The Homecoming

Vignesh put down his bag gently under the tree and sat down near it. His two team mates sat a bit away from him. They did not trust him and were a bit miffed with him for Vignesh was a late addition to the team. Saksham was an elite soldier and he was chosen to protect his team members as they were to head deep in the jungle looking for the team that preceded them. Pratap was an assistant of the great inventor, Manishi, the one who was mocked as the 'one eyed crow' but who was, without doubt, the most intelligent person in the kingdom of Abitsar. He was handpicked by Manishi herself. It was a matter of great pride for him. Vignesh was not part of the original team. The third member of the team was chosen by the council of the ministers and they had chosen Vignesh, not because Vignesh brought something good to the team but solely because Vignesh's father was the team leader of the preceding group that headed to the forest of Nalahad one month back and then disappeared mysteriously, a fate that they shared with the three teams that preceded them.

"Why do you think people disappear in this forest?" Vignesh asked Saksham in a bid to start a conversation. Saksham and Pratap had deliberately ignored him the whole day. Saksham looked away and did not respond to Vignesh's question. His atrocious behaviour was met with an encouraging smile of his friend Pratap. The two friends had decided to pretend that Vignesh was not a member of their team. Some hours back, when they were trying to cross a river, the two friends had helped each other but lent no helping hand to Vignesh who struggled badly while crossing the river.

Vignesh sighed on being ignored. He thought of his poor mother who was left alone in their house. When she had learnt that her husband was heading to the forest of Nalahad, she had wept for days, begging her husband to drop out of the mission but Vignesh's father had turned a deaf ear to her protests. Tirth was a man of honour and an intrepid explorer. He had led his team to various treks of varying degrees of difficulty and always returned back victorious. The tales of his exploits had become legendary. Tirth was mostly away on trips and hence had not been able to spend much time with his only son but he never regretted his decision of being an explorer. Vignesh had grown up listening to the tales of his father's bravery but his mother had forced him to not become an explorer for she did not want to spend her time wondering about the fates of the two loves of her life. Vignesh had decided to train for an apprenticeship with the minister of trade. The job was honest and it paid well. Moreover the minister of the trade and his men were not rude and they treated Vignesh with respect and love. Vignesh had nothing to complain about but he longed for adventure too. It was not a silly desire to emulate his father. There was some strange force that called out to him in his dreams and took him to a strange, dark place. Every time he would think about his dreams, a strange feeling of being lost came all over him. He wanted to get out and keep running till he found the place that so appealed to him. His life felt meaningless for he was yet unaware of his true home. He would grow despondent and voluntarily opt for solitary jobs so that he would not have to interact with other people.

Tirth was aware that the three teams that had gone before him to explore the forest of Nalahad had gone missing with no news about the fates of the team members. He was very aware that no news from the teams implied their deaths and yet when the opportunity came his way he accepted it with an alacrity that alarmed the minister of internal affairs. The general consensus was that Tirth had a death wish and that was why he was looking forward to head to the forest of Nalahad. Tirth's team members had mixed feelings about the trip and so only four members agreed to head to Nalahad. The motley group left one fine morning. Tirth did not even say goodbye to his son. When Vignesh woke up that morning, he found his mother to be in a bad shape, lying prostrate in front of the statue of their Lord Shiva, weeping copiously as she begged the merciful Lord to protect her husband. Her prayers became frantic as days passed by without any news from Tirth. Vignesh had to seek the help of his supervisor to get some information about the ill-fated trip. Tirth had sent a message via a homing pigeon on his third day in the forest. The team had reached a hill atop which sat a hunched figure of a demon, its wings protecting it from the elements. That was Tirth's last message. Ten days later two homing pigeons made their way back with no message on them. At that point of time, it was assumed that Tirth and his team had shared the fate of the preceding mission.

The news was devastating to Vignesh's mother. She fell down seemingly paralyzed and could not speak for the next three days. Vignesh could not see her suffering. The healer made it very clear to him that his mother would die in a week for she had lost her desire to live. Vignesh begged the minister of trade to send him along with the rescue team to look for his father. The minister took pity on him and made a case for him to his comrades in the council of ministers. The permission was granted. Vignesh was scared to inform his mother about his decision to head to Nalahad to look for his father but she took the news quite well. She seemed to improve within hours. By the time Vignesh set out to join his reluctant team, his mother had found strength to come to the door to bid him farewell. Vignesh was pained to see her shed tears but he was secretly glad that his mother had found the courage to leave her bed. She whispered in his son's ears that she would await his triumphant return. Those words galvanized Vignesh. Even when his team members ignored him, he did not lose his heart. When Saksham and Pratap got up and began to move ahead, he picked his bag and followed them.

Saksham was the first one to spot the interloper keeping an eye on them. The enemy was a diminutive person, certainly not bigger than a child. He kept his distance from them and moved amidst trees without making any sudden noise. The unwanted guest had expected the three team members to stay close as they moved about in the fearsome forest of Nalahad but when he saw two members move ahead and the laggard follow them, he was taken aback. His job was to follow the team from a safe distance but if he kept his distance from the laggard, he was sure to miss out on the two moving ahead and if he were to move side by side of the laggard, then there was a chance of getting caught. The uncertainty of his position made his steps hesitant and one of the two moving ahead caught sight of him. He cursed himself for making such a rookie mistake. Saksham took out his spear and made a dash towards the interloper who turned around and fled.

Vignesh was taken aback at the sight of Saksham taking out a spear and challenging a shadow but when he noticed someone taking to his heels, his heart skipped a beat. He wondered for how long the enemy was keeping a tab on their movements and it made his skin crawl. He looked fearfully around to see if there was anyone else hidden amidst the trees but his panic filled glances made all the shadows look alive and scary. The forest was suddenly filled with goblins and demons. Saksham returned empty handed, muttering curses.

"Didn't you notice him, you oaf?" He barked at Vignesh who resented the acerbic tone of the elite soldier.

"That is not my job, is it?" Vignesh retorted. Saksham saw red at his impertinence and tried to slap him but Vignesh avoided the blow easily by stepping aside. Saksham pointed the spear at him but Pratap roared at his friend to stop the foolishness.

"The enemy would return soon," Pratap implored his friend. "Come now. We need to find a safe place."

"Don't you dare follow us!" Saksham warned Vignesh and scampered to join his friend. Thus abandoned in a forest, Vignesh stared at the disappearing figures of his team mates with a sinking heart. As there was nothing to be done standing on that particular spot and as the hour of the dusk was fast approaching, Vignesh decided to head off in a random direction.

The forest was alive around him. The various sounds of animals and birds making their way back to their homes spurred Vignesh on to find a safe place to spend the night. Twice he saw floating lights ahead of him but before he could pursue the lights, the torch bearers either moved out of his sight or they managed to hide the torch light. He realized that there were people around him but he was not sure if they meant harm to him. He kept walking in as straight a path as he could follow but when he could no longer see the outgrown roots and began to stumble at every step, he realized he needed to stop.

He found some twigs and made a bonfire. He cooked his food and was about to have it when he noticed a young boy of about 5 years staring at him. The sudden appearance of the kid unnerved Vignesh. He looked around frantically to see if there were more unwanted guests around him but when no one stepped out to greet him, Vignesh's nerves settled. He gestured to the kid to come closer. The kid seemed to be a native of the forest. His dark skin and matted hair sat strangely with his eyes that burned bright in the night. Vignesh offered him his food and water. The kid was hesitant initially but when he saw Vignesh eating freely, he joined with gusto. After having his dinner, the kid lay beside the fire and fell asleep easily. He was no longer scared of Vignesh. It made Vignesh recall a session with his father where his father trod heavily on his dream of becoming an explorer.

"You are harmless, son!" His father would mock him. "You can't bring yourself to hurt anyone. You can't even kill an animal. How would you become an explorer if you can't even kill animals to survive? How would you kill an enemy to protect your team? We need brave people who can fight a bunch of goons and win. You, on the other hand, can't even bring yourself to beat up a bully. Forget becoming an explorer! You should stay in the city where there are guards to protect you."

Vignesh looked at the sleeping kid with compassion. It was true that he could not hurt any living thing. It was also true that he could not even defend himself from bullies but it was his way of living and he had accepted himself with all his faults. He chuckled at the harrowing memory of his father belittling him.

"The old man was right," Vignesh muttered under his breath. "This kid, who does not even know me, trusts me now and is sleeping so peacefully near me. He knows that I can't hurt him. Well, in your face, old man! You might be a legend for killing and hurting others and I might be a loser for not even standing up for myself but you know what! I never wanted to become like you. All I wanted to do was to explore the world around me. I never wanted to beat people around me to submission. That is how I am."

He was tired from his day long trek and fell asleep soon enough. The night was cold but the fire kept blazing bright and no animal disturbed them. When dawn broke, Vignesh got up and boiled water for breakfast. The kid woke up by the smell of the cooking and sat patiently next to Vignesh for his share. Vignesh tried to chat with the kid but even though the kid listened intently to Vignesh, he would not respond. The kid ate his share of food without saying any word. Then he got up and whistled once. His whistle sounded sweet and familiar. Many birds joined in. It was as if the forest responded to the tune. Vignesh was left amazed for the whistling tune sounded very familiar to him. Suddenly the kid spoke. “Ben tri yehaw!”

The words made no sense to Vignesh but he felt a sharp pain in his guts. An old memory surfaced up. In his dreams, he would always listen to a strange language. The kid seemed to be speaking the very same language. The kid ran away before Vignesh could react. For some moments Vignesh sat near the extinguished fire then he packed up, put out the fire and began walking in a random direction again.

He encountered a creek whose water appeared green. The banks had many rocks, big and small and behind one large rock rested some crocodiles. Vignesh filled his water bag keeping a sharp eye for any crocodile to make a move but he was royally ignored by the aquatic predators. He decided to follow the creek up. The landscape became rockier by the minute and soon some hills loomed ahead. Another hour of back breaking hike brought Vignesh to the summit of a small hill. There was a large hill ahead of him that had a demon statue atop it. He had reached the last known location of his father's team.

The sun was directly overhead him. The forest seemed to be at a standstill. The heat had driven the animals and the birds to seek cool shadows. Vignesh sat on a rock and rested for a while. The demon hill was quite far away. There was no need to hurry towards it. From where he sat, he spotted a group of people making their way to the creek. Apart from the kid, he had not encountered any other human in the forest. He watched the group with curiosity, wondering if he should approach them to enquire about the missing teams when he spotted Saksham and Pratap among the group. Pratap was limping badly as if he had been hurt. Saksham had been tied with ropes and was being dragged along like an animal. The people surrounding the two men had caught them and were taking them to some place. The men held spears in their hands and sported headgears that looked incongruous on their heads. Vignesh had been taught that the villagers and tribal folks who lived in the forest were dark skinned but the men who held Saksham and Pratap captive were fair. Moreover they walked with a swagger that reminded Vignesh of army soldiers.

Vignesh stayed hidden and observed the motley group make its way to the creek where they rested awhile. Saksham and Pratap were forced to drink water directly from the creek while the captors used their own water bags. They seemed to be in high spirits as they laughed loudly without any care of getting overheard. Vignesh moved closer to them surreptitiously. He stopped when he was able to hear some snatches of conversation of the captors.

"Elite soldier pays more!”

"Double that of this wretch, right?" Pratap was kicked by the speaker.

"Yes. Double. More money. More meat.”

“Don’t forget drinks!”

The last remark made the captors laugh out loud. They began to sing a ribald song about a young man seeking company of his lover. They sang at the top of their lungs as they dragged their prisoners behind them. All the fight seemed to have left Saksham and Pratap for they meekly followed their captors. Vignesh did not have to get closer to the group while following them for they were making a lot of noise. After about a quarter of an hour of his chase, Vignesh was rudely awakened to danger when someone stepped out of a tree suddenly. He was tall and broad-shouldered and he had a spear that he pointed at Vignesh. He was fair and he sported the same head gear that Saksham's captors were sporting.

"So you are the third one," he spoke in a strange accent. "But how come you are here? You were spotted beyond the Ulhas river unless..." He stopped speaking. "How many of you are here?" He asked Vignesh.

"Just the three of us," Vignesh replied. He was unarmed and being at the wrong end of a spear made him uncomfortable.

"You saw them and thought to follow them," the man with the spear nodded his head. "No doubt thinking of trying to free your men but now you are also captured."

Before the man with the spear could say any more, an arrow flew out from the bushes on the right side of Vignesh. The arrow pierced the man in his throat and the man sank to the ground, dead before hitting the ground. A person rose up from the bushes slowly. He resembled the young kid who had shared Vignesh's breakfast.

"Hurry!" He called out to Vignesh and gestured to him to follow his lead. Vignesh did not need to be told again. He followed the young man who ran with an easy pace. By and by they moved deeper into the jungle where thick foliage made movement very difficult for Vignesh. When they entered a clearing, it came as a welcome break for Vignesh.

The clearing was quite large. There were people who were seated on the ground. Vignesh estimated the crowd to be about 200 people. No one among them got alarmed at the sight of Vignesh. It was as if they were expecting him. An old man was helped upon his feet by some people and he doddered towards Vignesh with a toothless grin that made his face creepy. He spoke in a foreign tongue that Vignesh was unable to comprehend. The young man who had brought Vignesh to the assembly tried to translate.

"Our head priest welcomes you," he spoke softly, trying his hard to not get in the way of the old man. "We have been waiting for your arrival for more than 70 years. When you had left us on that sad day, you had promised to return soon but it took you so many years. However this is not the time to complain for today is a great day. It is the day when you have been reunited with us. When our guiding spirit found you last night, it fraternized with you. It consumed your food and water. It slept near you beside the fire. It just wanted to relive its old days. After all, you used to its best friend before you had to leave us."

The translation being done was proper but the words made no sense to Vignesh. The old man reached him and then offered him a plate that had some slices of fruits and a small bowl of water. Vignesh could not refuse the food offered to him. The old man waited for Vignesh to take a bite of all three slices of fruits and to take a large sip of water of the bowl. The fruits were succulent and even though Vignesh had never tasted them before, he found the taste to be very familiar to him. When he sipped the water, it tickled his throat. The old man expressed his pleasure and doddered off back to his seat.

A middle aged man and a young woman made their way to Vignesh. They spoke rapidly and sometimes both of them spoke at once. The young man trying to translate finally gave up and settled on explaining the most pertinent point being made by the couple. They turned out to be the leaders of the Xenil community. They welcomed Vignesh and expressed their satisfaction that they could save him and bring him safely back to their congregation.

"We know that you have many questions," the young man spoke when the couple finally stopped speaking, "but for now you need to rest."

Vignesh was led to a hut whose walls were made of mud and whose ceiling was made of thatched straw. It was cool inside the hut. Vignesh was made to lie on a mat. By the time he put his head on the ground, his head had begun to swim and he wondered if it was due to the water being drugged. He closed his eyes and fell unconscious.

He was woken up gently by two young girls. He groaned as he felt a splitting headache. The girls helped him get on his feet and led him outside where a huge bonfire was raging. He was led to the fire that crackled every time the head priest threw something in it. The flames leapt up as if to scorch the dark sky above it. The shadows took strange shapes around Vignesh as he approached the fire. When he first saw the congregation waiting for him in the clearing, he had believed that there were about 200 people but now as he threaded his way through the swelling crowd, he estimated the crowd to be more than 5000 in number. The crowd though sat still as if everyone of them was turned to stone. When he sat in front of the fire amidst the constant chanting of the head priest, his head began to buzz.

A terrible pain arose inside his guts. Before he could even groan, the pain expanded throughout his body. Within a moment, his entire body seemed to be on fire. Each nerve inside him screamed in pain. He could not bear the pain and tried to scream but exactly at that moment the head priest threw something at him and the flames leapt towards him. The tongues of the flames caressed his face as they consumed the offering thrown on him. The fire seemed cold to him. He forgot the raging pain inside his body and reached out for the flames. The head priest clapped his hand in delight. The crowd roared in unison. The flames accepted Vignesh's invitation and covered him. Something wanted to come out of his body desperately. It forced its way through Vignesh's mouth and jumped out. When Vignesh picked it from the ground, the flames moved away from the object so that Vignesh could take a good look at it. He found that it was a marble statue made in his likeness. He looked at his statue with wonder. The statue suddenly moved in his palm.

"That is your soul," the head priest knelt in front of him. "Now it has discarded your body so that your body is now an empty vessel." 

Vignesh nodded his head. He now understood the tongue of the natives. He now understood why he had come to the village. The soul or whatever it was that had come out of his body quivered in his palm. Vignesh gave it to the head priest who accepted it with both hands. The marble statue was fed to the fire. There was a loud crack and the statue disintegrated into a thousand pieces.

"Are you ready now, sire?" The head priest asked Vignesh who nodded his head. The head priest moved out of Vignesh's path. The crowd roared as Vignesh walked in the fire. At the center of the blazing fire sat a small entity. It was as big as the thumb of Vignesh. It smiled at Vignesh and gestured to be picked up. Vignesh picked it up gently and swallowed it. A thick, syrupy liquid made its glacial way inside his throat. Vignesh waited till he could sense the liquid settling inside him. Then he knelt and groped the ground where the thumb sized entity was sitting. He found three small pellets made of grass. They were wet even though fire surrounded them. Vignesh swallowed all three of them. The earth, the water, the fire, the sky and the spirit were all inside him. He just needed a jolt of lightning. He looked up towards the dark sky. Someone jumped up from the branch of a tree and soared towards him. When a lightning flashed above them, its light showed that the soaring figure was the little kid who had shared food with him that very morning. The next lightning bolt was guided by the kid towards Vignesh. The brilliant flash caused everyone to close their eyes. The bolt of the lightning went through Vignesh and hit the ground. The fire instantly died out around him. When he turned to face his men, he could see both the living and the dead ones in attendance.

“Ben tri yehaw!” They screamed and cheered loudly. The phrase meant ‘Welcome back!”

"You have suffered for a long time now," The revenant addressed them. "Your wait is now over. I have returned now. Soon we will make our move. But first make your reports to me."

He listened to the dead Xenils. Their stories were sad but concise. The dead could only remember a few things but the spirits of Xenils had held on to the most important bits. They had waited for the return of their messiah patiently. The living ones were far more impatient. Now that their messiah was with them, they wanted to move as quickly as possible. The dream of their ancestors was going to come true. Their own kingdom was going to be founded again. The ancient kingdom of Challit was going to rise up from the ashes again. Their enemies, who had burned down their towns and killed their king, would be brought to task and made to kneel in front of their sacred temple where their heads would be removed from their bodies and a pile of their dead bodies was going to be burnt in a huge pyre.

The king had to calm them down. It was not the time to rush into battles with Abitsar and Tribhanga. The two kingdoms had grown stronger. A direct battle with them would be akin to committing suicide. He asked them to wait for some more days. He needed to return to Abitsar for he needed information and his trusted weapon that was kept safe by one of his most loyal follower. The Xenils were loathe to let him go for they were scared for his safety but the king assured them that he would return within a fortnight and asked them to get their weapons ready. The meeting was briefly disturbed by the arrival of the messenger of the shadowy beings that lived off the energy released by living things. The messenger paid its respect the king and assured him that the shadows were deliberately misleading the council of ministers about the situation in Nalahad. It was chiefly because of their intervention that the army of Abitsar had not yet come to the forest of Nalahad to check on the vanishing explorers. After paying its respect, the messenger disappeared in the night.

At dawn, the king walked alone towards the army camp of renegade soldiers of Tribhanga who had made their secret camp in the forest of Nalahad. These soldiers were sent on missions where they were declared dead and then moved to the camp in the forest. Their mission was to kill all who entered the forest to explore it. The order to kill had come directly from the king of Tribhanga. Very few people were aware of the camp being run in the forest of Nalahad, right under the nose of the council of the ministers of Abitsar. The soldiers running the camp were not aware of the exact reason behind the king's order but they didn't really care. All they wanted was to have a free hand in dealing with their enemies and the camp provided this rare opportunity where they could live by their own rules.

Vignesh walked fearlessly for he was not scared of the soldiers. He could now clearly see how the Fates conspired to make him reach the forest. The king of Abitsar stumbled upon a secret in the forest and he set up a camp of bloodthirsty soldiers to protect it. When the first team of explorers went missing, it necessitated sending of another team. The teams kept vanishing till Vignesh's father, Tirth, got the chance to visit the forest where he promptly disappeared. It forced Vignesh to come to the forest where he finally fulfilled the purpose of his life. His body became a vessel for the resurrection of the king of the Xenils. Vignesh's soul was released and the ancient king took its place. He liked the name Vignesh so he was going to keep using it for his original name Hamuah was old and quaint.

The camp loomed up ahead. There were two soldiers who were on guard duty. They saw Vignesh walking towards them but before they could alert their fellow soldiers, they took out their swords and killed themselves. Anyone who saw the mighty king approach him did the same. When a soldier’s dead body fell on the utensils, its clatter made the soldiers get up in a hurry but every one of them died one by one by their own hands.

"They had to die," the king thought, "and their spirits can’t stay in the forest either. The dead Xenils will guide them. Now that I have removed this threat for my people, I can rest easy now.” He looked around at the forest and smiled. “I have finally returned home. Soon others who have forsaken it will return too. The homeless will regain their home. Such a beautiful morning to herald it. I am truly blessed.”

The king found Saksham and Pratap tied up in a tent. They had been mutilated and badly tortured but they were still alive. The king took pity on Saksham and freed his spirit from his tortured body. He had a different plan for Pratap who he took along for a walk. As they walked, the king instructed Pratap on how to find a way out of the forest and dictated the message that Pratap had to deliver to Manishi.

“Tell her that Hamuah has returned,” the king spoke gently knowing fully well that his words would be imprinted on Pratap’s mind, “and that I need her to repair my sword that lies with her teacher. She has to finish the work in a fortnight for then I will return to the forest and I want to return with my trusted weapon for a king has to sustain his urge to kill and to punish and all that is encoded in my weapon. Tell her that Tribhanga knows of the secret of the forest of Nalahad. Only I can help her now.”

The king watched Pratap stagger away from him. Then he took a deep breath and looked around in satisfaction.

“Nothing beats the feeling that one is finally home! I have to go away so soon but I will return soon." He turned towards the demon hill and smiled. It was time to unlock the great door. The king swaggered towards the demon hill. After all he was at home.