Nasteya Page 8

  Baka then placed the serpent lightly on the soft snow. For a while it didn’t move. Slowly, it rolled over and crawled forward. It moved in a straight line, leaving a winding trail behind it. At intervals, it would pause and then start crawling again. It was clearly one of nature’s more outlandish creations and I was entirely awestruck by its utility. We followed it noiselessly, trying not to distract its concentration and soon enough, the foot of the Gateway of Eesh became visible, though its arch was hidden by the mist.

  The warmth conferred on us by Enakshi’s drink had thinned as the night had worn on. Baka untied the cloth over the Dhruvanag’s eyes and set the snake free. It crawled into the thick snow and disappeared. In the blistering cold, we walked with high hopes, despite the clattering teeth and shivering limbs. Under the arch of the gateway, we stopped.

  ‘What do we do now?’ Nasteya asked.

  ‘We wait,’ Baka replied.

  The night grew old as we waited, restless and tense but there was no sign of the eagles at all. Everyone except Baka, who snored in his sleep, was wide awake and attentive to all the sounds that came to our ears. The wind had calmed and we were huddled in our cloaks. Squalls of wind pushed down the snowflakes that settled in drifts over the arch. After a long while, Nasteya roused Baka and said, ‘No eagle has come yet.’

  Baka rose, stretching his big arms, and gazed all around and up at the sky.

  ‘We might have to climb to the top of the arch,’ Baka said, ‘Tejas, have you ever been to the roof of the arch?’

  ‘No, none of us have, but I think this could be our chance now,’ Tejas said eagerly.

  ‘Our chance is not tonight!’ cried Enakshi. ‘They have come!’

  Alarmed by Enakshi’s words, we turned at once to see that the eagles now surrounded us and some more were still descending from the sky.

  ‘Do not kill any of them. I want no blood to be shed until I meet Garud,’ said Nasteya as we drew our swords. ‘Which one is Garud?’ Nasteya asked Baka.

  ‘None of them,’ Baka replied after a quick glance at the assembled eagles. ‘If not all of us, you might still have to go to the top of the arch. Go now and we will handle these eagles!’

  ‘I need a lift up,’ Nasteya said and Baka pushed him upwards, which ultimately saved Nasteya a climb of nearly a hundred feet. He grasped the rocky slope and started to climb further. The combat was about to begin.

  I was prepared; everyone was. Eagles with sharp-bladed wings came swooping towards us. While Nasteya made for the arch, we ran forward. The first sound of battle was the strike of my sword against an eagle’s wing. Pursued by four eagles, Hira and I went in one direction. Baka and his friends had already started tossing the eagles away, against the steep slope and in the deep snow. But the giant birds were no less stubborn. They rose and headed towards the yetis again, flapping their lethal giant wings. We defended and didn’t attack. But even the defending by the yetis was no less brutal than their attacking. The shrieks and growls of eagles and yetis, the sparks and strikes of our swords against their bladed wings was all that filled the air. Two of the eagles now saw Nasteya climbing the arch and flew towards him. Nasteya continued to climb the arch, unaware of eagles approaching.

  ‘Watch out, Nasteya!’ I cried at the top of my voice. He turned and spotted the eagles as they flew closer. When they were close enough, Nasteya leaped over the one in the front and landed on the back of the second one. He jerked his neck and the eagle deviated and soared straight upwards. The eagle rolled over in the air so as to make Nasteya release his grip, but it was after all Nasteya’s grip, stronger than an iron knot. The second eagle, flying faster, came for him from below. Right before the second eagle was about to slash Nasteya, he pressed his feet against the back of the first eagle and back-flipped through the air. In his wake, the eagles collided with each other. Entangled, they spiralled down while Nasteya gripped the edge of a rock and started to climb again. He wasn’t far from the top.

  ‘That was impressive,’ I said to myself, amazed at my friend’s skillful manoeuvres. In that instant of distraction, as I watched Nasteya, an eagle lifted me up in his talons and soared away. My sword was jerked out of my grip and clattered down on to the rocks. I agitatedly pulled a dagger from my boots and slashed at the claws that held me. He screeched and released me and I fell, panting and dizzy, on thick snow. As I lay there, I saw that Nasteya was on the top of the arch. But something was not right. A winged figure had landed behind him but Nasteya wasn’t aware of it. I wanted to scream but I knew my voice would never reach his ears. A bladed wing was now against Nasteya’s neck. That eagle produced a loud cackling cry. The yetis stopped as soon as they heard it and looked upwards, so did the other eagles.

  ‘Garud!’ Baka said.

  That eagle was Garud, our reason for being here. He seemed bigger than other eagles and he had rendered us helpless. After all, the lord of the giant eagles would hardly be dim-witted and we should have seen it coming.

  ‘Enough!’ Garud said to Nasteya as he pressed his deadly wing against Nasteya’s neck.

  However, when it comes to tricks, nobody can beat Nasteya. Bending and slipping under Garud’s claws Nasteya now stood behind him, his sword pointed at Garud.

  ‘I have not come for chaos,’ Nasteya said. The others at ground level watched them keenly. To see Nasteya not being used as leverage any more relieved me. But then he did something that nobody could have predicted—he backed off and threw his sword down to the ground. Garud watched him with narrowed eyes. Baka and the others seemed perplexed by his actions.

  ‘I did not come here to fight or spill blood,’ Nasteya said loudly. He threw his cloak off his shoulders and stood before Garud, bare-chested. However, Garud ignored these gestures and said, ‘You have created unrest and you will be punished.’

  ‘Come forward then, punish me,’ Nasteya said in a calm, determined voice that drifted down to us in the silence. ‘Go ahead.’

  Was it insanity, as others might have thought? No, it wasn’t. Garud didn’t move a single step forward. Why would an eagle that had brought Nasteya to this land do something to hurt him? This was what Nasteya would be thinking at that moment. This was what I thought. We watched, holding our breaths. Breaking the silence, Nasteya said, ‘I need answers and you will make sure that I get the correct ones.’

  ‘What answers?’ Garud asked, but his voice trembled a little. He spoke as if he already knew the questions Nasteya would ask.

  ‘Do not pretend,’ Nasteya said as he stepped towards the edge. ‘Or I’ll jump.’

  ‘It makes no difference to me,’ Garud replied.

  ‘All right then,’ Nasteya said and leapt off the arch. I cried out in dismay—there was no chance he would survive such a fall! But when he was halfway down, Garud dived in his wake and clutched him just before he hit the ground, then threw Nasteya on the snow from a safer height.

  ‘Why did you save me?’ Nasteya said as he rose up. ‘If it hardly made any difference to you? What is there in your heart that forced you to save me? Why did you not let me die? These are the questions that I seek answers to, Garud,’ Nasteya said in a single breath. But Nasteya wasn’t the kind to take such leaps of faith, I thought. Why did he do it now? What if Garud hadn’t saved him? I wanted an answer to this act.

  Garud could not lie any further, but he tried an evasion: ‘I saved you just because you didn’t kill me either when you had a chance,’ Garud replied without looking into Nasteya’s eyes.

  ‘You saved me because you know who I am! Indeed, you’re the one who brought me to this land, aren’t you? These marks that I bear on my chest are yours, aren’t they?’ Nasteya said. Stunned, Garud stared at Nasteya’s chest. The other eagles now looked at the mark and exchanged befuddled looks with their companions.

  ‘Nasteya is right! And if you eagles try to filch the Kushya’s sword one more time, Nasteya will again jump off the arch,’ Baka said. It was a silly remark—probably born of the sudden relief and the easing of tension
. It made us all laugh– all, except Garud.

  ‘Filch it? We’re the protectors of the arch and the sword,’ Garud reacted at once. ‘Why would we breach the trust?’

  Nasteya and I watched this exchange with dumb faces. Wasn’t this rendezvous supposed to be for us so that we might get answers to our questions?

  ‘It was one of your people who tried to steal the sword years ago and when one of our eagles caught him in the act, he murdered that innocent bird and now you say that we have been trying to steal the sword?’ Garud said. I was confused to hear him because Baka had narrated the same story earlier, but in a different way. Was Baka lying?

  Was Garud lying? I had to listen to them until this puzzle was sorted out.

  ‘You are ashamed of the deeds of your own people and you have fabricated this story to restore your false pride,’ Baka replied cunningly. This exchange between them was baffling yet interesting.

  ‘As for today, we have trespassed only because Nasteya wished to meet you and it was the only way you would come here,’ Baka said wisely, turning Garud’s focus towards Nasteya once again.

  ELEVEN

  THE PARADOX, RESOLVED

  Nasteya now spoke: ‘Either you are lying or Baka has been telling us a false story…They cannot both be true. The truth is that both eagles and yetis have kept fighting over a misinterpretation for years after the actual facts were forgotten. Whatever it was that happened in the past, none of you exactly know. The irony is that you both carried a common intention, and that was to shield the arch and the sword within. Yet you treated each other like enemies and that too just over a mythical story.’

  ‘The arch is impenetrable and we have known this fact since the beginning of time, but I fear the yetis never knew it,’ Garud said.

  ‘You should have talked to each other at least once,’ Nasteya concluded after listening to their baffling conversation.

  ‘They never gave us a chance!’ Garud said. ‘And why would we give chances to thieves?’ Baka said.

  ‘We are no thieves! Even if we were, we could have never possessed the sword,’ Garud said.

  ‘You both have a chance now to resolve this error. If none of you ever wanted to damage the arch or pilfer the Kushya’s sword, then I guess there’s no reason to continue the enmity between you,’ Nasteya said.

  ‘We just followed the orders of our ancestors,’ Baka said faintly.

  ‘Your ancestors might have seen or done wrong, but is there any gain in continuing the fight over generations?’ Nasteya asked.

  ‘They’ve been trying to kill our people. I reckon that is quite a reason to be enemies,’ Baka said.

  ‘We were just doing our duty, not knowing if you actually wanted to steal the sword,’ Garud replied.

  ‘To protect the gateway was your duty. But yetis never wanted to damage it and the eagles knew that the arch was impenetrable. Then there seems no point in such a duty,’ Nasteya said.

  While I was thinking about how Nasteya was trying to sort out the dilemma between these yetis and eagles— because he wanted them to jump out of their issue and pay heed to his own matter—the other eagles and Baka’s friends were enjoying the showdown. Tapan now sat with his back inadvertently against the wing of one of the eagles and it seemed like they bore no ill will against each other.

  ‘Give it a thought, Garud. If you join forces, imagine how powerful you could both be! Except for each other, you have no enemies. Now you both know that the arch and the Kushya’s sword were always safe,’ Nasteya said.

  ‘We are powerful even without them,’ Garud said grudgingly.

  ‘We are not weak either,’ Baka responded at once.

  ‘You both are being fools!’ shouted Nasteya, now near the end of his patience. ‘Both of you are meant to rule your own realms, but I see no wisdom in either of you!’

  ‘I can handle my kingdom very well,’ Baka said proudly.

  ‘Sometimes, even the proudest kingdoms meet a tragic end. Nobody knows that better than I do,’ said Nasteya. ‘This world is full of merciless demons and monsters that dwell in large numbers in darker parts of the world. You have no enemies except each other. I’ve seen your army Baka, and trust me, other empires have larger armies than yours. Neither are you eagles capable of outnumbering them, Garud. There can be trouble in the near future as men have grown greedy and evil. Alone, you won’t be able to withstand it.’

  Nasteya’s wise words had an impact on both, eagles and yetis. However, Baka stood as stubborn as before.

  ‘Quantity does matter, but we are better off without their support,’ he said.

  ‘You are evidently being egoistic, Baka,’ Nasteya whispered as he took Baka aside, and continued, ‘Baka, I am, with all my might, trying hard to bring benefit to you. You are overlooking the fact that it will help you in the future to be allies with these eagles. If you want to help me, then step forward and make way for me to question Garud peacefully.’

  At this, Baka kept put his hatred and said, ‘Garud, I think Nasteya is right. If you will trust me, we never wanted to possess the sword. And now we know that neither of us had any such intention.’

  ‘How do I believe that this is not a well-knit conspiracy?’ Garud asked Nasteya.

  ‘You are free to assume whatever you want,’ said Nasteya. ‘But you must know that it is you who is responsible for what you understand of me while I am answerable only for what I mean. And what I desire now is no conspiracy. It was no conspiracy but a belief that led me to you, Garud. A belief I had that you were the one who had brought me to this land. And that jump was nothing more than a leap of faith. Evidently, I proved that my faith was not misplaced. Is this mark I bear on my chest not from your claw?’ Wait a minute; was that ‘jump’ really nothing more than a leap of faith? I thought again.

  A long and silent pause followed. The wind whistled all around us. Breaking the awkward silence, Garud at last said, ‘Yes, it was I who brought you to this land. All that I know or still remember, I will tell you. But not here and certainly not like this. Even before that, you must assure us that these beasts will make peace from now on.’

  ‘They will. Won’t you, Baka?’ Nasteya asked at once. After a moment’s hesitation, Baka said, ‘Peace shall be restored.’

  ‘Tell me now, where will you answer me and when?’ Nasteya asked.

  ‘You must come to the gateway tomorrow at noon. There will be someone sent by me to escort you,’ Garud replied and gestured to the other eagles to take off. They flew away against the pale grey sky. Garud took off as well. It was almost sunrise.

  After the eagles were long gone, Enakshi echoed our sentiments as she exclaimed: ‘Are you insane, Nasteya?’

  ‘I don’t know about me, but I reckon you people are. Enmity over a fallacy is not less than insanity. However, what makes you call me insane?’ Nasteya said.

  ‘Firstly, that leap of faith. You could have died,’ Enakshi said. I wanted to say the same.

  ‘I verify before I trust,’ Nasteya replied, ‘Baka will answer this query.’ We all turned to Baka.

  ‘Yes, Nasteya isn’t that stupid. We had it all worked out. Last night, when we were discussing all possibilities of today’s rendezvous, this leap of faith was taken care of already. We knew that we had to make Garud feel like he’s busted. His act of saving Nasteya would verify in front of everyone that he’s the eagle that brought Nasteya to this land. But even if Garud had not saved Nasteya, there was a back-up plan all ready. We had planned that if Garud didn’t dive to catch Nasteya before he passes a mark on the slope parallel to the line of the fall, I would jump and grab him mid-air, which would have killed the momentum enough for both of us to land safely on the mound of soft snow below the arch.’ Baka explained. It relieved me. I knew that my friend wasn’t one to take blind leaps of faith.

  ‘What if you weren’t in a state to jump and grab Nasteya?’ Enakshi had a habit of framing new questions out of answers.

  ‘Tejas and Tapan were the back-up to our back-up
plan,’ Baka said and the other two yetis winked. ‘Besides, Nasteya dived only after looking down at me and confirming that I was in a state to save him.’

  ‘You didn’t give Garud a good enough reason to meet you! Then what makes you think that he will send someone to escort you tomorrow?’ she asked Nasteya, voicing my unasked question.

  ‘I looked into his eyes when I bared my chest. Besides, he saved me. That proves it all,’ Nasteya said. Had Nasteya taken his decision in haste? He could have sought answers when Garud was still there. I was worried if this would turn out to be another mistake.

  We tramped back along the same path with the aid of the pole star, discussing the night’s events along the way. By the first light of day, we reached Kanchana. As we walked through the gates, Enakshi said to Nasteya, ‘I shouldn’t have doubted you.’

  ‘Doubted what?’ he asked.

  ‘When I feared yet another war with those eagles, you said there wouldn’t be any,’ she replied and Nasteya just smiled.

  ‘I do not think I’ll ever be able to trust those eagles, yet it feels pretty good to know that they’re not our enemies any more,’ Enakshi said.

  ‘Now get ready to feel even better,’ Baka said sarcastically and then pointed towards the palace where we saw Queen Bhamini standing with her arms crossed. Ayaan, who looked upset, stood by her side. I was worried. But then I thought she’d be happy to know that a big issue had been resolved.

  ‘You breached my trust, Baka,’ the queen said as we stopped before her. ‘You have let me down. You didn’t even care for my consent. You risked the lives of our people. It was least expected from the prince of Kanchana.’

  ‘But… nobody is hurt,’ Baka said.

  ‘That isn’t the point. You went against my orders. I am really very disappointed.’

  ‘I believe you won’t be disappointed any more, my queen, once you listen to what tidings we bring,’ Nasteya said, stepping forward.