The Son of River Ponni

Sandy Shores

Vanthiyathevan quickly got out of bed and ran out onto the deck. He saw Arulmozhi walking towards him and gesturing hurriedly to the watchpost. Vanthiyathevan almost ran to the ladder leading up to the watchpost and climbed up behind the prince.

From the top, where a tiny platform had been built, they could indeed see the tall trees and sandy beaches on the horizon. They just stood there, awestruck at the fact that they had reached, for a while and then turned to each other and embraced each other.

Then, Vanthiyathevan looked down at the deck and yelled, "Soldiers, arm yourself." He grinned. "We have reached."

***

They leapt out of the small boat onto the sandy shore, still digesting the fact that they were now on lands where no Chozha had ever gone before. Vanthiyathevan had been a bit skeptical about the captain's promise to deliver them to the islands at least a month before the rainy season started off, so that they could at least capture the port city of Lamuri and establish a base for receiving and stocking up on supplies to take over the rest of the island.

They had had a chat with the captain about their course of action from hereon in and as he had informed them that as said earlier, the rainy season was not expected for another month, but after the rain started, it would render war impossible for the next couple of months. He had also told them that the ocean was not deep enough to allow the large ships to go all the way to the shore. Rather, they would have to be anchored a little distance off, and then they would have to use boats to reach the shore.

The prince then proposed that one boat carrying himself, Vanthiyathevan, two soldiers and a navigator go on shore to make sure that there were no enemies lying in wait and to assess the best location to set up camp. The captain was clearly not happy at the lack of security that the prince wanted to take with him, but agreed reluctantly after some argument.

They walked around marveling at the scenic beauty of the place that was enough to calm any worried or anxious mind. After exploring the area for some time, they decided on a large empty patch of sand as the best location to set up camp. Surrounded on three sides by tall trees and the ocean on the fourth, it would be impossible to locate the camp without revealing one's position. The prince decided to take a rest on the sandy beach for some time before rowing back. Vanthiyathevan sat next to him.

"Well Vanthiyatheva, what do you think about this beautiful place?"

"Ayya, what more can I say that your eyes cannot see? I am at a loss of words to describe the beauty of this paradise on earth. This probably looks better than the island of Ilangai, spectacular as Ilangai is."

"Oh, is that so? So would you say that this country is more beautiful than the amazing Chozha Nadu, with all its lush green paddy fields and palm trees?"

"I would say it is, but isn't"

"Vanthiyatheva, have you lost your wits upon seeing this paradise? You can only give one answer."

"Ayya, I only said the truth. Just now, I told you that this country is more beautiful than Ilangai. However, since Ilangai is now also part of Chozha Nadu, which is a thousand times more beautiful than any place in the world, are both answers not correct?"

Arulmozhi laughed at the witty answer. "You are impossible to beat in a battle of words, my friend. Anyways, I am getting hungry now. If it is fine with all of you, we can go back to the ship now." The others agreed and they set off after the navigator had noted the location of the place.

They were famished by the time they reached back but Arulmozhi sent Vanthiyathevan to inform the captain of their findings. The captain gave a sigh of relief upon seeing them and he became even happier when Vanthiyathevan told him about the absolute lack of enemy movement and the perfect place for setting up camp that they had discovered. He was about to ask Vanthiyathevan to sit down and explain everything in more detail, when Vanthiyathevan, who suspected that the captain would attempt to do this, quickly took his leave and went downstairs to get some food.

After a delicious and stomach-filling meal, Arulmozhi decided to visit the other ships and update them on the situation and their plans. He also wanted Vanthiyathevan to prepare Arulmozhi's cabin for a meeting later that day to discuss the plans for battle. Vanthiyathevan agreed and saw the prince off as he boarded the small boat along with two oarsmen and set off.

He then decided to once again, stand for some time at the prow of the ship. Even though the ship was anchored, a cool breeze continued to wash over him, albeit at a lesser speed than earlier. He watched the thick forests in front of him with a feeling of pride in his heart. If someone had told him that he would be here as the confidant of Arulmozhi Varman a couple of years earlier, he would have laughed it off and called the person a fool. Yet, here he was.

Suddenly, he saw some birds flying out of the forest ahead. He tried to ascertain the cause of the disturbance that prompted the birds to behave thus, but was unsuccessful in doing so. His heart warned him of a potential danger, but his mind thought that it could be anything from a hunter to a broken branch that prompted this action. Vanthiyathevan decided to wait for some time and see if anything else happened and report it to the prince after he returned.

After an hour of waiting, nothing happened. Vanthiyathevan then saw the boat returning to their ship and hurriedly turned back to receive the prince. Once the prince was safely on board, Vanthiyathevan spared no time in updating the prince of all that happened as they went to the prince's cabin.

"I do not think it warrants much worry, Ayya. It was probably just a dead branch breaking off a tree or a hunter killing an animal."

"Are you sure about that, Vanthiyatheva? Based on your description, I believe that the commotion would be too large to be caused by either of the reasons you just mentioned. We cannot let any news of our arrival here reach the Srivijaya emperor, for he will fortify Lamuri immediately. Then it will be harder to capture it before the rains start."

"Ayya, if you wish, I could go into the forest and..."

"Certainly not! You are staying right here with me. If it is anything dangerous, I don't want to lose my companion. Saving you once was hard enough, you enough. Anyways, the other captains will be here soon. Let's get the map out.."

Just then, they heard a loud yell from the deck.

That's chapter two for you guys. I know there wasn't much action in this one, but it should set the base to leap out off, and prevent any plot holes later. By the way, thanks a lot for the votes, comments and reads. They encourage me to keep writing. Next chapter is on 24th (or earlier). Nandri!