Dakka the Warrior

The great warrior, Dakka, was preparing to take the battlefield with his army. He had won many battles for his kingdom and built a pretty extravagant reputation for himself. Every citizen throughout the land knew his name. He did everything the right way. He built a righteous reputation from his strong character. He was loyal to his beautiful wife and avoided many temptations the evil of the world offered him. These temptations ranged from greed to adultery. He and his wife had been together for many years, and they were one victory away from leading the kingdom. His father, the king, would retire and hand the throne down to Dakka after this one last victory. Dakka prepared well. He knew that they must defeat these foreign invaders and protect the freedoms of his people. He avoided distractions and was focused leading up to the battle.

As the battle ensued, it was obvious which side was superior. Dakka and his forces were making quick work of the opposition that challenged their freedom.

Once the smoke cleared, the kingdom's warriors stood victorious as the remnants of the opposing army fled in retreat. They celebrated an evening victory celebration that lasted all night. Multiple women approached the heroic Dakka, asking him to betray his wife in favor of them, but he refused all of their offerings. He remained by his beautiful wife's side as they celebrated another victory, another day of life, and the crown that they would assume the following day.

The following day consisted mostly of the crowning ceremony of Dakka and his wife as king and queen. As King Dakka wandered off to the royal garden after the ceremony, a beautiful woman approached him. She spoke of how mighty and handsome he was, and as she spoke, Dakka's ears were falling in love with the sound of her sweet voice. He fell almost into a trance as he was in her presence. She was captivating. She spoke of her powerful foreign kingdom over the hills in a prosperous land and how they should run off together to rule for eternity. Dakka had it all here in his own kingdom, but still her words were tempting as she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

Then Dakka heard his wife call from across the courtyard. He then caught an image of who the mysterious woman really was. That was exactly what she was. A creature. She was no beautiful woman. She was not even a woman. She was not even human! He saw through her deceitful shrouded disguise and realized she was a demon sent to destroy his character and legacy. She must have been sent by the enemy to assassinate him! He saw through the illusion she veiled over herself. He called out her charade. She continued to deny the truth he discovered as he kept prodding her to confirm his suspicion. Dakka became fed up with the demoness' game and lurched at her. Before he reached her, the demon attacked! They scuffled across the garden, trampling flowers and other shrubs for a few seconds, but the great warrior Dakka quickly overcame the demon. The demon would not accept defeat. She forced Dakka to slay her so that she did not have to return a failure. He had passed the test.

Dakka had succeeded in every trial put before him by the gods. They spoke to him through a voice in his head and told him that they will grant him a joyful life with his beautiful wife as they rule their beautiful kingdom and create a prosperous legacy.

Bibliography: Ramayana Part B, Public Domain: Shurpanakha tempts Rama

Source. The prose portion comes from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913), and the verse portion comes from Ramayana, The Epic of Rama, Prince of India, condensed into English verse by Romesh Dutt (1899).

Author's Note:

I wanted to build a story with temptation similar to how the beautiful rakshasi, Shurpanakha, tempted Rama in the forest. I wanted to build a famous and righteous warrior who had achieved it all. Then I wanted to tempt the character with lust and see where the story went.

I didn't decide to make him pass the test and remain loyal until I actually wrote it. I was happy the way it turned out, but I wanted to expand on the story if I use it for my portfolio project. Luckily, this is exactly what happened. I was able to expand on Dakka and the demon's interaction. I made the events between the two use up a few more lines of text to truly build the stress of their interaction. I also added the fact that this was a test from the gods. I also added that since he passed the test, they would grant him a life full of happiness with his wife.

I also added the factor of legacy. I found it important that a great warrior should be conscious of his legacy. He needs to live not only a successful life, but also a respectful and righteous one. He should be conscious of the example he sets for the future generations.