Thirst For Vengeance

By Apoorva Lakshmi Ragi

They say that your life flashes by your eyes in the final few moments of life. For her, it was that moment now as she fell towards the rocks below. She knew it, even as her body flew in a graceful arc from the topmost turret of the castle as high as the sky. A bell chimed far away. She could not move. Where were her impulses? Why was she so helpless? What happened to all the training? Pain seared her eyes with tears. Mid-air. Adrenaline pumping. Memories flashing. How could this be? She had to avenge her Lord Father! He had been the most kind to her. She could see her assailant grinning wickedly as she fell.

A memory flashed by.

She remembered the first time Lord Orofer spoke to her. Then, she was only an orphan helper in the castle kitchens. She was glad that she was close to Lord Orofer more than an orphan could expect to be. He was the King Lord of all lands, slayer of great many, he who had even conquered the culture lands defeating the Great Lord Arkash. He had first spoken to her when he caught her talking to Aron, her Phoenix, in the cave where they had been hiding. 

‘I have had him for as long as I could remember my Lord’ she had said, when he asked her of it. Twelve year olds with phoenixes were as rare as it could get. And known to be immensely powerful when old enough. There could only be one phoenix in the world at a time before bursting into flames at the end of their partner’s life only to choose another. Lord Orofer immediately reached out to feel Aron’s feathers soft, over the strong muscular wings. Phoenixes chose their companions. Being the chosen one gave Power, strength & Magic. Magic that blossomed when the child came of age. Aron opened his large wings under the Lord’s touch. 

‘How did you come by this castle child?’ He asked in a kind voice. She bowed a curtsy and smoothed out her dirty rag of clothes. 

‘I am just an orphan my Lord, and the kind cook has taken me in for help.’

 Lord Orofer’s eyes glinted. 

‘Surely your phoenix would not like to be cooped up here in this tiny cave?’  

She carefully looked at him, fearful now. She did not want Aron to be captured. 

‘My Lord, He likes his freedom’ 

Lord Orofer thought for a while and said, ‘Under my protection he can have both, safety and freedom. Would you like to be a bearer of the great kingdom and my heiress? I have made my mind to adopt you and make you my kin.’ 

She must have kept her mouth open for he closed her jaw with the tip of the finger and smiled down at her. 

‘I am growing old child and it would be good to have a girl as special as you to be my heiress.’ She bowed and smiled. Could a twelve year old orphan ask for more? It was all that she ever wanted. 

She felt the wind swooping past her as the ground felt closer to her than before.

Another memory from another day. 

The day Lord Orofer first took her to the court...She saw that everybody feared him. His temper was very well known. He was clouded by eternal sadness after the death of his beloved. His face shadowed darkly now, at the mention of the King Lord Arkash he had killed to capture all the cities of culture lands and be the King Lord himself. 

She remembered, how she played with her father, the great Lord, in the fields behind the castle, in the great halls underground, in the summers by the sea. 

 With Aron, she spent most of her time growing up in caverns and the abandoned great halls beneath the castle. Knowing the potential of a girl chosen by the phoenix and dangers of it, her father took every care to protect Aron from being seen. Her father told her how she could not be called the Princess nor reveal her identity. She would just be a girl in the castle. But he promised her, the day she was old enough and Aron strong enough, he would reveal his heiress to the Kingdom.

She was appointed a mentor, the grandmaster of all martial arts who taught her different skills of defense, combat, as well as her mental abilities and letters. She was young, yet with the strength of the bond with Aron, her strength grew. Soon she could last a long while in combat with the grandmaster himself. Her stealth & speed greatly improved and those who were appointed by grandmaster to find her failed to do so. She was well guarded in the castle halls and Aron was never allowed to accompany her within the castle. Sometimes, the grandmaster allowed her to explore outside, in the forests and caves with Aron, but that was rare as it was difficult to let out a phoenix hidden from notice and ascertain nobody saw him fly. 

A bell chimed again. Her time to go was nearing. Another memory flashed. 

She was in that very forest where she had dreamt of it. Lord Orofer’s death and her own hand in it. The dream was so vivid, she could feel the thrill in her blood. She saw herself above him midair. She felt the urgency of the moment as she acted, hurling the thimble-sized miniature poisoned dagger at him. It found its mark before he even came to his senses to stop it. He went still and she could see the blood draining from his face as he finally breathed his last. She had been so alarmed by the dream she woke up already running back to castle. Aron! She had to protect him! Aron however had sensed her alarm and came to her, gliding lazily in the air. She stroked his feathers and a sudden gush of warmth soothed her nerves. It was a dream.

Another bell chimed. She could not stop her memories. She could see the stone walls of the castle flashing by as she fell.

The day her Lord Father died. It was as still a day as any. In the great halls below the castle, she was poring over ancient volumes in her secret nook when the grandmaster approached. He was so stealthy that she jumped when he spoke to her. She had seen how ragged his breathing was and an arrow stuck out of his back. 

`It is Lord Orofer! Your Lord Father was killed! The evil crown broke him as he would a reed with his sorcery! You must hide! He must not know of you or Aron! Escape! There is none left to guard you! He has broken them all’ He had gasped then and breathed his last.

 She had felt intense fury towards Lord Orofer then, but she also loved her father and she had to avenge him. But now was not the time. She was but a young girl and Aron was not old enough yet to engage with the evil Lord. In moments, Aron had come by her side and she cherished his company, his silent presence that had cleared her mind. She had to get away…maybe to the forest, where Aron might avoid being seen. She gathered around whatever belongings she had hidden and plotted to get out of the castle. 

The bell chimed as if mocking her. Another memory.

She was in the forest now with thirst for vengeance boiling in her blood. She had to kill that evil dark Lord if she ever had to be able to live in peace again. He could not be allowed to live after what he had done to father. Her father was the only one that had been the kindest to her. She had to kill the Evil Lord in a way that he would feel suffering more intense than her father did. She knew the castle in and out. She might be able to sneak in at the moonlight hour and kill him in his bed. But that would be of no suffering at all. It would be mercy. Aron was beside her, hatred and fear emanating from him. She tried soothing him but her words didn’t have much effect on him. She tried thinking calming thoughts. She thought of the beautiful lakes around the castle, the empty skies, and the silence in the great empty halls under the castle. The halls that had been the castle before the one over the ground was built. They had been abandoned when the culture lands were united by her father and nobody had to rely on the protection of the underground anymore.

But now her father had been killed. 

Tears streaked along her face as she fell helplessly. Another memory from a day of the long past.

She remembered the day her father first told her of Aron and the importance of her bond with him. Aron was not as big as he was now. She had made a shift with a cloth across her shoulder over her jerkin, so he may rest there with her when not flying. He was there now, his body pressed against her and she could feel all the love in the world inside her. She stoked his slender wings. He was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen. He shimmered in colors of fire, and when his wings spread, the underside was flecked with gold and red, and she could see the beauty of fire under them. She had been playing in the caves below, with Aron when her father came down to see her, like he did so often. He was dressed in plain robes and had a cowl over his face. She ran to hug him, and he pulled her close and smiled. Aron was flying above them and she could feel the happiness radiating from him. Her father sat down with her and they both admired Aron for a while. She loved to spend her time listening to him, and playing under his protection. She thought of her mother, whom she never knew. Like all the mothers, she too must have gone back to her kingdom after birthing and nursing her. The Lord then told her how phoenixes chose to be born during a birth of a child, into the fires that were kept next to the mothers. It was great luck to be chosen and such children were known to become very powerful when they came of age. The phoenixes bonded with the child and the child would have skills like affinity with fire, strength, agility, stealth and the phoenix would bear huge amount of magical power when the child came of age. Together, the magical power could be channeled by either of them. They would communicate with feelings and words through their bond. She felt nervous and happy at the same time and could feel Aron’s love for her as he landed in her lap. She held him close and hugged her father. She had wanted to live happily like that forever.

She saw Aron now, in the sky. He seemed to be on fire! But she could feel only calm and power from him. Another bell chiming. Another memory.

The forest grew silent around her. It had been long since her father was killed but her thirst for vengeance had to be quenched if she had to have peace. But she had waited all this while to kill him with magic when she came of age, as that was her only chance of killing him. Suddenly the forest seemed too quiet. She did not like this silence. Aron flew down by her side in moments and she took out her dagger. She felt Aron’s anxiety growing. From afar, she could see an old woman walking towards them. The forest quieted down more as the woman came closer. Aron let out a soft low musical sound and bowed low. She did the same when the woman was finally in front of her. 

‘You are the chosen one, but you cannot let vengeance rule you forever.’ Said the old woman in a voice softer than a whisper. ‘Have your vengeance before you come of age and then you must bear the many duties as the chosen one. Come find me by the silver hills on the night you come of age but you must clean your heart of these feelings before’ and then she disappeared.

Only then was she able to think or talk and looked at what Aron had bent down to pick up. In the place where the old woman was, there was a purple miniature dagger. It was the kin slayer of the ancient lore! She knew what she had to do. Kin slayers inflicted the most pain and when wielded by kin would cause immediate death, unstopped by magic or spirit. And she was the chosen one. She decided that minute, she would be adopted as his daughter and lead him to his downfall.

She felt panic. She did not have much time. She was falling fast. She reached out for Aron with her mind. She had to avenge her Father.

Her father Lord Arkash was the greatest King-Lord of the lands and known to be a kind ruler yet fierce warrior. He was the one who united all of the culture lands and put an end to the wars that frequented the lands. He was the great king who created the noble court with the chancellors of all lands so he could rule the kingdom justly. The evil Lord Orofer had rebelled and was overthrown by her father. It had made him a dark soul and he delved into the dark arts and sorcery. His desire for Power and his cunning had not been killed and he had been known to have returned back to claim the kingship over all the culture lands. Her father had been worried as to what to do about him but then Lord Orofer had ruthlessly killed him with his sorcery and magic. Her father hadn’t even had seen her come of age nor proclaimed her his daughter yet. And the great Kingdom and castle that father united fell into Lord Orofer’s hands in a single stroke.

She fell, as the last few bells chimed, fighting against the spell that immobilized her, falling towards the earth. Another memory.

It was dark but she could clearly see. Aron silently glided in the night. She was glad he was now strong enough to fly into the clouds and not be seen. She had to kill Orofer now. She would come of age in a few hours. The evil Lord Orofer’s chamber was on the topmost turret of the castle. It was high, almost reaching the sky. She had donned a stone cloak that would camouflage her and began her ascent from the bridge midway. She scaled up the wall pulling herself up with her muscular arms and after hours of sweat, climbed onto the ledge by his window. She felt thrilled. This was something no one had ever dared to do before. She felt Aron’s urgency to kill him and his worry laced with fear. After all, Orofer was a dark evil Lord with sorcery. He cast spells around him so only the ones he trusted could come in. She was his kin now. And his spells could not stop her. But if he awoke, he could certainly harm her. There were no guards in here. They would be outside his door. Stealthily she crept to his bedside, with her dagger out to cut his throat and bleed him to death. The moment she came close enough, her dagger fell from her hand with a loud clang that woke him. She did not think he would have kept wards around him to keep away steel. He glared at her, his eyes glowing with malice and waited. She pulled out her bow and a stone tipped arrow that she had made to kill him. ‘This is for my father Lord Arkash’ she said and loosened it. Lord Orofer plucked the arrow from the air with dexterity before it hit him. She kept loosening arrows and backed away from him. Aron stealthily picked the dagger and glided away. Lord Orofer was toying with her. He would dare not kill her. She was chosen by a phoenix! But something dark shadowed his face and he lashed out his hand at her, and a light burst from his hands, immobilizing her, pushing her out of the large window of the castle turret. She fell as the first bell of the twelve chimed to mark a new day. Her day to come of age.

She could not move. She was falling down. A burst of light in the sky. Aron!! She felt fire within her. And Aron was burning brightly in the night sky. Aron had come of age. He flew down to her, fire around him, swooping down in such speed. He seemed bigger than he was some time ago. Another bell chimed. She had to kill Orofer who was now staring with an open mouth at Aron. She felt a great power when Aron touched her, and when he held her safe in his strong claws, she felt Orofer’s spell break. She wasn’t immobilized anymore and slowly got on Aron’s back holding on to him with her life. Aron was flying high with her now, and she felt her dream coming true. She realized what she had to do. She now had immense strength and knew she could kill him now. Aron stopped mid-air in front of Orofer and she felt the urgency of the moment as she acted, hurling the miniature kinslayer dagger at him. It found its mark before he even came to his senses to stop it. He went still and she could see the blood draining from his face as he finally breathed his last. A burst of light appeared and she knew her vengeance was served. 

The last of the bells chimed as she and Aron flew towards the silver hills in the dark night.

By Apoorva Lakshmi Ragi