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Age of Men 812
Sugriva harvested taro with the locals, working through the fields. Everyone was of the farmer caste in the middle of nowhere. Sugriva lied to them and said he was a farmer. No one believed him, especially after he killed a tiger. However, they would rather have a tiger-killing liar than dead farmers.
"Sugriva," a little girl cried out. "I made a talisman. It will let the Ashtadash see you. Do you like it?"
Insect dye smeared on woven reeds formed the charm. White paint, probably from local tree bark, was in the center. Hemp rope made it a necklace. He put it over his head, though the string was tight, and he shifted into a monkey to get it on. He shifted back. "Thank you, Upama. I'll always wear it." He rustled her hair.
The girl blushed, waving back and forth with her fingers interlocked. "I'm glad you like it. I'll make you another, just in case you lose that one."
Sugriva laughed. "You are a sweet and tender child, showing love to those who don't deserve it. I'm a dirty and ornery monkey, and you do not need to bother making another."
"You are not a dirty monkey," she howled. "You bathe in the river all the time."
Sugriva coughed from laughing so hard. "You are too precious. Go to your parents. I need to collect more roots."
The girl did as she was told. Sweet Upama was the only villager to regularly talk to Sugriva. Many of them never saw a janaav before, and he was useless as a farmer. Farming required a great deal of discipline and timing, while Sugriva had too much wanderlust and impatience, though Ishku’s teachings helped a bit. Even better, the boring routine kept the corruption in check.
A yelp in the jungle broke him from his thoughts. Sugriva picked up two sickles and sprinted to the cry of Upama. The fool girl was supposed to go to her parents.
Sugriva shifted into a monkey, climbed up a tree, and darted from branch to branch until he was above the girl. There was a shape, and, without thinking, Sugriva flung himself into the air. He slipped the knife from its sheathe and ran through the form, stabbing deep into meat which spewed black blood.
"Demon," Sugriva hissed and jumped back. He shoved Upama behind him, and said, "Run girl. Get back to the village." She obeyed and screamed the entire way.
The demon took form, a large man of fair skin with blood smeared across his mouth. He wore a loin cloth, and his torso was as thick as a tree. He held a bone club. "A monkey and a man. A janaav. Don't see many of you here."
"We are. So are demons. What do you want?" He noticed the smoke on his nails thickened.
"I Mobtachkta. Struck deal with villages, I did. Feed me like beast. I kill other beasts. Ignore me, monkey. I spare you and girl. Stay out of way. I not bleed on field. Torture people." He licked his lips, smearing the blood on his mouth, but not removing it.
"I can protect this village, but I don't want to fight you. There has to be something I could do so you’d move on."
Mobtachkta thought on this proposition, stroking his chin. Finally he said, "Three tasks. Give power. Power to hunt Jaya. You do tasks?"
"Why haven't you done it yourself?"
"Demon thrall. Loud. Disliked. No blend in."
"Name the tasks."
"Staff of Earth. Spirits guard. Get you directions. Second in Pindan. Salt in Tomb of Raya. Tell three you get back."
"What's the Staff of Earth and who cares about salt from an old tomb?"
"Staff change size." He scratched at his loin cloth and Sugriva held back nausea. "Salt give strength."
"And the third," he spat out. "What's the third item and what'll you do with it?"
"Fetch and see." He grinned, and as he drooled through his open mouth, it dribbled blood down to the ground.
"I agree." Once he had the items, he could kill Mobtachkta and no one would have to worry about the demon again.
***
EARTH SPIRITS APPEARED at the temple because men sanctified the ground. There was a large structure, though it looked centuries old. A massive mound built by the spirits hid the sanctuary underneath. Spirits placed two large earth statues on top of the grass mound, though the monuments lacked the finesse of a man-made statue. They were simply rocks connected together through ball joints. The head floated, a perfect orb of onyx which stayed above the abdomen.
Spirits littered the surrounding area, resting on smaller mounds. Some had a body and four long, spindly legs, as if they were spiders. A few were simple pillars put together in the fashion of a body. A fin extruded from the ground, a reminder there were more earth spirits down below.
The spirits all glanced briefly at Sugriva, then went back to their poses. A few smaller ones approached and rubbed against his leg as if an affectionate pet. The dirt from the spirits got on his legs, under his fingernails, and stained his palms. Dead skin was ripped off, and some blood mixed with the dirt. Sugriva kept his manners and did not flinch.
Mirth filled Sugriva's breast, and he laughed. "The demon gave me an easy task. I'll be home by tomorrow for dinner at this rate."
Crude stairs of differing heights delved into the mound, leading down into the ancient chamber. The entrance provided the only light, and between that and the uneven ground, Sugriva nearly tripped a handful of times. When he reached the bottom there was a small stone rod held on a pedestal. It was no more than six inches long and two inches thick. A forgotten language adorned the pedestal.
He took the rod and twirled it. The rough stone felt good against his fingers, and though it felt a little heavy when he first lifted it, Sugriva became used to the weight. At least, that made more sense than the heft of the that weapon changed. It would do well to kill Mobtachkta.
Then the earth shook hard enough that Sugriva had to brace himself against the shifting. As the temple shifted and let more light in, Sugriva stared as four massive earth spirits lifted the corners of the temple.
Then dirt and earth dropped down to crush Sugriva. He shrunk down to a monkey, but that would not save him either.
"Stone, Mobtachkta says you can shift size. Now would be the time to do it."
The rod shot behind him until it braced against the earth, then propelled him up the stairs, growing longer than a staff. He snuck through the small opening, and the staff shrunk nearly instantly to the size of a baton. The four earth spirits in the temple burst through the depression left behind, and the sound of rocks grating roared through the jungle. Sugriva looked for the other spirits, but they all shrunk away.
"Not a great sign," Sugriva muttered.
The spirits were large statues, each standing on two oblong legs, attached to a joint in a round body. Two more limbs came out as arms, which were capped off with sledges and knives. Then there was a head, with eyes burrowed out. They had mouths filled with teeth. One had amethyst teeth, another gold, a third white crystals, and the final one with clear teeth.
Sugriva ran through the jungle, but the spirits were able to speed through with the aid of the earth, leaving a deep rut wherever they traveled. He shot himself up with the staff, the wind ripping through his hair as he launched over the canopy. He used the staff to ease himself down. Then he did it again in a different direction, landing near a small pond. He stayed in the trees, as predators were common near ponds. Below deer looked up from drinking.
The monkey laughed gently. "I lost them." Then the earth shook, and the deer bolted. They had to be tracking the staff, he rationalized. Or they could feel extraordinarily well through the earth. He heard some earth elementalists could perform such feats.
A hammer came down and thundered as it struck the earth. Sugriva jumped up on the arm and ran the length. The arm tossed Sugriva into the sky, toward the spirit's mouth.
"Hope this works." Then he extended the staff into the clear teeth waiting for him. It struck and crystal shattered. Sugriva dropped to the ground, and as soon as he landed, he placed one end of the staff in the ground and willed it to extend. It struck the spirit under the chin and the head popped off. The giant crashed into the ground. The body and head shattered into a beautiful display. The other three, after seeing the first fall, withdrew.
***
A STONE PATH WAS CARVED into the mountain range which cradled southern Sankive. It led up, working back and forth on itself, until Sugriva was dizzyingly high. Where streams carved through the mountain, rickety wood bridges allowed passage. Even as a monkey, it was horrifying. He was not a good mountain climber. Rocks gave way. Vines broke. Every step he flirted with tragedy.
The locals, on the other hand, nearly ran past him. They swayed bridges, though not intentionally. They clanked down the wood planks, and the planks would rebound in an attempt to buck the monkey.
Toward the top, it was difficult to breathe. He heard of this, though never experienced it. He took deeper and deeper breaths, but it was as if there was no air for his lungs. "I hate this place. Ashtadash, wipe away the Miyam. Flood their stupid kingdom, and dash it from the rocks to the jungles." He laid on his back, finally at the top, and gasped. "Or at least these stupid villages."
He looked down and could see the Miyam Kingdom spread out before him, a group of rivers all feeding into a lake. Surrounding the lake was the capital, Pindam. Supposedly, that's where he would find the salt, but first he needed to look into a rumor.
An old man, his toothless gums smacking together, poked Sugriva with a stick. His skin was dark and worn, like old leather treated poorly. "You dead?" The words whistled through his disgusting mouth.
Sugriva swatted at the stick. "Knock it off, you sack of bones." He sat up, then slowly rocked to his feet.
"Not from 'round here?" There was laughter and a glint in his blue eyes. A water elementalist. He wondered how much of that power remained in the man. If a lot of it, then even as a toothless hermit he was dangerous or a renowned healer.
"Can you make water?" Sugriva meant for the words to come out stronger, but there wasn't much energy left. "My skin is dry, and I can't find a pond or stream anywhere."
"Pah," he waved at the monkey and turned around. "You saw the river when you walked up here. Everyone does." He hunched over as he walked. Sugriva looked at the man's bare feet, and it looked painful, yet he had thick callouses which protected him against the uneven white rocks. "You saw it in my eyes, I'd guess."
The two walked around the rocks and up man-made stone stairs. The mountains didn't reach any higher. Around a small pond there was a little village. The houses were made of wood and rock. Red and yellow dyed the small homes to give them vibrancy when there were so few colors naturally. Some had blue, or they shimmered with silver. It was beautiful. Strings with pennants hung between buildings. Kids played in the streets, and the elderly sat outside yapping at each other.
"Why Hiram, janaav?" The old man stopped in front of a small house and sat on the porch. He smacked his gums again, then put out a hand.
"They say the Ashtadash are here. Or at least one of them." He showed the old man his black fingers. "I need them to cure me."
He responded with wheezed laughter. "I don't think there's a cure for that, except death. You want them to kill you?"
"No." He sighed, closing his fist and remembering the man on the ox so many years ago. "Someone gave me a potion once. It helped with the voices."
"Voices?" The man's eyes went wide. "Then you're pretty gone, I'd say." He pointed with a knobby finger at a distant cliff. "Cure's there. Go fly, little monkey." More laughter wheezed out of old lungs.
Thoughts of Prisha and the Falls rushed back. Sugriva sighed, then dropped down to his knees. Sobs wracked his body, shoulders shaking. "You're right. I should. Thank you." Then the old man raised his staff and brought it down on Sugriva's skull.
***
IT WAS DARK OUT WHEN Sugriva came to. Fires crackled, and people sang and played music. Sugriva attempted to prop himself up and collapsed. The strike from the old man remained as a crippling ache. Straw and feather made his bed and pillow. It invited him to lay there, to let himself drift away. Why wake up already? So he fell asleep until the next day.
The headache wasn't any better, but at least his body felt rested.
"It is time," the old man said, hovering over Sugriva. "Follow me."
With a deranged smile on his face, he made off. Outside there was a festival of some sort, but it didn't matter. The old man rushed Sugriva past it, then up the mountain, until they were at a peak overlooking the Sankive Jungle. With better eyes, Sugriva didn't doubt he would have seen Jaya in the distance with how high they were.
The night sky overhead was filled with pinpricks of light. Violet swirled to denote something more than stars graced the heavens, something more than they could comprehend. Some would say there were elementalists of the cosmos, shifting space and reality out in the black unknown. Sugriva didn't believe the stories, but they were beautiful to think on.
"Stand on the rock," the old man said. "Then copy my pose." The man contorted his body, arms wrapping around each other multiple times. His head tipped back, and he looked up into the star filled void.
Sugriva tried and fell. He tried again, and was able to stay upright. Then the old man struck his leg, and Sugriva toppled over. "That was lazy. You cannot be lazy when communing with the universe." The man went back to his position. "Do it again."
They continued until it was morning, with Sugriva failing repeatedly. When the stars faded, the old man said, "Sleep here. I'll be back tonight." Then he walked away. Sugriva grumbled as he hunted some of the local wildlife, stripped them of their pelts, and made a suitable bed.
This continued for several nights. Each night he felt his anger boil up, though the physical signs of corruption decreased.
Then, after weeks, he finally maintained the pose. He remained in the pose for hours, until the sun washed away the stars. The old man said, "Now you are ready."
Without another word, he went up to Sugriva and created a water bubble. The bubble absorbed Sugriva, and the monkey struggled to breathe. The corruption leached out of him into the bubble as black ooze. Overcome by spasms, his mouth opened and water rushed in. It didn't hurt, and every time he exhaled, more darkness flowed out of him. The black water leaked out of the bottom of the sphere and splashed across the ground as puss. The ooze pulsed, slowly crawling away before it turned to black ash and was swept away by winds.
The sun set, and the moon came out. The water turned silver, then it crashed to the ground, leaving Sugriva huddled in a ball, wet and coughing up fluid. He shook himself out and looked around, but no one was there. He went to the village and the people gawked at him.
"Who are you?" one asked.
"I'm Sugriva. I was here with an old man."
They laughed from some joke he didn't know. "I see. Come. Dance."
***
A WEEK LATER HE REACHED Pindam with a group of peddlers. He left the group and changed, so he could shamble down the main road. Sack cloth wrapped around him as he begged. They would assume leprosy or some other wasting disease. It did him well, as he settled into a ditch, leaning on the staff which was two feet long. Across the road was a massive and beautiful lake, a sapphire glistening under the sun. Countless boats sailed across it, displaying banners of different colors and designs to show all the tribes which made up the Miyam Kingdom. Tribes were good, though. Illness could be brought back to their homes, and so the sick became all the more feared.
The Tomb of Raya was in the Pindam palace courtyard. While the palace was a good three stories tall, the tower marking the tomb was twice that, with a brazier at the pinnacle. Guards walked the grounds, and raptors flew overhead. Sugriva could only assume they were trained in spotting the calculated motions of a janaav, compared to the instinctive motions of a common monkey. Some birds would also be trained in sniffing out janaav.
Sugriva crossed the street and went near the lake. There, he covered himself in mud and took grass shavings and rolled around in them. Then he went near the palace and laid in the grass until night.
He inched his way toward the palace wall. With a thought, the staff launched him up and over the wall. He plopped into the courtyard. The fall was harder than he expected, with an audible thump, but the guard didn't notice. A kite must have heard the sound, though, as one broke formation and dropped into the courtyard. It swooped across four times and even landed. The kite's head cocked from one side to the other, waiting for motion. Sugriva barely breathed, using his meditation techniques to remain still. Then the kite's wings unfurled, and it launched itself back into the sky.
Four guards watched the tomb. There was a split moment where each guard arrived at their corner and had to turn. Right before the turn would be the moment. Sugriva worked his way through the dark grass until he was in front of the tomb, only to find large bronze doors.
The monkey cursed under his breath. The tomb had an overhang, so at least he could hide from the birds. However, there was no easy way for him to hide in front of the door. He could work off superstition. Force the doors open quickly and dash inside with the hope the guards wouldn't follow. Miyam held strong beliefs on burial grounds, and hopefully that applied in the capital. In a few days, Sugriva would burst out of the tomb and leave before the guards could respond.
It was wishful thinking.
Several lanterns around the tomb gave Sugriva a different idea. As the guards looked away from the lanterns, the earth staff shot out. The lantern tumbled to the ground and grass blazed. The four guards rushed to the fire and tried to put it out. One of them ran off, shouting for help. No doubt, there would be a water elementalist to help in such cases. He couldn't take on that much power.
Footsteps thumped in the distance, but Sugriva had enough time to open the bronze doors and shut them behind him. With the moon and stars shut out, he was enveloped by utter darkness.
"I'd rather fight earth spirits again than deal with this." He fumbled around with his staff, until he found a bowl with kindling. He lit it and could see down the corridors. They were dank and narrow, with much of the stone walls falling in. Soil burst through as if trying to choke off the pathway. Obviously no one visited in many years, and no one cared to upkeep the insides.
He lit several other braziers to reveal the path. A few snakes hissed at the intruder, and Sugriva struck them dead.
A casket rested in the center of the main chamber. Clay jars lined the walls, all clumsily made, or at least clumsy by modern standards. They were misshapen, lacked symmetry, and there was no beauty. There was paint on them, though time wore most of it off, and what was left was rudimentary at best as far as artistic ability.
An assortment of stuff was held by the jars, though only the salt mattered. Sugriva went through the countless jars until he found what he wanted. He put it in a small pouch and tied it around his wrist.
There was a lot of yelling outside the tomb. It could have been the fire getting out of hand, but the door didn't seem hot, and for it to get out of control all the grass around the tomb would have to be ablaze. It was obvious to them there was an intruder, and this would make escape difficult.
He cracked open the door and looked outside. Guards ran around the yard, with birds watching from the sky. Orders were shouted, though there was little structure to the search. He couldn't understand why no one at least watched the tomb. Perhaps the taboo was so rigid it was incomprehensible that someone would even enter in the first place. Sugriva suddenly felt dirty for violating the dead.
Then again, he was capturing artifacts for a demon. He sneaked out the door. Guards shouted when they saw him, but Sugriva knew his next move. He launched himself in the air using the staff, landed harshly on the other side of the wall, then braced the staff against the wall to launch himself far out into the jungle.
***
THE SCENT OF SMOKE—OF burning wood and flesh—told Sugriva he was duped by Mobtachkta. Sickening sweet flesh-laced smoke made the monkey want to vomit. "To the river of shadows with me." Tears streaked down his cheeks. He knew Upama was dead. Hopefully she was killed and burned.
The staff vaulted Sugriva high above the burned town. He dropped down and the staff eased his landing. Soot clung to the bottoms of his foot and billowed up when he struck the earth. It matted his fur and clung to his wet cheeks. "Mobtachkta," he yelled, "where are you?"
"Monkey survived? Earth no kill?" The voice was a whisper, so subtle that for a moment, Sugriva thought it was in his head.
"No. Popped off one's head and it shattered." The soot swirled, taken up by shadows conjured by Sugriva. A portion of control was surrendered to chaos, and he could feel the vile power bloom.
"Miyam no see you?" The whisper circled around, and it was impossible for Sugriva to find the source.
"An old man taught me control, and the guards of the tomb were no match for my cleverness."
"Ravasha give bad plan," Mobtachkta said. "I demon lord if you dead. Said mind gone if village gone." The voice hung in the air. Then, as if a curious child, he said, "Mind lost yet?"
The staff shot out, and the demon grunted. The staff pushed hundreds of feet out, and Mobtachkta smacked against a stone. The staff came back and Sugriva dashed through the jungle.
Pikes of shadow thrust out from the foliage, and Sugriva dodged around them as water moved around the sword. With a somersault, he brought the staff down blindly, but the strike coaxed a yelp. Strike after strike hit, and shadows enveloped Sugriva and Mobtachkta, but Sugriva could see through it as if midday.
Mobtachkta's body transformed to its massive size, though he bled profusely. Bones broke and muscles ruptured. Pitch blood soaked up into the trees and bushes, killing them. Sugriva perched on Mobtachkta's distended stomach and asked, "What happened to the girl?"
The demon grinned through a cough. Blood dribbled down his cheek. "Yum yum."
"You weren't sent to kill me. You were sent to give me focus. Ravasha used you." The staff extended and retracted over and over again into the demon's face, well past shattering the skull and killing the beast.
Then the darkness swirled into Sugriva, filling him until it was day again. His eyes and nails went black, and smoke and blood were exhaled.