RATTLE RATTLE
The cart quivered violently, the creaking of wooden wheels echoed as wood ground harshly against wood. The cart trundled through unseen ways. Every jolt sent the crates lurching into one another, under the lone, dim light flickering overhead in protest. The incense of dust and sweat lingered in the air, as the cart wheels churned up clouds of dust with every turn.
Beyond all that, Rudra was lost in an unending ocean of thoughts drifting through his mind. A mix of emotions was swirling within him, the grief of seeing his home clan in ruins, the regret of not being present at that time, the anger that rose from the mere thought that his clan was attacked.
***
Hours had passed, and the dark of night began to fall upon. Rudra leaned out of the moving cart, trying to catch a glimpse, from a distance, all he saw was a radiant, fiery glow dancing across the horizon near a particular spot. Clearly, the blaze of a massive fire.
"Did you see something?"
Rudra drifted back to his place. "It was a flickering blaze at the horizon."
"Maybe it was—", Sharun was interrupted in midst. "It must be Kashvyagiri!", Rudra said as anger surged within him
"Rudra! You must calm down, situations like this demand thinking with a stable mind and heart," said Aagam
Rudra sat silently, whereas Dharanesh continued. "Don't worry, some members of your clan must be alive right now!"
"And what makes you say that!"
"The elders of your clan must have done everything in their power to preserve its legacy–maybe by ensuring a few of the most gifted ones escaped. Even if they failed to save many, it's likely they concealed some survivors through a secret tunnel or hidden path," Aagam kept his point.
"What if it's only an assumption?" Rudra asked.
"As much as I know Vihaan and the elders of your clan—they must have already devised a plan for such a dire time."
"Most possibly the remaining clan members must be hidden somewhere, you just need to find that place."
It was at that moment that the cart came to a sudden halt, sending a sharp jolt coursing through their bodies. A man holding a lantern enlightened by a lingering flame, radiating a flickering glow around it. Approached them and helped them get off the cart.
"We have arrived at the diversion, you go this way." the man pointed left. "after a few steps you will find yourself at the gate of Kashvyagiri over there, nearby the dazzling blaze,"
"Meanwhile, according to the deal, we will lift the old man and drop him at our destination of the capital city. In exchange, I will charge a sum for this favor!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Aagam found a new seat for himself near the driver at the front, Rudra borrowed a torch from the trader, and Ignited it, allowing them to see thing more clearly. The driver directed the horses towards the way to the capital city, and drove the cart away.
Rudra and the other two stood there for a moment, staring at the running cart fading away in the dark of night. Rudra then turned around and walked on the path that directed to the dazzling blade dancing across at a distance.
ROAAAARRRRRRR
A tremendous roar echoed through the surrounding, drawing their attention. They ted in their tracks as they looked at the battered ruins of what seemed to be the city wall once. Engulfed in a swirling fire that illuminated the entire surrounding.
Their eyes trembled in awe of such a sight. "That was obviously a roar of a powerful beast!"
Upon hearing Sharun, Dharanesh said "could it be that a bunch of mystical beasts attacked this city?"
"How can a bunch of beasts destroy such a huge city?" asked Rudra.
"Boy, you have no idea what a bunch of powerful mystical beasts could do!" Dharanesh said.
"But why would a bunch of beasts suddenly act up rogue and come out of the most mountains to attack a particular city?", Sharun kept his doubt.
"Maybe, because Kashvyagiri is close to the forest that surrounds the mist mountains.
"Where as for why they went rogue, there must be a reason for it.
"Although there is no denying in the fact that your rival Masaan clan must be somehow involved in this.", Dharanesh explained.
All of these words fell in Rudra's ears, but without reacting to any of it, he just stood there dazed as he's stared at the fire blocking their to enter the city. A storm of emotions was brewing within him, he couldn't think of what to do next, how to find a new entry into the citizen, what about his fellow clan members?
"We should look around, maybe we will find a new way," Sharun said as he walked towards a broken piece of wall that had managed to stay still even after so much destruction.
"This is a wall!"
Sharun didn't reply. He clenched his first and charged it back. After a few moments, he delivered a powerful punch on that wall. As soon as his fist interacted with the wall and the force was inflicted on it. The wall trembled at its place before several cracks spread across the wall like web from the point of where his fist landed.
BOOOOMMM
Dozens of dust clouds emerged as the shattered pieces of the wall were sprayed away, clearing out the nearby debris as well. The cloud of dust surrounded that area for a moment before it was cleared by the raging fire itself. As soon as their vision became clear, they notice that there was a narrow path available for them through the debris of the broken city wall, which also blocked the raging fire to reach that path.
As soon as Rudra saw that, his legs impulsively moved on themselves as he ran into that narrow path, without stopping or staying anywhere he kept running through that path. As soon as Sharun and Dharanesh saw this impetuous action of Rudra, they followed him.
Suddenly the ground began to tremble violently, heavy thuds echoed as if something big crashed itself on the ground again and again. This cause Rudra to stop in his tracks as he slipped in the dust, causing the specks of dust to grind in his way and leaving behind clear prints of drag.
Till Rudra stopped, he had entered into a large compound like area, that was completely surrounded by debris and flattened with dust. Rudra stood there for a moment, and before he thought about anything else, someone pulled him behind back towards the ruins.
Sharun hid Rudra behind a piece of debris along with Dharanesh. Sharun craned out his head for glimpse, out of curiosity Rudra and Dharanesh did the same. The heavy thud sounds were increasing as if the source of the sound was nearing them.
After a few moments, the ground trembled even more with a huge thump. Just after that out of nowhere a huge ball type body bashed through the pile debris entering in the huge empty field. While that body was in air, four limbs emerged out of it and a huge monstrous head. The body landed on the ground with its legs and hands.
As that body was clearly visible, it turned out to be a mystical beast as they had expected. The beast had a formidable body encased in a gleaming armored black shell, shimmering like molten obsidian under the blaze of fire. It's shell was naturally segmented, allowing flexibility. Where as it's limbs had strong and bulky muscles which could fold in tightly, allowing the beast to roll into a massive spiked ball.
That beast hung it's jaw down, revealing his razor sharp teeth bathed in saliva that was drooling down it's mouth, the beast's nerves were visibly bulging through it skins, especially near it's eyes, causing it's eyes to turn red due to overwhelming blood flow. Upon that, the reflection of fire in it's eyes along with the eyes' red color, gave it's eyes a red gleaming effect, causing it's gaze to seem even more predatory.
ROAAAARRRRRRR
That beast let out a thunderous roar that tremored the surroundings. "What is this beast?"
"According to it's appearance, maybe it's Karakundra¹," Sharun said upon hearing Rudra's question.
"It is a mystical beast found in ancient forested ravines or forgotten temple corridors mostly guarding secret paths or hidden treasures.
"It's generally passive unless it's provoked or disturbed from its guardian duties. Revered by some tribes a s a symbol of unyielding protection," Dharanesh explained.
"Then why did it go rogue and acted out so violently?" Rudra asked.
"Look at its eyes, it's nerves are bulging, seems like it has entered berserk state!" Sharun replied.
Berserk is a state when even the calmest and most passive animals lose their ability to decipher even the simplest things of their surrounding, they lose their sense of awareness. Its when a beast or even a simple animal completely loses its mind, unable to distinguish between Friend and foe, right an wrong. It lashes out, driven purely by wild, uncontrollable instincts. Even doing things far beyond its natural behavior.
"So basically that beast can't comprehend it's surrounding right now."
"neither does it care," Sharun said after Rudra.
Although till now all these small talks were being conveyed by whispering, still the beats had incredible senses, allowing it to sense something around. At that very moment, the karakundra turned it's head recklessly, and glared at some particular debris with its gleaming eyes.
All three of them got goosebumps as their eye iris expanded out of fear, beacuse the beast was glaring at the debris they were hiding behind. The karakundra acted as expected of a berserk beast, it jumped at is place coiling inwards with its limbs sticking together, and the small black segment of its armor spiked out. Within a few seconds the Karakundra turned itself into a ruthless spiked ball that rolled towards them.
It bashed through those debris causing them to crumble apart into small pieces, releashing a trailed dust cloud behind it as it moved ahead. The beast came back to its normal form only to see there was no one around.
ROOAAAARRRRRRR
The Karakundra let out a tremendous, maddened by the sense of presence of someone it can't see. It rolled around crushing every single piece of debris and monuments ruthlessly into pieces. Rudra, Sharun and Dharanesh stood far away from that compound behind a stone wall.
Their faces dripped with sweat as they stared at the karakundra—awestruck, not by its form, but by the sheer destruction it could unleash.