The First Enemy

Azlvar-adiyan gave his heartfelt thanks to the vampire bat
which helped him at the right time; a hooting owl gave
further aid. The conspirators gathered in the clearing
thought that the noise was made by the owl or the bat.
"Hey fellow! This bat has frightened us. Kill it!" said one
man.
"No need. Sharpen your knives and save them for other
important tasks; keep them to rout the very roots of our
enemy clans! Bats and owls are not our enemy; they are
our friends. We are awake when normal folk sleep. These
owls and bats are awake with us." The man called
Ravidasa spoke these words.
Thirumalai moved forward step by step, quietly, while he
listened to these words of Ravidasa. Soon he neared a large
marudai tree. The roots of that hundred year old tree
spread in all directions. Hollow spaces could be found in
between and below the thick roots. Thirumalai stood in
one such hollow blending his body with the tree trunk.
"We have no dearth of funds as long as the royal treasury
in Tanjore exists. All we need is determination to complete
the task we have undertaken. We should be capable of
guarding our secret from becoming known to anyone, until
the assignment is done. We have to divide ourselves into
two groups. One group must travel to Lanka immediately.
The other must go to the Thondai regions and wait for an
opportunity to achieve our goal. Both jobs must be
completed more or less at the same time. If there is any
delay after finishing with one enemy, the other fellow will
become forewarned. We should never let that happen. Do
you all understand? Who among you are ready to go to
Lanka?" asked Ravidasa.
"I can go." "I shall go." Several voices rose at the same
time.
"When we meet the next time, in the Pandiya Kingdom, let
us decide about who is to go to Lanka. Till then, we have
several arrangements to make here itself."
"Which is the best way to go to Lanka?" asked one man.
"We can go by Kodi Karai. That is a good place to cross
the sea. But it is difficult to reach Kodi Karai from here.
Enemies all along the way; spies everywhere. Therefore it
is better to go to Sethu and cross the sea to Matottam.
Those going to Lanka must know how to swim in the sea
and they must be ready to row a boat or catamaran if the
need arises. Who among you knows how to swim?"
"I do." "I can." said a few voices.
"We must first meet Mahinda, the King of Lanka and then
complete our job. Therefore, at least one of us who goes to
Lanka must be able to speak the Singhala language. Ah!
Why hasn't our Soman Samban come yet? Did any of you
see him today?" asked Ravidasa.
"Here, I am coming." The voice came from a spot very
close to the hollow in which Thirumalai was hiding.
Azlvar-adiyan flattened his body further against the tree
trunk. Dear, dear me! How troublesome it is, that my
wretched body has grown so prosperous.
Two more newcomers came and joined the group in the
clearing. Azlvar-adiyan peeped out from his hiding place,
showing a bare minimum of his face outside the hollow.
He recognized the late comers as the two men who had
met under the tree on the southern banks of the Kollidam.
On seeing the two new men, Ravidasa exclaimed,
"Welcome! Welcome! I was afraid that you were in some
trouble and may not come to this meeting. From where and
by which way are you both coming?"
"We came along the bank of the Kollidam. On the way, a
pack of wolves surrounded us. It was quite difficult to
escape from them. That is why we are late," said Soman
Samban.
"There is reason if you are afraid of the tiger or lion! What
can we achieve with the help of men who are afraid of
wolves?" asked the man who was holding the lighted
twigs.
"Don't say that my friend! The wolf or jackal is worse than
any lion or tiger which is a solitary enemy that attacks
alone. We can fight against them and manage. But wolves
come in packs. They are more dangerous. Didn't our
incomparable king of kings loose the battle and give up his
life because the Chozla jackals came in large packs all at
one time? Would it have happened any other way?"
"We shall totally destroy the whole pack of wolves. We
shall kill their very roots." Soman Samban swore with
vehemence.
"Here are the tools to help that cause!" said Ravidasa,
pointing at the gold coins. Soman Samban picked up a few
coins and examined them.
"Yes! The tiger symbol on one side; palm tree on the other
side," he exclaimed!
"Chozla gold! Lord Pazluvoor's signet. I did what I said I
would do. What news from the rest of you? Does Idumban
Kari have any special news?" asked Ravidasa.
"Yes. He has news. Let him tell it in his own words," said
Soman Samban.
Idumban Kari began speaking: "As per your orders, I
joined the household of Kadamboor Sambuvaraya and am
working as a servant in his palace. Last night my efforts
bore fruit. Yesterday, a huge banquet was held at
Kadamboor. Several guests -- the Elder Lord Pazluvoor,
Lord of Mazluvoor, Vanangamudi Munai Raya and others
had come. The gypsy dance and velan attam, the oracle
dance, took place. The man who danced as the divine-man
foretold the future when the spirit manifested him. His
predictions were helpful to our intentions. Everybody
thought that the Elder Lord Pazluvoor had brought his
Young-Queen in the closed palanquin to the palace. Lord
Pazluvoor announced that Emperor Sundara Chozla was in
poor health and that he was not likely to live long. All the
dignitaries met and decided that Prince Aditya Karikala
was not the rightful heir to ascend the throne; they decided
that Prince Madurandaka had the right to succeed as
Crown Prince. Some among them were doubtful if that
Prince would agree to accept the throne. Lord Pazluvoor
then promised that `He will accept personally,' and opened
the curtains of the closed palanquin. Prince Madurandaka
came out from the palanquin and agreed to accept the
throne..."
"They are going to crown that brave fellow who roams
around disguised as a woman! Very good! Let them crown
him! Everything is happening according to our plans. An
internal confusion in Chozla politics is very useful to our
cause. Now, whatever happens, no one will suspect us!
Idumban Kari! You have brought very good and important
news. But, how did you learn of all this? How did you get
the opportunity?" asked their leader, Ravidasa.
"I tried to put myself forward working in the inner
chambers of the palace. I was assigned the task of guarding
the courtyard where the dignitaries met, to hold their
discussions at midnight. While on guard duty, I made good
use of my eyes and ears."
"Did you learn of anything else by making such good use
of your senses?"
"Yes. I found something else. Another fellow, a stranger,
was spying on that midnight meeting and listening to
everything that was being said; he was hiding on the outer
ramparts of the palace and watching everything."
"Oh! Who was he?"
"A fanatic Vaishnava fellow with a topknot on his
forehead ...."
"Ah! Was it him? That's what I surmised. What did you do
with him? Did you report him to your masters and get
hold of him?"
"No. I did not do that. I had thought that he may be one of
us. I thought that you may have sent him."
"You made a big mistake! He is not one of us. He is short
and stocky; a quarrelsome fellow. His name is Thirumalai
Appan. Sometimes, he calls himself Azlvar-adiyan
Nambi."
"Yes. That very same fellow. I realized my mistake this
afternoon when I found out that he was not one of us."
"How did you find that?"
"One of the friends of my younger master Kandamaran
had also come to the fort last night. I did find out that he
had no connection with Lord Pazluvoor and his fellow
conspirators. That friend went to sleep in some corner.
This morning, my younger master came to the banks of the
Kollidam accompanying his friend. I heard him speak of
his intentions and stood in front of him often in the course
of my duties. My master asked me to come along. The
master went back to Kadamboor from the north shore; but,
he ordered me to go to the south shore and procure a horse
for his friend before I returned. I asked permission to visit
my aunt in Kudanthai after that. That is how I could come
here without any problem."
"All this is fine! But, how did you find out about that
fanatic topknot fellow?"
"When the ferry boat on the Kollidam was about to leave,
that fellow came and joined us in the boat. He exchanged
some heated words with Kandamaran's friend. Therefore, I
doubted my conclusions about him being one of us. It
appeared as if he was waiting for me on the south shore of
the Kollidam. So, I made our secret sign to him but he did
not understand. I then knew that he was not one of us."
"You have committed a grave error! You should not make
our sign to persons whose antecedents are not known. My
Friends! Please listen to this," said Ravidasa, and he
continued in a more agitated voice, "Our assignment is in
Kanchi. And in Lanka. Our greatest enemies are in these
two places. But, an enemy more important than those two,
our first enemy is Thirumalai Appan who wanders around
in the name of Azlvar-adiyan Nambi. He is capable of
thwarting our intentions and destroying all of us. He is
trying to abduct that peerless lady who is our leader."
After announcing this, Ravidasa continued, "In the future,
if any one of you see him, anywhere, in any circumstance,
use any weapon in your hands to pierce his heart and kill
him! If you carry no weapon, use your bare hands to choke
him to death. Or destroy him cunningly with poison; push
him into the flood to feed him to the crocodiles. Lure him
to a cliff top and push him to death. Kill him mercilessly,like you would any poisonous snake, lizard or scorpion.
More commendable, if you can give him up as a human
sacrifice to the Goddess Kannagi or the Goddess Kali. He
is going to be an impediment to our intentions as long as
he is alive."
"Mr. Ravidasa! You are saying this with such conviction.
He must be a very artful fellow. Who is he?"
"He? He is a terribly capable spy!"
"Whose spy?"
"I was not sure myself, for a long time I suspected him to
be a spy of Sundara Chozla or Aditya Karikala. I realized
that he was not that. I now think that he is a spy of that evil
old she-devil who lives in Pazlayarai -- that Elder Pirati."
"Ah! Is that true? Why does that old woman, involved in
her devotions to the Gods, need a spy?"
"All her devotions are rubbish! That old Queen's devotion
to Shiva is as big a masquerade as this topknot fellow's
Vaishnava fanaticism! She is a fiend who is hostile to her
own son. That is why her very own brother, Lord
Mazlavaraya of Mazluvoor quarrelled with her; he now
belongs to that Pazluvoor fellow's group."
"Mr. Ravidasa, are there any others like that Vaishnava
extremist?"
"There is an astrologer in Kudanthai. I suspect that fellow.
He pretends to foretell the future by astrology to one and
all and discovers their secrets. None of you should ever go
to him. If you go to him, you will surely be hoodwinked."
"Whose spy is he? What do you think?"
"I have not been able to find out that! Perhaps he works for
that false prince who is in Lanka now. But I am not very
concerned about that astrologer. He cannot do much harm
to us. I am apprehensive about that Vaishnava fellow. He
should be killed upon sight: like some evil, poisonous
creature!"
Azlvar-adiyan, hidden under the hollow tree root, heard all
this; his whole body was drenched in sweat and he
shivered with fright. He doubted if he could ever escape
with his life from that forest. To top it all, he felt like
sneezing; just at that time! He tried as much as he could to
control that wicked sneeze. He stuffed his face into his
scarf and "Aatch" he sneezed.
At that time the gentle breeze had died. The whispering
trees were quiet. The quiet "Aatch" was heard very clearly
by the men gathered in the clearing. Ravidasa looked up
and said, "There is some noise near that marudai tree. Take
the light over there and see what it is."
The man holding the lighted twigs came towards the tree.
As he came closer and closer, the light increased. He had
to take just one more step, the light would then fall
completely on Nambi. Then, what will happen? It would
be impossible to escape with his life.
Azlvar-adiyan's heart beat faster and faster. He eyes looked
all around, up and down, searching for something to aid
his escape. Nothing was obvious. The man came closer.
Up there, on that low branch above him, ... another giant
bat was hanging upside down! Quickly, he stretched his
hands out and plucked that vampire bat off its perch. He
had a good idea!
As soon as the man with the torch took another step and
came closer, Thirumalai threw the vampire bat at him. The
torch of twigs fell to the ground. The light dimmed. The
man, his face beaten by the strong wings of that huge bat,
started screaming. The noise of several men coming closer,
running closer, could be heard. Azlvar-adiyan also began
running. He ran deeper into the forest and soon
disappeared.
Several shouts, "What?" "What happened?" could be
heard. The man who had held the torch began a protracted
explanation of how the vampire bat attacked him! These
noises were audible for quite sometime as Thirumalai ran
further away.