Chapter 3
POV of Kriti
“Hey Kriti, is it really necessary to bring Daarsh with you too?”
“Yeah He’s the best swordsman in our village.”
“Can’t you go with some other girl?’
“Just shut up and get ready, I’m going to his home”
I’m fed up with my father . He keeps annoying me whenever I hang out with Daarsh. I dunno what’s wrong with him.
POV of Bhupen
I wonder what’s wrong with my daughter. She always wanted to attain peace in the world. That’s something big Wealthy people would do with a ton of advertising. Not peasants like us. I still remember that day 10 years ago when my wife and son went out on an expedition searching for new land to strive on.
They haven’t returned yet. And now, it’s my daughter who wants to go on an expedition for an artifact which is said to be only in folk tales. But, I can’t let her go alone. She’s the only family I have after all!
Narrator: That’s a Vin Diesel moment. He’ll be proud of it.
Now, I should get all the medical herbs necessary.
Marigold and Tulsi leaves are good for injuries.
Honey..
Yeah, that one. Also, these bowls.
Narrator: These are ayurvedic formulas which can be completely relied upon. So, if you don’t have a bandage at home for some reason and have a marigold plant. Then just pluck some leaves, wash them, mash them and apply upon your wound. Also, Tulsi or Holy Basil is a holy plant in Hinduism and also has several medicinal values. It’s also a cure for mild fever.
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POV of Kriti
I’ve gotta go and ask Daarsh for going out with us. He is the best Swordsman in the village. He’s so good that he got the Hengdang with the Golden handle which is only given either to the royals, people with high status in the society or who are very good at it.
Getting one with a golden handle is next to impossible for a commoner like him. Moreover, He’s only 19. People generally need at least 30 years of experience to earn the great prestige of a golden hengdang. But, he got it only in 10 years. He has gifted talent as a swordsman.
It’s gonna be a 10 minute walk to his house. His father apparently died in a war, I’m sure He’ll come with me if I tell him my goal.
Narrator: A while later
“Hey Daarsh! Whatcha doin!”
“Yea, I’m alright! What about ya!”
“I have a request!”
“What?”
“Can you go out with me?”
“Whatttt!!! Are you serious???”
I can tell by his reaction what he was thinking.
“I’m not asking you out on a date, dumbass, We’re going out on an expedition. In search of the pearl of god! Would you want to go with us!”
“What? Have you gone insane or something? It’s just a fairytale.”
“No Daarsh! It's true! I also have got a Sakhukh. I'll show it to you. Bring me a glass of water.”
He brought me one. It was a brass glass.
POV of Daarsh
I don’t know what happened to Kriti but she sure isn’t okay. Now she is pointing her fingers towards my glass.
“Now Daarsh! Look at this”
She closed her eyes and opened them up very fast. And I felt cold on my hands. I just realized that all the water in the glass froze. She also had a weird pattern in her eyes. That’s no doubt a Sakhukh
“Daarsh, you lost your father during the war 5 years ago, right? There are many more people like this. Who lost their loved ones due to war. My goal is to attain the pearl of god and attain peace in the world.”
“But, how are you gonna do it?”
“I’ll conquer the world. And govern all the four kingdoms. No one will know about me except the kings. And I’ll banish every king or even kill the person who tries to violate world peace”
She was serious. I can read her eyes clearly like a book. She’s willing to take extreme measures to achieve her goal.
“So, we’ll be departing tomorrow! Keep things ready”
“Okay”
When she was talking about “Going out, I thought she was serious. I kinda had a crush on her since I was 15. I first met her when she came to help my mother who was on the verge of her death. If she weren’t there I would have lost my mother too.
Bonus
Hengdang (Assamese: হেংদাং) is a sword used by the Ahom people of Assam. It used to look like a Japanese Katana and had a long handle. The hendle was made with either wood, silver or gold depending upon the owner. General soldiers had wooden handles. High ranking officers had Silver. And the ones with highest authority and the king had gold handles.
Hengdangs are still used as a ceremonial item in Ahom weddings.