Largaas

Chapter 1: The slaves of Alsom

On the banks of river Gaur, stood a deep dense forest Gauras. The forest was
mystic and dense with lavish green humungous trees and wide variety of birds and
animals. In the heart of this forest, there stood a giant tree called Poam. Migdhom
and Miria, a young couple deeply in love had made this tree their home. Migdhom was
a human while Miria was a wolf, the type that could change form from human to wolf
as per desire. Although their relationship was unconventional, their love was one of its
kind and unimaginable. Migdhom was the prince of the Kingdom of Usdaar and Miria
was one of the captives of the Welf (also known as Manundag). Migdhom was awaiting
his return to his kingdom. Even though Welf was a kingdom of the wolves, the Alsom
(a tribe of people) had taken it over and were now the rulers. It was these Alsom men
who made the wolves work in horrible conditions. These wolves were also their means
of communication. They would ride the wolves, whip them with ropes and organised
fights within the wolves just for sheer entertainment. Migdhom had indeed freed Miria
from a strenuous life. He later married her. The Alsom had lost one of their slaves and
this led to an outrage within the tribe leading to deep hatred towards Migdhom. Due to
this turmoil and terror, Migdhom and Miria took shelter in the deep forest of Gauras.
Migdhom was dreaming of going back to his kingdom one day but the Alsom and their
slaves were looking for him day and night and they were left with no choice but to stay
in hiding. They thought that their hiding place was very secure and it would be
impossible for the Alsom men to find them. They were now at peace in their new
home in the tree trunk.

The trunk of the Poam tree had a huge green coloured door and the home
inside had unimaginable luxuries but the most extraordinary was the rooms made
through the different tree holes. The door of this house had a wonderful view of a
faraway hill of Pathon. Migdhom was an accomplished archer and javelin thrower
and thats why hunting skills came naturally to him and he could gather enough food
for both of their survival in the forest. Poam was also a good resource of food and its
fruits were so big in size that one fruit was enough for the two of them for a whole day.
As Miria was an expectant mother, Migdhom was taking special care of her.

There was still time for sunrise; Migdhom and Miria were deep asleep. Their
bed was made from the soft peelings of the Hyola tree and their blanket was actually the
giant leaves of the Poam tree. Suddenly Miria was awakened by a disturbing noise and
she hastily woke up Migdhom. The sound she heard was dreadful and she could
recognise it but she had never imagined to hear that sound in the forest of Gauras. It
was indeed the sound of the footsteps of the wolves. It came from a distance and was
inaudible for Migdhom as he was just a human but Miria could hear that sound from a
distance and could also smell the presence of the wolves. This also meant that the other
wolves could easily find them with their strong sense of smell like Miria. When Miria
told Migdhom that the wolves are close by, he got extremely nervous. The two came
out of the house in panic with the fear of being caught. It was a night of full moon.
With the dim light spread all over the forest, Miria could see clearly at a distance with
her sharp eyes but Migdhom couldnt see things so clearly.

Migdhom looked at Miria and exclaimed,I am unable to hear anything even now!

This means they are still far away and we must escape from here at the earliest. It
would be pointless to hide anymore. With their strong sense of smell, they can easily
find us. This place is no longer safe but we dont have any means of travelling.

Then what should we do, asked Migdhom.

Miria replied, I could take the form of a wolf and you could ride me. We dont have
any other choice.

No, I do not approve of it especially in this health condition of yours. said Migdhom

In fact he had used the same strategy while freeing Miria from the Welf but now the
situation had changed, Miria was pregnant and Migdhom disapproved of anything that
could cause her any harm.

Miria asked with desperation, Then what can we do? And before she could
get her answer a light flashed in their eyes. Although this light seemed warm and soft, it
was not moonlight. The light started moving towards them slowly and steadily. Then
its intensity increased and suddenly, there was no more light. This light was nothing but
a horse, a white one. It was not less than a special gift from the forest of Gauras. This
animal was not ordinary; it had shiny sparkling skin and two wings. It looked at
Migdhom and Miria with eyes full of quest. It seemed as if the horse was destined to
help them escape from the Alsom. Now finally Migdhom could hear the sound of the
footsteps of the wolves, it came from near by. So without sparing a minute, the two of
them sat on the horse. They were so frightened that they didnt even think about
whom did the horse belong to and what was it doing there at that moment. All they
cared about was to save themselves from the brutal Alsom men and their slaves.

The horse had now started running at a lightning speed in the direction of the
wind. Miria and Migdhom must have wondered why this horse with wings doesnt fly.
After looking up in the sky below the stars, they have seen thousands of green coloured
deers jumping around. Some of the deers would vanish in a moment and a fire
appeared in their place. While they were on the horseback looking here and there,
suddenly the horse stopped. Nobody knew why? Migdhom tried to look behind. He
could see faint images of something coming towards him. In a moment, the images
became clearer and it was Alsom and his captive wolves coming towards him. There
was a special kind of sparkling belt tied around the necks of the wolves. It was actually a
sign of slavery. Migdhom had broken the same kind of sparkling belt from Mirias neck
while freeing her from the slavery. The horse stood still as if he was waiting for the
arrival of Alsom. Migdhom was now unable to step down from the horse. Just when
Migdhom was thinking about the horses betrayal, the horse took speed and the wolves
followed them. The Alsom had seen them and now did their best to catch them. The
horse would take great speed and once the Alsom were not in sight, he would slow
down and this happened over and over again. It seemed that the horse was trying to
keep the Alsom behind but the horse was just making sure that Migdhom and Miria
were indeed safe and unharmed.

Migdha, where are we going? asked Miria. Migdhom replied, I dont know,
wherever the horse takes us. Everything depends on the horse now.
Now Miria turned behind and shouted, Father!

My parents are also amongst the slaves exclaimed Miria alarmingly.

All the wolves looked identical; it was surprising how Miria could recognise them. For
Migdhom, it was almost impossible to spot any difference. If Miria was amongst the
herd, he couldnt have possibly recognised her. Miria had a special scent and humans
with a strong sense of smell could easily identify her, identifying her only by looks was
totally impossible. That is why Migdhom was astonished how Miria had identified her
parents and he was amazed to understand more about the world of the wolves. And
then he said to Miria,Okay, but we cannot stop now, Miria. Its beyond our control.
Lets see where this horse takes us.
 The Alsom men were still hunting for the horse but the Horse was far ahead of
them. And suddenly he stopped and stood still. Migdhom and Miria were taken aback
by this sudden happening. Alsom and his slaves were just a few steps away. Migdhom
tried to step down from the horse but the horse kept him clenched by his wings. Now
Migdhom became almost certain about the horses betrayal. Alsom and his slaves now
stood right in front of him. One of the Alsoms took his arrow and pointed it towards
Miria. Suddenly the horse gave an angry neigh and the whole forest trembled. Instantly,
all the trees started moving. All the tree branches and the vines started creeping
together. They first took hold of the Alsom carrying the arrow, picked him up and
threw him on a huge stone. His head was in a pool of blood and he died instantly. The
slave that belonged to the dead Alsom stood right next to him but didnt budge. After
all he was only a slave of orders and he had nothing to fear anymore. Now, the trees
started clenching all the Alsom men one by one but none of the wolves were harmed by
them. Some Alsom men tried escaping with the help of their slaves but to no avail.
Amongst all that was happening, one of the wolves was badly hurt. A huge branch had
fallen on his legs. Now the wolf took a human form. Immediately Miria
exclaimed,My father is hurt! and started to cry. She tried to get off the horse but she
couldnt due to its wings. During all this confusion, the belt on her fathers neck had
broken. He was now free from the slavery. His leg was paining severely and suddenly a
vine crept towards him and dropped its sap on his legs, a pain-killing sap. It was now
only the wolves that existed, no more Alsom men. All the vines crept towards the
wolves and broke the belts one by one. The wolves were now liberated. Now that
Miria and Migdhom were desperate to step off the horse, it took pace yet again. The
wolves were all left behind and they were no more bonded to obey anyone anymore!

Ajit Ramsing Gavhane

Kiran Ramsing Gavhane