, who had arrived to witness the event, which was presumed to be the last day of the Battle of Karmegha.
The General looked confident about the victory. His strategy was to allow the enemy to barricade themselves, permitting themselves to be locked inside a self-made prison considering it as their fortification. The enemy crowed at a single place was an easy target to be mowed down by his strategic military formation Urmi Vyuha. The escape routes between the hills were closed down by blocking it with huge rocks dropped from a manmade rockslide. The remaining enemies will be forced to cross Karmegha and escape to the harbor through the second path situated beside Fort Ayan. Cannon Vettai will be activated to crush the fleeing army. It was clear that The General had planned Karmegha to be the last resting place for anyone and everyone who was an enemy to his motherland.
The Vettaiyan Palace started its preparations for the day of battle by blowing the trumpets. Rana descended from the pavilion’s platform and jogged towards Sena. Nobleman and Yesodha Putran stood watching the massive and heavily equipped Emperor's army assembling on Karmegha to ravage the Empires United camp site.
The Commander and his deputies of the Empires united assembled around Sena who knelt down on his knee and using Arha's pointed tip, he drew wavelike shapes on the ground, which were arranged one behind the other. There were seven wavelike design before the group. Sena marked a cross on the crest, the highest point of the wave and drew a tiny straight line intersecting the trough, the lowest part of the wave.
Pointing at the crest, Sena briefed the commanders around him, "Siege weapons." Tapping on the line he said, "Battering rams". He, then, drew a bigger wave further from the group of smaller ones and said, "Re-enforcement units."
Sena tapped the first four waves one after the other with Arha and placing the tip of Arha on the fourth one, he announced, "Under no circumstance, the fourth enemy attack unit should be neutralized." He lifted his head and made eye contact with the commanders, "We shall keep on defending only the first three lines of attacks by allowing them to charge at us, thus, we make sure the other enemy units behind these three are blocked by their own soldiers. These units are well packed that we will have enough time to hold them back creating a defensive human wall with attacking soldiers themselves. We must find a balance between our attack and defense."
Sena lifted his head and passed his orders, "The archers shall slow down the enemies by injuring them. The siege weapons will damage the enemy’s ballistic devices. The infantry will neutralize the aggressors who manage to break our barriers and the chariots well mediate between these classes. Elephant cavalry shall intervene only as the final defense measure."
The Second in Command of the Empire’s united took a deep breath and then, emptied his lungs, "Our attack and defense should resemble the techniques of breathing." He took a serious tone and said, "Even if a single unit penetrates our defense, then, it’s the end to what we are fighting for. With our leader’s camps just across the defense zone, the enemies will return back claiming their victory."
Sena looked at Rana and said, "Someone should be nearer to the Queen to safeguard and secure her if the Empires United defense falls." Rana nodded his head affirmatively.
The commanders walked close to the barricade gate together. Kacha kept his eyes on the pale skined giants waiting beyond the gate.
"Are they monsters ?", Kacha questioned innocently, "Large eyes, flat nose, pale skinned, well built looking scary with their sharp canine teeth. Never have I seen them before."
"Nature", Sena replied. "Environment contributes to variations in humans."
"Ayus", Rana announced the name of clan of giant men. "They are the primitive tribes who live in the caves around Kalingapuri. Ayus are very gentle beings. They have no language and believe the Mountains as their God, as the hills shelter them from the sun. They are the Guardians of the Forest and are just like any of us. Survival made them the best mace and spear wielders."
"They lived for long inside the caves", Sena continued, "and their skin became pale. Due to lack of light their eyes are unnervingly large to adapt inside the darkness, causing their foreheads to be broad. The nose bridge is absent, and they breathe through nostrils punctured on their flat face. Their big ears provide them with excellent auditory senses."
"Ayus are very rare tribes who are now salved by the Prince of Kalingapuri. Before the Mahendrans, Ayus and the people of Kallingapuri practiced barter system and dwelled together in peace. Raja Mahendran, upon the instructions from the Emperor, started to loot the richness from the jungles. He captured the resisting Ayus tribe and enrolled them in the military, but treated them as salves. This is their first fight, but certainly not for their freedom", Sena concluded.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day Zero Four - Where Waves Go To Die (part 2/3)
Rana stood before a replica of Chakra Vyuha that he had formed further from the campsite below the chain of mountains. Vadhana, Yesodha Putran and Nobleman were secured inside the formation, which was configured by three units of short swordsmen. Two units stood as the circular wall and they would start moving together in a circular pattern while defending the leaders secured inside. The third unit was hidden among the two units and would launch surprise attacks on the enemies trying to enter the Vyuha.
Padayappa got down from his horse and bowed beofre Rana, "My Commander, you sought my presence."
Rana looked at the young man before him and asked, "How may I address you ?"
"Nakulan, My Commander", replied the flag boy.
"You did extraordinary at the battle field", appreciated Rana. "You are valiant and courageous. Let me ask you, What part are you from ?"
"Kottaipattinam", replied Nakulan. "My father is under your direct command at service to the great army of Kottaipattinam, My Commander."
Rana did not hide his surprise, he asked Nakulan with curiosity, "May I know who that could be ..."
Before Rana could finish his question, the conch and the trumpets were blown together announcing the commencement of the battle. Rana spoke urgently to Nakulan by taking his hand and placing an item over his palm, "Here, take this and report to me regularly. You may leave now."
Padayappa pocketed the sand timer and rode on his horse towards Karmegha. Rana held to his hour glass in his left hand and watched the rising sun under the slow passage of granules from blub to another.
Padma Vyuha versus Urmi Vyuha
Lotus formation vs Wave formation
Sena's defense versus Vettaiyan's attack
The similarity between the Lotus formation and Chakra Vyuha (Discus formation) was that the opponent was kept unware about how many layers of soldiers were held within the Vyuha. Both the formations left only a wide entrance to invite the enemy soldiers inside, but upon entering the Vyuha, the entrance would be sealed and the clueless enemies were trapped without knowing the way to an exit. The main purpose of Discus formation was to capture and kill. It deploys the strategy by trapping an army unit or a single warrior inside its vicious maze like structure. Its walls were made of different sets of armed soldiers. The defenders inside the Chakra Vyuha then moved in a circular pattern, confusing the victim by not permitting him to analyze the military structure but to get lost while trying to find an inexistent exit. Chakra Vyuha is more powerful as a defense configuration when it comes to secure higher ranked officials from an attacking enemy units.
Padma Vyuha had a duel property - to attack and/or to defend. Arranging Padama Vyuha takes immense calculation with the units positioning and can be deployed anywhere or at any time during the battle, whereas, Chakra Vyuha is a calculated move. The archers were placed in a leaf like shape around various units including animal cavalry, notably chariots, positioned as petals of a lotus flower. The outer ring of the leaf is heavily guarded by elephant cavalry, which shall not permit the enemies to move further, making the attackers fall like the dew drop on the lotus leaf. At the back of the Padma Vyuha, troops spread deep as the roots and charge in whenever the petal shape is disrupted. They, then, open up their attack forming thick layers of units just like the lotus bud blossoming. At times of taking massive attack, the animal cavalry charge in to buy more time of a re-organization. The role of the archers is to slow down the enemies by wounding them, and the chariots swept past the ground beheading the fallen. The chariots moved out disclosing the heavily armored close combat units, usually swordsmen. The dispersing infantry units exposed the siege weapons, which are positioned as the center of a lotus flower. The setup is like a blossoming Lotus flower with numerous layers of military units, where each petal opens outwards to bring forward several other armed units. The inward and outward movement technique allows the war units to operate safely by providing support each other.
Just like how the waves of the oceans break and move swiftly towards the shore, Urmi Vyuha is constructed largely with swordsmen who collectively concentrate and move to attack the enemy front. One after the other, the numerous military units contributes to a non-stop action force to neutralize the enemies. When the first wave of swordsmen take heavy damage they quickly withdraw to allow the next wave to hit the weakened enemy, just like the periodic stampede of the waves. The swordsmen carry heavy round tipped blades forming the crest. They were lined by foam of Ayus warriors holding mazes and spears. The battering ram is securely brought forwards as the trough. Spikes men were hidden inside the sea of soldiers who burst surprise attacks by jumping and throwing their javelins at the unaware enemies. Siege weapons are positioned as the immovable rocks around which the waves of soldiers move forward. It is impossible for the enemies to near the siege weapons, as they had to cross an ocean of warriors.
There was a prolonged silence at Karmegha when the two battling groups stood staring at each other. Animal sounds echoed occasionally. Sena stood behind the closed wooden barricade in front of his army settled under Padma Vyuha.
The mechanical noise of an onager made the Battalion from Heaven look up at the sky. Fear rolled down their throats when they moved their neck upwards. The enemy onager released its boulder, a very large rock set on fire. The siege weapon pushed the huge rock vertically straight up and the blazing boulder took its projectile path towards the camp of Empires United. It travelled past above the closed barricade gate and landed on the enemy territory. The rock rolled energetically towards Sena. Most of the soldiers near Sena moved backwards quickly, but Sena stood his ground. The rock approached Sena with great momentum and Vettaiyan was amused while watching the scene unfolding at the enemy camp. He pulled the tip of his pony tail and started to nibble its end while his eye watched the rock on fire getting closer to stationary Sena.
The rolling fire stone reflected inside both the eyes of Sena. His face was placid. It expressed neither fear nor panic. The huge rock slowed down during its tiny journey and came to stop close to the feet of Sena.
Vettaiyan slapped his laps with his right hand and brought his left hand before his face. Pointing at Sena, he laughed hysterically as though appreciating the courage of Sena.
The Emperor's men gathered in front of the Empires United barricade charged inside the Wave Formation while letting out a war cry. Several Onagers and catapults launched their boulders blindly towards the enemy front. The Ayus ran pushing the soldiers out of their way yelling and showing their sharp canine teeth. The soldiers pushing the battering ram advance at maximum speed towards the wooden barricade wall.
There was no reply from the Empires United to the advancing enemies. The soldiers stood in their position and the dart arrow throwing catapults at the barracks were not yet activated. The large rocks catapulted by the enemies started to land over the wooden wall. Few blazing rocks that hit the wood encouraged them to catch fire. The fire timidly started to mount on the wooden wall. When the enemy soldiers were closer, Empires United defense military forces reacted.
Two actions occurred, which surprised the charging enemies – One, the barricade gate started to open. Two, the dart throwing catapults were aimed at the floor of Karmegha.
The arrows leaping out of the catapults generously missed the running waves of soldiers. The enemies jumped and dodged the arrows and sped with an urge of urgency to enter the opened gate. The battering rams were fixed to the ground and several soldiers climbed inside it to motion the ram.
As soon as the crowd of enemy soldiers entered the gate, Sena activated Padma Vyuha.
... to be continued ....
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day Zero Four - Where Waves Go To Die (part 3/3)
"Waves of enemies have hit our gate flooding the defense zone with heavily equipped warriors", Nakulan said panickaly. Rana, with his hands placed on his hips, assured Nakulan, "Patience. Waves of despair shall die away soon."
"Ayu with septum nose ring is the leader of the Ayus", Sena briefed Kacha. Suddenly he pulled Arha and pushed its handle towards his left. The hard end of Arha met with the jaws of an enemy and pushed him to the ground bleeding. Kacha watched Sena wide eyed, as he was not aware of the an enemy attack. Sena spoke without showing any visible sign of emotion, "I want him alive." He moved away from Kacha and strode past the enemies hunting them like a wolf.
"The barricade wall is drowning in a sea of fire", Nakulan was out of breath while he reported the proceeding of Karmegha to his commander. "Sea of dismay shall be dried up, but it will take some time", Rana said with a gentle smile on his face.
Pushing several enemies to the ground, Sena raced past through Karmegha and met with Kali who was welding a double mace at random attackers. Sena whispered close to his ears, "Now."
Kali felt a breath against his neck and when he turned to his right, he saw Sena walking away from him into a thick fog of enemies. Kali quickly ran towards the wooden barricade wall that was feasted by the flames. On his way, he tapped the shoulders of Kanakavalli when he crossed her. Neutralizing the four enemies with whom she was fighting with, Kanakavalli ran behind Kali. Swetha and Swathi covered the running duo. One bent on her knees and lauched rapid fire arrows into the air, while the other defended the former with her sword by deflecting the enemy attacks. When Kanakavalli and Kali reached the huge bags tied to the barricade walls, they quickly knelt to the ground and pushed away the sand to expose a thin rope wire. Kanakavalli lit the rope wire and one by one the large water bags exploded sending gallons of water vertically into the air. The water fell down as huge drops over the blazing barricade wall extinguishing the fire completely. The wooden wall stood strong but blackened by the fire and moistened by the water.
"Onagers and catapults are raining boulders that sweep off the feet of our soldiers", Nakulan recollected the horrors he had witnessed at Karmegha to Rana. "Here comes the moment to ask why limp when you can sprint ?" Rana replied calmly.
As soon as the water bags exploded, the engineers of the Empires United operated the trebuchets to eject squared rocks at the enemy siege weapons. Several boulders met their target and destroyed the enemy mechanical machines. The smaller catapults, which were still operational were hit by a non-stop wave of broad arrows shot by the long bowmen. The flying arrows made considerable damage to the enemy’s projectile hurling devices. Primary attack weapons, the battering rams, were constantly weakened by the spearmen who were sheltering inside the barracks. A group of soldiers climbed on to the side walk of the barricade wall and emptied barrels of lamp oil on the battering rams. The fire arrows ignited the wooden rams killing many enemy soldiers who were trapped inside. The rest of the warriors operating the battering ram managed to escape and they joined the heavy troops trying to find a gap to enter the Empires United camp site through the opened barricade gate.
"As the siege weapons go down, soldiers are indulged in single combat. Pale skinned giants take out group of our warriors with a single strike", Nakulan exhibited the fourth day of Battle of Karmegha before Rana. "Strike decides who is going to die. Anger should be killed, to stay up and fight", Rana spoke to his messenger.
Kacha stood holding a sword in each hand before the Leader of the Ayus, the one with a septum nose ring. The Ayu stared at Kacha and growled close to his face showing its pointed canine teeth. It swung its mace at Kacha, which he dodged by rolling onto the ground. Kacha quickly got up and sprinted towards the leader of Ayus and when he was nearer, he skidded on his knees and entered the tunnel between the Ayu’s legs. He quickly turned while skidding and sliced the calf muscles of the Ayu. It let out a painful cry and fell to its knees. Kacha got to his feet and climbed onto the back of the Ayu using its body belts as his grip. When he reached the neck, he took out a thick rope tied around his waist and garlanded it around the neck of the Ayu. After spinning the rope twice around the neck of the beast, Kacha made a free fall to the ground cluthing the rope's end with both his hands. As soon as he landed to the floor, the Ayu fell back and lay motionless beside him. The rope strangled around its neck had made the Ayu temporarily unconscious.
"Our warriors have withheld the enemies near the gate. Even though the battle is fierce, the enemies are unable to advance any further into the campsite", Nakulan announced calmly.
Rana closed his eyes. His breathing was rhythmic. He reopened his eyes and ordered, "Take the path by the mountains. Report to me what you see." Rana saw Padayappa flying on his horse towards the other corner of the mountains situated behind the campsite.
Sena rushed past the battling soldiers passing orders to the chariots to circle the defense zone and control the flow of enemy soldiers. He reached Sultan and Kalai who were defending a handful of enemies. The trio fought shoulder to shoulder encouraging more enemies to attack them. The three swords of the legendary commanders of Empires Unites sent sparks of fear to the enemy each time their swords clashed with each other.
"The work is almost complete", Nakulan presented the information he had gathered. "The mountains as the back wall, three temporary prisons with three wooden walls each have been mounted. Special sentry units have arrived and are currently taking strategic positions around the prison cells." Rana nodded his head in appreciation and Nakulan rode towards Karmegha under the backdrop of the setting sun.
Kanakavalli tried hard to regain her foot grips while blocking the enemy’s sword with hers. The crossed blades were fast approaching her face and her back was completely bent towards the ground. A heavy fist crossed before her left eye and landed on the right cheek of her attacker. The enemy was pushed to his side further from her and fell to the ground. Kali grinned at Kanakavalli when she got back to her fighting stance.
Kacha used similar technics to put couple more of Ayus to the ground. The chariots circled the leader of the Ayu and made sure that none of the other tribal warriors approached the unconscious body. A second unit of chariots with a spearman and a net thrower captured the terrorized Ayus. Several warriors and Ayus were made immovable by the nets. Some tried to cut through the nets using their belt knifes, but they were neutralized by a blow on the back of their neck by Kali and his men.
Sena made eye contact with Sultan and Kalai. Immediately their swords killed every enemy in front of them and the three paced towards the barricade gates. On their way they supported each other and made sure their momentum was not disrupted. Sena who led the trio pushed a charging enemy with his shoulder into the air. Kalai who followed Sena closely hit the flying enemy with the handle of his sword and brought him back to the ground. Sultan who was the last in the line inserted his sword into the stomach of the fallen enemy. Sena dodged an enemy by moving to his right. Kalai caught the startled soldier and pushed him towards his back. Sultan made sure his sword punctured the heart of the enemy. Sena rolled to the ground escaping the attack of two soldiers. Kalai skidded on his knees and slashed their pelvic area. Sultan immediately sliced their throats before they fell to the ground. The trio reached the barricade gate.
"Close the gate", Sena yelled. Sultan ordered his merchants to march the elephants forward. Kalai's infantry joined him at the gate and pushed back the crowded enemies. The dart throwing catapults which were aimed to the ground, fired their arrows straight. Kali and his men took position at each wooden door and started to close it on the faces of the enemies. Kanakavalli, Kacha, Swathi and Swetha along with the several units of chariots kept battling with the enemies who were trapped inside the defense zone, while the others pushed the enemies who were charging at the gate.
The enemy soldiers panicked when they saw herds of maddened elephants stomping towards them. The elephants were moved in an uncontrolled manner to make them look fiercer. The infantry unit consisting of short swordsmen cut the fleshes of the enemies who tried to barge in. The catapults spitted several darts at regular intervals and the chained arrow action lessened the crowd at the gate which permitted Kali and his men to close the barricade gate completely, at the same time, the vibrating noises of the wind instruments resonated, signaling the end of the day's battle.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
They did not know it was impossible so they did it - Mark Twain
Possibility of Impossibility
"Impervious?" growled The General at his captains who were assembled inside the war room at Vettaiyan Palace. "Is that the only explanation you could find after all the excessive hours of preparations?" He kicked a sand table beside him which glided across the room and came to stop after collision with another table, sending the tiny military models into the air. The General spoke angrily pointing at the work tables around the room, "Burn them. A futile endeavor always lands beyond the bounds of possibility."
Vettiayan sat on his throne like chair watching his chief of army yelling at the military commanders. He looked at Veera Mahendran who seemed to be nervously biting his own jaws. "And what about the injured units still lying on the battle field and the others taken away to the enemy campsite", Veera Mahendran spoke softly.
"Let them be where they belong", The General replied furiously, "garlanded with pain for betraying this Great Empire", he shouted back at the successor of Raja Mahendran.
"A preposterous thought, Great General.", Veera Mahendran took a step forward, "In future, learn to respect your ally. Those abandoned at Karmegha and the prisoners are the warriors of Kalingapuri. They are not the salves of Central Kingdom. This war was fought by my men while your great army was dormant."
Vettaiyan pushed his chair and stood up. The screeching noise of the moving chair silenced the speakers. "Respect", he said with a mischievous grin. He slowly walked towards Veera Mahendran. He did not stop when he was near the Prince of Kalingapuri but continued to move forward permitting Veera Mahendran to push himself backwards. The small nervous steps of the young prince did not match with the dominant strides of the Emperor. Vettaiyan did not take his eyes of Veera Mahendran, unitl he made him fall onto a chair at the corner of the war room. He placed his left leg on the right arm of the chair and brought his face close to the seated Veera Mahendran. He pulled his pony tail and nibbled its tip. "laka laka laka" Vettaiyan muttered angerily. He quickly turned and walked towards the exit crossing The General who was standing at the center of the war room.
"Send in the Immortals", Vettaiyan ordered when he was closing in towards the exit door.
"But... my lord, the Immortals... early at this stages of war...", only the footsteps of Vettaiyan resonating around the corridor replied The General.
The war elephants of the Empire United stood guard in front of the closed barricade gate. The herd was moved forward, driving all the enemies beyond the defense zone, and were stationed close to the half way mark of Karmegha, which was far behind the primary line of sight of Fort Ayan. Vigorous construction activities were been carried out at the spot. Temporary wooden walls were erected and several units of war animals, including horse cavalry and chariots, were gathered on Karmegha. As and when the military units were deployed on the gained territory, herds of war elephants were taken back into the camp.
Several prisoners of war including the Ayus, those who were trapped behind the closed barricade gates, were chained and taken to the temporary prison built further from the campsite below the mountains. The Ayus were glad to receive food and water. A section of prisoner tried to revolt, but the sentry units quickly brought the situation under control by isolating them from their temporary cells and placing them tied around the trees and rocks.
Sena was alone inside his tent dressing his wounds. When he saw a shadow casting itself on the cloth curtain standing as the closed entrance door, he quickly reached for the white cotton shawl to cover his naked torso. Vadhana entered his tent without seeking permission and Sena stood up as soon as he saw the Queen.
"I have not come here as the Queen", Vadhana informed Sena.
"Whether or not, you are chosen by the People of Kottaipatiinam as their Queen and my respects are for their decision", Sena replied back coldly.
"Why did you hide it from me?" Vadhana made the purpose of her visit known to Sena. He slowly walked to the window while adjusting the shawl over his shoulders. Someone had spoken to her, he thought.
"And why do you hide your face from me?" Vadhana asked. "I bear his child. I have the right to know."
"The Prophecies are not true, until they become a reality", Sena spoke calmly while looking out of the window. "Hypothesis that we believe is never in alliance with the present. It can be turned into a process to alter the future", Sena tried to divert the question with inappropriate explanations.
"Look into my eyes and say what you said", Vadhana demanded.
Sena turned and Vadhaha walked closer to him. He saw big drops of tear ready to flow out of her eyes. They belonged to the wife, but withheld from rolling down by the queen.
"Long after I had fallen, He shall be standing", Sena assured Vadhana. "My sins will be my present; He will be pleasant future."
Sena placed his right palm around Vadhana's belly, "This is my promise to you two."
Vadhana stood starring at Sena. She wanted to plead before him and convince him to find ways that permit them both to be by her side, as Sena was indeed as important as Rana for her. But deep inside her, she knew that a prophecy was a possibility of impossibility.
Sena gently stretched his arms inviting her towards his chest. Vadhana placed her head over Sena's chest and streams of tears flowed down along his heart. He held the weeping Queen tightly inside his arms.
"An impeccable display of valiance", Nobleman walked towards Sena as soon as he saw him entering the pavilion. "A grand design executed wholly at the battlefield." He gently guided Sena to the center of the pavilion. Sena walked past the commanders of Empire's United and mildly nodded at them to pass his appreciation as and when his eyes met with respective warriors. Sena noticed Gudakesha standing in a corner with his head hung down. Yesodha Putran stood near the sand table observing the faint walk of Sena, while catching the dimness inside his tired eyes. He immediately knew that Sena has reached the point where his own questions shall never seek for answers.
"At dawn, we must advance to capture and then, hold on to the area near Fort Ayan", Nobleman said. "That's the mark, which shall assure assistance to our units inside the stronghold. The dusk shall permit them to execute the order passed on to them during their final meeting with Chief Commander Rana."
Silence occupied the pavilion when Vadhana strode inside. She immediately addressed Gudakesha while crossing the room, "For your safety, I place you inside the campsite for the next two moons. The path behind the hills is blocked, and the only way to reach the harbor is through the passage behind Fort Ayan. In another two moons, Fort Ayan will be under our control. On the same dusk, you shall lead the soldiers unwilling to continue the fight to the Pirate's Bay. Kottaipattinam ships will take them back to their homelands."
The Queen of the Empires United reached the sand table and without giving an opportunity for Gudakesha to speak, she turned her attention towards Nobleman.
"With the Counselor Nobleman and the chief strategist Yesodha Putran, I felicitate the entire military force of the Empires United for their achievement." Loud murmurs circled inside the pavilion when the captains and the leaders of the army shared their happiness. She took her kingly chair and announced, "But, we are still too far from victory. Let us strive to be a little better than we have been doing and reach out for greatness together."
Nobleman gestured Rana and his five commanders to join him around the sand table.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent - Mahatma Gandhi
Day Zero Five - Wise Shakes when Evil Awakes (Part 1/5)
Trishula Vyuha versus Kurma Vyuha
Trident Formation vs Turtle Formation
Sena's attack verus Vettaiyan's attack
Trishula Vyuha was a destructive formation deployed to quickly cover the entire battlefield. The Vyuha consisted of three types of cavalry units forming the tri-ratna, the three headed spear - the horses to the right wing, the chariots at the center and camels towards the left. These animal military units were unified at the center by a dense long chain of foot soldiers, marching like the shaft of Trishula. At the starting point of the tri-ratna, the archers formed a tiny group in the shape of a damaru, the small kettle drum. They gained a large vision over the entire battlefield. The captains controlling the units moved in between the Trident formation, just like the flying cloth wrapped around the shaft of the three headed spear.
Kurma Vyuha was a deathly and a calculative strategy that could sustain heavy attacks. It had a capability to launch a volley of surprise strikes. The round head of the tortoise, its long neck and the four feet were formed by heavily armored infantry units. The pikes men were placed as the lengthy nails. The center of the body was completely covered by soldiers holding their shields upwards, functioning as the unbreakable tortoise shell. Inside the shell space, unknown military classes were concealed, which, at a point in the battle launch a surprise attack. A small backup unit to replace the fallen shields of the shell followed as the tail of the tortoise. Kurma Vyuha marched slowly, but steadily on the battlefield, gathering enough attention on itself and when the attackers flocked around it, the shell is dismantled, exposing the hidden military unit.
The Battalion from Heaven was aware about the decisive dawn. It was a crucial day of battle where the target must be attained before the Rise of the Fifth moon - an indicator for Shamu disguised as a slave inside Fort Ayan to behest the army of salves against the guardians of fort and take complete control of Cannon Vettai.
The Empires United military forces must block the Emperor's army and retain the territory around Frot Ayan. Their failure will nevertheless activate the tactical attack led by Shamu, but he will be forced to capture the fort without any assistance from the ground force. Within a short span, the Emperor's army would swarm the stronghold and regain Fort Ayan, collapsing the plans of Empires United. The defeat during the present day’s battle will translate itself not only into a definitive defeat, but also would stage a massacre that history will be scared to narrate. They will be left with no other choice but to battle with the massive Emperor's army while constantly facing massive attacks by Cannon Vettai, whose range was from the middle of Karmegha to the courtyards of Vettaiyan Palace.
The challenging part of the fifth day of battle for Empires United soldiers was to anticipate the hidden unit inside the Kurma Vyuha. Many possibilities over the unit's class hidden inside the shell of Tortoise formation were assumed at the pavilion and the captains were briefed over the potential counter attack strategies. But they also knew that their previsions might go completely wrong, as the Emperor's moves were never predictable.
Entering Karmegha with less number of units, as many warriors under Gudakesha have quit the war, the army captains of the Empires United charged their units and raced past the battlefield towards Fort Ayan, to reach and secure the imaginary line fixed as their target. They had to hold on to the territory, which could gain them the advantage over the next day's battle.
Sena led the horse cavalry and flanked from the right. Sultan commanded the chariots and supervised the attack from the center. Kanakavalli and her quiver of archers were positioned behind the chariots, closely followed by Kacha and his short swordsmen.
After a long debate inside the pavilion, it was agreed to that Rana with a battalion of camel riders under his command, will flank from the left wing. The walkout by Gudakesha and several other soldiers pushed Empires United to take a strong decision and put the brothers, Rana and Sena, together on the battlefield. Measures were taken to keep them separated during the course of the battle, where Sultan was given the task of being an axel between the twins. Due to lack of sentries, who were presently placed on the battle field, Kalai and Kali, with a small pack of soldiers, were made in charge of prison security, where monster like men called the Ayus were held captive.
The initial attack of the Empire's United was a performance towards an absolute victory. The three cavalry units, riding as the three headed spear on Karmegha, led by Sena, Sultan and Rana respectively, charged at the Kurma Vyuha and completely weakened the enemy’s stance. The archers, with their short and quick darts caused instant deaths, and the short swordsmen took care of the enemies who posed to endanger the archers.
Sultan made a head on with the enemies and his chariots ran over the front line of their defense destroying the head of the tortoise. The chariot units were well supported by the horse and camel cavalries. Rana and Sena concentrated their attacks on both sides of Kurma Vyuha, gaining time for Sultan to enter into the formation and break the shell – the earlier it was damaged, quicker the hidden units would be exposed. The longsword horsemen and the camel archers inflicted heavy damage to the feet of the Kurma Vyuha. Seated on his horse, Sena swung Arha heavily at the pikes men, each time throwing four of the enemy to the ground. Riding on his camel, Rana rapidly fired arrows from Inesh that pinned its victims to the floor of Karmegha.
The trouble began for the Empires United army when the shell was completely broken and the Immortals emerged out of the Kurma Vyuha.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
The life given us, by nature is short; but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal - Marcus Tullius Cicero
Day Zero Five - Wise Shakes when Evil Awakes (Part 2/5)
The Immortals
The Immortals were universal soldiers trained in special combat under the direct supervision of the Emperor. The nine Immortals were handpicked by Vettaiyan from the Pachonthi Academy, the university which trained assassins, the orphaned kids picked up from the streets. Initially twelve members were shortlisted to form a deadly battle group. They were isolated from rest of the students to undergo a special training in warfare and to serve the Emperor after graduation. Three of the selected ones were lost in time and only nine remained, who reported directly to Vettaiyan, unlike the other warriors who reported to The General. The others who could not make into the list were enrolled by The General as the personnel bodyguard of the Emperor - the ninjas who secretly protected the Vettaiyan Palace.
The Immortals were coached in almost all categories of warfare. They were fierce with no pity when it comes to combat and can walk past any fatal situation. Their moto was based on the prime principle of survival - Life and death depends on the carried weapons. Each of the nine Immortals commanded a special force, the units trained by their respective leader in handling a particular weapon designed exclusively for them - Yari, Rencong, Jiu Jie Bian, Kalazdun, Hand Claw, Zhanmadao, Sword Catcher, Lonnars Hammer and Epee.
When the unit sensed a threat to their Leader, they converted themselves into a suicide squad to make their Leader an immortal. When the nine units of Immortals were present together, their varied attack strategies, the combination of different types of weapons and their intelligence in approaching any battle crisis, buried the enemies, big and valiant, under their feet.
Nobleman looked at the ferocious army units emerging from the Kurma Vyuha. "What are they?" he exhaled. Yesodha Putran did not have the answer. He quietly watched the horror unfolding before him. Vadhana kept her eyes on Sena who was battling further inside the battle field, engaging in neutralising the tail end of the enemy formation. She analysed that Sena was unaware of the broken shell of the tortoise and that the Empires United army was facing a severe attack by a group of savages.
The units led by the Immortals completely collapsed the Trishula Vyuha.
The two cavalry led by Sultan and Rana were quickly deactivated by the Immortals, forcing the riders to fight on foot. Using the long hand weapon yari, the twin headed spear attached in the middle by a short cross bars, they disabled the horses and with rencong, an 'L' shaped weapon, they jammed the wheels of the chariots. The vehicle’s parts and the horses circled the battlefield aimlessly.
The infantry and the archers sustained the heavy attacks from the unknown military class initially, but soon were discouraged by the Immortals. Jiu Jie Bian, the nine section chain whip with a razor sharp knife at the rear end, disarmed the archers from distance. Two gangs, equipped with gauntlet hand claws and sword catcher weapons, deactivated and inflicted quick wounds on the short swordsmen.
Within a brief moment after entering the battle, the Immortals brought order on the battlefield by throwing their enemies to the ground either dead or wounded.
"We are taking too much damage", Nobleman worried. "And those are our last available forces at battle." He looked above his head and the sun was floating in the middle of the greyish blue sky. "We will not last until sunset", he announced while shaking his head. He issued a retreat order to Padayappa. When Nakulan prepared himself to enter the war zone, Vadhana stopped him. Swathi and Swetha jumped off the platform.
"Time has arrived to seed courage on Karmegha", Vadhana declared, "their sprouts of bravery will soon be witnessed", and without waiting for Nobleman's advice, she climbed down the platform and headed towards the battlefield. She was padded with gadgets and gears - sallet, pauldron, vambrace, gauntlets, poteyn and greaves - by five military maids on her way to her horse. She was completely armored before she reached her war horse which was equally decorated as its master. She mounted the horse with a single leap and her horse reared up in joy when she raised her falchion, the single-edged sword, above her head. The Queen was joined on both sides by Swathi and Swetha, and was followed by a special crew on horses cheering in unison.
The stampedes of stallions and mares were heard across the battlefield. Vadhana led the army of woman military force of Kottaipatinam into Karmegha as a thick dust in the wind. The yellow glow over the dark blue sky blinked to the rhythmic foot prints of the special cavalry, which was ridden by valiant women soldiers. The horse gaits acted as the prose to the sound of the tiny thunder that echoed above Karmegha.
Swetha jumped and summersaulted in the air and came to stop beside Kacha, while Swathi got down from her moving horse and briefly skided on the ground before joining her side with Kanakavali.
Vadhana commanded the woman military force to split into three smaller units when they crossed the quiver of archers. The Queen rode with a large unit and rushed to the rescue Sultan's unit which was closer to the exposed shields and was taking heavy damage. The second unit raced past to fight alongside with Rana. The final group rode directly behind the Kurma Vyuha to alert Sena.
Rana witnessed the charging reinforcement, but he was startled to see Vadhana riding towards the middle to battle against a dangerous foe. He threw Inesh across his shoulders and removed Vajrastra from his scabbard. Without removing his eyes from Vadhana, Rana fought his way towards his wife by slaying everyone who stood in between them with the Sword of Thunder.
Sena was alerted about the fiery attacks carried out by the unfamiliar enemies. He ordered the newly arrived unit to crush the remaining enemies at the tail end, and he quickly stirred his horse circling it towards the head of the Tortoise Formation.
The arrival of the daring woman military forces, headed by the bold Queen herself, showered determination and drenched the battling warriors of Empires United with energy. The infantry, archers and the riders fighting on foot were able to resist the units of Immortals and together they moved forward towards their target line.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
A friend is a gift you give yourself - Robert Louis Stevenson
Day Zero Five - Wise Shakes when Evil Awakes (Part 3/5)
In the Candle's Glow
(Rated-R)
A warrior in black military uniform covering his entire face below his eyes with his turban's tail cloth launched a surprise attack at Sena who was approaching the center galloping on his horse. With his zhanmadao, the horse chopping saber, the Immortal created a hurdle before the running horse, mincing its front legs and the animal tumbled to the ground breaking its neck during the fall.
Sena was thrown into the air and he crashed on the hard floor of Karmegha. Without giving time for his victim to regain from the effect of the fall, the Immortal raised his sabre and jumped to perform a deadly blow on Sena. While his attacker was air borne, Sena reacted quickly by producing Arha infront of his body and blocked his enemy's powerful strike. He pushed his sword hard, disabling his enemy and rolled over to his side, stamping his entry to the duel by standing on his right knee. The Immortal spun his weapon between his palms and slowly circled around his knelt opponent. Sena followed him closely with his eyes, anticipating the next attack move. A sense of familiarity started to glow inside Sena on seeing the walk and the swordsmanship of his enemy.
Sena saw his attacker approaching him quickly by making large strides while reverse-griping his sabre. He elegantly got to his feet and synced his defense using Arha. His face started to brim with familiarity when he found his steps matching with the ones of his enemy when they both engaged in a duel. Sena suddenly moved few steps to his back avoiding the Immortal’s long sword and halted pusing his left feet to the ground. He produced his sword directly at the face of his enemy. The Immortal was quick to dodge Sena's fatal move, but Arha managed to cut past the black cloth mask of the Immortal embedding a line mark under the right eye.
Sena noticed the tiny snake like scar near temple of the Immortal exposed by Arha and he startled, "Naga."
The Immortal took note of his bleeding eye and with anger rushed back at Sena. The blow from his sword sent shock waves to Sena's right arm. Sena lost the grip of his sword and once again fell to the ground before the one called Naga.
The noise of the battle around Sena faded away. The events were happening at a slower pace, allowing Sena to gasp his surroundings. He noticed Rana relentlessly battling with a masked enemy with blue eyes. Sena whispered, "Ratna."
Slowly the soldiers around Sena were turning into stationary military models. He looked behind him and saw another masked warrior kicking his enemy on the chest. Sena got a glimpse of skin above the knee knuckle, which held a tiny tattoo - a pair of wings without the bird's body. Sena exclaimed, "Valli."
His head spun, and he heard several names whispered by the cold wind – Khan, Bali, Charya, Kul, Rakh, Pati.
In the brief moment, Sena’s attacker had neared him and was holding his sword above his head. The entire battle field was frozen, except Sena who attentively watched the entire motionless events around him. Sena's eyes widened when he saw several kids, in their steam like forms, running around in front of him. Sena identified himself as the kid encircled by a red glow.
A stone appeared from nowhere and was heading towards the child glowing red. Another kid came between the unware child and the stone, and took the hit on his temple. The wound turned into a snake like scar, and years later Sena's childhood friend at the Assassin's academy named himself as "Naga" during the graduation ceremony.
Two teenagers sat facing each other. "Your eyes", said the red one, "What color are they?"
"When you put all the nine precious gems under the same ray of sunlight, the color they emit together called Ratna, is the color of my eye", replied the young girl.
One of them yelled, "I am your teacher."
The other said, "I am your vision."
The final announced, "I am the land you see and teach".
Giggling the three kids, Charya, Khan and Bali chased the glowing red child around.
A bunch of kids along with the blazing one, were gathered around a seated boy. They all were trying to disturb his meditation. But none could succeed. The siting child opened one of his eyes and winked at the red one.
Sena smiled at his own memory but sadness settled in quickly. The Monk had left the academy discretely.
A young lady was lying on the grass. Her visible flesh was filled with scars, and the glowing young man massaged her feet just below the tattoo of wings. "Hope", Valli said, "Wings bring hope for the birds to fly."
"How do you manage?" Kul asked an obese kid. "Yes, tell us", Rakh demanded. Pati pleaded before him by shrinking his eyes. Smiling at the child glowing in red, the obese kid said, "The goddess visits me in my dreams. She guides me. She shows me where the lost can be found. I simply bring them back to light. And her name in Kali." He winked at the red one, his partner in mischievous acts. They both robbed the others and gave them back what was lost. They amused silently looking at the surprised state of their friends.
Sena found his eyes moistening. Unfortunately, due to an accident during a mission, Kali was disabled and could not be a part of the Immortals.
Suddenly the ground before Sena opened up into a dark abyss. Scared, he pushed himself back quickly. Inside the dark hole there were twelve naked kids. Sena saw a white figure walking away from the pit. "Laka laka laka", echoed around Sena. He then heard a voice that he recognized as the voice of his Mentor Manickam, "Twelve days, then, you battle your way to the camp."
A food packet fell on the floor of the pit. It was brought to the glowing child by others. The rest eleven laid over the blazing kid to keep him warm during the cold night. They kept him healthy for the rest of days inside the dark pit. The flaming child got out of the pit alone on the twelfth day. With his bare knuckles he fought his way under the rain to the camp. He angrily walked to the storage room and tied crates to a rope and pulled it back to the pit. Using the rope, he brought the rest of the weak kids to the ground above and fed them with the items found inside the crate. The eleven followed Sena in the rain and stood before the house of their mentor like the Twelve Immortals.
Sena, the twelfth Immortal, had left the Academy when he had met Sughanthi.
On Karmegha, several decades later, Sena was watching his nine friends who had bargained their lifes away to save Sena's all the way through his adulthood. But they were no more at his side as a brotherhood, but were standing opposite to him as his enemy. The very thought made Sena scream at the top of his lungs over Karmegha. Only the thunder replied to his agony.
The battlefield suddenly bounced back to life when the steam like figures disappeared into the rage of the battle. Sena evaded Naga’s attack and lying flat on the ground, he witnessed Rana introducing his sword to the heart of Ratna.
Sena’s eyes turned blood red when he yelled, "No!"
... to be continued ...
-
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
If you try to cure evil with evil you will add more pain to your fate - Ajax (a Greek tragedy) by Sophocles.
Day Zero Five - Wise Shakes when Evil Awakes (Part 4/5)
Clash of Brothers
Rana bent down and removed the mask of the warrior whom he had killed. He saw the pretty face of a young woman whose dead blue eyes stared back at him. Suddenly, he felt a heavy boot landing on his shoulder which sent rolling on the ground beside Ratna. He regained his fall and gripped Vajrastra before lifting his head to meet his attacker. Rana was shocked to see his brother standing over him.
Swathi and Kacha followed a technique to neutralise the unit of Immortals who were disabling the swordsmen using a weapon called the Sword Catcher. Also known as the parrying dagger, the trident form is capable of catching blades easily and by twisting the curved quillons, it effectively disarmed the sword. Kacha moved like a tornado on the battlefield by allowing himself to be blocked by the enemy dagger, at the same moment he spun his body around his attacker while drawing out his stabbing weapon hidden in his belt. He inserted the knife into the ribs of his victims. The group of short swordsmen used similar tactics on their enemies. Together they were swiftly progressing to join Queen Vadhana who was fighting with a thick crowd of Immortal’s special units further inside the battlefield.
Swetha used speed shooting archery technique and fired seven arrows simultaneously. She walked around collecting arrows to fill her quiver and continued firing rapidly at the enemy unit wearing the gauntlet claw glows. Kanakavalli dodged the chain weapon Jiu Jie Bian thrown at her by rolling to her side. She double drew her bow while rotating on the ground and the dart drilled past the throat of her enemy. When she climbed back on her legs, she noticed Sena moving like a lightening across Karmegha. Her eyes opened wide when she saw him landing a kick on the ribs of Rana.
Sena discharged Arha and knelt on one leg beside Ratna. Tenderly he pushed the hair out of her eyes. He gently caressed her cheek with the back of the fingers before shutting the lids and covering her teal eyes. Rana wondered what was running inside his brother’s mind. He made quick steps to reach Sena, when five Immortals slowly emerged from the crowd of soldiers and started to circle the twins.
Kanakavalli fell to her knees when she saw Rana and Sena surrounded by heavily armed warriors. She searched for Sultan, and noticed him further from where the brothers were positioned. She got up and mounted on an abandoned horse and rode towards Sultan who was battling side by side with the Queen.
Sena’s eyes boiled with anger every moment he saw the dead face of Ratna. He stood up and stomped his feet hard. Arha lifted itself and settled on his right palm. Ratna’s weapon, a heavy épée, spun in the air and got fixed to Sena’s left palm. Dual wielding the combat swords, Sena marched infront of his brother. Rana raised his right hand at Sena, but quickly lifted Vajrasta in defense when he saw his brother charging towards him. Rana successfully blocked his brother’s strike. He tightened his eyes in rage. The twins were face to face starring at each other above the crossed swords.
Seeing the clash of brothers, Nobleman got down the platform and ran towards Karmegha. Yesodha Putran took another route and when Nobleman was at the barricade gate, he halted the chariot for his companion to climb in. They both rode fast over the battlefield and when they neared the zone of battle, Yesodha Putran ducked down to avoid the multiple arrows shot at him. After the darts flew past him, he raised his head and quickly turned to check on Nobleman. Yesodha Putran forced all his horses to halt at the middle of the war zone.
Rana rotating himself with elegant sword footwork landed heavy blows on Sena who moved backwards while defending his brother’s strikes. He used his right feet to brake and smoothly changed the techniques in mid-motion that broke the sword flow of Rana. With immense power he pushed his brother away. Rana halted few feet from Sena. Spinning Vajrastra in his left hand, he ran towards Sena who swung his sword towards his brother. When the Devine Swords of their Father met, the force pushed the brothers further from each other, while faint thunder echoed above Karmegha. The twins skidded to a stop and without losing time, they both charged at each other and when they met they launched their weapons at each other in rapid succession. Their act seemed as though each one anticipated the others move even before the respective one had thought over the shift in action. The swordfight looked like, two artists painting themselves using their swords as brushes. The identical images fought with identic vigor.
Charya, the Immortal carryin Jiu Jie Bian, walked past the battling brothers discretely. He kept his eyes on his mark, Queen Vadhana. A crooked grin embedded itself on his cloth mask when he heard his target yelling, "Guard the line with your life."
Kanakavalli alerted Sultan by pointing him towards the direction of fighting brothers. He witnessed the battle of the twins and immediately looked around the battlefield. He saw Kacha close by and ordered him to protect the Queen. He took off on foot with Kanakavalli not understanding what was boiling between between the blood brothers on the battlefield. The Empires United army was not certain about the duel of their commanders. They fought in a confused state which made them an easy prey to the enemies.
The five immortals – Naga hiding zhanmado behind his back, Rakh holding the trident dagger in front of him, Pati placing Yari on his shoulder, Bali griping recong to face the ground and Kul juggling Lonnars Hammer between his palms - watched the fierce fight before them. After exhibiting silent nods at each other, the five moved into the swift action.
Sena blocked Rana’s Vajrastra with Arha, at the same time broke the strike of a mysterious trident dragger launched at Rana with Ratna’s epee. Rana reacted to the presence of a new member in the sword fight, but before he could raise his sword, his brother pushed him away. Sena continued to defend Rana from the five immortals and whenever Rana set his foot to combat, Sena pushed his away violently.
Sultan reached the brothers and raised his sword against Bali, the Immortal who had disabled his chariot using a recong. A heavy foot landed on his chest before he could bring down his sword on the Immortal. Sultan was carried backwards by his foot without his permission and he came to a stop beside Rana. He saw Sena dual wielding his sword against the five enemies. Sultan dusted off his chest armor with his free hand and charged angrily at Sena. When he was close by, he hesitated, and then with immense courage he pulled his sword to wound Sena. His strike was blocked from the side, and Sultan was surprised to see Rana challenging him by holding Vajrastra before his face.
Several spears were launched at Vadhana’s horse. The wounded animal stood carrying its queen on its back for long and fell down bringing the Queen along with it, trapping her legs under its body. Kacha and Swathi came to Vadhana’s aid. Swathi pulled her Queen and Kacha holding the leg of the horse, pulled the dead animal away. Several enemies who tried to approach them were killed by the arrows shot from Swetha’s bow. The three warriors rescued their queen, and along with her they tightened the defense of the gained territory.
Sena stood in the middle of two fighting groups – The Immortals on one side; Rana and Sultan on the other. He safeguarded them by not allowing them to attack each other. He charged heavy blows on Rana and Sultan to distract them. He used his legs vigorously to kick the Immortals to the ground and gained time in keeping them separated. Sena hit Rana on his face with the handle of Arha. He quickly threw Arha into the air and made successive punches on Rana’s chest and pushed him away with a final blow with both his palms. Rana moved back and looked at Sena coughing blood. Sultan rushed to the aide of Rana and holding him he witnessed Sena catching back Arha and fighting the five immortals all at once.
Yesodha Putran rode back to the camp, where Nakulan came to his assistance to carry Nobleman, who was floating over his own blood inside the chariot.
Vadhana and her special units fought courageously and pushed back the enemies. Charya moved in close to Vadhana and started surveilling the surrounding. The body guards of the Queen were unaware of his presence. The assassin saw an opening and calmly positioned himself in line with his target. He pulled back his chain weapon and launched it at the Queen of Kottaipattinam.
Kanakavalli saw Sena pushing all the Immortals to the ground. She, also, noticed an enemy drawing his weapon at Vadhana. She quickly ran to Sena and placed her hand over his right shoulder. Sena immediately brought Arha to her neck, but he forced himself from inserting it into her throat. Kanakavalli stood scared seeing the blood shot eyes of Sena. His face was bleeding. For the first time, Kanakavalli noticed a vial around his neck. The Demon Eye blinked at her. She regained herself by swallowing a huge lump of fear down her throat and pointed her finger behind him. Sena slowly turned to meet with what Kanakavalli tried to exhibit to him. He saw Charya pulling his chain weapon on the ground and walking towards the Queen. Sena screamed the Queen’s name loudly and his fear attracted Rana and Sultan who watched at the same direction. Sena dropped his weapons and took off on foot screaming madly. Rana tumbled and rolled on the ground. With one elegant movement, he was back on his feet and raced towards his wife. Sultan acted quickly by Picking up Arha from the ground and fought the Immortals, trying to stop them from chasing the twins. Kanakavalli, running close to Sena, heard him uttering incomprehensible phrases.
The sharp spear head of Jiu Jie Bian steadily cut past the wind and was on its way to meet the Queen’s heart. Sena, while charging fast, removed his belt knife and threw it at the flying chain. The dragger hit the spear head and altered its direction slightly upwards. Instead of piercing her chest, the sharp edge drilled Vadhana’s shoulder and exited through her back.
Pain revealed itself as tears in Vadhana’s eyes. Charya pulled back his weapon, which on its return journey to its master created a bigger wound when it exited from Vadhana's body making her shiver in pain.
A thin sheet of whiteness dropped before Vadhana and she started to drop to the ground. At the same moment, a close by enemy saw it as an opportunity to finish the Queen. He raised his sword and prepared himself to separate Vadhana’s head.
Sena, feeling helpless, increased his momentum. Swathi was out of arrows. Swetha and Kacha were unable to break from the fight they were involved in. Rana, coughing blood, gripped Vajrastra and let out a mild cry which resembled to the name of his wife. Kanakavalli stopped and drew her bow and aimed the single arrow at Vadhana’s attacker. The crowd of battling soldiers made it hard for her to fix onto her target.
The commanders and bodyguards, even though positioned close to Vadhana, were not in a suitable situation to save their Queen. The visions of despair projected to them the attacker's sword reaching Vadhana's neck.
... to be continued ....
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day Zero Five - Wise Shakes when Evil Awakes (Part 5/5)
A partially serrated blade, glided in the air over Karmegha, cutting the wind with its ferocity and drilled the forehead of the swordsman trying to decapitate Vadhana. The serrated bastard sword entered through the temple and exited through the other, pushing its victim dead to the ground before he could lay his weapon on the Queen. When its tip, sticking out of its victim's head, hit the rigid mud floor of Karmegha, the sword gradually retreated backwards and stuck to the head like a sword in a stone.
The battle stopped momentarily and the soldiers watched the collapsing Queen against the backdrop of the setting sun.
Kanakavalli looked beyond her target and saw a chariot driven by six horses charging into the battle field. A white shadow jumped out of the moving chariot. While hanging in midair, the White Shadow threw a shining blade at Vadhana and before the bright form landed on the ground, the attacker of Vadhana had fallen dead, killed by a bastard sword pinned to his forehead.
Sena fell to his knees and skidded under Vadhana to break her fall. He pulled both his arms forward and caught her before she fell to the ground. He gently made her lay over his laps and held her head close to his chest. He held his cheek close to her nose and lifted his head in solace when he felt faint air hitting his cheeks from Vadhana's nostrils. His eyes blinked weakly and his lips started to shiver when he saw Vettaiyan marching towards him.
Vettaiyan was amused by the drama unfolding before him on Karmegha. He sat on his throne over the Palace staircase and cherished every single moment of the clash between the brothers. Their duel had fabilised the Empires United army and the enemy soldiers were falling like dead leaves. Then, his sight meet Charya's spine-tingling walk across Karmegha. Vettaiyan jumped out of his throne and paced down the staircase keeping an eye on Charya. He mounted The General's chariot and ordered him urgently to drive into the zone of battle.
The General was glad about the advancement and a smile of victory flashed under his mask. The moment made him proud to serve the Emperor. He admired the cleverness of his Emperor to strategically deploy the Immortals in the battle. The special units have completely brought the enemies to their knees. The General carried Vettaiyan on his chariot into the battlefield and the stampede of the six speeding stallions sounded the fall of the Empires Unites.
Vettaiyan standing inside the chariot witnessed Charya launching his chain weapon at Vadhana. He noticed another dragger diverting the direction of the spear head. The tiny smile that lingered at the corner of his lips did not stay for long. It was replaced by annoyance when one of his soldiers dominated the scene and was about to blow a fatal strike on the Queen. Calculating that the events were turning unfavorable to the Queen's bodyguards and certain that she will meet her end, Vettaiyan leaped out of the chariot and launched the Sword of Destruction at Vadhana's attacker.
Rana saw the enemy before Vadhana falling to the ground after being hit by a giant sword. He noticed Sena drifting past the fallen man and collecting his wife into his arms. Rana looked ahead of him and saw Vettaiyan gradually advancing towards his brother and his wife. Rana accelerated to cover the remaining distance faster and when he was closer to the Emperor, he fell to his knees and holding Vajrastra above his head, he skidded to cut the lower body of Vettaiyan.
The Emperor was close to his sword,. Noticing Rana making an fatal attack move on him, Vettaiyan with an elegant hand gesture removed his sword that was buried inside a dead soldier's head with his left hand and swung it in front of him. At the same time he raised his right leg and pushed it forward.
The timing was perfect - Rana dashed on Vettaiyan's right foot, simultaneously, Vajrastra was stuck hard by the Emperor's Sword. Blocking his foot on Rana’s shoulder, Vettaiyan deviated Vajrastra from harming him and the force from the Sword of Destruction sent Rana's sword flying above his head.
Vettaiayan calmly pocketed his sword, and pulled his left hand above his head. Vajrastra settled inside his grip. He bent down, still holding Rana under his foot, and brought his face close to Rana. Vettaiyan smiled at Rana and whispered "Laka Laka Laka."
Vettaiyan removed his foot and held Rana by his hair. He pushed his right hand hard on the crown head of Rana to keep him knelt down before him. Rana took a slouched posture and his head was no more controlled by his neck but was moving lousily within the hold of Vettaiyan. His tired eyes blinked lethargically at Sena. His brother sat starring at Vettaiyan while holding Vadhana tightly.
The Emperor released his grip from Rana's hair. He brought Vajrastra around Rana's throat and slowly circled it around his neck while encircling Rana. The Rana’s sharp blade made a significant thin red line mark when it stirred around his neck. Vettaiyan watched the frightened warriors of Empires United with a grin on his face. He titled his face while laying his eyes on Kanakavalli. He tried his best to produce a charming smile but ended up giving her a cold smirk. He positioned himself in front again and held Rana’s dropped chin with the tip of Vajrastra.
Darkness crawled over Karmegha. The sun started hiding its brightness and dissipated behind the hills.
Vettaiyan looked at Sena and then, at Ran. He glanced back and forth at the brothers who were knelt before him. He smiled at his thought of having the twins bow down before him.
Vettaiyan spoke with a wide smile, "We three have been in existence since the begining, but ..." He looked down at Vadhana who was lying unconscious on Sena's laps. He fixed his eyes on her abdomen and announced, "You do not know who you are and when you do, You and I are One."
... to be continued ...