Chapter 12

The Village

The sun was about to hide behind the horizon. The sky behind the tree line was shining red. A small village of the local tribes in the eastern forest lay in front of him. From where he was, the whole village looked deserted. There was no smoke from fire, no women collecting fodder for the cows, no children playing in the fields, and no men working in the fields. This seemed odd at this time of the day. So, Shwet Guru pulled the reins of his horse and brought it to a halt. He was on his way to Acharya’s ashram and he was going through the forest.

The small village was his regular stop, as the village Elders knew him very well and considered him a friend. So, it was natural for him to be curious about its silence. He dismounted his white steed and took it to a nearby tree and left it there. Following his old habit, he did not tie his horse. He then took out his sword and walked slowly and calmly towards the village entrance. The village was surrounded by bamboo fences that were high enough to stop animals from getting in. The path meandered towards the entrance where a bamboo gate lay open.

Shwet Guru’s curiosity was growing. As he walked by the village path between the small huts, one thing was clear to him—there was no one in the village. All the doors of the huts were ajar. The huts were empty; no man, woman or child could be seen. He walked along the path and found his way to the village elder’s house. It was the biggest hut of them all and could be seen in the centre of the village. As he slowly made his way towards the hut, a feeling of dread enveloped him. What he was seeing around him was unexpected. He had never seen anything like that in all his life.

A whole village had just gone empty! Years of training and life in combat had helped him develop an instinct that was rarely wrong. That instinct had been raising warning signals even before he had stopped his horse. And now the instinct had sent his hand to the hilt of his sword and its grip around the sword was tightening.

Shwet Guru reached the front door of the hut and pulled out his sword. The long, shiny twin-bladed sword was ready to serve its owner again. The sun had gone down completely by now and the sky was lit with moonlight, which was casting a ghostly shadow over the hut. Holding the sword in his right hand, Shwet Guru stepped over the threshold of the house and gently pushed the door inside with his left hand. The central room was filled with silvery light pouring in from the windows. In that light, he saw something that froze him at the doorway. It was the body of a man, which seemed stuck to the wall, his hands hanging by the side. He stepped inside the hut. As he moved closer, he recognised the face of the village elder. He was dead and nailed to the wall of his own hut.

After years of practice, Shwet Guru had learnt to control his emotions, because his guru had taught him that emotions made a man do rash things. But today he could feel his emotion taking over his calm demeanour. He calmed himself quickly for now was not the time to lose control. He had to find out the reason behind this monstrosity. He put his sword back in its sheath and pulled the arrows that had held the man to the wall. He gently placed the man on the ground. Before he could examine him, there was a movement in the doorway and shadows appeared behind him. He turned quickly and saw two men standing at the doorway, blocking the exit. He rose calmly and turned to face them.

“Who are you?” one of the men asked.

Another man turned to look back and then shouted, “Someone is here! He has pulled the old man’s body down. The one we had stuck on the wall.”

Shwet Guru took a deep breath. He needed to know how many of them were there. So, he just stood there, his eyes scanning the doors and windows in the room.

Slowly, the two men came inside, followed by two more men. They were wearing a full body armour in leather, by the look of it. They had swords in their sheath. “Most certainly not men of the tribe,” Shwet Guru thought. Finally, he would get some answers.

The one who had entered last asked, “So, who are you and what are you doing here?”

When Shwet Guru spoke, his voice was as calm as a peaceful sea, but the four men could not fathom the storm brewing beneath the calmness. He said, “It does not matter who I am. What matters is which one of you is willing to answer my questions. If you all volunteer, I might spare your life. But if you resist, I will need only one of you to answer my questions and I promise you, the ones I kill will be let off easily.”

The men looked at each other. Then the man who had entered last said, “You think you can defeat the four of us alone?” He started walking slowly towards a window where a chair stood. He sat on the chair. Shwet Guru followed him with his eyes.

The man then said, “Do you even know who we are? We are the members of the most elite force in the whole of Aryavart. Let us see if you can take even one of us. Then I will ask you who you are again.” He signalled and one of the men moved forward swiftly, taking his sword out in a fast swing of his arm.

The distance between the man and Shwet Guru was about five steps. The man’s movement and swing of the sword brought Shwet Guru in harm’s way. As the sword came up with a swing, Shwet Guru moved back, easily avoiding the blade. Before the man could control the swing, Shwet Guru’s sword came out of its sheath and its long blade sliced the attacker’s neck even before he realised it. Blood spurted all over, as the man fell forward in his movement. Shwet Guru quickly moved out of his way. The man sitting on the chair stood up instantly.

Shwet Guru pointed his sword at the dead man first and then moved it towards the man standing at the window. He said, “He was let off easily. Now, do you want to answer my questions or not?”

Before he could answer, two men, enraged by the death of their comrade, attacked Shwet Guru. Their swords came out without a warning and they both jumped on Shwet Guru. As he was expecting it, his sword came up and stopped the swords coming towards him. The two men tried to push the swords forward, but Shwet Guru’s strength was too much for them. With the sword in right hand, Shwet Guru held them back. He moved to the left and deflected their swords to the side and swung his left hand viciously. His fist caught the man on the left below the ear and the sound of breaking jaw echoed across the room. The man dropped his sword and fell towards the other man. Then Shwet Guru held his sword up. With one swift movement, its blade was resting in front of the two men’s necks. The third man also dropped his sword after this.

Shwet said, addressing the men, “Do you want to talk now?”

The man with the broken jaw nodded his head without any delay. Seeing the men getting weaker, Shwet Guru put his left hand inside his robe, and a long-bladed twin-edged knife came out. In one swing, he threw it at the man who was still standing in awe of what he had seen. The knife cut through the man’s armour and entered his heart. Before he could understand what had happened, his time was over.

The two remaining men were now in shock after what they had seen. Shwet Guru motioned to them to move to the corner where their leader now lay dead. They moved aside and sat in a corner. The man with the broken jaw began whimpering and the other man just sat and watched the impressive figure of the man who had beaten them without breaking a sweat. Shwet Guru pulled his knife out of the dead man, wiped the blood and put it back inside the sheath. He then turned to the two men, pulled up a chair and sat on it. He pointed his long sword towards them and said, “Now you will tell me who you are and what happened here. Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out. Remember, your life depends on it.”

***

Chandra’s first day as a recruit in Raktsena was almost over.

After the morning introductory session and bath, the recruits had lunch. This was followed by a gruelling training session in the castle grounds. Then the recruits were given the evening off.

There was a surprise hidden for Chandra. His gurubhai and old friend Devdhar was also a member of Raktsena. Devdhar had joined the Elders’ army two years ago. They had not been in touch since then. Devdhar was the only student in Guru Pradyuman’s ashram who had beaten Chandra every time they practised. Having someone like Devdhar in the same camp gave Chandra a lot of confidence.

As he was free for the evening, Chandra decided to utilise this time to satisfy his curiosity. So, he went to the library with Jayant and Shalk. He was seeing the library for the first time.

Every new hall that Chandra saw in the castle managed to overwhelm him in some way or the other. Some with their architectural marvel, some with their contents. But this time he was not impressed. He was not attracted by the library hall, which was huge by all accounts. As the hall was on the second floor, its ceiling seemed to be two-floors high. It covered the entire southwestern corner of the floor of the castle. He did not like the way the books and manuscripts were kept. There were no proper lists; there was no cataloguing or proper arrangement. There were several racks of books and manuscripts, but they had been placed as and when they had been received. There was no information about when the books had been added to the collection or who the authors of the manuscripts were. Chandra could see dozens and dozens of racks full of old, rotting and smelly books but there was no way to find what he was looking for. Dismayed by what he was looking at, he turned to his friends and said, “If we want to find a book in this mess, it would take us weeks.”

Jayant laughed and said, “Speak for yourself, I will not even try to look.”

Shalk agreed, “I don’t think anyone other than the gurus would care to look inside this messy mountain.”

Chandra was thinking of something. Jayant saw his friend’s serious face and said, “I know what you are thinking of. If it looks so difficult for us to find a book, how did…” “The attackers find the book they wanted so fast?” Chandra completed the sentence gloomily. He said to Shalk, “Can you try to remember where you were hiding that night?” Shalk looked at Chandra and said, “You know it was really dark inside at that time. So, I can only try.” Saying so, he took a step forward, leaving the other two behind. Then he closed his eyes. Jayant looked at Chandra and rolled his eyes. Chandra smiled as he picked up a torch and gestured to Jayant to follow him. Amidst all that was happening, his mind went to his cousin. Jayant was in so many ways similar to Parth. No wonder he hadn’t missed Parth even a bit after Jayant’s arrival. He smiled at the thought and then focussed his mind on the business at hand.

Jayant whispered in his ear, “What do you think is he doing?” Chandra saw it too. Shalk’s eyes were closed and he was touching a rack and walking along it. He couldn’t stop himself. So, Chandra asked him, “Do you know where you are going?” “Do you want to go to that place?” Shalk said in a stern voice and stopped.

“Yes,” said Chandra and Jayant together.

Shalk got back to what he was doing and said, “Then shut your mouth and let me do what I am doing.”

Jayant whispered, “I don’t like him,” reminding Chandra of Parth again. Parth too made snap judgements about people without any qualms. They both started following Shalk, who had now turned to the right and was moving along another rack of manuscripts.

“Why are there no torches here?” Jayant asked, waving his torch all around, looking for chandeliers.

Chandra stopped his friend’s waving hand. “Precisely for the same reason for which I am stopping you. These books are centuries old, a small spark can destroy all of this. So, stop waving the torch. It’s not your axe, my friend.”

Jayant lowered his hand and said, “I don’t like you either.”

Chandra laughed.

Shalk had now reached a spot between two racks and was feeling his way around. Chandra was amazed to see the huge number of racks they had crossed in such a short time. He was also impressed with Shalk’s sense of direction. It had been days since the attack and Shalk still seemed to remember his way through the dark corridors of books.

Shalk sat down on the ground and looked up at Chandra. “This is where I was sitting with my spear in my hand. I heard those people talking on the other side.” He pointed to the other side on his left. “They crossed me and went inside one of those corridors. They had a torch. So, I sneaked deep inside, but the light of the torch could be seen.” He got up and started walking towards the side he was pointing. “From here,” he completed the sentence and turned towards Chandra and Jayant.

Chandra was thinking hard now. He then asked, “Did they search for the place they had to be in or did they come straight here?”

“I don’t think they were looking for the place. From the way they were acting, it looked like they knew what they wanted and where to look for it,” said Shalk, after thinking for a while.

Jayant spoke the obvious, “That means only one thing.”

Before he could complete, a thumping voice was heard from the gallery they had just come from. “Who is here?”

Their thought process was curtailed as they turned to see Swarn Guru standing in the gallery with a torch in his hand. His golden dress was shining under the light emanating from the torch. As he moved slowly towards them, the entire area was lit up by his aura.

Chandra’s mind was racing. He did not want to tell the truth. He knew his thoughts had been conveyed to Guru Rakshit and they had been disregarded. He had no idea how Guru Rakshit and, more importantly, his uncle would respond, if he knew he was going against his wishes. Swarn Guru came and stood in front them. He looked at them first and then his eyes drifted across the rack near which the boys stood. Then his gaze went back to the boys.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded.

Chandra could feel his companions’ fear, which was slowly overtaking him too. For the first time in his life, he was trying to hide what he was doing. He knew what he was doing was right. But he also knew that if he told the truth, he would be forced not to pursue it anymore. So, he decided to lie. In his heart, he knew it was the right decision. “It’s nothing, Gurudev. Shalk was showing us how he managed to find his way in dark that night.”

“What way?” Swarn guru was suspicious.

Shalk jumped in. “Gurudev, I have been taught to fight with my eyes closed. They were not convinced. So, I thought I would show them how I manage to find my way in the dark. I felt that might convince them. Are you convinced now?” He finished by deflecting the question to the other two.

Chandra said, “Yes, we are.”

Jayant was nodding furiously.

Swarn Guru was still suspicious. Chandra knew their lie wasn’t good enough. Jayant nodding his head wasn’t making it look any better. He felt a lot better when Swarn Guru said, “Don’t come inside the library without an elder at night. Those torches that you are carrying can destroy all of this, you know.”

Jayant responded before Chandra could think of anything. “I was saying exactly this to them. We should not bring torches inside. We will not do it again, we are very sorry.” He snapped at the other boys, “Come on! Did I not tell you this? Out now. Enough of your games.” And he led the way, followed by Shalk, who murmured his apology. Chandra was just behind him. When he reached the turn, he saw Swarn Guru still looking at them. He walked ahead and Swarn Guru disappeared from view. He took a few steps, stopped and looked back. Swarn Guru was not standing there anymore. He was going deeper into the labyrinth of the books, his golden figure disappearing into it.

When Chandra reached the door, Jayant and Shalk were already waiting for him. Another person had joined them. Abhyuday was standing there with some news. “Guru Rakshit has called for a meeting. Everyone is assembling in the Hall of Legends after dinner.” Jayant seemed to catch only the last word. “Dinner, right! That’s what I really want now. Abhyuday, I like you brother. Let us go.”

Abhyuday was completely unaware of what had happened. He walked with Jayant towards the stairs with Shalk toeing them. Chandra’s legs were following them but his mind was not aware of it. It was now entwined with the mystery of the manuscript. Jayant had asked the obvious question. How did the attackers know what they wanted and where to find it? This was highly unusual. The library was a labyrinth. It was absolutely impossible for anyone who had entered it for the first time to find a particular manuscript inside the jungle. So, the question still remained and he decided to let it go. Maybe he would try to find out some more about that section of the library sometime during the day. Maybe the books that lay there could throw some light on this matter.

Chandra had reached the stairs where, on that fateful night, he had fought his first battle. He did not know how many more fights he would have to fight in his life. Thinking of all this, he ran after his friends who had almost reached the ground floor, laughing and enjoying among themselves.

***

“How did you know it was me who was taking your man?” Vidyut asked.

Pancham and Vidyut were sitting in front of their captor, the leader of the group that had attacked the carriage. They had been asking questions, but the leader had been absolutely silent. They had asked many questions but the answers were not forthcoming. Vidyut wanted to beat the man to pulp if he didn’t give any answers, but Pancham had discarded the idea as it was against the Elders’ ways.

Vidyut was getting frustrated. He was not getting his answers and that was not good. It was his nature to know about his enemy before he fought him. He had lived his life in Suryagarh learning the ways and secrets of the kingdom and its armies. Until he decided to leave his home, he was sure he knew more about it, than any man alive. But there was still a question that had not been answered. It was unusual for any news to travel so fast. But he was not getting any answers today as well. So, he left Pancham to keep trying his luck. He went out of the small hut in which the leader was being kept. He went inside the main hut from the back door.

One of the Shwetsainik men, standing at the door on guard, said, “Your things from the capital have arrived. The man said he had a little trouble finding the inn you were staying in.”

“Not a very special establishment I stay in,” said Vidyut. He shook his head and added, “Helps me avoid nosy soldiers.”

The Shwetsainik smiled. “The way you fight, it’s a favour for those soldiers.”

Vidyut laughed. “Don’t flatter me. I am not that good.”

“I beg to differ sir. You might not know this, but some of us were able to see through some cracks in the carriage when you were fighting those soldiers on the road.”

Another Shwetsainik, who was standing nearby and listening to their conversation, jumped in. “He is right. The way you threw that sword. I have never seen a sword being thrown like that. Our instructors have taught us how to throw knives, spears and axes. But swords, that was something!” He looked excited. “I think you should teach us.”

Vidyut shook his head. “Don’t let Pancham hear this. He will not approve of it.” He winked and asked, “Where is my stuff?” The first Shwetsainik answered, “It’s tied to a horse standing in front of the ashram.”

Vidyut nodded his head and thanked the two men and went inside the hut. A few Shwetsainik men were sitting inside the kitchen, making food and looking happy. After a long and tiring journey inside a carriage, they were relishing the freedom to move about and practise. They were cooking food for the night. Vidyut came out to the main hall of the hut and saw Acharya’s room. The light burning inside could be seen coming out from underneath the closed door.

Vidyut thought about the questions Acharya was asking. What did he want to know? Vidyut did not know what secrets the man would reveal. But now he really wanted to know if the cause of his father’s death was related to the secret. He stepped outside the hut onto the front courtyard. He could see a horse standing just beyond the main gate, a baggage tied to its saddle. His family sword was clearly visible from the distance. He was delighted. That sword was the oldest friend he had. He was feeling incomplete without it. He reached the horse and patted its back with his left hand. With his right hand, he gripped his sword and pulled it out of his baggage. Its sheath was made of solid metal; carvings of two snakes entangled the sword, their fangs were directed towards the opening in such a way that it looked like the sword was lying inside their bellies.

“This looks impressive,” a voice said from behind. Vidyut turned to see Shishya standing there.

“Do you always sneak upon people like that? I never heard you coming from behind me,” Vidyut observed.

“When you have a teacher like I have my friend, you learn a lot of things,” he said and extended his hand forward. “May I?”

Vidyut placed the sword in Shishya’s hand. He transferred it from the right to the left and pulled the sword out. The blade was shining even in the dark. The double edges looked sharp enough to cut through metal.

“Do I recognise the work of the great sword makers of the south?” asked Shishya. “Not just anyone. This was made by the one,” said Vidyut. “Oh, I have heard stories. They say he travelled north once in search of great and just warriors and he made only a handful of these swords for them. How is that you have one of them?” Shishya looked curious. “We all have our secrets, my good man. Let them be.”

Vidyut turned back to the horse to take down his baggage. He swung it on his back and asked for his sword. Shishya handed it over.

“I think I should put my things in the backyard,” said Vidyut and started walking towards the backyard from around the main hut. Just then, Shishya said, “What do you think you will do when you know the secret of your father’s death?” Vidyut stopped midway. He was expecting this question. In fact, he had been pondering over it himself. Long ago, he had accepted his father’s death as a consequence of being the king’s security chief. King Raghavendra had been under attack by certain elements, both within the kingdom and outside it, ever since he had started working for the welfare of the kingdom. He had never thought about revenge; only the welfare of the people around him mattered to him.

Vidyut turned to Shishya. “I will tell you the truth. I have been thinking about it over and over and over again, but I still don’t know how I will react,” he admitted. Shishya gave it a thought. He then said, “If you cannot find an answer to this, then your heart is still at the right place.” “What do you mean?” Vidyut looked puzzled. “You will get the answer in due time,” Shishya said with finality.

Vidyut did not fully understand him, but before he could react, a horse approached them fast. It came to a halt right in front of them. The Shwetsainik riding it was agitated. He pointed towards the road he had just come from.

“What happened?” Vidyut asked before he could say anything.

“There is a large group of people coming towards us from the road. They look like some local tribesmen,” he said, as he climbed down from the horse.

Shishya asked, looking calm, “So, what’s the problem?”

“What do you mean, problem? So many people coming this way is the problem,” said the Shwetsainik.

Shishya smiled and said, “Maybe you don’t know but local tribesmen are Acharyaji’s followers. They do keep coming to our ashram from time to time.”

Vidyut asked, “Is the visit scheduled beforehand or do they come anytime they want?”

“There is no schedule. People come whenever they want. But, I must admit, the timing is quite odd.”

Vidyut’s grip on the sword tightened unconsciously. He said to the soldier, “Call Pancham, we need to be prepared for anything.”

***

It is always difficult to see your friend dead, watch his body burn and let the men who did it go free. But Shwet Guru was experiencing it now. The village elder’s mutilated body was now burning on the pyre made by the two captors, who had been freed by him. But not without telling him what he had wanted to know. They had gone into the jungle, without their weapons or armour. They wouldn’t survive the night. That was their punishment.

As the fire in the pyre grew higher and higher and its heat started to reach Shwet Guru, he turned and started walking towards his horse. The empty village in the darkness was now haunting him. Not in a supernatural way, but because of the fate of its occupants. His two captors had not known a lot. They knew what had been done to the villagers but not why it had happened. Around fifty-odd occupants of the village had been taken alive, except the chief, who had been murdered to keep the people in line. It had worked. All the villagers had been herded and taken somewhere. The captors had not known the full plan but they knew it was something that they had not done before. Their leader, Kaalkesh, had not told everyone, everything. But it was normal for him, they said. These men were trained to follow their leader blindly, and they were proud of it.

Shwet Guru had tried to put the fear of good in their minds. He did not expect them to understand this, but if they survived the night in the jungle, they would. He pushed the men from his mind and concentrated on Kaalkesh. Shwet Guru had heard of him and he despised him for who he was. Kaalkesh was known to operate inside Suryagarh borders. His presence in Anandmath was unexpected. More importantly, where he had taken the villagers and to what end were not known. He needed the answers. And for that, he had to delay what he was doing. The people he was going to meet could wait. That was urgent too, but here people’s lives were at stake. But where to go was the question. It was almost impossible to track any movement at night.

As he reached his horse, he made a decision. He climbed the horse and rode back into the village. Then he stopped in front of the first hut and got down. He decided to stay here overnight. He thought he would track Kaalkesh in the morning. He was going to be alone in this endeavour, but this was something he had to do alone. He took a deep breath and entered the home of a family he knew very well. They were the people who greeted him every time he entered the village. He made a silent promise that he would find them and save the villagers taken captive by Kaalkesh, whatever it took.