Ͳաìʂէҽժ Ͳìʍҽ | Rewritten

➼ Unknown Happenings.

☬ Panchala-Kosala Borders : Deep into the Jungles ☬

The pinkish hue of the sky reduced slowly over time. The blacks and the night blues took over as the stars and moon came out. The moon's gentle light soothed the people on earth, but it couldn't penetrate the deep, dark and silent jungles that stood with might to create the borders of two kingdoms. Usually filled with the raspy voices of foxes and jackals, the thumps of monkeys and sounds of nighttime birds, the jungles echoed with an eerie silence. Devoid of the usual hustle and comfort those jungles provided, the surrounding seemed unnaturally still.

Amidst such sudden changes, within a cave sat a man. Long whitish-black hair coiled in a bun, a part of it coiled in a small tuft and adorned with Rudraksha beads. A beautifully carved wooden staff with a large diamond at the head was beside the man. The man's voice, husky from continuous use, continued  his chants. His chants were increasing in cadence as the atmosphere within the cave started to become charged with power.

A female, dressed in clothes that had seen better days, entered carefully. She approached another man, who was dressed similarly with a hidden cautiousness. "Pitamaha? Would you like to eat something?"

The man turned a ferocious glare at her way, "Haven't I told you to not disturb me, Shikandini?"

Shikandini nodded meekly in response, eyes taking in the atmosphere warily. She left the cave to venture outside. The cave's atmosphere suffocated her.

As she ventured down the forest path, her doubts regarding the morality of the situation trekked back to the confines of her mind. A soft frustrated sigh escaped her, as she glanced at the canopy of branches and leaves.

She remembered the blood that splashed her face that day. The blood of her father. Bhishma!

No, she couldn't fall weak. She would have her revenge by any means necessary.

Even if it meant calling forth the slumbering son of the dead daitya Alāyūdhā, who had been caged in the Rasātala for centuries. DaityaRaj Kesin!

☬ Hastinapura – Banks of Ganga  ☬

Sanchali glanced at the figure standing by the banks of Ganga. She had a feeling he would be here, specially after the day they had.

It was night time. Not a soul was awake in the main city of Hastinapura. She found the decision of staying in a camp far more profitable than staying in the palace. It had taken a second for her to understand the dynamics of the Kuru elders and she knew the atmosphere at the palace would not be good for her health. Specially since she was bound to not sleep most of the time. She did not want unwanted questions to be raised given her past had been told by Rishi Valmiki and her brothers.

"May I disturb you for a while, Maharaja?"

"Back to Maharaja, are we Samragyi?" His voice held his questions, his confusions and the fragility of his emotions.

She shrugged, taking a seat on the rock beside his standing figure, "I do not want to revert back to formalities, Maharaja. Yet, you have doubts."

"Should I not have doubts?" Her companion's eyes were burning with fire. She couldn't help the smile at the surge of anger.

"Should you?" She questioned back, "Have I lied to you?"

"You have hidden things from me, Ramaa!"

"No, I haven't." She knew her calm visage irked him when he narrowed his eyes at her, nearing where she sat without an ounce of fear or guilt. "I spoke to you about my family as you have about yours."