Vedic Warriors

by Rituraj Sharma

  Soon, the boats touched the shallows, and the lieutenants rode in search of Jairudh and Nismibh. As Agastya saw them riding away towards the shore, he could also see a man, glittering in white robe, waiting for the arrival along with numerous body guards; he was none other than the wily - ‘Shresthaha’.

  Agastya was petrified by the sight but kept a bold face. The moment they reached land, they were greeted by the soldiers and Shresthaha. But soon Shresthaha realized that something was wrong. He looked at Agastya and asked, “What’s wrong, where is the armour?”

  Agastya replied with false confidence, “We did impound the armour after defeating the so-called god ‘Mahayogishm’ but Jairudh and Nismibh connived and stole it away in the dead of the night, we have dispatched a search team. We will have it in no time.”

  Shresthaha smiled sarcastically and said, “I am sure! And who do you think will stop them and get the armour back. These soldiers? You expect them to defeat Jairudh and Nismibh?”

  “Oniata will remain stationed here along with the other ‘Manuastra’. The patrolling parties have been given strict instructions to inform Oniata about their location before attacking them,” replied Agastya.

  “And I am sure you would like to meet Taraksh and explain the whole story to him,” said Shresthaha.

  Agastya felt humiliated and was terrified, he couldn’t see Shresthaha directly in the eyes. He again gave instructions to Oniata and rode towards the city to confront Taraksh along with Shresthaha and other important officials.

  There inside the palace, in the senate room, Taraksh sat on his throne while the senators sat beside him. The very sight of Agastya delighted Taraksh. He was his favourite after all. He stood up walked towards him and embraced him warmly, “Where is the armour?”

  Agastya was ashamed and terrified. He looked down and replied, “Great King! We defeated and slaughtered the mighty god Mahayogishm. We have got his head as a gift for you along with gold, silver and women. The armour was with us but those traitors Jairudh and Nismibh stole it from under our noses in the middle of the night.”

  “So the armour is now with Jairudh?” asked Taraksh looking at Agastya ferociously.

  “Yes,” mumbled Agastya.

  Taraksh’s eyes turned red with fury and he instantly grabbed Agastya by his neck and lifted him in the air.

  “You fool! You lost the armour!”

  Taraksh kept squeezing his throat and Agastya felt his spirit leaving his body, but then Taraksh loosened his grip and released Agastya. He then looked at Shresthaha and asked, “What do we do now?”

  Shresthaha seemed as relaxed as ever, “Relax, Son of Thunder, the good news is that the armour is here on our land, secondly, they will not use the armour against us till the time we have ‘Nahsirk’. I am sure they will contact us for an exchange.”

  Taraksh seemed to relax only a little, but he was still flustered, “I hope this will happen soon,” said Taraksh, looking at Shresthaha. He then looked at Nirmay and asked him to spread his men and spies to look for clues.

  The moment his command was issued, an informer immediately came inside and asked for permission to speak. After receiving the acknowledgement from the Emperor, he said, “A message from Oniata, two patrolling parties heading towards the South East have been exterminated. Oniata is asking for reinforcement to continue pursuing the traitors.”

  Taraksh again looked at his general and asked him to send reinforcements to help Oniata in the hunt. After receiving the instructions, Nirmay left the court to pursue his job, while the rest remained.

  Agastya stood with his head hanging down in shame. Taraksh looked at him and walked towards him, kept his right hand on Agastya’s right shoulder and said. “Relax! We will get the armour. Don’t feel ashamed, you defeated Yogishm, a god and got the armour to our land, those traitors will be punished. Now bring me my gold and women.”

  Agastya was Taraksh’s favourite and treated him as his son and forgave the young senator. Agastya felt relieved and immediately ordered his men to display the embezzled gold and silver and present the daughters of Prahast to Taraksh.

  “My lord, we showed some great diplomacy during our conquest of Rabocin. We did not sack the city, and diplomatically made the King of Rabocin our vassal. Even without pillaging, I have brought 25% of his whole treasury for you.

  And as a token of friendship, King Prahast has also sent, ten of his most beautiful, daughters for you. They are royalty my lord, not concubines, untouched and most beautiful in the kingdom. They will embellish your harem.”

  The King checked the gold and silver, then proceeded towards the women, sniffed the hair of one of the princes and said, “Ummmm….smells like royalty.” He then ordered his men to keep the wealth in the treasury and escort the girls to his harem. He then looked at Agastya and smiled, “Good, you are becoming a fine diplomat, I am impressed but I would have been more satisfied, had you got the armour safely.”

  “I feel ashamed myself great King, but I had no idea and could have never imagined that Jairudh and Nismibh were together on this. But I promise you, you will have the armour back, I will personally hand it over to you,” assured Agastya. He paused for a few seconds and then continued, “I have also got one more gift for you my King, another trophy for you, this time it is of a god,” said Agastya.

  He then clapped and ordered Malamb to give him the box containing the head of Mahayogishm. He then bowed down on his knees and presented the box to Taraksh. The King took the box in his hand, opened it and lifted the decapitated head of Mahayogishm. He smiled looking at the head and then asked Agastya to get the head installed at the main gate of the city, commemorating another victory for Taraksh; this time against a god. This display would increase his level of respect and fear in the minds of people and thus, intensify his own image of god.

  Agastya and others were then asked to leave, Taraksh now stood alone with Shreshtaha.

  “Agastya….Agastya! What should I do with this kid? He is a brilliant warrior, an exceptional manager, yet he is such a big fool. He should have been extra careful in keeping the armour safe and sound, should have created layers of security around the armour. He is one of my most trustworthy confederates but he doesn’t have a mind of his own,” commented Taraksh.

  “Fools always make better subordinates Taraksh. He is a good boy, I like him and so do you. He is very young at the moment; he will have his time,” replied Shreshtaha.

  Meanwhile, Oniata was reinforced, he along with Tung Zapotec and a small army of five hundred cavaliers began tracing Jairudh and Nismibh, they didn’t include Vinashki in the trail because of her close proximity to Jairudh. Jivraj chose not to be a part of the hunt and the two returned to Taraksh’s fort.

  Oniata and Tung rode as fast as they could towards the South Eastern region of the empire. Oniata led the unit in his chariot while Tung rode beside him on an armoured horse. In no time they crossed the area where the annihilated patrollers lay dead; they surpassed them and kept riding ahead looking for their whereabouts. As they moved further, they saw two shadows, one with a bow and the other with a huge mace. Oniata looked at them and ordered a charge, but Jairudh released a divinely powered arrow from his arsenal at the incoming soldiers, the arrow converted into ten arrows and struck and killed ten soldiers. For some reason Oniata and Tung were never targeted, however the charioteer of Oniata’s chariot was slain and so were other soldiers. Divinely powered arrows were fired one after another, killing sets of ten soldiers with every shot.

  Now it was Nismibh’s turn, he with his big mace started beating the ground, which made the ground tremble causing the incoming horses to halt. The strong man then charged at the halted cavalry and started pushing, lifting and throwing horses. The two wreaked havoc and made many retreat, now with around three hundred killed, all that remained were only dead soldiers, the rest ran away leaving Oniata and Tung all alone. But Oniata was no less accomplished and he stepped out of his chariot and charged at Nismibh but he was strictly no matc
h for the strongest man in the world. In no time, Nismibh was able to wrap his arms around Oniata’s head and pressed it until the undefeatable fell unconscious. The moment he lost consciousness, Tung jumped off his horse and ran towards Jairudh, halted and then ……..embraced him, “Missed you brother,” said Tung.

  “I missed you too, how did Agastya react,” asked Jairudh.

  “He was fossilized…hot as hell.”

  As the two were speaking, Nismibh walked towards them and after embracing Tung, he too joined the discussion.

  Jairudh, Nismibh and Tung, the three were students of Nahsirk, who was regarded as the foremost master of warfare, a veritable legend in weaponry. After the initial training under him, the three had been separated to get trained under specific mentors; Nismibh went to Saint Yuniop, a master instructor in strength building and mace fighting. Jairudh stayed with Nahsirk, who was a specialist in archery and Tung went to train under Jiwi Hinji, an instructor known for his skills in martial arts and unorthodox sword fighting.

  Apykarych and Nahsirk were best friends since childhood and shared the same skills, but Apykarych always felt envious of his friend. Nahsirk was appointed as the head of their community and was always more respected. Nahsirk believed in only training people who deserved power and the ones who could control power. Apykarych on the other wanted money and power for himself, he looked for alternatives and was finally picked up by Shresthaha and was appointed as a personal mentor to Taraksh. Soon he was appointed minister of war & strategies and headed the entire army of Mahaverna. Once in power, Apykarych seized all the land belonging to Nahsirk and his community, he attacked, looted and abducted women and killed those who protested; in the attack Jairudh and Nismibh lost their parents. Nahsirk had to escape in order to survive; he could not defeat the might of Taraksh’s army with Apykarych leading it from the front. He along with other survivors went to the east of the empire inside the forest and took shelter with the mystic ‘Saint Yuniop’ for few years before parting ways because of a difference in opinion.

  They remained in hiding for years and during this time the three were trained, they had lost everything. Their entire village was put to death by the forces of Taraksh during conquests. These three children grew up to become Jairudh, Nismibh and Tung. Tung’s parents survived the attack but his younger brother could not survive, his name was Zortez. So many lives sacrificed, all for land, women and false pride.

  Jairudh had a plan and he disclosed it to Tung.

  “Now listen! Here is the plan. We will tie you up along with Oniata against the chariot wheel. Once Oniata regains his consciousness, we will hand over this scroll to Oniata, it contains the details of the exchange. The plan will go as follows; we’ll demand that the exchange will be conducted by neutral parties henceforth; it will be carried by you and Vinashki.

  At the designated date and time of exchange, we will ask Taraksh to send you to us so as to procure the armour. Once we hand over the armour to you, we will demand Taraksh to send Nahsirk to us escorted by Vinashki. Simultaneously, you will ride towards Taraksh. Once you and Vinashki reach midway, both of you will take diversions and escape the enemy. Remember the armour should not reach Taraksh.

  I’ll stay hidden in the woods, a mile away and will be ready with divinely powered arrows to stop the enemy from chasing you and others. The area chosen has shallow waters in between, and this will check the speed of the enemy. I think this should work and once we have both, in no time we will lay a siege on Mahaverna and will replace the corrupt leader.”

  “Does Vinashki know about this plan?” Tung asked.

  “No! Not really, you need to talk to her and explain the entire plan to her; she is on our side. She told me her entire story; even she craves revenge from Shreshtaha like me. She will gladly accept.”

  “Sounds good, now tie me up before Oniata regains his consciousness,” replied Tung.

  Tung was tied along with Oniata, once this was done; Nismibh took water from Oniata’s chariot and splashed it on Oniata bringing him back to his senses. He looked dizzy and slowly turned to his left and saw Tung in chains, he then tried walking ahead but couldn’t. He then realized that he himself was chained along the wheel of his chariot.

  “How are you feeling undefeatable?” Mocked Nismibh, “Don’t worry, you will live today for there is a message that you must deliver to Taraksh.”

  “You haven’t seen the wrath of Taraksh, once he decides to go hunting, you…this archer and that old man of yours will be chopped to pieces, even your families and your entire community will be hunted for and slaughtered, you have a chance, give the armour to me and let me go, forget about Nahsirk, this way you may live for a few more days,” replied Oniata.

  Hearing this, Nismibh punched Oniata’s face a couple of times but was interrupted by Jairudh. Oniata started bleeding profusely and looked extremely angry, “You may kill me but I’ll never bow down to you,” screamed Oniata.

  Now Jairudh took charge and explained the scenario to Oniata, “Look! For your King the most important thing is the armour, for us it is to have Nahsirk back. If we don’t get our mentor, I will destroy the armour and your King will not like that. I am releasing you, take this scroll and hand it over to the King, it contains the details of the exchange. But remember no games, no ambushes.”

  Oniata was cut loose and with the scroll he mounted his chariot, but old habits die hard. Before leaving, Oniata again looked back at the two and said, “Big mistake! You will suffer and regret this day.” After saying these words, he and Tung returned to the fort.

  Inside the fort, Oniata handed over the scroll to Taraksh, who in turn handed it over to Shresthaha who read the scroll.

  “We have your armour and you have our mentor Nahsirk. The armour is of no value to us and the same goes for you, you have absolutely no interest in Nahsirk. You can have your armour but in return we want our mentor. It is the same deal which was proposed by Shresthaha, but the wise man cannot be trusted, therefore we had to take this step. We just want Nahsirk back, the exchange will happen at Xelia, near the old temple of Indra, the shallows of river Sudni will be the demarcation between you and us. You will stay at the north end of the shallows and we will stay on the other side. Since it is difficult to trust you, the exchange will be coordinated by outsiders; it will be led by Vinashki and Tung. Tung will come to us and will take the armour; meanwhile Vinashki will bring Nahsirk to us. Remember both of them should not carry any weapons and I want no tricks, no ambushes. Otherwise, you will not get the armour; it will be destroyed by my divinely powered arrows.

  “Let’s stay clean. We will meet tomorrow, at twilight, Jairudh.”

  The moment the letter was read; Taraksh glanced at Shresthaha and asked, “Does he really possess arrows that can destroy the armour?”

  “No! Just fooling around so that we don’t get in to any sort of conniving but still we will not take any chances,” replied Shresthaha.

  “So what’s the strategy?” asked Agastya looking at Taraksh.

  “Let’s discuss. Call Tung and Vinashki as they have a key role to play tomorrow,” replied Taraksh.

  Meanwhile, Tung approached Vinashki and asked for her support. Vinashki was upset because she had no idea that the three were allies all along. But then again, she was inclined towards Jairudh. She accepted.

  Soon, Tung and Vinashki were summoned for the discussion. The discussion took place at a private room in a citadel at Yanecrim. The room consisted of Taraksh, Shresthaha, Agastya, Oniata, Apykarych and Nirmay and surprisingly Jivraj. The moment the two entered the room, they were greeted and asked to sit. Shresthaha explained the plan to the two, “I want everything to be clean, we have no use of the old man but we need the armour at any cost, therefore, we will follow their instructions blindly. Tung will procure the armour, while Vinashki will escort Nahsirk to the defectors of Mahaverna.”

  Both gladly accepted as both had plans otherwise.

  The plan was set and the next morning, Taraksh and
his men including Shresthaha, Tung, Jivraj and Vinashki, all moved towards the shallows. Nahsirk’s hands and legs were tied in metal cuffs and he was forced to mount a chariot along with two guards. Few hours later, the group reached their destination.

  There was an eerie silence at the exchange site, suddenly a roar of a man echoed, overwhelming the stillness, “STOP! STAY WHERE YOU ARE!”

  The roar belonged to the strong man – Nismibh, who could be seen clearly, standing at distance in his typical posture holding the Armour of Surya. The mystic armour reflected the light of the moon on him, fixating him as though under a spotlight.

  Taraksh and his men stopped as per the command. Nismibh then continued, “You must listen to my orders, you want the armour and we want our master, you must follow my orders and only my orders; send Tung to us so that he can have the armour and wait for my next instruction.”

  From the other end, another man hollered, his loud voice could petrify even the rocks, it was the howl of the almighty Taraksh, “We will go as per the letter, but remember no tricks, otherwise I will personally decapitate Nahsirk’s head.”

  He then gave orders and Tung mounted his horse and rode towards Nismibh, crossing the River Sudni. The river had shallow waters but enough to reduce the speed. The moment Tung was on to the other side, near to Nismibh, the strong man roared again, “Now release Nahsirk and send him to us.”

  Nahsirk looked pale; he was old and had not been fed properly as promised and stated by the conniving Shresthaha. He was barely kept alive and was unable to walk properly; the guards carried and pushed him atop a horse, Vinashki then climbed on the horse and sat behind Master Nahsirk holding him and galloped towards Nismibh.