Sahasra (Completed ✔️)

Chapter 3: The Guardian

The sky was pitch black against stars that shone like diamonds scattered on a new black silk waiting to be glued. There was no moon. The streets were asleep in the blackness except for a few street lamps in the corners of the main roads. The fire in the lamps was eager to die and insects flew around them drawn by the beauty that hid the danger. And they waited, as silent as the walls of the bell tower, the guardians. Guardian was a title that was as ancient as the temple of Heles, a position that held power and respect, a position that died with the last Guardian Saket, the late prince of Sarayuha. But it was now revived, by those who were ready to shoulder the responsibility it offered.

Eyes take a lot of time to adjust to the darkness. So for fighting in the dark you should either keep your ears sharp or you should wait till your eyes would adjust with the darkness. The guardians were crouched over the sculptures of extended elephant heads on the bell tower, ready to pounce on their enemy in any moment to come.

Haya was confident that he would be able to complete his job without any interruptions. It was the middle of the night. There were hours before sun rise. He was in the outskirts of the town and no one would be able to trace him. It wasn’t an easy task for him. It took months to get things in order, had to put in a lot of effort, but finally he has done it. He had promised a load since a few months now, but it was tough to convince people in the city and kidnapping was a risky job. It was easier for his gang to carry out such activities before the last five months but now the masked warriors of the night were all over everyone who tried to do anything illegal. They came at night without any warning and left behind headless corpses and pools of blood. However, till now they have only appeared in the city and not in the outskirts and that is the reason Haya chose the place. One by one Haya and his men loaded the children in the cart. The children were skinny, both boys and girls. Food was scarce in the kingdom especially among the poor people in the outskirts. It was one reason he was able to convince the people to send their children with him for work. Most of the mothers only wanted their children to have at least a meal a day.

Living has become tough in Sarayuha since the last few years. Sarayuha bordered with the sea in the east, mountains in the north, miles of waste lands in the west and Mahishmathi in the south. Sarayuha’s business with the outside world was mainly through sea after Mahishmathi had closed its borders with the kingdom and stopped all trade with it. They had also built a dam to stop the Kuntala River from flowing to Sarayuha. It was really tough for the kingdom to survive with the little water that came through the Kuntala River which once used to flood its banks and flowed to the sea. Farming was hit badly and so was trade. Mahishmathi provided the best arms throughout the kingdoms; hence a conflict with Mahishmathi meant that Sarayuha would no longer receive good quality weapons. While Bhallaldev was alive it was easy for the kingdom to carry out trade with Mahishmathi and all other nations through land but after the war with Mahishmathi, King Mahendra had not only ended the lives of all the male heirs but also blocked the traders of Sarayuha from entering the Kingdom by closing its gates. But Princess Jayara, the daughter of the late king of Sarayuha, Dhakshasheel was not ready to accept defeat. She had cried enough, enough for the death of husband and her child, then her father and her brothers. She cried for years but her kingdom needed her to act. Jayara was never taught to rule. She was taught to groom well, to sing and dance, to respect elders, agree to her husband and she exceeded in all her lessons. But none of it helped her when she was left alone to take decisions for herself and her kingdom, to protect her people and feed them. Jaya opened the sea route and made trade with other countries through the sea. They brought in weapons and even water in ships. But it was tougher than the mainland and sea was always a challenge. But since the last 7 to 8 years, pirates had become a great threat to the merchants. They stole goods, money and even the ships and most of the times killed the voyagers. It was tough to transport things through seas and many lost their lives doing it but there was no other way to keep the kingdom alive and many undertook the task due to their immense love for their families and kingdom, which was now under threat. Their love and patriotism was vanishing for the fear of their lives.