Adhiyavan & Senga

  Rushing out of the jasmine chambers, I slipped back into my single cotton cloth. Descending one brick at a time, I pulled out and replaced each loose stone carefully. Suddenly, a big cloth bag was thrown at my face—I had forgotten my belongings and Sikala helped me with it. In the dark, it was harder to find the exact pull-brick, and the sword in my bag poked uncomfortably. Finally, I jumped and landed on a mud pile, stepping out and rubbing the creases from my clothes. A hand pulled me aside.

  “My Prince!” a voice echoed in the dark.

  “Senga, you scared me!” I exclaimed, starting to walk down the narrow lane while holding a torch.

  “It was you in the tournament final, isn't it?” he asked in excitement.

  I smiled and confirmed with a nod. “I’ve been watching you since your childhood—you couldn't hide it from me, Adhiya.”

  We stopped as we heard footsteps nearby.

  “You would've finished them in a second. It took me two whole minutes, Senga,” I whispered. Then we moved on.

  “I've gotten old! Now I'm just a decorated messenger—that's all I am,” Senga said sadly.

  “Senga, every time I call you by your name, I feel ashamed. Can I call you Uncle, my lord?”

  “I would be honored, Adhiya.” We entered the tent in the bazaar.

  Drums rolled to make way for the royals, followed by utter silence. I pulled back the tent curtain to see Jari and the people of Venn walking out of the capital despite the night. Commoners gossiped about the mark on his face as he kept his head down, walking out of the city gates. A whole crew—at least a thousand members—walked out in silence.

  I turned back and saw the tent's strength had increased to six people. I looked at Senga, and he asked everyone to wait outside.

  “Sorry, Uncle. I know they are part of your ministry, but right now, I cannot trust anyone.”

  I opened my bag and began placing every item, only to find a new palm letter inside: “Six friends await on your path back home.”

  Senga took the letter and checked it again. “Adhiya, did you encounter assassins?” I stopped him.

  “Sathyeras have infiltrated our core, Uncle.”

  “I warned that idiot. Forgive me, my prince.”

  “Never mind, Uncle. You can call him whatever you want. You were also the reason he’s on the throne now!” I held his hand.

  “And this...” He handed me a scroll. “It’s nothing, but it was a royal message!”

  “Fifteen people were executed by the Gandar squad, and Amirtha wants an explanation? I don’t have time for this now. And doesn’t Security come under your ministry, Uncle?”

  “You know what’s happening after the Ankalan war. Thejan is in Hira gardens; everything is governed by her. I tried to resign from the ministry multiple times, but Thejan refused it.”

  “Leave it, Uncle. People may be suspicious—let’s go somewhere. I haven’t eaten anything since morning.”

  We left everything in the tent and walked to the nearby Maadhu bar. We crossed the other end of the amphitheater and saw people cleaning up, gossiping about Nakalan’s torn-up face, mocking the wink he gave the empress earlier, and laughing at his crying on the ground.

  On the eastern side of the fort lay a large circular coconut tree grove with around a hundred trees. Torches were tied to random trees, providing a path. A middle-aged woman with a big diamond stud in her nose and a blue saree was offering toddy—unusual, as it was typically served in the early morning, rarely at noon, and almost never after sunset.

  Senga asked the woman, “Anything special?” She pointed to the center, where a large group of men sat. A man was shouting.

  Senga looked at me. “It’s him—we should see!”

  “That’s my uncle,” I said, and we sat under a tree, listening to Nakalan blabbering while his uncle Elaya scolded the Empress openly.

  “Ankalan toddy hits differently!” I burped.

  Senga kept his ear to their conversation and pointed for me to listen.

  Nakalan shouted, “It was not a foreign guard dog. He was not a eunuch. The whore is hiring without our knowledge!”

  I almost jumped up in fury, but Senga held me and calmed me down.

  Elaya intervened. “She followed our instructions and refused to meet the Minister of Chakra. She asked their prince to visit for talks. Don’t burn the bridge over a foreign dog. She promised she would execute him by tomorrow morning.”

  Nakalan laughed hard; everyone looked confused.

  “My foot! Our spies saw her come out of the jasmine chamber alone and announced him missing! I will take our Dhira’s golden cloak guard and kill anyone who resembles him.”

  I looked at Senga. “These idiots should never drink. Uncle, who are these idiots?”

  He drank a full glass of toddy and looked at me.

  “Cowards. They are just cowards. They share a border with Sathyera and control all the imports, including foreign guards, and the agriculture heart of Ankala. During the Battle of Chendurai two years ago, they refused to come out of their little palaces in the south and surrendered. Idiot Thejan, instead of annexing, made the Ankalan’s daughter empress.”

  I signaled Senga. We looked at the departing Nakalan and Elaya with his men. Nakalan’s face was smashed; his teeth were visible from the side, and the blood was smudged—he didn’t cover it.

  “Forget about those bastards. Empress Parandvani is gearing up the whole empire for your prince’s coronation. We are heading home, right?” He smiled.

  “We’ll talk about that in the morning.”

  Senga took me down the dark path. We crossed the amphitheater and could see some golden cloaks roaming around. We hid behind the parked temple car for a while.

  “These Ankalans are true craftsmen—see how beautiful their temple car looks!”

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  A ten-foot-tall teak wood structure, with depictions of gods on every inch. Large metal wheels held it up, and there was another one under construction in the opposite lane.

  “How many do they need?!”

  “Shh, come on, Adhiya!” He took my hand, and we went inside our tent in the bazaar.

  There were six men inside. I looked at Senga, and everyone went out.

  “Tell me the route to reach—” He stopped. “You forgot the route home?”

  “No, Uncle. I’m going to Vakkanam and not via Anniyur”

  Senga looked confused.

  “Why? The only time Thejan and I went to Vakkanam was to conquer it! I will come with you—we can start at first light. Now sleep.”

  Senga woke up an hour before me and prepped everything. He wore a large wool coat to cover his sword. Thelan was standing outside. I went near Thelan, and he rubbed his head on me. We started riding outside the city gates. The descent was relaxed as it was morning, and we exited the plain perimeter.

  “Senga Uncle, I said not via Anniyur.”

  “Yes, Adhiya, we will not go there!”

  We reached the common stone bench where I had parted ways with Jaya.

  “Are we going via Ankottai?”

  “Yes!” He pointed to a commoner who noticed my accent.

  We went silent for a few hours as the crowd from the tournament walked back home. As we rode, the people grew fewer and fewer.

  A few old men stopped us. “Who are you visiting?”

  I held Senga’s hand and answered, “Thori. We are visiting Thori from Ankottai. I’m asking his granddaughter for her hand in marriage.”

  They looked surprised and nodded. We continued.

  Senga looked at me. “Just an acquaintance I know.”

  “Just don’t ask her hand in marriage, okay! One Ankala women had made enough misery already in your life”

  I smiled, and we continued. The road changed from dry farmland into complete dry lands with mud houses alongside.

  From a distance, I saw a young woman holding a baby and feeding him food. As I got closer, I realized it was Jaya. Now I understood why those old men had looked surprised.

  She smiled at me. “So you finally came. Welcome to Ankottai.” She handed the baby to her servant and washed her hands.

  We got off our horses and smiled at Thori, who didn’t remember me. Jaya called in a little girl and asked her to check on Malla. She ordered her maids to prepare a feast.

  “I don’t want to bother you—we will leave soon for the Chakra empire!”

  She looked at me. “So you’re trying to say you left the easier route and traveled two kadams longer just to leave soon?”

  Senga and I sat on the floor, and I looked at Jaya. “About the kid?” I murmured.

  She boldly asked, “What about the kid?”

  “Can I hold him?”

  “Ha, sure! You do know how to hold a baby, right?”

  I played with the boy. He was happy with me for a few minutes until he started to pee. She took the baby and went inside, but for those few seconds, I felt wonderful.

  Malla walked in and smiled, sitting near her. “Did you convince her? I saw you two together in the tournament!”

  He shyly scratched his head. “What about the kid?” I asked curiously.

  “It’s her kid, but I will raise it as mine.”

  I respected Malla.

  She and her servants started serving food for the three of us, and it was a feast: all the Ankalan signatures—the pepper, the jackfruit, and spicy chicken rice. Even the empress hadn’t served me this.

  We washed our hands outside the house. Malla ran inside and started serving Jaya. I went inside and sat near Malla.

  “Next time I see you, you should be married! And how long is the Chakra border?”

  Her mouth was full of rice, but she answered, “There is no border nor checkpost—just go along, and you will see the refugees.”

  “Refugees?” I wondered.

  Malla continued, “After the Ankalan war, everyone in the Kash region—the North region—lost everything. The war only happened here, and the rest of the kingdoms escaped. They failed to rebuild. Many lost homes and lands, and our empress forgot about us. She even refused to give our Ponni Devi statue back. So everyone lost hope, and even living as a refugee in Chakra looked better to them!”

  Most of Ankottai was empty, as people were still walking toward it from the tournament. Senga, Malla, and I were near the Ankottai well, chewing betel leaves and joking around, when we heard horses approaching. There were four golden cloaks.

  The first one was taller and leaner, with a wide face and barely grown mustache. He pointed at me. “This man matches the description!” and approached me as the other three stood 20ft behind

  The second man on the horse, wearing a steel helmet, nodded.

  The wide-faced tall golden cloak guy got down from his horse and swiped his blade.

  Malla tried to stop him. “Hey! He is our guest—stop!”

  The wide-faced golden cloak man approached us.

  “He matches the description of the one who assaulted the empire in the tournament. By the order of the prince of Dhira, I am executing this man.”

  Jaya came out and started running toward us. “He—they are our guests, and this is not the Dhira kingdom!”

  The wide-faced golden cloak man slapped Jaya and pushed Malla to the ground. I reached for my throwing knife at my hip, but it was missing.

  A growling sound pierced the air. For a second, I looked up—the wide-faced man’s head was pierced by a long sword. It was Senga’s sword. He walked near the wide-faced man and pulled his sword out, further breaking his skull.

  The three golden cloak men got down from their horses, fully armored with helmets, facing the shirtless sixty-year-old man, holding his long sword with both hands. The golden cloaks drew their thin blades and pointed at Senga. Malla went to help him, but I held him back and watched.

  As they started swinging their blades against the old lion, the amateurs had no chance—even three against one, fully armored. The three struck at the same time, and he held all of them, pushing the golden cloaks back to the ground. He gave them a second chance and waited for them to stand. Now they followed a 1-3-2 attack pattern. It was like a dance to see Senga handle them with ease. The thin blades couldn’t handle his Wutz blade, and the golden cloaks’ swords shattered. Two golden cloaks knelt; he cut through their throats. One ran away—he threw his sword, and it pierced his armor, coming out the other side.

  “Bha-ha! I still have it!”

  He went to retrieve his sword as Malla looked at us in fear and doubt.

  “Please leave as soon as possible. We will handle this!” Malla said to me.

  “But Jaya—we told some elders on the way that we are coming to see you.”

  Jaya dusted off her saree. “I will take care of it. Don't worry!”

  I walked near Jaya. “I don’t want you to get into trouble. Are you sure you can handle this?”

  She assured me again and nodded. “If you want to inform me, just say the message for Adhiya at Anniyur checkpost, okay?”

  I nodded at Malla, and we started the ride deep down.

  Senga and I rode in silence for a while, and he ate a sweet potato.

  “So, have you been here, Uncle?”

  He took a bite of the sweet potato and looked at me.

  “Yeah, many times during our childhood and teenage years. King Aadhi—our brother—would take us to this market. Now it may look like a ruined ghost town, but believe me, Ankottai was the only beautiful place on the island. Thejan used to come here secretly to see the beautiful women. Admit it—deep in your heart, Ankalan women hold a separate place.”

  He punched my shoulder playfully.

  “I don't need to tell you about Ankalan women.”

  And he looked at the dry lands and continued

  “The sky was not merciful. When I was young these fields fed the whole island. The mighty Ponni River saved the people of the island from starvation for many centuries. Some say it’s the gods’ wrath; some say it’s man’s fault. But I never imagined in my lifetime that the Ponni River would go dry.” He was emotional.

  “I never saw you this emotional, Uncle,” I said.

  “It’s not just emotional—it’s political too. Empires fall because of hunger and debt. Today, the Chenna River blesses us, but we shouldn’t take it for granted. When Ponni dried up, the first thing the Ankalans did was attack our Chenna lands, which triggered everything. They couldn’t feed their armies and ran away. They didn’t come for land—they came for rice. Pathukalas knew it and insisted we hold back. But we were young—King Aadhi, Thejan, and me. We turned everything upside down. At that time, we felt like heroes. We had statues, palaces. But as we matured, we realized what we were.”

  “These are valuable lessons, Uncle.”

  “Lessons not to be learned. We never had formal education—only Aadhi had the mastery of the sword and spear. He taught us for eight straight weeks and formed the largest army on the island with farm boys. Thejan was the only one with an elephant. Oh, those days! In the old tradition, all palaces were outside the city, and war would never harm the commoners. You can still see it in Chendurai. Thejan burnt the old tradition—and the city on which it was written.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I murmured.

  “What?”

  “No, I meant, I’ve heard about it!”

  The sky was orange, and birds were nesting. The wind turned cool, and the plain dry land slowly turned into brownish, bushy terrain. I stopped Thelan. “Uncle, movement.” I pointed to the bushes and rode toward it.

  Three men started running away from us and shouted, “Guards! Guards! Guards!”

  They didn’t look like robbers or commoners—they were malnourished, their skin tightened to their bones. We followed them to a dry lake with barely any water and saw hundreds of them.

  An elderly man knelt before us. I got down from Thelan and asked him to stand. He offered Ankalan silver coins and said, “Please keep this and leave us alone. We will reach Chakra and never come back here.” He wept.

  I held his hands. “We are not guards, and we are also leaving for Chakra.”

  Senga made a disappointed face. The old man continued, “Please join us. We leave in the dark.”

  Senga came near me to fetch Thelan and murmured, “You know Chakran security is my portfolio, right!”

  I smiled, and a young couple offered us water from a large clay pot. The man asked, “What are you going to do in Chakra?”

  I spilled some water. “Us? We are going to sell these horses, but the checkpost taxes us a lot. What about you?”

  He smiled at his wife. “We are going to Vakkanam. The new king, Majesty, is giving employment for all the refugees with a place to stay. He’s been doing this for the last two years. My relatives are well-fed and good now.”

  I looked at Senga. “Don’t blame this on me, Uncle.”

  The man continued, “Previously it was easy to get in, but after the Ellai forces, it is almost impossible. But don’t worry—our elders know a way.”

  Everyone started moving with their dirty big bags—a large pile of cloth bags and the last valuables they had—leaving their land, which had been their home for thousands of years, hoping for a better future for their kids.

  We trailed behind at the very end and reached the dry Ponni River, which had a magnificent bridge—a well-advanced bridge compared to the one I had previously crossed. A large stone-pillared bridge with arches and shades, now ruled by grass plants, a remnant of a lost place.

  We traveled further east—I had no knowledge of the place. The refugees halted at a tree, and we continued in the dark.

  Senga smiled. “We are in Chakra now!” He threw away his wool coa.

  We saw a small statue on the roadside. Senga poked me. “You know who that is, right?”

  “Is it yours?”

  Senga yanked his horse. “Nah, I have a bigger one!”

  “Then?” I asked, confused.

  “It’s your brother’s statue, Adhiya! He was the hero of the last war of Vakkanam at a very young age. I think it was his third internal conflict, and he dealt with it like a true emperor. Enough of him—I feel you will reach greater heights than all of us.”

  All the members of the royal family and palace had been angry at my brother—no one even talked about him when I was there. But during this voyage, I learned something about him. I didn’t like to force Senga, as he would spill out more.

  As we rode, we saw another batch of refugees settling on the side. They looked at us until we crossed them.

  Senga yawned. “I seriously wanted to know what that idiot Kariyan is doing with all these refugees.”

  “Let’s find out, Uncle! And should we rest till the sun rises?”

  “Nah, we should ride before noon. We will reach Vakkanam, and I don’t trust these pesky Ankalans.”

  We joined another batch of refugees who gave us a way. A group of five Vakkanam soldiers stopped us about ten feet before them.

  One Vakkanam soldier came near us and asked us to get down from the horse. I looked at Senga. He turned back and smiled at his colleagues.

  “See? Now they’re coming on horses—then they’ll come on elephants. Anyway, give us all your silver coins and horses too if you want to get in.”

  We got down, and the soldier continued, “What is this old man going to do? You look like you can carry logs.”

  A hard slap landed on the soldier’s cheek, and he hit the sandy ground. The other four ran toward us.

  “Is this how you talk to the Prince of Chakra?” Senga roared.

  The four soldiers dropped to their knees, and the refugees behind us ran away as far as possible.

  “Tell Kariyan that Prince Adhiyavan and Minister Senga are here.”

  The four soldiers ran, leaving one behind.