THE CURSE OF BRAHMA (41 page)

Captain Hitarth paced impatiently as he waited for Airawat’s documents to be verified by the lab on the other side. There was a crackling sound from the box mounted on the gate and the voice of the guard from the other side could be heard clearly, ‘The documents are fine captain.’ In the next instant, the papers were returned through the same opening.

Captain Hitarth whispered something through the box that Airawat couldn’t hear. Before he could figure out what was happening, the mammoth gates of Bateshwar started to open. The captain mounted his own horse and moved in Airawat’s direction. ‘Once again, my apology for holding you up, Commander Airawat, but it was necessary to do the verification.’

Airawat nodded absent-mindedly. All he wanted now was to meet Vasudev and convey Ugrasena’s message to him.

‘Follow me, commander. The Prince is with the commander-in-chief right now. He has asked for you to be taken to him immediately.’
About time!
Airawat mumbled to himself, as he goaded his horse to keep pace with the captain of the guards.

Airawat couldn’t help being impressed by the architecture of the city. Bateshwar was different from any other city he had seen in bharat, or any other land in Mrityulok. The capital city seemed to have been built at three levels.

At the lowermost level, there were the pit-dwellings. These were constructed at a depth of eight gavutas (forty-eight feet) below ground level and extended over the entire breadth of the city. It was like having a second city under the main one. Pit-dwellings had houses that were kept vacant during peace time but could be used to shelter women and children in the unfortunate event of an enemy breaching the city walls. They were akin to a veritable city with their own roads and provisions for medical treatment and emergency supplies. Architects and city planners had constructed air ducts at vantage points to allow a constant supply of fresh air into the pits. The pit-dwellings had not been used since they were built, as the city walls had never been breached. The city council, however, ensured that the lower level of the capital city was kept clean and tested for efficacy in the event of an unforeseen emergency.

The ground level of the city comprised the lion’s share of the population. The drainage systems were the same as in other kingdoms of Bharat. The only difference was that there was not a single sewer or drain that was left uncovered. A row of immaculately pruned hedges extended on all sides of the expansive streets. Flowers of different varieties adorned the sidewalks. What was interesting was that all houses seemed to have been built almost similarly. The basic architecture remained the same, even if some houses were bigger than the rest. A majority of the population, including the traders, the workmen and the warriors, resided at this level within the city.

As Airawat’s mount cantered behind the captain of the guards, the cavalry commander of Madhuvan couldn’t help noticing a steep road leading up a hill. This was the road Captain Hitarth chose to take as Airawat followed close on his heels. It was impossible to see what lay on top of the hill as the road veered every now and then. After a ride that lasted for a few minutes, the climb gradually became gentler and more linear. Airawat almost stopped in his tracks as his gaze fell on the scene in front of him. The third level of the city was constructed on top of the hill. Even before they reached the pinnacle, he noticed heavily fortified encampments on the sides of the knoll. Even though it was impossible to see inside the encampments, he guessed they were occupied by hundreds of armed soldiers. Gradually, the fortified encampments gave way to larger, more aesthetic dwellings which Airawat guessed were the residences of the ministers and senior officials of the court. These too were fortified, but despite the natural security provided by the architecture, each of these residences had a group of soldiers stationed outside for good measure. In most cases, there were two to three platoons outside each residence.

Airawat marvelled at the brilliance of the architecture and the planning of the city. The pit-dwellings ensured security for the city denizens during an emergency. The ground level was aesthetically built with every imaginable facility, to make life comfortable during peace time. The top-most level of the city was constructed all over the hill to provide the Bateshwar soldiers a strategic advantage over any enemy approaching from ground level. It also ensured the safety of key members of the royal family and the other court members.

Finally, Captain Hitarth came to a halt. They had reached the last building at the end of the steep road. It was balanced on the edge of the hill.
It would be ridiculous to call this a building
, chuckled Airawat. The structure was magnificent and was a perfect example of a parvata durga (hill fortress). The only difference was that Airawat had never seen a hill fortress such as this one.

Normally, there were three types of hill fortresses. The prantara durga was built on the summit of a hill. This was the most common type and most kingdoms in Bharat had such forts. The giriparshva durga had both, major civilian structures and fortifications extending down the slope of a hill or mountain, to include the strategic civilian population within the defence system. In the third type of hill fortress—the guha durga—the residential quarters of civilians were situated in a valley surrounded by high, impassable hills. The hills housed a chain of outposts and signal towers connected by extensive defensive walls.

The beauty of the Bateshwar defence system was that it included the best features of all the three types of fortress formations. In fact, the entire city of Bateshwar resembled a veritable fort, surrounded by hills on all sides, with the royal palace itself being housed on the top of the hill.

Captain Hitarth had a hurried conversation with his counterpart at the fortress gate. The captain of the guards outside the hill fort looked like a twin of Hitarth, both in physical form and in the efficient and cool way that he appraised Airawat. He nodded to Hitarth and barked an order to one of his minions to open the gate to the fort. Captain Hitarth motioned to Airawat to follow him and the two men entered the palace fortress.

Airawat had always considered Madhuvan to house the most beautiful palace in all of Bharat. But the royal palace at Bateshwar simply took his breath away. The residential quarters of the royal family were on the east side of the fort. They were separated from the rest of the area by a running stream of water, five gavutas in width. A cobbled road led in a direction away from the residential area and ended in a large field, big enough to contain a thousand warriors without appearing cluttered. This was the place where Sini Yadav and Vasudev were training the task force to take on the asura assassins. Airawat’s jaw dropped in incredulity as he saw the number of warriors assembled on the field. At least five hundred of the toughest men he had ever seen were engaged in various forms of exercises and manoeuvres. They were supervised by a tall broad-shouldered man, with long hair that reached beyond his shoulders. He carried himself with the air of a military man born to war. His chest plate was full of decorations he had received in countless battles over the years. Airawat recognized the stripes on the man’s shoulders and realized he was looking at the commander-in-chief of the Bateshwar army, Sini Yadav.

Sini Yadav’s attention seemed to be focused at the moment on a group of warriors fighting a solitary figure in their midst. Airawat noticed that Captain Hitarth too had reined in his horse and stopped to observe the intense sparring happening at a distance. Six men were attacking a masked man. The masked man wore a spotless white robe, loosely wrapped around his body. He had a lean form but each part of the warrior’s body seemed to ripple with an unnatural strength. What struck Airawat with particular interest was that he was not wearing any armour and held only a wooden sword in his right hand. The other six fighters wore heavy armour protecting every part of their body and each of them was armed with a gleaming metal sword.

‘This is crazy!’ whispered Airawat. ‘The odds are too unfair, and that man is not even armed properly’.

Hitarth gave Airawat a perfunctory look. ‘Watch!’ he said softly, his eyes intent on the scene unfolding in front of them.

The masked man crouched low, his torso leaning forward, the left arm extended in front of him and the hand holding the sword pointed backwards in an iron grip. His aggressors circled him carefully; it was as if they were trying to bring down a fearsome opponent and they knew they couldn’t afford any chances. Each of the attackers was looking for an opening, a chance to get through the strategic stance adopted by the masked man. The ragged breathing of the six attackers was the only sound in the vast field. The masked man seemed to be perfectly calm, his concentration unbroken even as the others continued to circle him.

One of the attackers had tiptoed noiselessly behind him. And another one on his right had slowly but gradually moved closer to their target. The masked man didn’t seem to show any signs of having noticed either of them approaching within his safety zone. Sensing an opportunity, both men attacked; the one from behind focused on the lower back of the masked man and thrust his sword in that direction. The attacker on the right simultaneously made a sweeping motion with his sword in an attempt to hack off the man’s head.

Airawat forced himself to stand still at what he thought was the end of the white-robed figure. Just when it seemed that the sharp metal from both attackers would seal the fate of the masked man, he suddenly bent lower till his body was almost parallel to the ground. The attack from the rear passed over his head with inches to spare, and the other sword circled harmlessly in the air above him.

And then, the masked man made his move. In a lightning thrust, he extended his sword arm backwards in an upward motion, catching the man behind him in the middle of his abdomen, just where the armour ended. The contact made the attacker behind him double up in pain. A simultaneous rear kick to his head finished off the man and he dropped unconscious to the ground. In the same instant, the masked man circled his sword arm and caught the aggressor on his right just behind the knee. The attacker stumbled and his face made a shattering impact with the elbow of the masked man. The second attacker staggered and fell to the ground. It had only taken a few seconds. There were now four aggressors left. They looked at each other, grim faces reflecting both fear and awe at the prowess of the man they were attacking. But these were hardened warriors and had been handpicked by Sini Yadav. They would not let a single man humiliate them in front of their commander-in-chief. They looked in the direction of Sini Yadav, who smiled encouragingly at them. This appeared to make them more determined to defeat the masked man.

The men seemed to reach an unspoken decision as the remaining attackers realigned themselves around their target. There was now a man on each side of the faceless man. Airawat realized with a jolt what they were planning; this time the attack would be from all sides. He watched spellbound. The masked man had changed his stance too. He was no longer crouching but stood erect, facing the man directly in front of him. He seemed oblivious to the other three on his sides and the rear. Time stood still. Everyone present on the field forgot to breathe as they paused their activities to watch the next stage of the duel. For a moment, it looked as if no one wanted to make the first thrust. The remaining four aggressors seemed to be waiting for the masked man to make his move and decide their response accordingly. The masked man, however, seemed unfazed. He looked like he was cast in stone, as he stood unmoving, unblinking. The warrior standing in front of the masked man exchanged a quick look with one of his partners on the left of the target.
It is a signal
, thought Airawat, his excitement and apprehension for the lone fighter mounting. The same quick look was exchanged between the remaining warriors. The fighter in Airawat noticed that the attackers had tightened their grip on their swords. They had stopped breathing, too. It was a certain sign that they would attack in the very next moment. Airawat tensed as he waited for the inevitable assault from all sides.

When the assault finally came, Airawat was not the only one shocked. The masked man turned around in an unpredictable move to face the man who had been behind him. Even before the attacker had time to register what had happened, the masked man punched him hard under his chin. The man’s head rolled back revealing the whites of his eyes, and he crashed to the ground. A lighting kick caught the second man behind him in his groin and felled him. The third warrior on his left had regained his composure by now and brought his sword down on the masked man with all the might he could muster. The latter did not attempt to step out of his way. He dropped down on one knee and gripped his opponent’s wrist, twisting it in one quick motion. The aggressor’s sword clattered to the ground and he screamed in agony as he felt the bone in his wrist break. He was no longer a threat. The fourth man snarled and throwing all caution to the wind, charged towards the target who was still on one knee. The masked man observed the attacker’s shadow, and in a calculated move, waited for him to come within striking distance. As the warrior reached closer, the masked man drove his sword backwards. It hit the attacker on his inner thigh and stopped his charge. He then got up and turned to face the last aggressor, who stood clutching his leg. The wooden sword had connected hard with his femoral artery, located within the inner thigh to the side of the man’s genitilia. If it had been a real sword, it would have sliced through, leading to fatal loss of blood, followed by paralysis and then death. In this case, it had only incapacitated the man temporarily. The masked man touched the debilitated warrior on the head with his wooden sword, and the man bowed low in respect.