“What do you mean kinkars, Kaling? What are kinkars doing this far south out of the fission?”
“No one knows, my Lord. Apparently, there were quiet a lot of them.”
“Ask Vikranth to meet me immediately. We have to strategize on how to deal with them if they attack us.”
“My Lord…there is another problem. Vikranth…” Kaling gulped. “The kinkars took the Dalapathy hostage.”
The Purohit didn’t say a word. His face was creased violently with anger and rage.
“Apparently the Priest Eater was there,” Kaling continued as if any silence would bring out the wrath in the Purohit. “We are to leave them alone and send them fire arms and supplies. Also, there was some nonsense about some captured kinkar that they wanted freed. If the demands are not met in a week, we will lose Vikranth. We await your order to send out a rescue party with the supplies, my Lord.”
The Purohit stroked his thick beard. “You want me to supply those monsters with fire arms, Kaling?”
“But Vikranth –?”
“I am not arming our enemy,” the Purohit bellowed.
Kaling knew the word was final.
“Maharshi, then at least a rescue party?”
“Kaling–” the Purohit paused. “Sometimes the Lord demands a sacrifice,” he said. He knew of Vikranth’s plan for reforms and revolt. Shukra had informed him just the previous day. Also he had broken his vow. He had fallen in love. The Purohit could see it in his eyes. Like a disease. His capture was just what he needed.
The Lord was helping him, he thought.
“Maybe he is a sacrifice that we all need to make right now. Now his fate rests only in the hands of the Lord,” the Purohit had passed his judgement.
Roy, the General, Nivedita and the rest of the Forgiven walked to the towers in chains. They had looked in awe as they crossed the giant hydraulic machinery that supplied the Sinless with a trickle of electricity in this End Age. The gates to the towers proudly bore the emblem of the Sinless. Also were etched the words, the creed which they had always followed.
Heretics shall be damned
Blasphemy shall be scorned
Honour shall be guarded
Men shall be judged
And the Sinful shall be punished
Kalki Commands
The captured Forgiven – there were about ninety of them now. A long human chain interconnected with metallic chains. They were led by Eeshan and Triven to the second tower, where usually the low varnas of the Sinless resided. They were led to the second floor. The ground and the first floors were reserved for the worst of the lot. The ones for whom there was no hope. No redemption except for death in most cases. The megaphones and the loud speakers blared loud as they walked to the second tower. Voices from the sky –“Praise to the Lord”–many of them chanted. “Kalki Commands.”
“Repent for your sins and accept your judgement,” Another loudspeaker said. Some of them issued instructions. “Stay away from the rings. Pay attention to the hourly bells indicating ring movement.”
Huge billowing flags, cut out of cloth as saffron as the evening sun, carrying the emblem of Kalki, a sword and a disc intricately stitched in deep red thread, fluttered in the wind for every thirty meters or so along the path to the tower. As they neared the towers they say huge banners made of white cloth. Stitched on them in stark black was the law of Kalki.
The law of Kalki
All of the tower residents are hereby informed to always follow the below decreed rules of law
❖ You are hereby a servant of Lord Kalki, and will accept his will in all things that matter without exception.
❖ Always kneel and join your hands together in the presence of the Purohit.
❖ Two daily prayers, one at the prayer hall and another at the tower of residence are absolutely mandatory for everyone.
❖ You are encouraged to attend the daily judgement sessions.
❖ Male members are not allowed to look at, talk to or maintain any kind of relation with female members. If you observe any obscene activity perpetuated by someone you know, please inform the Avadhanis or the Ashvins at the earliest.
❖ Male members (except the Ashvins) are not allowed to visit the stables.
❖ Always give way to the Ashvins and the Avadhanis.
❖ Any survivors who were married prior to joining the towers will retain their status of marriage as blessed by Shri Kalki but can only meet their partners once a week in the allotted common areas at the designated time.
❖ You are not authorized to carry any weapons or objects that inflict harm unless you are a member of the Ashvins.
❖ You are not eligible to hold any material of reading other than the Book of Kalki and other supporting literature provided by the Avadhanis.
❖ Pay attention to ring movements and related announcements.
❖ In an event of witnessing Kalki’s judgement, (also called common death), kindly move away from the one who has been judged and inform your nearest Avadhani.
❖ You will be part of one the five areas of servitude. These include
Ashvins–Only young and able-bodied men are eligible and will be responsible for defence and recruitment.
Avadhanis–Only men are allowed and will be responsible for wisdom and counsel to the Purohit along with all matters of worship, science and medicine.
Stable keepers–Only women are eligible and will be responsible for feeding and maintaining of the horses.
Ring operators–Only men are eligible and will be responsible for the proper use and maintenance of the ring machinery.
Household–Only men are eligible and will be responsible for all other activities involving food, illumination, clothing, trade and others.
Any violation or other offences are liable for immediate judgement and execution under the purview of Shri Purohit
Approved by the Purohit and the eight-member council of Avadhani
8 EA
The first thing the Sinless had done before caging up the Forgiven had been to separate the men from the women. All the men went to the cages in the first floor while the women were taken to the cages on the second floor. The cages were just beside the stables. The horses in the stable were treated better than the prisoners in the second tower –one of the Sinless told them, locking them in cages.
“Be thankful that you will get a judgement tomorrow. Most folks die without a judgement or a hearing,” he had said before leaving.
A night in a cage is far different from a night in a cave, they had discovered. One was home while the other was prison. Hardly any of them slept. What was the judgement that the Sinless spoke of? They thought. Their bodies were wrecked but their minds refused to shut down.
The General remained unconscious throughout the entire ordeal. It was a miracle that he wasn’t dead yet. The guards promised that he would be taken care of by someone they called the Avadhani, if he was forgiven in his impending judgement. “But all of us are forgiven,” Roy had screamed, only to be ignored by the guards.
Before they were left alone, long robed men with shaved heads came into some of the cells escorted by the guards. They had simply collected their names and other minor details before leaving.
The next day would always remain a dark day for the Forgiven. They were all led out of their cages by the Ashvins and made to stand around the platform in the centre of the triangle that was formed by the three deadly towers. The towers loomed on three sides, casting huge and long shadows.
On the centre of the platform, a chair was set up on which was sitting a tall and skinny middle–aged man with a shaved head and long robes. His hands were bony and spider like. His robes were deep saffron and on his shaved head was a shikha – A single patch of hair at the crest of the head that dropped to his shoulders like a ponytail. Before him on a stand was a bowl of clear steaming water.
Up on the third floor of the first tower, from the balcony looking down was the Purohit. His long robes, thick beard and long ha
ir fluttered in the wind. He overlooked the entire ritual with an almost divine supervision.
To the right of the platform sat another robed man with shaved head and a black U shaped tilak, who had later announced himself as Jagadakshar, the sixth Avadhani. The Forgiven had no sense of what this word ‘Avadhani’ meant or why all these tall robed men called themselves so. All they could do was listen. Jagadakshar sat there and looked around the platform, keenly at the Forgiven and then suddenly pointed out to one of them. It was Sanjay Gupta, a meek middle–aged man who was good at cooking and sometimes joined the hunts. The BlueSkins–the ones whom the Sinless seemed to call Ashvins, dragged Sanjay up the platform to the robed man on the chair.
The robed man got up.
“My taken holy name is Shukra,” he shouted for all to hear.
“The first of the Avadhani. Today we are gathered here to bestow rightful judgement upon these heretics who call themselves the Forgiven.” He spread his arm towards the Purohit in the first tower. “With the power vested in me by the Shri Shri Purohit upon whom the power was bestowed by none other than Lord Kalki himself, today I will deliver to these sinners, their rightly deserved justice,” he said and then sat down in his chair.
Then one of the BlueSkins –a young man in his twenties, walked up to Sanjay who was being held up by two other BlueSkins. One of them held Sanjay’s arm outstretched and forcibly opened his palm. The young BlueSkin pulled out his blade and with a quick cut, drew blood from a terrified Sanjay’s palm.
He then walked up to the bowl of steaming water and carefully tilted his dagger. Two drops of Sanjay’s blood dropped into the bowl, mixing with the water in a dance of red. The guard then descended the platform and washed his blade, standing by, ready for the next one. Up on the platform, Shukra stood up and glanced into the steaming water, now tainted with Sanjay’s blood. He looked into it as if he was looking beyond it –looking through the water to a different dimension. The Sinless waited in nerve-wrecking anticipation.
Shukra looked to the north towards the Beam and then he closed his eyes. A hush fell upon the crowd. Slowly some of them started sloganeering.
“To Narak! To Narak!” they all chanted.
Slowly it caught on like a tiny ember in a forest. Soon all of the Sinless were screaming and shouting.
Narak! Narak! Narak! Narak! Death to the blasphemer!
Shukra finally opened his eyes.
“He lives! To the rings!” The judgement had been passed.
There was a great collective sigh from the crowd of the Sinless and then all of them muttered under their breaths.
“Kalki Commands!”
There had been no effort to mask the sense of disappointment in those voices.
Now, Jagadakshar was looking around once again. After a couple of minutes, he had found the next one to be judged. This time it was a young roamer. This young man was put to the same trial as the one before him. Shukra once again stared into the bowl of steaming water, swirling with blood from the man’s palm and the chanting from the crowd started all over again.
Death to the blasphemer. Narak! Narak! Narak!
There was a smile hiding behind Shukra’s dark eyes when he opened them again. He drew a long breath before speaking.
“This man has sinned beyond redemption” his voice boomed. “To Narak!”
In a flash, the BlueSkins holding the young roamer drew their blades and slashed it across his throat. The roamer’s eyes rolled back and a gurgle left his mouth in a final attempt of a scream as blood spurted out of his neck and he collapsed to the floor with his life’s fluid pooling around his head.
The Sinless erupted in loud cheers, throwing their fists in air and chanting the name of Kalki.
KALKI COMMANDS! KALKI COMMANDS!
The Forgiven collectively gasped. This is not what they had survived so long for. This is not what their words had promised.
We do not bleed … for we are not men.
A young roamer was lying dead in a pool of his own blood in front of them.
But we do not die … for we are the forgiven.
But words were only just words, and the man who had taught them those words, now had only one arm and was only half alive.
Before they could recover, the sixth Avadhani was looking around again.
All of the forgiven, bent their heads low. None dared to look into his eyes. His roaming eyes had finally become stationary as they locked firmly on a young woman with short hair and dark eyes. Jagadakshar’s arm stretched out pointing to her and the next moment, two of the Ashvins were pushing her through the crowd onto the platform.
Amidst wild cheers of the Sinless and horror filled gasps of the Forgiven, Nivedita Ojha stepped onto the platform.
JUDGEMENT DAY
The breathing from the tent was driving Vikranth crazy.
It was the constant sound of inhaling and exhaling. The great din that never stopped. It was a part of his existence now. A constant annoying knock on the door of his soul.
It ringed in his ears even while he slept, bleeding into his dreams like a stain that clung to his mind. He was silently screaming inside when one of the kinkars – a she this time– came up to him.
Strange, he noted that the kinkar was not carrying any food.
This time the kinkar came closer than any other kinkar had ever done. He understood. His time was up. The kinkars of Yama were finally going to know what he would taste like. He wished to Kalki that he would taste terrible and they would choke on him.
The kinkar was now almost on him. It opened its awful mouth – baring its needle like teeth that lined the insides. Vikranth closed his eyes. He knew what his last thoughts should be. The exact same thought that all of the Sinless were taught to have when their time was done and their end was near. The exact moment before your death, the Purohit had said once –the only words in your mind should be Kalki Commands. And so that’s what Vikranth knew his last thought would be. But the words in his mind surprised him. They were something else entirely.
I hope you understand, Urushi
He wanted to see her once for the last time and tell her that he had tried. That he was sorry.
I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry.
He waited for the pain to begin, the teeth to dig into his neck and then for all of it to be over. But the moment never came. The pain never began. He felt a strange painless touch at his chest. He opened his eyes and saw the kinkar biting away at his vines that ran around his chest and bound him to the tree.
For a moment, he thought that he was being freed. But his hands and legs were still bound. More kinkars were now approaching him. Hissing and grunting. He had no idea what was happening. Slowly they held his hands and legs and lifted him off the ground. They were now carrying him.
Where? And why?
Vikranth tried struggling free but he was too weak, sick and starving. And then he realised where they were taking him as his ears registered the increase in the sound of the madness that haunted this place.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
Vikranth gasped.
They were taking him to their God.
Urushi was back in the lower floors of the third tower. Where she belonged.
It was late in the night when Urushi opened her eyes. It was the sound of the rings moving. The cranes and pulleys pulling and lifting. The mechanical sound beckoned her.
She was lying on the moist floor of a cage, naked and hurt. Her eyes burned and there was a heat inside her that begged to escape.
A fever, she thought. The upper floors had turned her soft. Now that bastard Shukra had returned her to her roots.
It was not going to break her. Not her. This place was going to nurture her. Build her again from the scratch.
She slowly got up and sat by the only window in the cage. Her silky hair was matted up and reeked of filth. Her hands were muddy and her nails were chipped away and filled with grime. She held the bars of the window and pressed her face against them.
She could see it – the massive ring rising.
It was crawling up towards the window from the lowest floor. It came up and up until it had passed her window, engulfing the cage in utter darkness as it cut off any light coming through.
A moment later it had gone up and out of sight of Urushi. The cage was illuminated in the dim moonlight again, showing her the dirt, filth and the darkness in all its glory.
It had been her ritual for two days now. To see the rings move as they passed her window. It kept her sane, and human.
She was about lie down again, when she heard the cage being opened.
The door opened and Shukra walked in.
And there it was. Planted on his face, the smile that she wanted to tear away with her teeth.
But this time he was not alone like the previous two nights. Walking closely behind him was the man she had sometimes admired and sometimes feared, but lately despised a lot.
The Purohit.
“Looking pretty today!” Shukra said, kneeling down beside her.
His very presence gave her goosebumps. There was a taste of hatred and disgust in her mouth.
He held her face in his hands and lifted it up dangerously close to his.
“I have some news for you,” he jeered.
“That’s enough,” said the Purohit, and Shukra withdrew his hands from her face.
The Purohit walked forward in his flowing saffron robes and knelt by her side.
“I hope Shukra’s been taking good care of you here?” he asked mockingly.
There was still a sharp pain between her thighs from what Shukra had done to her the night before. A pain that deepened every time she moved. She remembered the Avadhani’s face as he had done it. She had promised herself that she would not let herself forget.
She remembered his words.
You know I always had eyes for you. You are a stupid bitch, but that body? Thank Kalki for that body! I have had a couple of stable wives before, but never someone like you. He said pinning her down to the ground in the darkness. Do not worry. I’ll show you a lot better time than that horse-fucking lover of yours.
Sinners- The Dawn Of Kalki Page 13