Week 4 Story: Yerdua's Life
Author's Note: The formatting of this short story is a derivative of "Indra's Chariot" from Ramayana, the Epic of Rama, Prince of India, condensed in English by Romesh Dutt. The story is written in couplet form, painting the story of the clash between Yerdua, the Queen of Demons and The Hero.
There the demon laid, with nothing to conceal him but the odor of defeat
There the demon queen, Yerdua, laid, with blood and tears from the her nose to her feet
Arms outstretched, seeking only for the mercy of the hero who conquered her
Slowly drifting away, the once lively spark in her eyes have stumbled to merely a blur
The hero stood over her, with nothing but distaste on his face
But he knew he must continue forward -- for this was nothing more than an obstacle in his race
But all in sudden, before he could continue, the gods acted with such rash
Lightning struck. The clouds darkened. The sounds of the birds stopped. A flash!
Yerdua's body rose with such ease, up to the heavens.
One second went by. Two. Three. Five. Ten. Eleven!
With a second flash! The gods in the heavens have again blocked the hero from his path!
For there Yerdua stood in front of the hero. Power surround her. Her eyes filled with wrath.
"You fool! You thought you've seen the end of me?" She shouted with glee
The words of her bellowing voice carried from tree to tree. Mountains to mountains. Sea to sea.
Arms tightened, the hero questioned the heavens of the curse they've put upon him
He stood still, frightened. Anxiety coursing through his veins to his limbs
The mighty Yerdua took advantage of his motionless appearance, with no thought, no remorse
The hero looked around for support from anyone, anything around him to reinforce
No sign of life in sight. No sign of apparent and unwavering hope in sight.
Yerdua moved almost in slow-motion. The hero stayed motionless. All he could see was bright light!
"Cling! Clang!" The sounds of metal on metal rang through the his ears
All he could muster was fright. All he could feel was fear!
He was untouched. Not a single sound of the metal clashing put a scratch on his skin
In front of him stood the hope he was looking for. His brother was there, his kin!
To be continued ...
There the demon laid, with nothing to conceal him but the odor of defeat
There the demon queen, Yerdua, laid, with blood and tears from the her nose to her feet
Arms outstretched, seeking only for the mercy of the hero who conquered her
Slowly drifting away, the once lively spark in her eyes have stumbled to merely a blur
The hero stood over her, with nothing but distaste on his face
But he knew he must continue forward -- for this was nothing more than an obstacle in his race
But all in sudden, before he could continue, the gods acted with such rash
Lightning struck. The clouds darkened. The sounds of the birds stopped. A flash!
Yerdua's body rose with such ease, up to the heavens.
One second went by. Two. Three. Five. Ten. Eleven!
With a second flash! The gods in the heavens have again blocked the hero from his path!
For there Yerdua stood in front of the hero. Power surround her. Her eyes filled with wrath.
"You fool! You thought you've seen the end of me?" She shouted with glee
The words of her bellowing voice carried from tree to tree. Mountains to mountains. Sea to sea.
Arms tightened, the hero questioned the heavens of the curse they've put upon him
He stood still, frightened. Anxiety coursing through his veins to his limbs
The mighty Yerdua took advantage of his motionless appearance, with no thought, no remorse
The hero looked around for support from anyone, anything around him to reinforce
No sign of life in sight. No sign of apparent and unwavering hope in sight.
Yerdua moved almost in slow-motion. The hero stayed motionless. All he could see was bright light!
"Cling! Clang!" The sounds of metal on metal rang through the his ears
All he could muster was fright. All he could feel was fear!
He was untouched. Not a single sound of the metal clashing put a scratch on his skin
In front of him stood the hope he was looking for. His brother was there, his kin!
To be continued ...
(Two Silver Swords on a Shield. Source: Unsplash)
Hi Long! Once again, another great story! The villain Yerdua, is kind of reminding me of someone, but I can't quite put my finger on it. Anyway, I thought the format of this story was really interesting and unique! It reminded me of ancient epics such as Beowulf, and I'm excited to see where the story goes, and if Yerdua is victorious in the end.
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