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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Five - The War Within
Fire in the Belly part (2/2)
Sena ran over the ocean of snow. His red soldier uniform glowed as a scarlet shadow under his feet over the white surface. At a distance in the direction he was running, a little girl dressed in red gown was bending down and disturbing the snowflakes. As soon as she saw him running towards her, she leaped and sped away quickly. Sena smiled. His right palm itched and he looked down at his right hand. A single red rose magically appeared and he was strongly gripping its green stem in his fist. The thorns tore his flesh and blood dropped over the white ground. Sena did not mind the pain, but continued to chase the little girl in red calling out her name, Lalli.
The little girl halted near the cliff's end. Sena joined her and stood in front of her facing the deep darkness behind Lalli.
"You are not yet ready, my father", spoke Lalli.
"Yes, Lalli, I am now", Sena replied with a pleasant smile, "Take me with you", he requested her by offering her the red rose.
Lalli looked at him with her sparkling green eyes. Sena admired her leafy eyes. Suddenly she shifted her vision and looked straight behind his shoulders and yelled, "Mother."
Sena quickly turned back and a thin dark shadow cut close before his face. He moved back instanly and threw the red rose into the white void before him.
Sena opened his eyes. He had struck the enemy leader on his left side with a khukuri and was still holding on to the handle of the knife. The thick flat blade of the khukuri broke several of its victim’s ribs before puncturing the heart. Blood oozed out of the enemy's lips. Sena blinked.
Few moments before, the enemy leader had blocked Sena's strike and kicked his short sword while pushing him to his knees. Two of Sena's warriors fell to his side stabbed by the enemies. The enemy leader had raised his sharp blade to chop Sena's neck, when one of the fallen soldiers had quickly handed Sena a khukuri and at the same time Yasabella had rocked mildly. Using the khukuri Sena killed the enemy leader. At the same moment, the two enemy soldier at his side fell on to the deck’s floor, an arrow pinned to each one’s temple.
Sena got to his feet and looked at the enemy soldiers before him. They seemed to be panicking while looking behind Sena. He turned and Kanakavalli walked past Sena without looking at him. She was closely followed by a tiny group of heavily armed warriors. When she was close to the lower deck she started to sprint and then, jumped onto the main deck. Before her feet landed on the deck’s floor, her sword had separated four heads from their bodies. Sena smiled.
The last warrior to cross from the damaged Matsya and stride upon Yasabella was General Kalai. His crew had defeated the fourth light frigate and sailed on full mast aided by manual row. They had gone a full circle around Yasabella and found a blind spot to enter into the range with the enemy warship. The Matsya suffered massive hits that were not intended at it from the monster ship, but managed to ram itself directly at the back of Yasabella. The bowsprit of The Matsya stuck to the upper deck of Yasabella, using which Kanakavalli and her warriors entered the wooden monster.
Genral Kalai placed his right hand over Sena's shoulder and said, "We thought we lost".
Sena looked at the fleet carriers. The war ships guarding them had taken severe damage and would not withstand for long. By the fall of these ships, the carriers shall take direct hits from Yasabella.
"We have not yet won", Sena replied and quickly continued, "The ammunition deck. We are running out of ships. Soon, the carriers will be exposed. Kacha maybe in need of couple of extra hands."
Kalai quickly moved past Sena towards the deck's door when Sena's voice stopped him, "But there is no returning back." Kalai stood for a moment without turning back and then, without uttering a word he started running past the attacking enemies.
Swinging a long sword gripped in each hand, Kalai swiftly strode past the enemies on the deck and entered the door leading to the lower decks. He raced past the stairs eliminating the few resisting guards on his way to the lower deck. Each deck was filled with a pair of soldiers near a cannon. An army captain at each end was passing rapid instructions and the explosive noise from the fired cannons rung inside both his ears. Kalai reached the lower deck and found Kacha sitting over a crate with both his hands busy. Half dozen bodies were motionless under him. Kalai neared Kacha and disturbed him by pushing his head back. Kacha immediately pulled his short sword and aimed it at Kalai. Looking at the General, Kacha threw the sword down and started to talk rapidly. Kalai could not make out a single word Kacha spoke. Finally, Kacha lifted his head and held the damp fire striker before Kalai's face.
Sena joined Kanakavalli on the deck and fought with the never ending waves of enemy soldiers. Both of them swiftly exchanged places while engaging with the enemies. The fluency in handling the sword by the duo looked as though four hands wielded a single weapon from the same human body. But they and their team of warriors were outnumbered by the enemy soldiers. Kanakavalli and Sena were circled by couple of dozens of enemy soldiers. They walked around them looking for an opening to attack, while Kanakavalli and Sena turned in opposite direction to tighten their attack range. At that moment a warrior in blue armour swung past them. The warrior returned holding on to the rope and elegantly shifted his momentum to land on the chest of a circling enemy soldier. Using the breast of the enemy soldiers as the floor to run, the blue warrior ran over the enemies circling around Kanakavalli and Sena, at the same time slicing the throat of the soldier he had stepped upon with his cutlass.
Kacha looked helplessly at Kalai who turned to mount a deck above and collect a fire torch lying beside the cannons. To gain a fire torch, Kalai knew that he had to fight past an army of soldiers commanded by two captains. When he took his first step, several cannon shots landed on the right side wall of the ammunition deck. Suddenly the area where the cannons had impacted started to turn black. Smoke peeped out from the dark area and finally a single metal cannon ball punctured the wall and made its way into the lower deck and landed on the floor gliding to a stop beside Kalai.
"Fire has just invited itself inside", Kalai told Kacha while looking into the hole and watching The Scorpion painting the lower deck of Yasabella with fire.
Two heavy feet broke through the crack and Sultan rolled over the floor and stood between Kacha and Kalai. "Let’s use the time to save ourselves and walk the path of fire together. You both can thank me later, once again." The trio laughed.
Sena faced Rana over the deck of Yasabella. Several bloody bodies of the enemies layered the wooden floor of the deck around them. Sena smiled and Rana nodded at Kanakavalli.
The first explosion occurred at the left corner of Yasabella. Sena along with Kanakavalli and Rana ran past the deck pushing the attacking enemy soldiers and dived into the sea. Sena pulled Kanakavalli and helped her swim further from the burning Yasabella. Continous explosions happened across the monster ship turning her into shedders of wood. Several blazing soldiers fell down from the warship, while the cannons on either side, their locks weakened by the fire, started to drop heavily into the water.
A row ship from the galleon took aboard the swimming warriors and the army of the allied forces watched the fireworks spectacle with optimism under the dark blue fusioned between the sea and the sky.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Five - The War Within
Dawn of Illumination
Vadhana Devi along with Kali and her twin escorts, Swathi and Swetha, watched the bright glow that appeared off the coast of Pirate’s Bay. A sudden explosion painted the sky red for the second time after the setting sun's scarlet varnish was washed away by the darkness that followed the dusk. The Queen of the allied forces looked at the enemy ships anchored at the harbour and the enemy crew stationed over the line of war ships outburst in joy while looking that the heap of flame showing up at the middle of the sea. Kali gave a worried look at Vadhana who quickly walked back into her tent.
The General of Vettaiyan watched the army of the allied forces settled on the other side of Karmegha. He was surrounded by several groups of armed soldiers working over setting up equipment of war. He wondered what made the allied army comfortable and bunk at a place lacking wood and dry land. The pace at which they has settled down worried him. He had foreseen a panic among the them when they found it difficult to burn wood for food or acquire clean water to drink or a dry space to rest. Looking at the peacefulness at the enemy campsite, The General decided to investigate at dawn.
At the campsite on the opposite end of Karmegha, the soldiers of the first battalion of the allied forces laid down all the shields they had been carrying as a floor to cover the marshy ground. The wet mud helped them to easily install pikes and quickly mount the tents. They made fire torches with the wooden batons to light up the surrounding. Using a piece of muslin cloth torn from their tunic, they filtered the water from the stagnant pools. Heating the tips of the spear heads, they made temporary stoves to boil the filtered water. They dined on dry bread and cheese from the tiny food packets that they brought along with them. They slept seated over the shields by pushing their backs on each other. Nobleman worked during the night inside the tent to make an account on the setup they had built to accommodate the arriving army and discussed ways to enhance the camping site. Outside the tent three nation’s flags were flying on a single flag post facing the enemy troops.
Hearing the buzzing sound of the conch, Vadhana sprang out of her tent with a smile. The noise of the shell instrument surprised the enemy sailors as they were waiting to hear drum beats, their signal to punctuate an arrival. The enemy captains became vigilant and quickly commanded to prepare the masts. Their orders were to seal the harbour as soon as the allied forces made their first step on the no man's land. Once the harbour is secured, they will keep guard and not allow any reinforcements to anchor at the Pirate’s Bay, which was the nearest port from the battlefield Karmegha.
"Let us welcome the dawn with illuminations", Vadhana shouted at Kali and then, reciprocated to his broad smile.
Kali hopped over the sand and he was enthusiastically joined by several men dressed in black who had assisted him the previous night after the Rocks on the Sea sailed to protect the fleet carriers. Vadhana witnessed the first frigate of her fleet approaching the shore bringing the dawn along with it.
Panic hovered as a cloud of uncertainty above the enemy fleet. Several soldiers were running around over the decks ringing hand held bells and torch lights were burnt along with the war ships masts lamps.
Behind the leading frigate, several galleons and brigs sailed in unison and beyond them, the three fleet carriers transporting the entire army of the allied forces emerged out of the horizon along with the rising sun.
The first explosion occurred at the blind corner behind the damaged light house. Couple of enemy war ship suddenly caught on fire. Following the incident, a chain of explosion happened taking out the war ships one by one serially, until the last one anchored further from the initial explosion, blasted.
Using the underwater vessel constructed by the merchants of Sultan with the assistance and guidance from the noblemen of Kottaipattinam, Kali and his men had rigged the enemy war ships with handmade explosive. Kali organised the operation using two kinds of underwater vessels that were built using a consulting models depicted in the Vimana records collected by Kanakavalli and Sena.
The explosive specialist and his team dropped several barrels containing lamp oil under each enemy warship. Special bombs with high explosive damage were fixed to the hull (bottom of the ship). The explosives were made waterproof by bundling them inside flat lotus leaves. A very thin and long metal cylinder was used as jacket to pass the cloth cable that was dampened in liquid fuel. The explosives were serially connected using the cable and the fuse was set behind the damaged light house. When the special bomb that was stuck to the hull was diffused, it weakened the impact area of the hull and created an underwater pressure that allowed the sea water to churn the weaker wood and enter into the vessel. The blast from the bomb, shattered the wooden barrels containing lamp oil, permitting the flammable liquid to spread around the warship and the fire from the explosion ignited the water coated with oil. The fire quickly climbed on to the ship through its sides creating enough damage, stimulated by the stock of explosives stored inside the warships.
The Vimana Records illustrated blue prints to manufacture two sorts of underwater vessels called the submersible. These vessels permitted human to navigate underwater and also to carry or pull along equipment. The first plan was in a shape of a bell called Jala Ganta. It was entirely made of wood. The opening at the bottom of the bell shaped vessel acted as a base over the water level. The pressure of the water kept the air trapped inside the wooden bell, so that a single occupant can navigate underwater. A stirring rod with an up and down motion, was attached to two sides of Jala Ganta, pulling which the occupant can change direction. The diver can only navigate under water, but cannot operate other tasks while being inside the bell. The vessel should to be landed over the sea bed and the occupant should swim out and finish his task under water. Then, using the motional rod, the diver could reach back to the surface.
Jala Kosa, the second underwater vessel registered in detail in the Vimana Record, was friendlier than Jala Ganta. It was a steerable submersible, a sort of underwater capsule and was spacious, built to accommodate as many occupants as the size of the vessel itself. Its wooden frame was covered with leather and Jala Kosa needed a dedicated operator to navigate underwater. The operator constantly pressed against a leather bag located at stern (backend of the boat). This allows him to pump the water - increase or decrease the volume of water accordingly, to adjust the buoyancy of the vessel. The other occupants can row the vessel to gain momentum using the short oars sealed permanently to the side of the wooden frame. Unlike Jala Ganta, the second submersible can support weight relative to its size. Items like crates and barrels can be pulled by the underwater capsule Jala Kosa. The entrance door to the vessel was tiny and the occupants must crawl their way inside. The occupants cramped themselves into the space by taking boat positions in ascending order from the bow (frontend of the boat) to the stern. Similar to Jala Ganta, the underwater vessel should be landed to perform underwater tasks.
Kali and six other members pulled several oil barrels underwater while navigating inside Jala Kosa. Another diver followed the capsule and had cut group of barrels under each enemy warship. Several divers got into respective Jala Ganta and fixed the explosives under the hull. Finally, a third set of underwater warriors used the bell submersible to rig the explosives together with the oil coated cloth cable that was protected inside a metal jacket.
From the shore, Kali ignited the fuse that was set behind the light house and the enemy warships were neutralised without even offering an element of surprise to the enemies - They'll never know what hit them, Kali chuckled.
... to be continued ...
Author’s note
Jala Ganta (Jala-water; Ganta-bell) & Jala Kosa (Kosa-capsule) are imaginary, created for fictional purpose. These two submersibles were inspired from:
Jala Ganta:
(i) Records depicting Alexander the great lowered into water while being concealed inside a diving bell.
(ii) 1690 diving bell designed by Edmond Halley.
(iii) The shape of Lingaa.
Jala Kosa:
(i) Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel - the Dutch builder of the first navigable submarine in 1620.
(ii) William Bourne - an English mathematician recordings in the book Inventions or Devises (1578).
Also from various materials explaining closed circuit oxygen underwater breathing apparatus.
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Five - The War Within
Food for Thought
"You have chained my purpose, My Lord", The General argued before the Emperor.
Vettaiyan, under the influence of Myil, looked at his General with this neck pushed over his shoulder. His slanting sight fell over Veera Mahendran who seemed to be agitated. He was rubbing his palms together in front of him. Vettaiyan gestured his General to continue with his left hand and rubbed his right eye using his right middle finger.
"Only burnt wood remains in the place of our fleet which were stationed at the Pirate's Bay. We were attacked for no reason", The General explained. Vettaiyan left out an unconvincing smile at The General.
"You had stopped us from attacking the enemy until the day of war. But they seem to have breached the code."
"They!", Vettaiyan asked suspiciously. He turned and looked at his general, his eyes asked the question, "What is that you seek exactly, General", and pointing at Veera Mahendran he asked, "And what does this lad, the owner of Mighty Yasabella desire?"
The General rolled his eyes inside his face mask and then whispered his request to the Emperor, "Permission to attack the enemy at the valley of Daboya, My Lord."
After posing to think, Vettaiyan said, "Only the cargo. No human causalities. No, not even in the name of collateral damage. Their supplies should not reach the campsite."
The General moved to counter the Emperor's statement, but Vettaiyan halted him immediately, "What you seek is also seeking you, General."
Vettaiyan fell on the couch beside him. Veera Mahendran cursed at The General while walking out through the corridors. Vettaiyan murmured in his psychotropic state of mind, "I see All, The end and the beginning."
The burning enemy fleet stood as a torch light on the sea shore where the army of the allied forces were gathered and were preparing for their journey to the battle field. During the day light, many enemy sailors, soldiers and captains abandoned their damaged ships and crawled over the sands. They were quickly surrounded and taken as prisoners by the Queen's security team. But Rana ordered to release all the prisoner. With much hesitation from the warriors who considered the event as their first victory, the captured enemies were made to walk to their freedom through the standing battalions. An allied force soldier suddenly kicked a walking freeman on his chest. Sena quickly walked to the fallen enemy and lifted him by his shoulders. The scared man watched Sena wide eyed. Sena sent him back in line to join with the others. He turned and spoke to the warrior who had kicked the soldier, "It is cowardly to attack the defenceless, though he be an enemy."
The evening was cool under the hovering moon. Several torches decorated the sands of the Pirate's Village. Many huge cooking pots were burning over wood stoves. Sultan crossed over the sands between the pots and reached the one that Sena was stirring with a long sauce ladle.
"Smells good", Sultan appreciated, "along with the scent of the sea breeze, burning lamp oil, hot mud and dry wood, the odour is a pleasant coloured painting. Is it your recipe?"
Sena smiled while stirring the ladle inside the pot. "When I used to roam around in the mountains", Sena spoke to Sultan, "I had spent several moons with the tribes who call themselves Banbaasi, the dwellers of the jungle. The tribal have a sense of moral duty to nature and the environment. They poses an illusionary source to interact with nature. The jungles were divided by them into three distinct areas - Ban (wild), Jangal (tropical) and Aranya (non-human regions). The ecological typology of these three areas consisted of several plants. The tribes lived in Ban, cultivated between the evergreen tree of the Jangal and showed immense respect to Aranya for its dense growth of additional herbs. They were in possession of a bunch of sacred texts passed on to them by their ancestors that explained the use of plants found in these three sectors - preparing healthy food as well as treating them as medicinal plants."
"Food speaks to every person in the language called taste. Tastes naturally guide us towards our body’s nutritional needs. Every human body has the same wisdom regarding food and is stimulated by three bodily bio elements - Vata, Pitta and Kapha - called the Doshas. Vata has the properties of airy elements like dryness, coldness and lightness. Pitta is the bile that secretes and flows between the stomach and the liver. Kapha is the watery element representing heaviness, slowness and softness. Food intake should satisfy the Doshas, else it will lead to temporal psychological misbalance like dislikeness, anger etc.; also may lead to diseases, illness or sickness due to lack of intake or over consumption."
"Each Doshas are seperated into five divisions that govern certain aspects of the bodily needs like inhalation, expression, digestion, excretion, circulation, memory, complexion, etc., and provides assistance to various organs functioning. The split Doshas - Prana Vata, Udana Vata, Samana Vata, Apana Vata, Vyana Vata, Pachaka Pitta, Ranjaka Pitta, Alochaka Pitta, Sadhaka Pitta, Bharajaka Pitta, Kledaka Kapha, Avalambhaka Kapha, Tarpaka Kapha, Bodhaka Kapha & Shleshaka Kapha - collectively govern the whole system of a human body by directly aligning with the nature's elements - Earth, Air, Ether, Fire & Water."
"Our body is greedy. It needs all the six tastes - sweet, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent - at the same time. Each taste has its own health functions like sweet builds tissues and calms nerves while sour lubricates tissues and stimulates digestion. Bitter detoxifies, pungent stimulates metabolism and astringent dries fat. So, it’s normal that the body seeks them all at once."
"And this is where a recipe comes handy. Serve a dish including all the six tastes in each meal, the body and mind will be in harmony."
The supper was served to the assembly of the allied force on the sea shore with the song of unity sung together by Rana and Sena:
One but many.
One God, many faces.
One family, many races.
One truth, many paths.
One heart, many complexions.
One light, many reflections.
One world, many imperfections.
One. We are all one, But many.
... to be continued ...
Footnote
(i) 'One but many' by Suzy Kassem.
(ii) Doshas is from the notion of bio elements in body Ayurveda.
(iii) Culture and the Environment in the Himalaya by Arjun Guneratne.
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Five - The War Within
Continue to Climb (part 1/2)
The Battalions of Heaven
"Specs", The General spoke with anger. "Only skilled operatives and assassins", he addressed to Aye and One Eye, "Guide a different approach to combat this time".
"And Send a word to Ground Mice ...", The General stopped talking when he saw Aye shifting her eyes to her left. From the corner of his face mask, The General identified a fragile man dusting a wall painting at the corner of war room. The General looked straight and continued, "... send a word to Ground Mice and I insist you all to find a way, any way, to eliminate the threat immediately".
The army general of Vettaiyan was supported by five warriors - his faithful bodyguards. Bigman who carried a huge hammer and Leather hood who used multiple weapons in a single combat were killed by Shamu and Kalai during the attack on the Pirate's Bay. Furious, Aye, the girl carrying a deadly pair of horse axe, had sworn revenge over the death of her comrades, while One Eye, the dangerous archer who shoot arrows faster than the lightening, assured Aye to puncture the heart of the murderers. Ground Mice, famously known as Fast F was an anonymous assassin and a servant in the palace, who was recruited by The General for his obscureness and during his latest mission, the Ground Mice had kidnapped Yesodha Putran, the war strategist of the allied forces, right from under the nose of the enemies.
Aye watched her leader walk to his desk and placing his hands over the desk. "Sena", The General whispered, "Your primary target. And Rana. Eliminate both if that’s a possibility. The enemy camped opposite to us should not rejoice the arrival of their forces but mourn in unity before we garland them with defeat".
At the same moment when The General was instructing his trusted combatants in the war room at the Vettaiyan Palace, Rana saw Sena gazing the dark sky that was studded with stars. He joined his brother sitting on the sea rock at the sea shore of Narrukukanna and found the mystical compass Chakora in his hands, pointing its needle steadily across the sea towards Kottaipattinam.
"Of all the places we had been looking for", Rana spoke to Sena, "Mentor Manickam is hiding in our motherland?" Anger swept the passing breeze, "He may run like The Poet, but I will find him too and pin his head at your feet", Rana declared.
Mentor Manickam was the head of the assassin's university called Pachonthi where Sena was trained. He, along with the Emperor, had deceived Sena leading to the death of Sena's wife Suganthi and his daughter Lalli. The third one involved in the conspiracy against Sena's family was The Poet and a long time associate to The Emperor, who was slayed by Rana at the Kathi Parai mountains.
"Yamini", Sena replied without looking at his brother. Rana did not hide his shock. He quickly sat at his brother's feet and talked in excitement, "Our sister is at our homeland! I will immediately set sail and bring her to safety".
The mystical compass Chakora was a magical item carried by their Father that had the ability to point towards the direction where what was sought by its seeker laid. Yamini was married to Sengodagan, the Prince of Kottaipatinam, and they were forced to leave the kingdom when the late King Rishikodagan refused to recognise the marriage as a stately affair. Since the death of Rana's friend Senagodagan, who died while saving his sister Queen Vadhana Devi, the brothers were in search of their sister.
Sena stopped Rana, "Not now. At dawn the army shall rise over the enemy front. They need their Chief to lead them the way". Sena looked at Rana, "She will be safe at the place she had chosen to hide. We will join her to inform the death of Veera Mahendran, the man responsible for Sengodagan's demise."
The sun greeted the shore of Narukkukanna and was invited by the vibrating sound of the conch blown by Sena.
Queen Vadhana Devi mounted on a decorated war horse and marched in front of the army of the allied forces towards the battlefield Karmegha. She was closely guarded on either side by Swathi and Swetha. Behind her, Rana rode on his horse followed by the battalions of archers and pikes men. Kalai walked along with Karimedai infantry and Kanakavalli marched with the woman battalions of the three nations. Kacha headed the special division of short swordsmen. The ballistic devices and a special unit of explosive specialists were led by Kali. Horse driven carts carrying military equipments rolled between the marching military. The tail end of the massive army of the allied forces was swayed by the sound of the animal cavalry - elephants followed the horses and the chariots pursued the camels. At the end of the line, Sultan and Sena rode on their horse backs.
The human and animal military, called The Battalions of Heaven, crossed the suburbs of Central Kingdom, where the villages in and around the crossroads were burnt down completely. They walked under the cloud of thick dark smoke. Sena informed Sultan that it was normal for a kingdom to pull out its citizens and then, burn the villages, so that the crossing enemy do not involve in disrespectful activities or sought out any kind of assistance from its dwellers.
At noon, the army of the allied forces reached the Valley of Daboya.
"Crossing the Daboya Hills is a deathly dare", Sena warned Sultan. "The trail across the Valley of Daboya is a major threat. We are basically crawling blind, as these hills hide from us what is hidden within them, thus, making us an easy target."
Rana extended his left arm and threw his palm pointing down to order The Battalions of Heaven to slow down. Sultan looked around the unfriendly mountain rocks. Kacha and his army of short swordsmen circled the convoys and walked closely side by side facing the hills. Sultan's men and animal trainers secured the cavalry. Fly masks were brought down covering the eyes of the war animals and they were put directly under the command of their riders.
The Battalions of Heaven creeped in unison between the cobbled paths of Daboya Valley.
Aye, with a group of spear throwers, watched the advancing enemies from the eastern mountain cliff of Daboya. One Eye watched with his small unit of archers from the Western Ghats. Their target, the enemy military chain, was unaware of being surrounded by the specs team and were at midway inside the valley. The Battalions of Heaven continued further inside the valley, unprepared for the massive surprise attack staged by The General of the Central Kingdom.
... to be continued …
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Five - The War Within
Continue to Climb (part 2/2)
The Call from Hell
"Except the main targets, no other casualties in the attack of Daboya Valley", Aye's master, The General, had ordered. Along with One Eye, Aye, had tried to argue, but her master did not appreciate it when his orders were questioned. He had bluntly said, "The Emperor's law, none can go against it." Looking at her reddened face, The General had added, "But he talked about death, but never mentioned anything about the wounded", followed by a razor sharp smile curved around the corner of his lips hidden under his face mask. Aye and One Eye exited the war room understanding well that a dead is a scar, but a wounded is a burden.
The assassins dressed in red uniforms matching to Aye's red scarf covering her face, prepared for the attack; at the same time, the archers dressed in white readied their bows. Several dressed in black were moving down the hill beneath the shadow of the rocks.
Many cloth bag-balls suddenly appeared above the army of the allied forces. The crossing military, women and men, looked above their heads at the little fat cloth pouches, so numerous that they hid the sun by grouping themselves into a bubble mat. Swathi and Swetha brought out their dark capes and enveloped their queen inside their protective shell.
And it rained. A set of arrows pierced the cloth bags, which were thrown by Aye and her men, while the objects were still suspended in the air. The arrowheads of One Eye’s archers broke the cloth bubbles that leaked liquid over the people below. Then, the empty bag with an arrow struck to them fell around over the paths of the valley. Rana touched a droplet that fell over him and smelt the flammable oil. There was panic among his soldiers when they picked up and inspected the fallen rags. Rana was sure that fire arrows would follow. He quickly ordered his men to bring shields over their heads and asked them to be aware of fire. A group of soldiers trained to handle such situations geared up to fight fire.
Hundreds of spears landed over the shields placed above the head of the military units. With their swords, Swathi and Swetha blocked the pikes from reaching their queen. Kacha and his organised swordsmen, covered the animal cavalry from the flying spears. Sultan and Sena galloped their horses and reached the middle of the line from either side, all the while monitoring their side of the hill. Kali, Kanakavalli and Kalai, along with their units, protected the balastic devices and carts from taking damage. The animal military was startled and they sent out distressed sounds. Their riders found it difficult to control them, but managed to hold them steady. A series of huge rocks glided down the mountain walls and rolled over several soldiers standing on its paths. The others around the trapped men struggled to pull the warriors out by pushing away the huge stones fallen over them.
On the Western Ghats, after firing arrows at bags containing lamp oil, One Eye and his archers started to light-up their arrowheads. The assassins dressed in black followed their leader Ground Mice down the hill discretely. From the eastern cliff, Aye ordered her men to charge for another round of javelin throw at the victims caught under the rocks which would send the signal to One Eye to shoot the fire arrows at the helpless army.
At this moment, Aye, One Eye and Ground Mice halted their teams and surveyed the heavy movements on the massive trees around. "Anthropoids", Aye whispered, "never seen them wandering in these territories." She heard a snap sound behind her and when she turned she found one of her spearman lying on the ground with his neck broken. The leaves and branches were shaking violently as though an army of monkeys had landed above their heads.
A dark and long haired spider monkey with its arms stretched out, jumped down from the branches towards an archer below. While descending, it changed into a patas monkey and converted into a colobus in midway. When the archer looked up, he saw a drill jumping upon him. But a mandrill landed few feet before him and started to walk towards him. It gradually pulled its front legs to the sides and marched on its feet taking the form of a gorilla and when it reached the scared archer, it stood before him as an ape in human form with glowing yellow eyes. The archer quickly aimed and shot an arrow at the Monkey Man, but the human-like hairy figure with yellow eyes caught it with its bare hands and broke the arrow into two pieces. Throwing the broken arrow to the ground, The Hanuman growled at his victim showing his big sharp teeth.
The attackers on the hill panicked while The Battalions of Heaven wondered why the attacks upon them have suddenly stopped. The men in red started to flee, but were pulled up to the trees and only their breathless bodies landed back on to the ground. Aye ran as fast as she could hurdling over thick bushes and rocks. Her eye over the red scarf registered several glimpses of hairy faces with glowing yellow eyes which were attacking her men from every corner of the hill. The white archers were no match to The Hanumans. Their quick shots hardly met the fast moving targets. The archers were chased on the hilltop and their bodies were mercilessly ripped off by the Monkey Men, each Hanuman growled looking at the trees after knocking down their victim; the noise scared the army stuck with fear on the path of the valley. One Eye ran shooting his arrows at quick successions. The speed in which he fired his bow slowed the attacking Monkey Men from reaching him. The shadow warriors moved from rock to rock, but were hunted by the Hanumans. During their leap between the rocks, they did not get a chance to reach the other side. They were caught in the middle and torn into pieces. Only their leader Ground Mice made it to the top. But as soon as he reached the hilltop, he was face to face with an orangutan whose eyes gleamed like a big radiating glowing yellow sun. Shoora placed his hand over the head of Ground Mice and pushed him inside the ground. Ground mice completely entered into the green floor like a hot knife over butter.
When Sena recovered the Viamana Records from Yasha, the shadow of the future, he requested her assistance for their safe passage through the Valley of Daboya. Yasha, the Queen of Darkness, ruled the underworld of future humans called The Hanumans. The Monkey-Like-Men had yellow eyes and never came to the surface during the present. Their Chief of War was Shoora, whom Sena had met under the Mount Sumeru.
For a very brief moment, Sena saw a pair of yellow eyes watching down from the hill top at The Battalions of Heaven. Shoora blinked. Sena Smiled.
The army of the allied forces reached the camp site at battlefield Karmegha after sunset. They were welcomed by Nobleman and the cheerul first battalion. Queen Vadhana Devi was impressed with the setup built using minimal resources and tremendously appreciated Nobleman and his men. Rana ordered the army to take rest and then, to prepare for the big day.
"What excuse you bring this time, My General", Vettaiyan asked his chief of army while looking at the enemy campsite, which was rejoicing the arrival of their entire army. Aye and One Eye stood behind The General with their eyes watching the floor. "Monkey-Men with Yellow-Eyes", The General hesitantly informed The Emperor. Vettaiyan turned and laughed at The General and his men. Suddenly he became silent and serious. He muttered between his teeth, "Yasha." A tiny smile widened his mouth, "A rule of all commandments is breached. Neglecting this law, necessarily will meet my Clown."
Vettaiyan watched the brightly lit campsite of the allied forces. His scope caught Rana and Sena standing side by side and watching him with their hands on their hips from the other end. Vettaiyan retracted his lips and exposed his clenched teeth. Watching the twins, he hinted, "Tic-Toc Tic-Toc whispered the clock ..."
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha - A Rajini Rewritten Trilogy
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The story so far...
The Emperor, (given name: Dashakantha; popular name: Vettaiyan), rules the five nations on the face of the Earth - the third world created by the Creator out of his desire.
With the support of Rana and Sena, the sons of a Mystical Man, the empires rise against their treacherous leader Vettaiyan. They urged The Emperor to step down from his thrown, failing which, they threatened he would face the forces of the Empires United. Vettaiyan accepted their challenge and the empires were at war - a battle The Emperor fought to retain his glory, while the nations he ruled struggled to be free again.
Vettaiyan, assisted by his five associates (The Vaithiyar, The Minster, The General, The Architect & The Poet), knew right from the birth of the twins, Rana and Sena, that they were a threat. Many Oracles and several soothsayers had prophesied a similar event would occur - they all were certain about the outcome of the End. It was also mentioned that the End will arrive only when the three in dispute shall meet.
Dashakantha had risen to the thrown by slaying his own brothers and governed the childhood of the twins from the very Beginning. The Emperor conspired against their father and was instrumental in separating the twins, thus, nullifying the words of the prophets. He made sure that Sena was under his direct observation, while he allowed Rana to work for him without the latter's consent. He made numerous choices by taking various paths to alter the future, but was not able to change what was coming - the Brothers Reunited.
Sena, a sacred combination of a saint and a monster, was briefed by several noblemen about the prophecy. They all interpreted a fatal danger to one of the brothers at the final battle with Vettaiyan. Rana, a deadly composite of desire and strength, was aware of the forthcoming threat of existence, as he had visions of the final battle, but he was ready to sacrifice himself to see Sena as the one who shall stand to witness the End. On the other hand, The Emperor who was multiple times stronger than the twins, awaited his Known End, where he would slay them both and establish his rule of darkness forever.
Two battles were engaged at the same time – One: A human battle for glory between The Emperor and the Empires United. Two: A Devine War, where good fought the evil since the creation of the Third World; the twins supported by the Light warred with Vettaiyan, the Shadow of Evil. On the battlefield Karmegha, a common End will arrive bringing along a New Beginning.
... And in the battle of three, Only one will stand ...
Final Chapter: The Master, The Monkey and The Monster, will resume shortly.
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Extracts from Chaturmukha Part Three: The Final Chapter
Rise the Master, trick the Monkey and kill the Monster. - Sena
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My visions, they are not foresight but my insight - Rana
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I am the Past. I am the First. I am the Next. - Vettaiyan
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I share the cage with a lamb, the monster wants all of it. - Sena
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It will mislead you, and make you miserable, and you won't even know it. - Rana
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You do not know who you are and when you do, You and I are One. - Vettaiyan
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
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... The Battle Has Begun ...
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The Man and His Bull
I do not care so much what I am to others as I care what I am to myself.
Many claim Yayru Thazhuvuthal dates more than thousands of years. I am not convinced with these calendrical representations of a sport that should have been in practise the day the civilised man domesticated animals; an era when dates never existed and days were counted by moons - probably since Iron Age.
Yayru Thazhuval is a sport not only depicting, but also extracting bravery. Demographic and social changes gave it a name change; it was addressed as Manju Viratuthal ((மஞ்சு விரட்டுதல்) [The Pleasant Chase], sometime during the course of man’s unrecorded history. Materialistic needs grew inside this social animal, the man, and this ancient sport started to be called as Sallikattu (சல்லிக்கட்டு) and/or Jallikattu (ஜல்லிக்கட்டு). This new name refers to the bag of coins tied to the horn of the bull, sometimes around its neck.
Bulls were man's best friend. Before industrialisation era, they helped him to transport and more importantly, in agriculture. Man started to live with the bull, respected it and gave an important place for it in his family's hierarchy. Like a father earns for the members and an elder brother takes care of the needs, their bull was placed on top of the family's portrait, as it ploughs the ground for man; it transports the grains to the granary; it churns oil; for that, a bull played an important role to man for accruing the basic and principle daily needs.
It was a period where man was still climbing over the food chain. Predators threated his day-to-day life. Parents needed a strong groom who can support their daughters. Rulers wanted tough warrior to safeguard their empire. The villages looked for athletic youngsters to carry them forward during the times of a crisis. People wished a sport that they can rejoice after a tiresome schedule.
Thus, Yayru Thazhuvuthal, the brave sport came to existance.
The owner knows the strength of his bull, and how kind his pet is. He feeds it. He loves it. He takes care of it. He worships it. Working along with the bull, he transforms both physically and mentally. He builts his own muscles as well as mixes purely with the bull while working with it. The bond he shares with his bull became more than just divine. The relationship brought emotional movements inside the man and his bull. It made him sad to see his bull sick; the bull felt the pain when the man was wounded. He considered the bull as his own child, then a brother, but always a good friend whom he can trust. He slept with it. He ate with it. He introduced it to his child as the Big Brother of the family. The kid roamed with the bull. The gentle beast profited the company of his new little friend. During their early morning walks, the kid and the bull discovered each other.
So, this proud owner, puts out a challenge. His motive is to demonstrate how strong he had made his bull, which he had built with his affection. On the other hand, an enthusiastic active citizen shows his strength for either job opportunities like getting enrolled in the military or to form an intimate union.
The women - elders compare the muscles of their sons with that of the bull; the girls admire the dark naked muscular body of the teenager standing equal as the bull; the kids enjoy the thrilling show where one of their relation is standing against the bull. Moreover, everyone were proud for both their man and their bull.
There were several ways the man demonstrated his power during this awesome sports event. A bull multiple times heavier than the man that can charge at a speed of ~70 Km/Hr, the main purpose for the man is to stand in front of it. It needs more than just two balls to face a raging bull. That too empty handed - SALLIKAATU DOES NOT ENCOURAGE USE OF ANY WEAPON OR DEFENSE ITEMS. The man, bare handed, coats his palm with the soil on which he was born. The bull digs the mud it had ploughed with one of its front legs before charging at his friend standing infront. The man waits, and when the bull crosses he moves and rides along with it by holding its hump to demonstrate that his power is equal to that of the bull.
Now comes the time for him to show his stopping power. He holds the horns and pushes the bull back. He tries to control it by turning its neck to the opposite direction and his only aim is to subdue the bull and in no way his motive transforms to create pain to his friend.
Finally, he, along with his group of friends runs along with the bulls to paint solidarity, a race when Man tries to beat the Beast.
Basically the sport insists physical challenge, but it has a great psychological effect on both the man and the bull. Facing challenges, being gentle, calculating strength & weakness and above all FRIENDSHIP AND CARE towards a specie that is not the same as the self.
Leaving behind all the current political, social and cultural dramas around Jallikattu, as this is not the ground to bring judicial review or a place to debate over animal cruelty or detail about the most ancient form of life style still in existence, I wish to register my footing along with my bull.
I SUPPORT ஏறுதழுவுதல் (Bull Cuddling).
- Mappi
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கொல்லேற்றுக் கோடஞ்சுவானை மறுமையும் புல்லாளே ஆய மகள்
- கலித்தொகை, பாடல் 103, வரிகள் 63-64 [சான்றோர் செய்யுள் 400 BCE - 300 CE]
This cowherd girl will not hug him, he who fears the sharp horns of a kiling bull, even in the next birth.
- Kalithogai, poem 103, verse 63-64 [Sangam Literature 400 BCE - 300 CE].