Chapter 5: THE LEGEND
Shivan is already very injured and lost a lot of blood. The seer and villagers tired to comfort and treat him but shivan know that all he is left with are days. Shivan promised Annona he will only come to her after liberating her village that means only after fulfilling the prophecy. On that day, evening, in a beautiful light magnum yellow sunset shivan alone went to a cliff. He is sitting right before the sun and taught, “are you a god, sun? Are you?” And laughed, it hurts his guts even laughing. But he has found his peace, he never felt this comfort in his soul. It’s like rounding off his life, an arc that has come to an end. He remembered every moment of his life from the very first battle alongside his father to the very last battle with the nemesis. From the very first solider to whom shivan said “they are many beautiful women out there” to the sear who tried to save him. To his soldiers oath to Offa`s betrayal. All this felt strange and yet complete but he has one more promise left to fulfil, liberating Annona`a village. He now understood why the old one asked him to learn necromancy, now he took his trident and performed necromancy, he knows how to spellbind and unbind. He freed Wulf Kiba’s spirit from the trident and bounded it to a regular wolf in the village and asked him to do one last thing to take few herbs and medicines to Darbu and He spell bounded himself to the trident. “Son, No man ever, in the end, neither talk nor remember how much he achieved or how much wealth he earned but the little little things that he’s gonna miss in the life, those tiny moments when he really felt alive” he now can relate to this those are words which his father uttered on his death bed. His life felt complete because of all the little moments with Annona and in laughter with his soldiers and in many other little things. His spirit left his body by saying FAITH IS ALL and entered to the trident. The old one sitting in her camp opened her eyes and tears started rolling out the fire in front of her startled. She finally understood why she felt to teach him necromancy, “no questions asked because I have no answer”, she thought. The sear came to the cliff at night and Heard some strange sound he figured out that it is coming from the trident. He bought the trident to the centre of the village and said, “people till now no one helped or even dared to think to help us but our lord and saviour gave his life to save us. He is the man in the prophecy which we thought was a joke but here is the proof, he is our first light. From many years our ancestors don’t even know to whom they have to pray when they fear to nemicies but now we know, Hail! Shivan Ernest, The legend” these sounds echoed even to the deepest reaches of the forest. From then villagers started worshipping him as their saviour, as their strength, as their god.
AFTER 172 YEARS
“Long ago, Our land is cursed with a dark forest called Yunga. It is the most minacious and treacherous forest in the country. Yunga has two villages on either side. Darbu and Sarayu. They are many rumours about this forest. Some say there is a monster in it. Some say there is a dark soul in it. It feeds on our souls. It doesn’t allow anyone of us to leave. 172 years back, From the village, which is another side of the forest, for the first time in thousands year a man named Shivan Ernest…” while Kogan Nicolas, the chief priest of the temple, saying this story to children, who came to temple, there is a big thunderous sound of the storm that interrupted his story. By that sound, the old priest felt mild heartburn in the chest, wobblingly Kogan Nicolas said “kids I will continue the story later it’s already late. May the mighty Ernest bless you now all go home.” In heavy rain with a heavy heart, he was walking to his home shiveringly. On seeing this, a kind boy in his adolescence offered his hand to the priest, Kogan Nicolas is about to accept his help until he saw his face in the lighting.
Ferociously with a tremor in his voice, Kogan said: “You fool how dare you to think to touch my hand, touching your shadow itself is a sin” with the lighting that stuck again the shadow of his hand was on the boy’s feet. Seeing this, Kogan, with rage, yelled, “you scarp heap shudra go away, I am disgraced today. Lord Shivan, please forgive me, Get lost for my way I never want to see your face again.” he went home on his own, but the boy felt dejected and miserable all he wanted was to offer help an old man in heavy rain, but it’s his fate to born as shudra, one the gypsy castes, they treat them as wretched and untouchable in that village because they think he is a from Rogaland. No one treats him as a human. They say that this boy brings downcast for the village or anyone who touches him because he was found at riverbank alongside a crashed ship on the day of the ellipse along with a black thread that is tied to his leg, which is tied to a person who is born in a gypsy caste of Rogaland. He might have been born on that day, not even his umbilical cord has been cut at that time from that day he was treated like a dog. Even though they treated him that way the boy only wanted to help them back, maybe that’s his greatest strength. The greatest strength is not in the arms of a man or how strong he can fight physically but to love the person or people who hate us that requires a heart of pure metal. The boy was grief-stricken due to the words of Kogan Nicolas. All alone in that typhoon of a storm, he slept on under a tree.
The next day it’s bright and vivid everyone is waking with chores of bird-chipping. A small businessman with this cart-wheel passes by the tree under which the boy is sleeping. By the time he was crossing the tree, the boy had woked up and came in the way this businessman was going. Seeing him as the first thing in the morning, he thought his business would ruin, and he went back home. The boy felt very sad, but this is not the first time that this happened. He has two friends one a snake, which is previously was inbound with Annona to whom he talks, he also gave that snake a name Vasuki and the beggar who sits outside the temple. His friend, a beggar, is treated better than him. That beggar seeing him so sad told him that “you might have commenced many sins in your previous life that’s why you are facing all these problems, today is the day villagers found you on the riverbank a few years back go beg the priest and ask him to allow to touch his feet to wash your sins.” then the boy with the hope that resembles as a mirage went to the temple and was waiting outside. He was able to hear a story of Shivan Ernest, Kogan Nicolas is telling children the story that he stopped yesterday night,” Thousand years back the village which is another side of the forest needed help from us. You need to know the story behind this. (after this part boy was not able to hear the story, after some time he started to hear again). This didn’t last long due to the curse that the forest got no one who entered forest came out from the other side. There are hundreds of men who tried to go and figure out, and few tried to enter to show their bravery, but none of them came out on the either of the sides and no one knows what happened to them inside or what is there inside of that deep cursed black forest, Yunga. After this, for many years, no one even dared to enter the forest, but one day after many many years, people in our village saw a smoke signal from the other village and a homing pigeon that died, but with a due pinch of luck, the message reached our side. It said that they need a medicine which can only be done by our villages due to herbs available for us, they got a very vicious plague. The medicine is ready by the evening, but no man is. On the very same day, one man came to this village for the first time on this land with many injuries and blood, with one eye with a trident. One Of the Duo of the Duance. He is the greatest king that ever existed. When he was told that trying to cross the forest is meeting your death he said “I might meet my death. I am certain that death will also meet me and think he’s stubborn. I will die trying not regretting,” He conquered many lands, he achieved which no one achieved in this world yet he choose to leave all his riches and wealth to librate our curse, Man who is after fame and ambition will only be famous but he was truly after a cause, he’s a legend. Lord did many things which are beyond our capabilities to understand he sent a mere wolf, which took our herbs and medicines and after days we heard the bell from that village for the first time. From then He’s been worshipped by our villagers, and his name is Shivan Ernest. Many tried to enter the forest after him in this century and a half years, but we never heard the bell sound. Here and there we can see smoke signals, but pigeons never made their way out of the forest alive with the message.” Kogan Nicolas ends the story saying, “may lord Shivan bless you.” The priest is now on his way out of the temple, this boy just wanted to touch and pledge to priest legs to wash away his sins. When he asked this priest said “how dare you to show me your face again, and you’re asking me to give my permission to touch my legs, get lost,” and he left from there. This boy, instead of being disappointed he was curious about the part of the story he missed. He came to his friend, the beggar, and asked, “what sin I did that, villagers are willing to allow the dog to come inside the temple and allow to drink water from the river but not me? What did I do? And what should I do to let them treat me like a normal human or at least like a dog? then the beggar told “being born as shudra itself is a sin for them and you were found on an ellipse no matter what you do they will treat you the same I don’t think they might not even treat you well even if you crossed that forest.” the boy said “really even then won’t they let me work for them or even let me help them without hesitations even if I cross the forest”, the beggar said “oh! Boy, you are thinking way too much, but I’m joking, if do cross not only these people even the priest, Kogan Nicolas should worship you…but I don’t know why I am laughing, no one in this village has or had a heart that you have.”
Few days passed like this one day villagers saw a big fire flare, a smoke signal from another village this time they received a letter from the pigeon. Its been 172 years until a message reached everyone one is thinking that this is some bad omen no of them dared to touch the note. The beggar took that note without hesitation and gave it to the chief priest of the village in front of everyone, hesitatingly. With a shiver, in his spine, he read that and said: “This time they need a Trident from our temple if we give them that, they can use that to kill the creature which entered in their village, they don’t know from where it came, but all said is that they needed is our Scared Trident.” There was an awkward sullen pin-drop silence but a boy came from the last line of the crowd and said, “I know that death is certain but I will die trying not regretting.” no one uttered a word for a second but suddenly everyone started laughing out loud. The priest came out of the core of the temple and came to this shudra boy and told “You pitiful life at least now you will get to touch Trident because I can’t deny someone who said they will help even though I know that you won’t cross at least 3 feet in the forest, along with you, the misfortune you bought upon this village dies in the forest.” and without touching him he gave Trident to the beggar and he gave it to the boy. The beggar said “those words which you said hit me so hard I felt like I have already heard those words”, then boy laughingly said “yes those are words lord shivan said in the story that priest said but I missed a part of the story I didn’t understand why does the bell rang or this smoke fire could you tell me if you know, just asking out of curiosity.” the beggar said “oh, the bell and fire? Before this forest got cursed when we are protectors, both our villages communicate with each other through smoke fire and bell, the fire is used as a smoke signal for asking help and big bell, which is 23 feet. Once the other side receives the help, they ring this bell to inform that they received the help, but they say this lasted until the forest got cursed. ever since the king died who can only lift the spell this land got cursed. I heard this few times because the priest repeats this story every week.” the boy said, “ thank you for letting me know the story, and thank you for treating me like a human all these days. I’m sorry if I had hurt you by any means.” the beggar said “oh poor boy, how can you be like this, please don’t go into the forest many people went in with an army. You are a poor old boy, and all alone,” the boy said, “who said I’m alone. I have Vasuki with me and the will to help the villagers. Maybe they will accept my help without hesitating that I’m a shudra.” Beggar with a soft cry, said, “you got a heart of pure metal.”
The boy left with seeing his village for one last time and kept his feet in the forest without any hesitation or fear. Many suns passed. No one heard anything, and no one even cared to except the beggar. On the dark violent storm inside the forest, the boy stood in front of the nemicies without any fear but he couldn’t carry the weight of the trident, his hands are shivering suddenly he heard a sound from his trident he has tightly held his trident but now he heard a voice of a man from inside, he could literally feel goosebumps. A sprit’s willingness, shivan thought that this man is worthy. The boy felt itching on his forehead, he felt like something wants to come out of his forehead. An emerald blue eye opened on his forehead, only eye which shivan had. He looked like a Three-eyed person. Vasuki which is crawling on the ground crawled upon his body and came up to his neck and wrapped around his neck, her head right next to the boy’s head, a big thunder stroked in the sky in that lighting his shadow looked like a two-headed person. he is from a different land and born on dark twilit eclipse. Shivan who is inside of him now understood the prophecy and got bewildered. Shivan remembered what no one told, “ it can be understood only when it is happening”. The boy felt that instead of blood now his veins have the fire of volcanos he felt that some power is flowing through him, his wilderness has increased. The Duo Of the Duance now came to life. Which ancestors thought impossible now stood right in front of the Nemicies. They both killed The Nemicies for the second time, for one last time. The beggar sat out of the temple in a very violent whether, which would turn out into a storm and kept looking at the deep forest. As usual, the priest came to the temple and after worshipping, he started saying the story, “A deeply cursed dark forest called Yunga it is the…….and that man kept his leg in the forest for the first time and with injuries and blood he came out of the forest with an emerald blue eye along with a trident from then he’s a legend. He’s been worshipped by our villagers, and his name is ….” while he is about to say, a big thunderous sound of 23 feet bell came thudding from the other village, the beggar came running into the temple like a mad man and yelled, “and his NAME IS SHIVA!! ”. In another village, the bell-man saw a man with a snake around his neck and the Trident in his hand in a big thunder-storm, crying out loud while ringing the bell he asked, “Lord what is your name?” and the boy said, Shiva, he started ringing bell non-stop, crying out he is shouting “SHIVA, SHIVA, SHIVA ….”
It’s the first time the priest heard the boy’s name now without his permission he was able to feel the thuds of vibrations from the bell touching his feet. The beggar on seeing mud that’s vibrating near feet said, “ lord his touched your feet without your permission.”. it felt like as if his feet were on fire. Beggar said, “from today I will say the story to the children.” The priest felt heartburn as if it is shivan who is speaking to him.
Shiva, The boy crossed the forest and went to Darbu. He heard a voice in his head, “Shiva, now the prophecy of the Nemicies is fulfilled now its time for me to leave this world and go to my love, Annona, I am announcing you as the right full heir and king to my thrown, take care of my country Agartha” everyone there heard these words. Everyone kneeled before shiva and yelled “ Hail! King Shiva Ernest”. Shivan left this world to meet Annona after fulfilling both of his promises. King shiva along with the Tressure, Fortune of Agartha and the people from both the villages has left to Agartha. The Old one officially crowned him as the king of Agartha and felt that she is witnessing the gods of Duance themselves from mangi mythology.