A droplet of water rang with the fury of the heavens as it splashed softly onto Chandraguptas head. The cold trickle of water ran slowly down a cheek as he stared at the small, gushing stream of water that poured out of the lions mouth onto the gardens he stood upon.
That lion had seen better years; its face was old, scarred, pitted. One of the carefully shaped silver whiskers remained, tarnished slightly, bent at an odd angle, the rest were gone; stolen, most like. The deep set eyes of colored diamonds sparkled as they glared malevolently down on he who would intrude here, and the teeth were a foot long, out of ivory. One of the ears was half broken.
The old warrior had been born in an age of turmoil, and now she stood five hundred years later. Guiding the Mauryans. Guarding their sacred home with those ancient eyes. And the water fell out of her mouth, splashing gently down, watering the garden of a dynasty.
His eyes wandered little, each time they might stray, they were riveted back to that gaze, that gaze which had never wavered, never faltered.
He reached a tentative hand out to her mouth, his eyes never leaving the eyes of the guardian. Cupping it slightly, a bit of water splashed into his hand, and he withdrew it quickly, a small pool remaining. The rest trickled softly, falling off of his knuckles in minuscule droplets.
Raising his hand to his mouth, he drank her waters, drank deeply from the mouth that had given drink to so many Mauryans.
I fear the Kali Yug is upon us.
Her face was impassive. They eyes glinted malevolently.
Shivas time.
Her eyes seemed to narrow a bit, the snarl growing just slightly wider.
Old warrior, do you know? Your beauty... It has grown more weathered.
The pits of her eyes seemed hollow now, her face a haunted, dark cove.
Is this Kalis work? Does Vishnu lack the strength to protect us now? What time is this, that it be so cold, so hard?
A tear trickled from her eye.
Must we... What... He could not start a sentence. The wind began to pick up, a soft breeze. A few dark spots appeared on the stone. Rain. The monsoon. A wolf howled in the distance at the setting sun.
Must it be this way? This slide into darkness... Surely we can stop it? Surely we can prolong the pure times? Our strength, Vishnus strength, is that not enough?
Small water droplets ran from her dark fur, splashing to the ground. Rain collected in his hair, falling down the sides of his face, their eyes locked in mortal embrace.
I came to ask for guidance... But that is folly, is it not? I... Our thoughts must come... But how? How do I save Magadha? Is this... Is this the only way? War?
The scum, they deny... They have...
There will be no peace.
Was it only he, or did she nod ever so slightly?
Avanti and Dhaka, they help us now. The Harappans are good for little, but they do aid where they can. But they... They are not enough. We have... we are outnumbered. I do not know how to correct this; they simply have more men than we can garner. Its...
His mouth twitched. He swore he could hear a faint growl. Or was that only thunder?
It is the only way, is it not? I had feared so. But tell me true, I do not wish to do it, but I fear...
She nodded ever so slightly again.
I must then. Gods save us. I will do it, then, but it... it must be far worse... than we surmised.
Of course it is worse than we surmised! Alas, I fear I am growing too old for this. Vishnu shield you, for I must go.
She nodded again, and he tore his eyes away from her gaze. His heart was beating ever so terribly...
He rose unsteadily from his knees. Water ran down his legs and onto the ground, off of his arms, his body. The rain tore down now, a furious assault of a billion billion water droplets, accompanied by the heavenly drums, thundering off of the far mountains and resounding into the valley. The Ganges itself trembled under this hail.
Turning, he bit his lip. Thank the gods it is raining... No one will see the tears.
**********************
Amal stood at the great peaked archway that led to the sacred gardens only three of today could enter, hand resting on the pommel of his long, slightly curved blade. The rain dripped in a veritable curtain from the arch, splashing onto the white stones that paved the way of conquerors. Perhaps the gods were crying. For whom, he could not say.
His sovereign walked slowly. There was a haunted look there... One of sorrow and anger. Such was that of all the Mauryans that contemplated the gods.
Her sari clung delicately to her chest, but he affected not to notice.
My empress. He bowed. You are most beautiful. Have the gods revealed much?
Her face seemed gaunt, but that only enhanced her beauty as she tossed back her long black hair, which glistened wetly from the monsoon.
Little more than it did for my husband. She frowned slightly. Is he about?
Upstairs, my empress. Contemplating some maps, I believe.
She nodded ever so slowly, her eyes staring off to see something that was unseen by all but her.
Shall I inform him you are coming?
Her eyes flicked back to meet his.
After a pause, she shook her head slightly. No. You will hear from me soon enough Amal, but there are some demons that you cannot fight.
His mouth tightened slightly.
I will await the sovereigns summons, then.
He watched as she walked away... then she turned a corner and was gone. He turned his own way and left the palace, for what he could not say.
**********************
The gods may weep for nations or men,
but never will they weep for me.
**********************
The Ganges was a swollen mass now, wide enough to swallow an army whole beneath its waters. And the rain certainly was doing nothing to correct that.
A torrent flowed from the sky, a torrent alike flowed from the Himalayas. They were twin, and in their kinship they had formed a lion among rivers. The Ganges was unrivaled now, and all the kingdoms under heaven could not match a river to it.
The banners that lined the banks were tattered pieces of cloth now, the sigil they bore barely recognizable as the twin trees of Kura. These banners had seen more than their fair share of fighting; barely escaping the great battle with the Magadhans intact.
The men that marched under them were rough men of fearsome demeanor. Grizzly veterans alongside young farmers who had been blooded far too soon.
Damn those elephants, one murmured.
The rest nodded. Their campfire sputtered in the rain, even with the makeshift cloth over it.
We had our own.
Silence greeted this. It was true, no one could deny...
And we were the ones who faced their elephants. Faced, and nearly died. Damn those commanders.
A few nodded, more closed their eyes wearily. More snored. The rain fell, and lightning lit up the night sky briefly, a wolf howling at the distant thunder.
The soldier sighed, and bedded down himself, in the cold, wet, rain.
A hundred meters away, men shouted challenges, but this was obscured by the rain and the wind howling. He went to sleep, peaceful as a babe, on that dark and stormy night.
**********************
To: Avanti
From: Magadha
These are dark and troubled times. The rulers of our nation have had only one child, and she has grown nearly to adulthood now, a beautiful, intelligent young lady who I have no doubt you would grow to adore if you had her in your presence right now.
I understand you have a certain prince in your nation, the only child of your sovereigns, of age with our own. It is the wish of Chandragupta to marry the one throne to another, to found a new dynasty that spans across the Ganges.
This may be what helps us out of these times. This may stave off the impending Kali Yug.
Please consider this offer carefully, my friends.
**********************
To: Hyderabad
From: Magadha
A great evil looms over the lands of the north. These men that we speak of, demons wielding their weapons with impunity, threaten to overrun us all. The Indus, the Ganges, all seem prostrate before their innumerable hordes. While we resist this the best we can, we fear ourselves to be not powerful enough to stave off this threat along.
The Kali Yug, the Age of Destruction, looms over us.
Pleaseyou claim to be sovereign of all Dravidia. Help defend it then.