Brinda

Raja Mahendra Bhupati

The day slowly began to age, the King of Brinda, Mahendra Bhupati and Prince of Chiroma, Adigun remained in silence. The latter stared at the man with massive hands and his painted face. It was reminiscent of how his tribe went to war and Prince Adigun could only respect the amount of time and desire the King had placed into guarding his kingdom.

Prince Adigun finally broke through the silence with a sniff and spoke, "You might as well send thousands of your men and they will continue to perish. War is never good for any kingdom and I definitely need all the soldiers I can have in my disposal when I conquer you".

He halted, placed his hands behind his back and began to pace about momentarily before stopping again.

Pointing south, to where he and General Sola had raced over from, he mentioned to the Raja of Brinda. "Hundreds of your men are being slaughtered by the hour, and it is your choice to either see more die, or be a man and drop your blade here and now".

The King raised his brow and slowly edged his blade high enough for him to see. "Do not be so cocky, Adigun. I have battled men even before you were born and in every case, I was undermined and I also came out the victor. How else do you think Brinda became the fortress it is today?"

Prince Adigun had armed himself with knowledge of the kingdom; it was one of the largest around and one which impeccable military presence. They did well financially too and it was located close enough to the trading ports and that in itself made it coveted. The one problem was nobody was and would be stupid enough to seek battle with their King.

Well, nobody but Prince Adigun.

"We have heard the tales of the great and prideful Raja Mahendra Bhupati and the history of Brinda. It was told to us as fairytales and I stand before you, it is all I see it to be", Prince Adigun sounded rude. "I may spare your life and cast you off in banishment if you decide to accept my takeover of your kingdom, or I may be forced to ram my blade down your throat".

"Just as you did when you conquered your war in Vietnam", the King of Brinda said. "It is what you did to the King of Frida in Somaila, and it is all you are known for, whereas, your thirst for war never seems to wane".

The King of Brinda shifted his left leg to the side, grabbed hold of the blade around his waist, and then slowly took his stance.

"I will rather die than see the likes of you rule Brinda!" he assured Prince Adigun.

The Prince shook his head, waved his finger and replied, "You should be careful what you wish for, old man".

General Sola motioned forward, but Prince Adigun held the man back with his hand. "If you must interfere, it should be against any of his men who tries to get involved in the fight".

The main prize was his, and while the King was close to sixty years in age, and which was almost double of Prince Adigun's, it didn't matter to the latter.

"Prepare yourself", Prince Adigun cackled annoyingly while he charged ahead.

His first strike clashed with the King's blade, barley missing his face as the elderly warrior danced across the field without showing any signs of being slowed down by age or even remotely looking rusty from war. He glided, slid and danced across like a free butterfly on a field filled with rose petals. His strikes were equally good and often forced Prince Adigun backwards.

Loud sighs and cheers erupted intermittently while the duo fought and soon enough, Prince Adigun's men began to draw closer in the distance as they laid waste to their enemies.

"Maybe some years ago, you might have been able to stand a chance against me", Prince Adigun said t the King while he rammed his foot into the elderly man's chest and sent him sprawling backwards.