Book 2
This one sucks
I don't find this Rudra-Yug - the age of terror (a group of six rather uncanny individuals), particularly evil
-SEAN BEAM'S THE CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORANCE
In some stories, water is known to represent the pure, whilst, fire is termed deceitful. I am not sure. Water doesn't represent the good, it doesn't represent the pure. But, it sure as hell hurts, when a bucket full of water, is flipped over one's head, four in the morning.
"What are you trying to do, Kevin?" asked Ayu, shivering in cold.
"Mom asked me to wake you up," said her little brother, five years her junior.
Even though, she had to pretend that her current situation – waking up in a cushioned bed, completely healed, and not fleeing from a dwarf monster – was not very flabbergasting, it was still pleasant to meet her brother. He had grown, since she had last seen him. Physically at least.
She didn't put much thought into putting her memories into order, she had been having a hard time of doing it since yesterday.
She sighed, then got off her bed. Ayu found her hair more dishevelled than usual – which isn't much – and decided to comb it after she was done bathing.
"Alright, go tell her I will be with you guys in .... say ten minutes," she said.
"Cool," said Kevin and exited the room. Then after a moment, he peaked back in.
"Never thought I would say this," he said with a hint of surprise in his eyes. "I actually missed you."
***************
"Your uncle has high hopes of you, Ayu," said her father. "You will lead our clan after him."
"Yes, Ayu," said her mother. "Today, you must not disappoint. You are Tjokorda after all."
And the conversation continued, as did their journey. She did not like interacting with people while aboard a vehicle. Ayu suffered from minor motion sickness, not that anybody knew of it. She didn't discuss it. Her parents demanded greatness, her uncle was too busy doing his secret business – which somehow Kevin seemed to know about, and thought she did too – and her brother was a little prick. Who else would she discuss her problems with? Surely, no one beneath her station. And who wasn't beneath her. She was Tjokorda after all, the feet of god.
What was odd though, was the fact that her parents – like her brother – seemed to think that she knew what was going on. Although, Ayu didn't care to answer her parents' questions – most of them were rhetorical anyway – she listened deeply. Karna and Jane – yes, that's what she decided she would call her parents from now on – often spoke words such as Shakti, Tandav, Asura and Danavas, during their brief journey.
"Your uncle says that he has not seen such a perfect balance of Shiva and Shakti, in anyone before. You might turn out to be better than even him," said Jane, her mother.
Was it strange that she hated Jane more than she hated her father Karna? It was definitely strange that she hated her parents. She didn't before. And she didn't know why she did now.
The last thing she could remember, before yesterday, was leaving for the cram school. Though she now knew a word she hadn't even heard of, a year ago. 'Suryastra'.
A thought came to her and it made her smile. She locked her hands and inhaled a deep breath, a comforting warmth appeared between her palms.
But, it wasn't enough to completely cheer her up. Her parents didn't stop the conversation, until they had reached their destination.
It was a stadium. Quite a large one too. Queer, like all the other buildings – in wherever the hell they were – it had seventeen gates all painted in a shade blacker than Vantablack itself.
What is Vantablack, you ask? Well, it is a type of black. But it's totally black. It absorbs 99.96 % of visible light. Looking at those gates was like viewing a starless night. And if you don't believe me, google Vantablack.
Have you googled it yet?
Have you not? Why have you not?
If you take everything that I tell you in stride, you are gonna get in trouble.
Well, whatever. So, the stadium had seventeen equidistant gates. But only one of them welcomed people. The gate numbered 9, engraved in an alphabet she recognised. And then some links connected. She wondered why the other five never complained about only being able to speak in Sanskrit. It was weird. Very weird.
Her father stopped the car a few metres form the gate. They stepped out of the vehicle, then her mother urged Ayu and Kevin to move towards number nine. Kevin marvelled at the structure, while Karina looked over her shoulder to find her dad hurling a grenade – he is kind of an attention seeker – over their Mercedes. The car caught fire instantly and immediately disappeared, after turning into smoke. Her father didn't effort to pick his unaffected grenade back up and joined his family.
When, questioned upon, he smiled, replying "You know these things Ayu, why do you ask?"
She let the topic drop. No need for probing into these things.
Number nine allowed entry to thousands, but since they were late, only a meagre few entered the gates alongside the Tjokordas.
It was a sight to behold. Thousands of children her age, circling around a five-foot pillar and a man standing upon it with a cane in his hand, giving a lecture – the contents of which – Ayu found absurd. Her father pointed towards the tall bearded man with everyone's attention.
"Don't listen to everything that man says," said her father. "He isn't deserving of his station. Your uncle should be standing up there."
With that said, her family left her to secure seats in the audience.
Ayu ignored the old man's ramblings, until it got interesting.
"…. you will be joining any of Satyuga, Dwaparyuga or Tretayuga. The fourth age that is the Kaliyuga – the current age – isn't awarded to anyone. But more on that later," said the bearded man, in a surprisingly musical tone. "Children let me tell you something about myself, my father was Christian, and my mother was Buddhist. My name is Sean Beam. I invite you to call me Sean.
The crowd was silent.
"I am not a Hindu, if you're still wondering. I go to church every Sunday, and uphold all of the traditions the Buddhists have, to celebrate their religion.
"I am telling you this because, I want you to understand that this establishment is not for religion, it's for growth, evolution and survival."
He raised his hands and increased the pitch of his voice.
"This place, it is known as the Junction," then he made one of those very strange Yoga gestures, that white girls do in Yoga videos.
He dropped his cane, but it remained suspended in air. He distanced both palms as widely as he could. Then, he brought them together, clapping hard enough, to move the air around him. The fingers of either hand interlocked, except the thumbs, which made contact on each other's tips.
Suddenly there was a downpour. The skies howled, but there was no thunder. The students marvelled at the sight, though they started to shift from their places once rain hit.
"Don't move, my students. Don't mind getting wet."
And as if his words were commands, none reacted to the rain.
"Good," he said. "Children, this place, the Junction, it is …. Uh…. Well a junction.
"A junction between worlds, your world and the worlds of Asuras and Devas," said Sean, ruffling his beard "In a nutshell, the junction is a wall, that separates one realm from another."
"We are Kshatriya, we protect the world from things that their technology can't protect them from. Beings such as Danavas, can't go and terrorize Dharti – Earth, because the junction stands. Because, we are heroes that protect. And if you choose to stay, if you choose to protect the junction."
"Then, you too," he said in a loud voice, and continued almost shouting "Are Heroes."
That got a loud cheer.
"Now, my children, those of us at the junction don't believe in proselytism, and neither does the Trimurti. We have churches, mosques and alike for different religions. For every religion, other than scientology. Scientology is stupid."
Yeah, those are his views.
"Uh…, yes my children, we fight beings, that don't die with bullets in their heads," said Sean. "They are strong enough to decimate entire armies. To plunder and destroy. To kill and maim. They are strong."
He turned, addressing another part of the audience.
"But don't worry," said Sean "For, we are stronger. We have Gods on our side."
"To battle these creatures, we have weapons given to us by Devas."
He lifted his stick, and pointed the tip of the cane towards the clouds. The rain didn't stop.
"Every human is born with eight chakras," he said without his earlier goofiness. "Consider these Chakras to be circles inside your body, ones you can't perceive without help. Each Chakra comprises of two colours. Shiva and Shakti.
"The deepness of these colours, represent the magnitude of your Shakti or Shiva. Shakti grants energy, while Shiva transforms it. And manipulating Chakras, results in Divyastra, the weapon of Gods." He mouthed an incantation and his cane turned into a golden javelin.
"There are many types of Divyastra, every Deva grants a different weapon and there are like thirty-three million Devas," said Sean, waiting for a moment then added. "To invoke a weapon requires Shakti, Shiva and a Mantra, specific to the weapon."
He spoke an incantation too quick to follow. Then proceeded to slam his cane on the pillar. The golden stick started glowing, electricity, as if rising from the pillar, swirled around the Astra, slowly. And eventually, his cane turned into a massive spear of lightning.
"This is Vajra, weapon of Indra," he showcased it to everyone in the stadium.
Then hurled it at the sky.
There was an explosion and ear-splitting thunder. Lightning danced in the sky and when it retreated, it took the dark clouds with it.
There was amazement in the crowd, even the Queen was impressed.
Sean opted a stance to receive appreciation, but soon dropped it.
"But my children, there are other organisations, much smaller than ours, which also know the secrets of these weapons," said Sean "What sets us apart are our values, our beliefs. We choose to protect and not hurt."
He looked uncomfortable, before continuing.
"And this last bit is gonna sting a little, but bear with me, for you are Kshatriya and Kshatriya endure," he proclaimed.
"The world is a story, it is a book."
Stupefied silence. After the earlier demonstration, the students would have believed Sean, if he had told them he was Batman.
"Yes, the world is a book written by Brahma. One of the Trimurti. It has already been decided, what is going to happen and how it will. Some don't agree to this ideology, but you have to. For, it is the truth."
"Do your duties sincerely, what happens after that, it's God's will," Ayu frowned at that, not agreeing to be used as a pawn.
Sean snapped his fingers, resulting in walls falling from the sky. Children scattered, and no one was pulverized under the weight of these cemented structures.
If one could witness the happening of events, in third person, he would notice that these random walls established a catacomb with many roofless chambers.
"Don't be afraid, children. This is temporary," Sean's voice declared. "There is a supervisor for each group. This person holds a box within which is a dice, that will decide your Yuga."
"Be it Sat, Treta or Dwapar. It is your utmost duty to uphold your Yuga's values." And then he added with a chuckle "And that structure with the board of Kali on it. It is just for decoration. No one gets Kaliyuga. I'll eat a sock every-time someone gets into Kaliyuga. Wouldn't that be amusing."
Hah, I wish this were a Romcom. Although come to think of it, it is kind of a romance.