"What do you carry in the bag?" Vyom called out to Sachi. He saw the pupil sneaking out from their camp that evening when the men were busy setting up tents and lighting the campfire.
Sachi looked over his shoulder, his light brown eyes moving to Vyom and then returning to the sack he was carrying on his back. The bag moved on its own as if a creature was trapped inside. Vyom sauntered over to Sachi.
"I must warn you your bag moves on its own," Vyom said with wry amusement.
Sachi heaved loudly as if Vyom's words had left him exhausted. "Come with me," was all he said and then moved down the narrow trail that led out of the thicket towards a pond.
The path gently descended the side of the bank, running to the very edge pond. The pond itself looked shallow, swampy, and covered with moss, and soft mud gave way under their feet. Sachi trudged over to a smooth, round rock and sat there, waiting for Vyom to sit beside him.
"If you plan to kill me with intrigue, you are doing a fair job," Vyom complained drolly. Yet, he sat on the empty rock beside the pupil and patiently waited for him to reveal the mystery of the moving bag.
But, Sachi seemed in no such hurry. He set aside the bag and peered at the still water of the pond. In the quiet solitude, they could hear the frogs croaking. The air stirred mildly, but it helped little with the dampness and the foul marshy odor. They had traveled all day, and all Vyom could think about was taking a dip in that pond if it did not look and smell so wretched.
Despite his easy confidence, Vyom knew he was lucky to have escaped the army of the afflicted the night before with still a breath in his chest. He had seen how the afflicted were multiplying every time someone cut them down. He had read a few treatises on the subject of the afflicted, but none could have prepared him for what he and the others faced.
And it was providence that the maiden appeared at the most opportune moment and instructed Prince Bali on how to defeat those wretches. Vyom, too, wished he could wield the fire magic the way the Agni Asuras did, but for that, he needed the Book of Asura, which held the secrets to all Tantric magic. After the enemy was burned to ashes, the serpent tribe requested the travelers with a cool courtesy to leave.
"This is why we guard our land so strictly. Every time we let in the outer world, it brings nothing but death and destruction," the elder chief had said. Vyom could not deny.
In the end, the tribe did show some kindness and let them cross the forest. The maiden appeared to be a traveler too and asked to join the travel party. It was hard to deny the request after her assistance in beating the enemy.
"I knew I was a coward, but I continued to deny it. Now, I have no choice but to admit it to myself," Sachi confessed, with a slight tremble in his voice. His eyes were forlornly watching the tranquil waters of the pond, covered so thickly with moss there was not one part of the sky reflected in it.
Vyom laid back on the palm of his hands. They were slightly sore from holding the reins to his horse all day, but he did not mind. "Better a wise coward than a brave fool," he quipped.
Sachi gave him a sidelong glance but looked away once more into the distance. "I must do something to face my fears. It must be why guruji thinks I am not ready for training."
Vyom chuckled. "Not much good it will do to face your fears if you die." In the twenty years that he has lived, there was little that Vyom had not seen. And he knew dead warriors did not win battles.
Sachi scarcely seemed to hear him. He watched the bag with fear and resolve. "When you all were busy fighting off the enemy, I was cowering under a bale of hay, praying that those undead do not lay eyes on me. I could not even throw away the snake that had dropped on me."
Vyom remembered the small incident with the snake that happened on their way through the forbidden forest. At that time, he did feel bad for the kid who became a laughing stock for the group.
"You are brave not to abandon the travel party." Vyom hoped the words would comfort Sachi but he only received a wary look from the pair of anxious, teakwood eyes. Vyom shrugged. "You still have not answered my question."
Sachi bent down and emptied the sack. A small, green snake tossed onto the mud before them, very similar to the ones found in the forest they were traveling through. Vyom looked at Sachi with surprise.
"I must face my fears," Sachi explained with a determination so honest it made Vyom laugh. "You find this amusing?"
"Even a creature as small as a mongoose can confront a snake," Vyom bantered, but Sachi immediately took offense. His small, round face darkened.
"It would not hurt you to show me a small measure of kindness or respect," Sachi spat before he jumped to his feet and took a step towards the snake.
Vyom raised himself too and quickly grabbed Sachi by the elbow. "I merely jest. You must know the snake you are about to face off with is indeed poisonous."
Sachi's eyes narrowed with a look of realization. His gaze flicked from Vyom to the muddy ground where the snake was still lying, quiet and possibly afraid.
"You can overcome fear with strength, and if you truly seek strength, remember what I promised you," Vyom reminded. He had promised Sachi to train him in Tantric magic, the old magic.
Sachi nodded. "What must I do?" he asked, unsure.
Vyom let go of his elbow and pointed to the thin, green creature stirring on the ground. "Grasp the snake."
Sachi began to move, but Vyom stopped him again. "Not with your hands, never with your hands if you have a weapon."
"I do not," Sachi whined.
Vyom corrected him, "You do. You have Tantra, like the rest of us. It is a matter of learning to weave what you have inside you." He placed a hand on Sachi's lower back over his white cotton tunic. "Do you know why the fire demons are the strongest wielders of Tantra in the entire realm?"
Sachi shook his head.
"Because it comes from the Holy Heat that resides in our bellies, something that the fire demons possess in immense quantities. Tantra is weaved around our lower wheel in the belly, the chakra. It, then, travels through our fibers, along our back to our chest and limbs." As he described the source of Tantra to Sachi, he felt the energy flowing through the boy's nerves like ripples on still water.
Sachi held up both his hands. Vyom whispered a chant in his left ear, and when Sachi recited it, the air began to shift, shaping into a net.
"Unlike Mantra and Yantra, Tantra does not come from your heart or mind," Vyom mentioned, keeping his palm steady on Sachi's back, "It comes from your belly. To have the highest form of Tantra you must be in full control of all of your senses, your very existence. Tantra is not about losing yourself but finding yourself and finding the universe in your body. The sharper the loom is, the easier it is to weave."
The gauzy air threads gradually weaved into a net, thick enough to catch a prey, its ends held in Sachi's hand.
"Now!" Vyom whispered, and Sachi swiftly threw the net to ensnare the snake. The snake began to wriggle inside the trap.
Vyom patted Sachi on the shoulder.
"Good boy," he lauded the pupil, who suddenly let go of the net, letting it melt into thin air. The snake, unexpectedly given its freedom, quickly slithered away towards the pond and disappeared into its water.
But there was no regret on Sachi's face. Instead, he turned to Vyom, looking happy and thrilled.
"That is the first time I wielded Tantra. I never trusted I could, but I felt it flowing through me," he reported joyfully, "it was the most extraordinary."
Not really, Vyom thought. But he did not want to lull the boy's excitement. "Most extraordinary indeed."
Sachi bent down to retrieve his sack. Vyom continued, "And you can return the favor by keeping me privy to your teacher's plans."
Sachi frowned as he straightened himself. "Why must you keep abreast of his plans?"
Vyom smiled. "Well-meaning as he can be, I worry he could lead us straight into a lion's den. And kind as I may be, I am a clever man, too. It will be safe for all of us."
Sachi lowered his gaze, contemplating Vyom's suggestion for a second, and then nodded. "But you must keep this between us."
"You need not worry about me guarding my tongue," Vyom reassured, "I only use it in the right moment."
Sachi quickly looked away. He pulled the sack over his back, whirled around, and hurried back to the camp, not waiting for Vyom.