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I fought hard to not lose my consciousness. I felt the spirit of my grandmother aiding me by lending some light. But it was feeble and light. I felt drained from the effort and realised with a shock that I didn't know what my power was since light wasn't responding to my need.
I felt something scrape my hand. I stared at the star that seemed to be twinkling in my hand. I didn't remember picking it up. I couldn't even remember where I had kept it and yet here it was. I looked around me and realised that I was in a teleportal and the voice that had beckoned me had vanished. But I felt that I was heading towards whoever had called me. I felt fear for the first time in the truest sense. I was alone and this reeked of a kidnap. When I could protect an entire army, how was I so weak and vulnerable when it came to my own safety?
And I was supposed to be in a safe house...
The darkness vanished to reveal a blindingly golden light. I shielded my eyes and felt my skin almost melting in the heat. But slowly I felt coolness cover me, emanating from the star in my hand. I felt shielded by an indescribable aura. A being materialised in front of me. Tall, broad and majestic he emanated power and dignity. I know it was a he, but not because he looked like any of the men or male prabhas I had met. Then he took a familiar masculine form as if he could read thoughts and knew of my dilemma.
He grinned and spoke, his voice deep and alluring. "So, this is the new Shakti?" The way he inspected me made me cringe. "I expected someone more formidable. Should I even bother jailing you?" he raised an eyebrow in a fashion that showed he had never used that expression.
"You can try," I said with false bravado, hoping that the star knew its job.
He guffawed and snapped his fingers. I found myself bound and in a cramped, stinky cell. The first few minutes, it took up all my energy to just stop myself from crying. I wondered why my star had been unable to protect me from this ignominy when I heard my name being called again and a little more urgently. I was baffled and also, felt like a fool. Of course, whoever this Alpha Male of the Daits was, he didn't need to call me like a man in distress to get me here. Then who was calling, where was he and how did I get trapped here?
I tried a few more times to break free but now the heat was getting to me and these were no ordinary ropes (as if I could have broken free otherwise). The effort was only draining me further. I slumped and felt sweat pouring out like a jet stream. My star and light seemed to have faded out exhausted too. I needed wind, water, ice... I heard my name again, more feeble, but definitely there.
I had always been very casual in my classes, sure that I was being taught irrelevant stuff. And much of it was. What was the use of learning sword fight if my hands weren't free? Or learning charms if your mouth was gagged? They had to be chanted aloud. This was no crude cloth stuffed hurriedly. All it took was a snapping of fingers, but seeing me, anybody would think I had been packed on a very leisurely day.
The only other thing the taught me was to meditate, and of course, I needed all the calm, but I may become truly spiritual with my body completely gone.
The urgent voice started pounding in my head. It was too much to bear in this infernal heat. I closed my eyes in frustration and desperation, took a deep breath and let myself go. I was standing in front of my mother, who was busy in the school training young fire wielders. She looked younger. Though it was just about a fortnight since I had left home, I ached to hug her. I saw a young girl watching my mother eagerly and realised that that was me, and I recalled the scene from a few years ago. I had been playing truant and had stumbled into this class meant only for fire wielders. As she turned in an arc, the flame following her, a young boy tried the same. Though he was also a fire wielder, he had not yet mastered the art and was a danger to himself and others. He almost set a girl on fire. My mother nimbly stepped forward, pushed the girl away and pulled the fire into her hand.
"Sometimes you will injure an innocent bystander with your fire. When there are many fire wielders in one place, the temperature can rise to unbearable levels for the wielders of other powers. It can dry them up, or they may end up dousing your fire. Any idea how you can make sure your friends and family don't burn down or melt away because of you? Or that your fire doesn't fizzle out?"
The students watched her with great interest. I was watching too. And now, all the more, hoping the memory didn't break off at some crucial point. She created a small flame, a candle flame. "See the black part? That's the coolest. In a flame, of course, the cool is not cool enough, but you have to focus on that. You have to master balancing the hot and the cold parts so that you don't burn friends and foes alike. We will learn that in the next class, now continue practicing the arc without hurting anyone."
"What about not fizzling out?" the boy asked.
But I was out of the class before she could answer and back to this sweltering inferno with that voice pounding in my ears. A fat lot of good learning that lesson did to me. I looked around me again and realised that I was already in the coolest part. I was in a dark cell, and though still hot, I had not died yet. I had been placed here as a prisoner and not to with the intention to kill me. It was probably useless information, but till there is life, there is hope and where there is hope, a way was bound to emerge.
I concentrated on the voice and tried meditating again. The star twinkled as if it was waiting for me to realise this. Slowly it lit a path and though physically I didn't move, I was heading somewhere. In no time, I was in another dark cell and saw a prone figure. He was definitely a Prabhas and on his way out of the world of living to join whichever spiritual world he belonged to. Something about him was very familiar. "Shakti," he said feebly and managed a smile. My mother's face flashed in my mind and I could see the resemblance now. "The prince... beware... danger," he mumbled. "Don't trust..." he gasped and continued, "Manas... Escape not... possible..." He beckoned weakly and I moved closer. His cold hand clutched mine and I realised he was transferring the cold to me... Whatever remained. And then, he was gone. His body remained on the floor, but I felt his spirit glowing inside me. I was back in my cell, still bound, but felt the power of ice inside me and my light returned joyously. The star was back in my grasp and the light from it slowly removed the bonds like a diamond cutting iron. Why hadn't this happened earlier, I wondered. Maybe my energy and it were deeply connected. Once free, with the cold protecting me and the light guiding me, I followed the star out of Mars. Though I felt an urge to turn towards Pluto, I knew I had to reach Earth first and find out more about the powers and how to channel them.
But the path back was riddled with hurdles. Hadn't it been for the star, I would have lost my way. The star wound its way through deftly with me in tow and we reached my room. I won't call it the safety of my room for the recent kidnapping had proved that it wasn't safe.
I ran to the sanctum sanctorum of Lord, Our Creator, and tried to piece together the puzzling statement of the Prabhas I had just met. I couldn't remember it all and not in the sequence he had spoken. But the impression it made on me was - the prince was in danger and that I had to be careful of Manas. The man's face flashed in my mind clearly for a second before it became fluid and changeable, but now the resemblance to my mother was clear. The way my heart wept, I knew why. So my father wasn't wrong. Manas was behind my uncle's - not death, incarceration. I was sobbing now, not me, of course, but the sorrow came from deep within, from the two beings who had transferred all their energies to me, my family, bound to each other and me with love.
I swore I will avenge the betrayal.
(Click here for the next chapter)
I fought hard to not lose my consciousness. I felt the spirit of my grandmother aiding me by lending some light. But it was feeble and light. I felt drained from the effort and realised with a shock that I didn't know what my power was since light wasn't responding to my need.
I felt something scrape my hand. I stared at the star that seemed to be twinkling in my hand. I didn't remember picking it up. I couldn't even remember where I had kept it and yet here it was. I looked around me and realised that I was in a teleportal and the voice that had beckoned me had vanished. But I felt that I was heading towards whoever had called me. I felt fear for the first time in the truest sense. I was alone and this reeked of a kidnap. When I could protect an entire army, how was I so weak and vulnerable when it came to my own safety?
And I was supposed to be in a safe house...
The darkness vanished to reveal a blindingly golden light. I shielded my eyes and felt my skin almost melting in the heat. But slowly I felt coolness cover me, emanating from the star in my hand. I felt shielded by an indescribable aura. A being materialised in front of me. Tall, broad and majestic he emanated power and dignity. I know it was a he, but not because he looked like any of the men or male prabhas I had met. Then he took a familiar masculine form as if he could read thoughts and knew of my dilemma.
He grinned and spoke, his voice deep and alluring. "So, this is the new Shakti?" The way he inspected me made me cringe. "I expected someone more formidable. Should I even bother jailing you?" he raised an eyebrow in a fashion that showed he had never used that expression.
"You can try," I said with false bravado, hoping that the star knew its job.
He guffawed and snapped his fingers. I found myself bound and in a cramped, stinky cell. The first few minutes, it took up all my energy to just stop myself from crying. I wondered why my star had been unable to protect me from this ignominy when I heard my name being called again and a little more urgently. I was baffled and also, felt like a fool. Of course, whoever this Alpha Male of the Daits was, he didn't need to call me like a man in distress to get me here. Then who was calling, where was he and how did I get trapped here?
I tried a few more times to break free but now the heat was getting to me and these were no ordinary ropes (as if I could have broken free otherwise). The effort was only draining me further. I slumped and felt sweat pouring out like a jet stream. My star and light seemed to have faded out exhausted too. I needed wind, water, ice... I heard my name again, more feeble, but definitely there.
I had always been very casual in my classes, sure that I was being taught irrelevant stuff. And much of it was. What was the use of learning sword fight if my hands weren't free? Or learning charms if your mouth was gagged? They had to be chanted aloud. This was no crude cloth stuffed hurriedly. All it took was a snapping of fingers, but seeing me, anybody would think I had been packed on a very leisurely day.
The only other thing the taught me was to meditate, and of course, I needed all the calm, but I may become truly spiritual with my body completely gone.
The urgent voice started pounding in my head. It was too much to bear in this infernal heat. I closed my eyes in frustration and desperation, took a deep breath and let myself go. I was standing in front of my mother, who was busy in the school training young fire wielders. She looked younger. Though it was just about a fortnight since I had left home, I ached to hug her. I saw a young girl watching my mother eagerly and realised that that was me, and I recalled the scene from a few years ago. I had been playing truant and had stumbled into this class meant only for fire wielders. As she turned in an arc, the flame following her, a young boy tried the same. Though he was also a fire wielder, he had not yet mastered the art and was a danger to himself and others. He almost set a girl on fire. My mother nimbly stepped forward, pushed the girl away and pulled the fire into her hand.
"Sometimes you will injure an innocent bystander with your fire. When there are many fire wielders in one place, the temperature can rise to unbearable levels for the wielders of other powers. It can dry them up, or they may end up dousing your fire. Any idea how you can make sure your friends and family don't burn down or melt away because of you? Or that your fire doesn't fizzle out?"
The students watched her with great interest. I was watching too. And now, all the more, hoping the memory didn't break off at some crucial point. She created a small flame, a candle flame. "See the black part? That's the coolest. In a flame, of course, the cool is not cool enough, but you have to focus on that. You have to master balancing the hot and the cold parts so that you don't burn friends and foes alike. We will learn that in the next class, now continue practicing the arc without hurting anyone."
"What about not fizzling out?" the boy asked.
But I was out of the class before she could answer and back to this sweltering inferno with that voice pounding in my ears. A fat lot of good learning that lesson did to me. I looked around me again and realised that I was already in the coolest part. I was in a dark cell, and though still hot, I had not died yet. I had been placed here as a prisoner and not to with the intention to kill me. It was probably useless information, but till there is life, there is hope and where there is hope, a way was bound to emerge.
I concentrated on the voice and tried meditating again. The star twinkled as if it was waiting for me to realise this. Slowly it lit a path and though physically I didn't move, I was heading somewhere. In no time, I was in another dark cell and saw a prone figure. He was definitely a Prabhas and on his way out of the world of living to join whichever spiritual world he belonged to. Something about him was very familiar. "Shakti," he said feebly and managed a smile. My mother's face flashed in my mind and I could see the resemblance now. "The prince... beware... danger," he mumbled. "Don't trust..." he gasped and continued, "Manas... Escape not... possible..." He beckoned weakly and I moved closer. His cold hand clutched mine and I realised he was transferring the cold to me... Whatever remained. And then, he was gone. His body remained on the floor, but I felt his spirit glowing inside me. I was back in my cell, still bound, but felt the power of ice inside me and my light returned joyously. The star was back in my grasp and the light from it slowly removed the bonds like a diamond cutting iron. Why hadn't this happened earlier, I wondered. Maybe my energy and it were deeply connected. Once free, with the cold protecting me and the light guiding me, I followed the star out of Mars. Though I felt an urge to turn towards Pluto, I knew I had to reach Earth first and find out more about the powers and how to channel them.
But the path back was riddled with hurdles. Hadn't it been for the star, I would have lost my way. The star wound its way through deftly with me in tow and we reached my room. I won't call it the safety of my room for the recent kidnapping had proved that it wasn't safe.
I ran to the sanctum sanctorum of Lord, Our Creator, and tried to piece together the puzzling statement of the Prabhas I had just met. I couldn't remember it all and not in the sequence he had spoken. But the impression it made on me was - the prince was in danger and that I had to be careful of Manas. The man's face flashed in my mind clearly for a second before it became fluid and changeable, but now the resemblance to my mother was clear. The way my heart wept, I knew why. So my father wasn't wrong. Manas was behind my uncle's - not death, incarceration. I was sobbing now, not me, of course, but the sorrow came from deep within, from the two beings who had transferred all their energies to me, my family, bound to each other and me with love.
I swore I will avenge the betrayal.
(Click here for the next chapter)
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