by Sudipta Das
“Hunet must be stopped before he becomes too powerful. Tell everyone to prepare for the imminent war.”
* * *
After almost ten impatient minutes, Ket slowly opened her eyes. She looked disturbed.
I softly asked, “What happened?”
Holding back her tears, she replied in an anguished voice, “Hunet has thrown him into the well of death. They say that no one has ever come out alive from that dreaded well.” She paused as the rest of us were dumbstruck. Then the kids hurried to their mother. She hugged them. Then she looked skywards and cried, “Lord Intha, how can you let this happen. He is submitted to do your work. If our love is pure then send him back to me.”
The kids were weepy too. Trying to placate them, I asked Ket, “How can you be so sure? There may be a mistake.”
Ket gently turned to me and said, “I just spoke to him. Right now he is in that well.”
A combined feeling of astonishment and agony filled me now. On Earth, I had read many western and eastern references to thought transference and telepathy and their numerous possibilities. But this was the first time I witnessed such a thing happening before my very eyes.
Is it because, their elevated psyches are so much in tune with each other in an amazing rapport that they are able to instantaneously exchange their thoughts over long distances without any conductor or medium? Or is it because of the evolutionary development of these aliens. I could not figure out. Anyway, this was not the time to indulge in these thoughts. I told Ket, “Let us go downstairs. We have to act fast.”
18
War
Ever since Hunet had risen to the helm of affairs of Hunthad, there had been international concerns about his secret designs. He centralised the ruling powers of Hunthad and vested all the important charges, including defence, security, finance, justice and internal affairs, unto himself. Only a few charges like civic amenities, health and education were left to his heavily subordinated ministers. These ministers led a life of opulence but often they failed in alleviating the miseries of the common Hunthadians. Because even though the taxes were high, most of the Hunthadian resources were sucked up in acquisition of weapons, recruitment of soldiers and maintenance of the over-sized Hunthadian military. Suitable and young Hunthadians from the poorer sections of the society were either enticed or forced to join the military; farmers, labourers and miners, none were spared. The soldiers led a better life than the common Hunthadians who were compelled to toil and thus exploited for the resources.
By now, the Hunthadian army had grown to a size of more than four times larger than what was required to defend Hunthad effectively.
The information, passed on by Kit to Ket through thought transference, about Hunet’s surreptitious motives to annex the other colour countries and establish his absolute rule all over Hoola reached every corner of the planet overnight and shocked the global peoples. It vindicated the growing suspicion on Hunet among the other colour countries.
Hunthad meets the southern ocean at its eastern shores. The green and the orange colour countries respectively to the west and south of Hunthad cordoned and sealed their borders with the yellow colour country. To the north of Hunthad are Isthad and Inthad. These two neighboring colour countries had traditionally been at war with each other. Kit had been able to narrow the gap between these two and had revealed the common parentage of the Originators of their respective colours. Now, for the first time, the Inthadian and Isthadian forces joined hands with the Kithadian army against a common enemy. Hunet had planned to wedge his soldiers through the border between Isthad and Inthad and reach Kithad. But, now he was faced with the attack by the formidable combined forces of these three colour countries. The trio wanted to not only rescue Kit but also protect themselves and other colour countries from the Hunthadian aggression under Hunet and his voracious designs.
Most of the other colour countries went into the war alert. Thus, after five hundred years of the third global war, which had almost turned Hoola into dust, the planet was about to witness the similar kind of bloodbath and destruction. All weapons of mass destruction and firearms were prohibited and dismantled on Hoola by an international convention subsequent to the third global war. Machines and cars were also not allowed in the battle. But, even the metal and other weapons that were presently in use on technologically advanced Hoola were more alien than the wildest imagination and had tremendous destructive powers.
The combined forces closed in on Hunthad from the north. They enjoyed the moral and logistics support from many other medium and small sized colour countries. With only a shoreline at its eastern border, the mostly landlocked Hunthad was under serious trade embargo. They were compelled to depend solely on their internal resources. Nevertheless, the Hunthadian military was no less formidable. Hunthad is a vast tropical landmass with bountiful resources. The Hunthadians had a long history of warrior-ship since the ancient times. Battle was in their blood. The sheer size of the yellow forces with many years of preparations was awesome. These fierce fighters were stirred by Hunet in the name of their yellow-ship. Most importantly, they were on their home territory and acclimatised with the tropics.
As expected, they put up steep resistance to the advance of the combined forces.
19
Sobret
In the meantime, a little while after Kit’s thought transference with Ket, a heavy object splashed into the water of the well of death. Kit stretched his hands and tail to grope in the darkness. It was another Hoo. Kit quickly pulled it up from the bottom and held its head above the murky water. It was in a bad shape and had little consciousness left in it. Kit asked, “Who are you?”
The Hoo could hardly speak but before passing out completely struggled to whisper, “Sobret.”
Kit remembered that this was the tortured sober Hunthadian whom he had seen in the circular hall of the Yellow Palace at Hunet’s assembly. If I be able to raise myself out of this well, I shall take him along with me. He resolved in his mind.
The Hoos had mastered the antigravity technology using highly sophisticated machines and magnetism. But the levitation, that Kit had been reminded of by Ket, was a positive byproduct of his spiritual upliftment through alignment, a mastery of his mind over his body.
He held Sobret against his body by coiling his tail around. Then he bifurcated his mind; while one part remained aware of his environment, the other part dived inwards and merged into deep alignment. His being became calm and poised. Now he controlled his nerve-currents using his life-breath. Gradually, his inner light grew brighter and brighter in his consciousness. His psychic forces became perfectly balanced through all the extreme points of his body, the tips of his fingers, toes, tail and the crown of his head. Thus, he recalled his forgotten power to make his body lighter than the air and levitated a few feet above the water in the well. Thereafter, as prompted by Ket, he multiplied this process and within a couple of hours raised himself to the mouth of the one kilometre deep well, along with Sobret. Then he retreated from the alignment and the two halves of his mind converged.
Kit gently laid Sobret on the ground, wiped the water off his body with his furry tail and brought him back to his senses. Sobret said to him, “Thank you for saving my life. From now on, I shall remain ever grateful to you. But, who are you? I have never seen anyone with such a white tail.”
“I am Kit from Kithad,” replied Kit.
Hearing this, Sobret, in spite of his wounds, became excited and said, “O, I have heard about you and your fantastic feats. It’s incredible that now I meet you in person. I should have guessed. Who else could have come out alive from this well!”
Then he aligned himself to Kit. Kit reciprocated Sobret’s alignment and said, “You would have done the same thing if you were in my place. Relax Sobret. Control your excitement. You need rest. I shall take care of you until you fully recover.”
“Let’s get away from this place, my savior,” said Sobret.
“But, where should we go? Hune
t’s spies must be everywhere,” asked Kit.
“That is true. But, in spite of the fear of Hunet’s persecutions, the sobers have remained pandemic, scattered in small groups. Even though marginalised from the main stream of the Hunthadian society, we have preserved the legacy of our forefathers and maintained our moderate approach to the wisdom of Hun. By the divine grace of Almighty Huntha, we have endured the predicaments over thousands of years,” said Sobret.
“Your endurance will soon bear its deserved fruits,” affirmed Kit.
Sobret continued, “I know a place twenty kilometres north of here at the edge of the tropical forests where such a group of sobers live and practice the sober hue of the yellow colour. But I am not sure if I can make it to that village in my present condition.”
Kit reassuringly said, “Don’t worry. I shall carry you there. You just show me the way.”
Then he picked up Sobret’s battered physique on his back. Thereafter, Kit walked nonstop. Sobret guided him through the relatively secluded places in the cover of the night while most of Hunthad rested.
They reached the small village in the morning. The farmers were leaving their homes for the day’s work in the fields. In spite of the developments elsewhere in Hunthad, these marginalised sobers carried simplistic and old equipments with them. Surprised and shocked, they received the duo and took them in. With the help of the villagers, Kit devoted himself to taking care of Sobret. In degrees, Sobret recovered over several days.
* * *
During these days, Hunthad had been attacked by the combined forces from the north. The fearless Hunthadian forces put up steep resistance. Arrows rained, spears cleaved, catapults threw up heavy boulders kilometres ahead on the uneven terrains of the battlefield in the searing heat of the tropical summer. The first couple of days went like this with neither side giving an inch. By the third day, the combined forces had gauged the Hunthadian military. The combined forces had a slight advantage with the longer range of their catapults. To make the most of this advantage, they advanced their most efficient artillery division while maintaining enough distance so that the Hunthadian ballistics could not reach them. But their longer range artillery landed well into the Hunthadian lines giving the combined forces their first vital opening.
As already mentioned, about five centuries earlier, the third global war on Hoola had almost destroyed the planet. Subsequently, to save the planet from annihilation, all sorts of firearms, air and automated attacks had been prohibited on Hoola by a convention of all the colour countries. Thereafter, the infantry had become the most important in Hoo warfare.
Now, the infantry of the combined forces were able to move forward southwards under the protective ballistics of their longer range catapults. Thus, yard by yard, the Hunthadian forces were forced to recede.
20
The Tunnel
One day the news reached the sobers’ village that, the combined forces had reached the outskirts of Gumba, the capital of Hunthad. Hunet’s enemies were at his threshold. At this point, it was presumed that Hunet’s days were counted and the war would soon reach its conclusion. But, ten more days of intense fighting passed and still the combined forces could not enter Gumba. All the projectiles from their arsenals were mysteriously repelled back by the city and it stubbornly fended off all their attacks. Virtually, it seemed more like a prolonged stalemate.
By this day, Sobret’s wounds had almost healed. But the wounds that had been inflicted in his mind stayed anguishing fresh. After hearing about the stalemate, he confided to Kit, “Ten days are nothing. Gumba can hold on to this siege for ten years or even more. By then, Hunet will surely find his way to shock the world. Gumba is a self-sustaining city. It runs on the principle of recycling of the resources. Hunet’s talents go beyond his knowledge of the Book Reverend. His ruthless tactics and war strategies are shrewd and effective. For many years, he has been planning and preparing to take Hoola and he is ready to face all possible eventualities. Now, he must have activated the energy shield to cover Gumba.”
“Energy shield!” exclaimed Kit.
“Yes. The shield is so powerful that even the banned weapons of mass destruction would not be able to breach it. The spears and arrows of the combined forces do not even feel like wire-pins to the shield. They are simply wasting their energies and resources. Gumba is practically impregnable,” said Sobret.
“But, such an energy shield must have cost a heaven to create and Hunthad is hungry,” opined Kit.
“Yes. More than half of the total domestic produce of Hunthad is collected as taxes. A lion-share of those taxes goes into the defence expenditure while many Hunthadians suffer from poverty and die of starvation,” said Sobret.
“Is there absolutely no way?” asked Kit.
Sobret thought for several minutes. Then he said, “There may be a remote chance of getting to Hunet. There is a highly guarded secret about the Yellow Palace, which has been passed on to me through generations of my ancestors.
“The palace was first built three and a half thousand years ago. This was the time when Hunthad witnessed frequent battles and volatility. During the next two and a half thousand years, Hunthad came under the rule of one despot after another. The coveted throne of Hunthad was an insecure place to be. During these two and a half millennia, the Yellow Palace was completely destroyed and rebuilt as many as five times.
“The construction of the present palace was started a thousand years ago. The sober architects of that time were employed for the construction work for their skillfulness.
The chief architect was my distant ancestor. It took many years to complete the first palace. It was a wonder of that time. To ensure that such a wonder is not replicated, the contemporary despotic ruler of Hunthad ordered the slaughter of the chief architect. But, before the order could be carried out, my forefather and a few of his mates managed to escape from the slavery through a secret way.
“Since then, that secret has been passed on through generations and presently only I know that secret. There may be a suspicion about me in Hunet. Perhaps that is why he wanted to kill me. However, I do not know how relevant that secret may be in the present time. In the last one thousand years, the palace has undergone many renovations, alterations, expansions and modernisations and has become what it is today.”
“Forget about the odds. Tell me the secret. Let’s give it a try. Because there is no other way,” said Kit.
Sobret said, “At some point of time during the construction of the first phase of the present palace, my forefather had sniffed the dismal fate that the ruler would mete out to him after the completion of the work. So he told a few of his close mates to secretly dig a tunnel through the basement of the under-construction palace. The tunnel had to be long enough to take them away from the city of Gumba. For years, they dug the underground tunnel while the palace and the city grew on the ground.
“On the day of the escape, they entered the tunnel and sealed the opening of the tunnel behind them. The other end of the tunnel is several kilometres away from here, at the Yellow Hills in the dense recesses of the dreaded Yellow Forest.”
Kit inferred, “So, we can reach the basement of the Yellow Palace through that tunnel and bypass the energy shield, which is above the ground.”
“Right. But first we have to cover the dense forest to reach the mouth of the tunnel. Besides, in the last thousand years many changes have taken place. There have been earthquakes and landslides. The present condition of the nineteen kilometre long tunnel is unknown,” said Sobret.
“If this is our only chance then let’s not waste our time. Each day, innocent soldiers are dying due to one Hoo’s insatiable greed. Hunet must be stopped at the earliest,” said Kit.
Thus, they invited volunteers from among the sober villagers. The sobers saw this as an unprecedented opportunity to not only alleviate their degraded position in the Hunthadian society under Hunet but free Hunthad itself from the tyrannical clutches of Hunet. They decided that it is
better to die like a hero than live every day in utter deprivation and agreed to go on the secret operation under Kit’s leadership.
Kit picked up a handful of young and able males. Though they were not soldiers, some of them were good tillers; some others were good at using the axe to chop off big trees and so on. They picked up whatever equipment and weapons that they found handy. Kit was provided with the weapon of his choice, a sword.
The dense tropical Yellow Forest is full of huge, centuries old Yellow trees with their canopies rising to a hundred metres high and permanently shading the soils below. These alien trees never shed their leaves, which are more yellow than green and hence the name. Several other species of parasites and creepers grow on these Yellow trees.
The daylight of Let hardly ever reaches the ground below. The ground is covered with dense vegetation of numerous strange looking smaller plants and shrubs some of which bear peculiar flowers and precarious fruits. The soil of the Yellow Forest is damp and carpeted by fallen leaves, twigs and other plant parts.
The forest provides a rich habitat to innumerable alien insects, birds and animals. But the dread of the Yellow Forest comes mainly from a particular animal, the pangor. This ferocious six legged top of the food-chain agile carnivore with ten inch long fangs knows no competition and rules the Yellow Forest, both on the ground as well as among the canopies. This six legged stealth predator can climb the trees. At times, the animals visit the villages in the periphery of the forest and take domestic animals though they rarely attack a Hoo. The sobers’ village is one such village.
Now, the ingenuous team that Kit had selected from among the villagers entered the shadowy Yellow Forest. They were guided by Sobret who knew the way to the opening of the secret tunnel to the Yellow Palace. Their leader, Kit was the only true warrior in the team. The moist air in the forest smelt fragrant with the scent of exotic herbs. They heard only the chirping of small insects, occasional calling of exotic birds and bone-chilling howling of wild animals. A wild pangor could attack from any direction, left, right, front, back and above.