Though the inside decor of the wooden cabin was fairly simple and minimalistic, there were intricate carvings on the doors and the beige lacquered pillars in the entire house, giving it an elegant air.
Despite the fact that the structure was constructed more than fifteen years ago, the place hadn't lost its sheen or the quiet splendour with the passage of time. The front courtyard and the backyard were lined with fruit bearing trees and various plants which spouted flowers and also herbs which could be used for cooking, medicinal and decorative purposes.
The trees and shrubs hadn't been arranged in a decorative manner, but the variety flourishing here was enough to compete with any of the prosperous mansions' gardens in Dima city. The credit for maintaining this greenery went mainly to Chatvari who was born with a green thumb.
Apart from everyone's sleeping quarters, there was a huge training hall where Katyayani spent most of her day.
Sighing quietly, Chatvari moved her musing gaze away and walked towards the barn which had started to make a few clucking noises.
Twenty minutes later, at the mountain top
The lazy sun was already beginning to show its red might, lightening up the sky.
Trini reached the flat patch of grass on top of the Mandh mountain. Due to the cold weather, the pine trees were nearly barren, looking tall and proud despite their bare shell. Trini moved her gaze towards the centre of the place and was transfixed seeing the mesmerising sight in front of her.
It wasn't the first time but she never tired of looking at her favourite person!
A young girl, around fifteen years old, stood frozen in a classic archer's pose which was one of the components of surya namaskar. Her clothes were sticking to her body due to sweat, outlining her curvy and lithe form.
At the cusp of breaking out of adolescence, Katyayani's 5'6 frame was already attractive enough to tempt any mortal. Her hair was tightly braided and the long rope of hair lay on her back. Her bright forehead had a sheen of perspiration while the cheeks resembled the succulent, rosy apples found in these mountains.
Despite the plain, white outfit, her bearing was regal, and refined.
But the most striking part about her were her eyes. Light grey with a tinge of black in the centre of the iris, they were thickly fringed with straight lashes and possessed a language of their own.
Katyayani had inherited this uncommon eye color from her mother.
With pride bursting through her heart, Trini looked at the young girl, who was her mistress, her ward and also her only pupil!
Trini laid down the swords and the shields on the side and started warming up. She knew that Katyayani would only stop after finishing 108 counts of surya namaskar. Even during her own warm-up, she kept her eyes trained on the girl who looked to be focussed inwardly, with seemingly no attention to the surroundings.
But, Trini knew that Katyayani was well aware of her presence since the time she reached this place. After all, she was the one who had taught Katyayani the technique and importance of situational awareness.
After half an hour, Trini walked upto the girl, who was currently resting in the child pose.*
"Good workout? Drink some water and take a ten minutes break. I noticed that you managed to keep your breathing stable throughout the cycle. Before the end of session today, we will do a breath hold time check to see if you have improved from your previous level or not." Trini commented neutrally.
She wasn't the kind of instructor who believed in praising her student at every turn. It needed to be spectacular enough to earn a compliment from a hard taskmaster like Trini.
Katyayani nodded her head in acquiesce. After that, she looked at the pile of swords kept next to the big deodar tree with a languid smile on her lips.
"Teacher, what are we doing today?"
Every morning, Katyayani's training regime was divided into two parts - exercise and combat. She did the first part on her own. Her fitness program was quite varied and included yoga, uphill running, crossing natural obstacle paths, trekking, and the recently included land diving*.
But her favourite were the ancient yoga postures which had been practised by holy sages across the entire Northern plains region, over centuries.
On the other hand, her combat routine covered different forms of duelling and guerilla tactics, where the remaining three attendants were also pulled in and all four of them went up against Katyayani at a go.
Trini was not only her sparring partner and instructor, but also the person responsible for shaping Katyayani into one who could fulfill her near impossible aim.
The method of training was decided by Trini every morning and Katyayani was never informed about it in advance.
"Well, I originally was confused between fencing and duelling today. But now I have decided to use my favourite weapon to fight you today," saying so, Trini unwrapped the two coiled metal swords from her waist.
"We will be practicing with the Urumi* today," she said, earning a grimace from Katyayani.
This flexible sword was used solely by a practitioner of the secret martial arts called Kalari* and that too, only after reaching the highest level of competence in this field.
A beginner usually started with a wooden stick, moving onto a sword and finally graduated to using an Urumi.
Trini had started learning this martial art in a secret sect located in the Southern kingdom of Bharani from the age of five. Even till date, she went back to her sect during the summers for a couple of months to hone her skills.
Now, at the age of 25, she was proficient enough to be able to use two Urumi at the same time, one in each hand.
While Katyayani had been learning Kalari for more than nine years from Trini, it was only recently that she attained the qualification to be able to hold an Urumi instead of a sword. But she was still far from being proficient in using this difficult to maneuver weapon.
"Alright. But after that, could we spar for a bit using the ring daggers?" Katyayani asked with a sullen look.
She knew that she was going to be defeated in the hands of Trini today. Had it been any other weapon, she would stand a 50-50 chance at overcoming her teacher. But not in Kalari.
Instead, her primary weapon was a pair of ring daggers. Made up of a sharp metal rod with a hole in it to slip through the middle finger, one for each hand, these were deadly short range knives which could cause fatal injury to the opponent in close range.
The daggers consisted of the middle part being cylindrical and on each end was a really thin blade, their edges smeared with poison.
A nimble pair of hands could fend off a strong attack with the help of these small but deadly weapons.
Katyayani had modified the existing weapon design and made it in such a manner that two of her fingers, index and middle finger, could slip through the metal rod for a better grip.
Being a smaller weapon, it was easy to hold and carry. Katyayani had spent countless hours practicing the movements even while resting in her room, waving these blades in the air.
Working consistently on her wrist movements and forearm strength, her current proficiency in using these daggers was really high.
But Trini insisted upon Katyayani possessing the expertise in both the techniques - attack and defend.
While the daggers were primarily an attacking weapon, Urumi, despite its lethal look, was meant to defend oneself.
Trini looked at her with a bit of disappointment. "What is this? Tit for Tat? I want you to become proficient in using Urumi. What is the point of playing with the ring daggers. Aren't you already an expert in moving them? Sparring is a means to improve oneself and not to show-off one's skills. A pair of ring daggers can help you fight a close combat with one or two opponents. But a pair of Urumi swords can fend off a group of people. If you know how to wield the Urumi, even ten people together won't be able to touch you."
"But, Urumi is a defensive weapon. There is something cowardly about it," said Katyayani, daring to express her dissatisfaction for the first time about this form of martial arts.
*Child pose - a yoga pose often performed to rest between more difficult poses. The position stretches the thighs, hips and ankles and helps relax the body and mind.
*Land Diving - is an ancient ritual in which people jump from tall wooden platforms with vines tied to their ankles as a test of their courage, something similar to bungee jumping
*Urumi - a sword with a flexible, whip-like blade. It is treated as a steel whip[1] and requires prior knowledge of that weapon as well as the sword.
*Kalari - also known as Kalaripayattu, is a martial art designed for the ancient battlefield, with weapons and combative techniques that are unique to India