"I saved you from Yazathingyan of Mekkhaya and Thihathu of Pinle," shouted Wareru. "When my army and I arrived from Martaban, Pegu was under siege, and the people were starving."
"This doesn't give you the right to rule over me; we are allies! Allies!" Tarabya shouted even louder.
The armies of Pegu and Martaban looked at each other from a distance; they knew that was nothing more than a pissing contest, but they were willing to die for it.
The soldiers knew they didn't have a choice in the matter. Better be ready than flee and be captured and labelled as a coward later.
"I'm not trying to rule over you!" Wareru was offended; Tarabya was a faithful ally. Both were married to each other's daughters.
"You want to control the Irrawaddy delta all by yourself!"
"I won--"
Tarabya didn't let the former ally finish the sentence, "We won!"
"Okay, okay, I guess peace is out of the table. Do you want to go to war or..." the peacemaker, the man responsible for overseeing the peace negotiations, didn't finish the sentence on purpose.
"Or!" Both Tarabya and Wareru agreed for the first time in a long period.
"So be it. Go and get ready; we'll start in 20 minutes."
Tarabya left the centre of the field and went to his army. Everyone heard the discussion; that's why his assistants already begun the preparation.
The strongman, the King of Pegu, oversaw the equipment. First, the long weapon. It was sharp. The tip could penetrate a tree while the rest of the blade would easily cut the wood.
Then, he looked at the elephant. They were together for a long time now. They had seen many battles. When he was on top, during the heat of the fight, Tarabya felt invincible.
With the help of his servants, Tarabya climbed his elephant. From the top, he looked to the other side. Wareru was ready.
Their eyes met. Both asked with the other wanted to give up, the answer came at the same time, with the elephants starting to run in the other's direction.
The joust began.
The joust ended.
Tarabya was on the ground, as his elephant. He was lucky to be alive; if the animal had fallen over him, he would be dead.
Wareru looked from the top, "You are both lucky; neither of you died. The monks asked me not to kill you. I also don't want to see my daughter grieving. That's why I'll let you live. But I hope you learned your lesson."
Tarabya's elephant was already up; the animal looked lost. It was his first defeat.
The guards raised Tarabya from the ground. Silently, he promised he would have his revenge. And maybe, if he hadn't married the daughter of his enemy, he would be good to his promise.
THE END
*****
Tarabya of Pegu was the self-proclaimed king of Pegu (modern Bago, Myanmar) from c. 1287 to c. 1296. He was one of several regional strongmen who emerged after the fall of the Pagan Empire in 1287.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarabya_of_Pegu
