The trio made their way through lush forest and dense foliage. Once again, they had been traveling for hours, in search of their next party member. Neerav was in charge this time, and said he could feel a strong presence of power in the direction of the heart of the forest. Each time he closed his eyes, he could almost picture a figure somewhere ahead of them, calling to him. He knew they were close. They were far too exhausted NOT to be.....
They trudged their way over piles of leaves and through walls of branches until they came to a stop at the edge of a river. They agreed that they should rest awhile by its banks, as it had been a fair amount of time since they'd seen any water and the old man was losing strength.
As they sipped from the river, a rustling sound came from the bushes at the other bank. The group immediately tensed up and prepared to attack. Hearts racing, they waited until the rustling happened again. Neerav swallowed hard, while Kyra reached for her sword. The rustling rose in intensity until finally Kyra lashed out with her sword, only to be greeted with a grunt.
A man's head popped out from the bush, bleeding from a fresh cut on his head.
The group gasped (except for Vishwamithra, who seemed unfazed, as if he'd seen stranger things). The young heroes began to talk excitedly.
"Who are you?" "Are you who we're looking for?" "I'm so sorry I hit you with my sword!" "Why are you in a bush?"
The man laughed and stepped out. He was old, though not quite as old as Vishwamithra.
"Hello, my friends. Do you mind if I join you? I was on my way to a nearby town to worship a wonderful deity, but it seems I have gotten lost."
Kyra looked over at Neerav questioningly. He shrugged. He knew she was asking him if this was who they were looking for. To be honest, he wasn't sure. He still felt that powerful presence, but he couldn't quite pinpoint where it was radiating from. He supposed it could be this guy. He seemed nice enough.
The man plopped down next to them. He began to tell them of the deity he worshipped, one of great strength and power. The party members were entranced, and soon enough, it had gotten dark. They decided it would be easiest to camp together there by the river.
***
They had all been asleep for a short time before there was more rustling. Kyra's eyes fluttered open, and she could see a dark figure heading towards the group. The figure looked human, albeit quite small. Still, they were headed straight for their campsite. She quickly squeezed her eyes shut, but reached for her sword, slowly. The footsteps of the figure grew louder and closer, until they sounded like they were on top of the group. Kyra opened her eyes and gripped her sword, but before she could leap to action, another figure collided with the first. Soon, everyone awoke to a great thrashing taking place in the center of their camp. It was hard to see what was happening, for the sky was still dark, but it looked like a small girl was wrestling with the man they'd met yesterday. Kyra's eyes burned. How dare she attack their new friend!
She picked up her sword and began to move towards the couple, but Neerav's hand stopped her.
"I feel it. The power. It's her, it's gotta be."
When Kyra looked back at the two, a strange blue light had engulfed them. The man was surrounded by a black smoke, and the girl was emitting the light. The man's features began to twist and contort, until he looked demon-like. His hands had formed into sharp claws, and his mouth was filled with sharp teeth. The light around the girl began to take shape into a giant eagle. As the man rose up to slash at the girl's face with a claw, the eagle came down upon his head and smashed it. His body disintegrated into ash, and the girl absorbed the light.
As the group stood around her in awe, the girl spoke with a voice that sounded much older than it should have.
"My name is Samaira. The man you saw before you was none other than Ravana, in human form. He was trying to kill you before you even had a chance to gather your forces. I have been searching for you, and I believe you have been searching for me as well."
The heroes stared at her in shock, unable to respond.
Image Information: Manga Eyes by ninjacrunch on Pinterest. Source: Pinterest
Author's Note: This story was based on another section of the Ramayana, specifically the part where Rama leaves Sita back at the hut and Ravana in human form pays her a visit by pretending to be a friendly old man. He kidnaps her, and on the way to his island of Lanka, a god in the form of an eagle stops him. In the original, Ravana defeats the eagle. However, in this section, I made one of the heroes embody the eagle with special powers she gained (explained in the final chapter). Also, the old man does not kidnap anyone in my story. I wanted to showcase Samaira's power and strange wisdom, as Rama also had power he gained from the gods and a wisdom beyond his years because of it. This was one of my favorite passages from the Ramayana, so I really wanted to incorporate it into my storybook, but with a feminist twist (mostly I just wanted a girl to be super bada** and cool, so now we have two of them). I also wanted her to come in and basically "save" the rest of them, as they were caught unaware like Rama was when Ravana took Sita. The name Samaira means "enchanting," so I wanted her to really shock the heroes and embody such a great power and purpose.
Bibliography. "Ramayana" by R.K. Narayan. Source: Ramayana