Assurto Christie & Rise of Vidhiputra

By Abilash Chandran and Supratick Basu

It was a period rife with chaos and destruction, and the whole world moved directionless, towards a definite path of selfannihilation.
In these hours of distress, when the guardians of the great emperor were on the verge of disintegration and the power hungry fought for absolute control, there came a sliver of hope in the form of two brothers, an ancient prophecy, and
a simple adventure trail, which turned into a quest that could alter the fate of the world.
The search for the answers to a simple riddle opened up the glorious past and all that was concealed in the passage of time. Along with it rode danger and temptation as the dark forces waited in the shadows to grasp that which will either give absolute power to destroy, or open a gateway of restoration and peace in the world.
As the brothers trysted with the menace that pursued them, they met with love, deception, betrayal and death.
Time was the only witness that would reveal, whether the prophecy – Rise of Vidhiputra – would be fulfilled.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Notion Press
• Release date: Sep 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9789383185986

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Chapter 1

Prince, Monks and the Brothers

Somewhere in the Indian Ocean, a ship was trying to force its way past the high tides. The wind was blowing heavily, the waves were crashing against the ship’s bow, the sky was covered with dark black clouds, and a light drizzle filled the air. It was a new moon night – dark and gloomy.

The sea made a deafening noise unremittingly, which would unnerve even the bravest of men; and the giant waves made the ship heave and sway so profoundly that the sailors felt it like a never-ending see-saw ride. This was no place for the fainthearted.

As often happens under such circumstances, some sailors started showing symptoms of sea sickness after a gruesome unending quest that challenged them day after day, from dawn to dusk.

All of a sudden, amidst the howling winds and choppy waves, consecutive thunderbolts struck somewhere in the vast ocean, followed by a loud cracking sound – as if the gods were angry! This added fuel to the fire, increasing the horror manifold. The sailors feared for the worst, as if death was beckoning their fate with a smile.

Unable to apprehend the situation, they looked at the captain with pleading eyes – hoping to be spared from this suicidal mission.

Captain Sahay stood some distance from the helm of the ship, looking up at the sky, rain piercing his face, taking in the fickle play of the weather. He had been a fearless guide of ships for decades. He was not one to be bludgeoned, even by the horrific drama that unfurled before him. The stage was no different from innumerable others he had encountered in his life. He would not allow this to pull him down, no matter what; he was born to conquer the waves, he was in his element. But what disturbed him was the fear that he witnessed in the eyes of his sailors.

He heard one of his men murmuring a prayer for the mercy of the gods, and gradually realized that it was gaining momentum with more voices uniting to create a chorus.

As the wrath of the sea kept on increasing manifold with every passing moment, even the captain could feel that this journey was slowly turning into a lost cause. He could not persuade his sailors; actually he did not want to, as everyone in the ship looked at the captain with the hope that they would get an order to turn back.

Captain Sahay, realizing the dilemma of his men, turned to the talismanic owner of the merchant vessel, who stood like a rock near the bulwark even in that deceitful condition, wondering what all the fuss was about. For him, it was like any other day.

Sahay walked towards him gripping to rails of the swaying ship and called out, "Rathore ji."

Rathore, the prince of Rajputana, looked over his shoulders and found his faithful companion.

Sahay saw his prince – his calm face, his brave smile, his long manly moustache, his broad shoulders, his strong wrists – everything instilled a sense of confidence in him.

Rathore, who had his eyes set on a scroll, put it back into his pocket as Sahay bowed his head in respect.

Yes my friend!

Sahay tried to make himself audible against the noisy sea, Sir, I am afraid we may need to turn back. The wind is gathering in intensity and sailing against it would lead us to our doom; if we don’t turn back now, the ship may not see another port. Ever!

He could feel his throat drying up, as he eagerly looked at his prince.

But Rathore would not agree. He was not someone who would accept defeat; he would rather accept death. The sea might have scared every other soul, but not this brave-heart.

He laughed out and roared back with his thunderous voice, What happened to you, my brave commander?

But sir…

Rathore didn’t allow him to complete, It’s disconcerting to see you cower so, when faced with a slight squall over the sea. We have faced countless aggressions, challenged finest of warriors, tested treacherous terrains; but I have never seen you give up on anything even when the odds were stacked against us. What’s wrong now?

Captain Sahay had no words, he stood there resolute, knowing what his prince was about to order. He had never disobeyed him, and always followed him devotedly throughout his life – even if it meant marching towards his death.

Rathore continued, I refuse to believe that my captain is unnerved by this mere puppet show. We’ll not stop; we’ll fight till we succeed in our quest.

But then, looking at the way things were, Rathore perceived the reason for Sahay’s request and was displeased to see his men slowly but steadily developing cold feet. He was determined to reach the destination and achieve the unachievable, no matter what. Discerning the situation of the men, he decided to address them.

Rathore looked undeterred as he approached the center of the deck. He did not pay attention to the thunderbolts criss-crossing the ocean in silver streaks in the background, or the monstrous waves that continuously tried to overturn the ship like a weightless toy. The nervous sailors swayed trying to latch on to anything they could to avoid being thrown over. The scared ones gained hope, as they watched their lionhearted leader marching towards them.

He stood in the middle of the deck like a tiger, fearless and assured. The weather also bowed to his presence, it relented for some minutes with only the sound of the waves beating in its own rhythm. His eyes blazing and his visage ferocious, commanding the attention of his men, he spoke, My men, today I stand before you ashamed. I regret that I believed in you all this while, as it now turns out to be nothing more than a fool’s faith.

Some of the sailors looked down in disgrace, realizing that they had let their prince, whom they held as the dearest in their hearts, down.

Rathore added, It pains to find out that my men – who were the immortal guardians of our motherland, whom I considered to have no equals in this world, who refused to accept death even when death smiled at their faces; now stand here like weaklings, trembling with fear. It hurts me that you have forgotten why we are here. You have forgotten the promise you made to your motherland.

Each and every word from their leader was like a poisonous dart to them. The men, who heard him denounce them for the first time, were bereaved on realizing that their act of cowardice had indeed brought great embarrassment, not only to their reputation but also to that of their ancestors. The prince’s captivating voice and majestic presence made them obliterate the fear which filled their minds them a moment ago.

Rathore continued, "What pains me more is that today you have forgotten your past. Comrades, I urge you to remember who you are. Do not forget your children and family who are at the mercy of our enemies. Remember the promise we took before Ma Durga."

The men, who had forgotten about their true selves for a brief period, started gaining strength as they slowly came out of the despair on hearing the uplifting words from their prince.

He asked again, My men, the word cowardice was not written for us, it doesn’t suit us. The word retreat never crossed even the minds of our children. Think about them for a moment and tell me, are we scared?

No shouted the sailors in chorus as courage and spirit filled their hearts.

He pressed on, Men, I am sure that the sea god would have heard our name. It’s easy to imagine why he is scared today, naively thinking that we are here to conquer him. He will not sleep tonight, after learning that the Rajputs are here. He is determined to stop us, mistakenly calculating that we are mere men who will give in to his gimmicks. As if in response, there was a sizzle of lightning followed by a loud bolt of thunder, echoing around them, throwing their faces in stark silvery relief.

The men were now completely spellbound by Rathore, not even flinching at the crack of the thunder, looking like they were under his spell – such was his presence.

Rathore did not stop, "Do not forget that the blood that flows through our veins is that of the Kshatriyas, the fearless of men. Should we give in to our fears and let it rule us? Should we be scared by the empty noises? Are we going to give up?"

No the soldiers shouted back, their voice and their postures gaining in fortitude.

Finally Rathore raised his pitch You know that this mission is our last hope to take back what is rightfully ours. I am ready to give up my life to achieve this, and I know I will, or at least die trying. I am asking you to give me this day, so that we can pay back our debt to our motherland. Are you with me, brothers?

Aye... all the sailors shouted in chorus. Their sound echoed across the ocean that rivaled the voice of the thunderbolts. They could again feel strength in their feet, and blood in their veins.

Just then, a series of lightning lit the sky for a brief period – as if this was a war of the clouds, followed by a heart-angst cracking sound and towering rains, indicating that their test was far from over. The giant waves started becoming monstrous as the Indian Ocean literally took the shape of a mountain range. But none of the men cared for it anymore, as they went on with their chores with renewed vigor and purpose.

Suddenly, Rathore heard a strange clatter; he looked around but couldn’t find anything, as it was hard to see anything other than the stupendous rain that tested their limits. He had a strange feeling as if they were followed by a pack of wolves ready to pound on their prey.

"Ha Rey, Rey Rey, Rey Rey."

It was not from the ship. Did he hear it wrong? Rathore kept his ears wide open and looked around.

The rain kept on growing stronger and stronger, and the raindrops started exerting pressure like darts made of water – hurting the ones exposed. The sailors tried to gather any vessel that they could find, for they were now tasked to throw the rain water out of the ship’s deck, back into the ocean.

Rathore again heard the faint scream.

But, lightning and thunder muffled it; as if the gods were playing tricks on them.

Suddenly, a sailor, who was tasked to guard the foremast, cried out Pirates!

Hearing this, all the sailors immediately ran towards their positions as quickly as possible and waited for their captain’s order.

Sahay, who had faced many pirates in his career, commanded Turn the ship to wind side and surge to full speed.

He wanted to give some more time for his men to get ready before the pirates got to their ship.

Rathore took few men to the inventory and started gathering swords. He could hear Captain Sahay shouting hoarsely, ordering some of the sailors to continue throwing the rain water out of the ship’s deck.

Rathore was in full throttle. He was happy in a way to see the pirates advancing towards their ship; he knew that once his men touched their swords, they would remember what they had forgotten and would get back their courage. He considered this as a blessing in disguise.

One of the sailors shouted aggressively, "So what if pirates are here, they don’t know that true Kshatriyas are waiting here to slay them – and slay them for good."

Rathore felt proud looking at his men for the first time since they took up this journey. As expected he saw his men slowly change back to the warriors he knew.

Swords shouted Rathore, as the accompanying men promptly threw a wide range of arsenal on the deck.

Rathore looked out at the sea, and could now see the pirate ship clearly. The voices from the ship were now growing louder and louder.

"Ha Rey, Rey Rey, Rey Rey."

The pirate ship was gaining speed, and probably would catch up with them in no time.

Unlike Rathore, Captain Sahay was not sure whether his men were ready for a battle. He ran to the side and started helping the men who were rowing.

The men chanted loudly in an age old refrain, "Heisha, Heisha…"

But the pirate ship was faster. Within no time, their ship was right next to the merchant vessel. The pirates threw ropes and started tying them to the mast of Rathore’s ship. Rathore and his men took guard. Some men tried to cut the ropes, but there were too many and most were too high.

Rathore closed his eyes for a moment; there was such calmness in his face that would even make a holy man proud.

He opened his eyes slowly, before roaring, "Har Har Mahadev!"

"Har Har Mahadev!" roared back the sailors.

As the rain came down incessantly – hard and fast, the pirates flew in from all directions, and the sailors fought them fiercely and valiantly. There were many who were soldiers of the erstwhile Rajputana Army. Though they feared the sea, they were at ease when it came to head-on fight with little-trained and poorly-skilled enemy combatants. It was in fact the pirates’ ill fortune that they had attacked a ship filled with such men.

Rathore took two pirates on with a sword fight. They could feel that he was at ease in handling them. It was more like a child’s play to him, and hence they decided to split up and attack him from opposite ends, rather than head on. By then, one more had joined them and they surrounded Rathore in no time.

In the pirate ship, the pirate leader was commanding his men from the top deck. In the lower deck, a masked man – who wore a black robe, hid himself in the shadow of the mast and watched the movements of the prince keenly. He waited for a perfect opportunity to strike, with a bow in his hands.

Captain Sahay and some of the men stopped their onslaught on the pirates for a moment as they noticed their prince being surrounded by three men. There was no worry in their faces, in fact their faces brightened after a long time. They knew that they were in for a treat today. It seemed to them like three scared hyenas were trying to take on a hungry lion.

The men were ready to die, but not ready to miss the battle taking place in the upper deck. Some of the pirates were confused with what was going on, as they too looked up.

Before the pirates could start their attack, Rathore started his onslaught on two of the pirates leaving the other one watching. The pirates couldn’t even react to the speed, power and agility of the prince. He twirled his body and swung the sword effortlessly to strike the pirates. The pirates couldn’t do anything other than trying to stop his sword from taking their lives. He effortlessly disarmed both the men in no time. The third pirate who was standing next to Rathore dropped his sword and surrendered, realizing that this was no place for him. Rathore’s men were actually disappointed to see the battle getting over in the blink of an eye. They had expected a fight back from the pirates, but their expressions only evoked laughter.

Rathore, pardoning the three, walked towards the center of the deck.

The captain of the pirate ship realized their condition quickly, and cried Abort, abort. He understood that this was a lost cause. They could not win, and had already lost more men than he could ever imagine. They were all going to die, if not run – he chose to run.

Abort, abort he cried out loud, again.

The pirates, mostly injured and devastated by now, were only happy to oblige. Some were lucky enough to get back, while others were not. They jumped out to save themselves from the wrath of the warriors, only to find themselves engulfed by the claws of the hungry waves.

The captain of the pirate ship ordered to pull away, acknowledging defeat.

The sailors, realizing this, started celebrating.

Rathore yelled vociferously, "Har Har Mahadev," holding his sword high.

"Har Har Mahadev" cheered the crew, all holding their swords high in response.

The sun was coming up on the eastern horizon, as the sea started showing signs of calmness. The rain had stopped, the sky had cleared, and winds had receded – as if Mother Nature was finally smiling on Rathore and his men.

As the pirate ship moved away, all of a sudden a rogue arrow came out of nowhere and struck Rathore on his chest, piercing his heart. Rathore was shocked for a moment, but then he realized that probably the pirates had taken their revenge. He looked back at the pirate ship and saw a masked man standing on the deck, with a bow in his hands. He tried to look closely, and could only see a hazy silver lion-faced locket on his chest. But he could see no more, as his vision was getting blurry, and his throat was drying up.

The sailors who watched the unthinkable were shell-shocked; some broke down and dropped their swords. For a moment, there was speechlessness, and even the ocean maintained lull to salute the fallen warrior. Captain Sahay ran up the deck and caught Rathore as he slowly fell down on his knees. The captain’s eyes were filled with tears, and he did not know what to say.

He mustered up all his courage and shouted at the sailors, Turn around, full speed, to the port. Now!

Rathore smiled to himself, as he knew it was useless. His vision was getting hazier as he started breathing heavily. Suddenly, fog engulfed them and nothing could be seen – only voices could be heard, of men crying out for their prince. It became darker and darker – until it was pitch black.

Then there was silence – pin-drop silence.

»

Vikram was startled out his sleep, and felt that he was sweating even though the air was cool. He could hear his own heart beat loudly and opened his eyes slowly as he heard a beep. He took a few calming breaths and looked at his digital watch, it showed: 09-JUL-2023 05:00 AM.

He looked around to find his brother, Jay, sitting next to him, wearing headphones and looking out of the window – towards the clouds. He took comfort from the fact that he was in a flight now.

As usual, the dream troubled him, and he looked disturbed as his conscience questioned, ‘The dream, why is it increasing in clarity and intensity every day? Why am I having it again and again? Does it really mean anything? Or is it because I give it so much importance, like my brother tells me?’

A chill passed through him as he thought about it more and more. To distract himself, Vikram looked around and realized that only a handful of people were travelling with them, not surprising considering what was going on throughout the globe. He then looked back at Jay, but found him all the same. He knew that Jay was not happy with this journey. In fact, he never intended to go back to India after their mother’s demise. Moreover, the present situation was that of devastation and disarray, especially in the past few years. It was only due to their Grandpa’s continued pleading and Vikram’s coercing that led to his acquiescence.

Vikram wondered why Grandpa was so keen on their visit now, and why he couldn’t wait any longer. What was the secret he spoke of, and why even Umesh Kaka couldn’t be told about it? Innumerable questions ran through his mind, one after another.

But Vikram couldn’t have imagined in his wildest dreams how the coming few days would impact the course of their destiny. The doors of the past were opening, the prophecies of the ancients were coming alive, the great emperor was about to rise in all his glory, and the secrets of his mystical trustees were about to be revealed. This was the time that even the stars had been waiting for, since thousands of years.

Vikram Singh Rathore, popularly known as Vicky among his friends, was a resident of London along with his 21 year old non-identical twin brother Jay Singh Rathore and their dad, Anant Singh Rathore.

Vicky and Jay had moved to London with their father after their mother passed away ten years ago. Over these years, they gradually lost almost all memory of their birthplace, apart from those of their mother and Grandpa. Their Grandpa, Narendra Singh Rathore, stayed back in India against the wish of his only son. Since then, there has not been much of camaraderie between father and son. Probably, that had an impact on the relationship between Vicky, Jay and their father too. Though the brothers loved their father, they never had a close moment with him.

Their father was a well known businessman, running a popular multimillion-pound retail store chain with business interests in Europe and Africa. He wanted to venture out in India too, but waited for conductive business environment to be in place first.

From childhood, both Vicky and Jay had been similar as well as different from each other, but Vicky was always the sensible one, whereas Jay was generally impulsive. Both brothers were stubborn, but no one would agree that Jay was more flexible than Vicky.

Whenever Jay got into trouble, it was always Vicky who saved him, and even took the blame when it mattered. The brothers always argued on anything and everything but at the end, Jay always accepted his brother’s judgment. He always considered Vicky as a levelheaded person and himself as reckless.

In fact, few incidents in their lives must be narrated to provide a better understanding of the two Rathores.

Though they had studied in the best of schools since their childhood, it couldn’t address their nonchalant repulsion of girls. In fact, their shyness accelerated in the new environment when they moved into a co-ed school in London.

Once, after attending a lecture on ‘How to measure success’ in school, the brothers had a major argument on what true success was. According to Vicky, success was all about money and fame but according to Jay, it was all relative.

Jay quipped, Ok, say if I wanted to clear at least one paper, but it turned out that I cleared all the papers, isn’t that success for me?

Vicky disagreed, No, may be you will feel good about yourself, but that’s not success. If it is, then what will you tell the guy who gets the gold medal?

I would say, Congratulations! countered Jay in a mocking tone, before continuing Its relative, that’s all I am trying to say.

They argued heavily while walking along the River Thames, when they noticed a beautiful brunette, probably in her early twenties, walking past them. The brothers, as usual, stared at her till she turned the corner, but within a moment or so, they saw the same girl in a car fooling around with a significantly older guy. For a moment, their jaws dropped as they looked at the odd couple.

Vicky looked stupefied as he murmured with his eyebrows raised, Well, now that’s success!

Jay agreed and nodded without looking at his brother, Well, then what’s a failure?

Vicky asked Jay to look at a parked car next to them where he saw his and his brother’s reflection in the window pane.

Vicky replied, You are looking at two, bro.

This was how they were, until it all changed one day at the Mulberry Oak – at least for Jay.

Out of peer pressure, Jay was forced to propose to Anne, his first crush and the cutest girl in their class, during a ‘Truth-Or-Dare’ game in a school camping event at Mulberry Oak.

Vicky managed to escape as the previous year’s encounter was still fresh in his mind. He remembered how he made a fool of himself in front of all the girls of their class, and took a ‘brave’ decision this time around – to hide in his tent until the game was over.

Jay cursed himself for not following Vicky’s trail. He had always managed to accomplish the toughest tasks, every time they played. But this time around, his friends trapped him subtly – knowing very well how ill-prepared he would be even for a simple conversation with a girl.

Jay was worried initially, and feared for the worst – a slap, or a scream that would wipe out his confidence forever. He decided to go ahead anyways thinking that, if Vicky could shrug it off, then why couldn’t he? He saw Anne standing with some of her friends near her tent. He just wanted to finish off the ‘dare’ and get back. He walked straight towards her and looked into her eyes, without caring for the surroundings.

He said, Hi Anne, I am Jay.

Jay was surprised to see Anne smiling at him in a friendly manner and got distracted for a moment, forgetting what he had practiced. But still, Jay never gave up on anything