The arrow of death

Prologue

Around 5000 years ago

It was late in the day. The sun had gone down earlier than usual and the dying rays of sunlight signalling the end of the day peeked through the horizon. It lit the sky up red as a light dry breeze moved through the now leafless trees. Any other day this would be the time when everyone would relax, free from their work, and bask in the waning sunlight as the cold of the night starts to creep in.

Instead, a battle rages on. The vast battlefield littered with corpses and drenched with blood stretched out as far as the eye could see, turning the banks of the nearby river red. The noise of battle is deafening- metal banging on metal, the galloping of horses pulling chariots, the elephants' thunderous steps shaking up the ground, billows of dust clouds and the vultures flying just above, patiently waiting for the battle to cease for the day- but there is also a lull on the battlefield as the silence of the dead hangs in the air.

The gentle breeze that blows through the battlefield that would've provided some respite from the heat goes unnoticed. The soldiers are drenched with sweat even though it was in the middle of winter.

This battle, the result of a fierce rivalry between cousins leading to lies, treachery and betrayal, would go on to become the greatest, longest and bloodiest battle the land had and would ever witness. The ground on which the battle was being fought on itself seemed to tremble in anticipation of the destruction and hatred that would pass down through the generations.

In the midst of this battle, two warriors lock eyes astride their respective chariots. Their surroundings are invisible to them. Their only focus is on each other. They are both the pride of their peers and are arguably the finest warriors on the battlefield. They both know that only one of them would survive this encounter, yet they stand tall and proud, both confident in their skills. Karna, the son of Surya the sun god, draws his bow as Arjuna standing across him does the same. His muscular arms glistens with sweat as his long hair moves slightly in the gentle wind as Karna fixes his sharp gaze on his opponent. Karna's chariot is golden, shining so bright that it would be difficult to look at directly. A flag depicting a white conch signifying his readiness for battle flew above his chariot. The chariot was pulled by seven horses, each symbolizing the rainbow's seven colors.

Arjuna's chariot looked like any other royal chariot except for the fact it was pulled by five horses representing the five human senses. On looking closer you could see lifelines along the side of the chariot representing destiny, good fortune, and long lives. A red flag fluttered above the roof with the brand of lord hanuman on it representing victory. But the thing that made the chariot special was not the chariot itself but the charioteer. At first glance, one could simply overlook the man sitting at the front. But upon looking closer one would realize, Lord Krishna himself had taken the reigns of Arjuna's chariot. Although Lord Krishna had promised not to take up arms, his presence on the battlefield alone boosted the morale of all the soldiers on the Pandava side as they believed that god himself was on their side.

Arjuna acts first. Quick as lightning, he starts shooting volleys of arrows toward Karna and reloading at speeds that a normal mind wouldn't be able to comprehend. For a moment the battlefield stays still as the soldiers watch in awe as Karna retaliates with equal ferocity, seemingly intercepting Arjuna's arrows in mid-air.

As this battle goes on, Arjuna is successful in destroying Karna's armor and piercing his stomach a few inches above the navel. Blood dripping down his leg, Karna does not seem to be affected by the wound and manages to shoot an arrow that severs the string of  Arjuna's bow.

As Arjuna tries to restring his bow amid the relentless attacks of Karna he thinks to himself, how is Karna able to counter him so efficiently? Arjuna had always thought himself to be the best archer in the world. He had never faced such stiff competition in his life. He had also been gifted boons and celestial weapons by the gods and yet Karna was still his equal. He felt something he'd never felt before.
Is this fear?
"Stay alert Arjuna, an opportunity is about to present itself."
Broken out of his thoughts Arjuna looks at lord Krishna looking ahead, calm and serene as always.

As Arjuna looks up he realises that the arrows from Karna's side had ceased. Upon looking closely he finds that Karna's chariot had gotten stuck in a small ditch in the middle of the battlefield that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. With his charioteer unable to free them Karna jumps down looking frustrated.

"Arjuna! I believe you are a true Kshatriya."Karna shouts as he throws down his bow and quiver. "I hope you will honor the rules of combat and not attack me while I am unarmed as I free my chariot."

Arjuna doesn't reply but instead gives an acknowledging look with a nod of agreement.

Karna thinks to himself, confused as to how the hole was in the middle of the field in the first place. Many chariots had passed through this area, and none had gotten stuck since the morning. Was he just unlucky?  As he puts the side of the chariot on his shoulder, a faint pulling of a taut bowstring is heard.

Purely based on instinct, he turns around and picks up his bow in a swift motion. To his surprise he sees Arjuna with an arrow nocked into his bow and aimed at him.

Moving quickly, he readies his weapon to intercept the attack when suddenly his arms go numb. He drops his bow and arrow as his whole body turns limp. His eyesight starts dimming and he falls to his knees as all his senses grow weaker. Barely managing to open his eyes stares at the barely visible arrow speeding toward him and a name crosses his mind as the world goes black.

Parshuram.