Chapter 15
"In those days I learned that nothing is more frightening
than a hero who lives to tell his story, to tell what all those who fell at his
side will never be able to tell." Carlos Ruiz Zafn, The Shadow of the Wind
He stood alone, drenched in blood and although sweat poured down his wounded body,it just could not wash away the blood that welled up from the cuts and gashes in his body.The blood from his wounds mixed with the blood from his enemies that had splattered on him,when he had chopped their heads off and like many streams running down a hill they ran down and formed a puddle at his feet. He stared at the blood in amazement and wondered at the color for he could not differentiate between his blood and the blood of his enemies. But it was the pain that he felt deep inside his soul that hurt him the most and he knew that there would be no cure or balm for that pain and he also knew that there would be no end to all the killing which he would be doing. A gentle breeze lifted his long hair and they fluttered like flags behind him and he heard her whisper and her lullaby. He turned his face to the east and heard his blind mother's soft voice singing for him and he smiled gently as he felt better.He looked at his left forearm and tried again to make sense of the weird designs that he had been born with and shrugging his shoulders in frustration walked towards his village using the huge spear as a crutch.
The hundreds of bodies that lay without heads, limbs and most importantly now lay still in death were covered by birds of prey and beasts that scavenged and it looked like someone had thrown a blanket of fur and feathers over the clearing. The old man stood hidden among the trees and cried for the boy and he cried for all the men who had lost their lives and now lay as a feast for birds and beasts. He watched the boy as he disappeared into the distance and realised that he looked like mahakala who had descended from the heavens to do his job, the job of death and destruction.
Swarnat Vijaya Vidmahe
Sula Hastaya Dhimahi
Tanno Kala Bhairavaya Prachodayat
Fire in the mountain,run,run
The sun was now high in the sky and slowly clouds gathered and a strong breeze started blowing from the east. The tall man in white and the huge dog leaped on to the top of the mountain and both Periaya swamy and the giant froze for a second seeing them both and in that second, like light both man and dog put themselves in between the chief and the giant and the shackled sadashivam and Palam swamy.
Periya swamy for the first time in all of the 85 years that he had breathed the air of this land felt a strange sensation running through his mind and body.But he and all who lived in Perumalpuram had sworn to protect the village and its legacy from all enemies and had been trained and prepared to lay down their lives for it.He looked at the stranger and said in anger ' you have broken our laws and have crossed boundaries that are sacred and so your life is forfeit. Now lay down your weapons and surrender or you will surely die here along with these men.'
The tall man's face was covered in a white cloth and only his eyes could be seen and they blazed with a strange light and with the power of the sun. He looked calmly at periya swamy and said ' My life may be forfeit but i will not allow these innocent men to be slaughtered and will not stand still and see innocent blood stain this land. So let them go and i will surrender.'
By now Periaya swamy was totally enraged and he screamed at the giant 'Theeran,kill this infidel who has dared to enter our village and chop his legs for stepping into this sacred mountain.'
Theeran roared in anger and swinging the mighty sword jumped towards the tall man who calmly and with a smile looked at buddha ' relax my friend,i have got this.'
Buddha opened his mouth and yawned and lay down and turned towards sadashivam and periyaswamy and closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Sadashivam stared at buddha and thought ' my god, here we are going to be killed and this dog is taking a nap.It looks like those cartoon channels are affecting the dogs also and no wonder this mutt is behaving like dogs do in TOM and JERRY cartoons.' He turned to see Palam swamy who also seemed strangely calm and relieved upon seeing the stranger.
Dheeran charged at the stranger who stood calmly and just when dheeran's huge sword flung at him, side stepped and let the giant run past him. Gathering himself dheeran charged again and this time the stranger flicked his left shoulder and the shield which lay on his back jumped up and took the brunt of the dheeran's blow.To the astonishment of all three men,it was dheeran who was flung back and who fell to the ground,while the stranger stood still with his eyes full of smiles.
The blow which dheeran had just struck at the stranger could have cut a wild buffalo in two pieces and yet here the man stood still and dheeran lay on the ground in shock and for the first time in his life feeling fear,a feeling he had never felt before.He turned to periaya swamy who was by now at his wits end and it was not only them watching for all the villagers had crept up to see this battle and now stood shocked and astonished.
Periaya swamy whispered ' stranger,who are you. reveal yourself.'
The tall stranger flicked the huge shield onto his back and stood with the huge spear in his right hand and buddha came to his left side and the man bent down and stroked the dog's huge head.The white cloth covering the man's left forearm stretched back and Periaya swamy and dheeran saw the markings and felt their bodies tremble in fear and in faith.
Periaya swamy's body trembled as the legend and the stories raced through his memory and he repeated ' please,tell us who you are.'
The tall man's eyes smiled and he turned his back to sadashivam and palam swamy and faced periaya swamy, dheeran and all the villagers and slowly removed the white cloth that covered his face.Then he took the conch that hung on his waist and placing it in his lips,blew and the noise was as loud as thunder and then from deep in the forest, everyone there heard the roar of a lion and it roared loud and long.
Periaya swamy's eyes filled with tears and with a trembling voice he murmured ' who,what,it cannot be.that lion has never been seen and it is supposed to roar only when the legend returns to our village.so who are you.are you the one ?'
The man smiled and said ' I,We have been called many names.Pakalon,Maasilan,Kathiravan,Meykandan,Koman,Nikaran.I could go on but you can call me Kavin.'
A huge roar filled the air and Periya swamy,dheeran and all the villagers fell to their knees and bowed low touching their forehead to the ground.everyone's eyes were filled with tears and they stared at the legend they had worshipped and prayed for centuries.
Sadashivam was really frustrated now and desperately wanted to see who this man was and right then the man covered his face and turned towards sadashivam and then signaled to dheeran,who ran and untied the chains that shackled both men.
The tall man gently apologised for what had happened and requested both sadashivam and Palam swamy to forgive him and the villagers for the trouble that had been put through.
He placed his left arm on sadashivam's shoulder and said ' all your questions will be answered at first light tomorrow morning, but for now rest and we will talk soon.'
Periaya swamy asked dheeran to take them down to the village and they left and only he and Kavin stood on the mountain.
Kavin took out a slim looking phone out of his pouch and whispered something and a few minutes later, they heard the helicopter taking off and vanishing into the distance.
Kavin slowly sat down on a boulder and looked at periaya swamy and said ' The secrets all of us have been guarding are being threatened. The paintings and sketches were released with a purpose to lure me out and trap me. We have to be on our guard from now on, so please see to it that more eyes are watching for activity in the forest.If it is absolutely necessary then i will do what has to be done.But for now leave me here for i need to be on my own this night,on this mountain and think and plan on what has to be done.'
But I set fire to the rain,
Watched it pour as I touched your face,
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name!
ADELE-SET FIRE TO THE RAIN
If you stay in Larissa, you will find peace. You will find a wonderful woman, and you will have sons and daughters, who will have children. And they'll all love you and remember your name. But when your children are dead, and their children after them, your name will be lost. If you go to Troy, glory will be yours. They will write stories about your victories for thousands of years and the world will honor your name. But if you go to Troy, you will never come back, for your glory walks hand-in-hand with your doom. And I shall never see you again. Thetis, to her son Achilles.
I am fire and i am water. I am hell and i am heaven and i will bring peace to you.
The boy who went into the dark and came back with light.
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