Rising Mist

"Is she the one?"

"Yes, yes."

"Isn't she lucky to be chosen by him."

"Nah, only if she can come out alive."

"Tut! Tut! Poor girl. Her sister was the same right?"

"..........."

The walk to her new home was never an easier one. The whispers around had increased way lot than she had imagined and the eyes were the worst, it looked at her as if wanting to peel her skin away. She saw him standing outside waiting for her. She had walked too fast in her rush to reach there avoiding many Astrarians who were craning their neck from their houses as if they had never seen her. She had become the talk of every person residing in Astra. The one thing she had always tried to hide away from. She had now come to realise that it was a futile endeavor.

Rishi saw Sana rushing to him in the altered attire of his. He had always knew her beauty was the most charming one in all of Astra. The mud coloured brownish tunic and pants though quite different than her usual gowns didn't hide the appeal she exudes. The same attire on him seemed too dull in her presence. The wait was worthwhile.

Parting with his family had been the most difficult choice, but somethings had to be endured with the duties placed on him as the next lord of Astra. He placed the bag of supplies containing dried fish meat, water, dagger, ropes and two shift houses over his back. He had done all the necessary preparations that were needed to get them back. But Raksharan was not something that anyone could ever envision. His cousin was the best warrior of their Astra, but hadn't he lost to that place. He just hoped the unthinkable had not yet occurred to him.

The path grew smaller and smaller as they approached the edge of Astra when suddenly two large beings overshadowed them. The guards stood in front of them, blocking their way to stop them from moving any further. If it were any other day, he would have rewarded them for such dedication. But it wasn't such a day. He showed the wooden token engraved with his family name, Mahant to the giant guardians of their homeland, Astra. He had never come this far and had not seen such huge beings who were men just like him in basic structure like two hands and legs. But were very-very different in size. His knowledge on them was through Rujaras, the ancient scriptures of their Astra. The large ones gifted to their family on separation. According to Rujaras, they hated following their lord's family and preferred guarding the boundaries of their land. The reason for their aversion to protect his family was still a mystery to him and others who were keen on history of their origin.

She held the tunic at his waist in fright as she saw two large beefy men with no neck bowing their heads to Rishi and beating their long spears on the ground in respect. Strangely as it may sound as they returned to their respective position, they continued beating their weapons to the ground as if wanting to trip them over. The vibrations were too strong that even the ground shook. She wondered, had she not held him tightly, she would have fallen on her butt. Even such a thought brought shivers to her spine. The image of it through his eyes would surely devastate her. It would be better if they both fell together, at least her embarrassment would ease a little. Not that such an event occurred, she was just too scared and her hidden fears were running around in front of her eyes. Thank goodness! They were not their enemies, else the tiny Astrarian would hardly count as their opponent in the fight.

The start at noon from his home, the center of Astra had finally reached to the place which terrified every Astrarian alive. Once he enters Raksharan, the mystic forest, there was no surety that he would even come out alive. No one had ever been able to achieve such a feat till date. Previous of his ancestors had someone to continue their family line, if they failed to come back. Such was not his fate. Either he win or everyone of Astrarian die.

The sky was slowly turning to peachy-red and the time they had been waiting for had arrived. Rishi held her hand and finally left the boundary of Astra.

Days passed and it had been two days and one night since they had entered the mysterious forest, Raksharan. Rishi was rushing as if a bull was chasing him. They hadn't rested to find them as quick as possible. Their delay was not to be taken lightly if they lose them forever. Even if her legs gave away at multiple occasions, she persisted to continue with him. Now that they could not go on anymore, she sat down underneath a tree to rest for a while and Rishi squatted near the muddy path they had just walked on.

The place was filled with long trees with their green heads no longer in sight. Few were thin and tall while some other were so burly and thick that even Rishi could not embrace it with both his hands. The most puzzling of all was that there were no marks of their foot steps on the wet muddy path they had just walked on. To confirm his observation he jumped on the ground to leave a deeper mark, but his actions left none of the traces he had just left even though his foot wear and pants had become dirty in his experiment.

The unexpected chuckle from behind startled him and he turned to see her sitting on the ground with her back leaning against the tree as her lips twitched slightly and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she tried hard controlling her laughter at his current state. He had really made his clothes dirty in his process to find some clue about them. Till now the path was straight with no diversions and he felt he was sure to find them, if he persisted enough. Sana's support on his crazy insistence to continue with no rest really amazed him. The pampered child of Amakshi had really come far. She could really find amusement even in this dire situation, very few in Astra had her optimism. But the same was not reflected in him. He had hoped there might have been some clue about the direction they had left. People usually leave some kind of mark in an unfamiliar place to help them find their way out incase they lose the direction, at least smart ones do so and his cousin was no fool. This place had to be a neat freak who cleaned up signs that anyone had ever been here.

He continued squatting near the grasses and tried exploring some other clues that could help him. He touched the green knives embedded to the ground to check something or anything that could guide him ahead. But they were too sharp that it cut his fingers and dropping few drops of his blood on it. Strangely, the freak was not able to clear the blood spots left on the ground. Generally getting fingers cut by grasses meant that no one had walked on them and they were still afresh. But he doubted such a case, unless it had grown today.

Dead tired with no bloody clue in hand, the only thought resounding his mind was what in the hell was this place. This looked like forest filled with tress, though a little haphazard in its manner of plantation. Even if they had left any mark, the neat freak Raksharan would have restored it to the original. He was not so sure now if he could even find them. In current circumstance he could do nothing other than continue moving forward and hope he would be able to get to them. He did not like the notion of moving ahead in the darkness with no light in hand to show them the way.

She should not have laughed, but it was too funny to rein in the laughter . The sight of an immortal flying high to finally landing to the mortal world had made it even more difficult to contain it. The man had finally understood that he was no longer in command. Somethings are to be left to fate with no surety that his need would ever be fulfilled. The high-handed Rishi's landing to ground was a feat in itself for her. She wasn't mocking his efforts, but was a little amused at current situation. Now only hope and courage were their last of the tools to fight the uncertain battle ahead.

The man had to be the most stubborn one she had ever come across, she did try to stop him multiple times to rest last night even if they had begun in the noon. But he had to go on not considering the darkness of the night with his sharp Astrarian night vision that everyone in Astra was gifted with. Though keeping aside the fact that his pace had slowed down significantly with passage of time. If it were not for the glitch they could not cross on without his usual self assuredness, he would still continue to go on tonight in darkness like yesterday without bothering to give the body the necessary sleep needed. Her handicap was not making it easier on him or her for that matter. To her incompetence, her weak night vision was another layer to be added. She had now come to resent her weaknesses. She was like those pots of water with a hole drilled to the base.

The path forward had diverged into two directions and he had to choose the correct one, else he might never find them or be lost himself. He could not count on Sana for such a critical choice, after all she was a preschool teacher of Tarashala. Her sister at least had some warrior training before they had left together. It would have been most desirous if he had his cousin's insight with him. He was the best with the intuition thing. He on the other hand was more of a facts and details kind of a guy and the conclusion he drew from those titbits he observed.

Closing his eyes, he decided to chose the left path. Though not quite sure on his choice he decided to follow the path once the dawn breaks. He could only hope that he was correct in his decision. It had been only two days since he had left Astra and he was already feeling drained. He took out the dried fishes and offered it to Sana to eat. The noon meal was too light to sustain this long. Even if he was not too fond of her, he had vowed to take care of her for lifetime.

His family and Astra were too important in comparison to his dislike of her. Rather than the term dislike, it was her anomaly that irked him and his cousin. Amakshi's were too soft handed with her unlike her elder sister. He drank water to remove the fishy taste from his mouth and setup the two shift houses for each. He was already too kind in setting up the tent house for her. Reassuring her that she could call him anytime if she needed anything, he went to sleep hoping that tomorrow's dawn would prove his intent right.

Dried fish in one hand and water in another made her realise that the man was only taking care of her basic needs with little or no intention to interact further.

She always knew Mahant brothers had not so nice opinions on her. Sure, she was not like her sister who was always vibrant and take on bull kind. She was just different. Astra had always valued physical strength over meekness and was she really weak? At least she didn't think so, she just wasn't inclined to their high energy endeavors. The whole of Astra was the same, the desire to display strength ran in their blood. She couldn't help wonder why her blood did not boil with strength like many others in Astra.

She ate the dried meat and drank water and wondered if her parents were missing her, especially her mother. Her world revolved around their family, always taking care that none of their needs get unnoticed. She was her favorite, probably because she always liked the follow her around. Her sister was averse to such closeness. Once she decides something, no one could persuade her out of it. She had always been a rebel, but a charming one at that. No one could hate her even if she defied the other person. She envied how likeable she always was unlike her. The two daughters of same parent could not be more different from each other.

Her mother being her usual worrywart, never wanted her to follow Rishi to the mystical woods of Raksharan. The distress signal sent by them had alarmed everyone in Astra. Who wouldn't be if an explosive sound resounded so loud that the houses shook in vibration shaking the persons within them too.

She was with her students at that time who were so terrified that she had to distract them by pointing the freshly turned red sky of the noon so that their fascination over it would make their fear go away. Otherwise it would be very difficult to calm those frightened children. Few of them had just come out of their shock of their first broken tooth, they could hardly handle one of such a shock.

She was responsible for teaching them till their tenth year, pre-schooling before they chose specialization. Some parents send their children late even if Astra's rules wants them to send them to Tarashala in their sixth year with a laxation of one year for exceptional cases. She had nearly four years, sometimes even less to mold their innocent minds to be the warrior that Astra leaders want them to be.

Few at the end of their pre-schooling choose to be healers. But it was disheartening that they had only two options if they wish to continue their studies, otherwise they were to be deemed a failure like her who was neither a warrior nor a healer. Few were redeemed from that tag if they were able to succeed in business and bathe in riches. That was another dark reality she had avoided in the shelter of her parents.

They had always been too protective of her. The anxiety looming all over them. She could still feel the light pain when they had hugged her so tightly with no intention of ever releasing her from their hold. She understood that the venture being uncertain and high possibility of her never returning was not something any parents were comfortable in sending their baby daughter to. But she was hardly a baby and something was definitely different, subtly or so about their protectiveness to her from her elder sister.

The empty shift house in the darkness of night made their absence more difficult to bear. If only Rishi did not dislike her enough to leave her alone in another shift house, she could share his tent, after all she was his newly wedded bride. Then chuckled sarcastically at the mock of the marriage happened for the sole purpose of getting them back. Had it not been for those scriptures by Mahant ancestors, the Rujaras of Astra, she would still be in home accompanying her beloved parents and tutoring her cute students.

"The newlywed couple who had yet not been physically intimate while holding hands at the dusk when the sky had just turned slight red can then enter Raksharan with the blessings of Mahan, the first of Mahants." Those were the few words who had uprooted the Amakshi sisters' lives. At least her sister, Chaya and brother-in-law, Mahesh were childhood sweetheart, no matter how they both deny it vehemently that they weren't to everyone around.

She touched the pendant that her mother put on her as she was leaving in hope to feel some of her warmth through it while her reminder to never lose it ran in her ears. Her voice was quivering as she repeatedly reminded her to keep it with her all the times. She felt a little odd. She had seen this when Uncle Jeev presented her when he left them for good. Her mother had never allowed her to wear it even if it was given to her as birthday gift.

The last time she had seen uncle Jeev was on her ninth birthday. The pendant necklace being her birthday present. After his disappearance, she had asked about her one-armed uncle multiple times to her father. But he always avoided the topic and in time her persistence thinned and soon forgot about him, until recently when vivid stories floated around after the shattering red distress signal sent by the couple lost in the forest.

Few said he was the foolish man who was burnt alive at the entry of the mystic forest for not following Rujaras' words while some said he was never an Astrarian to begin with and had been banished from the Astra's land. The truth of the matter still was a mystery for everyone except few of the Mahants and the Amakshi's who couldn't be more tight lipped on the matter.

The many thoughts roaming around made her sleep so elusive that she feared she would not be able to rise at dawn tomorrow and Rishi's disapproving frown was not something she wanted see that early of the day. The man was too cold and indifferent to her even though he was trying hard to mask it.

The praise he always receives in Astra couldn't be more skewed. No one had wanted to come to Raksharan to die. Even if the next lord was the present at the side. With her sister's life at stake she was the only name who had been deemed as the best choice for the bride of the next lord of Astra, despite the failure tag she carried. Baheri's were another option inline with their Mahant status. Sadly they had no daughters and they had to settle with Amakshi as their daughter-in-law. She knew uncle Masheer had no such prejudice. But she wondered if her mother-in-law was the same.

She had admired Rishi, but her admiration stopped at him being one of the best lord in line for their Astra. As a partner for life she had never considered him, even if he was the cream everyone wanted the share of. Probably because she saw the hidden disdain he had for her despite how occasionally they met at summer and winter gatherings.

She shook her head and willed her to sleep. All her wondering was useless. Her choice was taken away the moment her sister decided to join the Mahant family marrying his cousin. She couldn't fault her sister for being with her beloved. She only worried, how long Rishi's tolerance would last.

The unknown journey ahead with stranger as an accompanying partner made the road more endless with no specific destiny in sight. Sighing, she shifted her position to make herself more comfortable. After two long days of arduous travel, a good nights sleep would do her good. There was no use fretting on answers that only time could tell. So she did nothing but curb her worries as much as possible.

Hope was the rope she planned on clinging to here onwards.