Sati laughed heartily. Shiva joined in. His first spirited laugh in over two months. He
embraced Sati, feeling the negative energy dissipate from his being. ‘I love you, Sati.’
‘I love you too,’ she whispered.
Shiva raised the curtain to come out of the tent that Sati was ensconced in. Krittika and
Ayurvati were with her. A retinue of nurses attended to her every need. Shiva had been
obsessive about the health of his unborn child, questioning Ayurvati incessantly about every
aspect of Sati’s well-being for the last two months of the march to Swadweep.
The Suryavanshis had moved valiantly for nearly three months. The path had been much
more challenging than expected. The forest had reclaimed its original habitat with alarming
ferocity. The army was invaded by wild animals and disease at every turn. They had lost two
thousand men. And not one to the enemy. After weeks of hacking and marching, the scouts had
finally managed to lead the Suryavanshi army to the Chandravanshis.
The Chandravanshis were camped on a sweeping plain called Dharmakhet. Their choice
was clever. A substantial and uncluttered field, it had enough room to allow the Chandravanshis
to manoeuvre their million strong army. The full weight of their numerical superiority would come
into play. The Suryavanshi army had tried to wait out the Chandravanshis, to test if they would
lose patience and attack in a less advantageous area. But the Chandravanshis had held firm.
Finally, the Suryavanshis moved camp to an easily defensible valley close to Dharmakhet.
Shiva looked up at the clear sky. A lone eagle flew overhead, circling the royal camp, while
five pigeons flew lower, unafraid of the eagle. A strange sign. His Guna shaman would have
probably said that it’s a bad time for batde, for the pigeons clearly have a hidden advantage.
Don’t think about it. It is all nonsense in any case.
Breathing in the fresh morning air deeply, he turned right, towards Emperor Daksha’s tent.
Nandi was walking towards him.
‘What is it Nandi?’
‘I was just coming towards your tent, my Lord. The Emperor requests your presence.
There’s been a troubling development’
Shiva and Nandi hurried towards Daksha’s tastefully appointed royal tent. They entered to
find Daksha and Parvateshwar engrossed in a discussion. Vraka, Mayashrenik and Drapaku
sat at a distance. Drapaku was a little further away from the rest.
‘This is a disaster,’ groaned Daksha.
‘Your Highness?’ asked Shiva.
‘My Lord! I’m glad you’re here. We face complete disaster.’
‘Let’s not use words like that, your Highness,’ said Shiva. Turning towards Parvateshwar, he
asked, ‘So your suspicions were correct?’
‘Yes,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘The scouts just returned a few minutes ago. There was a reason
the Chandravanshis were refusing to mobilise. They have despatched a hundred thousand
soldiers in a great arc around our position. They will enter our valley by tomorrow morning. We
will be sandwiched between their main force ahead of us and another hundred thousand at the
back.’
‘We can’t fight on two fronts, my Lord,’ cried Daksha.