𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐔𝐈𝐒𝐌, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐒.
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||ॐ श्री गणेशाय नमः||
 ᴏᴍ ꜱʜʀᴇᴇ ɢᴀɴᴇꜱʜᴀʏ ɴᴀᴍᴀʜ :

__________

𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐑 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐀𝐑 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘

"There was a calling from the sky when it roared...The Gods had proclaimed the fate of the Kings that day...and the monsters rejoiced amongst themselves...", the Godsman murmured under his breath, all old and pale and succumbed deeply in his sickness - lying on his deathbed, surrounded by his family and the clergy - waiting for death to come. The clergymen had their heads bowed down, as the women of the family muffled their sobs with their 'palla' [puh/laah]. Thunderstorms and rainfire, the whole city was burning, blissfully accursed in flames.

The Godsman, shivering in pain, tilted his head towards the broken window, gazing at the dome of the Temple of Eternity, which was all destructed due the wrath of fire. "But little did the monsters know...", he whispered feverishly, and the people looked at him, holding back their grieving tears of defeat and helplessness - And yet again he continued,"...The calling from the sky wasn't for the Kings, but for them...". He cried in pain, losing air as he gasped between his last breaths.

"Soldiers marching on the clothed corpses
Of tyranny and destruction,
blood soaked in rainfire
Screams of agony, cries of rage,
Bloodshed burnt in hatred
And he just stared silently at his burning village, gazing into
That violent night, with his wrath-filled vengeful Golden eyes."

A child, crimson clothed and bruised, stumbled across the streets of Mathura, the Land of Thunder --- carrying his young and barely-born sister in his arms. Blood streamed down her little forehead, agonizing and torment, as she shrieked and wailed in pain. The child looked down at her, with his eyes all red, rage-filled tears rolling down his cheeks. "A little longer Shakti...", he murmured, stuttering between his words as he ran as fast as he could. "Just hold a little bit longer..."

Horrid noises - cries of women and children, troops storming at every corner of the ravaged blazing kingdom. The young boy lurched his way towards the ashen market, passing through the ruins of his village, his burnt school, the lake where he played with his friends, his own home...Nothing besides remained, round of the decay of that colossal wreck. Mathura, his home, was destroyed.

The boy's vision blurred, as he looked up into the fiery dark sky, gazing at the Temple of Eternity scorching in flames - And He just stood still...lost to himself - his sister crying bitterly in his arms. The Deafening silence was his solitude...he now had nothing to lose, and his sole purpose, for everything to conquer. 

But no sooner had the devils gone away, the tortured souls of Mathura still wailed throughout the faraway landscape. The child heard something, a sound washing over his ear, from behind. Sounds of horses sprinting, as he saw behind himself a battalion of soldiers with torches and swords in their hands were approaching him on their warhorses. He looked down at his sister quickly, twitching his fingers around the towel which embraced her little body. His eyes met hers, his were red, and hers lifeless. She didn't cry no more. Her skin was getting pale, and her lips were mouthed open. His very own infant sister, her blood, was all over his hands and clothes. The shattered brother just froze right there, grieving silently as tears filled his bloodshot eyes.

"He stood still, bruised and blooded hands
Holding the young corpse; Hunted by
The desires of power, he felt powerless
Even the sky cried looking at his fate, Rain
Showering slowly on the greyish soil of
His ashen land... And the ashen carcass of his soul."

Thunder crashed into the ferocious sky, and the rain growled louder. The child just fell on his knees to the ground, as he sobbed bitterly, clutching onto his dead sister, not letting her go. He partly opened his weakened Golden eyes - as the sounds of the troops seemed to fade away. There was an ominous silence, only the faint screams and the crackling of fire could be heard. The broken kid coughed and choked on his sobs, shivering as he got back on his knees, snuggling his dead sister in his arms. He turned around slowly, only to be met with the cavalry of Lanka surrounding him in a circle. They were all glaring at him like hawks, tall and strong men, clothed with a silver-chained armor that extended down to their waist. They wore a red and gold turban-like helm on their head, that descended around the corners of their chin. The horsemen mocked the helpless child amongst themselves, as they gaited their horses around him, making it impossible for him to escape. The kid stepped aback, looking down in fear. All of a sudden, a soldier reined back his warhorse, as he descended down his astride from the saddle - before marching towards him, drawing his blood-stained sword out. His eyebrows pushed together and his skin went pale, his legs were shaking. The heavy footsteps were the only thing he could hear, which were approaching him with every instance. The soldier swinged his sword up high. He groaned, taking a deep and shaky breath, a smirk formed on his lips. The child shut his eyes, shrieking as he clutched his sister close to his chest. At the blow of the sword, Everything was over for him, his memories just flashed across his mind.

-------

I hurdled the cavalry as far as I could, as per the orders of my Maharaja - It all went as per plan, the strategy for this 'war' was successful. We had invaded Mathura, still it felt so hauntingly suffocating. What kind of freedom is this? We are here slitting innocent throats, taking lives of people who have nothing to do with this regime, people who have no control over their situation. Nothing had changed. The Trinity Islands have been waging war on one another since centuries. People like us just act as puppets of another brutal and unforgiving war, we could only hope for a better future. If I could make a change, I'd still not do it - I'm no hero, I have blood on my hands. Blood of millions of families, women and children. I'm just a mere dog of the Imperium, I'm bound to follow their orders, not to make choices.

I have fought hundreds of war within my thirty years of service as the Senapati [Commander of the Army] of Lanka. I saw my old friends die, I saw the people I loved perish. I thought I had became immune to fear, I thought I had buried these emotions along with the corpses of my comrades in the midst of battlefield, but I was wrong. What horrible will has kept monsters like us still alive...? We had crowded the city streets with corpses and carcasses, and yet still some of my soldiers didn't seem to be satisfied. We held a vow, we had our rules that we won't lay hands on the innocent, but wars have always been that way, the commoners get punished due the greed of those in power. These morals too faded with time. We believe we are the saviors of these people, but we here are the devils. But fuck, why am I even thinking about this, it's not like there is any redemption for our kind of people...

Reining my horse back, I sprinted him across the streets of Mathura, heading towards the forest. The troops weren't allowed to put this forest on fire, this jungle acted as a route to the Temple of Eternity. I was going there alone, on the orders of my King. My warhorse galloped through the woods. Looking around, the only things I saw were enormous and terrifying trees, their branches heightening up to the moon. This forest was everything the locals said. Accursed. This was only what could be perceived on the outside. Years ago, we sent our agents on an undercover operation, to look upon the infrastructure and the biostats of Mathura. They also investigated this ugly shithole of a forest. There is a Kashian tribal group, brutal and feral, they live here and guard this forest, preventing anyone from taking that enclosed route to the Temple. This might be a reason why the locals were so frightened by even the thought of going there.

After riding for an hour straight, I found myself in the midst of a grassland. I looked around, gazing at those monumental banyan trees encircling a rounded pond - amorous light reflecting from its surface. It felt fascinating. Amongst all this chaos, this felt relieving. This felt...beautiful. I stopped my horse nearby the pond, patting his neck as I got off him. Tightening my grasp on the hilt of my sword, I kept an alert eye on the long grass surrounding me. Taking silent steps, I approached towards that comely basin, kneeling down on the soft sand. I let go of my sword, before cupping my palms into the cool water, slowly drawing it towards my mouth and sipping it. The water was fresh and clear ━ it tasted sweet. During this fortnight, ever since the war began, I don't remember the last time I drank water. I dipped my hands again in the water again as I heard something crackle. Immediately turning around, I grasped the handle tightly, drawing my koduvali [ ko/dha/val/hi ] out of my holster. It was the sound of wood snapping, someone has stepped on it. 

Removing my gear, I stepped carefully towards the origin of that noise. I slowly warded my way through the lengths of those tall grasses, pushing away the bushes before I found myself in a circle yet again, once again surrounded by those divinely horrifying trees. I hear again ━ a strange sound ━ the sound of a woman weeping. I jerked my koduvali over there, tossing my feet in that direction. Moving myself slowly, I peeked through the woods. A young girl lying naked on the ground, hiding her exposure protectively, shivering ━ And a man standing in front of her, undressing his shirt and throwing it away on the ground. Suddenly something inside me burst, my morals seemed to kick my gut harshly. A realization. I didn't think twice as I stomped against the woods, ambushing the situation and slamming him against a tree.

--------

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!", the Senapati growled, pinning the man against the tree trunk. On impact, the man's eyes widened, his breath shivered a little. The Senapati brought the koduvali close to his neck, the tip of its blade grazing against his apple. His eyes caught notice of a pendant ━ a rudraksha [ruh/ draak/ suh ] ━ as he glared back up again. "A Rudraksha, huh? I don't care if taking your life is a sin, I won't ask again.", he murmured, pushing the blade against his jaw and clasping his collar tightly - before he roared, "What did you do this little...this fucking girl?!"

The man glared the Senapati eye-to-eye, a smirk forming on his lips. "Take your chances gracefully, Lankan.", he chuckled - as he shuffled out a long needle out of his gear - threatening it against the Senapati's neck. The Senapati grunted in shock, only about to slit the guy's throat before he interrupted his actions, "Ahaa! Be careful Lankan.", he smiled, slowly lifting his chin up, "This needle I've placed against your neck is blessed with the venom of the Cobra...One incorrect movement, and you shall face...painful death."

The Senapati looked down, his eyes pent up, as he groaned in defeat. He withdrew the blade back, letting go of his collar. The man as soon let gone from the fathomable grasp, kicked the Senapati in the chest - pushing him away. The Senapati grunted hastily, clutching onto his chest, before he threw the koduvali at him. The man pushed his feet backwards against the ground, catching the incoming lethal weapon at him with his bare hands. A soft gasp escaped from the Senapati's lips, as he promptly reached out for his sword. "Before making any assumptions, I prefer you look that way...", the man murmured, locking his hands around the weapon's handle.

--------

Glancing at the tree behind me, I saw the young girl stood up with her head bowed down, covered in scratches and bruises, blood dripping down between her legs. Her eyes were tear-filled, tired and broken. Her long hair were messed up. She had worn the shirt the man had given to her, as she stood right there shivering, burying her nails in her palms. I was speechless, much rather confused. What the hell did just happen in here? Am I misled? Is this a trap for me? I turned my head towards the guy standing in front of me. Then all of a sudden, something blew past my ear.  I restrained my vision ahead of me. The guy had thrown my koduvali on someone. I looked behind, only to find a Lankan soldier lying on the ground with my blade pierced through his face. Everything went blank. I just stared at my very own soldier lying amongst my brace, not in an armor but as a dog, wearing nothing. There were scratches on his chest, fresh and bled out. Wait...did he...? No, this can't be. This has gone too fucking far now. This was never like this, the Lankan Army was never like this?! The world seemed so loudly numb, and frightening. "He deserved what happened to him Commander.", the man mumbled, walking towards the young girl as he pulled her into his embrace, "He was a coward, a sheep in your battalion with the skin of a wolf."

"You don't get to make decisions for my soldiers boy.", I spoke stiffly - censoring my sight towards the carcass of the monster I had created - looking at the young girl, embraced in his arms. "Her parents?", I asked. "Killed.", he replied. I was speechless. Shaking my head, I turned my head away, unable to look at her. "Don't feel guilty for the actions of others. I know you. You're the most strong-willed and loyal soldier I've ever met.", the man soothed the Senapati. 

"You know nothing about me to say that."
- "I do."
-"How."
"I was your doctor. You were under my treatment when you got injured in the Battle of Dhanchan . You don't remember me, you were in a state of unconsciousness when we first met."

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(𝐀/𝐍) : ❝Namaste fellow readers! Hope you had a great time reading the pilot, if yes - please hit vote to it, comment on the chapter to let me know, you're enjoying watch you're reading. Also yes, I sincerely apologize for the delay & if there is any grammatical errors - I'm kind of pent up with life so I wasn't able to give my best here. I promise this wouldn't be the case in the chapters yet to come. Lastly, I want to thank you all for reading this chapter! I love you guys so so much, especially the people who've supported me ever since I announced it.❞