Verethragna

The last forty years have been a time of peace and prosperity for the kingdom of Chaldea. The great king Aretakhshathra has conquered the warring neighbors Elam and Assuria and made peace with Persis. He has successfully converted most of the revolting heretics called Bajau Laut to the way of the wizard kings of old and the rest, fled to the bottom of the Caspian sea. The king now a hundred and ten years old feels as though he should prepare himself for the hereafter. So he has coronated his firstborn, the pious Arsham and brought for him a beautiful princess, by the name of Kalyani, daughter of Sarvadaman, the king of Mitanni. Kings of Mitanni have been allies of Chaldea for hundreds of years. And for generations, they have been bonded by marriage relations.The Asura Aretakhshathra has three sons. Among Arsham, Ereksha, Haoshyangha, Arsham is the eldest and the most learned in the ways of the Magi. He is wise, generous, soft-spoken, modest and a very powerful wizard. It is common belief that no other mage in the whole Aryanem Vaejah can defeat him in a one to one fair duel. He learned from his father and from the renowned sage Vishtaspa. Young Ereksha is 18 years old. He is a master horse rider and swordsman. Although not specially known for his magical arts, he is a powerful opponent in battle. He is known as the truthful one. And his twin, Haoshyangha is less of a warrior and more of a pacifist. He is a master of all the gathas. And of the three, he is the most handsome.

Today is the eleventh day of Hadukannas, the sacred month of peace. It is the custom of the people of Aryanem Vaejah to restrain from any sort of physical and verbal attack on another individual or a kingdom. And it is the day after the night of consummation of the royal marriage.After completion of the compulsory bath after the consummation ceremony, the new king and his queen are ambling majestically towards the royal court with their maids and footmen behind them. The royal court of the Magian dynasty is an open assembly. It is confined by no walls from any side. It’s floor is made from sea marbles. The court is protected by an invisible thin magical barrier. It sieves sunlight and purifies the air and protects against violent gusts of wind and rain. And the court air is filled with aroma and surrounded from the east and the west by an artificial lake and from the north, by the royal palace and the lake is surrounded by wheat fields. It is a strangely pleasant day. The sky is covered in dark clouds, yet there is a cool breeze and the sun shines from the western sky. All the kings invited from the allied nations have gathered in the court for the marriage ceremony to begin. It is the custom of Chaldea to hold the wedding banquet after the marriage has been consummated. On the right of the king’s throne have sat the old king Aretakhshathra and his wife Dugedhra and beside them Ereksha and Haoshyangha. And on the left of the throne are the Mitannian king Sarvadaman, his wife Ahalya and his young son prince Arindama. After offering salutations to their parents and the gathered noble kings, the new king Arsham and the queen Kalyani occupied their appointed seats. Everyone was offered soma to appease their thirst and to commence the ceremony. The king Aretakhshathra rose to spill soma from his chalice. He thanked all the gathered kings who came from as far as Abyssinia, Kemet, Mitanni, Persis, Phrygia, Assuria, Babylonia, Gandhara, Surasena etc and embraced his friend Sarvadaman and asked the royal dastur to begin the holy recitations.

Suddenly a strong wave of wind emanated from the south creating a wavefront on the wheat fields. And a few men were seen coming towards the court escorted by the royal guards. As they entered the court, everyone saw their clothes soaked in blood. One of them is the satrap of Elam, Sheherbaraz. “What has happened to you, Sheherbaraz?”, asked Aretakhshathra. Clutching his left hand by the right, he said gaspingly “The miners in the western mountains of Elam, discovered a golden ankh while digging. As they dug more, they found an intricate floor made of gold. One of them hit the ankh with their shovel but couldn’t break it. They hit the ankh until it broke. And the floor opened and from beneath it, surged a legion of four armed demons. They killed the miners. I myself was supposed to visit the mine today. But my chariot was stopped halfway by three of our scouts who survived. As we talked, the demons attacked us and we lost two men and my left hand.” Aretakhshathra rose from his seat and rushed towards the man. His muscles were dying from the place of the wound. The old king immediately called for the medics and started reciting some incantations of healing. After first aid was given, Sheherbaraz elaborated on the nature of the demons. They are stronger than humans and so many in numbers. His estimation is in tens of thousands. And said that he was being pursued along the way. He also fears that they might attack nearby villages. “We should gather our army and head towards Elam”, suggested Ereksha, anxious and restless. “It is the sacred month and we can’t ask this of our people. We can’t afford a war and bloodshed.”, retorted Aretakhshathra. “Not wanting to fight has made our people peace loving and weak. As we speak, the demons are ravaging and pillaging villages. We should act immediately”, said Ereksha. “Not before we consult the high priests”, said Aretakhshathra. “I think the young prince is right.”, saying this Sarvadaman rose from his seat. And the other kings started voicing their own opinions. Aretakhshathra begged for their attention and assured them that Chaldea will not ask for any military assistance in this crisis and it will protect its guests. And he sent riders for the twelve Dasturs immediately. The priests suggested that people of Chaldea shouldn’t engage in a war even in an act of self defense. They however suggested that a small group of voluntary soldiers should be gathered in the condition that they will be sent to fight the demons and never to return. And they will be banished and denied from the kingdom and their kins. But they will have to be able to put an end to the army of the demons. Hearing this, Sheherbaraz said, “I believe the entire army of Chaldea is no match for this opponent. How can we banish our whole army?” “Great Asura Aretakhshathra, we should combine our forces and attack”, said king Artaxerxes of Persis. “I am afraid that will bring calamity to both the kingdoms, my lords. In the sacred month, we deal with criminals in the non-violent way. We apprehend murderers and thieves. But killing is unforgivable.”, said Dastur Ardashir. “But how can we stop them without killing them?”, asked Aretakhshathra. “We can’t. That’s why we suggested the banishment of a group of soldiers who think they are capable of putting an end to this terror”, said the Dastur.

And then he went on to tell the stories of the king Berezat the great and the etiology of the demons. Berezat is the great-great-great-grandfather of Arsham. He was the first king of the Magian dynasty. Before him, this region was ruled by a Daeva king Meros and his queen was the witch Eris. Meros was a ruthless oppressor who wouldn’t provide security to his subjects, his kingdom was total chaos, he would however demand quite a good levy after each harvest and would daily require human sacrifice to feed his lust for blood. Berezat was a prodigious son of a poor farmer. When he was ten years old, his father failed to return the tax money and Meros sentenced him to death. When the army of Meros came to take his father, Berezat stood up against them with a stump. Despite his futile protest, he and his father were captured unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he saw his dead father before him being skinned by Meros. Shock, agony, frustration swelled up in him and he let out a scream. Flame from his mouth engulfed Meros. The shackles around his arms and legs broke. Berezat took his father and escaped. He and his family left Chaldea immediately and hid in the mountains of eastern Elam. Realizing his new power, Berezat convinced himself that he could defeat evil Meros and free the people of Chaldea. After the war of Issus, Meros’s army was returning from the battlefield exhausted. And Berezat attacked them as they were passing through the mountains of Elam. Meros told his army to step aside and himself engaged in a duel. Meros was defeated but was left alive. Berezat took the throne of Chaldea at the age of eighteen. He drove away all the demons from the kingdom of Chaldea. Meros’s wife bore Meros thousands of children and they built an army. Their first batch of children were the Machai, then came the Hysminai, then the Androktasiai and the Phonoi. Meros fought several times against Berezat but he failed. Meros and Eris were killed. The Hysminai, the Androktasai and the Phonoi were drowned in the sea. But the Machai were sealed under the mountains of Elam. Now, they have returned. But the sealing techniques of old are lost. Neither can we seal them nor it is possible to slaughter thousands.

“Father, I beg your pardon. I too think that we shouldn’t involve our soldiers in this. If you permit, I wish to go alone and fight those demons and restore the peace we have had for years.”, said Arsham. “You are the king of the realm and you now have a wife. Your life has just begun, son. You can’t forsake the throne and your people and us like that.”, said Aretakhshathra in shock. “You were the fruit of our love and prayer. The people in this country love you. Stay here and rule”, cried his Mother. “That is why I must go”, said Arsham. “If Arsham should go, I will go with him. With him gone, I will have not much to do here. Also, I want to do something for the people of Chaldea with all the training I went through ever since I was a child”, said Kalyani. “But there must be another solution”, said Aretakhshathra being torn in violent emotions. “There is little time. I have made up my mind, father.”, said Arsham. “No. We will attack them with all our forces. Prepare the men”, said Aretakhshathra. “No, King. You mustn’t put your nation in harm’s way. You were chosen by the people of Chaldea. Now you must make a sacrifice for your kingdom. It will be good for your son as it will be good for your line and your people.”, said the Dastur. Aretakhshathra and Dugedhra started lamenting deliriously, reminiscing the upbringing of their firstborn and reflecting on the irony of life. Sarvadaman and his wife were no different. “We must not waste time. Let the branding ceremony begin”, said Arsham. Everyone looked towards Aretakhshathra’s face as he burst into tears. The Dastur called for the ritual fire to be set up. After due recitation, the Dastur took the iron cast and pressed it against Arsham and Kalyani’s neck. The branding of the outlaw was done. Arsham consigned his royal crown, ring and sceptre on the floor in front of his father. Kalyani did the same. They kept with them only the marriage rings. Arsham took his magic staff. After a heartbreaking yet fulfilling farewell session the Asura prince Arsham with his beloved wife set out for the mountains of Elam. It was nearing dusk. And it was already raining with rumbling thunders. They held each other’s hands. Kalyani created a rain protective bubble around them with her charm. Arsham made it fly through the atmosphere with tremendous speed.

Within an hour they reached the village of Gaugamela. People were running towards various directions out of panic and dead bodies lay everywhere. The fiends were tearing people into halves. Arsham and Kalyani were left in shock. “Do you have any plan?”, asked Kalyani. “Not yet”, was Arsham’s answer. “We immediately need to surround a larger area around the village soon. We need to confine the devils and then separate the civilians”, said Kalyani. “Good plan. Even though no barrier charm lasts more than 24 hours. We need to finish them all before the charm wears off”, said Arsham, excited. Both of them positioned themselves near the north and south end of the village and they put on a strong physical barrier around the village. No living being can get in or out of it without the charmcaster’s will. Then Arsham bit his finger and let a drop of blood come out. He overlaid a part of the barrier with his blood. And commanded that any human being living inside the barrier should be ejected immediately. The barrier identified and forced the living humans out of the perimeter. Kalyani collected blood samples from a dead demon’s corpse lying outside the barrier. With it, they determined that there are seventeen thousand and five hundred and five alive demons inside the barrier. They were clouting the barrier wall in an attempt to break free. Now all Arsham and Kalyani need to do is enter the barrier and finish every last one of the devils before the time runs out. They entered together and immediately the demons surrounded them. Kalyani created a magic bow with an infinite supply of arrows. An arrow can pierce five demons at the same time. They began fighting the demons while looking out for each other. They were being overwhelmed by attacks from every side. After an hour or so, they got separated. Arsham tried his best to find and unite with her but by the time he found her it was too late. A demon tore off one of her arms and pierced her belly. Out of desperate rage and frustration, Arsham with a single blow of his stuff, threw away all the demons that were within a good radius. He immediately secured her body and levitated her out of the barrier. By the time, it was raining like crazy. Tears, blood and rain covered his face. He was fighting the infinite swarm of dumb creatures but his mind was elsewhere. He was prepared for all this but even then agony, frustration, sorrow and numbness never fell upon him like this. It was getting tougher and tougher for him to concentrate and fight. He thought of the most unthinkable idea ever. He summoned a creature of the pit and bound it in himself.

He turned himself into a berserker. Nothing can stop a berserker in war. But the penalty of the summoner is that there is no turning back. And when the sun rises, a berserker dies. The berserker ran through the demons like a maniac and with the flames he threw out of his mouth, he burned them indiscriminately. He tore down houses, cut down trees with his axe. And when he found nothing else to destroy, he was suffering even more. He ran and screamed for hours. And as the sun started to rise, he started to revert back to human form. He was weak and he felt unimaginable pain all over his body. He came to his senses. It was getting increasingly difficult for him to breathe. He dragged himself nonetheless to find the lost arm of Kalyani. He came out of the barrier and found the body of Kalyani. He lay down beside her. Regret, loss, despair, disbelief, love and a hundred other indistinguishable feelings surged upon him. Looking at her face, he wondered how two consecutive nights in the life of a human being can be so terribly different. She looked however as beautiful in his eyes as ever and now, even more sanctified. He wondered about the pointlessness of heroism and kingship and self sacrifice. The pain in his body was taking over his consciousness. He kept thinking about his childhood friend, lover and wife who lay beside him, dead. Memories of the most beautiful days of his life in Chaldea seemed like the shining glow of a distant sun. It made him happy. The people of Gaugamela never saw such peaceful smiles in dead bodies.

Old king Aretakhshathra holds funeral for his son and daughter in law. The royal guests stay for another ten days. Not for the wedding festivities of a blessed union. But for the funeral rites of a king and the coronation of another.