Vedic Warriors
Page 14
On the other end, the armour was handed over to Tung and he started moving towards Vinashki, soon they were facing each other across the river. Vinashki then entered the shallow waters and started crossing the river, Tung however slowed down as he wanted Vinashki to cross the shallows so that both of them could take a diversion and run away. He whispered, “Hurry up Vinashki.” The moment he said this, he saw Vinashki looking at him strangely, he felt confused as he looked into her eyes. They sparkled with a mischievous evil glint but before he could comprehend, instantly he saw Vinashki throwing something at him, it was an energy ball, it was sudden and unexpected. The ball struck him and made him fall down, in no time Vinashki took a dagger and slashed Nahsirk’s throat and threw him in the water. She then galloped towards the armour.
Nismibh stood still in surprise and confusion and the moment he understood, he immediately mounted his horse and charged towards Vinashki, who by now had picked up the armour in an acrobatic manner and was already on the other side of the river galloping towards Taraksh. Nismibh was furious, he swung his arms behind in order to throw his mace at her, but the moment he did that, he saw a spear crossing the river, coming towards him at high velocity, he immediately defended it with his mace. The spear belonged to Jivraj. Vinashki by then had already reached to Taraksh.
As the event unfolded, Shresthaha blew his horn and signalled Nirmay and Apykarych to charge towards Nismibh. They had secretly marched behind the exchange group along with a small group of cavaliers. Nismibh had no other option but to escape but before that, he rode towards his master and friend in order to check on them. Concurrently, Jairudh charged ahead firing arrows at the enemy from his chariot, his charioteer was adept in manoeuvring and was quick to make his way to Nismibh. The strong man quickly lifted the two and placed them on to the chariot, their master was dead, while Tung was paralyzed temporarily. Nismibh quickly fitted himself into the chariot and asked Jairudh to ride away; all these events took place almost simultaneously within minutes.
While escaping Jairudh looked back at Vinashki, the mystical armour reflected the light of the moon on her face and made her clearly visible; she smiled back at Jairudh evilly, waved her hand to him and then responded with laughter that echoed in the wilderness…. “HA HA HA HA HA HA.”
The three warriors escaped but Taraksh and Shresthaha were delighted with the way their plan had been executed. Vinashki, by now had got off her horse. She walked towards Shresthaha and handed the armour to him, who embraced her and kissed her on her forehead, he then looked at Jivraj and embraced him too. He then escorted them to Taraksh and introduced them proudly to him.
“MEET MY DAUGHTER VINASHKI AND MY SON JIVRAJ.”
Taraksh was surprised by the revelation; he looked at Shresthaha and asked, “Why did you hide this from me.”
“So that you could have the armour, the Armour of Surya,” said Shresthaha.
Taraksh took the armour in his hand, it was sparkling, he was delighted, he smiled and handed it over to one his attendants, he then kept his hand on the shoulders of Shresthaha and said, “Excellent work Shresthaha, you are just amazing.”
Shresthaha smiled back and replied, “Let’s get back and celebrate the victory before another great victory.”
“Yes…sure…The twins have lived long, we will march after seven days and complete the conquest of all the kingdoms on land,” beamed Taraksh.
Chapter IX
Alliance
Jairudh, Tung and Nismibh sat inside the house of Saint Yuniop; the master was not a threat to Taraksh as he had vowed to stay neutral and had remained passive for years. He did not support Taraksh but did not go against him as well unlike his friend, Nahsirk who regularly trained revolutionaries and challenged Taraksh time and again.
Saint Yuniop lived in a forest elusive from all; he was quite upset with Nismibh, Tung and Jairudh for not informing him, he had no clue that they had gone to Rabocin, killed an Avatar, brought the Armour of Surya to Mahaverna and then hatched a badly executed plan.
“Tell me one thing, what did Nahsirk stand for, his entire life he has been fighting against Taraksh, he didn’t care about his life ever but because of you three he lost his life and Taraksh acquired the mystic armour,” coaxed Saint Yuniop.
The trio was wracked with grief and did not speak; they had just cremated the body of their beloved mentor and leader, Master Nahsirk. They were miserable and wrathful, Jairudh was feeling betrayed and depressed, he had lost his dearest mentor who had been like his father.
The image of Vinashki, his erstwhile love, cutting the throat of his mentor kept flashing before his eyes. He hated himself for loving and trusting Vinashki.
Nismibh was angry, he looked at Jairudh and screamed, “I told you Jairudh, not to trust that girl, you didn’t listen to me, look what you have done, we have lost both the armour and our dear mentor Nahsirk.”
“Do not blame him alone,” Saint Yuniop intervened “I have seen you children grow into adults. I didn’t want this for you, now you are bandits in the empire like Nahsirk, you cannot defeat Taraksh just like that, he is force to reckon with. You could have come to me, I would have given you a plan, I could have introduced you to the twins. You need a force to challenge Taraksh.”
“But we wanted to save Nahsirk and that was our ultimate agenda,” replied Jairudh pensively.
“Had you been true followers of Nahsirk and his ideologies, then you would not have been bothered about his imprisonment. Nahsirk always believed in one principle, fight against injustice. We shared different ideologies but I have always respected his will and spirit to fight against all odds, even death would not have been a deterrent for him in his fight for justice.” Expounded Saint Yuniop.
The three young warriors looked shattered; they knew they had made a mistake. Saint Yuniop looked back at the trio and stated his opinion and the next course of action, “I will stay neutral as before but yes I can take you to the twins, I know lots of places in the forest to surpass the borders. I will try to enrol you three in their services, after this I will be gone, we will leave right now. Pack your stuff.”
The three warriors and the saint didn’t take long to pack; soon they jumped on their horses and chariots and rode towards Xanubi.
Meanwhile, back in Mahaverna, a huge ritual was being performed by Shreshtaha. It took him five hours, after which the armour got back its power, it became impenetrable and could now neutralize the power of the twins. The armour was given to Taraksh, he wore it and felt energized and proud. In the evening, Apykarych hosted a party for the King’s success and for the slaying of his arch enemy, Nahsirk.
The party was attended by all important officials and their families. Vinashki and Jivraj were the focal point of the gathering. They both looked extremely impressive in appearance, intelligent, docile, yet so evil from within.
Now that Jairudh was out of the picture, Agastya thought of wooing Vinashki. He had admired her beauty from the very beginning; the female warrior now looked even better than before, exquisite in appearance with a divine persona. To add to this, she was the daughter of the most influential man in Mahaverna, Shreshtaha.
A nuptial alliance with her would confirm Agastya’s position as the next heir to the throne of Mahaverna. He tried flirting with her by glancing at her repeatedly, when Vinashki reciprocated, Agastya made his approach.
“You look so good tonight, so vivacious,” complimented Agastya.
“Thank you! You look good as well,” replied Vinashki.
“The way you executed the whole mission, tremendous, even in my dream, I could have never imagined that you were related to Shreshtaha,” said Agastya.
Vinashki smiled back and sarcastically commented, “The way you didn’t imagine that Jairudh and Nismibh were allies!”
“Yes, but I guess even you had no inkling of their alliance,” argued Agastya.
“You are right, they played good but I played better,” replied Vinashki winking at Agastya.
“Yes!
You did great,” acknowledged Agastya, he then looked at Vinashki and again complimented her, “You look so beautiful, any man would fall for these radiant eyes and I am one of those men. Tomorrow, I will be going to Neharsthal. I govern that city. Why don’t you come along with me? It is a beautiful place, you will love it.”
“I am a dangerous woman to love, don’t even think about it, I was not raised in this manner,” replied Vinashki. She then came close to Agastya almost caressing his ears with her lips, “I can only be your fantasy, you can have me in your dreams,” whispered Vinashki.
She then turned and walked away from him. Agastya looked at her from behind and asserted, “I have a tendency of converting dreams into reality and I will definitely dream about you tonight,”
Vinashki turned back, winked again at Agastya and said, “Will wait for that day to come.”
Celebrations at one corner and toil at another, the four legends rode towards Xanubi, the capital was far off and they took regular breaks in between. It took them five days to reach the first check point, it was heavily guarded. The area was well protected by fifteen feet long wooden walls stretching and surrounding the area. This was the very first wall protecting the federation; Xanubi was protected by four such walls and one fifty feet tall stone wall which encircled and protected the main city itself. Each and every layer was well guarded by thousands of archers and thousands of other soldiers. The four; Yuniop, Jairudh, Nismibh and Tung were stopped at the very first check post, the lead guard walked towards them and asked for their identification. Yuniop introduced himself and the other three. Yuniop was a well-known name, on hearing his name; the guard bowed to him and greeted him. He asked for the gate to be opened and escorted the four to a waiting lounge. He then dashed to inform about the same to his commander.
The moment the commander got this information, he immediately came inside the waiting lounge, he looked at Yuniop and bowed to him and said, “You must be Saint Yuniop! Greetings! I am Hans Dev, I am in charge of the first line of defence, and it’s an honour to have you here. What made you come here? Who are these three?”
“They are my students. I have extremely important information for Zekrar and Vedhas. Also, my students would like to join the league against Taraksh,” replied Yuniop.
“It will be an honour to have your students fight with us, please feel comfortable here, in the interim I will send your message to the twin princes. Please rest here as it may take some time, have water and food, my rider will inform the princes and will return back with the information. Please be seated,” said Hans Dev.
After making them comfortable, Hans Dev sent his fastest rider to his King and The Twins. It took him two hours to reach the second line of defence. The second line of defence enclosed a small city named ‘Mayavan’ which had been converted into a mini fortress by the league. The twins had their temporary palace created at this city. The rider went straight to the twin’s palace, inside which he met his King, Nasahud and his two undefeatable sons. The messenger conveyed the whole incident to them. After listening to the messenger, King Nasahud looked at Zekrar and spoke, “Saint Yuniop! Former friend of Apykarych! One of the best battle brains in the world, but he has always stayed neutral and vowed not to go against Taraksh. Why would he want his protégées to join us?”
Zekrar looked confused; he pondered for a while and then asked the messenger to again recount the names of the three warriors who had come along with Yuniop.
“Jairudh, Nismibh, and Tung; an archer, a strongman and an unconventional lean warrior,” replied the messenger.
“Hmmm… now I remember, they are the warriors personally shortlisted by Shreshtaha. They were one of the best in the tournament and who went missing. They want to join us? But why?” Zekrar commented thoughtfully.
“I am sure there was some deeper conspiracy behind the games. These three must have had a fall out with Shreshtaha. Let’s go and meet them, why to think so much?” Vedhas suggested.
“You are right, let’s ride for the first wall,” replied Zekrar.
The twins wasted no time and soon they were on their way. They rode on a golden chariot with a contingent of five hundred cavaliers. After a ride of three hours, the twins reached their destination and straight away went in to their private lounge and asked their soldiers to call the four. The lounge was huge; it was like a king’s court and was rectangular in shape. The royals sat at one corner at a height, while the visitors sat on the other end separated by four layers of guards who stood in between the two. The place had a hollow effect and even a whisper could be heard easily. The twins wanted to take all kind of precautions. They respected Saint Yuniop but wanted to take no chances since all four were extremely strong warriors and could have been assassins as well. The twins sat on their thrones positioned at a height of five feet above the ground and waited for the special visitors. Soon the four entered the court and it hushed into silence; they looked like gods emanating a charismatic aura. The twins greeted them and asked them to be seated. Once they took their seats, Zekrar looked at Yuniop and said, “Greetings! It is an honour to have you in our court Saint Yuniop. Tell us, what can we do for you?”
“I am sure you are aware that Taraksh had organized a tournament,” said Yuniop.
“Yes! We are aware of that,” replied Vedhas.
“This tournament was not an ordinary tournament, it was held to identify the six greatest warriors of all times, together, with strength equivalent to the god himself, the great Yogishm.”
The twins felt shivers upon hearing the word Yogishm; they looked at Yuniop and uttered together, “Yogishm, the incarnation of Surya on earth!”
“Yes! Yogishm! Who once slaughtered all evil forces on earth, he fought with different earthly weapons, a club, swords, axes, bow and arrow. But his principle arsenal was his golden sword and his gold armour. Once he ascended back to his realm, he left his gold sword and his armour in the custody of two tribes which had supported him in his conquest, the sword drowned but the armour remained. The tournament was organized to get this armour from the tribe. The three here and three others were sent to get the armour, which unfortunately now is in the hands of Taraksh,” narrated Yuniop.
“What is so special about the armour,” asked Zekrar.
“It is an impregnable armour, cannot be destroyed by any human weapon or weapons of minor gods but most importantly it will neutralize your power, that is if Taraksh wears this armour, and stands in front of you in a combat. You will not be able to extract Taraksh’s power and skills and thus you will become vulnerable to him. And once you are out of his way he will be unstoppable,” replied Saint Yuniop.
The news made the twins startle, they narrowed their eyes and then looked at Yuniop and inquired more about the tournament, the chosen ones who delivered the armour to Taraksh and why they wanted to help them now.
“There were six people who were chosen for the expedition,” replied Yuniop pointing at the three present at the court. “Jairudh, one of the greatest archers, the best I have had the pleasure of knowing; Nismibh, the strongest man in the world, he has been trained by me; Tung is the fastest warrior in the world with the potential to annihilate an entire regiment.
Apart from these three, there were others, the fourth was the mystic Vinashki, fifth was the undefeatable swordsman Oniata and the sixth was one of the best combatants in the world, Agastya. Another warrior, a sea farer, the best in the business also accompanied them. His name is Jivraj.
These seven went to the island of Rabocin, defeated the replica of ‘Yogishm’ and brought the armour back to Mahaverna. However, my students’ intention was not to give the armour to Taraksh but to steal it and then eventually destroy it once my old friend, the great Nahsirk was released from the confinement of Shresthaha.
However, their plan though succeeded initially, didn’t work out as they were betrayed by Jivraj and Vinashki, who stated themselves as their friends but turned out to be traitors and now the armour is with Taraksh.”
Saint Yuniop knew that his pupils had created a big blunder. He couldn’t reply but that didn’t stop Tung from commenting, “I understand your concerns young prince, but our intention was to destroy the armour. Moreover, even if we hadn’t gone on the expedition, sooner or later, Shresthaha would have devised a plan to get the armour. This was our only chance to destroy the deadly arsenal and we did almost succeed but were betrayed by friends.”
He was backed by the great saint, “We have failed. We agree and hence we are here. These three are the best warriors in the world. You will not find better soldiers and commanders than Jairudh, Nismibh and Tung. Trust me! These are the only warriors who can face and stop Taraksh, let them join your ranks and fight against Taraksh,” replied Yuniop.
“Alright! Give us some time to discuss. Please step outside for a while,” said Zekrar.
Once they went out, the discussions began, “So what do you think, is this a trick by Taraksh or they actually want to help, can we trust them?” asked Vedhas.
“Saint Yuniop is renowned for his honesty. He has always been a preacher of justice and peace. His intentions cannot be wrong, I am sure they have been betrayed and as the lanky fellow said, Shresthaha would have devised a way to get the armour sooner or later, with them or without them. The warriors can be useful to us,” replied Zekrar.
“You are right, let’s give them a regiment each to command and honour them, Yuniop is a man of principle, he will prefer to die rather than betray his deceased friend, but should we discuss the matter with the others?”
“The rest of the members are all paranoid. They will unnecessarily try to show their importance, moreover we have been appointed as the generals of the league, we need to take the best decisions for the league, lets honour them,” replied Zekrar.