Satyayoddha Kalki- Eye of Brahma

by Kevin Missal

  They silently crept out of their door. A guard was standing outside. Just when he saw them, Arjan elbowed him hard, making a dent in his armour. Arjan was glad that the effects of Soma were still active, and it was not hindering his mind into doing evil things, or mad things. In fact, he was now able to control his strength. Perhaps the stories of people going mad after taking Soma were just fanciful tales or perhaps it depended on the person who had ingested the Soma—whether he used it for good or bad.

  And Arjan was clearly using it for good. That was what he had been taught since his childhood, to be good to others.

  The sun was bright as Arjan and Rudra casually rushed out towards the main hall, sprinting towards the meadow where the gate was. There was no extra protection at the gates which meant that Urvashi must have not informed her guards to be on the lookout.

  As they moved towards the gate, the guards turned on them with pointed spears. They even closed the gate, locking it from the inside.

  “ARJAN!”

  He heard the familiar, childlike voice of the Mad Queen—Urvashi. She was with twenty or so of her guards, who were standing by her side.

  “If you leave, you go to prison too.”

  “Then I shall,” he said, holding Rudra’s hand. “I won’t leave him.”

  “Fine by me,” she shrugged. “Grab them!”

  Arjan and Rudra took out their swords. They stood back to back as they tried to defend themselves from the guards.

  “You cannot defeat an army, Arjan. Do you truly think you can take my forces down?” Urvashi was in the corner, where the fountain was, far away from the main gates. “I will let this pass. But I demand your cooperation. I promise you Rudra would be free after serving some time, once I have discussed it with my councilmen.”

  “You are just trying to save your crown,” Arjan responded, his eyes and feet still alerted at the guards who had surrounded them. “You don’t have the intention of saving Rudra. In fact, you think of us as expendable men. You are stuck to your father’s ideals. You are repeating history, and despite of what you claim, you are a TYRANT!”

  Urvashi sighed. “This wasn’t how it should have been. I liked you, you know. We could have gotten married. You are quite handsome, but you had to like a man. I wanted you by my side. But not anymore. Kill them,” she said in such a casual manner that Arjan was taken aback.

  Urvashi liked me? Of course! That’s why she always favoured me.

  Now, he wondered whether there were any councilmen who had objected to Rudra’s sexuality. He thought about whether Ramras had been the one behind it all. Perhaps it had been Urvashi all along, trying to get rid of Rudra, so she could take Arjan for herself.

  Or Arjan could be wrong.

  “Before this happens,” Rudra called out as loud as he could, “I just want to say . . . Arjan, I love you. Thank you for being in my life.”

  Arjan smiled. He will always be the melodramatic kind.

  As soon the guards came forward with the spears towards Arjan, he deflected the attacks. He was stabbed from his blind side, but it didn’t hurt him much.

  “Are you even . . .”

  And he heard a loud thud. Someone had collapsed.

  Arjan turned to see Rudra bleeding profusely. He had been stabbed. He was turning pale, his eyes bulging in shock.

  No! I survived because of the Soma. But Rudra . . .

  Arjan knelt down as the guards backed off, realizing they had accomplished their objective. Arjan grabbed Rudra, whose eyes were desperately trying to search for Arjan. As Arjan caressed him, Rudra’s weak eyes flickered around, and he whispered, “It’s going to be fine, love.”

  Rudra shook his head weakly as he struggled to speak, “Be . . . yourself . . .” He sighed before closing his eyes and breathing his last in the arms of the person he loved.

  Arjan was stunned. He didn’t want to believe that Rudra was no more.

  Wait. Wait. This can’t happen.

  He tried to shake Rudra. He did it again.

  One of the guards came forward, ready to stab Arjan. He plunged the blade through his arm, but Arjan didn’t care. He kept shaking Rudra.

  “Come on, wake up. Come on.”

  Another guard stabbed his shoulder.

  And then another one, until twenty blades had been rammed inside Arjan as he mourned for his love. Blood gushed out from his body but he felt no pain. All that was left was an empty numbness.

  “This is impossible.” Arjan could hear Urvashi gasping in dread. He was sobbing hysterically. He hadn’t realized that his body had been repeatedly pierced by spears and swords.

  His eyes were red and his blood flowed free in crimson.

  “You are a wonder, Arjan,” Urvashi said, smiling. “How are you still alive?”

  Arjan lowered his head as he left Rudra on the ground. He wiped his tears and with clean movements, he pulled out the swords, one by one, as he wailed in pain. He was hurting. The guards backed off, wary of the beast that stood in front of them. Arjan stood up. His face was impassive as he wiped the blood from his chest. He was bleeding, but it didn’t matter now.

  What had mattered was Rudra.

  And he was gone.

  Urvashi signalled a few archers, who were standing far behind, to shoot him down. Her smile had vanished. She wanted to see the end of the beast. The archers shot a volley of arrows at him. Arjan grabbed few of the arrows in mid-air and he dodged the rest. It was a cakewalk.

  “All right. Calm down, Arjan. We can discuss this.”

  A guard appeared in front with a sword. Arjan grabbed his sword and then jabbed him by the hilt, exploding his ribcage. He held the same blade, twirled it around, and whenever a guard appeared, he swiftly slashed their throats without batting an eyelid. By the time he was done, he was standing in a pool of corpses.

  Never in his life had he thought that he would like it when he killed someone.

  The archers stopped shooting as Arjan came forward, looking down at Urvashi.

  “You don’t have your dolls right now,” he whispered, as his fingers wrapped themselves around her throat. “Then again, I never gave you my hair, did I?” he mumbled.

  “You . . . shouldn’t . . . kill . . . you are . . . you are not this person.”

  “ You have made me this.”

  Arjan recalled the conversation he had had with Padma—one should be forgiving. But now he realized that he wasn’t practicing what he had preached. He was fulfilling her vendetta, letting his fuel for revenge cloud his judgment.

  But did it matter?

  No. Not anymore.

  Rudra was dead. Kalki was dead. Padma for all he knew was dead too.

  Arjan had no one. He was too tired to care anymore.

  With one quick snap, he broke Urvashi’s neck, not even giving her a chance to say her last words. It happened in an instant. Arjan tossed her body towards the pool of bodies, her lifeless eyes reeking of desperation.

  He looked at the archers, sighing. They had backed off. The guards he hadn’t killed and who were inside the fort had also backed off. In fact, they had opened the gates for him so he could leave.

  Arjan nodded to himself as he walked towards Rudra’s corpse, picking him up.

  And he walked away from the chaos he had just orchestrated.

  There had been a time when he had vowed to never to look back again. A lot had changed since then, but even now, he never looked back again.

  Durukti couldn’t believe that Shukr was none other than Lord Mahabali. She had read a lot about Mahabali—the great, wise, benevolent Asura king who had brought about the golden age of Illavarti. The king had been tall, strong, and handsome. And yet Shukr here seemed like a poor imitation of all the tall tales that had been told to people about Mahabali.

  They had been on the ocean for quite some time. Durukti was feeling weird. She didn’t like this and Kali’s hatred was bothering her. But then, she didn’t feel bad about it. She knew she had done the right thing by betraying Kali. And after th
at, she had also helped him recover. Though being here, isolated from all the mayhem in the city, Kali seemed better, kinder. He was angry but not cold or distant, not like before.

  Alakshmi on the other hand was just creepy.

  She didn’t speak or she chose to not speak. Her dangerous beasts were always prancing around her. Durukti was always nervous around her, wondering when those hyenas would just pounce, but they didn’t. They wouldn’t unless Alakshmi wanted them to.

  Durukti looked at Kali and Shukr. They were having an argument.

  “You should have told me,” Kali said. “But you chose not to. Why?”

  “Because I’m ashamed of myself. What more? I was once a great king and look at me now—an old man adrift, in the middle of the ocean.”

  “I don’t even know if I can trust you.”

  “You can, Lord Kali. You are Dharm. I believe in you. My past doesn’t matter. With my support, you shall rise and conquer the world like the Asuras always do.”

  Dharm . . . Adharm . . . it was just too much for Durukti. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on their conversation, but it was quiet out there. Even their whispers seemed loud.

  “You stripped me of my glory. I am just a madman on a boat right now,” Kali said, furious. Durukti could glimpse his earnestness that she had seen in the beginning, at the time he had fought against the mad Janmejaya.

  “You need to sacrifice your own blood in the ocean for your enemiesss to fear the wrath of Asuras. You need to . . . wake up the mummified Danavs.”

  Danavs? That is not a good idea at all.

  She had heard stories about them. And all of them told tales about how no one had been able to control the them. Danavs had killed thousands in their time. She wanted to stop Kali but just like Koko and Vikoko, she was frozen to her spot. This was clearly between Shukr and Kali.

  Kali clenched his jaw. “All right, I will.”

  Durukti narrowed her gaze. This is not happening .

  Shukr smiled as he called Durukti. “Come, child.”

  Durukti stood up and walked towards Shukr, puzzled.

  “Are you ready, Kali?”

  “Ready for what?” Durukti asked.

  Kali was confused as well. “I thought it was Alakshmi I had to—”

  “No, it has to be your sister. Alakshmi’s role is to be your wife. She must be kept alive. Durukti, on the other hand, is the one who betrayed you.”

  At that moment, Durukti turned to punch Shukr but Koko and Vikoko stood up and grabbed her. Durukti realized that they had done it on Kali’s orders. They took her to the edge of the boat. She peered at Alakshmi who was grinning at the situation, her pale skin and her golden eyes glimmering with sadistic pleasure.

  “Kali! You can’t do this. I’m your sister.” She turned to Koko and Vikoko. “You are family. You have known me since I was a child. You cannot do this to me.”

  “We have sworn a blood oath to Lord Kali. And we do what he demands,” Koko said with sad, mournful eyes.

  Durukti was close to sobbing now as she saw the conflicted Kali walking towards her. He touched her skin, her cheeks, her collarbone.

  “She’s my sister,” he whispered. “She betrayed me, but she’s my sister.”

  Walking close to Kali, whispering in his ear, Shukr added, “Yes, she betrayed you. She had thought of leaving you for a boy from a village. She loved that boy when she should have loved only you. What a cruel wench! Dispose her; she wouldn’t bring any luck to you. With her death, a life shall be given to the Danavs and they shall be in your control. They shall do what you want them to do. Imagine how easy it would be to win wars then.”

  Durukti glanced at Kali. He was troubled. He was frowning. He would have to just push her down and she would be gone forever.

  What is he thinking? What’s he going to do?

  Only if she knew . . .

  She didn’t want to die. She didn’t.

  Please. I beg of you.

  Her eyes begged him.

  But in return, she saw no mercy.

  She recalled the time they had been young. She had asked him what kind of a king he would grow up to be. She had always looked up to him. And she recalled other things—from her time with Kalki to the things she had been through with Kali. He was not a bad man. He was just a very conflicted man.

  “Her death will be good for you. Finish her off, Kali, and we will resurrect the Asura Empire from the ashesss and rule the kingdom you always wanted to rule. Destroy the North, the South, and everything, and BRING THEM TOGETHER! Fulfil the dream I could not,” Shukr pleaded, trying to convince him.

  Durukti looked straight in Kali’s eyes as she said, sighing, “Now that’s not a kingdom I would like to be in, Kali.”

  And at that moment his eyes widened, as if he had realized the importance of her words. With a swift movement, he grabbed Shukr by his throat and pushed him over the boat. His wails filled the air around them. The hyenas roared as Alakshmi looked at the drowning Shukr, aghast. She glared at Kali.

  Koko and Vikoko hauled Durukti back into the boat as they saw that Kali had made his decision. Durukti gasped and looked at the Black Ocean. Shukr was nowhere to be seen.

  Durukti instantly came forward, hugging Kali. Kali hugged her back. She didn’t care about the hyenas or the startled Alakshmi. She cared about her brother.

  “After everything I did. Why?”

  “What king would I be if I can’t forgive people,” he said and tightened his embrace.

  “You shouldn’t have done that!” exclaimed Alakshmi in a raspy, thin voice. “He would have been a great mentor to you.”

  Kali turned to Alakshmi. “Consider yourself lucky that I didn’t throw you off.”

  Alakshmi was speechless.

  He pulled back as the boat began to rock. Kali looked at Alakshmi who was as surprised as they were.

  What’s happening?

  “They are rising,” Alakshmi gasped. “At least something good came out of it.”

  Durukti looked at the ocean. The waves had grown stronger. The clouds had covered the sky completely. Their boat was rocking. The last of the Asuras on the boat watched the ocean, expecting gargantuans of the past to come out.

  And they did.

  Their saw their heads—large in size, almost as big as the boat’s size. Durukti gasped, her hands covering her mouth. This can’t be it. She turned to her brother. Kali was beaming. Durukti was confused. Until now, she had thought that the old Kali was back, but it was clear now that he had wanted the giants to be with him. And as Alakshmi came close to Kali, glancing at the Danavs with him, Durukti realized something else.

  He was, nevertheless, going to follow the path he was supposed to.

  In the midst of giant heads rising from the ocean, with Danavs towering over the tiny boat with their twenty feet high frames, Durukti heard Alakshmi commenting, “One thing is clear, Kali. You are Dharm. And my waiting for you has not been in vain.”

  Kali just proudly looked at his new army.

  Here I come, Illavarti.

  The army had already trespassed the bridge.

  Kalki saw Taar’s men assaulting their forces as they entered the bridge in a straight line, with their swords and spears in front. The bridge was wooden, made of planks tied together with thick ropes. It was between two snowy hills, at a height of fifty feet. If anyone fell from it, they would die.

  Kalki had to do something about Taar’s men.

  Kara had left for protecting the valley side.

  Kalki was accompanied by a few Vanars, with Ratna, Smrit, and Padma beside him. And he marched forward, trying to stop the Vanars that had come through the bridge, cutting through their formation, slaughtering the Vanar guards, anyone who displayed the insignia of Taar. Kalki didn’t care about anything else.

  He was fighting, but they needed a strategy to stop the onslaught of Taar’s forces.

  Kalki swung his sword from one end to the other as he stabbed, pummelled, and plunged his blade through the rag
ing Vanars. Blood sprayed and splattered on the snow. He saw Padma, with her agile and flexible frame, lurching at the Vanars’ shoulders, slashing their throats, and taking refuge by climbing the trees. Ratna and Smrit on the other hand were using their horses to fight the Vanars, throwing their spears to pin them down.

  Taar’s innumerable men were crowding the bridge. Kalki knew he had to do something. Amidst the roaring and and other battle sounds that were drowned in screams and shrieks, Kalki came forward grabbing a shield from a fallen Vanar.

  He protected himself with the shield, blocking and dodging the attacks as he fought back, swinging his sword. The Vanars were quick and sprung around like monkeys. One even managed to jump on Kalki but lost his balance and fell down.

  Another Vanar attacked him. He threw his spear at Kalki but Kalki lunged to his side, dodging it. Racing ahead to swing his axe at the Vanar, Kalki raced towards him. But the Vanar’s reflexes were quick. He immediately crouched down and toppled Kalki. But instead of killing him, he snatched Kalki’s axe and ran away.

  Kalki stood up, and made his way to the bridge. He could see Lord Bajrang’s army being depleted. So many Vanars lay on the ground, lifeless. Even Padma was panting and was close to losing consciousness.

  Ratna and Smrit had lost their horses and were fighting on foot now.

  It was chaos.

  And then he saw Aruna moving through the bridge, showering arrows at Bajrang’s men. The right-hand man of Taar, Aruna came with just two men behind him. He smiled as his arrows pierced the people. He had a crossbow in his hand unlike other Vanars who had single blades. A sword clung to his belt as well.

  “You cannot stop us, boy,” he said gruffly. “We are more powerful than you. You are outnumbered. The Rakshas and Manavs in the valley have broken through the bamboo barriers that you had created. Your army will perish. They won’t stand for long.”

  “How did you get this?” Kalki asked as he looked closely at Aruna’s sword. It looked familiar.

  “Lord Kali helped us.”

  Damn! That man won’t leave me alone.

  “Do you know who Kali is? Better not deal with him. He might backstab you the moment you have served his purpose.”