Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media book Club book Club book Club. Hello
Speaker 1: and welcome to the Cool Zone Media book Club, which
Speaker 1: is your weekly book club that you don't have to
Speaker 1: do the reading for because I do the reading for you.
Speaker 1: I'm Margaret Kiljoy, your host today, and today I have
Speaker 1: a short story I'm really excited about. This is a
Speaker 1: story I was pretty sure I was going to do
Speaker 1: ever since I first took on this here book club.
Speaker 1: It's a story by an author named Shiv Ramdas. And
Speaker 1: I first read this story a couple of years ago
Speaker 1: because my friend Shiv, who you might have heard on
Speaker 1: cool People who did cool stuff. He was a reverse guest.
Speaker 1: He told me the story of the Great Gama and
Speaker 1: you all should go listen to that. But that one's real.
Speaker 1: This one's fiction. Is there a different U who knows?
Speaker 1: I mean there's a difference, but you know, reality is mutable. Anyway,
Speaker 1: she was like, Hey, of this story, I think you
Speaker 1: might like it. I wrote a sort of anarchist interrogation
Speaker 1: of Hindu mythology. You want to read it, dear listener.
Speaker 1: The answer was yes, I did want.
Speaker 2: To read it.
Speaker 1: In fact, years later, I want to read it to you.
Speaker 1: But first this isn't an ad transition. It's a bio
Speaker 1: transition in which I now read you Shiv's bio. Shiv
Speaker 1: Ramdas is a multi award nominated author of speculative fiction,
Speaker 1: short stories, and novels. He lives and writes in Seattle,
Speaker 1: Washington with his wife in Three Cats. In twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: he became one of only two Indian writers to ever
Speaker 1: be nominated for a Hugo, a Nebula and an Ignite
Speaker 1: Award in the same year. He also gained Twitter fame
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty for live tweeting the saga of his
Speaker 1: brother in law's Rice Mishap. His first novel, Dome Child,
Speaker 1: was India's first mainstream cyberpunk novel. His short fiction has
Speaker 1: appeared in Slate, Strange Horizons, Fireside Fiction, Podcastle and other publications.
Speaker 1: This story, which is called The Three Trials of the Wind,
Speaker 1: has actually only been published previously to this on his Patreon,
Speaker 1: which he has one in case you want more of
Speaker 1: the Patreon only content. And yeah, this is an interrogation
Speaker 1: of Hindu mythology. A lot of the names have been changed,
Speaker 1: but I think to people who understand Hindu mythology better
Speaker 1: than I do, it'll probably be obvious who I'm talking about.
Speaker 1: The Three Trials of the Wind by shiv Ramdas. On
Speaker 1: the last day of heaven, the great god Raka sent
Speaker 1: for his Guru and bade him to prepare for the end.
Speaker 1: Then he shaded his eyes, looking out his window once more,
Speaker 1: all the way to the horizon, the red tinged ocean raged,
Speaker 1: although no longer did it rise through the water. The
Speaker 1: tips of golden roofs peeped out, twisted by the currents,
Speaker 1: yet standing proud against the swell. Far below, under the
Speaker 1: depths lay the broken pillars and scattered stones, all that
Speaker 1: remained of the ivory towers. Overhead, an angry, purple sky loomed,
Speaker 1: the only light coming from a glimmering sea under the
Speaker 1: ghostly glow of a ragged, fading moon. A flash of
Speaker 1: movement caught the corner of Roka's eye, and he turned
Speaker 1: his attention to the countless little dots battling violent, ever
Speaker 1: reddening waves, each one a ship swarming with asaurus. He
Speaker 1: reached for his thunderbolt, which was never far from his side.
Speaker 1: The temptation to strike those distant dots with a few
Speaker 1: blasts from his vadra was both great and easily indulged,
Speaker 1: For Raca never missed it would be the easiest thing
Speaker 1: in all three worlds to blow a few of them
Speaker 1: to atoms, also the most futile, For every ship he saw,
Speaker 1: another thousand from the swarm lurked hidden, and so Raka
Speaker 1: of the Evil Eye instead turned his gaze over the
Speaker 1: Visceraa of Heaven threw the spray from the roaring waves
Speaker 1: crashing down all around him, beyond the rubble and ruin
Speaker 1: of his kingdom, sweeping past in the tide, to the
Speaker 1: farthest edge of the horizon, where blinked the tiniest point
Speaker 1: of light, so faint even he could scarce make it out,
Speaker 1: and he smiled the smile of victory. On the seventh
Speaker 1: to last day of Heaven, Hani lowered of the wind,
Speaker 1: alighted at the foot of Pahadra. There it stood greatest
Speaker 1: peak in creation, the mountain between worlds, the holy abode
Speaker 1: of Acnos himself. Hani looked up at the rocky expanse,
Speaker 1: and it was as Acnos's brow frowning back down at him,
Speaker 1: craggy and forbidding, hard and black, rising all the way
Speaker 1: into the clouds, where the greater part of it lay hidden.
Speaker 1: A single, narrow worn path curled its silvery way around
Speaker 1: the mass of expanse a worm clinging to an elephant's toe.
Speaker 1: Honey paid it no heed, for he intended to fly
Speaker 1: straight up to the summit. You'll want to take the path,
Speaker 1: Honey whirled around to find her jogging on the spot,
Speaker 1: a middle aged woman in wrap around sunglasses, hair tied
Speaker 1: in a topknot, wearing a tiger print track suit and
Speaker 1: red sneakers. Holding a bottle of water. She smiled a
Speaker 1: broad and brilliant flash of white, quite unblemished by the
Speaker 1: fact that she was missing a tooth. Unless you've got
Speaker 1: lots of time and nothing to do, of course, I
Speaker 1: suppose gods have more time than most. Honey raised an eyebrow.
Speaker 2: Who might you be?
Speaker 1: The woman sighed, Why don't I ever get the bright ones? No,
Speaker 1: don't answer that. It's a trick question. The bright ones
Speaker 1: don't come here now. I'll be honest, I do somewhat
Speaker 1: resent the fact that I had to interrupt my breathing
Speaker 1: exercises and run to you with my chakras still all
Speaker 1: tangled up. So let's just pretend you're bright enough to
Speaker 1: take what you're getting for free, even if it is
Speaker 1: just advice. Lord Hani, here's what all the pilgrims are
Speaker 1: supposed to know. Three things. Count them if you don't
Speaker 1: believe me. First, if you intend to go to Acnose,
Speaker 1: and of course you do. But what you see there
Speaker 1: is the path of three trials. Long story short, Take
Speaker 1: the path. Want to hear the official version. It's all
Speaker 1: grand and wordy about how the path to Aknos has
Speaker 1: opened all who would brave the three trials? Blah blah
Speaker 1: que drum roll. But I'm you get it, I'm sure. Second,
Speaker 1: and this one's my favorite. Once you take the path,
Speaker 1: you will not be irked by beast, or weather or foe.
Speaker 1: It's supposed to just be the trials between you and
Speaker 1: your goal.
Speaker 2: See what's that?
Speaker 1: Got something to say? Only that I get this one too,
Speaker 1: answered Hanni. She grinned again. See that's why it's my favorite.
Speaker 1: Nobody ever argues with that one. Mortals, gods, asuras. Everyone
Speaker 1: likes hearing nice things. Anyway, Where were we?
Speaker 2: Ah?
Speaker 1: Yes, the third This isn't really one of the official ones.
Speaker 1: I just added it on so that there'd be three
Speaker 1: trials and three rules, and it's all a lot more symmetrical.
Speaker 1: It's the one where I tell you that you won't
Speaker 1: succeed and you should go back now. No shame in
Speaker 1: not being the first. Just a thought, said honey. If
Speaker 1: indeed you give all this advice to everyone and nobody
Speaker 1: ever succeeds, isn't that a good reason to not listen
Speaker 1: to you and just fly straight up?
Speaker 2: Good?
Speaker 1: You're trying to be bright, replied the woman, nodding approvingly.
Speaker 1: Although I'd have thought that someone who's actually in the
Speaker 1: scriptures would know them. Forgotten what happened when Mytar and
Speaker 1: Oton had their bet to see who could find the
Speaker 1: beginning or the end of Acnos. First, Oton flew up
Speaker 1: into the sky for an eternity before realizing he could
Speaker 1: never get there. No, if you want to find Acnos,
Speaker 1: you must approach him as any mortal would. Didn't you
Speaker 1: say you'd understood the rules? Certainly, I remember the scriptures,
Speaker 1: replied Hani. And the story you speak of told of
Speaker 1: a pillar of fire, not Mount Pahata. The woman waved
Speaker 1: her hand, fiery pillar, black mountain. What's the difference. It's
Speaker 1: all Acnos, and there's nothing in the scriptures about approaching
Speaker 1: Aknos as a mortal would She sniffed, Well, not everything
Speaker 1: is in the scriptures, Lord Hani. For instance, there's nothing
Speaker 1: in them about your contrarian personality either. If that's how
Speaker 1: you're going to be, I'll merely say good luck to
Speaker 1: you in happy travels, whichever direction you choose. One moment,
Speaker 1: said Hani, holding up a hand before you go. Is
Speaker 1: there anything you can tell me about these trials? Anything
Speaker 1: that will help? It's vital that I reached Aknos immediately.
Speaker 1: You think you're the first to come here. No, I look,
Speaker 1: I don't care why you came. That's not my job.
Speaker 1: Everyone's got problems, Lord Hani. That's why they come here.
Speaker 1: That's why we have a system. And the system is
Speaker 1: I give you the rules, and you take the path.
Speaker 1: If you have an issue, I suggest you take it
Speaker 1: up at the top. There was a terrible silence, during
Speaker 1: which even Hani knew not whether he would respond with
Speaker 1: passion or patience. For the wind blows gales both hot
Speaker 1: and cold. But in the end calm prevailed and he
Speaker 1: satisfied himself with a formal bow and a frosty manner.
Speaker 1: Thank you for your advice, he said. She looked at him.
Speaker 1: You know you took that better than most. You're not
Speaker 1: a bad sort.
Speaker 2: Really, I like you.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry you only had two temples. I appreciate the thought,
Speaker 1: said Hani. But now I must go, for I have
Speaker 1: no time to lose, and the sun has long since risen.
Speaker 1: Hani set off on the narrow, winding path to the summit.
Speaker 1: At first he tried flying, but in vain there was
Speaker 1: some force preventing him from taking to the air. Whatever
Speaker 1: it was, it was evident only on the path itself,
Speaker 1: or Hani found he could fly alongside it quite comfortably.
Speaker 1: It was only when he attempted to cross over it
Speaker 1: to avoid a particularly nasty outcropping of rock, and found
Speaker 1: himself unable to re enter the trail's narrow confines that
Speaker 1: he realized what had happened that he would have to
Speaker 1: go back to the beginning and start again on foot.
Speaker 1: This time, so he descended, wondering if she would still
Speaker 1: be there. Sure enough, she was flashing her gap toothed
Speaker 1: grin at him from a distance. You can't cheat, aknos, lord, Hani,
Speaker 1: she called out, one foot in front of the other.
Speaker 1: That's how you do it, Honey, ignored her, concentrating on
Speaker 1: making up for lost time by running up the path
Speaker 1: as swiftly as he could, which was very swift. Indeed,
Speaker 1: that the lord of the wind had given up his
Speaker 1: power of flight, but little else. Onward and upward he sped,
Speaker 1: light of foot, but heavy of heart. In his mind
Speaker 1: he relived it again what had transpired when a god
Speaker 1: had been asked the unthinkable by king. My Lord, I
Speaker 1: cannot do this. You can, and it must be you,
Speaker 1: for no other would reach him in time. I cannot
Speaker 1: ask this Acanus would smite me ere I finished speaking, nay,
Speaker 1: for he has promised you a boon and will not
Speaker 1: break his word. But even if true, you have sworn
Speaker 1: obedience unto death to your king. And this is what
Speaker 1: I command. But my King, what you command me to
Speaker 1: ask of him is the nritya. This is wrong. Rakus
Speaker 1: stood tall, and the thunderclouds gathered and darkened on his brow.
Speaker 1: More wrong than your refusal to stop the darkness, than
Speaker 1: seeing Paradise overrun by the invaders and their children, then
Speaker 1: standing against your own kind in order to aid the usurpers.
Speaker 1: Is this your honor? And Dharma? And Hani felt his
Speaker 1: will weaken under Raka's relentless gaze. For the wind may
Speaker 1: sometimes scatter the clouds but they always return, bringing with
Speaker 1: them ever more of the storm. He bowed his head.
Speaker 1: I do as you bid, my King. Then the vision
Speaker 1: was gone, and Hani, messenger of Racca, was still running
Speaker 1: up the path to the summit of Bahada, faster, higher,
Speaker 1: until he had long since ceased to be able to
Speaker 1: see the ground, billowing clouds forming a thick, soupy fog
Speaker 1: everywhere but the path he was on, the unmistakable smell
Speaker 1: of green meeting water all around, and the bidding that
Speaker 1: I have to do to my king. King. Capitalism is
Speaker 1: interrupt stories with ad transitions like this one.
Speaker 2: And we're back.
Speaker 1: On the last day of heaven. Raka, lord of Paradise,
Speaker 1: still stood motionless at his window. There was a footstep
Speaker 1: at the threshold and swept into the royal bedchamber, pulling
Speaker 1: fast the curtains of solitude behind him, and the war
Speaker 1: drums finally fell silent, although the stench of burning flesh
Speaker 1: and dead hope still lingered. Raka turned palms folded garadev.
Speaker 1: He said, Thatha raised his hand in the customary blessing
Speaker 1: tathas do my king, at last you send for me.
Speaker 1: I've been trying to speak with you for days It's
Speaker 1: finally time, Gurudev. There was a heavy silence, and then
Speaker 1: Raka turned a look out of the window again. Atha
Speaker 1: came to stand beside him. Outside, the waves were even
Speaker 1: larger than before, crashing down ever more furiously. Lord Jalastoe
Speaker 1: fights bravely, said Thotha. Even the ocean has its limits,
Speaker 1: said Raka, And there are too many of them. Fatha squinted.
Speaker 1: It's so very dark I can hardly make out anything.
Speaker 1: And it'll grow darker still. Sojon fell yesterday. The sun
Speaker 1: shall not rise again. Soon the blackness will cover Paradise.
Speaker 1: How did it come to this? What of the other gods?
Speaker 1: What of them? You've been shut away offering prayers for
Speaker 1: our victory for too long? Growuedeve. Paradise will fall, probably
Speaker 1: within hours. Where is my tar? It is the Preserver's
Speaker 1: duty to intervene when the balance is threatened and aid
Speaker 1: the forces of light. You must send for him at once.
Speaker 1: Do you think I don't know that? When the tide
Speaker 1: first began to turn in this war, I immediately sent
Speaker 1: word to him. Nobody can find him. We've searched all
Speaker 1: three worlds again and again. In vain Tatha's shoulders drooped
Speaker 1: His voice was a hoarse whisper.
Speaker 2: So it's over.
Speaker 1: I won't permit darkness to prevail, no matter the cost.
Speaker 1: Listen to me, Raka, as your guru and adviser. My
Speaker 1: duty is always to speak my truth to you, and
Speaker 1: my advice is that you should sue for peace with
Speaker 1: the Assurus. And never Raka had drawn himself up very straight.
Speaker 1: The lightning flashed in his eyes. You ask the impossible.
Speaker 1: This clash of civilizations began too many yugas ago, and
Speaker 1: too much blood has been spilled. It was the Assurus
Speaker 1: who broke our treaty, not I. It was they who
Speaker 1: turned on us after the churning. Forget your ideas of
Speaker 1: surrender and compromise. None of it will happen, not while
Speaker 1: I am king. Do you really think that I would
Speaker 1: see paradise to face with their grotesque domes and twisted minarets. No,
Speaker 1: now we must no longer look to Otan, but to Aknos. Aknos.
Speaker 1: You say, Paradise is but ours left, and Bahada lies
Speaker 1: at the far edge of creation. Even Hani would take
Speaker 1: weeks he stopped. When did you send him? Maybe just
Speaker 1: in time? Have faith in Hani? I do faith? Is
Speaker 1: it the best we can do. Faith is what makes
Speaker 1: gods of us all guradeve. There was a long, cold
Speaker 1: silence in the bedchamber. Together they stared out of the
Speaker 1: window outside. The ocean had gone completely still, nary a
Speaker 1: ripple on the deep Crimson crimson water. Lord Jalla has fallen,
Speaker 1: said Thafa. In a way, it no longer matters. It's
Speaker 1: all up to Hani. Now you really think we can
Speaker 1: depend on Acnos. There is none more capricious than the destroyer.
Speaker 1: He he broke off, his eyes wide the Nritya, He
Speaker 1: whispered exactly. Hani will not ask Aknos to intervene. Instead,
Speaker 1: he will ask the destroyer for a boon. He cannot
Speaker 1: refuse to perform his own dharma, to break his meditation,
Speaker 1: to do his dance of destruction and end creation now,
Speaker 1: before the forces of darkness ever taste victory from the
Speaker 1: ashes of this universe, Otan will breathe life into another
Speaker 1: and perhaps the Raca, and that creation will succeed at
Speaker 1: quelling the Assaurus once in all. Fatha shook his head rapidly.
Speaker 1: No Rakkan, no destroy all that is and will be extinguished,
Speaker 1: all of creation before it's time. What has come over you?
Speaker 1: You cannot but I have Hani agreed to this madness.
Speaker 1: His agreement is unnecessary. I am his king, obeying me
Speaker 1: as his dharma. He walks the path I charged him to.
Speaker 1: If this is the path you have chosen, we have
Speaker 1: already lost it is Make your peace with it, Gurudave,
Speaker 1: there is no peace in what you ask, only damnation.
Speaker 1: May oton grant as salvation. Don't waste time praying to Otan.
Speaker 1: Gurudave answered, Raka, pray instead for Hani. He turned back
Speaker 1: to the window. If there's salvation to be had, it
Speaker 1: shall come to us on the wind. On the sixths,
Speaker 1: the last day of heaven, Hani of the Terrible Purpose,
Speaker 1: was now walking and beginning to despair that he'd ever
Speaker 1: got anywhere. Hundreds of yojanas he had traveled, and it
Speaker 1: was somehow always the same, narrow and winding, criss crossed
Speaker 1: by rivulets, although the stones underfoot held firm and true.
Speaker 1: It was not hard going or even easy going. It
Speaker 1: was just going on and on, one step after another,
Speaker 1: each one heavier than the last, with the burden of
Speaker 1: what would happen if he failed or succeeded. He was
Speaker 1: finally beginning to tire when he turned yet another bend
Speaker 1: and came to get another stream across the path. Honey
Speaker 1: knelt down and drank, splashing the cold, clear water on
Speaker 1: his face, looking into the stream as the droplets splashed
Speaker 1: back down, forming ripples and tides of their own before
Speaker 1: slowly fading away. But the face that looked back at
Speaker 1: him from the stream was no longer his. It was
Speaker 1: dark and fierce, with a large, bristling mustache, the face
Speaker 1: of an asura. Honey reached up to touch his face
Speaker 1: that wasn't and recoiled as he realized that neither was.
Speaker 1: The hand broad and hairy, with thick fingers wearing gold rings.
Speaker 1: Hani leaped to his feet, and that was when he
Speaker 1: realized he was no longer on the path. It was
Speaker 1: in a huge, richly bedecked hall with tapestries and weapons
Speaker 1: on the walls. It was a place he had never
Speaker 1: seen before, resplendent in gold and deep burgundy. The roof
Speaker 1: was gold too, and at his feet ran the stream,
Speaker 1: one of many that laced the engraved floor, sending wafts
Speaker 1: of coolness into the humid air. Hani noticed that he
Speaker 1: wasn't alone. Indeed, the hall was filled with people, and
Speaker 1: they all looked like him, dressed in fine clothes adorned
Speaker 1: with flowers and jewels alike. And they were all looking
Speaker 1: straight ahead to the massive gold throne at the front
Speaker 1: of the hall, and the richly dressed king on it.
Speaker 1: And before the throne stood another man, traveler or tramp.
Speaker 1: It was hard to say. His clothes had once been fine,
Speaker 1: but were now more tatter than cloth. The king spoke, well, Malla,
Speaker 1: what say you shall we accept this treaty? A woman
Speaker 1: stepped forward, a tall asura with long, thick hair adorned
Speaker 1: with white jasmines. My lord, I've heard whispers among the
Speaker 1: court that say we should imprison these visitors who enter
Speaker 1: our borders uninvited. I say that this is an unworthy response.
Speaker 1: The Uponas have traveled far to come to our land.
Speaker 1: At the very least, we should receive them with the
Speaker 1: courtesy do visitors, and even help them if we can.
Speaker 1: If what Raca says is indeed true, that the Preserver
Speaker 1: himself has agreed to aid us in this quest, it
Speaker 1: certainly merits careful consideration. And Hani looked again, and the
Speaker 1: beggar was indeed Raca, a younger frailer Raca, but unmistakably him.
Speaker 1: Every word is true, said Raca. Otan himself suggested it.
Speaker 1: At the bottom of the cosmic ocean of milk lies Rasa,
Speaker 1: the nectar of divinity, And the only way any of
Speaker 1: us will ever taste any is if we work together. Nay,
Speaker 1: said the other Asura. Even if we work together, how
Speaker 1: could we find the Rasa and the ocean of milk?
Speaker 1: There is no power in any of the three worlds
Speaker 1: that could possibly scour its depths by churning the ocean
Speaker 1: until Rossuf rises to the surface. A ripple of laughter
Speaker 1: ran through the hall. Where would you find the churning
Speaker 1: rod for such a task, Which is why we this
Speaker 1: show are sponsored by big churning rod. Get your churning
Speaker 1: rod today or all your churning.
Speaker 2: Needs, and we're back.
Speaker 1: Lord Oton has thought of this Mount Blenna shall be
Speaker 1: our churning rod. And where do we get a churning
Speaker 1: rope large enough to girdle the mountain? At Oton's request, Erius,
Speaker 1: the celestial serpent has agreed to be our churn rope. Nonsense.
Speaker 1: The mountain will just sink like a stone in a
Speaker 1: pond if it does. Lord Otan has vowed to take
Speaker 1: the avatar of Kurma, the tortoise and place the mountain
Speaker 1: on his back, so we can keep churning until we
Speaker 1: have the rasa and the nectar. We share half for
Speaker 1: the upon Us, half for the Asuras, restoring equality to
Speaker 1: both our peoples and ensuring this alliance prevails till the
Speaker 1: end of time. You certainly seem to have all the answers, Raka,
Speaker 1: said the king, What say you la her Teku? And
Speaker 1: Hani realized they were all looking at him, and he
Speaker 1: stood in silence, for he knew the scriptures, and so
Speaker 1: he knew what would happen. There would be no rasa
Speaker 1: for the Asuras.
Speaker 2: And yet what.
Speaker 1: Could all of this be but a test of his honor,
Speaker 1: for he was Hani, not Lahr Taku, and surely the
Speaker 1: path to ask Aknos a boon for his king lay
Speaker 1: and not betraying that king. And so he assented in
Speaker 1: a voice to match his new body, heavy and rumbling.
Speaker 1: My adviser agree, said the king, as do I very well, Raka,
Speaker 1: you will have your alliance. I do have one request, Maharaj,
Speaker 1: since it is us upon Us who brought this proposition
Speaker 1: to you, we only ask that we be allowed to
Speaker 1: choose which end of the celestial serpent we shall churn
Speaker 1: with and we ask that we get to hold it
Speaker 1: by the tail while the assurus take the head. I
Speaker 1: agree to your terms, said the king, and together we'll
Speaker 1: churn the ocean. A cheer went up, and by the
Speaker 1: time it ceased, Hani found Raka standing before him. Thank
Speaker 1: you for your assistance, said Raka, extending his hand. I
Speaker 1: look forward to this alliance between our people. Hani clasped
Speaker 1: the hand with both of his and then realized it
Speaker 1: was no longer a hand, but a thick, green, black scale,
Speaker 1: one of the quadrillions, all along, a gargantuan serpent that
Speaker 1: stretched all the way across all there was. He stood
Speaker 1: under the open, starless black sky, stripped to the waist,
Speaker 1: the taste of sweat in his mouth, heaving and yanking
Speaker 1: at the scale, thousands of other asuras around him, all
Speaker 1: striving to do the same thing. He heard a squelching
Speaker 1: underfoot and looked down. He was knee deep in white,
Speaker 1: sweet smelling liquid milk. He felt his muscles ripping and
Speaker 1: burning as a loud voice shouted at him to pull harder.
Speaker 1: Then the air was filled with a thick green mist
Speaker 1: that reached out with malevolent fingers, wafting up his nose
Speaker 1: and throat, and he was sputtering, choking, fighting for air
Speaker 1: as tears streamed down his cheeks into the milk below.
Speaker 1: Through bleary vision, he could see the other assurus coughing too.
Speaker 1: Several had fallen overcome by fumes. Break time next shift
Speaker 1: up roared the voice, and a young assor ran in
Speaker 1: to grab the scale Hani was pulling at, already beginning
Speaker 1: to cough. Hani somehow made his way out of the
Speaker 1: noxious green air and fell to the ground stole, coughing.
Speaker 1: Someone clapped him on the shoulder and he looked up
Speaker 1: as best he could at another asura. Almost there. He grinned,
Speaker 1: wiping his own eyes, first the poison, then the rasa.
Speaker 1: A third asura came up, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Speaker 1: Where is the stuff coming from? Erius answered the other.
Speaker 1: The poison streams into him as we churn the ocean,
Speaker 1: and he breathes it out. Meanwhile, the Apanas have the
Speaker 1: tail and no trouble at all. Why our king agreed
Speaker 1: to this? I have no idea. What's done is done.
Speaker 1: Focus on what we can achieve together instead. Hani listened
Speaker 1: to this exchange, still feeling light headed. Should he tell
Speaker 1: them the truth. No, why should he Hani work against
Speaker 1: his own people? Although in truth, the longer he spent
Speaker 1: in this body, the less he felt like Hani or
Speaker 1: anything he recognized as though he was, but he wasn't.
Speaker 1: That everyone looked at him, but none saw him. It's
Speaker 1: here a great shout went up, followed by an even
Speaker 1: louder cheer. The next moment, Raka stood near by, holding
Speaker 1: aloft large golden pot as one. They all crowded around him,
Speaker 1: eager hands reaching out all but Hani lahr Teku, who,
Speaker 1: knowing what came next, stood far back. And as it
Speaker 1: was written, so did it happen. The Apanas drank their share,
Speaker 1: and no sooner was it time for the asaurus to
Speaker 1: have theirs than Otan changed form. And there stood Mohini,
Speaker 1: deity of distraction, casting her spell of diversion, whispering in
Speaker 1: the ear of every asir at, once sowing her seas
Speaker 1: of suspicion and anger. As the asor a host turned
Speaker 1: on itself in blood lust. As the Apanas drank everyone's share,
Speaker 1: Hani Lahurteku stood there, shielding his ears and his mind,
Speaker 1: refusing to listen to the sweet voice calling him to arms.
Speaker 1: With hands clapped to his ears and jaw clenched. He
Speaker 1: looked at the apanas there was EMUs drinking his fill,
Speaker 1: and there was Ashi laughing happily, her mouth stained with nectar.
Speaker 1: One and all. The only one Hani could not see
Speaker 1: was himself, and his memories, growing ever more confused, yielded
Speaker 1: him nothing. Had he in fact been there, or had
Speaker 1: he drunk of the rasa later, his mind was silent
Speaker 1: upon the point, as are the scriptures to this very day.
Speaker 1: A growing unease clasped at Hani laher teku, the cold
Speaker 1: touch of dread creeping up his spine. Could it be
Speaker 1: that the reason he could not see himself among his
Speaker 1: brethren was that he was trapped here in the Assura body.
Speaker 1: Was this to be his fate? Lost and forgotten, never
Speaker 1: to attain the divinity, never to fly again. He looked
Speaker 1: again at his fellow upon us, and in their pleasure,
Speaker 1: he took no solace as they sat there, now glowing
Speaker 1: with celestial power, the golden pot lying unbidden in the
Speaker 1: milky swell, a last few drops still kissing its surface.
Speaker 1: Without thinking, he moved, pounding forward on thick muscular legs,
Speaker 1: closer He was almost there. Then his foot caught in
Speaker 1: something and over. He splashed, landing next to the golden
Speaker 1: pot as he watched a drop of nectar weld on
Speaker 1: its lip, repairing to obey gravity's bidding. Reaching out, he
Speaker 1: caught it, bringing up his hand to his mouth. He
Speaker 1: felt it touch his tongue, surely the sweetest, most delightful
Speaker 1: taste in all the cosmos, light and airy, with a
Speaker 1: hint of eternity about it. As he swallowed, he felt
Speaker 1: a terrible blow to the knee, pain such as he
Speaker 1: had never felt before. The akward fumes of flame filled
Speaker 1: his nostrils. Hani collapsed, leg buckling uselessly and on fire.
Speaker 1: Before him stood Raka Vodra, raised and pointing at him.
Speaker 1: Now Otan shouted Raka, and from the corner of his eye,
Speaker 1: Hani caught the most fleeting glimpse of whirling gold and
Speaker 1: then struck him on the neck. Otin's discus with all
Speaker 1: its awesome force. For the second time in just a
Speaker 1: few moments. He felt the most intense agony he'd ever experienced.
Speaker 1: Not even Raca's thunderbolt had cut like this, cleaving bone
Speaker 1: from body, ripping flesh from frame, and all he could
Speaker 1: do was scream, scream, as loudly as he could in
Speaker 1: that low rumbling voice, as his newly divine head was
Speaker 1: severed from his body, just as the scriptures told, now
Speaker 1: immortal Laher from lifeless Teku. He landed with another loud splash,
Speaker 1: watching what had been his body thrash around, turning the
Speaker 1: milk of the ocean a pale rose pink. The salty,
Speaker 1: sweet milk pulled him under, filling his mouth, nose, eyes, everything,
Speaker 1: And still he screamed to any who would listen, that
Speaker 1: he had been cheated of his godhood, that it was
Speaker 1: all a mistake, that it was not he whom they
Speaker 1: should strike, that there was rasa enough for everyone. Then
Speaker 1: the milk was gone, and he lay screaming into the
Speaker 1: stream on the path, and the face that screamed back
Speaker 1: from the water was his once more. And that's the
Speaker 1: end of part one. When we come back with part two,
Speaker 1: we will continue with the Trials of the Wind by
Speaker 1: shiv Ramdas it.
Speaker 2: Could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media.
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Speaker 2: coolzonemedia dot com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app,
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Speaker 2: find sources for It could happen here.
Speaker 1: Updated monthly at coolzonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening,