Shakuni stood staring into the flaming eyes of a dragon. He did not turn to flee nor did he tremble or shake. Although he did not have his fighters at his back he would not falter. He had no doubt that this serpent was an ally of the enemy. He had no doubt that this serpent was sent by Narasimha. He had no doubt that this great serpent was drought. He had no doubt that it was the fearsome Vritra.
Shakuni did not answer the great dragon but instead drew his sword. The curved blade flashed under a ray of sunlight shining through the dense jungle canopy, deadly and gleaming.
Vritra reared his great head as his body uncoiled to his full glory.
Shakuni stood at the ready, blade extended and feet planted. Vritra lashed out with his tail, aiming for Shakuni's knees, and hoping to knock him off his feet. Vritra was fast but Shakuni managed to leap over the dragon's lashing tail as it whistled by.
Vritra hissed in frustration and lunged at Shakuni. Shakuni dodged once again but he did not escape injury. One of Vritra's fangs, as sharp as the edge of a blade, caught Shakuni's shoulder slicing through the flesh. Shakuni gritted his teeth and snarled as red bloomed through the sleeve covering his blade arm. Shakuni uttered a guttural growl and transferred his blade to the other hand. Now he shook with anger and pain but he fought on. Lunging at Vritra he stabbed and slashed with his blade but the great serpent dodged and parried with his tail.
Shakuni was weakening from blood loss but continued his assault. Vritra hissed and roared between the snapping of his great jaws that shook the trees like thunder. Vritra's immense tail lashed and caught Shakuni around the ankles wrapping around them and pulling him to the ground. Shakuni hit the ground hard with a thud, yelping as his injured shoulder was searing with pain. Nonetheless, he gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw, and struck at Vritra's tail with his sword. Vritra's hide was thick but Shakuni's blade found a weak spot on the soft underside of his thrashing tail. Vritra hissed angrily as his dark blood seeped from the wound, blackening the soil. The wound wasn't mortal and only angered the great serpent.
Vritra withdrew his tail leaving Shakuni on the banks of the river panting for breath and struggling to regain his footing while fighting through his pain. He eventually struggled to his feet uttering a feral growl.
"Vritra you glorified garden snake!" Shakuni bellowed. "Face me!
Vritra whipped his great head around gnashing his jaws. The great dragon lunged and snapped at the weakened Shakuni. Shakuni could not dodge fast enough in his injured state and Vritra sunk his fangs deep into Shakuni's chest. He cried out in pain but still managed to slash with his sword. His sharp blade came down on one of Vritra's flaming red eyes. The dragon roared in pain and shook his enormous head tossing Shakuni to the ground and dislodging the blade from his eye. Shakuni lay crumpled on the banks of the Great River, a cavernous gash in his chest.
Vritra quaked with anger at the loss of his eye. Shakuni was mortally wounded and Vritra decided to leave him to die. The great serpent called upon his elemental powers, using them to propel himself back up the river toward Narasimha's palace. Vritra would report that Shakuni was wounded and should not trouble the villagers anymore.
Once the dragon was out of sight beneath the water Shakuni's soldiers, who had been hiding in the trees while their leader battled the serpent, returned to collect their fallen general. They fashioned a sled out of branches and hauled their leader back to camp. Shakuni's second in command ordered a retreat from the jungle and the village they had overtaken. He and his men, hauling a wounded Shakuni, sought a skilled healer to mend their general.
As soon as Shakuni and his fighters were down river, the life waters once again began to flow past the village and the inhabitants returned from their jungle refuge.
Author's Note: For information about these characters see author's note on the previous story. I ended the story before this with Shakuni coming face to face with Vritra the great serpent. So it was only natural that this story begins with their confrontation. I think starting with the confrontation gave the story a good pace and made it fun to read, at least that's what I was going for. I hope you all enjoyed your time reading this project.
Information for the sword image I used can be found by using the attribution link. It is called a Talwar and I thought a good, wickedly sharp, curved blade with an ornamental handle would be a fitting weapon for Shakuni to wield. Although the Talwar is a relatively modern weapon I thought it was fitting for the purposes of my story. Although the weapon is relatively modern the name does derive from Sanskrit. It comes from the word taravāri, which means "one-edged sword."
I wanted some sort of sound for this story but could not find a fitting dragon roar or hiss so instead I opted for some intense battle music. Also, the video from which I took the music is also very informative if you are interested in divine weapons from Hindu myth. The link to the video can be found in the attribution section.
Image: Vritra from "Legend of the Five Rings" Wiki
Image: Indian Talwar Sword from Wikipedia
Music: Harini Sarvesh