Rajiv Menon -- ThunderGod (31 page)

He melted back into the darkness.

Later that night, when he and Indra were alone, Soma could not help but express his reservations about Travistr.

'Who is this man? He comes and goes as he pleases. Builds wonderful things that we have never seen before or imagined. Is he a god or a demon?'

Indra laughed heartily.

'What are we, Soma? I must confess I did not feel very godlike when we slaughtered that garrison. High on your brew, all I felt was the surge of energy in my body and a thirst for more blood.'

'Well perhaps we are demons, after all. What did you do when you felt this way?'

Indra laughed and thumped his friend on the back.

'I lopped off a few more heads and felt a lot better.'

***

Shalla stood on the ramparts of his mighty city walls and stared out at the horizon. He could see in the distance an approaching cloud of dust. General Druma informed him of Timon's arrival.

'What news do you have for me?'

'I have just been to see one of the survivors from the southern garrison, my lord. The man was delirious, half-crazed with fear.'

'What did he say?'

The king's tone warned Timon that it would be best to tell the truth, yet he hesitated before he spoke.

'He said that the army was led by a demon with eyes that shone like a wild beast in the night. His men called him Indra. The man swears that this Indra was stronger, faster and more skilled than any warrior he has ever seen.'

Shalla tried not to show the effect Timon's words had on him. He recalled the name and within his chest, his heart skipped a beat. Could it be the demon from the prophecy--the son of Daeyus?

'Demon or human, I don't care. He and his army will be crushed beneath these walls. Pass the word around. The man who brings me this Indra's head in battle will get five years' wages as a reward.'

Timon raised his eyebrows in surprise as he made a quick calculation of what five years of his wages would be. It was a small fortune, and Shalla was usually not one to part with even a single coin if he could avoid it.

***

It was dusk by the time Indra and his men arrived within sight of the magnificent city. They camped on a little ridge with a clear view of the Moon Gates. As the last rays of the sun fell on Susa's mighty walls, he gazed at them and suddenly felt anxious.

He could think of no possible weapon that would make a dent on those massive blocks of sandstone. The wide ramparts and numerous towers teemed with archers and spearmen. To get near those walls would be suicidal. That ruled out the use of grappling hooks and ladders. Neither did he have the strength in numbers nor the resources to lay siege to the city.

Any way he looked at it, the problem seemed insurmountable. He called out to the others to make camp and rest for the night. The walls would still be there tomorrow.

The next day, Indra sent Atreya and Nala with two teams of scouts around the walls to check for any weakness in the city's defences. The troops spent a restless day polishing their weapons and tending to their horses. Towards the end of the day, the scouts returned. There was a reason why Susa had never been conquered before. Her defences were impregnable.

The young king walked towards the city in the fading light. The lamps in each guard tower were being lit. On any other day, this would have been a beautiful spectacle. The watch had just changed and Indra saw the mass of troops on the ramparts. He felt a shiver run through his body as a cold wind began to blow in from the desert. Where was Travistr, he wondered. In his hands lay the fate of his army of two thousand. Just because his men were ready to die for him, he could not send them on a suicide mission.

'Prepare to enter the city by first light tomorrow.'

Travistr's voice sounded in his head, the calmness of it dispensing all doubt from Indra's mind. He wore a big smile as he walked back to the camp. He called out to his commanders, 'Get some sleep. We will take the city at dawn.'

Later that night, Soma woke Indra from his sleep.

'You have to see this.'

As he walked with Soma towards the ridge, he saw streaks of fire fall from the heavens. Right before his eyes, he saw one of them strike a guard tower and explode into a giant ball of flame. He saw burning bodies throw themselves off the tower, screaming in fright. Indra roared with delight.

'The gods of the sky are with us. Prepare for battle, my men. The time has come to avenge our fathers.'

A great cheer of enthusiasm went around as the Devas began to thump their swords against their shields.

***

Shalla watched in dismay from the ramparts of his great wall as the first fireball struck the ground a few yards in front of the gates, illuminating the beautiful structure. Soon the heavens were filled with flaming missiles that began to rain all around his city, setting its trees and the roofs of its buildings on fire.

Just then, one of the guard towers a few paces from where he stood was struck. He gave instructions to Druma to organise enough men to put out the fires and retreated to the safety of his palace. For the first time in his life, Shalla feared for his city and his empire.

From her vantage point high above the city, Ishtar saw that the attack was not an act of the gods. Across the distance, before her eyes, small hooded figures scurried about operating several giant catapults. She was surprised when she recognised them. They were Yakshas, celestial beings whose greed for gold made them abandon their forest homes and eke out a life within the bowels of the earth. They never interfered with the affairs of humans; she could not understand how or why they had come to Indra's aid.

Then she sensed another presence, a familiar one. It was the one she knew as the Alchemist. Now it made sense to her: gold was the only religion those greedy little creatures knew. To them, the Alchemist was a god. Ishtar sighed as she realised how heavily the odds were stacked against her and her city. She was in above her head with one hell of a fight on her hands.

***

Travistr felt the compelling presence of Ishtar as he looked towards the burning city. He wondered why she hadn't played her hand yet. She, not the warriors or the walls, would be Indra's real test. The flames started to spread; it made the city shine like a jewel against the night. He called to the leader of his siege engineers.

'Kubera, direct your fire towards the gates.'

One of the hooded figures bowed his head and shouted instructions to the others, who briskly went about doing his bidding.

A few hundred yards ahead, Indra watched the fiery projectiles crash into the Moon Gates of Susa. Slowly, they began to catch fire. It was almost dawn. Indra sent two divisions under Atreya and Nala to attack the parapets and ramparts near the gates.

The soldiers and populace of Susa made a valiant effort to put out the flames, but the Yakshas' catapults had done their damage. Now Nala and Atreya attacked, making little skirmishing runs towards the walls. Their accurate shower of arrows took its toll and made rescue efforts even more difficult for the Elamites. The flames continued to burn high and scorched the soldiers on the parapets, forcing them to back off.

Meanwhile, Kubera and his men stood before Travistr with their heads bowed. Their war machines had been packed away into wagons.

'Thank you, my brave little brothers. You have done me a great service today.'

Travistr watched Kubera step forward, his beady little eyes shining within the darkness of the hood.

'It is our pleasure to serve you, learned master. Your blessings are all we crave for.'

As Travistr watched them leave, he knew they would extract their pound of flesh for this favour one day.

***

As the first rays of the sun hit the walls, Soma held up the crystal chalice filled with the potion soma. Indra emptied the contents down his throat, blew his conch and led the charge. The line of chariots flew towards the city like a tidal wave, gathering speed before it crashed to the shore. As they approached the burning gates, without breaking a stride the formation changed into the classic arrowhead with Indra at the point.

As the chariots of the Devas burst through the burning gates into the city, they left the Elamite front line in total disarray. The men had spent the whole night putting out the fires that threatened to consume their city. Now they tried in vain to stand their ground as the chariots swept over them. The ones that did not fall to Deva arrows and spears found themselves crushed under the wheels of their chariots.

Indra's eyes blazed with a manic intensity and his arms worked tirelessly. Arrows poured out of his bow into the Elamite ranks. The enemy broke their line and fled in panic before him. They raced down the broad avenue, the Devas in hot pursuit, and arrived at the central plaza. Around this big square were the royal palace and the temple.

As Indra led the chariots into the square, the Elamites began to push boulders and logs into their path. Soma and the other drivers were forced to slow down and manoeuvre around the obstacles. As soon as the chariots lost their momentum, the Elamite soldiers poured out of the numerous streets around the plaza and surrounded them. Indra threw aside his bow, picked up Kadaag and leapt into the mass of enemy soldiers.

From the balcony of the royal palace, General Druma watched his king scream orders to his men. It had been Druma's plan to lure the Devas into the plaza and then surround and immobilise the chariots. Now that the plan had worked, Shalla was there to take the credit.

'Kill their horses but spare the chariots, for we will have use for them!'

The Elamite soldiers pressed forward to do his bidding. Indra heard the screams of his dying horses and roared with rage. His black sword went through shield and armour, cutting enemy soldiers in half. Somewhere close by, he could hear the thump of Soma's mace as it struck flesh and broke bone.

The battle raged on through the day, and by evening, of the five hundred men in Indra's division, only a handful remained. They had fought themselves into a defendable niche between two buildings. Around them lay piles of dead Elamite soldiers. The enemy still came though, climbing over the bodies of their own dead. Indra and Soma had no idea how the rest of the troops had fared; they now made their way to the roof of a building to take a look.

The battle raged on in two areas. Puru's division had followed Indra into the city and were hemmed in on a narrow street. Outnumbered and trapped, they doggedly fought for their lives.

Atreya and Nala had fought their way up the walls and gained control of the ramparts. They now held their positions even as they inflicted huge losses on the enemy who were coming at them from all sides.

As the sky grew dark, beams of pure white light emerged from the top of the temple, illuminating the Deva positions. It was Ishtar. The Elamite archers and spearmen moved in from the shadows and began to attack. The light gave them easy targets to aim at while keeping their own positions hidden from the Devas.

Indra knew he had to do something quickly; the tide was turning swiftly in favour of the enemy. Soma offered him the crystal chalice. He quickly downed its contents. As the brew went down his throat, his tiredness vanished. He looked up at the lights and remembered something.

'Witchcraft! Mitra had warned me about the witch of Susa. I will make for the temple and kill her. You take the men and head for the palace. We must end this quickly if we are to be victorious.'

He leapt off the roof into the enemy throng and fought his way towards the temple.

***

In a cave on Mount Kailash, a distraught Mitra stood before a naked hermit. The holy man's hair was matted and hung to his knees in clumps. He stood on one leg with his hands joined above his head. His eyes were half closed in deep meditation.

Mitra did not move a muscle. Facing him, its massive hood only inches from his face, was the biggest snake he had ever seen. He looked into the lidless black eyes of the king cobra and saw the excruciatingly painful death that lingered there.

'That's enough, Vasuki.'

The serpent flicked its tongue at Mitra; it brushed lightly against his cheek. Then it relaxed its hood and slithered away into the dark recesses of the cave. The hermit studied Mitra, an amused expression on his face.

'How do you hope to find what you seek if you constantly allow these worldly attachments to distract you?'

Mitra bowed low; he did not dare look into the face of the Master. He focused on the blue mark at his throat when he spoke.