Birth of Lanka

"What does it say brother?" Lakshmana asked curiously. Rama flipped towards the first entry and began to read...

Entry #1:

I sit here in my palace, gazing upon my wonderful and beautiful kingdom, and I can't help but feel guilty. My advisers have told me that it is normal to marvel at what one has created, but one must remember the past to truly appreciate the present. I may currently be far from old age, but I can still remember the birth of this glorious island. My half-brother, Kubera, would tell me the stories of Vayu and Vasuki and how their childishness was sung of for ages, as they were responsible for our home.

The songs told the story of Vayu, the god of the wind, and Vasuki, the cosmic serpent. These two beings were friends and liked to challenge one another to continually test each other and make sure that they both grew into the most powerful versions of themselves they could become. One day, the serpent challenged the wind god and claimed that he was the stronger of the two. To test this claim, and ultimately prove him wrong, Vayu boasted that he could blow down any mountain Vasuki chose. To this Vasuki rebutted that he was so strong that he could keep any mountain erect, no matter how powerful the earthquake or storm. So it was settled. Vayu tried to blow down Mount Meru while Vasuki wrapped itself around the mountain and tried to keep it standing straight. With both beings possessing ludicrous amounts of power, and not to mention their combined devotion to best the other, the Earth began to shake. Eventually, the forces became so powerful that Vishnu appeared and promptly ordered them to stop the bet immediately. Vasuki quickly uncoiled himself from the mountain, but Vayu waited to cease his blowing until the serpent yielded to Vishnu. Once the serpent left the mountain, Vayu's powerful gusts of wind knocked the top of the tip of mountain off, and it landed in the sea. This new island that had been created was called "Lanka."

I find it ironic that this place where I call home was the result of the gods' childishness, and more specifically their test of power. I have trained all of my life to become the most powerful being on Earth, and now I strike fear into the hearts of even the gods. My advisers warned me of pride, hence why I looked back at this island's humble story of origin, but I find it hard to not be prideful when I look at all I have created and become. Before me, this island was nothing. Before me, the rakshasas were looked at as ugly disfigurements. Before me, this island was a refuge for rakshasas, now it rivals that of the gods. It is hard to stay humble when I look out onto my kingdom and see armies feared by all, architecture and jewels revered by scholars and jewelers, and rakshasas so powerful that no one dares to mention our figure. I don't necessarily see myself as a savior to my kind, but rather a rightful king who finally built an empire so grand that it infects the nightmares and worries of all who think of it. My kind is finally getting the respect they deserve, and that's all that I care about as a King and demon alike. Now it is clear to see why I must look back towards childish songs regularly, as I must be humble with the empire I live in today.

End of entry.

The boys looked at each other with confused faces, as they were expecting to find a journal that consisted of all of the horrors this demon created, not a reflection on life. "We need to read more" Rama spoke. "We need to look for anything that might lead us to Sita." And with that, the boys turned to the next entry.

Author's Note: I took inspiration in this story from the "The Story of Lanka" and "Rakshasas In Lanka" sections in the comic book "Kubera: The Lord of Wealth." This comic book mainly revolves around the life of Kubera and the early days of the demons. In this comic book, stories of the birth of Ravana and Kubera (his half-brother) are told, as well as stories about the origin of Lanka, life in Lanka once it lands in the ocean, and many other gods/demons. I decided to use the birth of Lanka as a beginning point, as in the Ramayana, finding Lanka is a big deal and takes many chapters for Rama and the gang to actually find Lanka, and then reaching Lanka is equally as challenging. I thought by introducing the birth of Lanka, I would have an easier segue into writing stories about the birth of Ravana, his family tree, as well as his origin story as most stories about Ravana happen when he is already a well established demon king in Lanka. Lastly, I think it should be stated that I have obviously paraphrased the events (mainly dialogue) leading up to the challenge between Vasuki and Vayu, as well as Vayu waiting for Vasuki to yield first. These changes were added and implemented to make the story flow better. I also made these events a "song sung for ages" to better explain how Ravana knew of this story.