The Cloud Of the Princess Part 1 - Chapter 16

A Day before Sembaruthi and her gang of girls started to Araimedu from the Durga temple, Dhalapathi Maithreyan and King Kunjidhapadhanaar were discussing about the mysterious message that the king had received the previous day. Dhalapathi Maithreyan had looked from different angles the possible reasons for the arrival of the message and finally said

“Whatever we have discussed so far are problems on the south of Asuragiri. But we may never know if someone from the unknown land on the other side of Asuragiri has sent this message. And if that is the case, then we are absolutely naked to the solutions my lord”

The King was shocked to hear this at first. Though something at the back of his mind had suggested that there could a slight possibility for problems from the other side of Asuragiri, his senses somehow refused to accept it. There was always an aura of mystery on the foothills of Asuragiri. Common people did not live right on the bottom of the mountain. They lived at least a distance of two villages apart. So this part of Pavazhanadu, right below the mountain looked more or less like a forest.

Thick thorny bushes that had grown without leaving a gap in between, huge trees that prevented sun’s rays from entering in, forest monkeys jumping from tree to tree, venomous reptiles moving silently between bushes were the only inhabitants of this location. There were thousands of tall trees all over and it was said locally that some or the other adventure monger who once in every while tried to cross this place never ever returned back. It was also a known fact for the common man that this place was fertile a century ago and was purposefully converted into a death zone by King Aadhirayan who had founded Pavazhanaadu. Nobody these days even dared to go near Asuragiri. There were two reasons for it. One was the simple reason that people who had gone there before never came back. The second reason was that, in Padmanabar’s rule, an army training base was setup right after the area of the forest and no common man was allowed to even enter into it. This way Padmanabar, the father of Kunjidhapadhanaar not only prevented the unnecessary loss of human lives because of the death zone but also found a safe and comfortable place for the King’s special army to hone their war skills.

The Special army had three main jobs. The Primary job was of course to practice the art of fighting. The other two jobs were considered more important and a few selected officials were appointed to carry it out. The second job was to make sure nobody from Pavazhanaadu passed to the other side of the army base into the foothills of Asuragiri. The third job was to make sure there was nobody who came in from the other side of Asuragiri into Pavazhanaadu. There was a problem with this job though. Since it was very difficult even for the army men to penetrate into the thick forests below Asuragiri, there was no way to know if someone came from the other side. Moreover the secret tunnel that Aadhirayan had built more than a century back was now totally inaccessible. During Aadhirayan’s rule, there was a narrow path in the middle of the forest known only to very few men through which the tunnel could be reached. So there was a small group of army men always guarding the closed tunnel. King after King had made sure there were army men guarding the tunnel. But towards the end of Padmanabar’s rule, a totally unexpected problem occurred. A mighty earthquake occurred at different parts of the Kingdom and the forest below Asuragiri was one among those terribly affected. Hundreds of tall trees had fallen down over each other entirely blocking the path towards the tunnel. So there was no way by which the tunnel could be reached. That was the reason Padmanabar had come up with this idea of setting up the army base just after the forest region so that it served more than one purpose.

Kunjidhapadhanaar had followed Padmanabar’s implementation and the army base still stayed near Asuragiri. But the hold over the tunnel had ceased the moment the earthquake occurred and the army though was trying to make sure nobody came from the other side, did not have the least idea if the tunnel was still in tact or had opened up due to the earthquake!

The history behind the Asuragiri came into Kunjidhapadhanaar’s mind in a flash on hearing Maithreyan’s words. The King now looked into the Dhalapadhi’s eyes and roared like a wounded lion.

“Dhalapadhi… Do you mean to say that the tunnel could have opened up now? That would mean disaster to this land Dhalapadhi… This land needs to be saved!I can’t bear the insult of losing this land that had been worshipped and revered like god for hundred and fifty years now by all my predecessors. Till the last drop of my blood sticks to my skin, I would fight for this eternal land Dhalapadhi…. Go immediately…. warn the army near Asuragiri… let them prepare for a war… Destroy the forest that blocks our way to the tunnel. Destroy the trees, destroy the animals, and destroy everything there. Let that place become as barren as a graveyard. We need to find out and kill our enemies Dhalapadhi… We can’t sit here, relax and discuss the politics of the possibilities of the source of this mysterious message. I am sure it is the Kingdom on the other side of Asuragiri that has sent us this bold warning. It may be the Madhavas. It may be anybody else. But let us not wait to see the face of the enemy before we sharpen our swords. Let the war bells ring. Let all the armies from all over the Kingdom gather near Asuragiri. Let us shock the enemy. Let our swords pass into his throat before his eye falls on our face. Prepare everyone. This Sorga Bhoomi will see a war for the second time. This time it MUST have a result. It is either victory or a courageous defeat. This is the only way we can pay respect to this land that has been the homes for millions of us for more than a century. Rise up! Unite! Let us go for the kill.”

The King was sweating now and he had almost up from his throne. The Dhalapadhi had never seen the King speak so furiously. He was shocked and his expression clearly indicated it. There was a silence for a minute. The ferocious words of the King were still echoing between the ceiling and the floor. The Dhalapadhi rose up from his chair, walked across with his hands tied behind. The King was looking at him like a madman who had been beaten up for reasons he did not know.

The Dhalapadhi turned and spoke.

“Ayya…I need you to listen to me carefully. From what I hear from my different secret sources, even I am strongly under the impression that this message has come from the outside world. But there is no reason to ring the war bells immediately. The method they are handling is very different and from what I can think of, this is a calculated move they have made. They are looking at the chances for a war in the future. That is for sure. But if the wanted to wage a war, why would they send a secret message through an unreliable source. They would have either sent a messenger to us or would have blasted in with their army without prior information. This message is something very serious. It means they are aiming for something more than just a war. They may not even wage a war if they get that something from us. But what that something is, I have no clue off. If in case, it is something we don’t lose by giving, we might just not end up having a war after all. So if we make our armies alert now, we are just making them doubly alert. We need to go in their way and find out what they are up to. And as I told you before, I have made a few arrangements to find out the exact mystery behind the whole developments that have taken place”

The King’s breath settled down. He looked with surprise at the Dhalapadhi.

“Aah… I am confused Dhalapadhi… I am really confused. If you are just going to tell me that you have made arrangements but never tell me what they are, how would I be able to come to a conclusion? Tell me at this moment about the arrangements that you have made to find out the problems surrounding us”

The Dhalapadhi came nearer and started to speak. At that moment both the men heard some noise and turned towards the door. A Soldier came running in. His face was eaten up by terror. He was profusely sweating and his hands were shivering.

The King commanded in a rough voice

“What brings you here when I have ordered everybody out? And why are looking like a fool?”

The Soldier stood like a stone without answering.

The Dhalapadhi spoke.

“Ayya… He is my soldier. Let me check what has happened.” He turned towards the soldier and asked

“What has happened Maanickam? Were you not supposed to be guarding the prison now? Is there some problem there?”

The Soldier replied with a trembling voice.

“ Big Problem Ayya. A ‘Kolaiveeran’ has emerged today among the prisoners in the underground prison after three years. He commands dismissal. And he is continuously blabbing something that I don’t understand but feel is very important”

The Dhalapadhi was shocked to hear that.

‘Kolaiveeran’ was a disturbing concept found out by Aadhirayan and practiced in Pavazhanaadu. It was actually a term given to one prisoner who manages to kill all other prisoners in his prison and emerges out alive. Such a prisoner was normally let out of the prison and in most cases made to join the royal army as a token of acknowledgement for his bravery and skills. The underground prison these days had at least two hundred prisoners and it was very rare for one to emerge out successful. There were only few cases of ‘KolaiVeerans’ emerging out thorughout the history of Pavazhanaadu and in all those cases there had been less than fifty prisoners at a time. The recent imprisonment of hundreds of people for alcohol consumption had made many to go to the underground prison and so the count had raised to around two hundred. So to imagine one killing everybody else and coming out successful was astonishing and at the same time shocking for the Dhalapadhi.

He asked the Soldier still not recovering from the shock.

“Who is he? And what is he blabbing continuously? “

The Soldier fear increased as he spoke the sentence. He trembled for words and finally managed,

“He is Kangeyan from Araimedu and he says that Pavazhanadu will be destroyed very soon by the cloud of the princess!!!”