Nasteya Read online

  A handful of men stood in front of a million Daivyas. The ships had started to sail. Vedang tried to calm her down as Eshana cried wildly. She knew what was at hand. Ayaan banged his fist against the spar helplessly, wishing he could do something. Death and defeat seemed inevitable. But it was our choice and we proudly stood before Nasteya. Even when everything was easily predictable, Nasteya showed no fear at all. Anger had clouded every other emotion in him. The Daivyas roared in unison. Their foul voices echoed and would have possibly reached distant shores. But we stood there, valiant and prepared, now that our minds were made up. I glanced sideways at the men I’d share my fate with. The pirates were brave. Whatever their deeds be, their hearts were pure. I glanced at Savaan. The man who once hated Nasteya was now prepared to even die for him. I glanced at Nasteya while absolute silence prevailed. I could hear him breathe. I could see beads of sweat on his brows. It was the result of anger that had exploded within him. I could see that he was fearless and still. And that gave me strength. I tightened my grip on the hilt and stood facing the enemy. At a distance, Daivatma laughed. He raised the Kushya’s sword high. A thunderbolt pierced the sky. All slaves gaped at this unfortunate event. Eshana fell unconscious. She didn’t have the strength to see. We stood our grounds. Except the thunderous roar and the deep-toned rattling of the thunderbolt, there was no other voice that filled the air. The lightning bolt streaming down at the tip of Kushya’s sword didn’t make my heart beat faster this time. It didn’t frighten me. I was ready. We were ready.

  All Daivyas right behind Daivatma started to retreat. Soon, they began to panic. They started to stumble and fall on each other. They seemed scared. I could see a similar expression on Daivatma’s face as well. The lightning bolt still made its way from the sky to the sword while all of them stared at the sky above our heads. We mimicked them and turned our heads up towards the sky. All slaves could see something they believed was impossible. A winged figure descended. As it came down, gradually enlarging, we could see that it was an eagle. After another moment, it landed right before us. Clouds of dust rose from the ground as the eagle stepped on the land. Even Garud would appear tiny in front of this mighty-looking bird.

  ‘Lord... Kushya,’ Babak stammered. All pirates stumbled back in fear. Daivatma directed the lightning bolt at the eagle, who blocked it with its wings that were covered with some silver metal. The bolt backfired at Daivyas, tossing a handful of them to their death. The slaves on the ships fell on their knees at once. Lord Kushya turned his head to look at Nasteya. It was for the first time that I saw Nasteya both amazed and afraid at the same time. I took a few steps backwards involuntarily. Even the Gods feared Lord Kushya. He was meant to be dreaded. His mere presence shook the souls of Daivyas, making them tremble and fall in fear.

  ‘Come astride me,’ Lord Kushya instructed Nasteya. Keeping a check on his incredulity, Nasteya sat on the eagle’s back. He flew swiftly towards the enemy. The metal on his wings backfired all attacks by Daivatma. The millions were no match for this eagle. Nasteya leaped at Daivatma, felling him off his malicious animal. Kushya’s sword came into Nasteya’s hands. The pirates, Savaan and I charged at the retreating millions. Nasteya threw the sword away. Lord Kushya paused to see the duel of the millennium. Nasteya fought Daivatma with his bare hands. Every blow at Daivatma was more brutal than the previous ones. The devil feared an enraged Nasteya. He couldn’t dare to strike back. He wasn’t even defensive. Evil was flabbergasted and scared of the man who kept trampling it. Nasteya roared in the face of a fallen Daivatma and went for the Kushya’s sword. Nasteya’s anger and sword’s power made a lethal combination, bringing an unexpected end to the Daivyas. Lord Kushya made this battle one-sided, turning the tables on Daivatma who couldn’t believe that all those years of dark practices had been for nothing. Soon, the chaos ended.

  Daivatma still breathed, tied in the middle of the battlefield with all of us surrounding him. Nasteya bowed to Lord Kushya and said, ‘I will forever stay indebted to you, My Lord. I thank you.’

  ‘I thank you, my child, for you have lived up to my beliefs,’ Lord Kushya said.

  ‘It was but destiny,’ Nasteya said. The eagle nodded his head and said, ‘Not everything was destined.’

  ‘Not everything? I don’t understand, My Lord.’ Nasteya said.

  The eagle narrowed his eyes in amusement and said, ‘I had always kept a watch on you, my dear Nasteya. I wanted to make sure you had all those inherent capabilities that Yima had. I would have come to you myself if Saarah hadn’t met her ill fate. It was destiny that took you to the Himalayas. But the eagle you saw over the arch when you first reached the Gateway of Eesh was my acquaintance. Now, a Yeti’s involvement was unexpected. It disrupted the entire plan when you befriended Yetis, yet I had faith in you and it was strengthened even more after what you did there. I knew you were the one.’

  ‘Did Garud know about this?’ Nasteya asked, astonished at Lord Kushya’s words.

  ‘He was as unaware as you were, my dear Nasteya,’ the eagle replied. ‘Do you think it was a chance that Vedang rented you place to live right after you entered Mehrgarh?’

  My jaws dropped. Vedang was a part of Lord Kushya’s grand plan! Wicked old man.

  ‘Vedang acted as my eyes and ears,’ Lord Kushya said.

  ‘Why didn’t you ever come for help?’ Nasteya asked. ‘When Saarah fell to ashes, when I needed help in Mehrgarh, why were you absent?’

  ‘Saarah’s ill-starred end was unforeseen,’ Lord Kushya said. And I wanted to see how you dealt with everything. Besides, I was busy making this rare metal that helped you today. Yes, this metal on my wings is the same metal that constitutes the sword and it took more than two decades to make it just as I wanted it. It isn’t easy to alter metals at a molecular level and then infuse certain abilities in them. The rest of the things were sheer fate, luck maybe.’

  ‘Is it...’ I stammered as I questioned Lord Kushya. ‘Is it true that the sword and the bearers are interconnected?’

  ‘It is beyond my understanding but yes, there is an interconnection that was made by God Indra himself,’ Lord Kushya answered.

  ‘What about this devil?’ Nasteya asked.

  ‘It will be your choice, my child,’ Lord Kushya replied wisely.

  Nasteya knew that killing Daivatma would also mean end of his life. But he couldn’t see the devil alive anymore, the same devil who brutally seized everything from Nasteya in the past. He also knew that I would do everything to stop him. He stood there, thinking.

  The ships sailed further towards the setting sun. Silence prevailed as Nasteya stood lost in his thoughts.

  ‘I have decided,’ Nasteya broke the silence. He looked at Babak and the other pirates who stood behind me and nodded to them. Before I could realise, a rag was put over me by a few men. I began to struggle at once, but to no avail.

  ‘No! Nasteya! No!’ I screamed. Realisation dawned on me. I felt I was being tied and dragged away. I struggled more and screamed louder.

  ‘Don’t do this, Nasteya! Don’t do this... Please!’ I wept and screamed helplessly. More than twenty pirates had held me forcefully. Nasteya knew I would have stopped him.

  ‘I will always hate you, Nasteya, if you do this. You cannot do this to me!’ I cried and screamed as they dragged me away. I wailed at the top of my voice. My constant hard struggle rendered me exhausted. I could feel myself being dragged into a boat. It set sail and I cried.

  Nasteya had chosen. He had chosen what he thought was best for mankind. He had a heart of a lion and the might of a God. And I was just a child at that moment, a child unable to bear the pain of his best friend’s separation from him.

  ‘Please let me see. Please,’ I begged the pirates. They pulled the rag off my head. As our boat sailed away, I saw Lord Kushya ascend into the high skies. I saw a lightning bolt raging down from the sky somewhere on the island. And then I witnessed a deafening blast, the intensity of which swept a wave across the sea and shook our boat. My v
ision faded. I saw the island sinking as the sea consumed it. I saw darkness all about me. My heart sank into unfathomable grief. This loss was colossal, more than Saarah’s fall, more than anything I had ever lost. Nasteya had fulfilled his purpose.

  Years passed and I lived. I lived because Nasteya would have wanted me to. I lived to see Ayaan grow into a reflection of Nasteya. He always remembered everything that Nasteya had ever taught him. King Vidhur saw Ayaan as the best candidate to take over as Mehrgarh’s future king. The man who got the opportunity to live with Nasteya during his childhood was truly blessed. The fallen were always remembered. And the living made it sure that Nasteya’s memories were immortalised in the sands of time. Vedang, with the help of his disciple Bhrigu, spent all these years writing down everything he knew and everything he had seen until old age made him too weak to carry on. Savaan took care of Mehrgarh’s political affairs with his efficiency, pushing the city towards advancement and prosperity. And Eshana grieved forever, lived her days as Nasteya’s widow. I never saw her smile after Nasteya was gone. I never saw her move out of her chambers. There were irretrievable losses but the greater good overpowered all misery. Nasteya was revered in all empires for he had died for the sake of all of mankind. His deeds were sung as songs, his stories became legend and my best friend became a God, a God I once lived with.

  I sometimes prayed for the impossible that one day, I might get to meet Nasteya again. But there were stories yet untold, waiting for me to become a part of them...

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  Kirandeep Singh has co-authored the book, Nasteya – The Aryan Saga, with Nirvan Singh. The writer duo pen poems, short stories, novels, song lyrics and couplets in both English and Punjabi and will also be making their debut in the publishing world through a variety of platforms.

  Mentor and confidant to Nirvan Singh, Kirandeep Singh is the head of the MBA department in college and is currently pursuing his doctorate in the discipline.

  His legacy in literature can be traced back to Gurdial Singh Phul, a well-known name in Punjabi Literature, who was referred to as the ‘dramatist king’ and had been conferred with the highest award of the Punjab Government for his contribution to prose and literature. Kirandeep began exploring his passion for writing in his teens and has authored more than a hundred poems in Punjabi, written lyrics for Punjabi songs – many of which have become widely popular.

  Nirvan Singh followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and opted to join the Indian army instead of joining the IT sector, like several of his contemporaries. Currently serving as an officer in the Indian army, he is also an artist, writer, adventurer – and a firm believer in the motto of ‘living in the sunshine, swimming the sea and drinking the wild air’.