by Jasmine Walt
The harsh sounds of screeching swell until the noise is almost overpowering. Then, one of the birds, which has been hovering close, breaks off and flies toward them, speeding up before sweeping down to perch on the ledge.
He is at least eight feet tall from head to tail and each of his wings, stretching between his human arms and legs, has a span of thirteen feet. Long wings flap and settle down on his back, his beak and crown of feathers recede, and he assumes a more human form. His body and face are that of a normal man, and he has intelligent brown eyes in a warm honey-coloured face and thick curly hair, which is blackish-brown. Around his neck he wears a simple golden chain with a round pendant of solid gold; another band of beaten gold around his forehead proclaims his status as a prince among his people. Bare-chested, he stands tall, and around his waist is a simple red sarong tucked up at the back. His strong legs end in large, naked human feet.
He reaches with elegant human hands, plucks out a feather from his left wing, and hands it to Tiina. She examines the quill, and then turns to him.
“Garuda!”
“Didn’t mean to surprise you; just had to say, ‘hi,’ to you guys.”
“Who are they?” Tiina points to the sky behind him.
“My Bird People—they are all here. It is incredible, a huge reunion of all the brothers in the extended family. Never before have all of us assembled in one place!” Garuda stands to attention, then nimbly leaps off the ledge and kisses her on the cheek. “Didn’t I tell you, that I would see you…?”
“At the appropriate juncture,” agrees Tiina, laughing and embracing him.
Yudi pats him on the back, forced to look up at someone for once. “I didn’t think I would see you so soon after graduation.”
“It’s been just a year, but so much has changed,” Garuda agrees.
“We are different people.”
“We should have realised you were royalty as soon as we met.”
Garuda slaps him on the back in a friendly gesture, which is nevertheless strong enough to unbalance him. “We are all friends here! So here’s your army, then.” He points to the circling flock. “Just say the word. We are with you!”
“Army…fight?”
Garuda turns to Mimir. “He doesn’t know?”
“Thought it would be easier to show him first.”
“Show me what?” No, no! This is so not happening, thinks Yudi. I knew it was coming—should have left when there was time. Or never come back, perhaps. Taken Tiina and run…as if she would have come with me. The thoughts are all jumbled up in his head. His fear must have shown, for Mimir puts his arms on Yudi’s shoulders.
“Come.”
Leaving Tiina and Garuda to catch up on the terrace, he takes Yudi to his chambers, which are on the floor above the Hall of Great Mirrors.
“The last time I was here, it was for detention.”
“Cutting class and being caught smoking a joint with some celestial drug.”
“G.”
“What?”
“It’s called G—you know Ganja, marijuana. It’s organic made from dried Cannabis flowers, and it’s not really celestial.”
“Really? I stand corrected then.”
“It was popular at one point on Earth, and it grows wild in some parts of Arkana.”
“In the gardens below.”
Yudi shrugs. “I can’t reveal my sources.”
“Sit.” Mimir takes a seat in his comfortable armchair behind the ancient redwood table with carvings based on motifs from the ancient East Indian civilisation on both sides. The table is rectangular and covers almost the length of the entire room. Behind Mimir is a window open to the night sky. Lamps are lit in the room, giving it a cozy atmosphere.
Yudi walks over the faded rugs and sits down, glancing at the rows of books on the walls.
“Have you read them all?”
“I have the benefit of many centuries over you.”
“How old are you?”
“Old enough, Yudi.”
“You can be annoyingly taciturn.”
“Well done; your vocabulary is improving.”
Yudi gives up. “Okay, I’ll never defeat you at word play.” He pauses. “I am not doing it, Mimir.”
“What?”
“I am not going into this crazy war, this bizarre fight that is not even mine. And I am not going to kill my father.”
“Isn’t Athira your father?”
“Yes! And so is Shaitan. And by the way, it seems I also have a mother now.”
“It’s understandable if you are confused, Yudi; it’s natural.”
“But…? There’s always a but, right?”
“But only you can do this.”
“Fulfill my destiny, go through and perform because of some stupid curse which some god bestowed on Shaitan?”
“Your vocabulary really is improving. And it was Shiva who cursed Shaitan to be killed by his own child.”
“And you think that is me.” It was more a statement than a question.
“Everything points to that.”
“Then why am I not convinced? I know I have this strange birthmark that ties me to Shaitan, so it has to be true, but I really can’t bring myself to just kill him.”
“Why, Yudi? Why can’t you kill him?”
Yudi’s voice rises as he stands up and paces the room, caught up in confusion. “He is my father.”
“You know, only the body may be killed; the self is immortal. As a warrior—and I believe you are one, since you learnt the ways at the Academy—you have a duty to uphold the natural law of the universe by destroying evil, which in this case just happens to be Shaitan. But you can call him by any other name, if that helps you.”
“Okay, so here’s a question. It’s you who always said that thoughts are more important than action. So if that’s the case, why can’t I just think him away? Why should I fight him?”
“Because you are indulging in actions, which will benefit the greater good of the galaxy—for your friends and for everyone who has suffered at one time or the other at the hands of evil. The difference here is that you should not be attached to the results.”
“So it doesn’t matter what the outcome of the fight is? It’s more important to push back on what is wrong?”
“Yes. In other words, don’t let anyone push you around.
“Okay, I get that—makes sense I suppose, in a weird kind of way. You’re not messing with my head, are you?”
“Who, me?” Mimir smiles, all innocence. “Remember, no attachment to results is the appropriate course of action. It is the journey that counts, not the destination.”
Yudi simpers; he stops pacing and once more comes back to stand in front of the desk. “Who are you, Mimir? How do you know so much? Why are you so wise?”
“Everything is a part of me and I am in everything.” The smile on his lips fades, the wrinkles around his eyes smooth, and he becomes serene once more.
As if he has this kind of conversation every day with panic-stricken mortals like me. “I believe you. I’ll do this then, but on one condition.”
Mimir’s face does not change expression as he waits for Yudi to continue.
“Show me your real self. Show me who you really are.”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“Yes.” Yudi wonders if he will regret this forever.
White robes flutter behind Mimir as he walks around the desk to the centre of the room. In front of Yudi’s baffled eyes, he grows in size, and grows and grows filling the room, the skies above and the ground below, becoming a transparent being who radiates the power of a thousand suns. Everything is mirrored in him—the sun, the planets, the stars, the galaxies known and unknown. He can see humans, half lives, immortals, himself, Rai, Tiina. Yudi marvels at what he sees. It’s all so simple. Why was I so worried? I will never be the same again.
Mimir’s voice echoes in his ears. “Just surrender, Yudi, for this is the ultimate perfection of life.”
&n
bsp; 31
Yudi wakes in his bed in his room at the Academy with Tiina’s anxious face peering over him.
“I’ll fight him. I’ll face Shaitan.”
“I know.”
When he closes his eyes, she sighs, not knowing what else to say. The earlier conflict within him has faded. In its place is a serene acceptance. How is he really feeling?
“Come on in.”
After walking around the narrow single bed, she slips in under the covers and pillows her head on his arm. She turns on her side and puts her arm around his chest, hugging him close.
“We’ll do it together. I’ll…you can even have Artemis to take you to him.”
“An offer I can’t refuse.” He grins. With a slight turn of his head, he bends a little and kisses her on her forehead.
“What did Mimir tell you?”
“Not tell as much as showed. He was right about that.”
“What did he show you?”
“That he is one with the universe; he is the universe.”
She waits for him to continue; a shiver runs through him and she hugs him closer.
“And I must protect it.”
The curve of his jaw is set and dark stubble peeks from his almond skin. She runs her hand through his hair, tracing her fingers down his chest, over his shirt to where the Isthmus glows dark blue on his wrist.
“It is time, Yudi.”
He closes his eyes in preparation for what is to come.
Shaitan and Yaksha, along with a small group of his best human strategists and a hundred chosen Nagas, land on Arkana in the middle of the night. They pitch camp on the hill next to the Temple of Arkana. The guards positioned at the Temple had put up a spirited fight when Shaitan stole the Isthmus, but had been no match for Yaksha and his best troops.
So it ends where it all started, thinks Shaitan, looking to the hill not more than five miles away, on top of which is the Academy of Half Lives. The view is familiar. The Temple had been one of his favourite places when he had studied at the Academy. Little did he know the route his life was going to take then, and that his next visit would be to destroy the planet. He shrugs. Some things one simply had to do oneself.
The hundred Nagas tunnel into the sides of the hill, each creating a burrow to rest in for the night. Within hours, the hill is pockmarked like the face of Earth’s moon with small mounds of mud, each indicating the presence of a Naga in the ground. Each opening is not more than five feet across and about thirteen feet deep, but comfortable enough for the half human, half serpents to stay warm in the womb of Arkana.
Yaksha pitches a spacious tent for Shaitan on top of the hill so that he can survey the city. The tent is a sea of stark black broken only by Shaitan’s flag which flies on top—a rectangular piece of black cloth carrying Shaitan’s chosen insignia in gold. This is his first trip back to Arkana. He was sixteen when he had graduated from the Academy, recruited by Mimir to be among the first batch of half lives. Twenty-one years have passed since then, and at thirty-seven, he feels ancient seeing this place once more.
No. Not ancient, but not young anymore. He turns to see one of his half human soldiers pass by, dragging a young female, and beckons the man to approach. The female is not more than sixteen and she is tiny, just five feet tall with a slender curved body, tiny breasts, and a waist the span of his palm. Thick, curly reddish-blonde hair falls to her gently flaring hips.
The soldier stops in front of him still holding onto her. When Shaitan stretches out his hand, the soldier looks reluctant to relinquish his prize, yet when Shaitan’s hand goes to the long sword on his back, the guard gives in and walks away, leaving the female behind.
Is this the answer? Shaitan wonders. Get them younger. Her fresh beauty reinvigorates him, running through his blood like a heady narcotic, recharging every part that it touches. The tips of his fingers tingle as if sensation is returning after a long time. He goes to the opening of his tent and holds the flap open. Where earlier the girl had seemed reluctant, now there is only curiosity in her bright blue eyes.
She walks toward him, her weight barely making a mark in the dirt below, pausing for a second to look up into his eyes at the entrance to the tent. Whatever she has seen there seems to satisfy her, for with a smile, she enters, followed by Shaitan. Yaksha, who has finished pitching Shaitan’s tent by then, stands guard at the entrance.
Within minutes of Shaitan’s landing, news of his arrival is carried to the Academy of Half Lives by Mimir’s spies. Yudi and Tiina are woken up by the old guardian’s summons. Shaking herself awake, Tiina follows Yudi to Mimir’s living quarters to discuss their best course of action. When they walk into his chambers, where Yudi was just a few hours earlier, Mimir is back in the chair behind his massive desk, writing, and he gestures to them to wait until he has finished.
Yudi drops into the chair opposite him and yawns before settling into a half snooze. Feeling restless and unsettled, Tiina walks to the windows of Mimir’s offices. From there, she can see the hill with the Temple of Arkana outlined against the night sky. The skies behind the Temple are already lightening and she is surprised to see that she has slept most of the night away, for dawn is not far off.
As she continues to gaze at it, Mimir says, “That’s where he is. Shaitan is here.”
Tiina jerks in surprise and turns around to see that Yudi is sitting up straight, mirroring what she assumes would be a similar expression of astonishment on her face. Mimir is serious. In fact, she has never seen him look so solemn before. He has made up his mind. Gone is the normal wry look in his eyes, indicating that he regards everything around him as one big joke, replaced by steely determination, and an unsmiling focus as if saying, “Make no mistake; this is the real deal now. There is no getting away from it.”
She turns back to the hill. If he is already there, then it is too far away for her to make out any details of Shaitan’s chosen army of soldiers, but she imagines he is there, looking back at them, ready to attack the Academy.
Both of her companions wait for her to turn, face them and speak. “Well, what is he waiting for, then? Why doesn’t he just strike?”
“He went to the same school as you, Tiina, and he was one of my best pupils.”
Aghast, she rests her hand at the base of her throat. “He graduated from the Academy?”
“It’s not something I am proud of. I consider him my personal failure.” Mimir pauses for a moment. “He knows the importance of positioning. His decision to place himself by the Temple of Arkana is based on both objective reasons and subjective.”
“It gives him a clear view of Arkana, so we cannot catch him unawares?”
“Very good, Yudi. Perhaps you will make a good general yet.” Mimir nods. “Yes and also on the subjective beliefs of others, us in this context.”
“So he thinks that by placing himself next to the Temple, it gives him an emotional advantage?”
“Perhaps. The Temple is the holiest place on Arkana. It is also where he struck last time, so it has become our weakest point.”
“We must be prepared for any more surprises he may have in store for us.”
“We all have secrets, it seems.” Tiina offers a sly smirk.
Mimir throws a warning glance in her direction, which she meets with a direct gaze. And I have a few which you’ll never know. She tries to listen as they continue to debate merits versus disadvantages of certain action, discussing the best time and formation to attack, when her ears prick up.
“We have lost our element of surprise,” Yudi points out.
“Not all of it. Garuda and his Bird People are with us. Shaitan doesn’t know that yet. And who do the Nagas fear the most?”
“Eagles, the birds, from whom the Bird People are descended.”
“Of course!” Yudi smacks his forehead. “They are natural enemies of each other, and have been for centuries.”
Surprise—come at him from the skies. It is clear to Tiina. Yudi and Mimir could sit around discussing, think
ing, strategizing until the celestial cows came home. She believes in action, though. Damned if she is going to hang around here until they make up their minds. They had forgotten about another element of surprise.
Me! She knows what she has to do for Maya, for Rai, for Ka Surya. Oh! Yes! She does, and only she can do this.
“So while you make up your minds, I am going to grab a few hours of sleep while I can.” A pretend yawn does the trick, letting her excuse herself from the conversation. “I still haven’t recovered from the journey to Arkana from Saturn.” Seeing Yudi’s surprise, she pretends to sway. “You forget, I am much weaker than you. I simply don’t have the strength you have, Yudi.”
There! I know exactly which buttons to push.
As she expects, Yudi walks over to her and touches her face. “You poor thing; sometimes I forget how fragile you really are. Let her go, Mimir. We can wake her up once we have decided the best course of action.”
Mimir’s gaze pierces her soul, as if reading her thoughts, and Tiina cowers inside, but is steadfast in holding his gaze. She tries not to think about what she is going to do next, thinking instead of her and Yudi’s violent lovemaking on their way back from Saturn. It seems to work, because Mimir averts his eyes, as if embarrassed by what he has seen. He nods.
On tiptoes, she kisses Yudi. “Wish me luck!” At Yudi’s quizzical look she hastens to clarify, “So that Shaitan doesn’t invade my dreams.”
He smiles and kisses her back.
Before either of them can change their mind, she leaves. She hadn’t lied when she had said that she was going to her room, and she walks to the wardrobe tucked away in the corner, opens it, and pulls out the only suit hanging there. After tugging off the simple trouser suit she is wearing, she shrugs into the arms of her well worn sturdy neoprene jumpsuit, running her finger lightly over the flying activator on the right sleeve.
No one uses the flying activator to transport on Arkana. It is viewed among the elite of the Academy as outdated technology. Most here prefer to use their sleek spaceships for interplanetary transport and space-pods within Arkana, unlike Java where half lives and humans use whatever they have available.