Stargazing

Nailah walked through the practice range, archers were shooting arrows ranging from penetrating arrow to explosive ones. The sound of arrows flying filled her ears, explosions sounded at the other end where the explosive arrows met their targets, bells rang as archers practicing in the dark found their marks. She stopped in her tracks as an arrow flew right past her face.
“Sorry” The archer called.
Nailah didn’t respond, she just kept walking, she had to talk to Lord Atri this time. She could not just continue on her task without more information.
She passed by Adi, one of the new recruits.
“Hey Adi”, She called
The 15 year old turned and ran to her. His red hair was messy, deep brown eyes looked at her almost reverently.
“Yes Nailah”, he said
“Has Lord Atri returned from his travels?”
“Yes he is in his office upstairs”
“Thanks Adi”
“You’re Welcome. Um… Nailah?”
“Yes”
“Will you help me improve my summoning? Everyone says you’re the best.”
“Oh, okay sure, I’ll make some time and inform you”

Nailah turned toward the elevator. Their building was shown as a investment firm to the outside world. But in reality, it was the headquarter building of the Atri society. Lord Atri was their leader, a descendant from the actual founders of the society. She didn’t know is real name, everyone simply referred to him as Lord Atri. He had introduced himself as Lord Atri when he had come to save her and her village.

***

Nailah went through the glass doors into Lord Atri’s office. The old bald man sat on his chair in front of a glass table supported by a spiral aluminum frame. He wore a black suit with a maroon tie around his collar. His bow ‘Dhawnsa’ was hung on the wall behind his chair in a glass case.
“Good Evening Lord Atri”, Nailah greeted.
“Good Evening Nailah, how may I help you?”
“Lord Atri, I need more information about this Abhimanyu you have me protecting. Who is he? Why does he need protection?”
“Why ask today, child?”
“Because I have been on this task for over a year now and there doesn’t seem to be any harm coming his way. I could be more useful fighting Daitya”
“Daitya is precisely the reason you should protect Abhimanyu Nailah”
“What do you mean?”
“Sit down, I will explain”
Nailah took the seat in front of Lord Atri
“It all began a 12 years ago, when Lord Pulaha, the leader of the Pulaha society discovered the existence of The Amrit. The Elixir of Life, the same Amrit that came from the samudramanthan. He found the secret scattered across all of mythology. Lord Pulaha asked me for protection as he completed his research. I sent Sid and Anya, our best warriors to assist him. But when Sid and Anya reached there, all they  found was the headquarters of the Pulaha Society in Ashes. Only one man awaited them there, Daitya himself. I found their bodies at their home. Their only child, Abhimanyu was sitting covered in his parents’ blood.”
“What? Abhimanyu is the son of Siddharth and Anya”
“Yes child, I had him raised away from everything to protect him. But it has come to my attention that Daitya is looking for Abhimanyu, he needs protecting.”
“ Why?”
“I do not know why, but Daitya is looking for him, so we protect him with our best” Lord Atri sighed “And you are the best we have. I placed the child in care of Anya’s sister, where he would be protected and still be with family. Now however, he has grown and spends a lot of time away from his home, he needs someone to protect him.”
“Thanks for telling me Lord Atri, I shall have a better time doing this now.”

***

Vyan was the caretaker of the training area, he was the most knowledgeable and skilled among the Atri society at creating and managing realistic training exercises. He looked at the archers shooting at the stationary targets, feeling a slight sting of envy. He had always wanted to be an archer but the accident during training had cost him his left palm. He had had to switch to training with swords, the weapons were practically useless against skilled archers. An archer with right amount of skill and training could potentially take down a stationary target from hundreds of meters away. The sword could be used only in close combat, given that you could get close enough to the archer without getting shot first.
But Vyan was remarkable with the sword, he could deflect a fast moving arrow with a simple slap from his sword. He had practiced relentlessly after recovering from his accident, several times an arrow had just grazed his arm or missed by mere inches, those close calls had left scars on his right arm, scars which he wore with pride. Once, he even had been hit taken an arrow through his shoulder, taking several weeks to recover and regain the strength, only to start swinging again.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, a three feet long double edged blade with a leather bound hilt, though he envied the archers, he was equally, if not more deadly with his sword. He saw Nailah walking toward him, she did not look happy.
“Nailah!” he called
“Oh Hello, Vyan”
“You look like someone just told you you’d die in a week”
“What?”
“Nothing… I meant you look tense”
“Yeah I have some thinking to do”
“Do you maybe wanna talk about it”
“No, No I can’t”
“Oh Okay”
There was silence for a few moments
“Actually… Vyan, can you clear the training area for a while, I want to some practice”
“Um…Okay, get your bow, I’ll clear everyone, there’s a new exercise you’ll like”
“Great” Nailah said, she turned toward the armory and walked away.
Vyan looked at the retreating form of Nailah, she was tying her long auburn hair into a bun, leaving the strand of red hair out like she always did. It seemed to enjoy the freedom she gave it as opposed to the rest of her hair.

***

Nailah stepped into the Armory, walked past the section of swords, she had initially tried to learn the art of being a swordswoman but had left it for her skill in archery was much better and she would reach mastery much faster. Atri Society had archers, swordsmen, and swordswomen among its warriors, archers being the most dominant. The armory housed a large amount of weapons, swords, bows, spears, of the like, enough weapons to arm a considerably big army.
The swords were typically all long swords, 3 feet or longer, double edged with a dip in the surface at the middle of the blade, the hilt of each sword was covered in leather of a different color. Vyan had told her longer swords allowed for longer reach and faster swings, but she wondered how a longer and obviously heavier weapon would be faster.
She went forward into the bows section, a ‘newbie’ would enter this section and wonder what could they possibly do with so many bows and no arrows. But she knew that she would summon the arrows she needs as she goes through combat, summoning arrows took an insane amount of focus, the more powerful the arrow, more the focus. She had spent the first eight months of her training with only meditation, training her mind to focus and that, without even knowing how to actually do the summoning. During initial days of combat training, she had had to close her eyes in the middle of battle to summon the required arrows. That had led to a number of injuries, the most prominent of which was still there in the form of a scar on her left leg. Now however, she was skilled enough that she could summon most arrows instinctively, without closing her eyes and risking potential injury.
Nailah found her bow among several others, though her bow was easily distinguishable. The titanium bow was covered in deep blue leather, as if the leather was dipped in ink before being bounded around the bow. The bowstring was made of a special high strength polymer which was nearly as strong as steel but lighter and more flexible. It could give the bow more power and the arrow would fly faster. She still remembered the day she got this bow, Lord Atri himself had come to see her training assessment and later had personally given this bow to her. She picked it up and walked out of the the armory.

***

Nailah reached the training area in a few minutes, Vyan was standing in the middle of the large field setting up a target.
“You should start with stationary target first” Vyan said
“Okay”
Nailah took her place at the mark and waved to Vyan, who moved to the edge of the field for safety. Nailah summoned a few arrows, nocked one of them on the bow. She used a finger pinch hold to pull back the arrow, it allowed her to have a smoother release with less flinch. The muscles in her back tensed up as she pulled the bowstring back. She felt her hand quiver slightly as the titanium of the bow resisted to bend at the force of her pulling the bowstring. She let out a breath, settled her hand into her anchor point, and took aim, all she could see was the bullseye in front of her. She released.
The empty field echoed with the sound of the fast moving arrow cutting the air as it flew toward its intended target. The arrow hit exactly at the center of the target.
“That was just 30 yards, go farther” Vyan shouted.
Nailah nocked another arrow and took aim at the 120 yard target, the familiar sound of the arrow echoed again as the arrow took flight and struck at the center, again.
“How about that?” she shouted back.
“Stationary target. Child’s play. Try this” Vyan said as he pulled a lever and a platform started to come out of the ground. The platform recreated the view of the entrance hall of the headquarters, turnstile gates, a security room, a table for the guards to sit. A number of dummies took hold behind the protection of the table, the turnstiles and behind the window of the security room, they seemed to peek at her at random intervals.
“Beat that” Vyan called as a crossbow bolt flew and hit her bow arm, she felt a slight sting as it hit.
She looked at her hand, there was no wound, the bolt that had hit her was on the ground, it was bent at an awkward angle, it seemed to be made of rubber.
Practice.
She summoned more arrows and ran toward the platform. Abhimanyu is the son of Siddharth and Anya, he has been raised away from all of this for a reason, to protect him. She dodged two crossbow bolts as she ran, catching third in hand. It is nothing but a task I have been given, to protect him. Se shot down one of the dummies that stood by the security table, still running faster and faster. There is no friendship there, I am just his bodyguard. She reached the platform and jumped on it, taking down the other dummy beside the table with a knee to its face. I will have to return to headquarters one day, when he is known to be safe. She shot down two of the dummies hidden behind the turnstile. Only one left. He won’t be brought back to the headquarters now, he’s too old to start training. She took out her knife and jumped over the turnstile, bringing down the knife and striking were the dummy’s heart would have been. I will have to leave him. A bolt hit her in the back, from the direction of the security room window. Do I want to leave him? A red glow appeared on her bow, taking the shape of an arrow. She drew the missile back to her anchor point and released. She turned back and jumped from the platform as the security room exploded in flames.
She walked to Vyan standing at the edge of the field. He had covered his eyes to shield from the bright light of the explosion.
“How was that for combat,” Nailah said.
“You took a bolt in the back. It would have gotten to your heart. In a real situation, you’d be dead”
“Then its a good thing it wasn’t real”
“Indeed”
“Alright I have to go, I have to meet someone right after sunset”

***

Abhimanyu stood on the roof. The sky was lit in orange as the sun was setting, passing through scattered clouds near the horizon. A light breeze blew across his face, leaves rustled in the mango tree in the backyard of the house. He loved being here, under the sky. It gave him a sense of peace and order, which he felt was missing from his life ever since that accident. Sonya had told him he was the only survivor in that accident, all he remembered was an explosion, after all, he had been only five years old at the time.
“Abhi?”, a voice came from the stairs. Sonya walked up and into the roof
“Yes Aunt Sonya”
“What are you doing up here? its cold outside”
“Nailah is coming Auntie, we are going to be stargazing this evening. She’s a friend from school Auntie, I told you”
“A friend… aren’t you going to receive her at the front door then”
“Yes I will when I see her come. I can see from up here”
“Of course”
At that moment, Abhimanyu saw a figure walk toward the house.
“She’s here”, Abhimanyu said, running toward the staircase.
He ran down the stairs, through the living room to the front door and opened it. Nailah stood there, her hand an inch away from the doorbell.
“Hi”, he said.
“Hi, I was just about to press the doorbell”
“Yeah, it does not work. I saw you from the roof, I was setting up the telescope”
“Are you going to invite her in Abhi, or do you plan to stargaze at the door?”, Sonya said from the living room.
“Oh sorry, Come in Nailah”
Nailah and Abhimanyu walked into the living room.
“Nailah, this is my aunt Sonya. Auntie, this is Nailah”, he pointed one hand at each of them
“Nice to meet you”, Nailah said.
“Nice to meet you too, finally, after a year of hearing how great you are”
“Really, he speaks of me that highly? Do you Abhimanyu?”
“Of course I do, you’re my best friend” Abhimanyu said. He turned to Sonya.
“Auntie can you make your special spaghetti for dinner tonight, Nailah will love it”
“Sure dear, you guys finish stargrazing”
“Its stargazing auntie”
“Thats exactly what I said”
“No, you said stargrazing”
“Its the same”
“No its not, we are not going to graze the stars we are going to gaze at them”
“Same difference”, Sonya said, one corner of her mouth slightly moved up.
“But-”
“Abhi, go finish stargazing, Dinner will be ready by the the time you come back down”

Abhimanyu and Nailah walked up to the roof, where had been setting up his new telescope. The sky had gotten darker, the brighter stars had started to appear, scattered across the sky. The crescent moon lit up the south western sky.
“I still have to adjust the counter-weights, then just point it at what we want to see”, Abhimanyu said, walking to the telescope. He loosened one of the weights under the telescope and started moving it, trying to reach the point of balance. It slipped and fell toward the floor, Nailah, out of nowhere, snatched it and held it up.
“How did you do that, that this is quite heavy”, Abhimanyu said.
“Actually, it is, take it from my hand before I drop it again”
Abhimanyu took it and adjusted it at the right place on the telescope.
“What do you want to see first?”, she asked.
“Well, I usually start with the moon, its bright, big and easier to point the telescope at. And tonight its a crescent, the most beautiful phase”
“Okay, but why is the crescent the most beautiful?”
“Seriously, just look at it, so beautiful”
Nailah looked at the crescent moon, “yes actually, it is”
Abhimanyu turned the telescope toward the moon using the pathfinder on top of the main tube. He moved to the eyepiece and moved focus knob to adjust the eyepiece to the right focus.
“Have a look”, he said, gesturing toward the telscope.
Nailah walked up to the telescope and looked through the eyepiece.
“It is beautiful. You can see all the craters on its surface” Nailah said.
“Yes, and if you focus, you can also see the side that is not illuminated by the sun right now.”
Nailah remained quiet. She looked up at Abhimanyu and smiled.
“I cannot believe you had never looked through a telescope before”, Abhimanyu said.
“I hadn’t. Thank you for doing this for me”
“Oh its nothing”


***

Nailah walked up to Abhimanyu, standing here, under a roof made of the dark night sky faintly illuminated by the crescent moon and the stars. She almost felt liberated, like the weight on her shoulders was not even there. She had approached Abhimanyu an year ago just because Lord Atri had asked her, she had only looked at him as someone in need of protection. But overtime, she had grown to care for him, she had actually become a friends with him. She had even taken up studying astronomy for him.
“Why are looking at me like that?”, Abhimanyu said. Nailah realized she was staring at him.
“Oh sorry, its nothing”
“So… what would you like to view next?”
“Jupiter”
“Oh cool, you can see the Galilean moons”, Abhimanyu started working on setting up the telescope.
Nailah looked at him working on the telescope. He was such a regular guy, with no idea of the reality of his past. His parents were killed by the biggest enemy of the Atri society, Daitya. And now Abhimanyu was who Daitya was looking for. Why? Why chase someone who doesn’t even know his past, someone who has no idea of the world that exists hidden in plain sight. The more Nailah thought about this, more confused and anxious got.
“Its ready”, Abhimanyu said.
Nailah looked through the telescope’s eyepiece, she saw a circular shape with stripes across it alternating between light brown and cream, that was Jupiter. But she couldn’t see any of the moons.
“I can’t see any moons”, she told him.
“Yes, perhaps we need more time for eyes to adjust to the night”
“Okay, until then-”, Abhimanyu simply sat down and then moved to lie down on the roof, staring at the heavens above.
“Join me”, he said. She lied down on the roof beside him.
The dark sky didn’t look so dark anymore, the artificial lights of the city were obscured. More and more stars started appearing in places that had seemed to be completely dark before. The night sky seemed to have a mind of its own, moving from darkness to illumination.
“Why do like the night sky so much Abhi?”, she asked.
“Beacause… its beautiful”
“Yes it is but that isn’t the answer and you know it”
Abhimanyu sighed.
“Tell me Abhi, I’m your best friend”
“Do you know what my oldest memory of my parents is? Me and my father walking out into a garden, lying on the grass and looking up at the sky. This night sky is the only thing that connects me to my parents even remotely.”
“But your Aunt-”
“She takes very good care of me, yes. But she never asked for me, she had to take me in because of the accident. She tries a lot, but she cannot fill the gap left by mom and dad”
She turned toward him, he was trying to blink away tears but one rolled down his cheek. He looked at her, she noticed, for the first time in all the time they had spent together, the sadness in his eyes, the pain he had sealed away behind his passion for astronomy. She felt a wave of affection rise inside her, she felt herself moving closer to him.
“Kids”, Sonya called from downstairs, “Dinner’s ready”
Abhimanyu suddenly stood up, wiping off the tears.
“We should watch those moons and head downstairs for dinner”, he said.
Nailah wanted to object but she didn’t, “Okay”, she said.

---xxx---

Author's Note

Ignore grammar and spelling issues, please