DIVINE CHAMPIONS 6: A FINAL CONFLICT

AIR-WATER: AIR BORN

All Aitri felt as she walked through the rainbow portal was a nice breeze, something that would very pleasant in the intense Indian summer heat. A few seconds later, she landed on hard ground, strong as wood. So, the Greek goddess of rainbows had teleported them as close to their destination as she could. Aitri felt grateful to the Greeks for being so welcoming, and silently prayed to all gods she followed that her other friends also met the same welcoming attitude when they reached Vespasa. She could barely trust a native American tribe, famous for being savage. She conveyed that to her boyfriend beside him, who was now putting a little bandage on her knee. Had he not touched it, Aitri had not even realized the cut she had gotten during the landing on her knee. It was bleeding slightly. To her concern, Rishi seemed cross.

"Problem with people, specially us Asians, is that we believe exactly what we are made to believe. There has never been any local report on Incas being vicious and savage. It's the history written up by colonizers who were pissed off about losing their territories."

"So, that is a lie?"

"You tell me." He said, "There was once a belief that India is a land of dark magic, where we have hermits who practice dark magic, and everything is controlled by them."

"Yeah, that is so stupid."

"Exactly." Rishi said, tying up her bandage perfectly, "Britishers spread that story in the West. They even spread that the problems regarding Kashmir was because of some religious movements in India. During the colonial rule."

"Whoa!" Aitri's body heated up in defensive emotions, "Utter nonsense."

"Yeah? Was it as what they said? Or did they start dividing us on the basis of the religion so that they could rule longer?"

"They divided us, prompting that bloody partition."

"Exactly." Rishi said, before putting his hand around Aitri's shoulder, "Here, let me support you."

Aitri realized that she would need a while to heal herself, and the loss of blood might have been a problem. So, she let Rishi support her as she walked. "You think they'll be alright?"

"I sent three of my bravest acquaintances to Vespasa, a town massively indebted one of their ancestor. I think they'll be fine." Rishi said, with a reassuring smile.

The two walked through the narrow channels of paths that lay in front of them. The paths were that of Yggdrasil's branches, and they were rough. Plus, they were surrounded by leaves and bushes. With every step, the wind grew stronger. As they neared a little downward incline in the branches, the wind had taken a powerful speed, its resistance increasing. The surroundings shrieked, and Rishi held Aitri's hand tightly, as they stared at the inclination. The sky above was getting overcast. Aitri removed her bandage, and stretched her healed legs. Then, holding Rishi's hand tightly, the two slid down the inclination. They landed on a leafy field, which was also inclined, but upwards. And it was here where the air spoke.

The air shrieked around Aitri, whispering to her something gibberish. Even Rishi seemed to have heard it. The winds caught speed again, getting faster even more. Rishi looked around, and shouted, "I think we are not welcome here."

"Hold on." Aitri said, understanding the intention of the winds well, "If we were not welcome, we would have been pushed back. The air is noisy, but it ain't pushing just yet."

And just as she had said, the wind got slower after a minute. The two looked around, and found a big circle of white light illuminating the place despite the overcast conditions. And then, out of the blue, a squeaky voice came, "In your face, Nidhogg. You are overgrown and hairy. Don't they cut hairs where you live?" Rishi looked at Aitri and said, "Got him."