‘I was thinking,’ said Shiva, ‘we would still need an equivalent of your stabbing ram to break their centre. The centre is where I assume their general would place their regulars. As long as they hold, our victory cannot be guaranteed.’

‘Right,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘And we have to assume that these soldiers would be disciplined enough to stay in formation despite the barrage of arrows.’

‘Exactly,’ said Shiva. ‘We can’t transport the ram, right?’

‘No we can’t, my Lord’ said Vraka.

‘How about if we try to create a human ram?’

‘Go ahead,’ said Parvateshwar slowly, listening intendly.

‘Say we align the soldiers into a square of twenty men by twenty men,’ said Shiva. ‘Say we have each one use his shield to cover the left half of his own body and the right half of the soldier to the left of him.’

‘That will allow them to push their spear through between the shields,’ said Parvateshwar.

‘Exactly,’ said Shiva. ‘And the soldiers behind use their shields as a lid to cover themselves and the soldier in front. This formation would be like a tortoise. With the shields holding against any attack, much like a tortoise’s shell, the enemy will not be able to break through, but our spears will cut into them.’

‘And we could have the strongest and most experienced soldiers at the front to make sure the tortoise is well led,’ said Prasanjit.

‘No,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘Have the most experienced at the back and the sides. To make sure that the square doesn’t break in case the younger soldiers panic. This entire formation works only if the team stays together.’

‘Right,’ said Shiva, smiling at Parvateshwar’s quick insight. ‘And what if, instead of the usual spears, they carried this?’

Shiva raised a weapon that he had designed and the army metallurgy team had quickly assembled. Parvateshwar marvelled at the simple brilliance of it. It had the body of a spear. But its head had been broadened. On to the broadened head, two more spikes had been added, to the left and right of the main spear spike. Assaulting an enemy with this weapon would be like striking him with three spears at the same time.

‘Absolutely brilliant Shiva,’ marvelled Parvateshwar. ‘What do you call it?’ ‘I call it a trishui.’

‘Prasanjit,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘You site in charge of creating this corps. I want at least five tortoise formations ready by the time we march. I will assign two thousand men to you for this.’

‘It will be done, my Lord,’ said Prasanjit with a military salute.

Parvateshwar gazed at Shiva with respect. He thought Shiva’s ideas were brilliant. And the fact that he had come up with these tactics despite his profound personal grief was worthy of admiration. Maybe what the others say about Shiva could be true. Maybe he is the man who will finish Lord Ram’s task. Parvateshwar hoped that Shiva would not prove him wrong.

Shiva sat in the royal meeting room, with Daksha and Parvateshwar at his side. Two legendary Arishtanemi brigadiers, Vidyunmali and Mayashrenik, sat a distance away. A muscular and once proud man stood in front of Shiva, his hands together, pleading.

‘Give me a chance, my Lord,’ said Drapaku. ‘If the law has been changed, then why can’t we fight?’

Drapaku was the man whose blind father had blessed Shiva in Kotdwaar. He had been a brigadier in the Meluhan army before the disease which blinded his father also killed his wife and unborn child. He had been declared a vikarma along with his father.

‘First, how is your father?’ asked Shiva. ‘He is well, my Lord. And he will disown me if I don’t support you in this dharmayudh.’

Shiva smiled softly. He too believed this was a dharmayudh, a holy war. ‘But Drapaku, who will take care of him if something were to happen to you?’

‘Meluha will take care of him, my Lord. But he would die a thousand deaths if I didn’t go to batde with you. What kind of a son would I be if I didn’t fight for my father’s honour? For my country’s honour?’

Shiva still seemed a litde unsure. He could sense the discomfort of the others in the room with this conversation. It had not escaped his notice that despite the repeal of the vikarma law, nobody had touched Drapaku when he had entered.

‘My Lord, we are outnumbered heavily by the Chandravanshis,’ continued Drapaku. ‘We need every trained warrior we have. There are at least five thousand soldiers who can’t battle since they had been declared vikarma. I can bring them together. We are willing, and eager, to die for our country’

‘I don’t want you to die for Meluha, brave Drapaku,’ said Shiva. Drapaku’s face fell instantly. He thought he would be returning home to Kotdwaar. ‘However,’ continued Shiva. ‘I would like it if you killed for Meluha.’

Drapaku looked up.

‘Raise your brigade, Drapaku,’ ordered Shiva. Turning towards Daksha, he continued, ‘We will call it the Vikarma Brigade.’

‘How can we have vikarmas in our army? This is ridiculous!’ glared Vidyunmali.

Vidyunmali and Mayashrenik were in their private gym, preparing for their regular sword training.

‘Vidyu...,’ cajoled Mayashrenik.

‘Don’t “Vidyu” me, Maya. You know this is wrong.’

The usually calm Mayashrenik just nodded and let his impetuous friend vent his frustration.

‘How will I face my ancestors if I die in this battle?’ asked Vidyunmali. ‘What will I answer if they ask me how I let a non-Kshatriya fight a battle that only we Kshatriyas should have fought? It is our duty to protect the weak. We are not supposed to use the weak to fight for us.’

‘Vidyu, I don’t think Drapaku is weak. Have you forgotten his valour in the previous Chandravanshi war?’

‘He is a vikarma! That makes him weak!’

‘Lord Shiva has ordered that there are no vikarmas anymore.’

‘I don’t think the Neelkanfh truly knows right from wrong!’

‘VIDYU!’ shouted Mayashrenik.

Vidyunmali was surprised by the outburst.

‘If the Neelkanth says it is right,’ continued Mayashrenik, ‘then it is right!’

CHAPTER 22

Empire of Evil

‘This is the military formation I think ideal for the battle,’ said Parvateshwar.

Vraka and Parvateshwar were sitting in the general’s private office. The formation was that of a bow. The soldiers would be arranged in a wide semi-circular pattern. The slower corps, like the tortoises, would be placed at the centre. The flanks would comprise quicker units such as the light infantry. The cavalry would be at both the ends of the bow, ready to be quickly deployed anywhere on the front or to ride along the sides of the bow for protection. The bow formation was ideal for a smaller army. It provided flexibility without sacrificing strength.

‘It is ideal, my Lord,’ said Vraka. ‘What does the Mahadev have to say?’

‘Shiva thinks it suits our requirements perfectly’

Vraka did not like it when Parvateshwar referred to the Neelkanth by his name. But who was he to correct his general? ‘I agree, my Lord.’

‘I will lead the left flank,’ said Parvateshwar. ‘And you will lead the right. That is why I need your opinion on some things.’