by Vikram BS
Chapter 8 – Wax Tower
On their way they were able to spot many beautiful birds, each one distinct, with a great variety of colors. Idaha had one doubt in his mind, he had taken so much of pain to retrieve the Bow at the Brouhaha monastery and now it was not found to be anywhere and when he asked Chakra he said that he would explain everything in the wax tower.
So, Idaha was now waiting for the right moment because he knew there must be a reason for the mace to still be present with him which both of them had been carrying in turns, but the bow was the missing link.
It was almost dawn, Idaha had become a sort of a mechanical warrior, not realizing what time of the day it was, but he would go on fighting and try juggling the pieces of the puzzle to save the island from Kalihan.
Idaha was pleased when sunlight penetrated through the dense forests of the island and he was enjoying the warmth of the sun.
Chakra said “we need to walk fast; I feel there is an eagle which is trying to get to us but is finding it difficult to deliver something present in its right foot.”
So both of them rushed forward to a place where the thickness of the forest wasn’t too much and Chakra gave a cry so as to attract the eagle to them.
The eagle swooped down and settled down on Chakra’s right shoulder. He took out a letter which was in the form of a small scroll and allowed the eagle to rise up again into the open sky. Chakra started reading the letter and the letter read as follows:
Dear Chakra and Idaha,
This is Maya here. Congratulations to the hero for becoming a father of 2 lovely baby boys. Please make sure that the hero tries his level best so as to relieve the people of the island so that peace would be back on this island. There is danger in every nook and corner of the island. Make sure that you get HELP from all the people whom you encounter in this arduous journey.
Regards
Maya
Idaha was very happy to know that he had become a father of two boys but his happiness was short-lived as he started pondering about the help that he had to take from all people they would encounter. As usual Chakra’s calmness was assuring and he thought of following the instructions without eating the head of Chakra. Both of them continued their journey and at the end of the forest area, there looked to be a very beautiful building which looked very deserted.
Idaha asked “Is this the building which we have been searching for?”
Chakra replied in the affirmative and said “Listen Idaha, the main reason I have brought you to this tower is for you to understand the art of warfare. I have been observing the way you fight; there are so many instances where you give up easily. There is a 10,000 year old sage who lives here. He has trained many heroes in the past and is always ready to train warriors for the future. You have only a week’s time before you learn everything and then you must go back to the TOWN CENTRE of Chonohaush so as to save the people. Is this fine?”
Idaha was more than happy that he was going to be given a bit of training, but the thought of a 10,000 year old person teaching him sent a shiver through his spine. He somehow managed to put on a smile, not reacting to his body signals.
As both of them approached the tower, Idaha was able to make out that the tower was very beautiful. It looked like a tower built of concrete and stone, but it was built using wax.
Idaha asked “Who has built this beautiful wax tower?”
Chakra replied “This was built by a celestial architect named ‘Zukarm’ on the instructions of Gabhiro. He had created such a beautiful tower parallel to this that this was also invaded by another ruthless race known as ‘Daityas’ who are the first cousins of the Asuras. But all of them had got killed by the same sage whom we are going to meet now in sometime, and the ‘Daityas’ were wiped out from the face of this island.”
Idaha asked “Where is the other tower by the way?”
Chakra replied back saying “That had got burnt when the Daityas had set it on fire and the remnants were converted into a small fountain known as the ‘The Death Drink’ by the same sage.
Idaha was enjoying each and every moment of his adventure. He had only asked for an offspring but now he was on the verge of becoming a war hero, who would be remembered throughout history for a very long time. Idaha was itching to meet the sage, he was very happy as he was always being surrounded by magicians off late.
Chakra said “Come on Idaha let us go inside the tower; I’ll make sure that you learn the tricks of warfare which is an important requirement now for you to save the island.”
Both of them entered the tower, there was a huge door separating both of them. Idaha did not know the way of entering the tower; as usual he gave a blank expression and looked at Chakra. Chakra gave a reassuring smile and pulled out a huge rope which was tied to a very old ceiling of the tower. Chakra gave the rope a wild swing and there was a loud noise which resembled the sound from a conch shell.
Both of them waited for a few minutes and after their wait a tall very old man with razor sharp blue eyes answered the door. The sage gave a warm smile and immediately recognized Chakra. Chakra introduced Idaha to him and the old man introduced himself as ‘Acura’.
Acura said “Oh, so this is the man who has set out to save our island. I saw the way you fought the beast in the monastery, takes a lot of courage to do that. But Idaha was not convinced. He knew that Chakra had used some sort of a mystic trick to make him do that. Acura answered the question that was running in Idaha’s mind.
Acura said “The mystic trick is nothing but known as possession, he brought in an advanced soul to possess your body so as to use the cosmic energies of the universe in sync with the planetary energies governing earth so as to defeat Zotreiver.”
Idaha was quite impressed, he had thought Chakra was a magician but now he had the help of two of them.
Acura said “Please come in both of you, I’ll help you out with your food needs.”
Idaha replied back saying “No need for that, Chakra has taken care of it.”
Chakra winked at Acura. Acura needed no extra explanation as he understood everything about it.
Idaha started scanning through the wax tower. It was built so magnificently that it could not be explained in words. There were so many different types of lights that were hanging from the ceiling, there were brilliant paintings hung around every wall. There was so much of peace and calm that Idaha felt like he had gone into another dimension. When he was about to enter into a pond which was inside the tower Acura stopped him from walking further and reprimanded him for his lack of attention.
Idaha was shocked, he said “Please excuse me sir, I was lost thinking about the beauty of this tower.”
Acura felt bad at his behavior and said “Son, this pond is a very important part of the history of this tower about which I will explain later to you. It is very dangerous to even drink this water. This is the reason I had to be rude with you otherwise you would have fallen into it and lost your life.”
Idaha felt very happy at the concern that Acura had shown.
He gave a broad childish smile and said “You are elder to me and you have every right to scold me if you have to.”
Acura felt he had got a very good student for his training. At that moment Idaha was surprised to find that Chakra had become like a mass of white light and he was floating towards the sky.
Idaha stopped him and asked him “What happened to you and why are you leaving me alone and where are you going to?”
Chakra’s voice had become very hoarse and it was like as if he was talking with a dong bell stuck in his throat, he said “This is one of the reasons I brought you here. I am sure you will be safe in my brother’s hands. All of us meet with this end Idaha; all of us are ethereal beings and spirits. I am the eternal servant of Lord Gabhiro and my job is done. All of us enter earth alone and leave earth alone, so do not get attached to anything except your duty. You have been chosen by God to save these people as that is your duty for the time being. Maya i
s looking after your sons and your wife Olivaha. So without any hard feelings please forgive me if you feel I have left you midway. Acura is also like me, he will make sure that your life will be eventful. Follow his advice strictly and you can be rest assured that this adventure will have a happy ending.”
Idaha’s eyes had turned misty, he was somehow controlling his emotions, and he tried to hug Chakra who had descended on to earth’s surface but could not as Chakra was no longer in his physical body. Chakra blessed Idaha and vanished into thin air. It took a while for Idaha to understand whatever had happened and he had no alternative but to hug Acura to let go of his emotions and he did exactly that. The moment he did that, Idaha felt some divine energy pass through his body and he was alright within no time.
Acura said “Son, you please take rest for some time; I’ll make sure that you have some cocoa malt and you can start your lessons. Is it fine?”
Idaha agreed and after his rest it was time for his lessons. Acura took Idaha into one of the rooms of the huge wax tower. The room was a very big one; it looked like a very old archery range. Acura chanted some incantations and the Bow was in his hands.
Acura said “Now, observe carefully, the moment I chant this incantation then this entire room will be flooded with different creatures from the underworld. My job is to aim at the neck of these creatures as they are very strong at their necks. If I can try to dislodge their necks then they are dead for sure. So, please observe.”
Acura chanted the required incantations to call the creatures of the underworld, the moment he did that the entire room became a prehistoric zoo. Acura wasted no time and the moment he held the Bow firmly in his hands and closed his eyes and meditated for a few seconds and the moment he did that, a quiver hung from the shoulders of Acura and he started using the arrows present inside them.
Acura said “There are different types of arrows for different purposes. There are ice arrows, fire arrows, arrows that can produce water, etc. It depends on the situation and the choice should be made by the archer intelligently. For all of this a person needs a calm mind. So the trick is to remain calm.”
Acura started using the arrows diligently and the entire room was free from the creatures of the underworld.
Idaha asked “But, why creatures from the underworld, why not anything else?”
The Asuras whom you are going to face are souls who have come from the underworld with physical bodies of our planet. So their nature will be very fierce, when you encountered those three Asuras just a few days before, Chakra was there to help you, but now you will be on your own, so please make sure that you keep their numbers in check, The Asuras are very cruel magicians who can do anything to trick the human mind, so the best thing to do is to keep our minds calm and not react to each and everything. Do you get it?”
Idaha was convinced. He said “I also want to try this once.”
Acura gave a long stare at Idaha and said, “You are still not ready son, and there are a few more things for you to know.”
But Idaha was adamant. He wanted to get a first had experience of it. Acura was all the more ready to oblige. He gave Idaha the Bow, who clasped it firmly. Acura chanted the required incantations and within seconds the entire room was filled with all sorts of creatures from the underworld. Idaha’s mind was still not tuned to all of this fainted on the spot.
Idaha got back his consciousness and he was surprised that he was still alive; the last thing that he could remember was of falling down unconscious. Idaha asked what happened to all the creatures.
Acura gave a big laugh and said “all these things were illusions which I created. They were not real, without God’s permission one cannot open the portals of the lower worlds and make those entities enter earth. It would collide with the laws laid down by God.”
Idaha gave a broad smile and said “Please teach me fast, I am eager to save the island.”
Acura was surprised. He thought that Idaha was a very courageous soul who would never give up and maybe that was the reason why God had chosen him for this job. Acura deep in his mind knew that Idaha was on his journey of becoming a hero. That is one of the reasons why his patience had been tested till date.
Acura promised Idaha that he would make him a perfect warrior and then send him out of the tower. Just like this 2 days passed. Idaha was becoming proficient in sending arrows at great speeds from the Bow. He had practiced destroying the creatures that Acura used to conjure using his powers of illusion and had started enjoying it like a video game. But, still somewhere he lacked the confidence. So Acura decided to trick Idaha into believing that Acura had also left him for good.
One day Idaha got up to find out that Acura had disappeared, he thought it was one of the tricks of Acura and decided to wait for him, he waited for a few hours but Acura did not come back into the room of the tower. So he decided to explore the entire tower by himself. This time Acura had conjured up illusions of many creatures along with the illusion of the Asuras in many of the unexplored parts of the tower.
Idaha started exploring each and every room of the tower. One by one his courage was being tested, in one of the rooms he was able to find only huge birds with awful faces flying directly at him, and he used his presence of mind and summoned the Bow using the incantation that Acura had taught him and directed arrows exactly at their necks, one by one the birds started falling to the ground and Idaha was feeling a sense of thrill surge through his body.
He completed almost exploring the entire tower and he had killed innumerous underworld creatures when finally Acura appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of him. Idaha was already thrilled at the sudden surge in confidence that he went and hugged Acura very tightly.
Acura said “Now do you understand why I left you all alone in the tower?”
Idaha had understood the lesson that Acura and Chakra had been trying to teach. He had spent his life till now in a way where he had not realized his true potential. So he needed a few great teachers to guide him.
Just like this a few days passed and it was time for Idaha on his long journey back to the Town Centre of Chonohaush to save his people. But Idaha still had to get some information out of Acura. So he decided to ask him regarding the pond that Acura had asked him not to enter into.
