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Published: December 1st 2007
The Anti-crusade Begins
Arjun: sacker of towns, reaper of harvests, and deserter of wives- Tiger, camel safari guide
I am Arjun. Destroyer of towns, reaper of harvests, deserter of wives, and king of the desert. Atop my mighty Maharaja I have laid waste to all those who oppose and all those who challenge. But this will not always be the way...this will not always be me. This is my tale...
Act I: The Quest After many encounters with the Holy Men of Pushkar, my body grew weak and frail with their holy waters and savoury poisons. I entered the desert, not as my self, but as a weakened, frail, wreck of a man. Distraught with the inner anguish of sins past, my body in whole could not...would not prevail. My fevered mind, destroyed by the spells of the sandus.
I lay in the desert, wraught in my anguish, preparing myself for rebirth in chakra. But, night will not release me from this world and it was naught but a dream when the auspicious Cassiopeia spoke to me from night's sky, "The twinkle of the Golden City fades with every waking hour. Save me, and the city and all its glories shall be yours."
Tempered by
Atop mighty Maharaja
A desert king in grace, leadership, and knowledge. the anguish within and the evil that shares my life's path with me, I stood on wobbling knee and set forth...set forth to conquer this Golden City and all its glory to claim it as my own - but oh so much more importantly, to free that which cannot free itself - Cassiopeia.
Act II: A fortnights thieves In order to navigate the desert seas, a man of keen sight and a star for a mind was needed. This man needed the desert tiger's sight, yet the heart and soul of spirit in love. This man could be none other than Tiger, my longtime friend.
It did not take much convincing to sequester him for the voyage, as he too had been visited by many a dream. Sirens plagued his dreams with tales of aqua, scolding him of the dangers of this world. He was ready to aid me in silencing them.
A troupe was easily assembled, from every corner of the earth. Hassan, the master of the mind; Alah-uddin, the one of the keen eye; Aischa, the soul of many cultures; Sheesha, the proveyeur of medicines; and Kacha and Adrian, the retainers of love long lost.
My 40 Thieves
My men and maidens follow as I lead us towards the Golden City. Atop our mighty beasts, they joined I, Arjun on this epic seige on the Fading City.
Act III: The Mighty Desert King I, Arjun, am a house of a man, but with every house there need be a foundation. I found the mighty Maharaja grazing the flora of the Great Thar Desert. Golden in hide, yet ruby in heart and opaque in mind, this mighty Desert King was the necessary companion on this voyage through the desert seas. It may have been Cassiopeia above, or the combination of our auspicious souls, but one simple glance from my cold eyes tempered the fires within this beast and within but a moment, he said to me, "Oh great Arjun, from lands afar. I shall be your companion, your protector, and your aide," to which I replied, "You shall be nothing and everything to me." And we were one.
Act IV: Dawning at Dusk The glowing eyes of Apol began to fade in the west and it was time to set up camp. We knew the travels would be hard and rough and good food and sleep were needed to restore our battle weary bodies. But sleep would not come this
Majestic Thar wildflowers
This indigineous plant sustained us as we plodded the barren soil. night.
I awoke, in a hot fervor, my body sweating the desert's grains onto itself as if I were one with the Great Thar. Beside me, lay Cassiopeia.
"You know who I am?" says my dream
"You are my reason here, you are my quest and my conviction," I respond
"No. I am everything, and I am nothing. I await you at the Golden City. You must stop the evil. You must restore the lustre and twinkle to this once auspicious place"
"I have my warriors and my warriors have their camels. We approach at dusk on tomor's eve"
"Good. You will need those around you to survive this journey, but the inner sanctum you cannot enter unless you enter with your most worthless possessions."
"My most worthless possession? I do not understand..."
"Heed my words...Arjun....."
Act V: The Desert people The next morn we venture forth, yet again, on our pilgrimage towards the Golden City. Our path is wrought with danger: the earth attacks with its spears of rock; its trees seduce with gluttonous food; and its flowers wreak havoc on our sight. But we march on. There is no choice. Cassiopeia awaits.
We approach
Dali of the Desert
Surreal is this Great Thar Desert. the desert people, not far from our final destination. We stop for rest and to learn of the troubles the people live. The mothers cry, for the fatherless children have been inflicted with a disease eminating from the Golden City - Ekphotu. The children were mad and possessed attacking each other and our warriors. We draw our swords, ready for battle, but the mothers plead - wishing for us to restore their loved ones to the ways of old.
We are without potions or medicines we explain, but the mothers do not understand. The afflicted children need more. They need order and reflection. I come to the children, even though they froth at the mouth. I wish to calm them, but there they stand reaching and grasping at my self. Without knowing, I start to count, "One...two....three...", i start.
I know not why I started this mantra, or the god that blessed me with the knowledge, but I am eternally grateful. The children, they stop, perk there ears and listen. "Four...five...six...", I repeat. Over and over I count, the children mouthing the words alongside me. And then, as if blessed from above, their faces clear, their fevers shorten,
BEWARE THE BEAST!
Fear the Mighty Maharaja and all his slow crunching ferociousness. and the vile froth from their mouths fade into the desert clouds. The mantra has seemed to have destroyed Ekphotu and its descent into chaos.
The children run and embrace their sobbing mothers. The mothers embrace back and start chanting to the sky.
"What do they say?" I ask Tiger
"They say balance has been restored. They say that logic and progression has brought the children back from ferality" He responds.
I am approached by one of the elders who places a leaf in my hand. "My son. We in this world are worthless. Our bodies, worthless. Our monies, worthless. It is our love and our souls that provide purpose. Thank you, for this purpose".
We leave the desert people shortly after, with our hearts heavy from lessons learned. On our trek to the fort, I spent many an hour thinking of what this wise elder told me. "If we are worthless, then mayhap I enter the inner sanctum alone. For there is nothing more worthless to me than my earthly body."
"Enter the sanctum alone," I repeat, "Alone............."
Act VI: The Approach We reach the Golden City in its moment of need. The
Tiger eyes
Trouble awaits those without the eyes of the Tiger Golden hue begins to fade as with the sun at dusk and we fear it may be too late. At fort's entrance, our Tiger cannot travel forward - the powers of the city dispel his mystic ways and it is his time to be with those he loves. We thank the Tiger for his eyes and his tooth and send him off. This is not a battle fit for a tiger.
We approach the fort and battle our ways to the inner sanctum. The warriors grow weary but fight with swords of passion and shields of wisdom. The forts' vines and mystics cannot beat down our resolve.
A light flashes before my eyes. The warriors halt their battles and turn their heads.
The inner sanctum awakens.
Bright, yet dark, it looms over us infentesimal in size. The size of a million elephants it is yet a grain of sand in the whisp of a breeze. "How do I enter that which is to small to see, yet to large to climb?" I ponder...
I walk towards the sanctum, alone, as the elders had taught me. In seconds/hours I am gone/here. I am within the walls
Eye to the South
Forward we ride against the evils in the Golden City. of the sanctum I am in the outer throngs of space. My final battle awaits...
Act VII: The Sanctum "I, Arjun, am here to banish you in the name of Cassiopeia" I shout
No answer.
"I have travelled many a mile to ensure you shall breathe not a breath more"
No answer.
I wait. How can I defeat that which does not show its face.
A light...
Colour...
"No, it is I who is Arjun and I who shall defeat you," says a voice in the distance. I approach, weary of the magics I may need to fight. But there is no magics. No logics. No up and no down. It is I, Arjun staring at the face of Arjun.
"What is the meaning of this wizardry?" I ask my reflection.
The reflection but laughs and draws its sword. "I am as magic as you are dear Arjun. I am as much warrior as you are. I am....as you are. I am your every desire, I am your every fear. I am your thoughts, your worries, your loves and your despair. I am you, Arjun. And I am here to claim this temple as my own."
"I will destroy
Cassiopeia
The sky's mistress teaches me the ways of the sky you, reflection. I will save Cassiopeia and restore peace to the Golden City" I shout, the anger in my belly making itself known.
Yet again, the reflection laughs. "You know not where you are? You know not what you fight? I am you, Arjun, and you, I. I am this world and its glories that you seek. And by my blade, I will ensure that you shall have all that you lust for. My partner and I shall ensure you have every worldly possession you could want and so....much....MORE!!!!"
I turn only to find another reflection treacherously lurking behind. An ambush! Fear rises like the eastern sun god in my throat. But, much like the cooling drink of a desert oasis, Cassiopeia once again speaks, "Arjun! Arjun! Do you not see? Renounce your worldly desires. Renounce yourself. Renounce your chakra and be free of this world. Free the Golden City of Heaven and restore all as one!"
My reflection attacks, as if knowing Cassiopeia is near.
In faith, I drop my sword, toss away my shield, and whisper, "I wish no longer for the glories of the Golden City, but to be one with the city." I drop to one
Desert rest
The journey waits til dawn knee as my reflections slash their blades through my body....
I awake.
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Dad
non-member comment
How can the Great Thar Desert and Jaisalmer, the Golden City, ever possibly recover from the plunder and pillage of Arjun, the Warrior, and his ragtag army of dhal and naan eaters. And, what of the Mighty Maharaja, will this trusty camelus dromedarius ever seat such a Worthy Warrior again or be reduced to providing rides for children at the Pushkar Camel Fair? Me thinks that only Cassiopeia knows. Loved it Steve.