Child Of Manas ( Part 1 )

Sur, when he didn't travel, liked to sit at the curbside in the void and watch the Akasha Ganga flow. Without rhythm, without pattern, the white cosmic river wove itself beautifully into the black eternal void. From Sur's point of view, time was so fast, only the black of the void and the white of the river existed. He lived way beyond all the stars in the universe, beyond the effects of their gravity. Then, he started to travel. Time became slower.

Sur dove straight into the river. He became a tiny dot that watched the water droplets of the cosmic river slowing down to match his pace. Sur was able to see the droplets, which were actually stars flow backwards. It was only an illusion, of course. Because he was travelling in high speeds, objects that were far away appeared to be travelling backwards to meet him at his destination. But when the illusion continued for a long time, it became reality.

It happened because reaching his destination meant he needed this reality. Ah…guess this was why the elders forbade one to swim in the Ganga. It was not an actual river, but a river of time. One needed a reality to swim in time! Sur saw everything that ever happened and everything that will happen to that small dot in space that he focused on before he jumped. It was blue in color and it pulsated. Every fourth pulse was green. It was radiant, calm and beautiful and the more Sur looked at it, the more mystical it appeared. By the time he reached that dot, he fell in love with it.

Perhaps he felt safe next to it, perhaps he was exhausted from the long journey, but just as he reached that dot and fell in love, Sur also fell asleep. A thin lotus stalk emerged, connecting Sur's navel to his boat. These weren't two separate things before. Sur and his vehicle. One might say, the vehicle didn't even exist before. It was all Sur. But looking at it now, it couldn't not have existed. The cosmos was wide and the cosmic river dangerous. How could Sur have travelled without a boat? The boat was shaped like a lotus bud. It was huge, appearing like an asteroid of rough terrain on the outside, with the size of a moderate mountain range. People from the little blue dot came to see what was on the boat, but were unable to find anything. They assumed it was just a piece of rock. They didn't see Sur because he was not actually on the boat. He was connected to it, or rather, the boat was connected to him. Still, these people couldn't see him because Sur's composition did not fall under the visible spectrum…or any known spectrum based on which space arranges itself for that matter.

Many years passed. One day, the bud bloomed. Seeing these changes, people from the little blue dot rushed up again. When the bud became a lotus, they saw within, a small child. It looked exactly like them. The people promptly took it away. Only then did Sur wake up. Because it was hard to see him, he appeared like the night itself. His limbs shimmered with stars, his eyes were magnetic pools of black. His tresses were long and dark, ethereal as they spread across the endless curvature of space.

"But it is only half born…" Sur muttered after a long sleep. That child was the manifestation of his love for the blue dot after having observed it several times over from its humble beginnings as a cloud of star dust, all the way to its demise. Sur let it gestate in the boat which was a special space where time had no meaning. But now that it's taken away only after half a birth, it was like an electron that needs to spin twice to complete a rotation. How would the child be able to do that in a mortal world where they only live once?

Unless…

Unless he splits in two and conquers two equal but opposite destinies.

The Manas kingdom is an ancient temple kingdom that was once a city-state built around a temple. The temple expanded along a rocky ridge that connected several hills together. Hamlets emerged at the foot of those hills. The entire hilly mountain range became a state. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of shrines were built at various elevations. As men climbed up, they could see devdasis1 practicing dances in those shrines. Music flowed in the stead of water all over this rocky kingdom; strings and cymbals accompanied bards who composed many a song about the creative play of gods on earth. Theatre troupes came and went, engaging in impromptu shows with the bards, describing how man fit into the divine play. In such way, the Manas kingdom was a petri dish of song and dance, of lore and legend, of literature, poetry and debate.

The temple was its main source of economy. In the beginning, the state used to subsist on offerings and the income produced by devdasis alone. As such the courtesans produced by the Manas kingdom's devdasi industry were top notch. They were known throughout the world. Whenever one of them were sold to a royal house or a great faction, the temple's expenses would be covered for as much as three months to a year! Because of that, the Manas devdasis have the fame of being so beautiful they can make cities flourish…or countries fall.

Because they did not need anything else in the beginning, the temple itself ruled the city state for a time period. But as its territory expanded and its fame spread, it naturally attracted unwanted attention. The temple was run by the brahmins while the economy was looked after by the devdasi madams. How could either of them possibly defend the land if an attack were to happen? Meanwhile, the settlers who've come to the kingdom were also mostly artists, singers and poets. There were also architects, engineers, sculptors, artisans, craftsmen and various other kinds of day laborers, but no warriors. Warriors found the singers and artists frivolous. They were also down to earth and not excessively devout. So they came and went as duty called, but never settled there in Manas. By the time Manas realised its crisis, it was already a colossus. It was no longer a small city state, but a full-fledged kingdom. The only kingdom in the world without an army. It also had the reputation of being a peaceful state, leading even refugees fleeing from war to gather there. Basically, Manas became a big hive of bees which can perform any kind of profession known to man, except the one that needs them to take the blade.

Eventually, the head priest of the temple who was a sage of great renown throughout the world, held a meeting with the monarchs of four kingdoms that surrounded the hilly ranges on which Manas was built. He sought their help to help manage the kingdom. He proposed that until the chosen one comes, the four monarchs must see Manas as a training ground for their princes and other royal heirs. They should each rule the kingdom for a period of five years on a rotation basis.