Deep within the Northern Mines following a secret passageway only known to the leaders of Kapala Army, the current chief persisted on as the air supply dwindled and the flame in his hand began to waver. He soon reached a dead-end and pressed certain hard to find points on the rock wall in front of him. His grip on the torch he was holding weakened as he found it difficult to breathe and his head started to feel dizzy. He placed his free hand on the wall for support. A small crevice opened up and revealed a sparkling green diamond. The man hesitated for a moment and picked up the gem. A dark miasma started to envelop him as his fingers folded over the gem.
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Aryaman sat cross-legged before his sword and looked at it with intent; it was hanging from the armor stand. He had little time to process what had happened in the forest of Dandakaranya. He had not spoken the divine tongue in several years. His late mother had taught him the language and had entrusted him the sword. But he didn’t realize until then that both were connected.
He needed to find a guru soon. He needed to figure out the issue of the demons and the corpses. The current pressing issue, however, was the threat of the Kapala Army. His plan was a viable one but he pushed it back in his mind for the time being. For now, he wanted to process all the events that had occurred in the past few days.
He got up with a start.
“A bath!” he said to himself.
The prince’s quarters had a large lavish bath hall. The fresh smell of sandalwood lingered in the air. He sat on the edge of the pool, with legs in the water, and began to disrobe himself. The exhaustion of the recent days finally caught up with him. He had a couple of hours to himself before he met up with the royal guards. He wanted to be fully charged and functional before he started organizing the troops. As he undid his clothes, he felt something in his sash and pulled out a metal hairpin.
Recognition hit his eyes, this probably belonged to the little girl. He had picked it up from the forest floor. He looked at it for a while and kept it aside carefully beside his clothes and got into the water. He took a few dives and rested on the underwater stairs at one side of the pool, fully submerged except for his head and his eyes closed.
“Arya, prioritize,” he told himself. “What outcomes can you control?”
He waited for himself to answer.
“I can investigate the matter of the demons and the corpses,” he continued. “Maybe once the girl regains consciousness, I can find more clues. Depending on the leads, I would know what further actions I should take.”
“Hmm,” his interviewer self acknowledged.
“But irrespective of that, I need to learn how to use the daityahan asi,” he resumed. “Can I find a guru in Arang?”
His found his earlier guru by accident during one of his escapades. His guru had been an interesting teacher but also an unreliable one because his teachings were gained from scriptures and not from practical application. So, while Aryaman did learn a few things, his questions were often met with cryptic silence. Learning something in Aryaman’s thinking was better than being ignorant. However, he did prefer a more apprenticeship-oriented approach.
He frowned slightly thinking how General Pushya deprived him of a scarce resource.
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“Ohh!” He opened his eyes. He realized then, it would be his first real assignment of leading the troops since General Pushya was away. He grinned for a while. He had to get this right. In his excitement, he was about to jump out of the water when he realized –
“Priorities,” he repeated to himself. “I will anyways deal with the Kapala Army situation. Let me plan out the other things for a short while.”
He closed his eyes again and started talking to himself.
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General Pushya considered acting on his threat to the old king jailed in the dungeons beneath the palace. He paced across the open hall with long strides. It was empty, his soldiers had secured the palace and imprisoned its residents to one quarter at the far end. He shifted his armor even now and then to let the air in, the humidity of the region was aggravating. He was reluctant to remove his armor, the armor made the man and added to his menacing aura.
Let me give him some time, he thought to himself. I am not unreasonable. I am a patient man. Bloodshed would be annoying.
His soldiers kept guard on the lower floor and across the palace at regular intervals. Presently, a carrier pigeon flew towards him and landed on the parapet wall in the open balcony. The General took the missive tied to its feet and read it.
Jatayu is falling, it read.
He stared at the parchment for a while. Acting on the missive and returning back to Arang would upset his plans and put him back to square one. This campaign was meticulously planned for some years. Not acting on it would mean treason. Caught in this dilemma, he resumed pacing in the hall albeit with increased speed and visible irritation.
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The girl had eaten her fill of the leftover porridge and regained her energy. The old woman requested a brief nap and fell into a deep sleep. The girl looked around for a while and as nine-year-olds often do, she started getting restless and roamed in and out of the hut for some time before deciding to explore more of the outside world.
Presently, she climbed a nearby tree wanting to get a vantage point and get a better sense of her surroundings. The preta accompanied her, fretting over and beseeching her with futility to get back to the hut. The girl who could not hear the preta now climbed higher and stopped after finding a suitable side branch.
Silly child! it shouted. Get back to the ground!
The preta was annoyed. It was not a babysitter. This was not what it had signed up for when it said it would accompany No-god God. Its agitated hovered near the girl wringing its make-believe arms.
I don’t have to this, it said to itself. I made the vow to a god and not a mortal. So, I can just leave. Who knows when she will regain her memories and powers. Spiritual depletion is not a small thing.
The girl by now leaned farther towards the end of the branch to look towards the city of Arang. The turrets were visible at a distance and she strained her eyes to look beyond.
I’m leaving, the preta said to itself but did not move.
The branch where the girl stood started to bend and crack at the base. The preta got worried. It could cast an illusion but what if that scared the girl and she slipped? Mortals are fragile and prone to injury. Little mortals such as this young one even more so.
The girl then heard a bird’s call from the other side of the tree. Curious, she turned and walked back to the trunk. It spotted a golden bird on one of the lower branches. She looked at it in amazement for some time and then slowly climbed to the level where the bird was. The bird looked like a koyal but its feathers were golden and sparkled in daylight. Spotting the girl, it lowered itself to another branch. The girl followed. It lowered itself further and then finally jumped to the ground and started pecking on some fallen berries. The girl slowly got down afraid of making any noise and watched the bird.
The bird hopped here and there and came to rest on the water trough outside of the thatched hut and made loud calls for some time. After a while, the old woman came out and beckoned the girl in.
“But avva see the golden bird!” said the girl.
“There is no golden bird child,” said the old woman.
And the bird disappeared. Perplexed the girl looked at the water trough for a long time before going inside with the old woman.
“But I saw it!” said the girl in confusion.
The old woman nodded.
“Come sit down,” she said. The girl sat down by her side obediently. “Let me tell you about pretas.”
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koyal – Cuckoo bird