The Story So Far: From not knowing what my power to knowing it was still not enough to win this battle against the Daits! What made them so strong and powerful? Why were we not able to get a decisive win?
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It was a draw and we couldn't continue like this. The war council sat glumly pondering on how to break out of this impasse. The king burst out with frustration, "If only we knew what rejuvenates them!"
I looked at him puzzled, only vaguely remembering that he had mentioned this before but not the details.
"Our warriors are fatigued but not the Daits, did you notice that?" he asked me more directly. I nodded. "I am surprised our Prabhats have survived for so long in this battle. Without a doubt, it is because of your power protecting us. But, they are tired and prone to making mistakes. Unless we are able to defeat the Daits decisively or find the secret of their elixir, we cannot last long," he said in unmistakable terms.
The Rajguru, the ministers important for war strategies and the military heads fell silent, unable to contribute in any significant way. "In all these years, haven't you been able to find out what that elixir is?" I ask in frustration. How could they just sit back throwing up their hands in defeat!
"We didn't have you," the Rajguru said. I should have been flattered but I only felt it was unfair. "What about our mind-readers? Isn't anyone as powerful as the Dait king to be able to..." I paused. If not the Dait king, surely some other Dait's mind would have been easy to read. Not all could be as powerful as he...
Something nagged me. I had to pause my thought to see what we had missed. "Why haven't we tried to capture any other Daits to find out about their secret elixir?" I demanded, still preoccupied. "Because the Dait king can create illusions and a 100 soldiers become 1000? Is that why we are actually not losing people, but only becoming weaker?" I looked at them, wondering if I was raving mad.
The council stared at me blankly. I paused, holding my breath, waiting for them to react.
"Yes... yes, of course..." The Rajguru whispered slowly after what looked like ages.
I took a deep breath and sat down. "Of course, this is just speculation," I said, realising there was no way to prove this and we wouldn't know how to counter it.
Or, maybe I did. "Tomorrow, let me go to the battlefield first." Such was the authority in my voice that the others silently agreed.
I couldn't wait for the morning. I waited as the armies assembled. The Dait king was right in the front as always. I had admired him for this, but now I understood better. This was not the real king. Nor, probably, the front soldiers, real. I went up to the front lines and faced him. I looked at the tall figure and moved closer slowly. The king smiled, "Are you going to surrender?" he asked. His voice was just as deep and booming as always, but I had seen the illusion on Mars and there was that emptiness in his eyes that was hard to miss if you knew what to look for.
I took my star out and sent it flying even as I lifted the platinum ring from my head and pointed it at the army.
The king vanished. The army was a strategic mix of real and illusory figures so that the army swelled but the front was not weak. My star destroyed the illusion and the ring absorbed the energy used to create the army.
I heard a roar. The Dait king emerged from the centre, furious and frustrated. I felt his anger seeping into me as he forced himself on to my mind to squeeze it, to drive me mad. I didn't resist. I stood with my eyes closed, letting the angry probe dig deeper and deeper. And then, I felt the rage enter my heart. I allowed it to enter my heart. I allowed it to build on the rage the Prabhas felt against the Daits. I allowed it to build on the anger the humans against those who were in the Daits' power and destroying earth. I let it build on how earth felt about the havoc wreaked by the Daits.
I felt it blaze in me. His anger and probing fuelled it further until I could keep my eyes closed no longer. They flew open and all the anger burst forth like a fire. The lightning that flashed across was, at this time, powered by the Dait king himself and it fell on him with full force.
The charred form of the Dait king slowly toppled to the floor. I crumpled to the floor exhausted and relieved.
The Prabhas army set out a loud cheer while the Daits, knowing this to be the end, quietly laid down their arms. With the prince also gone, who else could lead them?
As the Prabhas soldiers rounded the Daits up, I looked to the king for guidance on how to deal with them.
But he was looking at me. "It is your decision," he said.
"Please guide me," I insisted.
The king looked said thoughtfully, "Be guided by your conscience."
I sought Mother Earth's guidance. "You can see the future. What should I do?" I cried out in my mind.
"The future is already present and whatever action you take is how it is meant to be," she replied calmly.
Really! This is what she had to tell me?
I agonised between punishing them and letting them go. Because of them we were caught up in this stupid war, lost so many lives and earth became a living hell. Letting them go was no option.
The Dait army commander was brought to where I was. She met my eyes unflinchingly. We had fought several battles and she had shown her acumen as a warrior as well as a commander, earning my respect. For a moment, I could have laughed as I realised that I had wanted to impress her too, hoping to be admired the way I admired her!
I smiled, at the memory, not exactly at her. And she smiled back.
How could I order her to be punished after that? And for what? "I declare your army free," I said.
"We are without a king," she replied, surprising me. "We are without a prince too. And the queen wants to spend her days caring for her son."
"You are free to go anywhere so long as you do not cause any disturbance," I said sternly.
The commander was quiet for a moment. "If you would allow us to serve you, Queen," she said and went down on her knee. The other Daits followed suit, causing me some consternation and confusion. Could we trust them?
The entire Prabhas army stood watching, making me feel self-conscious.
"We are true to our word and promise to be your loyal subjects," she said as if reading my thoughts.
I bent down and touched her shoulders to raise her. "Keep your word and we shall live in peace," I said. "Keep your word and
The Daits were respectfully guided away to an enclosure after taking their arms away. For a promise alone is not enough to trust a wounded enemy.
But for now, peace returned. Prabhas learnt from the Daits how to travel around the universe and tolerate the extreme temperatures. We also learnt to create illusions. We taught the Daits to curb their emotions and not let envy colour their perceptions. We taught them to enjoy the bounty provided by nature without coveting it.
Yes, for now, peace reigned. But for how long and what when the next battle began? Will there be a new Shakti?
I felt Ma Shakti smiling somewhere from deep within. When the time comes, it will be revealed. Why think of it now?
Concluded
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