The Destiny of Shaitan

by Laxmi Hariharan

  Yudi shakes the gates again and this time they open slowly at his touch as if giving them permission to enter. They walk up the driveway.

  As they move forward the fog begins to clear and a beautiful castle reveals itself. The sun seems to shine brighter eating away the rest of the mist to reveal towering minarets in the distance covered in gold. There are buildings covered in a clear crystal like material soaring into the sky reaching for the Gods, beautiful streams winding their way through the various buildings on which sail maidens in their swan boats. And above the scene, casting a stately eye on the proceedings below, are majestic intergalactic craft gliding by noiselessly, as if soothing the entire scene with a balm of benevolence. The craft are a mix of styles drawn from different dimensions. Some seem to have been picked straight out of the ancient stories, some of them seem too fantastical to be real, yet others seem to fit in perfectly with the now, drawn from some of the latest sci-fi blockbusters playing on the silver screen in Arkana. Yet, they all seem to fit together, making sense in an odd kind of fashion.

  One of the craft breaks away from the formation. It makes straight for them, slowing down slightly in speed and, before it has come to a stop, changes shape, so that there standing right in front of them is a man with the beak of a bird and large, expansive, powerful wings, which even as they watch, fold back neatly flap once cheekily and settle at his side.

  He drops to his knees before them, bringing himself level with their line of sight and says, “So! You have arrived, finally?”

  The three of them look at each other and Yudi exclaims. “Our coming is not a surprise to anyone except us!”

  The Bird Man smiles. “That is fantastic, isn’t it? It is foretold of the three coming to save our world. At every stage we, the believers of the prophecy, made sure we would be present to guide you. And ease the burden that you have undertaken. Come then,” he says, “they are waiting for you.”

  “Who?” asks Yudi.

  He smiles and beckons them to get on his back, changing shape again to the mythical flying pod, a graceful boat-shaped space ship. The doors slide open and steps appear to help them climb into the vehicle.

  Tiina is the last to get on. Barely has she seated herself when with the craft silently raises itself into the air and then, with a sudden burst of speed, lifts off even further and joins the stream of other silent craft. The space they are in is completely silent. It is comfortable and yet filled with many emotions. It is, Tiina realises, the feeling of life thriving, of being satisfied with itself. An emotion so unknown that it takes a little time for them to comprehend.

  They look around curiously, trying to glean what manner of lives conducted their daily pursuits in such a rarefied environment.

  They pass through beautiful gardens where children of all shapes and of various galactic races play strange virtual games and then near the crystal towers which they realise are actually made of many tiny windows glinting and, as the craft ascends up the tower, they can look in and see families at work and at play, families of all races and shapes. Just as they begin to relax, it docks right at the top of the tallest crystalline tower.

  The doors slide open and the steps reappear to help them disembark from the ship. They walk down the stairs. When they have all stepped off the ship, the steps roll back, the doors close and the Bird Man changes back into half-human half-bird form.

  They stand there for a few minutes on top of the tall building, looking at a silvery iridescent globe hanging in the skies.

  "What is that?" asks Yudi.

  "The moon," answers Tiina, a dreamy look in her eyes.

  "It sure does look like the moon" agrees Rai.

  "It is a close cousin," says the Bird Man, who has paused within earshot. "It is the moon, but not as you know it."

  "If that is the moon, then we are on …" Tiina hesitates, not wanting to complete her sentence, not daring to hear the answer.

  "Earth," he replies, agreeing with her “But not the Earth you know and are bound for. This is the planet as it was centuries before you were born. A much younger, more innocent planet, before it was tarnished by waves of human greed sweeping through."

  "But we can’t be on Earth right now” exclaims Yudi.

  “Why not?” asks the Bird Man. “You are just on a different dimension.”

  “So it is Earth, as it was, many aeons ago,” Yudi repeats after the Bird Man, trying to comprehend. “We are here in the future, but also in the past?”

  “Well,” chuckles the Bird Man, “when you put it that way, it does sound confusing. But don’t worry, before this is all over, you’ll be speaking this lingo like a native.”

  He continues ahead and Yudi, Tiina and Rai follow him. They enter a large area which resembles a stateroom. The walls are sheets of glass. Massive windows with a view to the universe; and there, silhouetted against the light, are seven assembled sages. Men wizened with age, with long sweeping white beards that come to their waist and grey matted hair tied up on the top of their heads. They look very similar to each other, and are dressed alike in shimmering orange robes, which cover them from neck to toe. The seven of them are arranged in the order of their ascending heights.

  So like Russian dolls, thinks Tiina, smiling to herself.

  As if reading her thoughts, Yudi whispers, “It is as if they are positioned much like chess pawns, except that they are arranged in a contemporary space-saving kind of way.”

  She nods. “As if they could at a moment’s notice, jump into each other to become one concise unit and fly away.” Yudi guffaws and Tiina tries hard not to chuckle aloud.

  As if sensing their amusement, the shortest sage, also the closest to them, looks at them and frowns. Tiina and Yudi start visibly like errant children. They shut up and endeavour to wear more serious expressions.

  The Bird Man crosses his hands over his chest and steps forward. He bows deeply to the sages. Addressing the shortest of them, he gestures towards Yudi, Tiina and Rai. “My Lord,” he says, “these are the chosen ones. They have come a long way to see you. Moreover, they have an even longer way to go. Many adventures they still have to cover for those so relatively young.”

  The shortest sage nods. “What do they want?”

  “The Elixir. My Lord.” replies the Bird Man.

  The sage smiles and replies “The Elixir is not that easy to come by.” Then adds, “You know the drill, Bird Man.” He smiles. “So let’s do it.”

  “Wait a minute,” Yudi says, on hearing this. “The drill?”

  “As you are probably aware by now, Yudi,” comments the Bird Man, “you are not the first. There have been many before you, and there will probably be many after.”

  “Your confidence is reassuring!” exclaims Tiina.

  “Gladdens the heart,” adds Rai sarcastically.

  “And for the first time, the three of you are united in the same voice. How about that?” asks the sage.

  “Hmm, that does surprise me.” says Rai.

  “Does not surprise me at all,” says Tiina.

  “Really?” ask Yudi and the Bird Man in unison, surprised by the confidence in her voice.

  “Sure,” she replies, “we came together for a reason. Despite all the bickering on the surface, we all think the same.”

  Yudi and Rai look at her with scepticism, and Tiina falters in the face of their opposition.

  “Uh! We are all in this together,” she says. “Well, OK, we are largely together … Uh! More or less … OK, OK!” she exclaims. “You know what I mean. We are not that different in our thinking, even though we have our differences.”She tries to justify her earlier words.

  The Bird Man finally takes pity on her. “We know what you mean, Tiina” he says, “I was just trying to show that there is nothing like a common cause to bring people together.”

  “United against opposition, eh?” says Rai.

  “Exactly,” says the Bird Man.

  Tiina nods relieved that her words are taken in the right spirit. “
I do believe that you will not need to repeat this cycle of hide ‘n’ seek with the Elixir again,” she says emphatically.

  “I do hope so,” says the Bird Man. “It is about time I wrote a different story. This last one has been playing out over many dimensions and many ages. It’s becoming repetitive, even for me.”

  “Been repeated too many times on the small screen of life,” exclaims Yudi.

  “Re-versioned and released too many times on the home videos and in the cinemas of the galaxy,” adds Rai in delight.

  Tiina rolls her eyes. “Even I could do better than that one,” she admonishes Yudi and Rai, as they laugh.

  “Well, here’s your chance to break the pattern,” says the Bird Man, turning to the three of them. “So how badly do you want the Elixir?”

  “Hey!” says Yudi. “Let us remind you that it is not us who want it as much as Mimir and you have commanded us to get it to save the universe, as it were!”

  On hearing this, the shortest sage, who has been closely following their conversation, laughs and says, “So, Yudi, you don’t want any of the Elixir for yourself. It’s only for the greatest good?”

  Yudi looks slightly shamefaced. “When …well, I admit, no, it’s not just all for the greatest good.” He adds, “If that were the case, then I would be standing where you are just now.”

  “So how should I perceive it?” asks the sage.

  “Well, we are doing this for the good of the general people but hey!” replies Yudi, “I am not complaining if I happen to accidently gain some superpowers in the process. That’s a fringe benefit.”

  “So you do want it for yourself, right? And you know it can only benefit you in some form, personally?” prods the sage.

  “Sure, this entire journey is one big ego trip!” exclaims Rai, angrily. “Why should we answer your questions? And that, too, when you are so obviously in disguise.” He looks at all the seven in the room. “It is obvious that this is all just a front,” he says.

  The seven of them stare back unblinking. There is no response or reaction from them. Looking at their shuttered expressions, Rai realises that they cannot expect much to be forthcoming from them.

  Losing patience, he walks towards the shortest sage. Then, glancing down at the diminutive figure, he says, “Well, the least you can do is reveal your true self. All this subterfuge is tiring.”

  Realising that Rai is trying to get a reaction from the sages, Yudi chimes in with, “Yeah! What is a bit of reality between friends, eh? What do you have to hide anyway?”

  His words seem to trigger a metamorphosis. There is a flash of bright lightning as the seven figures merge into one. In their place stands a figure almost dazzling in his perfection.

  Tiina gasps involuntarily, for he is the most beautiful male of the human species that she has set eyes on. He shines lustrous, his blue skin radiating an iridescent sunny glow which seems to light up the entire room.

  Dressed in a flowing yellow-gold garment, he wears a slim golden crown with a peacock feather on his head. There is a garland of yellow sunflowers around his neck. He is extremely tall and statuesque, filling the entire height of the room. He has four arms, one of which holds a whirring disc and another, a flute. He folds his front two arms and bows slightly to the people assembled in the room.

  The Bird Man immediately drops to his knees before the God. Tiina, Yudi and Rai look at him kneeling before the figure and then look at each other in puzzlement. Yudi raises his eyebrows questioningly and Rai shrugs. They are not quite sure what is happening, but it is clear that this is not an ordinary everyday occurrence for the Bird Man.

  Then Tiina speaks, breaking the silence. “Thank you for revealing your true self,” she says softly.

  The Bird Man is still completely overwhelmed. His face is writ large with emotion, his voice slightly wobbly as he addresses the three without taking his eyes off the floor in front of the God.

  “You are very fortunate,” he says. “There are not too many people who have seen Lord Vishnu in this form.”

  “He is breathtaking. But why is this form that makes it so significant?”Rai asks.

  “It’s the universal form of the creator. The only form which does true justice to the power of the source” replies the Bird Man.

  “The source?” Yudi urges him to speak further.

  The Bird Man nods. “The almighty, the omnipresent, the higher power, nature. Call it by whatever name you believe it. You will find that everything that you believe in is here, condensed into this avatar of the Lord. And this form is unique for Lord Vishnu has revealed to very few.”

  “Unique?” asks Yudi

  “Yes. This form encompasses many different realities.”

  Lord Vishnu’s voice cuts through the conversation. “Why do you want the Elixir?” he asks, his voice booming, filling the space they are in and ricocheting back.

  Yudi and Rai continue to look at the figure. They are yet to get over their surprise at his appearance. Yudi asks in a slightly defiant voice, “Why not?”

  Not wishing to let this conversation take a turn for the worse, Tiina steps in. “We believe that the Elixir will give us the powers needed to defeat the forces of evil.”

  “You are reluctant to complete this mission. And yet you stay persistent to this cause?” asks Lord Vishnu.

  Tiina hesitates before replying. “We have a heavy responsibility. We complain about it, but that doesn’t mean that we are going to run away from it.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Yudi says in a low voice meant for Tiina and Rai’s ears only. Tiina elbows him in his ribs, trying to quieten him down, while Rai conceals a chuckle at Yudi’s reaction.

  Seemingly unaware of Yudi and Rai’s reaction to their conversation, the Lord continues. “You will have to work for it, Tiina,” he says.

  “You mean a duel?” she asks in alarm

  The Lord smiles for the first time. “Yes, a duel,” he says, “but of a different kind. I challenge you to a game of chess. Win it and you get the Elixir.”

  “What is chess?” she asks.

  “What is destiny?” retorts the Lord.

  He beckons again and there appears a chess set laid for two. Yudi and Rai look at Tiina incredulously. They realise that she is expected to pit wits against the Lord himself.

  Yudi asks, “Uh! Tiina, have you ever played chess?”

  Tiina shrugs and walks over, saying, “Guess there’s always a first time.”

  Rai and Yudi watch as Tiina takes her seat. The God reduces himself down to a more normal size. His latter two arms are now folded into a groove on his back. Except for a slight protuberance on the side of his body, he seems to be largely human now, wearing the normal robes of a modern day metropolis dweller.

  Yet despite his attempt at normalcy, he looks just like what he is: a God trying to fit in and not quite succeeding. Lord Vishnu walks to the place opposite Tiina and sits down. He looks at the Bird Man meaningfully.

  The Bird Man nods and tells Yudi and Rai, “I believe, we should leave now.”

  “Leave?”

  “Where do you want us to go?” asks Rai.

  “To the room next door” says the Bird Man “the energies of those watching tend to interfere with the thinking process of the players, so its best we wait in a separate space.”

  Seeing the alarm on Yudi’s face the Bird Man says in a gentle tone “Don’t worry she will be safe.”

  Sensing the hesitation in both of them, he adds, “I give you my word.”

  He leads them away to another room. As they are about to leave, Lord Vishnu hails the Bird Man. “Don’t forget to turn on the music before you leave,” he says.

  “Of course!” replies the Bird Man, then walks up to a panel enclosed in the wall and switches it on. The beats of Reggaeton pour through the space.

  “The Lord loves Latino music,” whispers the Bird Man as they leave.

  “So it would seem,” agrees Yudi.

  “He spends a lot of his time in Rio.
That’s where he picked it up,” says the Bird Man by way of explanation.

  Yudi is deciding whether he should make a passing comment about the partying and recreational hobbies of the Gods. Then he glances at the Bird Man, who seems totally serious about his previous revelations, and thinks the better of it.

  As the panel to the room closes, Yudi glances through to see the two figures engaged in deep play already, their heads bent. The Lord is tapping his feet in time with the music, evidently enjoying it, his brow furrowed in concentration as he looks down at the chess pieces on the board. The aura from Lord Vishnu has settled to a warm rosy pink and it seems to flow out and embrace Tiina. This serves somewhat to reassure Yudi and he walks into the other room.

  They pace restlessly while they wait.

  Feeling lightly dizzy with the feelings of anticipation, excitement, fear … washing over him, flowing, engulfing, completely overwhelming him, Yudi pauses. He supports himself against the wall.

  “Uh!” says Rai looking at him in surprise, the full extent of Yudi’s feelings for Tiina coming to light. “I don’t have a cigar, buddy,” he says trying to lighten the atmosphere.

  Yudi looks at him, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Rai subsides.

  The Bird Man takes up his position on the threshold between the two rooms. He can clearly watch the action in both the rooms from there.

  Yudi exclaims yet again, “Why cannot we watch?”

  Rai shrugs, “Guess the rules of celestial chess are somewhat different from the game we play.”

  “Do you believe what he said, about the watcher’s energies interfering with the game?” asks Yudi.

  “No,” says Rai “But then I don’t think we are exactly in a position to argue with him, either.”

  They walk up to the window and look out at the incredible view stretching out in front of them. They are on the elevated summit of the tower. It is one of the tallest in the area, from what they can see.