The ninth trail.
We were taken to room that seemed familiar. It was the same as spirit ascension platform. We were, all 15 of us were invited inside the pods to take the test together. All of us got inside the pods. The same same of entering spirit ascension platform came back.
It is a group task or not.
*At night*
We were inside a cave as we fled a battle between a Dreaded duskclaw bear and the auspicious emperor.
A small thing attacked me. It was a little auspicious emperor.
When I looked into his eyes I was lost in my memories.
*The past*
My name was Surya Jayavardhan. I was an illiterate. I never went to school, not because I didn't want to, but there was no schools in the 100 mile around our village.
My father was a forest gaurd and after his death I became one.
I was 18 years old when I joined my post. We were responsible for protecting the 300 acres around our post. The outside of this boundary was done by another post.
There lived a tribe in the forest land that I was appointed. There were just five people in our post.
After three months of my duty, I encountered a women from the tribe. She was limping. She injured her foot when she was patrolling the forest. I helped her as I was naive back then.
The results I got were an elbow to my face. She was strong. She found me pitiful so she dragged me to my post and left me there. My gaurd mates woke me up. They joked about me being beaten by a girl. Even after ten years they still joked on this point.
After three months I got a stalker. My gaurd mates told me to be careful of her but I didn't care and always said that she could do nothing to me. Nothing.
She kidnapped and married me. Forcefully at that , but after that incident she never forced me. She did everything a housewife would do. She prepared my lunch. Made my dinner. Cleaned my house. The one that I made with my gaurd mates. But she couldn't gain my love.
After three years, one day she just disappeared. When I came back, I didn't see her anywhere. I thought I would be happy if she left. I wasn't. I was flustered. I searched for her everywhere. I didn't even know why I was searching for her.
Later my gaurd mates said that my mother was ill and she went to see my mother. I felt good. Earlier It was like there was a rock on my chest. Breathing had became difficult for me. After knowing that she didn't leave me I heaved a sigh of relief. I immediately got on the patrolling jeep and went to meet her.
The moment my eyes landed on her. My heart calmed down. I was happy to see her. I went and hugged her tightly while saying don't leave me in front of the whole village. The second most embarrassing moment of my life.
I was in love with her. I fell for her without even knowing it myself. Life felt empty in the few moments she was not with me.
She cried. She cried a lot that. I also apologized a lot to her.
We were living happily. She taught me about a lot of things about the forest and it's animals.
Nine months later, I was going to become a father. She was pregnant for 8 months then. We were planning on what to name our baby. We were planning for its future.
It was monsoon at that time. It rained a lot. The roads had become muddy. She was in pain. The day to giving birth had come. The roads had already filled with water till our chest. Her tribe was more than 20 kilometres away. While the hospital was just 10 kilometres. I thought I should take her to the hospital. I should have taken to her tribe.
The rain was pouring heavily. Enough that I couldn't see more than 10 metres ahead of me. I got on the patrolling jeep. And took her to the hospital.
On the way, due to the heavy rain a tree fell just 20 meters away from the jeep. I pressed the brakes but due to mud, the jeep slipped and we slammed against the trees.
I was rescued by my gaurd mates who were worried about us and followed behind us.
She died. Along with my daughter. Her last words for me was to protect the forest, it's not your fault. I couldn't even listened to her last words myself.
Even now I regret that decision. Even now I still blame myself.
I was broken. My gaurd mates helped me to get out of that. They found the letter she sent for my mother. I read the letter and cried for the last time that that. Years later, I found out that the letter was not from her. They just went to the city to ask a copywriter to copy her handwriting and wrote that letter.
The letter worked for me, along with her last words I devoted myself to the forest. I wore her tribe necklace that she often wore on my neck.
A year later, I faced a Tiger in the forest. I thought I would die when the Tiger pounced on me. I didn't. The saw my necklace and left me alone.
I learnt that the animals in the forest and the tribe were in harmony. The animals never attacked the tribesmen even once for the past 50 years. So did the tribesmen. They were vegetarian. She was also a vegetarian and later made me one as well.
I started to live with the tribe. I made a house near their tribe to not intrude on them.
Four years passed that way. All the animals knew me and I knew them. I may not know what species they are or what were they called but I remembered every single of them. They never attacked me. Just sent warnings when I got too close to them or was intruding on them. The forest reminded me of her.
I felt like I was with her when J was in the forest, like she was with me on my every step, every jump , every moment.
I fell in love with the animals and the forest. To me that 300 acres of forest land was her last reminiscent of her.
Four years later the government opened the forest and allowed tourist to come here. After tourists came Poachers who got to know about this new piece of land and it's animals. In just one month more than 12000 deaths were reported by the various posts. 350 of them were from our post. One of us even died while protecting them.
It was the greed of the government that made this things came here.
More than ten Elephants were found dead. Their tusks removed from their from inside their heads. It was cruel.
One day when I was patrolling I found a poacher that killed a parrot. I lost control on myself. When my bearings came, the person was already dead. My hands were stained with blood but I didn't felt bad. I felt alive. Like I was reborn.
From then I killed more than 540 Poachers in just two years. I was 32 then. 14 years have passed since I first met her.
When I was patrolling I heard the noises of screams, it wasn't of an animal's. Those were a human's screaming. I informed my post and went close to site.
What I saw was something I could never forget.
A young man or kid, I didn't know at that time, was bashing a man's head with a piece of rock. Where two people with broken legs lie just a little distance away.
The man he was bashing had his skull broken into pieces. All the brain matter and other things were slashed on the ground near him. Blood was all around him.
The man ripped the throat of thee other one. He used his hands to rip his face. He skinned the person alive and then broke his neck.
The ripped the head of the last person. Blood overflowing from his corpse.
I wanted to do something, scream for help or intervene.but my instinct, which I honed while living in the forest for the past 14 years, were screaming at me to not do anything or I would die.
That day I met him for the first time.
That day I saw the reflection of Savitri in front of him. Savitri my wife and also the only person I loved more than my life.
That day I saw a monster with the heart of gold.
That day my life changed once again.
*The past ends*
