CHAPTER 15- Recognition.

1538, Fort Kondapalli. Dharanikota Kingdom.

The ride to the top of the hill was a slow, time-consuming process. The hill itself was not overly tall, but without modern machinery, the roads laid on the hills were minimal. It had taken nearly twenty minutes for their small group to reach the main entrance of the fort.

The whole fortification was built on the top of a hill. While the earlier entrance was just guarding a road to the fort, the gate that was present before Rudra was guarding the main fort itself. It was not as grand as he imagined it to be. 

Though Rudra was the crown prince, he never visited the Kondapalli fort in his short life. One of the main reasons is that the fort is a barracks-only type, with no special area to accommodate royalty. Now that he looks back, it was very shallow of him to ignore it.

'Maybe your own soldiers would have known you better if you ever bothered to visit them.' he mocked himself internally. Vijay had good relations with the high-ranking officials of his military. It was one of the reasons why his uncle was not able to gain a foothold in this area. But it didn't include the soldiers.

The Kondapalli fortress was about at least 200 years old, and the fort showed its age. There were no cannons on the walls. People could walk up to the walls unopposed with the cover of the forest surrounding the hills. The only thing the fort has going for it is its location, which will help defend it from anything but a full siege. 

As the memories related to fortifications stood out in his mind, Rudra was able to analyze the fort thoroughly from what was visible on the outside. Plans for forts which were built in his previous life, siegecraft, and other things also started popping up, which he had to suppress. There was no use of them if he couldn't get the throne first.

Rudra, Bashir, and the captain, who followed them, dismounted their horses and started walking inside the fortress. Although there were soldiers at the gate, they didn't stop the captain. The trio crossed the open gates and entered the fortress. 

The fort itself contained multiple buildings. There were buildings for storing weapons, and supplies an eating hall, and the barracks itself. There was an archery range not visible from the gate, but Rudra had seen it in the records at the capital city.

There are anywhere from 2000 to 5000 soldiers who are stationed at this fort, but most of them stay in the town below. Everybody staying on the hill would be a logistics nightmare. The fort itself can hold up to 500 at a time.

As the evening is in full swing, some soldiers usually stay at the fort but are now visiting the town for some enjoyment facilities. Most of them are going towards the Town gate, while the gate at which Rudra arrived was the forest gate.

As the trio was walking toward the officer's quarters where Colonel Pemmisani had invited them, a soldier who was passing by seemed to have recognized the Prince. He quickly put the supplies he was carrying on the ground, got down on a knee, and put his right hand on his chest.

"Your Highness! Forgive me for thinking you are dead! May Shiva bless you with a long life." The soldier said with a resolute tone. The guy must have seen Rudra previously, as he recognized him.

"You may rise, soldier, no need to get down on your knee. I am not a king, yet." Rudra told the kneeling soldier and continued with " Please continue whatever you are doing. I have an urgent task to do.", dismissing the soldier.

After he asked the soldier to leave, Rudra turned to move forward but noticed that the captain had stopped in his tracks. He was staring between Rudra and the still-kneeling soldier with a look of shock until something clicked in his mind.

He immediately fell to the ground and touched Rudra's legs saying "Forgive me, my lord. I have not recognized you. Please have some mercy on me, I have a family to feed." Seeing the proud man begging like that made Rudra uncomfortable. 

Rudra tried to lift the captain, by consoling him, and after some struggle, he rose from falling on the prince's legs to Kneeling on a knee, like the soldier beside him. Seeing two soldiers kneeling on the ground seemed to make other soldiers curious as well as they started to gather around to see what was going on.

As they gathered around and the number of soldiers increased, more soldiers who recognized Rudra appeared. One by one they kneeled as the word spread. 

"It's the prince! Everybody kneel." a soldier shouted.

"Idiot! Isn't the prince dead?" another soldier replied.

"What? The prince is dead?" a clueless soldier questioned.

Slowly almost all the gathered soldiers got the news and they started kneeling. This commotion attracted even more soldiers, who then attracted even more. Within a few minutes, a few hundred soldiers were kneeling in the courtyard inside the fort.

These people wanted Rudra to address them. He knew that and was waiting for the group to calm down. "Stand up everyone," he ordered them, and slowly everyone got up and stood there, waiting for further instructions from the Prince.

Rudra saw some faces in the group that he recognized. Most of those were from the platoon of soldiers he had interacted with, during a training session with his guard Narappa. They were transferred here, in the last few months.

Rudra also noticed that the sudden commotion had attracted the officers and some of them were pushing through the gathered soldiers to get close to the prince. He nodded at them and indicated to them to wait for him to finish his address to the soldiers.

A soldier brought a wooden chair for Rudra to sit on, but instead of doing that, he climbed on it to gain some elevation. The prince then Raised a hand, prompting the soldiers to calm down.

"I know for most of you, it is the first time seeing me. If not for this platoon most wouldn't have known who I was. I must have been more proactive, getting to know you soldiers, who are the backbone of our kingdom." he said to soldiers, who then proceeded to cheer.

"Some Rumours are circulating that I am dead, that my father is dead. I am here to assure you, that I am completely fine. The attempt made at my life has been thwarted, and I have brought them to Justice." Rudra continued, as the crowd cheered even more. He raised his hand once again to the soldiers, indicating them to calm down.

"All is not good news, however. The man who attempted to kill me is still at large. He is a kin killer, stooping so low as to try and kill his brother and nephew, his blood. All for what? A lofty throne?" the prince told the gathered crowd, as more soldiers from the other end of the fortress joined them.

"I only know as much as you do about the fate of my father. He may have been killed, falling victim to that madman's evil schemes, but I assure you, the king will be avenged. All the people who had plotted for that crown will be crushed. Karana Deva will be dead before he sits on that throne!" The last prince of Dharanikota roared to the gathered soldiers, getting an equally loud response back from them.

"Now please, go back and quickly finish up your duties. The bells of the fortress will be rung soon, rallying all the troops from the area. I need YOU, to help your kingdom." Rudra said, pointing his fingers at the soldiers like those propaganda posters from WW2.

Half an Hour later. 

As the sun had completely set, and the evening ended, Rudra Deva and the officers of the Dharanikota army, who were stationed at Kondapalli fort gathered in a large room. There was a tension in the air, and every one of them could feel it.

Rudra had just finished explaining to them what happened in Macherla, of how he hunted down the soldiers who betrayed them. They had not received the full story of course, as there was no need for them to learn of his death, the second death, or obot the memories which were now in his brain.

The officers' main worries originated from the fact that most of their families had sent someone to attend the coronation of Karana Deva, which was taking place the next day. Most of the officers who were left in the castle were either common officers or the children of some nobility.

It was not their fault that the Karana Deva convinced everyone of Rudra's death. In the last week, several factions who originally supported the prince had now thrown their support behind his uncle.

"Your Highness, my father did not know that you were alive. As you know, he has always been an ardent supporter of you. I am sure that he will come back immediately, once he knows that you are alive." said Colonel Pemmisani, the son of General Pemmisani.

Colonel Venkata Naidu Pemmisani, and his father General Verra Naidu Pemmisani, belonged to the famous Pemmisani clan of the Vijayanagara Empire. They controlled the territory of Gandikota and all the lands surrounding it. It was a family of generals and leaders.

General Veera P, was the younger son of Timmanayudu II and had failed to obtain any significant inheritance from his father. After a bitter rivalry with his older brother, Erra Timmanayudu, he moved to Dharanikota in its founding years and joined the military with his expertise.

Colonel Venkata P, while gaining his position due to the nepotism of his father, was a very capable young officer, who suffered from being under his father's shadow. Rudra didn't want to generate friction with such an officer, for a mistake he did not even commit.

"Just know this Colonel Venkat, you are not responsible for your father's decisions. My uncle was the only available choice for the throne and your father did what he must to protect your family's legacy." he consoled the young officer, while at the same time stating his position on the matter.

"How quickly can all the soldiers convene? My 'dear' uncle's coronation takes place by noon tomorrow. I want all the soldiers available at Kondapalli to march on the city by then." Rudra addressed all the officers present there, using a commanding voice.

"If we ring the bells now, the soldiers will convene in the town in less than three hours, Your Highness." an officer said, sounding confident in his assumption. 

"Then Send someone to Ring them. I need the soldiers convened and ready to march on the capital city by midnight." Rudra ordered the officer, who bowed and left to complete the job.

A few minutes later, a huge bronze bell started ringing from the top of Kondapalli hills, Its sound alerted everyone within a few kilometers radius.

It was a sound all the soldiers of the town knew. They are being summoned. 

"DING!"

"DING!"

"DING!"

As the bells rang, the soldiers who were in the middle of their work stopped doing it. People who were eating their dinners left them in the middle. People who were sleeping woke up and grabbed their weapons. The cavalry soldiers fed their horses so that they would be ready.

Kondapalli was a town built around the existence of the soldiers and the fortress. As, the sound of the ringing bell, traveled down the hill, the entire town felt that surge of activity.