DESTINY

Some of the people from the nearby villages that belong to the capital town entered the fort identifying themselves the refugees of the assault by the invaders. After verifications they were sent to live with the section of the people – the oppressed class by the ruler. The oppressed community gathered to invite the newcomers and was eager with fear to hear the horrid nightmares faced by them in the war. They believed the villages were ransacked by the invaders who were been mentioned the brutal barbarians by their ruler. After having their supper with the little that remained which they eventually shared with the fellow newcomers they sat around to listen to their tales. One among them stood and came forward. He was well prepared for the speech that has to be delivered as per the command for he was not nervous and stood firm and with a bold voice began his speech. The gist of the speech was not about the war that they faced rather a call to join the invader and attack the capital in the upcoming war. The people were in no shock to the speech rather acknowledged it with a sigh of relief. Back to their senses the community turned back pointing towards a band with hope. The leader of the band has already sensed the gist halfway through the speech. He is in a dilemma for he knew his decision may save or destroy his community consisting of the elders, women, and children and of course the youth who bear the hope of freedom and equality in the heart that was lit by him and his small band of friends. And now is an opportunity to strike the rulers and clear them off.

The term oppressed must have justified the popular stand of the community. Yet the leader of the band who himself is not the elder of the community but a revolutionary well known to all the people inside the fort for his radical thoughts and action has to fight a war deep in his mind to arrive at a decision.

The leader of the band had no trust in the king or his form of rule. This has been his character all through his life all courtesy to the society in which he lives. The capital is the only fortified area among the nearest regions. The capital lies along the banks of a small tributary of a larger river of the known land. The capital is surrounded by some 25 odd villages encircling it. Though a small settlement they were well equipped with a small fortress and an army to guard the honor and glory of the land and its people whose population may be around 1200 men. The society within the fort had its own age hold problems which seemed to be never ending to the present generation for they knew not the origin to these nuisances in the society. The problems might have evolved from generations together which eventually divided the society into two classes. The ruling class rose in a manner to power which in due course led way to an oppressed class. The society recognized and favored a few and reluctantly neglected the rest. The fort has the biggest population followed by the scattered population from the different villages around. The villages were in no way different from the capital in the social behavior. The ruling class dominated and oppressed the rest. Though the oppressed were more in number they were not well connected enough to throw open a successful rebellion. The one inside the fort were the most unfortunate for they suffered the most. The oppressed were not allowed to speak their thoughts or raise their voice for their basic needs. They were not provided with the education which the royals acquired or allowed to enter the place of worship. The oppressed were not treated equally and the rulers believed the only reason for their existence is to serve the royals. Nearly half of the strength of the army consisted of the oppressed. If the war broke out and the enemy storm in through the gates it would be his people among the oppressed who will be the first kill. By the time the leaders mind was back to sense after pondering in the past, the messenger had finished his statement and the crowd had turned the attention towards the band.

He also has a personal reason to align himself with the alien and fight against the ruler. His father whom he had never seen was martyred by the ruler before he could leave his mother’s womb. He was said that his father was a just man and fought for the well-being of his class and hence was brutally tortured and publically killed. His father is considered one of the foremost martyrs by the current generation of the people. He was indeed waiting to create an opportunity to take his revenge on the entire royal community.

Though the mind is in deep analysis of the situation his face remained calm. He is yet to announce his stand to the people. He believed the invader is clever enough to send his supporters disguised as the citizens of the capital. Excusing himself from the crowd the leader moved away to think in peace. Spark of thoughts strike his mind. The word barbaric strikes his mind every now and then. Though those were the words of the ruler in whom he had no faith in he is fascinated by the word itself and fears it. He admits his fear of what if those words are true? Will he be able to raise the voice against a barbarian? Will his act of betrayal to the capital be justified? His minds waver along the winds of the east. He is not able to enjoy the wind and cries in agony seeking the advice of his ancestors. What am I going to do? Can the invader be the savior of our miseries? Can we gain our freedom with the help of the invader? Will he be true to us? Will he return the fort in our favor for the help we provide? Unable to handle the pressure he fell on his knees. New doubts arise in him about the invader. How can an invader be kind? The invader is from the north and that means he must have ransacked the seven villages upfront. Has the invader played the same foul play of employing the men of the villages in ransacking the villages? Does that seem fair in general? And even if that is the case what about the people who surrendered to him? The royals usually fear a lot for their lives and will be the first to lick the shoes of the invader, he believed. What if the invader was given a choice to choose between the men in any case may be the oppressed who have helped him(if the case was to be true) and the royals who beg his pardon of a mere showdown of an assault who can lay down riches in front of him, whom would he choose? Is taking a risk on believing the unknown invader fair enough to satisfy the revenge? The ruler is the known enemy and the invader is relatively unknown to be mentioned a friend or a foe. He is roughly more confused.

He begins to jog out the points favoring both the ends by drawing a line on the ground beneath him. The king is the known enemy. He is worse for sure. He is a person worthy to be sacrificed to any gods to save the people of the capital. Though he is selfish he is not willing to surrender to the invader. He is willing to fight to safeguard the capital. Why not we fight to safeguard ourselves and in the due process come up with an agreement with the ruler which can break the class system prevalent in the society highlighting him the fact that without the soldiers and men from the oppressed class defending the fort is an impossible task. This could result in the possibility of eliminating the age old practice of discrimination and ill treatment. What if we lose the battle? He had no answers and his mind skipped to the next. What if we win yet the ruler breaks the agreement? He had an answer to this. Definitely after chasing the invader the boost is fair enough to terrorize the ruler in acknowledging the agreement and abide to it forever.

His attention now shifted to the other side of the line. Back in his mind he began-On the other hand the invader is a new person. He is neither a friend nor a foe and all of a sudden cannot be acknowledged as a savior. A savior usually never comes in the form of an invader. But I can utilize this opportunity in making each and every one the savior of their people. But how can I trust this unknown person and leave it to his mercy the freedom of my people? By the time he was discussing within himself scribbling the ground one of his band boy very young rushed to him. He had a message to be delivered to him by one of his closest friend. The message was crystal clear. The people in the community notwithstanding the absence of the leader of the band as raised questions on their own to get a brighter picture of what is to happen if they accept the invaders wish. Though the man who carried the message was reluctant to utter an extra word and played tactfully using his words to mesmerize the community with false hopes he had unknowingly mentioned about the siege.

“Siege? what does that mean” yelled the leader. The entire fort is to be surrounded by the invading troops and they may unleash the attack from all the sides and even try to scale the fort. What could be the reason to delimit us inside the fort? The leader enquired him. Siege for days together may lead to the shortage of supplies inside the fort. Unable to handle the situation the ruler has to surrender replied the boy. Why are we to face shortages? We can have our supplies from the villages he replied .Ah! The plan is unveiled. What if the entire villages known to the vicinity are ransacked and destroyed to capture the capital. With too many uncertainties growing each and every minute it won’t be a wise decision to joint hands with the invader, he finalized his mind.

Reaching back to the arena he declared his will to join hands with the ruler but with an agreement and oppose the invader and save the capital. He tried to explain the reasons for his decision. Soon nevertheless the community found itself divided into 3 groupings. One, who were willing to fight the invaders another to support the invader and the third decided not to involve themselves in the war. The first group marched to meet the ruler and explain to him the information they possessed. The second group left the fort secretly without informing the community. On hearing this news the ruler and the leader of the band came up with an agreement on certain lines. The ruler wanted immediate help and hence accepted the agreement but with minor corrections thereby tilting the favor in the side of the royals. The leader of the band accepted to the amendments trusting in his belief that the victory in the war will surely give him and his people an upper hand. The underground and secret routes to the villages and the land outside the fort were sealed as part of the precautionary measures. The ruler considered it the duty of the oppressed to defend the country. Henceforth the band formed the outer layer followed by the army men of the oppressed class followed inward by the army men of ruling class covering the royals. This is an evil strategy deployed by the cunning envious ruler to clear off his social enemies. Though the band consisted of the majority of the strength of the entire force of the capital they are unskilled filled only with a brave heart to fight and valor to guard the glory of the fort. The leader of the band was well aware of the situation but encouraged his troop saying the unorthodox style of attack of the band could turn fatal to even to the best warrior of the land. The capital city was ready for the open battle for they feared random night attacks. The concept of siege was indeed new to them and the fortification was considered only a part of architectural beauty according to them. They had no knowledge of war or threat from any neighboring regions. The river which guarded the capital and the entire group of villages has dried this year completely allowing an alien invasion. The sun rose in the east and so are the soldiers of the capital marching towards the gates. Unlike the ruler who hid himself behind the large troop the leader of the band led the group from the front. The invader camp was stunned at the sudden move of the soldiers. To be fair the battle is far from being equally balanced. The invading army quite comfortably outnumbered the defending counterpart.

The war began.

The men of the capital devised a plan to surprise the invaders by attacking them rather than defending the fort. But the invaders were more experienced enough to sense the move and swiftly reacted to the situation. The invaders army was in no way different from the fort forces in the arrangement pattern. The men of the fort who supported the invader formed the outer layer followed by the soldiers of the invaders army. The invader himself was not seen in the vicinity. The clash of the brothers of the community took place. Though they chose different paths they were not able to hurt each other. As the physical battle was fought their internal battle within the conscience also began. How can they hurt their fellow men? How can they face the family of the dead members after the victory? Do we need victory there by in the process kill our kith and kin? There was a change in heart in the mind of each and every member of the troop and within the thoughts could be materialized the second set of soldiers of the invaders stormed in brutally hurting and killing the members of the capital troop. The troop members who had joined the invader were also shocked on the surprised attack but could do nothing more than be mere spectators of the bloodshed. Few who were brave enough defended their friends and in the process sacrificed their lives too.

The leader of the band fell on the ground half death. He held strong blows from the enemy troops and was stabbed multiple times. The enemies’ swords have cut open his chest and he is indeed heavily bleeding. Sustaining multiple injuries with heavy blood lose he is sure his life might end in the same place where he laid. He was clearly missing his vision bit by bit as he could sense the bright day showered by the rays of the sun seems to fade away. Thoughts roll over his head even in those last minutes of his life. Was the strategy wrong? How could he let this happen? Has he made a fault? He tried hard. He could not find the ruler or the invader in the vicinity. What for is the battle fought for? On whose wish is the battle fought? Why am I a commoner to die in the battle? What am I going to gain from participating in the battle? May the one who never took sides in the battle are the righteous? What change could have they made by having their presence in the battlefield? After all even they would have had a similar fate.

He was least bothered about the advancement of the troops. He had seen with his own eyes. The invaders seem to be truly barbaric. They may never show mercy to his ruler. He is satisfied that his ruler who deserves death is surely to be awarded the same today.

What about the troop? Have I done injustice to them by involving them in the battle? No even my men in the opposite army are destined with a similar fate. Am I responsible to the people? Yes they believed in me. They acknowledged my decision and supported me. True to the fact I miserably failed them.

What about my wife? She is pregnant and she has none to her rescue. I must have been with her during this tough phase. What fault did my unborn child made to not see his father’s face? He remembers his mother. The widows in their society were ill-treated and considered an omen. He knew not the reasons for his father’s death but the anger he had soared seeing the ill-treatment his mother faced in the society due to the stupid meaningless laws implemented and believed by the royals. He wished to see them all dead. To contain his anger from crossing the limits his mother had him married to his wife. “Never ever allow your wife to face a similar situation as I face today. Be with her till your last breath and try to be a good father” these were the last words his mother spoke.

Unable to accomplish any of the wishes made he lay frustrated resting his body in peace allowing the nature to take off his life and he breathed last. The leader’s wife all alone in her house with no knowledge about her husband’s death felt the labor pain at the stroke of his death. Retiring nearby unable to bear the pain she waited for her destiny!!