Avantika And Her Quest

A Worried Father

I was startled out of the rituals by war cries and battle drums. I obliviously was engaged in the rituals when I was forced into reality. As I walked out, I only saw chaos everywhere. The servants were rushing into the inner quarters for safety, guards were everywhere trying to fortify the palace, and Suryakant was frantically issuing orders. Fear clawed at my heart and I grabbed at the wall for support. Had the day I had been dreading finally arrived? Suryakant grimly informed me that our boundary had been breached. The kingdom of Chetiya had declared war on us. Our soldiers were battling with all their might to protect their motherland, but it did not take my experienced eye or Suryakant's military prowess to know that Avanti was completely lost to us.

As a king who followed his dharma, I couldn't turn my back on my people in times of danger, so I prepared to ride to the battlefield in my armor. Some otherworldly force seemed to whisper that this may be my last battle. I wasn't scared for myself, I had lived my life righteously and wouldn't want to die any other way; protecting the land that had nurtured me, toughened me. I was scared for the kingdom, the King of Chetiya was known for his cruelty and for my daughter. She would have to grow up too soon but she had always been a precocious child and I believed in her abilities.

I stopped to say goodbye to my wife who was standing ready in her armor with the aarti. She smeared the Vermillion onto my forehead and gave me a content smile. She said, "we have lived a good life, Harsha; we have watched our daughter grow up into a fine woman. Now, she will take care of the kingdom."

"If we can save it," I said with a rueful smile knowing that nothing I could have said would keep her away from the battlefield. She just yelled a battle cry and mounted her horse. I followed her into battle. I won back by kingdom once with her on my side, and who knows maybe I could do it again. I just hoped Arjun was keeping my Avantika safe. My girl was a little too much like her mother: headstrong and reckless.

*****************

When we reached Avanti, it was too late. We had traveled at the fastest speed possible, yet we couldn't warn my father in time. I saw my father and mother riding into battle. Arjun followed me closely, and a deep foreboding settled in my heart and a fog of doom seemed to settle onto the battlefield.

I looked at my dad, who had just decapitated a man in front of me. I found it hard to believe that this gentle and caring man was capable of taking someone's life. He seemed to pause and look around for something. I knew my father well enough to know he was looking for me. At that moment, I decided to ride towards him. He looked at me as if all his prayer had been answered.

I entered the battlefield and saw a soldier rush towards me with a battle cry. I drew my sword and swung it at his neck. It was a clean strike and his head seemed to fly. I watched with horror as his blood splattered over me and his body seemed to stumble towards me before it fell. Suddenly, I was more aware of the screams that echoed in the battlefield and they seemed to embed themselves in my brain and the soldier's lifeless eyes seemed to promise to haunt me for the rest of eternity. I wasn't a stranger to fighting or injuries but I had never taken a life before. I stared at his lifeless body with horror as my brain processed what I had just done.

The whoosh of an arrow alerted me and pure adrenaline forced me to swing back with my sword at the ready. I saw that an enemy soldier was lying at my feet with Arjun's arrow embedded in his armor. I turned to look at Arjun whose face was set with worry and determination. We shared a look that conveyed our absolute trust in each other. Adrenaline and pure determination were the only things that kept me going. I fought my way between my father and Uncle Suryakant. In my peripheral vision, I saw Arjun shooting the enemy from a vantage point.

I quickly felt the battle turn hopeless, as our men were murdered from all sides. Not even a miracle could save Avanti now. The soldiers from the Chetiya Army had completely surrounded us.