paurastaya - the lost realm.

Although apparently silent, was allchaotic inside the womb of the forest. At the late night, a faint moan of young woman whispered in the misty air. It was a whisper of pleasure, as of someone being loved. The noise of exploding desires, a song of sweat and shudder, groaning and consumed in lust.

"What is that," a leader muttered
shivering, distracting from the course, barely able to look few steps beyond
the pale shine of flaming torch.  dry leaves were flying with the swirl of chilling wind and with it wolfs snarled.
The noise got distorted with a gush of wind and then there was a famine chuckle like honey dissolved in air.

 He tried to calm down the wolfs. covered whole in a large blanket except the face, he composed himself, discerning the twitch in his groin with sustained spasm. Under the knot of dhoti, he felt warm, hard and wet, his manhood had grown bigger than ever.

“Into such wilderness!” he felt weird but what he realized was
only beauty instead he thought that the voice he heard was not only of a single
woman but many.

His mind was shut and he was led by only instinct, basic instinct,
like hunger and fear. His hunger had grown exponentially. He hadn’t heard a
voice of woman since years, surrounded by hundreds of ghosts. He was ready to
take any bet and what he heard was not mere voices rather like the goddess of lust had merged
herself into the darkness of the forest. He imagined how beautiful would be
someone with such a voice.  these noises had the strength to shake the very foundation of any austere and frigid soul
and he was just an ordinary human. Yavpal
Trishoka, new commander and watch of the southern outpost. 

In the only fraction of moment, he had imagined many things and
perhaps a feast for his long-abandoned desires. He remembered his wife. He
remembered the moments when she dugs his head between her breasts like she
never wants to let him away for even a moment and when she curls her wet lips
on his dense beard covered face. he remembered her pleasure cry when he lunges
at her from behind. Trishoka breaths deep and sigh! He remembered her moist
eyes and that tender smile on her graceful face when he had left her at
sanctum. That moment he felt she will wait forever till he comes back again to
her. Trishoka had always dreamed of that moment when he will be back home at
sanctum but he had sworn the oath to protect the same sanctum till his last
breath. His imaginations had started flying with wings of lust but when came to
land he had left nothing but only love with him. He had calmed down.

Even though averagely built for a human but in front of a troop of
twenty soldiers like walking white statues, he looked dwarf. Trishoka was a
prodigy man, aged around thirty, with black bread and of brownish complexion
somewhat lighter than his blanket. 

again, a noise, woman shrieked in the wood ahead riving the soft rumble of the river. flutter of the wings and birds screeched
all together violently as they rose high in the air but nothing visible in the
fog and the darkness of the dense forest. Wolfs ahead the troop howled and the
voice returned from other parts of the forest. they had become impatient as
they had smelled something strange. Trishoka's steps paced fast and he flagged
right hand above head, indicating to follow, in the way sound appeared to come.

A hard growl from the same side.

“My lord, no human possibly can be here," a soldier said, blank face
with dead gaze focused straight, moving just behind Trishoka but at the front
most of patrolling soldiers.

Trishoka ignored shocking his head.

The sinewy bare bodies of soldiers were
with only a leather skirt as a cover in bone-chilling winter. Long face with
pronounced bones and large protruding jaw, deep dead blue eyes and the rough
thick skin pale as the moon, without evidence of a single hair anywhere. humans called them the ghost. The living
death in itself. Each soldier had a large heavy
spear, white wooden shaft with the blade of sharp black glittering obsidian at
one end and at base two opposite obsidian blades like an axe. they called it Haraka.

"My lord," another soldier said pointing at blood
spattered on dry leaves.

Trishoka bent, sat on the knee, spread the blood with fingers.
"It looks fresh" he nods saying. Following the combat protocols,
soldiers arranged in a half circle in two rows. first row in position spear
drawn outward from their side. The second row unwinds the string wrapped around
the middle of the shaft and tied to each end converting the pliant wood of Haraka
into a bow for the farther attack. They had mounted the arrows.

Trishoka pinched his nose smiling. “too much effort… anyone if
there would have been killed already by the beast after this much
bleeding" he said following the bloody trail leading to mild growl. He
knew what he said was too simplification of the situation.

The woods turned thin as the faint rumble was getting louder and
the moonlight had started sneaking from above through breached canopy. They
encountered a marvelous brown reindeer with white spots, hanged upside down
with its own gut tangled around hind limbs. Thick dark blood was dribbling
lazily down its mouth with protruding tongue. Its beautiful bloody antlers were
decorated with lungs on each side. The wild beast appeared as it was pounded
and banged several times before flesh was bitten off from the side of it.

Trishoka grimaced in disgust, his temptations had vanished. The
very air seemed to exhale fear with a sense of something devilish around. If he
had to be alone here, wouldn't able to take a breath any further, but the
twenty ghosts were behind him and he hadn't found the answer till yet. the
bloody trail was leading them to somewhere else. Wolfs were howling
relentlessly. Eager. Triskoka now couldn't hold them back or he didn't want to.
however, they got disappeared into the fog and what came back was the only
suppressed brief cry.

They followed the wolfs on a bloody trail. The wolfs were hanging
upside down, with their gut. half dead. The fresh hot blood was dribbling down
their face.

"Poor beasts" Trishoka winced terrified and pained. The
bond between humans and these animals was old. they had adapted to live closely
with each other. The legacy of Pashupati.

His legs turned heavy and he swallowed hard. he had to find the
answer.

Their search ends at a giant lion sat on the pool of thick blood
at the side of the ashen trunk of a fig tree, facing opposite to them. The
beast was blooded, snarling but immovable.

They stopped away and outside the fig canopy, still in position.
The large fig was surrounded by bald but bloomed Palash trees. 

Trishoka waved his right hand, two soldiers moved forward from the
flanks of the first row. Soldiers poked the rump of animal and it growled
ferociously. soldiers moved a step back. the crackle of dry leaves indicated
some movement behind fig trunk.

“Come out whoever it is, we are here to help you”, Trishoka said.
The woman screamed again in woods, this time with a wicked laughter… bitter,
diffuse and sharp. pricking the ears. It wasn't hard for Trishoka to understand
that they were being trapped. A heavy mace came flying in the air from behind
them and hit the head of a soldier. Soldier dumped to the ground with a jet of
blood from the cracked skull.  

 

                                                     
***********

 

In the blue twilight before the dawn, galloping horses neighed and
slowed down, aligning to cross a narrow bridge over river Madhyavati.

“War seems inevitable” a disembodied, wheezy voice rippled in the
thick fog. Hopeless. An old man said clearing his throat.

The vast open barley fields were wavering agitatedly in the windstorm. Four horsemen on all black sturdy stallions, covered whole in
large dark blankets till overhead like a hood. they had spear with an ivory
blade. 

“And …end of mankind, in any way” another horseman answered in a
dead orotund voice overcoming the rumble of the river underneath
"apologies my lord but we can't even survive the beginning of war. even
the combined strength of all the tribes would be minute against draza's massive
army and their sheer strength". 

“I agree to lord Vipra" a young voice, youngest of them, that
of a middle-aged man. “A draza warrior is better than the best of any ghost,
and its strength beyond the words compared to any ordinary human
soldier".  He must have had sworn an
oath of Hotr only a winter back. he was just behind Vipra and last among four.
It was his first visit to that maze, the world of shadows.

“lord Agnidh… shouldn’t we at least strengthen our defense, we
should call for aid, according to the treaty, Arkaja must send the army of
twenty thousand soldiers" Yajta said, at the front most of all of them. It
was a croaky voice that of a man beyond the fifties like that of Vipra but
unlike him, it was the blend of humor and firmness. 

“That would be futile and it will provoke draza, bringing war just
overhead” Vipra replied.

“Treaty has been broken, we were unable to fulfil the demands
accordingly. Arkajas are no longer in the debt of us neither the draza, now
they won't hesitate to unleash their animalistic instinct" Agnidh
explained, "Arkaja won't sent armies till we resume the deal".

"I always wonder if humans were victorious then why Pashupati
did the first deal. why he pushed the humans to such torment for forever,"
Yajta said in hopeless and frustrated tone "how would he came up to such
an agreement".

The first deal was the greatest of mystery, something about which
even the Hotrs had no clue. the only Known thing was that the first deal was
done just after the war of three armies and humans came to an agreement with
other two species. after the great war, this secret was shared among only Chatuhotrs
(four high priests) and they were bound to maintain the secrecy of it. Except Chatuhotrs,
no human ever knew anything about the deal. if this secret opens, it would lead
to a great anarchy, dissolution of the sanctum. the destruction of faith and
unity and with it the destruction of whatever the strength humans possessed. 

"I doubt the success of this
meeting, even safely return of us" Agnidh said. Other three stared at him
hard.

“My lord, the only appropriate and possible solution appear to me
is Visvatyajna," Vipra said in an appealing voice, "we must postpone
the war. we must resume the deal and deliver the cure to Drazas". 

Visvatyajna was the sacrificial fire ceremony worshipping and
satisfying all the directions, with the blessing of goddess Agni(fire) as
mediator.

Yajta laughed loudly and said “this is madness, it is not
possible, who will fight against Pradhan? Visvatyajna can't be done before
twenty winters, four winters still left for yajna. do you think he will be
convinced by us and that he is ready to be killed in yajna willingly and before
the time? he is not mad, though we think he is."

a Pradhan was the first commander of the army and first man on the
land. he shared these powers with the Maghotr (highest priest). any man could
participate in the yajna except the tribes Martand and Adurbha. from all of the
contenders only one person emerges victorious and he had to duel with former Pradhan.
the one who wins the duel was chosen as next Pradhan. for the last twenty
thousand winters in every yajna, the former Pradhan was always killed by a
contender. after yajna Pradhan had to choose twenty virgin wives. he had to
serve his purpose as the protection of sanctum and to make the offering of his
children to Hotrs for sacrifices after the age of nine moons, at the night of
every new moon.

"he was unable to serve the purpose; the survival of mankind
would not be at stake for his will" Vipra said holding his spear more
tightly and taking it slightly higher. 

“It’s the violation of the rule of sanctum, people could lose
faith in us” Yajta insisted with furious voice, "In the last message with Garuda
(creature with features of an eagle and human), Arkaja had assured to supply
the army of ghosts for an equal match to draza and the other resources. they
had suspected draza army in a number of hundred thousand. it would be our war but
we could be allies. They just want to bring peace to the land. together we can
crush draza once and forever" Yajta said swiping his hand in fog with
aggression.

"You seem to wipe out humanity from land once and forever. We
shouldn't trust Arkaja as we couldn't trust draza. They are equally mysterious
as draza, nothing known about them. we don't know their ambitions, what are
they up to. we know nothing about them except they live inside the massive
mountains of Himavant in some mysterious way," Vipra said. "If Arkaja
could aid us with hundred thousand soldiers only to crush draza, you couldn't
dream what they have hiding inside those mountains".

"at this time draza are invincible. I don't know much but the
descriptions I have analyzed shows that they possess illusory and magical
powers. they can sense anything without seeing it. they can fight in all
directions at the same moment" agnidh said.

“Now what should we do…Vipra” Mahisha said wheezing, just behind Yajta
and at the side of Vipra.

“My lord, as you said war is inevitable and the demand of Drazas
can't be fulfilled forever… also as their strength grows every living thing
will be sacrificed for their expanding realm and humans are not exempt of this,
but my lord… we must postpone the war, unite and find something which can be
used against them”.

"And what that something would be, can you enlighten
us," Yajta said with a sarcastic chuckle.

Yipra remained silent for moments and then he spoke grinding
teeth. "I would be pleased to enlighten you with my spear, lord Yajta, for
your arrogance".

 There was tense silence
afterwards. It was a clear challenge from Vipra for duel combat. It was well
known to everyone that not any warrior match of Vipra is alive on land among
humans or even a ghost perhaps. It was a certain death for Yajta and being a Hotr
he couldn't deny any challenge. But Mahisha felt the worse among all of them.

“I accept your challenge, lord Vipra” Yajta said slowing down his
horse.

                                  

                                                    
************

 

sprouting blood from the ghost had made others ecstatic. Trishoka
was shocked by invisible threat but before they could turn behind, a tall smoky
figure stepped outside, just the side of fig trunk. A loose cloak apparently of
a rough and thick leather touching the ground with a large hood covering the
head and all of the face or much lower perhaps, hard to imagine what lies
behind.

Trishoka shrinks back, petrified. "introduce yourself,"
he said.  

No answer, the figure remained still as a statue and then its hand
moved with the loose sleeve in motion revealing a long and fouled, wooden
spiked mace.

The leader gazed towards the soldiers who were waiting for the
command and they understood. one of them moved forward, holding from the
middle, thrust the Haraka with some effort trying to poke. a swift blow of mace
deflected the move, which made soldier to reel few steps ahead. the soldier
stepped back regaining its posture, changed the grip swiftly shifting to the
end and with lightning speed swung the Haraka in a circle overhead and strike
with the axe. the figure blocked the blow, rising mace near the head. wood
fragment spattered with thunder noise. Another soldier roared and thrust the
spear aiming the center assuming least chance to miss the blow. figure step
aside with speed of the wind, causing the soldier to lose the balance, still in
motion than with thud fell on the ground, the face in pile of dry leaves behind
the figure. Blood fountain sprouted out of soldier's neck as figure pulled out
the spiked end of its tail. 

“Draza…” the word slips out of his mouth with the slack jaw and
terrified face. Trishoka retreated making space with the hands through soldiers
behind him. he threw the blanket away.