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Working Class Hero
https://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/99...gClassHero.jpg
Where : Hindoo Road Carpark
Year : 2017
PHOTO: MOHAMED FIRDAUS AL-AMIN
Working Class Hero is a tribute to migrant workers and reminds them, in the form of Rajinikanth, that success does not depends on your background.
Fans of Indian cinema may well recognise the shades of Rajinikanth, one of its biggest stars. The artist, Mr Mohamed Zulkarnaen, intended the mural to be a tribute to the migrant workers who frequent Little India (Singapore). Rajinikanth, who rose from a humble background, is seen as an inspiration to many, and that includes the artist.
Mr Zulkarnaen, a Lasalle alumnus, said: "I grew up watching Rajinikanth movies and he has an immense fan following within the South Indian Community. I want to remind everyone that it is possible to be successful despite your background."
Cult Cutout
https://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/789920Manidhan.jpg
(Manithan, 1987)
https://img4.hostingpics.net/pics/274160Thalapathi.jpg
(Thalapathi, 1991)
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 1/6)
Eyes of the Crocodile
Yesodha Putran ordered Kanakavalli to assemble eight units of archers to guard the campsite facing Vettaiyan Palace. He positioned the animal cavalry under the command of Sultan in front of the archer units - chariots, horse archers and camel spears men - to provide quick backup for the three attack units advancing towards the enemy territory. He instructed Kalai to fall back as the third attack unit with the foot solders of Karimedai. He placed the first and second in command, Rana and Sena, along with units of short swords men commanded by Kacha as the second line of attack. He allowed them to follow the siege weapons pulled by Ayus under the leadership of Kali. Gudekesha accompanied Kali providing protection to the siege weapons.
The war strategist of the Empires united deployed the Battalion from Heaven as a flight of endless staircase over Karmegha and authorised them to attack Vettaiyan Palace. The military array advanced over Karmegha with an assurance from a large reinforcement units. Ayus pulled the mobile assault towers with drawbridges carrying soldiers protected inside towards the walls of the besieged palace. The warriors following the assault tower burnt the abandoned siege weapons left by the enemies on battlefield. Several onagers, carroballistas and battering rams were pulled across the enemy line by the first line of attack of Empires United army.
Rana, Kacha and Sena stood watching the ballistic devices rolling forward. Rana looked at the facade of the palace. A defensive wall fortified the stately home and spread wide on either side, rising to the height of the palace building. Wall towers on top of the segment of the wall extended outwards and were equipped with arrow slits and ballistae. A defensive ditch was dug in front of the walls and the moat was filled with water. Two great towers stood beside the closed metal gate that served as the only entrance and exit to Vettaiyan Palace. Huge chains held the draw bridge raised, not permitting army of Empires United to cross the ditch that separated Karmegha and the defensive wall of Vettaiyan Palace. A long line of soldiers stood over the wall guarding the palace.
"An army of countless soldiers", Kacha wondered loudly, "Emperor's men keep swarming the battlefield like the bees out of a stoned hive. After the heavy blow they had taken the previous moon, alas, their defensive size resembles to yet another tiny army."
"When you get the chance to visit the two level basement of the palace and the area occupied by the monstrous building", Rana replied with a pleasant smile, "you will realise that Vettaiyan Palace is a large city operating within a confined structure. It is the most secured palace in the world, a protection provided by the nature itself - two sides covered by the thick jungles and the rear by the burnt mountains with black rocks – that make any attack from the three sides unthinkable. We are facing the only way in and way out. We have to cross the ditch and bring the draw bridge down while being attentive to the sentry guard tower’s ceaseless arrows. Charging the gate is entirely a different strive. That metal door was initially a giant wooden one that failed to stop Kali. As it was the only path that grants entry and that permits an exit, we had disguised ourselves as gardeners to enter the Maze. Kali ran the wooden gate down by throwing a burning chariot wagon right at it. Unfortunately, the destroyed wooden barrier has been replaced with a more rigid material."
"Getting inside the Palace would take more than just few days", Rana lifted his left hand pointed at the top of the palace and continued, "Those cannons surrounding the palace terrace will make the task even more difficult than imagined. Even if we quickly bring the draw bridge down, it will not soften the defence but swords will be replaced by cannonballs. In the rain of fiery shots, we must drill the metal door. And that’s the reason Yesodha Putran has distanced each unit, so that the damage is distributed and we could advance during the reload event of the artillery weapons. We will take it up slowly and steadily, like an army of ants, across the fallen bridge until the metal door gives away. We are here to stay from several more moons, my friend."
Rana turned and winked at Kacha, "And I have no clue about what is waiting for us behind that gate."
Sena surveyed the top of Vettaiyan Palace. It had its own separate set of wall towers equipped with single cannons. He noticed several enemy soldiers preparing an attack by charging the cannons.
The sun shot itself over the sleepy grey sky from the east. When the horns and conches declared the battle for the tenth time during the War of Karmegha, Ayus pulled the assault towers fast towards the defensive area of Vettaiyan Palace. Engineers installed and operated the trebuchets. The swinging arms launched huge pouches into the air and threw sand over archers surrounding the wall of Vettaiyan Palace. The sand disrupted their vision and disabled them from using their arrows. Catapults were halted near the moat and collectively they fired stones at the two gate towers. Ballista fired larger stones at the towers lining the top of the stronghold. They were destined to hit the single cannons at top of Vettaiyan palace. The soldiers hiding inside the assault towers attacked the wall towers with arrow darts. Light ballistae, the two-handed ranged weapon that used javelins as ammunition, were drawn with a heavy metal arrow attached to a rope. When the rope dart was fired directly at the wall, the metal arrow flew over the ditch carrying the cord along with it. The metal head drilled the wall and stuck rigidly to its surface. Once the rope dart was fixed to the rampart, the other end of the rope was attached to the huge nail planted to the ground near the border of the ditch. Several brave soldiers led by Gudakesha started their journey across the moat using the rope line. They hugged themselves to the rope by coupling it with their hands and legs. Hanging upside down, they pushed their way over the water towards the wall of Vettaiyan Palace.
The reply from the Emperor's defence was strong. Arrow flew from every direction from ballistae that fired hundreds of bolts in a single draw. The archers dipped their faces inside a small basin to remove the sand particles from their eyes. They quickly regained and aimed at the enemy soldiers who were crossing the moat using the rope line. The arrows injured the enemies who were suspended mid-air and made them fall into the ditch of water. The fallen soldiers tried to swim back out of the moat desperately.
A soldiers floating in the water of the ditch felt his legs been pulled by a maw. The jaws of a voracious animal dragged him into the water. The one next to him watched blood bubbling out of the water with wide eyes. Suddenly, several lurking eyes started to float over the water as though waiting to ambush them. The crocodiles stayed hidden under the water by just keeping their head floating higher above their body. The fully grown reptiles swam quickly towards their prey and crushed them between their sharp teeth. A group of crocodiles fought over a single prey. Each pulled the screaming victim in opposite directions and satisfied with the piece they had won, they dipped back into the water. The moat slowly started to turn red.
Gudekesha temporarily halted the cross over. Looking at the horror ditch, he ordered his men to launch spears at the deadly reptiles crawling beneath. The javelins could not stop the massacre, and everyone who fell inside the moats were merely turned into pieces of human flesh coating the surface of the red waters. Gudekesha immediately turned his attention towards the archers on the wall of Vettaiyan Palace. He prepared his metal whip and started launching metal spiked spirals at the wall towers, trying hard to save the rest of his men heading back to Karmegha, hanging to a rope over hungry reptiles.
Two captains of the General's army rushed to the top of the palace. An armoured unit of foot soldiers followed them to the centre of the terrace. Standing before the dome, one of the captain picked up two random soldiers who were loading the cannons. The guards ran briskly towards the commanding captain. He handed over a sleeve swing bow crank wrench to each and directed them to release the dome. The two soldiers looked at each other holding the wrench in their hands.
"You morons", shouted the other captain while moving towards the dome, "There is no time to waste." He pointed at the two holes punctured on the wall either side of the dome and shouted, "Fix them here and here. Quick."
The soldiers hurried to the either side of the dome and fixed the bow wrench to the bearings installed on the wall. They started to rotate the sleeve wrench to release the deceptive outward appearance of the dome. The six portions joined to form a semi-circular upper part of Vettaiyan Palace, separated from each other and stared to fall outwards exposing a six barrel multi cannon climbing up towards the sky. A small circular opening, the size of a man hole, spread out at the bottom of multi cannon over the floor of the terrace as the soldiers slowing rotated their wrench.
Sena watched the dome of Vettaiyan Palace open like a blooming bud. The metal petals twinkled converting the shy rays of sunlight into a dazzling brightness over Karmegha. The soldiers over Karmegha brought their fingers before their eyes to block the brilliance. The multi cannon stood erect facing the army of Empire's United, who witnessed the mounting horror through the gaps of their fingers in fear.
"The fireworks have begun", Sena said softly.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 2/6)
Eyes Behind the Mask
The captains on the roof of Vettaiyan Palace watched the two soldiers working with the wrench. As soon the shaft to enter the control room of the multi cannon opened, one of the captains ordered another soldier nearby to enter the hole on the floor. The captain's eyebrows furrowed when he saw the palace guard limping quickly towards the shaft. All the General's men were fit; selected after a rigorous assessment to meet the required purpose. Any disability - both physical and mental - gains no place in the Emperor's army. The captain lifted his head and looked at the other guards scattered all over the terrace. He noticed that none had worn their uniforms correctly. Tidiness is orderliness was the primary rule of the Great army of Central Kingdom. It then occurred to him that nobody had saluted him when he appeared on the terrace. Lack of respect to higher officials was a punishable offence; a crime sentenced to the pillory. He realised that it was not due to disrespect, but the men dressed in Emperor's military uniform did not know how to salute.
The Captain's eyes widened when words poured out his lips, "I will not let you play your dirty games under my authority. Report immediately who ... "
Before the captain could begin his enquiry, the other captain standing next to him fell to the floor. Streams of blood claimed the cracks in the flooring and serpented beneath the legs of the frightened captain. He turned and found all his men lying over the terrace - all dead. He turned to face a rigid face.
"We are messengers", Maveeran announced coldly at the face of the terrorised captain, "and we are here to deliver you back to the lowest hell. "
Maveeran inserted his knife to the side of the captain's neck. He fell to the floor with his mouth wide open.
Shamu prepared himself to enter into the control room. He attached his hip with a rope and handed the other end of the chord to Maveeran.
A large stone landed beside Littleman. Several boulders showered over the terrace. The escaped slaves found it difficult to shelter from the hard solid materials falling from the sky. Littleman ran quickly towards the wall facing the battlefield, avoiding himself from being killed by the boulders launched by his own brothers. He rolled on the floor thinking of ways to signal Rana or Sena or whoever was in charge on the battlefield to stop their attack, and to signal them that the terrace including the multi cannon was fully under the control of Empire's United.
The General wondered over the delay in firing the multi cannon. Neither the single ones from the wall tower nor the rotary multiple barrel firearm were discharged. He sat curious on his horse, along with the three units of foot soldiers, behind the huge metal gate. He looked to his either side and noticed the secret service of the Emperor hidden all around the palace grounds. He lifted his head and looked at the dome of the palace. Immediately, six cannonballs rocketed above him over the sky. His eyes behind his mask brimmed with satisfaction. A second series of six shots brought gladness to his lips and stretched them behind his mask. As soon as he turned and faced the metal gate, a third set of six cannonballs flew right above his head and landed hard on the metal gate. Its noise shocked him and his horse reared up in fear. His men nervously jumped to either side seeking refuge behind bushes and statues.
After skidding over the cold metal tube, Shamu landed on a flat surface. He noticed an armless metal seat at the centre of the room with a long lever on either side. Behind the chair, there were two pipes crawling up over the inner wall of the dome. The huge pipe was cold and the narrow one next to it was scorching. He took the chair at the centre and gripped the levers. The long bars were attached firmly to the floor and could be moved in several directions to control the movement of the multi cannon above. Below the metal seat Shamu found a pair of foot-operated levers. When he pressed the left pedal, he heard metal rolling over metal from the huge pipe behind him. The mechanism loaded cannonballs into the firearm, Shamu deduced. When he pressed the other pedal, the control room shivered and the vibration stopped soon after the multi cannon was engaged.
Shamu was surprised by the activation of the heavy artillery gun without his knowledge. The right pedal had triggered a sort of ignition through the hot narrow pipe which had fired the shots. He watched through the instrument for observation positioned above the control room seat. The periscope allowed him to see where the shots had landed. He turned the omniscope and fixed it at the entrance on the metal gate. He manipulated the levers to move the firearm towards the entrance gate, but he was unable to move the multi barrel cannon downwards. He operated the foot levers and six more cannonballs ejected towards Karmegha.
Shamu cursed under his breath. He desperately rowed the levers forwards and backward, but the multi cannon siting as the dome of Vettaiyan Palace refused to point itself at the entrance gate. Shamu slapped the right side lever in frustration. The long handle moved back and locked itself. Shamu's eyes glittered with theoretical comprehension. He operated the same lever several times to release it and then lock it back. Keeping it in locked position, Shamu manipulated the other lever upwards. The cannon started to descend its nose. He carefully targeted the entrance of Vettaiyan Palace and when all the six barrels were fixed on the metal gate, Shamu released the right side lever, pressed the right pedal and then, kicked his left foot.
The army of Empire's United assembled on Karmegha panicked when six huge cannonballs lands on the battlefield destroying couple of assault towers and siege weapons. They were surprised to see the second set of shots flying awry and falling on the empty left wing of the battleground. After a brief moment of silence, the Battalion from Heaven heard six heavy knocks on the fortified gate of Vettaiyan Palace.
Littelman snatched the red ribbon from the dead captain and collected a spear while rolling on the floor of the terrace. He ran towards the wall facing Karmegha. He climbed over the defensive enclosure and after attaching the red ribbon to the spear, he started to wave the flag above his head, as high as he could.
Sena looked at the tiny form climbing over the protective wall on the top of Vettaiyan Palace. After steadying itself, the little human form waved a red flag signalling to halt the attack on the dome. Sena identified the brave soldier. Sena smiled.
Yesodha Putran keenly watched the damage the multi barrel cannon invited on Karmegha. He desperately looked at the sum of all his fears squatting on top of Vettaiyan Palace. He shifted his vision towards the front of the attack zone when he noticed the entrance gate and the adjacent two towers trembling. He lifted his scope in curiosity and observed the dome. He whispered with a smile, "Miracle Littleman ... "
"... he is alive", Rana shouted and ran over Karmegha towards the siege weapons unable to control his delight. He reached Kali and pointed Littleman to him. Kali let out a loud cry and fell on his knees. He had been living with the guilt of not been able to save Littleman inside the King's Solar. The culpability had been maddening him since he escaped the Maze with Rana. He lifted a huge boulder and dumped it into the ditch. The sinking stone took a group of crocodiles along with it to the bottom of the moat. Gudakesha halted the boulder attack. Soldiers exited the assault towers and pushed the empty wooden carriers into the ditch. The floating wooden structures formed a dancing bridge over the water between Karmegha and the wall of Vettaiyan Palace. The warriors jumped onto the fallen wooden towers and crossed the moat. They reached the wall and started running towards the entrance gate.
Shamu continued targeting the front side of the palace. His cannons had already destroyed the right gate tower. The chains of the draw bridge were hanging loose. He continuously hit the metal gate, and finally a shot found its way through the metal door. The joints of the gate were weakened when the left gate tower fell down. The draw bridge laid itself over the ditch and touching battleground with its tip.
The General retreated his men from the cannon fire. He was not able to understand what was going on at the top of the palace. He ordered a unit to check on the operations of the multi cannon. It has been a while and the unit had not yet reported back to him. He saw the towers being demolished by heavy shots. When the metal gate was destroyed and the draw bridge fell, The General prepared his men for an ambush.
Kacha and his short swordsmen along with Rana and a group of Ayus ran over the metal bridge. A fierce battle happened over the ditch on the drawn bridge. Kali stood on the gate bridge and battled with the enemies bare handed. He caught his victim by their neck and dumped them into the moat. The feasting crocodiles crowded under Kali feet below the bridge.
As soon as Sultan saw the metal bridge hitting the ground, he ordered his cavalry to advance towards Vettaiyan Palace. The enemy retaliation was weak, permitting the cavalry units to fly over Karmegha and storm the entrance of Vettaiyan palace.
Shamu stopped firing the multi cannon when he noticed the army of the Empire's United reaching the enemy gates. He climbed out of the control room. He saw an entire unit of enemy soldiers lying on the floor of the terrace. Maveeran and his men walked over the bodies of dead soldiers. He watched Littleman standing tall on the wall. He signalled Maveeran to join him and Littleman. The three men watched the battle that raged at the entrance of Vettaiyan Palace.
"I promised you that I will walk you and your men out of the Emperor's palace through that gate", Shamu told Maveeran while pointing at the fallen metal gate.
"Dharma could never be or go wrong", replied Maveeran replied with a respectful smile. The three men waved at the soldier in red armour who was standing at the tip of the draw bridge.
Sena stayed on the Karmegha watching the three men waving at him. He diverted his vision towards the entrance when he noticed commotion near the broken gate.
Through the pack of battling soldiers, The General rode towards Sena dashing his horse forward over the draw bridge and slashing anyone on his way. When he reached Sena on the other side of the bridge, he halted his horse brutally that made the war animal rear up before Sena. The forelegs of the beast moved close in front of Sena's eyes, but he stood like a rock before the angry beast.
When the horse set its feet on the ground, Sena kept staring the eyes behind the mask of the General. Without hesitation, Sena griped Arha inside his left palm and jumped high in the air. Using the force of his descent, he landed Arha on the neck of the beast. The headless horse fell to the ground as Sena set his feet on Karmegha. The General took the fall like a specialist by rolling away from his dead horse quickly.
Sena rushed towards fallen general and slammed Arha onto his armour repeatedly not allowing his to reach for his weapon. With a bandaged right shoulder, Sena spun around himself to gain force to his left hand and each time he faced The General he brought Arha hard on the masked man. The General interrupted Sena's blows with his gauntlets. Sparks fired up into the air as and when Arha slashed the hard metal. Sena suddenly stopped turning and kicked The General on his face.
The iron face mask implanted itself onto The General's Skull making him let out a loud cry of pain. The strap belt attaching the mask to the back of The General's head withered. The eyes behind the mask turned blood red due to the pressure applied by the impact. He managed to roll to his left side, but Sena launched his spin and blow technique once again making The General crawl on his back.
Blood started leaked out of his torn armour. Only pieces of metal strands were hanging from his body. He raised his hand between him and Arha, a gest seeking Sena to halt. Arha mercilessly stuck the gauntlet breaking the bones it tried to protect. The General let out another loud cry of agony while trying to get back on his feet.
As soon as The General looked up, Arha came swirling towards him and slapped him on his face. The face mask ejected and floated in the air before falling on the mud beside the ditch. Sena turned around himself for the final time, and when his back was at The General, he pivoted the handle of his sword, so that the blade was pointed towards his back.
Sena forced Arha into The General's stomach. He released his sword and turned to face The General of the Emperor.
The General fell on his knees; his face hung to the ground. He had both his palms trying to stop the leak around his pelvic area. He lifted his head and looked up at Sena.
Arha slipped from Sena's left hand. Sena left out a silent cry of misery when he saw the face of the man knelt before him. Sena's eyes burnt with anger.
Mentor Manickam stared back at Sena with his bloodshot eyes.
... to be continued ...
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Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 3/6)
Confessions of a Chameleon
(Rated-R)
"Why ...?", Sena asked through gritted teeth.
Mentor Manickam was unable to look at Sena. He searched for words on the battleground. 'What you seek is also seeking you, General' - Vettaiyan's warning echoed inside his ears. A weak smile rushed to the corners of his lips as he thought, 'The hate that sought me!'
"Baasha, of them all, you know I won't apologise", Mentor Manickam spoke softly being knelt before Sena, "I don't regret, as I fought for what I believed. Every thorn in the path has to be removed, Baasha, to sow the trusted idea and grow a better future."
Mentor Manickam's knees ached. He heard the faint beating of his heart. During the last few moments of his life that was at the mercy of Sena, Mentor Manickam opened up for the first time about the difficult journey he had taken before settling on Karmegha below the eyes of his pupil:
"I come from a settler's family. My father worked for the Suyodhana dynasty. The grandfather of Vettaiyan was a visionary. He wished to expand his empire. He sent several of his faithful men to look for lands that were fertile and acquire the space for the kingdom's expansion. My father was a good hearted man. Instead of accumulating land by destroying forest, he gathered the tribes together. He negotiated with them and annexed their lands with the Central Kingdom. He was regularly appreciated by the king for his noble effort. We travelled to far lands as a family and never had a fixed home. At a very young age I was exposed to various culture and their languages. Being the only son and the brother of four sisters, I swam in the flood of love."
"My father discovered a land abundant in natural resources. He studied the surrounding and wrote a letter to the King explaining about sustainable agriculture in rainforests including rice terrace fields as absolution to deforestation of tropical rainforests. That night we were attacked by the tribes who claimed that the land belonged to them and the spirits of their forefathers ruled the forestry. All the simplifications of growing together in a healthy way were ignored by the arrogant men. My father's clarifications turned to pleas when my family was arrested. He received slaps on his face before his own children. My parents and my sisters were tortured and killed in a gruesome manner in front of my eyes. My last sister managed to save me. We ran into the jungle, but before our tiny feet could take us far from the hunting animals, my sister was recaptured. She hid me inside a thick vegetation. A group of men did ugly things to her. My sister took all their cruelty in silence. All night long she spoke to me with her eyes wide open, guarding the bush inside which I stayed. At dawn they burnt her alive and I was scared, weak, helpless and unable to save my screaming sister."
"I ran back to our farmhouse and sat beside my father shaking him to wake up. I heard footsteps and a group of men entered our land. I was quick to dodge them, and stood cornered inside the hen pen. One of them carried me on his shoulders not minding my kicks on his chest. I sat with the strangers who cremated my family members. I was accepted in the brotherhood of thieves. I was taught in various combats."
"Trees shedded their leaves and new leaves started to appear all over them. It was like a magic. One day, King Sama Sayodhana, the father of Vettaiyan, was attacked by the rebellions when he had come into the forest for hunting. As a young man, I fought with my band of brothers to save the king from the assassination attempt. After I slayed the last attacker, I was the only one standing before King Sama Sayodhana. My brothers and the kings men were all killed in the battle. When the king came to know about my father, he offered me a post in his army. I was promoted as the military trainer. I put in use all the skills I had learned and sharpened the army of Central Kingdom."
The General's neck started to pull towards his back. He managed to keep it steady.
"A decade after the King had dectuplets, The Politician Narendhira Verma paid me a visit during new moon. He offered me a membership in his secret society. He introduced to me The Architect Vitara and The Vaithiyar Kreesnama Muni. The Minster explained about creating a New World. Reluctant to accept his offer, the design of a New World interested me - a world of free will, where every citizen accepts to be organised and follows principles, working towards a common goal."
"The Minister, then, exposed his plan of training Dashakantha, the heir to the throne. I was excited when The Architect spoke about a secret Academy where the nameless from the streets will be trained along with the prince and later promoted to be his personal bodyguard. The Vaithiyar briefed about various techniques and medicines to boost the training. Thus, Panchothi Academy was found under the moonless sky and I was appointed as The Mentor."
"Several infants were brought to the Academy along with the prince and after years of vigorous training only two managed to graduate - Vettaiyan and The Poet."
"When Vettaiyan took over the throne, he proposed me to lead his army. I refused his offer, but accepted to continue training special soldiers, spies and assassins. And then he planted 'the idea' inside me. He described it as 'Freedom from Freedom'. It was fascinating to listen to Vettaiyan talking about control and power. Before giving me time to re-think, Vettaiyan disclosed the location of the tribe that massacred my family and asked me if I was prepared to punish them for their crimes as The General of Vettaiyan Kingdom; an offer that I could not refuse anymore."
"I formed a team, who were also the professors and trainers in the academy, and hunted down the very last one in the tribe that killed my family. They exist no more, no, not even in the history books."
"Central Kingdom expanded as we started to acquire the forest lands either by force or through corruption. The glorious period froze when The Minister turned against us. We learnt that his vision of making Central Kingdom powerful was a drama, as he only wished to avenge King Sama Soyadhana for the murder of his sister, Queen Dasa Radha. He had gone rogue and conspired against Vettaiyan for a silly little whore. Moon Flower was her name and she happens to be his daughter too. I was the one who trained her and he tricked us all to recruit her as a spy working for the Empire. When Vettaiyan burnt her alive, Narendhira Verma planned to take down Vettaiyan just as he had done to throw his father from power."
Mentor Manickam coughed blood. He wiped his mouth with his wrist.
"Vettaiyan wished to conquer Kottaipattinam and make it the capital city of Central Kingdom. But King Rishikodagan resisted, even though he accepted Vettaiyan as the Emperor, he wanted to remain as an independent state which paid taxes regularly. He refused to annex it with Central Kingdom. We planted a spy among his men - the minister of Rishikodagan. We used him to corrupt the King's mind. We made Rishkidagan strave for more power and we fed him with threats and danger to his throne. Rishikodagan became sensitive over the popularity of Kochadaiiyaan, your Father. After several years, the ploy yielded its purpose. Our initial scheme was to make Kochadaiiyaan to take over Rishikodagan, but your Father surrendered. We waited for the right moment, and when Rana returned to Kottaipatinam, he did what your Father refused to do. He beheaded Rishikodagan and stained his hands with innocent blood. I was sure that your father was aware of our political ploy. So, he asked you to guard the kingdom before walking to the pillory."
Mentor Manickam lifted his hands and looked at his own blood coating his palms.
"I have no repentance for what had happened. When The Poet brought you to me, I perceived seeing Vettaiyan when he was guided to me - the same anger, but unaware of where to channelize it. I trained you keeping in mind that you will replace me as The Mentor as well as The General. Vettaiyan closely followed your growth as an assassin. Each mission you had taken had political motives that benefited Vettaiyan's regime - halt growth, sabotage advancement, create chaos, eliminate perils, install corruption and capture rebellions. Vettaiyan told me that with you by his side, threats fall as garlands around his neck. You made me feel proud."
The General's eyes were heavy. He started to fall asleep, but he shook his head to stay alive.
"Every nation or an organisation follows a set of rules. Certain crimes are acceptable, certain actions are punishable. No law is clear in what it states but bent or adopted to suit the set of circumstances. Pachonthi had its own law. And none can escape judgement. Your decision to quit is unpardonable. You were clever, and it took us eight years to locate you. You were a demon who went underground and surfaced with an angel on your shoulders. You should have stayed hidden Baasha."
"I will refuse to accept that I authorised the murders, but my silence favoured Vettaiyan's plan. I wanted you back more than Vettaiyan and see my three best students - Vettaiyan, The Poet and Baasha - united as an unstoppable force. They made you kill your dear ones as a punishment as well as a warning to others in Panchothi Academy; at the same time, as everyone who attended the festival will not be alive, you will be left wondering about the murderer. Finding no clues, you will reach our door steps seeking assistance with the same rage that you had carried when you reached us the first time as a lost kid. You willingly shall become like one of us."
"But you had taken the other path. You met up with Dhavoma, who had an illicit relationship with your Father. She found a soft corner for you, and her challenge was a test. As a winning prize, she presented you with the Demon Eye. You brought the ultlmate end to the Pachonthi Academy."
"I don't believe in myths and folklores. That was until I met Dhavoma. I supervised the scene and witnessed the effect of the Demon Eye."
Mentor Maickam found it difficult to oblige to the demand of his lungs. His air intake grew lesser, while blood dropped out his nose when he tried to send out the empty air.
"But Baasha, when it comes to what one fights for, he is motivated by those whom he is fighting for. And that leads me to confess to you. Vettaiyan must be stopped."
"As a general I have failed. I accepted defeat when the metal gate was shattered into pieces. I have let down my motherland. I had cut past the crowd of soldiers to seek your audience and to inform you about the peril that will ravage this world. But you never gave me a moment to speak."
The General struggled to lift his head high and look straight into the eyes of Sena.
"The Clown, Baasha, I am sure it has been risen. It’s evil in its purest form that knows no good. After destroying the Central Kingdom, it will move towards the other states. At any cost it should not reach the sea. None shall survive its venom, except the Magnificent Seven. But they are no more. King Sama Sayodhana brought your Father and his six companions to Central Kingdom. It was the first time I met your Father, the Saint of Killers. They did their best to lock the monster away from the humans. I have not seen it, but stayed at the entrance of the Deadly Caves. They informed me that it was the last monster alive on this world. I don't know why you father had left it alive inside the thickest jungle. But Vettaiyan knows its location and the way to awaken it."
"I shall not take part in the destruction of this world. I lived for my people and will die for their wellbeing. Idea may differ, but trust is the same. Dooming the entire planet in the name of control and power is absurd. I never stood for such an idea."
"As a Mentor I have won. Even though I wanted to take your life before you took mine, you are a proof of the Pupil who outshined his Master."
The General's neck could no more support his head. Mentor Manickam dropped his head drooling blood. He whispered softly, "When the seven seals are broken, Silence shall reign over the Heaven."
Sena slowly walked around the General. He positioned himself behind Mentor Manickam and pulled the broken armour. The General's head raised automatically and his eyes fell over Sena standing upon him.
"Where are the remaining two teachers ?", Sena demanded.
"Dead", came the weak reply, "They were killed ... Baasha ..."
Mentor Manickam was unable to speak as Sena pulled the armour around his neck choking The General and not permitting him to finish his sentence.
"I have heard enough of your pathetic story", Sena shouted from behind, "Any cruelty cannot be justified by emotions. It’s not about how we deal with our friends; it’s how we deal with our foes that make us what we stand for. You have lost the right to die by my hand. None shall even find your debris that could prove your existance. It shall be like you never existed, no, not even in the history books. You have been hiding like a cunning reptile, seeing the world with your eyes behind the mask swimming inside a lake of soldiers, just like the crocodile floating on the water exposing its eyes alone over the surface and waiting to pounce on its innocent and unaware prey."
Sena dragged Mentor Manickam on Karmegha towards the ditch. Blood dripped from the general's lips. His legs danced aimless on the ground as Sena hauled him towards the moat.
Baasha bent towards Mentor Maickam and whispered in his ears, "... and you are not my master, you filthy lizard."
With one shift action, Sena threw Mentor Manickam inside the moat. He stood at the border of the ditch watching a dozen of hungry crocodiles fighting with each other to get a piece of The General of the Emperor. Each pulled the struggling body in every direction and tore Mentor Manickam into pieces. Grabbing a piece of meat in their mouth they disappeared to the bottom of the moat. Sena looked at the flesh and pieces of bones floating on the water - whatever that was left of Mentor Manickam. He bent down and picked up the Mask of the General and threw it into the water.
The mask floated for a brief moment. Water entered through the eye holes. Slowly and silently the mask dipped to the bottom.
... to be continued ...
-
Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 4/6)
The End of the End
Rana, along with Kacha and his units of short swordsmen, stormed through the broken metal gate. They neutralised the enemy defence and started to mount on the stairways leading to the archer platform around the defensive wall. Rana sliced everyone out of his way and reached the first wall tower. He climbed the spiral wodden staircase and liberated the arrow thrower from the enemy hands. As soon as the first tower was taken over, Rana jumped and advanced to the nearest watch guard tower slashing anyone blocking his way over the platform.
Kalai watched the attack operation from the middle of the battleground. The draw bridge was taken under control by Kali and his men. Gudekesha's unit started to throw ropes and prepared to climb over the defensive wall. Sultan forcefully entered the gardens of Vettaiyan Palace with his camel cavalry mounted by long spearmen. Kalai turned and checked on Kanakavalli who commanded the quiver of archers near the Empire's United campsite. The military array set by Yesodha Putran operated towards victory and Kalai estimated that Vettaiyan Palace will fall into their hands before sunset.
Yesodha Putran attentively watched the enemy defence being exchanged with the Emperor's Secret Service. Ninjas dressed in white, black, blue and yellow uniforms started to swamp the garden area. White Ninja jumped from the corridors and ran over the staircase like water running down the hill. The black Ninjas concentrated their attack on animal cavalry, pulling down the spearmen to the ground by grabbing their lance. The blue Ninjas pushed the foot soldiers back towards the entrance gate fighting them with their nodachi, the long sword. The yellow Ninjas crawled over the defensive walls. They were specially trained super soldiers who climbed walls elegantly like the cats. They wore finger claws, and with specially designed spiked footwear, they moved around on vertical surface. Using the finger claws, they slashed the unaware enemies on platform and pulled them down. They quickly crossed the platform and jumped off onto the other side of the wall after attaching a rope into the manager rings, a metal ring attached to plates over the facade of the wall. Holding to the chord, they ran across the wall, slicing the enemies trying to climb inside the palace. They moved like a pendulum on the wall pushing, kicking and cutting the enemies.
After throwing The General into the moat, Sena moved to pick up his sword Arha. As soon as he turned, he was introduced to a peculiar pain inside his ears. He held both his ears tightly, covering them with his palms. The earache brought Sena to his knees. Sand particles beside Sena's foot jumped and danced colliding with each other. He managed to lift his head and gaped at Vettaiyan Palace. Several soldiers were crawling on the ground holding their hands tightly coupled around their heads. The torment descended to Sena's neck. Sena screamed in agony when the Vettaiyan Palace slightly trembled in the vibrating sound from the seven trumpets.
The handheld brass telescope fell to the ground, before Yesodha Putran hit the floor. His body twisted and writhed like a snail around newly-budding stems. When the seven trumpets were blown, the archers and foot soldiers in front of the campsite shrieked and fell to the ground throwing down their weapons. Blood oozed out of their ears and some died due to continuous pressure thrusted into their ears. Nobleman bleeded through his nose, but his eye was watching the battlefield.
The seven horns were blown in unison from somewhere inside Vettaiyan Palace at the middle of the battle and the high-pitched piercing noise from the ram's horn paralysed everyone in and around the palace building.
Quietness restored itself on Karmegha when the alarming sound stopped abruptly.
Vadhana Devi ran outside her tent towards the pavilion. She was accompanied by Swathi and Swetha. Together they lifted Yesodha Putran from the floor. Vadhana shook his shoulders and blood rushed out of his nose. He opened his eyes and started to look straight at Vettaiyan Palace in bewilderment.
"What kind of jarring noise was that, Wise of All?", Vadhana asked Yesodha Putran once he recovered partially.
"Salpingos", Yesodha Putran said with his eyes fixed on Vettaiyan Palace. Without looking at Vadhana, he replied to her, "a straight, narrow tube drilled through a ram's horn, inserted with a mouthpiece of bone and attached to a bell. Seven in total tuned in different cues. When the seven seals guarding the secrets scrolls of the Creator are broken, the priests sound the alert by blowing one trumpet at a time signalling the danger that shall fall upon His creations. A third of everything shall perish once the horns are blown - hail and fire shall burn the trees and grass; burning mountains plunge into the sea turning it into blood; a great star shall fall over the source poisoning water; darkness shall replace light from all three sources, the sun, the moon and the star; fifth trumpet is a warning to the world about the arrival of The Four; upon the blow of the sixth trumpet The Four will descend upon the living world unleashing death; the last horn sounds the peals of thunder and lightning that are immediately followed by an earthquake and hailstorm."
The ladies stood numb around Yesodha Putran. They found it hard to hard to comprehend the words of the wise man.
"Catastrophe has been casted upon us", Yesodha Putran blinked, "by blowing the seven trumpets together. Its sound power disabled movement. Seven horns were blown to guide an unspeakable danger towards Karmegha."
Yesodha Putran turned and looked directly at Vadhana's eyes and declared, "The End of the End has come."
The warriors slowly regained, but the ringing in their ears continued. Battle resumed and the soldiers threw their weapons weakly at each other. The white ninja beside Rana recovered faster than him and launched his katana at the chief of Empire's United. Rana quickly pulled Inesh, his bow that hung around his shoulders, towards his chest. The sharp blade of Katana stuck hard on the frame of Inesh sending sparks over the platform. Rana gathered himself and crawled towards the wall to grab Vajrastra lying on the wooden floor. When he picked up his sword, the white Ninja kicked him on his ribs. Rana fell down from the tall wall towards the ditch filled with crocodiles.
Sena saw his brother falling from the top of the defensive wall. He got up calling out his name. Rana, while falling, found that he was right above the rope line that ran across the moat. When he was nearer to the chord, he flipped his sword and using Vajrastra as a gliding rod, Rana slid over the zip-line over the hungry crocodiles waiting to catch their prey. The sharp blade of his weapon sliced the rope as Rana glided towards Sena standing on the other side of the ditch. Mid way, the rope slit and Rana landed over the floating siege towers on the moat. He tried hard to balance himself while quickly being surrounded by giant lizards with sharp teeth. They attacked the wooden tower with their tail to destabilise their prey. Rana managed to cross the moat by running over the dancing wooden platform. He stood on the last siege tower and looked at the bank of the ditch where Sena was standing. Rana knew that it would be a risky jump, but only one other option came to him mind - to be the lunch for the reptiles. After taking few steps backwards, Rana ran over the tiny platform and launched himself into the air towards Karmegha. At the same time a crocodile leaped from the water with its mouth wide open to grab Rana. Sena threw his hand and caught Rana. He quickly pulled him and the wicked reptile missed its prey. It splashed on the water and swam away seeing Rana safely landing beside Sena.
"The crescendo came from the underground of Vettaiyan Palace. What could be the reason to blow the such trumpets?", Rana inquired.
The silence on Karmegha was deafening. It reminded Sena of the last words of Mentor Manickam, 'When the seven seals are broken, Silence shall reign over the Heaven.'
"To call The Clown", Sena whispered.
... to be continued ...
Footnote:
Seven Symbolic Seals / Seven Angelic Trumpeters are phrases from the Book of Revelation, a book of the New Testament that occupies a central place in Christian eschatology. Significance of the trumpets are briefly given adapted to fiction.
-
Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 5/6)
Bark at the Bark
The dense vegetation of the Vettaiyan Jungle to the east of Karmegha started to wither. Black smoke rose to the grey sky and the odour of burnt plant life enveloped the battlefield. The grasses started to transform into dark strands of lifeless threads, while the trees above them toppled to the ground.
The scared war animals panicked as soon as the characteristic sound of a rattlesnake - the rattle shaking as a result of extremely rapid tail movement of a of venomous snake - pitched into Karmegha. The frightened camels and horses overthrew their riders and ran crowdedly through the broken metal gate, scattering themselves on the battlefield in a state of agitation. The recovering soldiers stopped throwing weapons at one another. The foes looked at each other wide eyed, their glance registered uncertainty and fear about the unknown.
A situation of panic and disorder installed itself on Karmegha when continuous rattling noise made the battlefield resemble to a pit of vipers.
Three beasty dogs raced past the fleeing war animals and ran towards the campsite. Rana and Sena watched the Emperor's pets running fast towards the fallen foot soldiers of Karimedai positioned at the centre of the battlefield. Vettaiyan Kukkuras darted past the line of defence to reach the quiver of archers where Kanakavalli and her bowmen were returning to their normal state.
Following the hounds, Sultan rode on his camel over the drawbridge. He managed to control his camel during the frenzy situation, when he noticed three dogs running down from the palace stairways supervised by a fourth hound sitting on top of the stairs. Picking up Kacha, who was beside him on the ground, Sultan chased the Hounds from Hell. The camel ran angrily on the battlefield grunting with its mouth open and showcasing its sharp canines and the cavity spread molars. Their tongue rolled in and out its jaws, drooling sticky fluids over the battlefield. The ship of the desert sailed over Karmegha by bringing its hind legs close to its forelimbs without bending its knees. It galloped by stretching its forelimbs forward. The flat and thick hoofs sent sand dust into the air each time the camel picked up speed carrying Sultan and Kacha between its humps.
Images from her childhood projecting her family being attacked by deadly hounds flashed before Kanakavalli's eyes - a horrific incident that traumatised her and made her speechless since then - when she saw Vettaiyan Kukkuras approaching her fiercely. She felt faint at the sight of the one eyed beast that tore apart her brother Arasuvendhan in front of her eyes. Kanakavalli fell to the ground.
Utta, Antha and Kaaga circled around the unconscious woman warrior.
The arrows from the unsteady archers were unable to stop Antha, the one eyed Kukkura, from dragging Kanakavalli over the battlefield. They moved away from their position when Utta, the earless dog and Kaaga, noseless hound, ripped off the throats of couple of bowmen sending a warning to others. The beasts calmly followed Antha which carried Kanakavalli between its teeth. Amidst the non-stop rattling sound, the calmly moving dogs sent chills down the spine of the watching archers.
Kalai was taken by surprise when three dogs rushed past him and his men. Before he could react, Kanakavalli had fell down to the ground and stayed motionless. He ran towards the hounds when he saw one of them dragging Kanakavalli. He raced as fast as he could while witnessing the horror the hounds unleashed on Karmegha. The one-eyed dag threw Kanakavalli into the air. The earless one pounced forward and slapped her back onto the ground using its heavy paws. The noseless wild wolf turned and looked at Kalai with its cold eyes. The attacking dogs buried their sharp canine teeth into Kanakavalli’s armor tearing the metal with their powerful jaws. Kalai sprinted to be on time before the body armour gave away exposing Kanakavalli vulnerable to the hounds which were playing with her body using her as a toy.
The third beastly watching dog jumped at Kalai. He rolled over the ground and escaped the deadly pounce of Kaaga. It halted elegantly behind Kalai and turned to face him. Seeing its victim lying on the ground, Kaaga quickly leaped and landed on its prey.
Kalai saw Kaaga on top of him in mid-air hiding the sun with its body and preparing to land on him, menacing him with its protruding sharp finger nails. Kalai reacted as fast as he could and Kaaga landed over his body. The hound buried Kalai under its weight, but stayed on him without moving. After a moment, Kaaga rolled to the side and Kalai got up soaked in the blood of the beast.
When the present moment passed its hand to the next moment, Kalai had brought his sword and held it tight making the blade face upwards. Kaaga had landed hard on the sword of Kalai which buried itself into the beast puncturing its heart.
Kalai pushed Kaaga and griping his sword he ran towards Kanakavalli. The silent death of their noseless brother maddened Antha and Kaaga. The earless dog turned ferociously and leaped towards Kalai. The angry beast had all its nail and teeth sprouting out of its body and it was in an advantageous position before its standing enemy. Kalai knew he could not escape the second attack as the earless dog was quicker and targeted his face. He knew that before he could raise his sword, the beast would have separated his nose from his face. Kalai opened and closed his eyes while standing before pouncing Kaaga counting his last moment on the battlefield. When he closed his eyes, the dog was close in front of his nose, and when he reopened them, he saw the beast flying to the side and getting pinned to the ground by a golden spear.
Sultan ordered his camel to gallop faster while watching the deformed dogs pulling away Kanakavalli from the quiver of archers. Kacha stared the wolf dog when Kalai pushed it away from him. He turned and gaped at Kanakavalli who was being torn apart by two hounds. Sultan was aware that he would be late to save Kalai, when he witnessed the earless dog pouncing at him. He quickly brought his golden spear to his shoulders and released it towards the beast with full force. The golden spear landed on the neck of Kaaga just a moment before it could crush the nasal bones of Kalai with its hard teeth.
Antha blinked its single eye when its second brother glided to a stop and failed to get up. It painted its annoyance around its mouth with its white sharp teeth. It launched itself over Kanakavalli and ran towards the approaching camel. Antha elegantly jumped and reached the neck of the camel. Tearing a piece of meat along with the respective parts of bones from the camel's throat, Antha landed back on the ground. With blood dripping out of its mouth, it turned and looked at the fallen enemies. Antha covered half of the ground between itself and Sultan by foot, and when it had gained enough momentum it sprang in the air towards Sultan. The merchant from the sea maintained his ground until the one eyed beast was close enough. He rolled to his side and a short sword drilled itself into the active eye of Antha.
Kacha, who hid behind Sultan, raised and held his sword tight with his strong arm, on which Antha collided head-on. Kacha walked and removed his sword from the dead dog. Antha's face was punctured with two eye holes.
Kalai carried Kanakavalli and doubled to the campsite. Sultan knelt before his dead camel with his eyes closed. A moment later he got up and followed Kalai along with Kacha.
The attack of the deformed dogs started and ended fast, between the time it took for Kali to join Rana and Sena from the draw bridge to the bank of the ditch.
A howl from Vettaiyan Palace mingled with the rattling noise. Chintha, the mother of Vettaiyan Kukkurras, sat at the top of the staircase letting out a long, sad cry after witnessing Antha, Kaaga and Utta dead on Karmegha. It turned and looked towards the east. It lifted his head to the sound of a mild whistle. It got up and followed the shadow of its Master.
The sky darkened when Vettaiyan Palace was submerged under a thick shadow. Heavy destructive noises of breaking walls and exploding barrels came from corner of the palace facing the forest. Sena saw the source of destruction - a wide and large mid body of a viper with the rattle replaced by a long sharp knife like bone at the tail end. Whatever was above the body of the snake threatened the surrounding by moving its tip of the tail and the series of hollow hard bone released a warning rattling sound. The lower half consisting the body of snake was covered with a multi green colour skin, padded with big, fat scales that tapped with each other whenever the tip of the tail moved, increasing the note of the frightening noise. The snake's lower body was bordered by a series of triangular rigid plates that opened and closed spitting thick green liquid. The toxin completely damaged everything that came it came in contact with. The dense vegetation crippled and dies instantly when the poison was sprinkled on them.
Rana and Sena watched the lower part of the last living monster break its way into the gardens of Vettaiyan Palace. Soldier under the reach of the undulation of the reptile started to escape from being crushed by the immense monster. A huge human hand holding a broad heavy sword fell over the platform of the defensive wall crushing the structure and sending the warriors nearby flying into the air. Another palm caught a dozen startled men suspended in mid-air and threw them over Karmegha. The soldier fell on the battlefield as though it rained humans from the sky. An immense metal shield swept the ground crushing the terrified army. A fourth hand lashed a thick black whip and the thong travelled to the other end of the palace and when it returned the fall of the whip tumbled several wall towers to the ground taking all the trapped soldiers along with them.
Shamu and his team wondered about the sounding of the trumpets and stood confused not knowing the source of the rattling noise. As soon as Shamu saw the palace wall being crushed under the weight of a gigantic snake body, he quickly jumped into the control room. He blindly pelted the devilish creature with cannonballs that ejected nonstop from the multi cannon barrels. The metal shots resembled as pellets when they fell on the monstrous body of the unknown beast. Even though the cannonballs could not damage the creature, the rapid fire managed to push it back into the jungle. Shamu stopped firing when the cannonballs flew awry all over the forest. He checked the surrounding under the periscope and found only stillness. Suddenly the thick vegetation trembled as though an enormous creature was dashing through it. Shamu followed the rapid motion which was moving away from the palace.
Sena and Rana watched the jungle keenly along with several soldiers who looked around them in extreme fear. Vadhana and Yesodha Putran were terror-struck seeing a colossal monster attacking everyone around Vettaiyan Palace. Vadhana followed the movement in the jungle that stopped abruptly behind the burnt building of Fort Ayan. She got to her feet and walked to the edge of the raised platform. The momentary silence was scary.
Shattering Fort Ayan into pieces, The Clown made its entry into Karmegha.
... to be continued ...
-
Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 6/6)
The Clown of War (part 1/3)
One human head faced south staring at Vettaiyan Palace in silence, the other behind it screamed fiercely at the campsite, when the remaining two heads - the one facing the west surveyed the battlefield growling at the disbanded soldiers and east facing head was hung as though it was in a dead state.
The four heads of The Clown looked around Karmegha without moving the neck as soon as it sprang out of the jungle exploding Fort Ayan.
The heads were attached to their respective bodies joined together by the shoulders. The human-like anatomy shared an arm with each other and each body controlled two arms respectively. A weapon was held in each of the four hands - a vector shield made out of a rigid material, a Ba Gua broadsword, a whip and a sickle – and The Clown juggled them between the hands like a circus clown. The four frames of the body were glued around the midriff and joined to a snake's lower body which formed the lower part of The Clown. Large scales covered the green skin of the reptile bordered by hard skin plates. A pointed white bone swung to either side vigorously as the tipping the tail of The Clown.
The creature sat on the coiled lower part, terrorising everyone on Karmegha. The continuous movement of the scales and the tail tip generated non-stop rattling sound when four pairs of eyes looked at every direction at the same time. With a swift movement, the creature turned its waist around and the heads altered their positions.
The cloaked head over the body covered with rugged tunic and holding a sickle and whip in its hands watched the soldiers on Karmegha. The chin touched the chest making the head hanging down completely and it coldly watched the warriors with its sunken eye raised towards the sky. Few warriors had the courage to point their spears at the monster. The cloaked head brought its hand carrying the sickle flat on the ground. The action provoked a force breeze that disturbed the tunic covering its body exposing its rib bones. The monster of a man swept the ground with the sickle chopping the heads of the warriors nearby.
Sena immediately removed Europa from his hip belt and held it before his left eye. He watched the last living monster of the world through the diamond lensed mythical telescope.
"The Reaper", Sena Exclaimed. He closely watched the other three bodies and whispered, "The Darsider, The Punisher, The Rager." He looked at the coiled lower part of the creature's body and declared, "Naga Kaliya."
The four bodies from the waist up were of different colours:
The Reaper had a pale white face on a skeletal body embraced by a rugged grey tunic and the hairless scalp was crowned by a cloak. The thin pale skin pulled over the facial bones upon which a pair of half opened horrible human eyes shinned like emeralds. The lips were wrinkled covering the decayed teeth chanting the verses of pain and death. Also known as Soul Eater or Harvester, The Reaper stole the souls by killing the body with the sickle. The souls emerging from the dead bodies energised its eyes.
The Darksider had the torso and the human face painted pure black with long dark hair pouring down from the head over the shoulders. The eyes flared like rubies above the partial grown facial hair. Referred as The Farmer, the red eyes announce famine and drought. The vegetation turns lifeless and the fleshes of the victims are sucked out through their mouth after choking them with the whip.
The Punisher had a body totally shining in white with a healthy face covered with dense, long white facial hair surrounding a pair of eyes glittering like blue spinel gemstone. Cited as The Judge, the huge metal shield blocked goodness and sucked the victims into an abyss of despair, making them experience harsh tormenting punishment.
The Rager had a body completely covered in red supporting the human head with medium long hair pushed back. The eyes shinned yellow bringing chaos and confusion. Referenced as The Executioner, the broad blades of the Ba Gua stung the victims like molten lava drilling through their skin.
"What is this ... whatever ?", Kali muttered. Amidst the rattling sound and the heavy breathing noise of The Clown, Kali's loud voice felt like a whisper.
"They are the monsters Our Father had encountered", Rana recollected, "I have read about them at the Santuary of Truth inside Gulf of Bairavi."
"Our father met with The Reaper who posed as an aged man sitting under a tree before he met with The Rager at the The Fort of Kathipara that stands on top of the mountain Vanvayil in Kalingapuri. He confronted the Punisher in the Majantha Caves situated in the middle of Indhamaan Islands and jailed the Chudails inside a bottle. During his sea adventures, He slayed The Darksider that terrorised the sea routes and chopped the green serpent which attacked his crew members on his ship, Anagha."
"The creature standing before us is a merger of all those monsters confronted by Our Father to save His Children by stopping The Reaper from claiming healthy bodies; The Darksider from disrupting the weather; The Punisher from penalizing the guiltless; The Rager from tochering innocents; and Naga Kaliya from poisoning the world with manipulations."
"It's not real, it's an illusion", Sena cried out loud, "Monsters ceased to exist. It's just a trick played to believe the unbelievable through hypnosis on the entire population of the world who are not prepared to come in terms with each other. Using their differences, the magic was performed inside their mind to stop them from thinking."
"Who could be the magician who pulled off such a hallucination on every living being at the same time ...?", while Sena was wondering loudly, the image under his lens shrunk. His right eye closed pressed tight and his mouth opened wide in awe when his left eye saw a one eyed rabbit moving its noses rapidly up and down under his lens.
"It all makes sense", Sena spoke to himself softly.
Immedaitely the words of Vettaiyan resounded in his ears, 'The Three Supreme laughed and then, one of them replied, "Run. Hide. You are just a hare."'
Sena started to talk rapidly to Rana:
"The Emperor spoke about the dispute between the one called Rakshas and the Creator during the fifth day of war. His version stated that the Creator cheated the Ruler of Darkness by not sharing the Light with the Second World. The Devine Ones teamed up and murdered Rakshas who sworn revenge. Since then, Rakshas had been hiding somewhere in the universe to gather an army to fight the Creator and reclaim his throne. He master planned to acquire the Light, the power source of the Creator, with an intention to share it with rest of the world.
And that's not the Truth. It's a manipulation of Rakshas upon the weak to create his army to go against the Creator.
The Creator did not refuse to share; He had highlighted that the power of the Light could be destructible in the hands of the Unknown. When Rakshas attacked the First World, The Creator had no other choice but to destroy the Second World. Rakshas escaped with a legion of demons and entered the Thrid World, our world. The harmony between the worlds was broken, resulting in the closure of the portals permanently. The Creator knew that Rakshas will find a way to reclaim the Light, after all he is the Devil born out of the Creator's own Desire. The Devine One devised two actions - one to eliminate the threat from this world, and to hide the Light from Rakshas.
Our Father was thrusted with the duty of sending back lost souls to their respective worlds. His prime mission was to find and eliminate Rakshas. He had even consulted with Dhavoma and Yaksha to know his whereabouts. When he came across the creature that terrorised the jungle of the Central Kingdom, he knew that it was not real but a mirage of fears, a trick deployed by the Devil. He met The Emperor inside the Dark Caves and to make the scared boy a valiant heir to the throne and to allow him to become a symbol of courage, Our Father neutralised the creature so that The Emperor could slay it later and stand as the hope for his people. The intentions of Our Father were true, until later, The Emperor's father sent him to find the rabbit in the jungle.
The Creator had hid the Light inside his creations; the realised souls carry them back to Him again. But Rakshas was not aware of it, and he was still looking ways to reach the Kingdom of Light. Just like how The Creator hid the Light in plain sight, Rakshas too took a lesser suspecting disguise. He roamed on this world as a rabbit hiding inside a burrow of a dense jungle.
Who will look for a devil inside a harmless hare? Thus, Our Father was unable to find him. Even Chakora failed to point him in the right direction. At a point in time, Our Father knew that His days as the trusted ally of the Creator were coming to an end. He had chosen The Emeperor to pursue his search. He had offered him the Sword of Destruction to slay Rakshas. But before The Emperor could figure it out, he fell for the sweet words spoken by the one eyed rabbit, which served as an aid to his wounds during the helpless time. The Emperor started to believe the unbelievable. That night The Emperor entered into a pact with Rakshas. He agreed to assist Rakshas to find the artefacts that shall open the portals again in exchange to power.
The Emperor used me to stay in power and he used you to collect all the artefacts. Together we became a threat for him. This war, he agreed so that he could eliminate us. And when it did not happen as he had planned, he awakened The Clown. He was under pressure to deliver what he had agreed with the Devil, and we were blocking it from happening. The Clown in one of the Devilish forms of Rakshas.
Mentor Manickam ... The General of the Emperor struggled to win this war, as he knew that The Emperor would unleash terror if he lost the battle. He was confident that victory was the only chance to stop The Emperor from bringing doom upon this world. On the eighth day, the dissatisfaction of The Emperor over the proceeding of the war may have triggered the fear inside The General. As the last resort, he had sent his entire army to wash us out completely from the battlefield, but he failed.
Rakshas is the illusionist orchestrating our fears. Vettaiyan is his stage and we are his puppets."
Sena stopped talking and let out a breathe of despair, "Only the Magnificent Seven - Our Father and His six companions - were equipped and have the courage to slay such a beast. In their absence .... with none to guide ... we have to fight with our own demons", Sena brought Europa to his side and looked up at the sky covered with grey clouds.
The Clown stood tall on Karmegha blocking the mid-day sun, the torsos of the creature appeared that of a warrior.
Rana felt drizzy. His visions from lake of woes came rushing to him - the oar changing into a white snake; that swam across the river and joined the four men sitting on the horse backs. He closed his eyes tightly to escape from the rattling noise. The sound of the seven trumpets had alerted the arrival of The Four, he thought.
Rana turned and smiled weakly at his brother, "Saints sit and talk, warrior's get into action."
Saying so, Rana plucked the Demon Eye that hugged Sena's neck without his permission and took off on foot towards The Clown, before his brother could stop him.
... to be continued ...
Footnote
The Clown - It is an imaginary creature inspired from several such mythical monsters that roam inside our mythologies. Navagunjara is a creature with nine different animals sharing the same body. It appears in Poet Sarala Dasa's version of epic Mahabharatha and Prince Arjuna challenges the creature. Reachisey is an animal with a head of an elephant and the body of a lion. Naga (serpent) creatures are depicted with giant sanke bodies and upper torsos of humans. Uluchi, half-maiden and half-serpent, is the second wife of Arjuna. Several such Naga creatures appear in folklores, myths and epics - Kaliya, Karkotaka, Astika, Manasa, ..., etc.
In greek mythology, Geryon, the son of Khrysaor, is a giant with three bodies from the waist up (with three heads, six arms and six legs).
The Clown does not appear in any mythology or folklore. It is a hybrid of Naga creature (Mahabharatha) and four supernatural riders of the apocalypse (Book of Revelation). The Reaper, The Punisher, The Rager & The Darksider and their descriptions are imaginary. The Clown is designed to adapt to the flow of fiction and is created as a 'pre-climax climax' mini-boss fight (a term used in gaming language).
-
Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 6/6)
The Clown of War (part 2/3)
Rana violently shook the vial which was half-buried in his left hand while on the move. When the Demon Eye was stirred vigorously, a spectrum of coloured liquids swam over each other in the interior of the tiny container. The droplets collected themselves together and started to mingle with each other. A vertical eye appeared and occupied the inner surface surrounded by colourless liquid.
A huge shield flew above Rana.
Before Sena could react, Rana snatched the vial from him and ran towards the battlefield. Sena could only yell his brother's name; but his call failed to chain Rana. At that moment, a huge shield flew above his head.
Shamu was quick to react when he saw The Clown emerge from the jungle and stand tall on Karmegha replacing Fort Ayan. He aligned the optical instrument and started to work with the hand levers to position the multi cannon targeting The Clown. When the creature was in line with the cannon fire, he operated the pedals. The outpouring cannonballs did not miss their mark. Each shot landed on the four headed monster and perforated the serpent tailed beast.
The Clown swung around and The Punisher faced Vettaiyan Palace. The swaying tail knocked the nearby soldiers off their feet. The Punisher gave a cold stare at the dome of the Vettaiyan Palace with its icy blue eyes. It lifted the broad shield high above the heads and launched it towards the palace with immeasurable strength.
The vector shield thrown by The Clown flew over Karmegha cutting above Rana, who was running into the battlefield, and gushing in the air over Sena, who was desperately calling out his brother.
Before reaching the palace garden, the broad metal shield weapon whistled past the broken gates with a speed of a lightning and swore higher than the palace building striking the six barrel heavy artillery like a thunderbolt. It cut through the mouths of the cannons and sliced the metal barrels like a hot knife through butter. It halted after craving half of the multi cannon, separating each cannon barrel into respective halves. The loaded shots were trapped inside and exploded causing an internal damage to the multi cannon. Black smoke rose in the air when explosive powder burnt metal.
The whole structure of the dome reacted to the impact of the shield launched by The Clown. The heavy artillery was completely destroyed. The two pipes behind Shamu trembled violently as the cannonballs rushed down to the source area where they were stocked. The entire control room vibrated. Shamu started to exit the control room when mild explosions occurred near the foundation of the palace.
Sena followed the flying shield and witnessed it striking the multi cannon. The destroyed mounted gun looked like the cannons pushed their metal tongue out. The ground around Vettaiyan Palace quaked. A soundless explosion occurred in the basement that shook the earth around Karmegha. The Vettayan statue wobbled and after swaying for a couple of times, it came back to its installed position. The palace building rocked when cracks began to appear on the floor of the garden stretching past the draw bridge and running down Karmegha. Several crocodiles were thrown into the air along with large jets of water from the moat. A moment later, the effect of the impact stopped and the strong palace building stood unmoved over the fissured floor.
The Clown turned its attention towards the warriors on the battlefield. Venom secreted from Naga Kaliya and ejected through the thick skin plates bordering the snake body. When the toxin fell over the soldier, it burnt their flesh dissolving it completely. Only skeletons and bones fell back to the ground.
The Demon Eye blinked at Rana. Suddenly, the ground quaked around Rana and threw him on his knees above a pool of blood. Without hesitation, Rana broke the seal and drank the portion from the vial on the trembling battlefield. As the thick, tasteless liquid entered Rana's throat, he felt an external force tearing apart his gullet. He sensed his body being pulled in every direction and his head started to pound heavily. He placed both his hands on the ground and watched his own reflection on the red water. A part of Rana was still hanging inside and he watched his own eye turning redder than the blood. His lips parted revealing the canine teeth. A blaze started to appear around him as a response to his burning sensation. Rana sight altered and he no longer saw the objects as they were to be seen. Everything turned grey and humans on the battlefield were moving as scary dark shadows.
Rana, while completely surrendering to the influence of Demon Eye, recollected the scary vision he had when he fell into the Lake of Woes - 'the picture moved downwards and flashed what looked like a war zone. Soldiers were running. It was raining liquid and then fire. Suddenly the warriors were ablaze. Rana saw teeth of beasts. Rana experienced through the images flashes of his brother. Sena acted inhumane.'
Rana before turning into a demon realised that the reflection he saw through his vision at the Gulf of Bharavi was not Sena, but himself turning inhumane.
Sena briskly walked and talked to Kali, "Height is our enemy. It's an issue to reach the top of the creature as it is standing tall on a vacant ground. The heartless creature has to be beheaded."
Kali ran madly towards The Clown yelling at it. Sena picked up Arha and watched Rana. What was unknown to him until then, played before him in the form of his brother. He witnessed himself turning into a Demon at the Malai Kadu Thiruvizha, the festival massacre that claimed the life of his wife and daughter. Rana did not change physically contradicting to the witness of the festival massacre, the shepherd boy, who had stated that Sena transformed into a flaming monster. Sena knew that everyone present at Malai Kadu Thiruvizha - whom he had slaughtered unknowingly - were drugged too, which made them to hallucinate. But there was a tremendous alteration in Rana's movement. He found Rana multiple times faster than usual and looking in every direction as though he was surrounded by a group of dangerous wasps. Rana did not stop moving his head while rotating his sword in his left hand. The golden frame of Inesh had a peculiar shine as though it was placed over a flame. Covering the distance between him and The Clown in few steps, Rana bolted towards the four headed monster.
Throwing the vial away, Rana dashed at The Clown. He felt a coldness subdued by high temperature inside him. The heat and cold sensation acted as a fuel igniting Rana with extraordinary power and allowing him to feel invincible. He suddenly felt an unspeakable strength. His head felt lighter and his heart beat grew multiple times faster than usual, pumping blood to generate continuous energy. Rana found himself moving rapidly, and his legs raced with each not permitting the feet to touch the ground. Holding Vajrastra in his left hand, Rana pounced on The Clown that resembled as a monstrous dark jelly inside his burning eyes.
The Punisher punched Rana. He was tossed in the air and came to a stop by breaking his skid with his bare right hand placed on the ground. A cloud of dust covered Rana. He shook his muddy armor and threw himself at The Clown as a fierce bull.
Naga Kaliya slapped Kali with the tip of its tail. The strong man was pushed to the ground. Kali got back onto his feet. He picked up a heavy axe hammer and rushed towards the serpent targeting its hard knife-like bone tail.
Sena avoided Rana, as he knew that his brother was not in a mental or physical state to distinguish a friend from a foe. The Demon Eye saw no good, but only the evil in everything.
Ignoring Rana, The Clown followed Sena who skidded under the serpent body. He held Arha tightly in his left hand and prepared himself to block the Ba Gua sword.
To the right of the monster, Rana stormed his attack, and to the left of the creature, Sena stood defending its massive blow.
The broad sword met Arha and the force was completely absorbed by the divine sword. But Sena found it difficult to hold on to the pushing power of The Clown with only his left hand. His wounded right shoulder ached. Sena yelled at the top of the voice, while holding Arha as the barrier between him and the giant sword above his head. He slipped and rolled to his side after removing Arha from blocking the Ba Gua. The sharp blade of The Rager dug the earth.
Rana inserted Vajrastra into the belly of the snake. The Clown let out a huge cry with all its four mouths opening at the same time when the divine sword drilled its flesh.
Kali got the moment he waited for and brought the hammer part of his weapon hard on the tail bone of the serpent creature.
The Clown launched its whip. Rana cleverly jumped over the whip thong, and Kali was quick to fall back. The whip made a full circle around The Clown. Sena dodged the deadly swing while getting back to his feet. The rotation of The Clown was dynamic. When The Reaper’s torso changed its position, the hard handle of the sickle struck heavily on the left shoulder of Rana. He felt no pain, but Vajrastra fell to the ground as though his arm was paralysed. Rana picked up his weapon using his right hand, and with his left hand moving loosely like a pendulum beside him, he moved towards Naga Kaliya to position himself in front of the Reaper. His face raged with anger and his eyes glowed like a vermillion.
Kali was once again thrown away by The Clown. Sprays of venom fell around him. Sena watched Kali struggling to evade the toxic attack of The Clown. The sickle of the Reaper threated Sena. he dug himself under the green eyes of The Reaper. The Rager slayed soldiers running for their lives. The Punisher collected dust from the ground and blew it into the air in order to blind every one near. Chaos and terror settled over Karmegha. Eventhough Rana was sacrificing himself to buy time for Sena to find a way to defeat The Clown, Sena was unable to invent any. One side his childhood friend was drowning in venom and on the other side his brother was suffering from an untold pain. Between them Sena stood under a demon which refuses to give up until it swallowed the whole world. Mentor Manickam's final words rang in his ears – 'None shall survive its venom, except the Magnificent Seven. But they are no more.'
Through the dust storm, Sena noticed Rana running madly towards him and there was something weird about his preferred hand. Looking at his bloodshot eyes, Sena's heart leapt in sorrow. He wanted to take his brother inside his arms and end the agony permanently. Sena fell to his knees. Arha caressed the ground.
At that moment Sena knew that his brother will kill him. Death by the hands of Rana will make the prophecy come true - 'And in the battle of three, only one will stand.'
Sena thought that soon the remaining army of the Empire's United will bring the monster down with the guidance from Yesodha Putran. He was glad that he kept his promise to Vadhana. He was delighted that Rana shall stay alive to slay The Emperor and shall become the 'one who will stand'.
It started to snow on Karmegha and Lalli was running on the soft white floor wearing a white gown and carrying a red rose in her hand.
Sena smiled.
… to be continued …
-
Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Day One Zero - Falling Upward (Part 6/6)
The Clown of War (part 3/3)
Rana swung his sword to his side slashing the scared soldiers who were still trapped under The Clown. They all belonged to his army. The glowing eyes of Rana marked a smoky image in front of them under The Reaper. Rana gripped his sword and ran towards Sena yelling at him fiercely. Tiny lightening danced over the sky.
Suddenly, a climbing rope fell beside Sena. He lifted his head in surprise and saw the four commanders of the Empire's United floating above him. Sena was not sure whether he was still in a dream state or it was actually Kanakavalli, Sultan, Kalai and Kacha who had thrown the chord with climbing knots. They were standing on a star shaped wooden platform with a canvas wing attached to either side.
After carrying Kanakavalli to safety, Sultan, Kalai and Kacha met up with the queen and the strategist on the platform. They witnessed the terrorising monster along with Vadhana and when the dome of Vettaiyan Palace was destroyed, Sultan called out to Kacha and Kalai. They ran towards the mountain cliffs and entered the engineering division, where Sultan's merchants were building a flying machine referring to the Vimana Records collected by Kanakavalli and Sena.
Not heeding to the warnings of the engineers that the flying saucer - named The Aigle - was yet to be tested, the three men climbed onto the wooden floor of The Aigle after learning few basic on how to fly the machine. Kanakavalli had recovered inside the nursing tent and had enquired about what had happened after she had blacked out. The three men were wondering how to take off as The Aigle needed four pilots to operate it. They were glad to see Kanakavalli joining them and the four off them took off over Karmegha.
They noticed Sena knelt under the monster. Positioning themselves on top of him, they helped Sena to climb aboard. Sena looked at them postioned at the four corners of a star shaped wooden platform. He examined the flying machine with his eyes and the knowledge about engineering theory behind the machine, which he had read in the Vimana Records. The engineers had pulled out an impress work. He was astonished to stand upon the first flying machine.
The design of The Aigle was identic to the one illustrated in the Vimana Records. The hexagonal (star shaped) wooden platform supported a trident in the middle, on which a metal coil was thickly bound into the shape of a double lotus and inserted to the centre prong of the fork. The remaining two prongs, opposite to each other, were attached to cables that ran connecting the three external and three intersecting points on either side of the hexagonal wooden platform respectively. At the four corners of the star shaped floor, a cylinders was vigorously cooking a chemical element that had a dark grey surface. The process to produce the special chemical was mentioned in the Vimana Records. It was fabricated by burning a special type of stone called cinnabar rock. The chain of mountains behind the campsite was made of such peculiar ore and the rocks pocessed decent flammable properties.
The boiling cylinders acted as the engine, and the speed of The Aigle was controlled by operating each engine individually. It needed four pilots to fly The Aigle. The four boilers were connected to the pole of the trident through tube cables. The hot air from the burning chemical produced energy and travelled through the pole up to the double lotus. The thickly bound coil converted the energy into power and transmitted it to the six intersecting and external points of the hexagonal platform via the cables attached to the prongs. Two huge wings made out of stubborn cloth material were attached to the sides of the flying machine. They moved up and down as and when they received power from the trident.
The four commanders stirred The Aigle and maintained their position on top of The Clown. Sena smiled standing on Kaara right above The Clown. He recollected the meeting with the Twelve Lost Sailors whom the Time brought to shore - 'there are different kinds of Vimana - to fly over land or to fly under water - what should interest you is Kaara. Without it, you will be doomed before the one He calls the Clown. Build the Vimana, float in the air, before it's already late.'
The four headed creature started launch violent attacks when it saw a flying object revolving above its heads. Venom fountained out of its snake skin, threatening Rana and Kali who were trying to approach The Clown from the front and the rear respectively.
Kali and Kacha identified the source of the toxin. The sticky green solution was oozing out of the skin plates bordering the Naga Kaliya. They left their posts and walked to either side of The Aigle. They jumped down holding their short swords. Each landed below the waist on either side of the serpent body and fixing their blades on the border of the snake frame, they slid to the ground aided by the slippery skin of the reptile. Their strong arms holding the blades chopped every fin as they descended. Kacha and Kali rolled over Karmegha escaping the leaking venom. The Clown let out a huge cry of pain when its skin plates were removed from its body. The dripping venom burnt its own scales.
As soon as Kalai and Kacha moved from the cylinders, The Aigle started to lose power and began to sink. The flying machine took a hard punch from the knuckles of The Punisher. It spun several times, until Sena took over an empty engine and stabilised The Aigle. Sultan saw the thong of the whip raise higher above him. Before he could react, the lash tore the right wing. The damaged wing fluttered independently destabilising the flight of The Aigle. Kanakavalli and Sena pumped the cylinders vigorously and kept the wings flitted. They looked at each other; all three exchanging a similar thought that the machine shall not hold for long. At the same moment, the broad sword of The Rager landed on the star shaped platform. The shock disconnected the cables and the unoccupied cylinder bursted. The Aigle was giving away by preparing itself to leap into the dark abyss between the four torsos of The Clown.
When The Clown was busy in destroying the flying object, Kali turned his weapon and brought the axe onto the tip of its tail. He hammered the bone tail continuously until it detached it from the tip of The Clown, permitting the rattling noise to fade away. Kali was not merited by time for his achievement. Before his lips broadened into a satisfactory smile, a heavy kick landed on his shoulder and threw him sideways. Kali fell to the ground and stayed motionless.
The reptile cringed in pain when Kalai and Kacha stabbed its lower part of the body with their short swords. Kalai checked on Kali who lay beside the hard bone piece of Naga Kaliya. He worried for him and rushed towards him recollecting the fast moving image over the serpent body when he was dropping down slicing the skin plates - while Kali and Kacha were descending cutting the fins of the serpent, they saw someone resembling to Rana running over the serpent's body faster than fire.
Rana dodged the sickle of The Clown by going underneath it and the smoky image in front of him disappeared when he lifted back his head. He turned to his right and rushed towards the tail of The Clown. He found another grey image beside the tip of the tail. He kicked the cloud of grey, sending Kali flying sideways. He jumped over the bleeding tail of the serpent and ran towards the waist of The Clown. The torso of the creature revolved and The Reaper watched Rana dashing towards it. Immediately, it brought the sickle forward, but Rana quickly dived and stepped over tunic of The Reaper. The Reaper missed Rana and before it pulled its weapon back onto to him, he climbed its torso using the rib bones as a stair way. When he reached its neck, he threw himself into the air and fetched Vajrastra hard on The Clown. The divine sword separated the head of The Reaper from one of the torso of The Clown. Its green eyes blinked and faded away before rolling on the ground. The headless torso invited terrible pain to The Clown. The other three mouths cried out loud.
Rana fell back on the soft stomach of the serpent and glided towards the ground wetting himself with the venom leaking from the snake's skin. His metal armour melted and the molten metal stuck to his flesh. For the first time after consuming the Demon Eye Rana felt pain. The effect of Demon Eye was withering away. He blacked out mid-way and only his unmoving body hit the ground. He was inflicted with severe burns caused by the melting armour plates and the leaking toxins from Naga Kaliya.
Sena, Sultan and Kanakavalli waited for the right moment over the sinking Aigle. They saw the creature shouting out its pain loudly when Rana chopped one of its heads. It fell the ground unable to control its agony. When Sena, Sultan and Kanakavalli were beside the three heads respectively, they drew their swords and jumped on The Clown which was shivering in pain on Karmegha. The Aigle crashed into the face of The Rager blinding it completely, when the wooded platform pierced its left eye and the shock detached the chemical cylinders form the Aigle; all three exploding near its right eye.
Sena brought Arha and separated the head of The Punisher. The white face with pale blue eyes rolled beside him when he landed back on Karmegha. Sultan chopped the head of The Blind Rager and Kanakavalli sliced the neck of The Darksider.
The Clown convulsed, collapsing to the ground.
Sena rushed to Rana, while Sultan ran past him to assist Kalai who was attending to Kali. Kanakavalli joined Kacha and together they carried the wounded warriors to the campsite.
Vadhana stood behind Sena who was standing on the platform watching the sun diving behind the mountain. Sena turned and faced her when he heard her footsteps.
"He is awake, but has not stopped muttering", Vadhana informed Rana, "His left arm is broken and his burns are being attended to. His body is punctured with several holes and the molten metal has hardened over his skin. He cries in pain when the doctors try to pluck out the armour plates from his flesh."
Tears ran down her face when she announced, "He will live."
With trembling lips she said, "Kali is still unconscious and his left arm has completely turned blue. The kick he received had blocked the circulation of blood. He may risk losing his arm functions."
Sena nodded his head slowly and said, "He had lost his audibility to save me, and now he sacrificed his arm to save Rana. He is an angel."
Vadhana wiped her tears and continued her briefing, "Kanakavalli is still under shock while nursing Rana. The three others are preparing themselves to fight the last battle and capture Vettaiyan Palace."
Sena turned and faced Karmegha. He watched the calmness on the battlefield where several soldiers were present. But they all were dead. The pupils of his eyes enlarged. His vision became sharper. Anger took over him when he saw the lifeless battleground crowded with the dead.
Sena stared at Vettaiyan Palace and spoke softly to Vadhana with his back at her, "Take care of Rana. Order others to standby. The war shall end today and only one more will die before dusk."
Sena stepped down the platform without waiting for a reply for Vadhana. Thunder echoed around Karmegha when Sena walked alone over the deserted battlefield and went to Vettaiyan Palace to confront Vettaiyan.
... to be continued ...
Footnote:
The Aigle (The Eagle) - The flying machine is inspired from early inscription describing the flying models constructed in ancient India. The chemical is mercury compound. The boilers (cylinders) are mercury vortex engine. The double lotus (the thickly bound coil) is a Tesla coil.
The Aigle, its design and description, is completely imaginary, written for fiction.
-
Chaturmukha Part 3 - mRdayopaliptaM
Chapter Six - The Master, The Monkey and The Monster
Confession of a Disturbed Mind
https://img11.hostingpics.net/pics/6...rVettaiyan.jpg
Sena entered the empty palace garden and walked past the Vettaiyan statue. The Emperor's Secret Service was neutralised by The Clown when it first entered breaking the defensive walls. He watched the bow and the string held by the human size statue while moving forward to the set of steps that gave access to the Palace interiors. The staircase had several fissures, but the structure held to itself proving the potential of the architect who had designed the palace and the engineers who had constructed a building which stood tall after a severe quake that originated from its own foundation.
Sena halted on the pavement before the first step. Above him, at the top of the stairway, The Emperor's throne was sitting covered with dust. Behind the kingly chair, on the wall, a message was hand written in red ink:
Tic Tok Tic Tok
Whispered the Clock
The Twins I separated
Stand before me united
Upon one I had invested
The other I had created
All along good they served
The tasks their Master contrived
Alas, exhausted and unnerved
They angered the Master they served
Time has ripened
The twins shall be harvested
Tic Tok Tic Tok
The Clock halted its walk
"The Mirror Murders", Sena whispered in astonishment as he read the lines left for him by The Tic-Toc Killer. He solved the final mystery standing at the bottom of the staircase. Sena confirmed to himself that The Emperor committed those crimes, as a psychopath killing two victims at the same time and displaying them in the nature calling the dead bodies 'Two bored Twins'. Sena analysed that The Emperor was killing him and his brother Rana each time he murdered the innocents. Vettaiyan gained a sort of satisfaction by playing the Twin Murders repeatedly in his memory.
Kilaka, the mystical weapon to exorcise lost souls from their temporary body, hung from Sena hip belt pressing on his lap. Suddently, Sena felt warmth on his thighs.
"Hope has finally made to my stairs", Sena heard a voice speaking from above.
"Thought Hope would bring Faith along with it", Vettaiyan emerged from the shadows of the corridor and stood beside the throne looking down at Sena with a grin on his face. He kept on twirling his hair with his right hand, and placed his left hand over the arm of the throne.
"The power of Faith and the power of Hope come up against the pressure of revenge and violence", Sena replied holding his head high above.
"Absurd. Being unable to disprove something doesn't make that thing exist", laughed Vettaiyan, "Are you talking about God by any chance?"
"There is no god in this world", Sena spoke with authority, "The god is what preachers talk about to frighten knowledge and withheld anyone from thinking. And all of this is drilled into people from the day they have their first coherent thoughts as a small child. It's literally asking the kids to follow a mentally ill person who talks to god. People should start thinking for themselves to react to the tyranny of rulers like you. The biggest lie the Devil had spoken is not that he does not exist, its making everyone believe that god exists in this world. The Creator left us here for our own good. We have to realise that ourselves and carry what belongs to Him back to Him. The Devil hid like a coward seeing the world with only one eye. I have seen plenty of its victims, one stands right in front of me who was seduced by the Rhymes of the Devil."
"Think! What is that supposed to mean?", Vettaiyan mocked Sena.
"Discovering truth always brings genuine joy. Accepting truth takes the burden of guilt and shame, giving a true reason to rejoice", Sena explained.
"Isn't that already happening around us?", Vettaiyan enquired.
"No", Sena said strictly, "In the belief system called Religion, the preachers are psychotic persons experiencing delusions. They persuade to seek them to find the right path. But these fakers should be lead to the pillory. God exists, yes, but the god of this world not. God is experienced through realisation and not through belief. God is universal, same to any of His creations."
"I thought you were a warrior. At times it did occur to me that you and I are one. But you seem to lecture like a saint. Isn't our swords that should be doing the conversation right now?", Vettaiyan removed the Sword of Destruction from his scabbard and admired it while turning it in his left hand.
"Forgiveness", Sena replied, "is what is stopping me from climbing these stairs. But I have started to think whether you deserve a second chance after you had awakened The Clown. You killed many innocents. There were people who trusted you. Now, they lay dead on the battlefield. You murdered them. All of them. By doing so, you proved to be a fool. You failed to realise why my Father left the creature breathing inside the Dark Caves. He wanted you to slay it and become the people's hero when you were just a cringing earthworm."
Vettaiyan's laughter echoed around the palace. He abruptly stopped laughing and stared down at Sena as he spoke, "Your Father was my only friend. Why would I kill him, if this is what it’s all about - Revenge. I had great plans for him, as I had greater ones for his sons. It was you who failed to realise that. His death was like that of a butterfly chased by a kid playing in the garden. An accident. The butterfly was crushed under the feet of the unware child. The kid cried, but never could set things right again. So, I dreamt on passing what I wished for the Father to his Sons."
"And all I wished for myself is power", Vettaiyan spoke shrewdly, "I will not allow anyone to snatch it from me without paying the price with their head", Vettaiyan shouted.
"Be careful what you ask the devil for, you will probably get it", a voice came from behind Sena. Vettiayan looked ahead of him and Sena turned to see the speaker.
Rana, with his left arm bandaged, walked towards the stair case holding Vajrastra in his right hand. He refused to heed to the pleas of Vadhana and exercising his authority as the Chief, he walked alone tracking the path of his brother on Karmegha which led him to the staircase of Vettaiyan Palace.
"You deserve death", Rana joined Sena and stood to his right, "Painful it shall be", Rana warned.
"Your death", replied Vettaiyan coldly, "Consider it as your last wish. And that I promise to you."
Vettaiyan looked at the Brothers standing next to each other rubbing their wounded shoulders together. One had his right arm bandaged and the other had his left arm plastered. Each carried a sword in their functional hands. Vettaiyan witnessed a single soul sharing two bodies. He imagined Kochadaiiyan standing in front of him. Vettaiyan shook his head sceptically. He heard Sena speaking, "War and Peace are not solutions. Birth and Death are. Death does not bring any change. While being alive, we can bring the change."
"Change!", Vettaiyan laughed again, "Well then allow me to tell you a story, probably the last one you would hear from me."
Vettaiyan spoke as he walked around the throne before taking the kingly chair. He had his left hand holding the Sword of Destruction hanging beside the throne and he sat comfortably placing his right hand under his chin. He pulled the left leg over his right leg and started to talk about Power:
"Change is nothing but manipulation. You change the way people think, act or live by making them think, act and live as you want them to. Manipulation is a change brought to benefit the one who brought the change."
"A great traveller once brought a rock like material claiming it to be the tuber of a plant. The king was impressed with his explanations, which came as a solution to him during the time of food crisis. Crops were dying and the granary was filled with countable grains. The following season, the ruler had nothing to feed the population. The traveller said that the rock vegetable could replace half of the food served on the plat, thus minimising the consumption; that it can be grown easily and sought less attention. He cooked a dish for the king who appreciated how a single tuber had filled his stomach. He proposed it to the people, but they refused to accept his proposition. They found the vegetable ugly and hard. They revolted and threw the hard buds brought by the traveller at the kings men."
"The ruler manipulated his people. He fortified his garden and placed guards protecting it round the clock. He gathered several men - actors, models, sportsmen, authors, doctors, engineers and poets - the nobles and famous people around the kingdom frequented to his parties. The best and reputed cooks from around different regions of the empire secretly walked into the closed garden and returned collecting a secret ingredient hidden inside an enclosed sack. The king made every action and movement visible to the public eye, generating an interest on the onlookers. He launched a curiosity by making his men talk about the delicious food that was served in the King's party and about the secret ingredient that grew in the palace garden. He also made them share and speak high of fabulous recipes prepared by the famous chefs. The people became furious knowing that the king was having a happy meal, while they were starving."
"That night a group of revolters entered the palace garden and stole what was grown behind the fortification. The guards were aware, but looked away without stopping the thieves. Soon, the people started to eat what the king made them believe was dined on golden plates at the king’s party. It made them feel superior too. They found that the special vegetable can be grown in the back of their garden. In no time, the people accepted and cultivated the tuber that they rejected initially."
"My children", Vettaiyan stood up as he finished his story, "That vegetable got a name and it is called a potato."
Vettaiyan grinned at Rana and Sena and continued talking while walking around the throne chair. He pulled the sword of destruction along with them, its tip made screeching noise on the floor when he spoke:
"You have identified all my spies inside The Council Hall of Kottaipattinam brilliantly by reading their eyes, lips and face muscles that moved in anxiety. But you also heard from the ones you trust that anyone following me shall not suffer. That's a manipulation. That's the change. That's politics. And that's pure power."
"To accelerate the power, you turn the population one against the other. You install difference in them - by birth or by occupation or by religion or by spoken language or by whatever that is apt for the situation. You reverse the meaning of the sacred books or bring in a new law that impact the minorities or shut down the gates of opportunity for certain class of the society."
"I create thinkers to think what I want them to think, the way I tell them to think. Take for example", Vettaiyan pointed at Sena, "you with the red armour. You went behind facts, but talked to me about truth like a sage. Facts are the mirage of the truth, but certainly not the truth. I made you think that you are intelligent, and used you to eliminate threats. Yes, facts pointed that Opera Brothers and Mariam were guilty of treason and murder. But the actual truth is they were innocent and wanted to liberate this country by assassinating me, the same reason you are standing before me right now. So you tell me, what exactly is truth, rather than playing around with the word truth."
"The other gentleman here", Vettaiyan pointed his sword at Rana and continued, "Ignored history. He was so driven by rationality that he sought logical explanation for any existence. He valued everything and overlooked the purpose of the existence itself. Another fabulous thinker from my school. He brought to me invaluable artefacts without estimating the power he was supplying me. Moreover he was proud of his adventures with his friends. Ha! Sengodagan. Your enemy knows your strength and weakness. But your friend knows your secrets and your fear. A friend manipulated to turn into a foe. The change gained me information."
"Absolutely anything and everything will work. As an Emperor I exactly do what is needed for me and for my empire. If nothing works, I install identity, not by birth but by the place of birth itself. Funny but trust me, people grab it faster than freebees. And then, they take care of the rest by themselves. It is exactly what you refer as the Change. The only difference is that I bring whatever change I want and whenever I want. I create a problem and I solve that problem. They come to me; else I make them come to me."
"Give them the freedom to fight with each other. They destroy the freedom itself. My rule I call - Freedom from Freedom. They are my sheep and I am their shepherd", Vettaiyan laughed hysterically.
"And we wish to be the guidance to the lost souls", Rana yelled breaking The Emperor's laughter. "Yes", Rana said, "you made people quarrel over their differences rather than encouraging them to embrace their similarities. Your regime has to end for the people to think for themselves."
"The truth, the change and the thought we share are different - you benefit from it, we want it to be beneficial for every individual", Sena spoke calmly, "The self-realisation is the Hope which installs the Faith of enlightenment. Hope sparks the fire, Faith creates a placid ocean - a divine phenomenon where the two elements fire and water work together. Hope is the change that tiggers the thought to establish Faith. And Truth is the message delivered without ambiguity. Truth is God, a liberation from interpretations. The proof of that will be registered today by ending your reign. Once they are freed from your clutches, the people will learn from the walking in their life through good habits; they travel to places to gain experience; they start sharing knowledge of the known with the unknown; and Truth shall be the single sacred book of their future. Thus, The Light of God shall shine onto this world."
"Your God is dead", Vettaiyan shouted annoyingly.
"That's a lie …", yelled Rana.
"… As God never existed to die", roared Sena.
The Brothers raced together over the staircase to challenge the Emperor of Five Nations and Vettaiyan descended calmly down the steps taking one step at a time holding both his hand to his back. The Sword of Destruction followed him as his tail and its tip touched each step shadowing its Master.
Grey clouds gathered over Karmegha where thunder and lightning assembled announcing their reunion.
… to be continued …