"No need to fear, Nikita. The Queen might not call upon you," she reassured me. After the sound of conchs ceased, we heard the strong clear voice from the Guru again.
"Tepi, daughter of the Earth Goddess, Giver of Life, Mother of Fertility, you shall compete with..." he began but then a Brahmin priest came to whisper something into his big flapping ear.
I took the time to look at Tepi in total surprise. "Mother Earth is...your mother?"
Sambo turned back and continued the announcement.
"There's a special duelist, who rarely joined the training," he said and cleared his throat. "Raksa, Son of Yama, God of Justice, Lord of the Death and King of the Underworld."
The silence grew heavy. Tepi's face was unruffled, but her eyes darkened as she stared ahead.
"Oh, him again?" Tusita said with a giggle. "I'm telling you Tepi, he will not quit pursuing you even to the end of the earth. He's one hell of a stubborn lad!"
I didn't understand who she was talking about. I couldn't imagine anyone getting hurt, much less Tepi. Sure, she excelled at combat strategies and was the most level-headed one among us, but there was something about the 'special duelist' that seemed to itch my inside.
I felt dizzy with worries when Tepi stepped into the field. I grabbed her shoulders back.
"Tepi," I said. "We don't have to win this duel for me. Let them have their victory."
"For a future leader, I'm glad you're a kind one," Tepi said and patted my hand. "But you may like to see how I'm about to raise hell on earth soon."
Tepi continued her stride into the arena, leaving me staring with dread.
"Who is this new duelist?" I asked Vorac and Tusita. "Why have I never heard of this avatar before?"
"It's because he already has a duty, serving his divine father," Vorac said. "He has this dark aura about him that just his presence in the city make people squirm. So Yama's child is hardly ever seen."
"In case you are wondering, Nikita," Tusita said. "Raksa is madly in love with Tepi since they were children. The lad keeps bugging her in every way he deems worthy, but our girl isn't interested in romance in this lifetime."
"So he fights with her to make her accept his love?" I said, turning to look back at the arena again.
"Pretty much so."
~*~
The crowd went dead silent. Even the orchestra stopped playing. Tepi stood in the middle of the field, waiting for her opponent. I kept staring in curiosity, but the other avatar hadn't shown up yet. I imagined him as a scary dark son of Death.
Then the sky darkened once again as if the sun had gone down, and the day turned to night. A moment later, black mist emitted out of nowhere, floating and spreading to the field. Everyone looked around in nervousness. I started to feel the chill seeping through my armored clothes. The animals made whimpering and whiny sounds in the stables. The eerie atmosphere made the arena felt like a graveyard.
Tepi stood her ground without a trace of fear in her eyes. The black mist whirled into a tall figure. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the person emerged from the dark haze.
"That is him," Tusita said to me. I looked at the new avatar. I realized he was a youthful boy with shiny dark hair and brilliant black eyes.
Raksa stepped out of the smoke and gave a bright smile at the audience. His iron armors were crested with skulls and chains. His helmet had a pair of black buffalo horns sticking out. Even his thin black cap flickered in the wind like bat’s wings. No one cheered or made any sound. It was as if they dared not to even breathe.
The lack of welcoming didn't stop Raksa from smiling and waving as he walked around leisurely. Well, I had to admit that he was handsome. Some of the maidens were giggling and sighing as his eyes laid on them. I wondered if they knew they were flirting with death. Then the avatar looked around the field as if to find someone.
"Where's my beloved opponent?" he said, still grinning. Tepi had to clear her throat to get his attention.
"I am here if you care to look," she said.
Raksa's head snapped back to where she was, and his piercing black eyes lit with joy.
"O beautiful daughter of Mother Earth," he said. "It's been a long while since I last saw you. Your presence pleases me for within my dark gloomy realm, it was the thoughts of you that delighted my soul."
That was all I needed to confirm that this young man was, in fact, a male version of me.
"Stop your silly flirtation and draw your weapon now!" Tepi snapped.
Then she crouched down and made a lifting motion with her open hands. Two huge chunks of the earth the size of a cow were torn off the ground. They floated easily into the air on either side of her. I gasped in awe.
“Oh wait!” Raksa put his hands up, eyes widened in surprise, but Tepi willed the two chunks forward, intending to crash the life out of him. Raksa quickly jumped into the air and twisted himself out of the way. The chunks of earth missed and collided into each other, breaking into pieces.
"O Lord Father save me!" Raksa breathed as he stood again.
"Draw your weapon and fight me!" Tepi demanded.
I turned to my friends.
"Is Tepi alright?" I said. "She seems so angry."
"If you were wooed by the same boy you didn't like for seventeen years, you would want to kill him, too," Vorac said.
"I think it's just an act of a young maiden," Tusita said, leering at her lover. "They act tough to hide her feelings."
I didn't know which opinion was right. I just prayed that no one got hurt in the end.
Tepi swiftly summoned the earth with her hand movements. It caused the ground to tremble under our feet. More solid element began to sprout out of the surface. I realized they were weighty stones. She made a few air-kicks that sent the stones flying. Raksa sidestepped the first soaring attack and did a backward flip to avoid the next one.
Massive rocks continued to hurl at him. Tepi kept willing the element with her elegant moves, but the son of Yama seemed far from being defeated. He came forward and started smashing the stones with his bare fists. One by one, Tepi's rocks shattered and scattered all over the ground. The crowd howled in madness as they witnessed the intense fight.
"Forgive me, my love," Raksa said with an apologetic look. "If you yield and surrender to my longing heart, I promise to give you everything you wish for and so much more."
Tepi gritted her teeth in disgust.
"Shut your mouth and banish this silly thought from your mind," she said. "I have no interests in you."
She drew her fist back and punched down onto the earth. The ground erupted around the arena. I could feel the shake from where we stood. Everyone swayed from the sudden earthquake, which cracked open the field. A crisscrossed line went right through Raksa's feet. Then it widened immediately, causing him to fall through. Raksa tried to grip onto the edge with his legs half-kicking and half-dangling over the precipice.
Tepi had never come across as a brutal fighter to me, but now I changed my mind. She must have torn the earth all the way to hell for a burst of lava and hot steam rose out of the open gash.
"Holy cow!" Tusita said. “Her rejection is like a death sentence.”
I had to agree, and it was kind of ironic considering whom she was battling with. Tepi closed her palms together and the open earth sealed itself back. Luckily, Raksa managed to leap out of the crack before the ground swallowed him whole. I felt a short relief. I wasn't sure who I was rooting for anymore at this point.
Raksa regained his balance and stood up again. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Then he dropped his hands to his sides and released two iron chains. Each end of the chains had a skull of a fanged animal head, but what was scarier was they seemed to have a life of their own. They whipped themselves about like a pair of snakes in the air.
"Now you're ready to fight?" Tepi hissed and ran forward. In the meantime, a large pillar of earth rose up from the field. Tepi jumped from the raised mound, and we watched her twirling herself in the air. Our a
vatar friend used her gravitational momentum to stomp her right foot deep into the ground as she landed with a force. In turn, the plain under Raksa burst and tossed him into the sky. His scream echoed through the winds. A moment later, he dropped to the ground again with a loud thud.
Everyone winced.
"You should surrender now," Tepi said, straightening herself again.
"Not until you say you love me, too," Raksa coughed and groaned in pain. Then painstakingly, he picked himself up and staggered back to his wobbly feet. He was reeling from side to side like a drunk.
"Oh Meru gods, bless his heart and soul," Vorac said beside me.
But then Raksa disappeared into a puff of black smoke. Our friend lost focus as she looked around in confusion.
When the Son of Yama reappeared, he gave a tiny smirk before vanishing again. This trick continued and each time he wasn't in the same spot on the field. When he finally showed himself again, he was only several feet away from Tepi. Raksa tossed his iron chains forward. The two skulls opened their jaws with razor-sharp teeth. Purple mist emitted from their mouths. The chains went through the air, spiraling around each other until they reached Tepi. Yet they went right past her ears. The chained skulls rounded up her body, tying her limbs with a tight grip.
"What on earth are these things?!" Tepi cried and struggled against the chains.
"Father gave them to me to capture the wandering souls," Raksa spoke when he emerged from the black smoke again. He stood behind the struggling girl. Then this lovesick Underworld prince wound his strong arms around our friend from behind. He leaned in to whisper into Tepi's ear, "but now I must use them to capture my soulmate, too."
The crowd erupted in a wild cheer. Tepi tried to remove the mighty chains, but it was to no avail. It seemed for this round our team was defeated by the power of love.
CHAPTER 27
Tepi lost the duel. She didn't look happy about it, but she didn't look sad either.
"You think she's alright?" I whispered to Tusita during the break.
"With that calm face, I'm not sure," she said. We let Tepi be for a while, but I knew she was a strong girl and would pull herself back together eventually.
Then the Guru called for our attention again. Samudra cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck ready to go.
Queen Indradevi came to give the brief speech for the next round.
"I can see there have been noticeable improvements," she spoke with an appreciative smile. "You have shown interesting skills and fought bravely, young ones. May the gods be with you for the next duel."
The Guru raised his hand as a signal to start another battle.
"Vorac, daughter of Chandra, the Moon God, Lord of the Night, Bearer of Inspirations and Giver of Strength. You shall duel with Vijay, son of Marutas, Celestial Warriors of the King of Gods, Guardian of the Chalice of Amrita."
A member of Issarak's team walked into the field. I had seen Vijay during the flying lesson, but never really known him. He was built with broad shoulders like a bull and stood tall as a mountain. He wore golden helmet and breastplate and was armed with two shiny golden axes. When he opened his mouth with a roar, he sounded like a lion and his teeth were iron.
Tusita told me Vijay was born from the holy energy of twenty-seven heavenly warriors called the Marutas. They were celestial companions of her father Indra. They were destructive storm gods who lash the world from end to end, making the mountains rock and reel. They used their axes to split open the clouds so that rain could fall.
"Shouldn't he be on your side instead of Issarak's then?" I said.
"Well, his strength is obviously not intelligence, that's the only explanation," Tusita said. "And my girl is going to teach him a lesson."
I looked back at Vijay and grimaced. How I never ran into him in the encampment was a miracle. Before I got to worry about Vorac, she merely leaned in for another kiss from Tusita and then stepped into the arena.
"Aren't you worried about her?" I asked Tusita, who didn't seem to be at all anxious.
"I have full confidence in my beloved bunny," she said with a smile. "Don't worry about her, Nikita. This girl is highly gifted."
I wanted to ask how that could be possible not to worry when Vorac's opponent was twice her size.
The two avatars stood their ground until the conchs were blown and the bronze gong was struck.
Then the fight started.
The Moon God's daughter raised her golden bow and aimed at Vijay. She released the bowstring, sending an arrow straight at her opponent. Vijay swung his axe and split the flying arrow in half.
He smirked. Vorac swiftly sent two more, one after another. Despite his giant size, Vijay sidestepped the first shot and deflected the second with ease. He smashed the next arrows with his axes with his lion roar.
Then Vijay twirled his axes over his head. It caused the wind to race through the field. The grass and trees swayed to the impact of the waking storm. The giant avatar threw his weapons. The heavy axes went flying out in a rotational motion. Vorac dodged them left and right before the axes made a full swing and returned to Vijay's waiting hands.
The Son of Marutas muttered something under his breath. There was a chorus of gasps from the crowd. We stared at what appeared to be not just one but twenty-seven identical Vijays on the field. They stood proudly around the arena, baring their iron teeth in a smile. Their laughter echoed one another through the darkening sky.
"Did he just duplicate himself or am I seeing...more than...double?" I said.
"No, you're not," Tepi's voice spoke. "The Maruta gods granted him this ability. It enables Vijay to multiply himself into a troop of Maruta warriors whenever he wants."
"You can't fight us," all the twenty-seven Vijays said in unison. They laughed boisterously, causing the hair on my arms to stand on end.
Vorac just rolled her eyes. She got down on one knee and pulled out three golden arrows from her quiver. She expertly sent them off altogether. The arrows sunk through the bodies of three of the Vijays, and they evaporated and disappeared into gold dust. I watched the whole thing with my heart stuck in my throat.
One of them threw his axes forward. The others followed suit. The numerous weapons flew around the arena like bats. All I could see were flashes of whirling sharp blades in the air. Our friend did her best to duck and roll out of the way while occasionally shot her arrows to deflect the frenzy attacks.
"Vorac, look out!" I screamed, but Tusita held me back. I didn't get how she could be so calm when the love of her life was in danger.
"Wait and see," she just said. "You haven't seen the best of her yet."
Suddenly, we saw what looked like a crescent moon glowing radiantly on Vorac's forehead. As the Moon God's daughter dodged the spinning golden axes, her skin began to shimmer and radiate with an ethereal glow.
Vorac turned magically radiant and breathtaking in a blink of an eye. Her celestial beauty was so enchanting that everyone around the field gasped in awe.
"Oh sweet baby godling," I breathed. Tusita laughed.
"Behold with your eyes, Nikita, that is her divine form you're seeing," she said. "You do not wish to fight with the daughter of the most beautiful god in the Pantheon."
The sight of her transformation made all the twenty-seven Vijays drop to their knees. A dazed look was visible on each of their faces.
Vorac opened her radiant eyes and awoke all emotions in every living soul. She captivated the voice of each adorer while striking her glory at her kneeling opponent.
Vorac drew her golden bow and a golden arrow. The son of Marutas was trapped in a cage of her charm while she floated into the air, earning another collective short intake of air from the audience. Several rings of golden dust circled about her. She was so beautiful that the light bounced off her skin made chiming sounds.
Vorac shot the arrow again. It could have pierced her opponent and injured him badly, instead, her glittering arrow burst into a rain of jasmine flowers, showering the arena.
It was a sign of mercy.
Vorac landed on the ground again and flipped her hair in a victorious manner. She slowly changed back to her usual form and walked away from the dazed and defeated avatar.
The crowd cheered afterward along with our team. It was obvious that we had won this whole duel. I was relieved that our friends were unharmed.
After another short break, Sambo's voice came from the pavilion again.
"We have consulted and reexamined the result of this fight and we concluded that it was a draw."
"What!?" we all cried out at exactly the same time.
"Well, children...putting your opponent in a state of hypnosis is not considered as a fair combat strategy," he said. "Therefore, I would suggest we now start another final duel."
We all groaned in disappointment. Samudra stepped to the front, rolling his shoulders like he was expecting his name to be called.
"The last pair of duelists to compete against one another is..." the Guru started.
"Please Meru gods, let it not be her," I heard Tepi prayed under her breath. That was when I knew my luck had run out this very day.
"Ravi, daughter of Vayu, God of the Wind, the Purifier and Breather of life, the Thousand-Eyed Lord of Thoughts." Sambo then paused as his elephant face looked at me almost apologetically. "And Nikita, the Child of the Prophecy...and er...daughter of an archaeologist."
~*~
Everyone turned to me. I caught a glimpse of Amarisa from the pavilion. She looked at her parents before turning her shock-filled eyes to me.
Her brow creased with worries. I wished I could reassure her that I would be fine, even it was out of falsehood.
Then there was Kesar. An anxious look on her face just clenched my heart. Her hands clutched her golden flute tightly, I could see the whiteness of her knuckles.
The avatars from my team were speechless. Samudra handed me a sword. No words passed between us, except gestures of encouragement. Tepi and the rest of the girls patted my shoulders before I went forward.
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