The Fate of Apollo

Elephants, Arrogant God and Rescuer

THIRD PERSON POV:

The next morning the demigods assembled at the Gate of the Camp after breakfast. They were just saying their goodbyes to Chiron and Mr. D, when Apollo arrived in his Maserati, aka sun chariot. The Lord of Light steeped out of his car and called out, “Guys, come on. We're going to be late in saving the world.” He had a goofy grin like he had no care in the world.

He snapped his fingers to turn the car into a bigger one that could accommodate 7 demigods and 1 God comfortably. The demigods were nervous. They piled in the car, trying to keep themselves from hyperventilating. Suddenly Apollo stuck his head out and waved to the camp, “Goodbye everyone. See you after saving the world.” He offered them a mock salute and drove on.

The car leapt into the sky and acquired speed. The demigods were afraid to even look out as the trees were passing by in flashes. Percy was shaking. Will whispered to him, “Percy, are you alright? You don’t look well.” The son of Poseidon shrugged, “Zeus told me not to fly. I think he is gonna incinerate me soon.” Apollo chuckled and his laughter filled the car like sweet music, “Daddy dearest is not gonna fry you Perce. He knows very well that this quest cannot be completed without you. Now, would someone like to hear some music?” Nico took charge of the radio and in seconds, the radio blasted, “Summer of ‘69”.

When they reached the western border of Kashmir, the car came to a stop on a hill top covered with snow and alpine forests. “Get down. We are close. My horses wouldn’t go any further.” The got down as Apollo willed the car to change to his sun chariot again. The horses neighed so loudly that the demigods had all covered their ears to keep themselves form going deaf.
Apollo petted them for a while and they headed back to Olympus. Apollo commanded, “Boys, time to take disguise.” The eight lads (Apollo willed himself to look younger like the others to help them be recognised as a group of teenagers) took their disguise and were trekking towards the valley through the pine trees when suddenly they heard a trumpet.

Two elephants came out of the forests and stopped right in front of them. Travis whispered to Malcolm, “Are elephants supposed to be found in these cold forests?” But sadly, the son of Athena jabbed him in the stomach with his elbow and glared at him. Meanwhile the elephants circled the troupe. Then suddenly the female elephant started talking in Sanskrit, “Who are you? You smell different. Stronger, weirder smell than these boys.” She pointed to Apollo with her trunk.

Well, thanks to Hermes and his blessings, the demigods were able to understand what the elephant was talking about. Apollo bowed and replied, “I am Apollo, son of Zeus. A member of the Greek Olympian Council. These are some demigods. We need some help as there was a prophecy that the Doors of Death are opening in India. We need to take care of it. May I ask who you are with all respect?” The male elephant boomed, “I am Pushpadanta and that is Subhradanti. We are the two of the Astadiggajas who guard the North-West. Wait here. We just can’t let someone enter India so casually.” The elephant seemed to communicate with telepathy and the both of them closed their eyes. They glowed for a second and the glow vanished after that. Percy now spoke, “Apollo, what are they talking about?” “Well, as much as I know, the Hindu gods have 16 elephants employed to guard all the eight directions – north, south, east, west, north-east, north-west, south-east and south-west. They are two of them. Each direction has a male-female pair.” The son of Poseidon nodded but before he could say anything, another screech was heard as a shadow blocked the sunlight. A monstrous peacock landed next to the elephants and a person descended from the bird.

The elephants went down on their knees. The boy who had descended seemed to be in his late twenties at most. He patted the elephants on their heads, ushering them to get up. “What’s the matter? You know that I have a lot of duties”, the man seemed annoyed. The female elephant said, “Kumar, this person is intruding in our territory and is claiming that this is of utmost importance.” “We allow strangers to enter to see our heritage, do you not know that?” “I do, my Lord but they are not humans.” This seemed to have caught the attention of that person as he straight glared at Apollo. The Lord of Light matched his glare as the other man said, “I am Karthikeya, the Chief Army Commander of the Gods. What does a God of other origin want here? Did you not know that there exists a treaty that no gods are allowed to intrude in others’ territories?” Apollo explained the matter. After the explanation, the god still behaved like a spoiled brat, “If the doors of death open, that is your headache. Indians and Indian gods have nothing to do with it. Just get lost.”

Percy had had enough of that arrogancy. “Who do you think you are? Huh? You maybe the Commander something but I am challenging you to a duel. The one who wins gets his will.” And before the others could stop them, the clash began. The god was using his spear while Percy had his Riptide. Both the contestants were well-versed in their own weapons but Apollo could see that the other God was holding back. He knew that Indian gods are the oldest ones. Maybe the one standing in front of them is some more thousand years older than himself.

Suddenly the air filled with a melodious voice, “Narayan! Narayan!” Karthikeya disarmed Percy with a swift movement and bowed to the other person wearing saffron coloured clothes. “Maharshi, what is the matter?” “Kumar, you are becoming too hot headed these days. What did your father tell you about taking up random fights? Lord sent me with the task to rescue these young kiddos from you and send them on their way. And yes, I met Indra on the way. He is asking for your presence.” The other God rode away on his peacock. The hermit dismissed the elephants too and turned to face the demigods.

Percy was injured a bit. The hermit said, “My Lord has told you to visit the Mandakini river. Give that lad a sip of the water and he shall be cured. Lady Mandakini will give you the rest of the directions.” Before they could even thank him, the man left. Apollo glared at Percy, “Why are you so wilful?” The son of Poseidon smirked, “The sea cannot be restrained. Now, we should go to this river that man told.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

The man who appeared in a hermit's clothes is Narad. He is one of the seven Maharshis and is the messenger of the Gods. He should not be confused with Hermes. He had two works, conveying the messages of the gods and giving rise to misunderstanding among the gods too to prank them.

This much dose of Indian Mythology is enough for now. River Mandakini is another name for the Ganges.

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