By Ankita Pal |
Published in iss. Unbound june 2024 |
editor mrinali Jadhav
“Why shan’t you comply? Our Lord’s the greatest ruler ever and will rightfully be ‘The Master of the Seas’.
”Pairs of eyes narrowed at her remark. The female general twisted her fingers around the hilt of her sword. Her attitude had politely displeased her hosts.
Offending them felt a ruthless mistake. Hence, she prayed for otherwise.Two dull blue irises met the general’s face beneath the old leader’s wrinkled brow. “Being young sounds good; ambitious too.” In his gruff, wise voice he said, “But wishful sentiments sink down the sea.”
Metal scratched against the wooden floor as the general stood. “Your response calls for war. Will your tribe be able to resist against my Lord’s forces?” She unsheathed her sword and jammed it on the floor.
“Lord’s gracious. Submit, and the Lord will forgive your insolence right away.”From the gaps of his swollen lips, his crooked teeth peeked out. With a roar, he laughed. “My child,” he said, “we are mere humans on land. Certainty is that you might rule us; never the seas.”The female general stopped with her pursuance and raised her eyebrow. “What’s so special with a salty water body?”The elder, with tremors, pointed to a younger male in the corner.
The dingy walls masked his appearance till a silhouette. “Raka, show the general what we mean.”Under the filtered sunlight, the general got a glimpse of the man’s features. Deep-tanned yet clear eyes. He gathered his hair into a low pony and beckoned her to follow. She scrunched her nose.
A doorless custom was repulsive enough, and now combined with a beanstalk staircase. As they climbed down the stalk, she found Raka standing at the door waiting for her. He exchanged glances with her and the people outside. A flurry of feet shuffled around her, ready for her verdict.
She scanned her soldiers scattered like sand dunes, raised her hand, and asked them to wait. And then hurried behind Raka, who had already crossed the coast to the forest.“Flower or stone?” A smile stretched on his lips as he wove a rope around his palm.“Stone.”“Why?”“Flowers are weak. I can cut off one clean with my sword.” The general folded her arms as Raka pushed a worn boat into the river. “And I thought we were heading to the sea.”
“Sea originates where the river ends. To understand sea, you know the end to know the beginning.” Raka leapt onto the boat and offered his hand to the general.
She took his hand and landed on the boat. Nothing much, just a bucket, a pair of oars, and a whistle.Raka freed the boat, and it set sail on the calm waters. “Your name, Lady General, I didn’t catch it before.”She folded her arms and huffed. “Flair Cémmons.
The Lord named me when he granted me a chance to serve him my gratitude.”Raka fixated his eyes on the general’s face. And, to her surprise, he shifted his weight to the flanks of the boat with his feet. The first sea wave hit. Unaware of the danger, it flung her to a side of the boat. She grunted and glared at him. “What’s this nonsense!” Sensing that Raka might have tricked her, she lunged for a dagger hidden in her boots. The second wave crashed, and it hurled the boat into a frenzy.
Her side tilted towards the whirlpools whereas Raka was up in the air, smiling.“I would choose the flower!” Raka screamed his answer at the top of his lungs against the roar of the waves. “Flowers float on water and rocks drown!” He reversed his hand out of his vest and threw it away.
His pony came undone and Flair discovered the muscles of a swimmer.She had no alternative left with herself. Her dagger was gone in the tumultuous endeavour. One by one, Flair dropped her gauntlets into the river, then her armour and the headgear. After what seemed an eternity, the boat descended onto the vicious, viscous surface of the river. She closed her eyes and took gulps of relief, her sinuses throbbing. Raka gave her a thumbs up. “That’s one down.
A stubborn fool dies faster in water.”“Preposterous!” The boat spun at the mercy of the waves. She watched as the sea mercilessly swallowed the land, her confidence. Her fingertips bled, too bruised for retaliation. The salty air hit her nose, to her displeasure.
The waves roared as Raka’s boat left the coast, into the sea.A breeze kissed her cheeks and caressed her hands. She reminisced about her teacher, his callused hands as they lulled her into sleep after a long day of training. A smile stretched on her lips.
She sat up and scanned her surroundings. How much time had slipped by? She didn’t notice. They had been sailing for some time. The coast was now a shapeless horizon and she could hear Raka with the oars and the occasional blaring of his whistle.
It was too peaceful—an illusion. She glared at Raka when a flash of his prank crossed her mind. “Did you want to scare me? You did!” A sudden angry outburst left in seconds and now it was irrelevant. “Nevermind.”Raka’s addicting laugh resonated with the gushing foams of the mighty sea. “No. I showed you what a sea is. Ruthless and peaceful. We the people onshore sustain at its mercy.
It’s our livelihood and our bane.”“So, wars on the sea are impractical? Or does your peace-loving nature not allow you to fight?”“Sure we fight. Territories, fishes and even with craftsmanship. But the waters are never stagnant, so ain’t the fish and craftsmanship.
Things become useless with time. So does the fight. Let it flow, like water.”Flair’s eyes arched in annoyance. “Do you feel every tribe believes in your idealistic daydreams?” She strained her voice. “Whether you live on land or escape via the sea, they will conquer you and murder you cold!” “I never fear that. After all, we’re creatures of the land. Ourselves and vice versa’ll conquer us. You can fortify and claim land, but where will you but barrier in the sea? Life is hard enough.
Listless pillage only makes the sea wrathful. The sea is vengeful; the sea is rewarding. Just like your Lord is your life’s goal, the sea is our tutelage. Conquering the sea humbles you; a first-hand experience of its greatness.”Flair was speechless. An eternal ruler who had and would be there forever. These people had a king, the Sea. And to rule over them, they must defeat the Sea. But who shall triumph over the Sea? Time glitched. She absorbed the sight of pearls shining under the sun over the blue robe with an expanse of infinity.
The sea was ruthless, but peaceful.
All left were the crashing waves, the boat rocking a lullaby and a not-so-ignorant woman.
The sea is for voyagers, not invaders…
U N V E R B A L I S E 