The Destiny of Shaitan Page 23

  Simultaneously on the other side of the battleground, Yudi, helped by Tiina, straps on his vest. She helps him place the armoured plates over it. He snaps the armour into place over his black leather trousers, unconsciously echoing Shaitan’s own battle uniform. He picks up his long sword, the ruby on it glinting as it catches fire and glows. As a last gesture Tiina holds up the Isthmus to her lips, then, kissing it for luck, she straps it to his right hand — his sword hand. Yudi smiles grimly wondering if he will ever see her repeat that action, then snaps his sword onto the sword-holder on his back before stepping out.

  He looks in surprise as Artemis stands ready outside to take him into the warzone. “As long as you have Artemis, you will be safe,” says Tiina, smiling. She kisses him for luck then steps back as he walks with quick steps towards the waiting spacecraft and runs up the steps which fold up behind him. The spacepod rises with a quite whoosh and, dipping in salute to Tiina, takes off to the front line, followed closely by the remaining Dwarf People who have once again assumed their giant proportions.

  Then Tiina turns to wear her own battle gear in preparation for what she hopes will be the last day of fighting.

  Yudi and Shaitan meet on the seventh day, at the seventh hour, just as the sun is climbing overhead, its red rays bathing both in a golden-red hue.

  Shaitan’s spacecraft hovers in the air and Artemis mirrors its holding pattern, her distinctive reddish hull changing colour so that ripples of gold and silver shiver through it, mesmerising in appearance.

  The two spacecraftcrafts charge towards each other and their individual laser beams clash in the centre, giving rise to a sound similar to a clap of thunder as the electrical charge fills the air. They repeat this again and again and again until Shaitan’s space ship seems to tremble, and then, with an almost gentle groan of metal, spirals to the ground, crushing the soldiers below and coming to rest on their bodies.

  Artemis gracefully lands a short distance away, coming to rest a few feet above the ground. Yudi jumps out and pulls out his sword. He walks across to where Shaitan has leapt to the ground and is trying to retrieve his sword from its sword holder, where it is stuck. He manages to pull it out in time to block Yudi’s strike, throwing him back with the sheer strength of his superior build.

  Yudi realises he has to first exhaust Shaitan before he can hope to defeat him. He dances around Shaitan, worrying him, angering him further, as Shaitan growls in anger trying to pin Yudi to the ground. After a good half hour of this, Shaitan can feel his muscles tire and, sensing his weakness, Yudi thrusts with renewed force so that Shaitan’s sword flies from his hand, burying itself in a mound of dirt just feet away. Shaitan swears and reaches out for it, when Yudi places his sword on his father’s neck.

  Shaitan raises his eyes to that of the young boy “Wait!”

  The sheer surprise of hearing the voice of his enemy for the very first time stops Yudi in his tracks. He leaves his sword as is breathing heavily with the exertion of the day.

  “You do not recognise me, do you?”

  It is as if every soldier on the battle ground can hear their conversation, for the clash of swords, the screams of the fallen and even the moans of the wounded dies down as all fighting ceases. The warriors lower their weapons, and look on at the drama playing out between Shaitan and Yudi. A hushed silence descends on the field.

  Yudi’s hand is steady but his voice wavers as he clears his throat “I do not know you at all” he says.

  “We are so similar you and I” Shaitan tries to laugh, his voice finally breaking as the laugh gives away to a harsh cough. He subsides for a minute coughing up blood.

  “I am nothing like you” replies Yudi, then angered by what he sees as Shaitan’s attempt in trying to relate to him, Yudi goes to raise his sword for the final thrust when Shaitan hastens to interrupt him. “So Athira did not tell you of your true father?”

  On hearing his dead father’s name Yudi hesitates. Still holding up the sword he asks “What do you know about Athira?”

  Satisfied that he had finally got Yudi’s full attention Shaitan continues “Did you ever wonder how Athira found you?”

  “He found me in the grounds of the....”

  “The Royal Palace, yes that’s what he told you and you believed him...” It was more a statement than a question.

  “That’s just how it was.”

  “He didn’t tell you how much I met Yana your mother. How much I loved her. How she never told me when she became pregnant with you. And when you were born she sent you away to the farthest planet in the universe – to Ka Surya. It was she who specifically chose Athira to find you and take care of you...”

  “Liar,” in a smooth move Yudi moves the sword to his left hand and smashes his right hand with the glowing Isthmus wrapped around its wrist, into the face he hates so much. Shaitan chokes over the slap, then coughs and spits out blood and a few broken teeth. “I take it I have your full attention then,” the laugh rumbles up from his chest, seeming closer to a cry.

  “Can’t you see how similar we are....the same hair, the same eyes, we are even about the same height...” Shaitan breaks off as Yudi brings down the sword burying its blade in the ground to the left of his head. Then leaning forward he grabs Shaitan by his shoulders and pulls him up so that he is standing shakily again on his two feet “... the same temper...” Shaitan laughs again. A strange trembling comes over his hands and legs as Yudi looks into him with his brown eyes so similar to his own. He can barely stand up straight. If it were not for Yudi holding him up he realises his legs would not have held him up.

  Meanwhile Tiina has pushed her way through the crowds of people watching and come to the front. She sees Yudi with his arms on Shaitan’s shoulders. From that distance there is no mistaking the similarity in the build of the two of them. Both are dressed very similarly in black leather trousers and protective vests, with long black reinforced leather boots. They are of similar height somewhere above six feet. “Shaitan has aged since the battle began” she realises, his body slightly stooped over, while Yudi stands straight, still showing the slim build of youth.

  She sizes up the moment and realization dawns. Without hestitation she cups her palms around her mouth so that her voice would carry better and yells “Kill him, Yudi. Kill him.”

  As if waking up from their trance the crowd of soldiers takes up the chant, “Kill, kill...” Their voices grow in strength “KILL...” they roar as they close in a circle around the two men.

  Shaitan sees Yudi hesitate, “So what it will be... son?” he says softly, as if not wanting anyone except the two of them to hear the whisper.

  Yudi turns his head to look at Tiina. Her figure blurs in front of his eyes and he realises that there are tears running down his cheeks.

  He turns back to Shaitan and lets go of his shoulders so that he falls to his knees in front of Yudi.

  Shaitan closes his eyes, waiting for the sword to strike; then, after a few minutes which seem like hours, he lifts his head to look at Yudi, still poised over him with the sword, the setting sun silhouetting him, making his golden brown hair blaze as if with a halo. Shaitan blinks to clear his eyes. He opens them again and watches with fascination as Yudi strikes; he sees the dull glint of the Isthmus and a laugh bubbles out, as the sword descends towards his neck, unhurriedly. It sweeps down at a slow pace and as it passes his face, his eyelids mirror the gesture and shut down, as if to protect him from the sight of his own death. Beyond is a strange stillness, a peace which he has been looking for, and finds only on the other side.

  Yudi plunges the sword into the ground next to Shaitan’s head. “I am nothing like you...” he says, then clasps his left palm over the Isthmus on his right wrist, as he turns and walks away. Shaitan bursts out laughing before collapsing unconscious.

  There are only seven survivors, including Yudi and Tiina, who leave the battle field that day, to start the race all over again.

  Glossary

  Avatar: An Avatar refers to
the incarnation (bodily manifestation) of a divine Supreme Being into physical form. An Avatar is a personal form of the Supreme Light. When a personal form of God descends from the higher dimensional realm to the material world, they hold a higher vibration and shift the outcome of everything they touch in thought and deed and action. They are knowingly eternal and free from the laws of the matter, time and space. They descend into this world telling those who will listen that there is more than meets the eye.

  Tiina, aka Parvati, aka Uma, is a Hindu goddess. Also regarded as a representation of divine female strength, the embodiment of the total energy of the universe. Also considered the supreme Divine Mother and all other Hindu goddesses are referred to as her incarnations or manifestations. She as Parvati is nominally the second consort of Shiva.

  Yudi, aka Yudishtra the righteous: Yudishtra's father, Pandu, the king of Hastinapura, soon after his marriage accidentally shot a Brahmin and his wife, mistaking them for deer, while the couple were making love. Before he died, the Brahmin cursed the king to die the minute he engaged in intercourse with one of his two wives. Due to this curse, Pandu was unable to father children. However, his mother, Queen Kunti, had in her youth been granted the boon to invoke the Gods to grant her children. Kunti gave birth to Yudishtra by invoking the Lord of Death, Yama. Yudishtra’s true prowess was shown in his unflinching adherence to satya (truth) and dharma (righteousness), which were more precious to him than royal ambitions, material pursuits and family relations. He also rescued his four brothers from death by exemplifying not only his immense knowledge of dharma, but also his understanding of the finer implications of dharma, as judged by Yama, who tested him.

  The Lion Man, aka Narasimha: Avatar of Vishnu and one of Hinduism's most popular deities. He is often visualised as half-man/half-lion, having a human-like torso and lower body, with a lion-like face and claws. He is known primarily as the 'Great Protector' who specifically defends and protects his devotees in times of need.

  Yama, aka The God of Death: In Hindu tradition, he is considered to have been the first mortal who died and showed the way to the celestial abodes, and in virtue of precedence, he became the ruler of the departed. Yama is also the god of justice and is sometimes referred to as Dharma (righteous duty), in reference to his unswerving dedication to maintaining order and adherence to harmony. It is said that he is also one of the wisest of the Gods. He is also the father of Yudishtra.

  The Bird Man, aka Garuda: A large mythical bird or bird-like creature depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak, and with a crown on his head. He was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun. An ally of the Gods, this mighty bird is said to have brought the Elixir of immortality to Earth from heaven.

  The myth of the Asuras: In Hindu mythology, Mahishasura was a demon that could not be defeated in battle by any man or god. Since he was invincible to all men, the Gods created his nemesis in the form of a young woman, Durga (a form of Uma or Parvati). In her incarnation of Kali she defeats the demon Raktabija who has the magic boon that every drop of blood falling from him to the ground will become another Raktabija (rakta=blood, bija=seed). Kali spreads her giant tongue and drinks up all the blood before it falls to the Earth, thus destroying him.

  Seven Sages, aka Seven Kings, aka Seven Wise Masters, the title of a famous cycle of medieval tales which centre round the story of a young prince who, after baffling all efforts of former tutors, is at last, at the age of twenty, instructed in all knowledge by Sindbad, one of the king's wise men. But having cast his horoscope, Sindbad perceives the prince will die unless, after presentation at the court, he keeps silence for seven days. One of the king's wives, having in vain attempted to seduce the young man, in baffled rage accuses him to the king with tempting her virtue, and procures his death-sentence; the seven sages delay the execution by beguiling the king with stories till the seven days are passed, when the prince speaks and reveals the plot; an extraordinary number of variants exist in Eastern and Western languages, the earliest written version being an Arabian text of the 10th century: a great mass of literature has grown round the subject, which is one of the most perplexing as well as interesting problems of storiology.

  The churning of the ocean: Indra the King of Gods is cursed by the sage Durvasa and loses everything to the demons. He forms an alliance with the demons and together they jointly churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality. The Gods (Devas) and Demons (Asuras) represent the positives and negatives respectively of one's personality. The participation of both the Devas and the Asuras signifies that when one is seeking bliss through spiritual practice, one has to integrate and harmonise both the positive and negative aspects and put both energies to work for the common goal. The ocean of milk is the mind or the human consciousness. The mind is like an ocean while the thoughts and emotions are the waves in the ocean.

  Mahabharata: one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India; an important part of Hindu mythology and of immense importance to culture in the Indian subcontinent. Its discussion of human goals: (dharma or duty, artha or purpose, kāma, pleasure or desire and moksha or liberation) takes place in a long-standing tradition, attempting to explain the relationship of the individual to society and the world (the nature of the 'Self’) and the workings of karma. The epic also reveals the complexity of human relationships in various dimensions, which can be related to even with the modern complexity of human relationships.

  The Trimurti (three forms) or the great trinity is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Shiva the destroyer or transformer.

  Vishnu, the preserver: Vishnu is considered one of the five primary forms of God. Hindu tradition also refers to Vishnu as the all-pervading essence of all beings, the master of — and beyond — the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. He is described as having the divine colour of clouds (dark-blue), and four arms. Also described as having a Universal Form which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception.

  Egreog, aka St George: The most famous legend of Saint George is of him slaying a dragon. In the Middle Ages the dragon was commonly used to represent the Devil. The slaying of the dragon by St George was first credited to him in the twelfth century, long after his death. There are many versions of story of St George slaying the dragon, but most agree on the following: A town was terrorised by a dragon. A young princess was offered to the dragon. When George heard about this, he rode into the village. George slew the dragon and rescued the princess.

  Raven, aka Morrigan aka Kali: The Morrigan was prone to prophesying, predicting the outcome of battle, and is a creature of need, of want, of greed and gluttony, and can also demonstrate a possessive and jealous nature, but from that need and want, from the satisfaction of that appetite, great acts of creativity arise.