Shakti- The Warrior Princess of Brahma

Chapter 2 Prince Aditya's Dream

Chapter 2      Prince Aditya's Dream

Prince Aditya woke up with a start. It was still the early hours of dawn. He had had a strange dream. He glanced around his room and stared at the small lantern burning at the far end of the room.

He was standing near a circle of fire. But strangely he wasn’t afraid of it. On the contrary, he was trying his best to get to the centre of the blazing flames. He had glimpsed a black figure there, crouching low on the ground. Leaping over the fire without hesitation, he had almost reached the dark figure when he woke up.

Rubbing his eyes he tried to clear away the last vestiges of sleep.Why would he want to leap inside a circle of fire? he thought. No man in his right mind would do that ! 

Who was the dark figure? Why did he feel the need to go to this figure? As strange as it may seem, he had felt something like tenderness towards the dark crouching body in the dream.

Dreams were not taken lightly in Naga. Dreams were considered to be windows to one's soul. Souls understood and felt things that the body failed to see. Dreams were signs from the Gods about how their lives lay ahead. Learned scholars and advisors could correctly interpret dreams and predict famines, wars, floods and even their deaths.

Prince Aditya made a mental note to talk to his counselor about the dream.However, he had a busy day ahead of him. Tomorrow was the Great Festival Of Agni, which was held every 100 years. Warriors and skilled swordsmen who had spend years preparing for this great event would be arriving from near and far to take part in the Agni Pareekshan or the Test of Fire, to earn the title of “Mahaveer” or the Bravest of Brave!

As Crown Prince, it was his duty to formally welcome all the high officials and royal guests who would be attending the festival and ensure that they are comfortably settled. He would also be taking part along with his handpicked warriors in the mock demonstration of the Test of Fire to be held in the evening.

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Princess Shakti meanwhile, was nearing the borders of Naga after travelling for many full moons through the heart of the Indian subcontinent. She ordered her small army to halt a few miles from the Nagan Kingdom and sent one of her trusted spies ahead to evaluate the situation there. During this time, they set up their camp in the thick woods away from the prying eyes of the Nagan soldiers in their high towers that circled the Kingdom.

It wasn’t unusual for competing warriors to set up camp outside the Kingdom if they desired. The spy returned in an hour and reported to the Princess the going ons inside the walls.

Pleased with the report Princess Shakti mounted her faithful horse and set off to see Naga, the land where her forefathers predicted that her destiny lay.

As she approached the tall gates with the gigantic serpents carved into pillars on either side, she felt a sense of déjà vu. Had she been here before? she wondered.

“That’s impossible!” she thought, “I’ve never travelled so far up north.”

Had it been in her dreams? If she had never been here how is it that the sight of the gigantic serpent pillars made her feels a sense of familiarity? Why did she feel as if she had just arrived home after a very long journey? Shaking these feelings aside she entered through the gates.

For a moment, it seemed the guards were going to stop her and ask her to show her face but they did not. It wasn’t uncommon for warriors from other kingdoms to keep their faces covered fearing recognition and vengeance from old enemies. They only had to show their face if King Narasimha ordered them to. It also helped them to stay anonymous and saved them from embarrassment if they failed in the Test of Fire.

Sighing in relief she moved forward on her magnificent white mare. People were stopping to turn and stare at the gracious animal that was pure white like snow. An arab breed, it had been a gift to her father from a very wealthy Arab merchant in return for protection and help after a rough voyage at sea. 

“So much for not attracting attention!” thought Princess Shakti crossly, “I should have brought a different horse”.

But it was rather unthinkable for her to use another horse, as hers was much faster,stronger and more loyal unlike any other horse in the kingdom. So ignoring the stares and murmurs of awe around her she moved forward scanning the city and taking in the wonders of their architecture.

It looked as if the whole city had been cut out of a mountain, which was quite likely. The palace was at the extreme north. A huge lion sculpture arose from the centre and magnificent columns of towers ran along either sides.

“Narasimha, the bravest of all beasts and the King of the jungle”, thought Princess Shakti staring in wonder at the beauty of the handmade beast.

Suddenly there was a sound of hoof beats and horses rearing up. The crowd began to scatter to either side of the path and there could be seen a line of soldiers dragging a wild stallion towards the royal stables. The nearest to the rearing steed was a handsome young man who kept a tight hold on its reins.

Even from this distance Princess Shakti could see that this was no ordinary man. He was of royal blood as the serpent emblem on his coat of arms proclaimed.

“Prince Aditya”, thought the Princess smiling. He was known to be a gifted equestrian and his fame had reached as far south as Brahma.

At the moment he was valiantly trying to control the enraged horse as well as keep it from harming anyone in the way. The soldiers too had hold on ropes around its neck but clearly the magnificent beast was no match for them.

To the horror of the watching crowd the horse suddenly reared up, hitting the Prince squarely on his chest, toppled him off his horse, broke free from the hold of the soldiers and bolted towards the gates.

There was an endless procession of people entering through the gates. Vendors and merchants flanked both sides of the path but were now cowering behind their merchandise, fearing the wild beast's fury.

With dawning horror Princess Shakti realized that she was stuck among the mob and the angry stallion was heading straight towards..…HER!