This went on for three days, until one day the rocks bounced off Sugriva. There was no pain, and he didn’t flinch. Taro jumped up, clapping her hands. "He did it. The earth accepts you." She went up and hugged him. As they embraced, she whispered, "But my training is easy compared to water and fire." She kissed him on the cheek and pranced off into the temple.
Wuzi floated up to him, her body connected to the pond through a pillar of water. Sugriva watched her and asked, "Don't we have a feast? Don't I get to set the pace?"
"No. If we had time, sure, but we don't." Her face was stern. "Most people only pick one element. If you picked one you would currently be learning how to feel through the earth and sense what it can sense, relying on the spirits to give you information."
"What happens instead?"
"I'll drown you." She reached out with a lash of water, absorbed Sugriva, and then pulled him to the bottom of the pond.
Sugriva tried to escape, but invisible tendrils kept him under, leashing him to the bottom. He could hear a voice, though he couldn't see her face. "Breathe," she said. "Breathe until your lungs fill with water and you die. You will die again and again and again, all so you cannot drown." Then it felt as if the pool licked his cheek.
Finally, he gave in. Water filled his lungs. His vision went purple as he struggled. Then the water left his lungs, and he breathed air before the pond brought him back under. Every drowning he recalled the torture Pankatav put him through, though at least Wuzi was gentle about removing the water from his lungs.
This happened again and again until the sun set. Then Wuzi spat him out on land. The monkey heaved for air, coughing between gulped down breaths. She said, "I'm tired. Get rest. I will drown you in the morning."
It took three weeks before he could breathe water. When he finally could, Wuzi looked at him and said, "I truly thought I was going to kill you. You have a great deal of endurance, but I'm afraid being drowned for several weeks will diminish that vigor. Rebuild your body." She floated back into the pond. When her head alone was above the water, she turned and said, "I almost forgot. Congratulations." Then she sank below the surface.
Ishva waited next to him. "You know what is next," she said, brow creasing.
"I do. Are we starting right away?"
She shook her head. "Water is punishing. Eat. I will give you until you feel ready."
"What if I never feel ready?" His chest ached at the thought. He knew the corruption was spreading. While he was being drowned, Wuzi tried to heal it with water, but she barely kept it in check. The voice was even returning, though it was only a mild nagging in the back of his thoughts.
“Then I incinerate you.” She walked away.
"Wait, Ishva." She paused and turned. Sugriva reached out with a hand. "I will eat when fire doesn't hurt me."
A sad smile was painted on her face. "Truly, I am sorry."
A patch of fur sizzled. Then it reached his skin, and his flesh turned red. At first it felt cold, then blazing hot. He screamed out as little fires bit at him. After hours of torture, his flesh had boils. He shifted into a man, and there was no hair. He only shifted because it looked a little less ridiculous than being a hairless monkey.
"Should I continue?" she asked.
"While you're burning me," he grabbed his crotch, "do you think you can heal this?" He tired of the itch, and the heat made it worse. Burning started there, and he could feel relief. Then he curled up in pain, as the fire took hold of the rest of him. After a couple hours, the blisters were absorbed. His flesh was no longer a raw pink. The fire couldn't harm him.
Ishva smiled. "I was worried; prolonged fire training isn't good, and you took far too long with water. Now we can start your healing. Eat and rest. We start in three days."
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Wuzi watched Sugriva intently, head cocked.
"Wuzi, you can talk to me." He rolled over to her, doing somersaults.
"No," she said with little inflection. "I don't want to get attached in case you die."
"I'll try not to." He moved toward her, face lifting up to hers, and she snapped at him with liquid teeth. He didn't back down. "It doesn't scare me anymore."
"I shouldn't." She sat back, hands going to her thighs as if meditating. "But this world should. It should all terrify you, because one day the corruption will free itself from you, and you will die horrifically, brutally slaughtering many in your selfish wake."
Sugriva chuckled. "I'll be healed soon."
Ishva interrupted their banter and said, "Sugriva, you are starting the day early. How are you feeling?"
"I understand beyond myself. I feel everything around me better, and it focuses me. The air is just out of reach, and I wish it wasn't."
"In time. Wuzi, can you add water to the cauldron? Then go get Taro. I will need her to enforce it after I start the fire. Sugriva, you need to climb in. You will be immune to the fire, but this will still be ripping at parts of you, searing you physically and spiritually until you are pure."
Sugriva climbed in and took a deep breath. This is probably going to hurt, he thought. Flames licked at the cauldron, and Sugriva asked the spirits of fire to protect him from the ensuing blaze. Fire spilled over the cauldron and settled in, consuming Sugriva, though they didn't hurt—until the corruption was discovered.
He could feel the tendrils of darkness flail about his insides as the ends were burned back. A hiss emitted from his skin, with smoke bleeding from his pores. Sugriva went into shock, body rigid, mind unable to process the pain. The corruption latched onto the paralysis, and fear was born out of it.
She means to kill us. To kill you. We need to kill them. With our immunity, we could. Kill them, Sugriva. Kill them all and claim your power with Chaos, Earth, Water, and Fire. Do not let them take me from you.
The plead came too late, however. Sugriva was gone, his body and mind spasming, imprisoned by agony. Then the flames receded, the voice became a whimper, and Sugriva felt freezing water splash over him.
Ishva said, "You have endured a lot today. We will let you rest and begin again tomorrow." She kissed his forehead.
He passed out.
WHEN HE WOKE UP IT was dark. Taro shaped sculptures nearby. "I thought you were dead." She gave a sad smile, uncharacteristic for the earth spirit.
"How long?" He wanted to ask more, but the words were enough, and a cough choked them off. It felt like sand lined his throat.
"Four days." Taro came over with some food and a large vessel of water. "Drink and eat, Sugriva. I need to wake Ishva, so she can check on you. We want to make sure the corruption isn't becoming stronger with our healing."
"Is it—" he coughed and gave up speaking.
"Not one of my gifts."
When Taro disappeared to find Ishva, Sugriva dove into the food. He ate fruits and roots, with a little bit of fish. Honey drizzled into his mouth, and it never tasted so sweet. Using his tongue, he coated the roof of his mouth before swallowing. When he was done, his stomach ached to the point of wanting to vomit. So, he did the only thing a stuffed monkey could, and threw up.
Once he finished retching, he rolled over and looked at the stars. He couldn't hear the voice, but the voice was fickle and self-serving. If silence served it, then it would be silent.
He reached up for the stars and moon and whispered, "Where are you Prisha? Where are my friends who died? Do they already have new bodies so they can start a new and fruitful life? I pray they do, Ashtadash. They deserve it."
A light flared in the distance as Ishva came out of the temple. Usually she formed legs, but this time she moved swiftly as a wisp, her torso and head alone visible.
"Sugriva, you woke up. I apologize for pushing you the way I did. It was not intentional." She embraced Sugriva, and he called on protection from fire. Her guilt and concern blazed and made him sweat. "Forgive me. I understand if you do not want to continue."
"No," he rasped. "Continue."
He hobbled to the cauldron and flung himself in. The corrupt
ion reeled when she lit him on fire.
A TOME SPREAD OUT BEFORE Sugriva, as he rested from the weekly burnings. The corruption was barely a whisper in the back of his head, and there was only a black patch of fur on his shoulder. Soon he would be healed, but he didn't want to wait that long before learning everything Ramaswam could teach.
Ishva saw him looking at the tome. "Do you know much about Bahimatt, the holy city of your ancestors?"
Sugriva shook his head. "My ancestors were monkeys. But the priests claim Jaya will go there if we follow our dharma. I suppose I'll never see it."
Ishva laughed. "Man is creative." She took the tome and put it down on a nearby stone table, then thumbed through the pages until she found a map. It laid out the entire city. "This is a physical place. The water spirits created this book. They were told by their mother, Paanee, to study Bahimatt before exile. They learned whatever they could and cataloged it here, against the orders of Void. So the story goes."
Sugriva blinked away tears as his chest clenched at the thought of seeing the city. "This could be our home one day?"
"I fear one day soon," she said. "The demons rally. When they attack we will be responsible for getting as many people from Sankive to Bahimatt as we can."
"Then why haven't you gone to Jaya? They need to know. Do you know where Bahimatt is?"
"Taro does. She spent decades searching for it, becoming one with the earth. There are strong spells around it to make it nearly invisible to the senses. It even repels people who come too close."
"We need to tell Jaya."
Ishva put a hand on Sugriva's shoulder. "Jaya may not be worthy. They are haughty, and haughty is why we were exiled from Bahimatt in the first place."
Hatred and fear gripped at Sugriva's heart. Take the book. Make Taro talk. You could save all of Jaya and redeem yourself. You would walk your path again. Maybe they would even reward you with Prisha.
Sugriva grit his teeth and fought back the voice. He could feel the corruption snake out into his limbs and mind, and he growled.
"Bad monkey." Fire engulfed him, and he called upon the spirits. However, that would not save him from the burning of the corruption, and soon he collapsed.
WHEN HE CAME TO, ISHVA stood over him, stern. She asked, "What fear do you act on? How do we dispel it?"
He thought of his son and the witch Pankatav. "I have a son. Would you check that he's okay?"
"Taro," Ishva called. "Find out about Sugriva's son."
Sugriva gave information on the village, and then Taro left, descending into the earth.
Ishva turned to Sugriva. "You will rest and train. You will no longer go from the temple. Wuzi or myself will keep an eye on you. This is not your fault." She took his hands in hers. "This is the corruption. But we have to keep us safe as well as you."
TARO RETURNED WEEKS later. She passed by Sugriva without a word and went straight to her sisters. They met in the temple, leaving the monkey out in the courtyard. When he approached the temple, Ishva said, "My sisters and I need to discuss your water mistress. Then we will let you know what we can do."
Sugriva obeyed and practiced staff katas.
Hours later, Ishva came out. She sat down lotus style in front of Sugriva, while Wuzi and Taro walked behind him. They were uncertain how he would take whatever news they had to deliver, and that made his muscles tense. It caused his vision to blur with anxiety. It allowed the voice to whisper, though the whisper was slight. He simply assumed those pleas consisted of killing the three spirits and eating them.
Ishva said, "Taro found the village, though it took her a long time. The savanna is not well known to us, so she had to seek out numerous other villages before they led her to the fake Ashtadash. When she arrived, the tribe was burned to the ground. Blood and bones covered the ground."
Sugriva tensed and saw red. He trembled, then fell to his knees and wept. Taro put a hand on his shoulder, but not to restrain him. She comforted him. With her lips near his ear, she whispered, "Do not despair, monkey. Hear Ishva out."
The fire elemental nodded, then proceeded. "Pankatav took your son. It looked like the people went to kill her, but she slaughtered them and threw them in her lake. The lake is crimson now. It killed all the fish and several other animals, which put the predators into a frenzy. They died soon, too, as there was nothing to eat.
"Pankatav went to the village and killed the remaining villagers to avenge her pets. Merchants who still visit her say she's alone and training a little monkey to be a water elementalist. He is still young. You can intervene, and we think it will be good for your soul to do so."
SUGRIVA HELD ISHVA, as she took the form of a torch. A water skin contained Wuzi, which provided Sugriva with drinks whenever he thirsted. Taro Taro turned into a chariot of dirt and stone which rode along the ground at incredible speeds. Sugriva just had to hold on with all his might as the four sped away to the savanna.
Once they reached the village, they disembarked. Ishva leaped from Sugriva’s hand. Wuzi left the water skin, though she filled it with water for Sugriva. The chariot formed into a beautiful woman, and Taro Taro winked at Sugriva. "I see you finally got to ride me."
Sugriva blushed, though he would not make that mistake again. Even if he trusted the three women, he would never give his body over to another spirit.
Ishva said, "We will stay here tonight."
"She doesn't visit the village. We'll be safe," Taro added. "I was here a few days to watch her habits. She considers this place cursed, or close enough."
They rested, each one taking turns guarding. When the sun rose, they went off. Sugriva brandished his staff. Taro had a hammer of clay. Wuzi turned one of her hands into numerous whips which didn't stop flowing. Ishva had a bow of fire, with a quiver on her back filled with bolts of flames.
When they neared the lake, Ishva said, "You understand, Sugriva, that this is your battle. You will fight her alone for your son, and only if you fail will we step in. I promise, though, upon the myth that has become the Ashtadash, that if you fail, we will dry her out and train your son ourselves, so he can become the warrior you are."
Sugriva wept. "I'll do my best. Thank you for watching my son."
The three women hugged Sugriva, and then he went out to face Pankatav.
Her hut was still there. The lake was still crimson from those she killed, and the animals which died as a result. The sand around it became ruddy as if clay. The shack was the same as he remembered, and a bolt of guilt struck his chest, as he saw where they laid together. He scratched at his crotch.
"Spirits of water, protect me." He could feel the spirits answer, as his lungs adapted.
"I hear a boy outside. Who could it be? Another victim?" Pankatav mocked from inside the shack. As a water spirit, she would feel the prayer, too. "Why come back? Revenge? The boy?"
She left the shack with his son in her arms. She cradled the monkey, feeding him from her breast. "He wants for nothing, Sugriva. Now go before I kill the boy just to spite you."
"He means too much to you. Now come on. Kill me."
Without taking the child from her teet, she called on the waters from the lake, and bloody tendrils moved out and grappled Sugriva. Then another tendril went through his nostrils and down into his lungs. The blood was strange, thicker than he was used to breathing, but he could filter out the water and breathe it, using the water he expelled to remove the blood.
Ripples distorted Pankatav's body. Then she roared and set the monkey down on the porch. "Your training won't stop me from ripping you apart."
More tendrils came out to impale him, but they splashed off him. It still hurt, and he would feel it worse in the morning, but at least they couldn’t pierce him.
Then he willed his staff to grow, and it grew from his belt until it pushed against the sandy ground. It launched him into the air, until Pankatav's tendrils reached too far and dissipated under the sun. He dove toward Pankatav, and her face twisted with horror. More lashes of water came out
, but he whipped them with the staff, then called on it to grow. It penetrated Pankatav's skull with a splash, and Sugriva couldn’t feel the water spirit anymore.
Chapter Twenty-One
The Sun Rise Army
Age of Finality
Dameneh rubbed sleep from his eyes, as the sun rose. He glanced from one man to the other. "Did either of you sleep?"
Divyan grinned and squinted at the sun. "Today is going to hurt." He rubbed his head. "I haven't stayed up this late since I was a kid." The pained words were followed up with laughter. "You tell good stories, Sugriva. And you have a captivating one. I look forward to hearing the rest of it."
"Today is not the day for the rest of his story." Dameneh glowered at the two men, as he picked up the camp. "We need to talk to these warriors. Come on."
It didn't take long for them to see men in the distance. When they crested a hill the march stopped, and so the three stopped. Three men broke off from the rest of the military and approached Dameneh, Divyan, and Sugriva as they stood atop the hill.
Dameneh shouted, "We are here for peace. We carry weapons for bandits and wild animals. May we speak to your leader and broker a treaty?"
The men paused, looked at each other, and spoke in a language Sugriva did not understand. There seemed to be more and more languages getting thrown around, though he figured Dameneh would understand.
Divyan nudged the boy. "What are they saying?"
Dameneh shrugged.
"Why are you shrugging? What does that mean?" Sugriva hissed. "You always know what they're saying."
"The One doesn't want me to know what they're saying, so I can't understand it."
"But your God always tells you the languages. Why not now?" The calm of the boy when faced by an army unsettled Sugriva.
"My God always gives me the path I need to be on. If I can't understand their language, it's for good reason."
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