The royal company from Genta Bhuwana had arrived in the city of Kandaka. It had been an odd welcome they received. The palace was beautifully decorated, a bit overly decorated for Prince Wesi’s taste. The dancers who had performed the welcoming dance were all young and beautiful, yet, in the middle of the celebrating moods, there were soldiers in full armory all over the place. General Arung Laga, who led the army of Genta Bhuwana whispered to Wesi to stay close to him. He was concerned for his safety and seemed to be suspicious about their host’s intention. 4 fighters around him quickly guarded Prince Banyu, the groom. Every soldier prepared their weapons and made ready for a fight.
In the midst of this confusion, King Kalingga appeared with his Queen by his side to welcome them.
“Welcome to Kandaka Kingdom.” He said addressing to General Arung Laga and Prince Wesi Bhuwana.
The General quickly stepped forward and paid his respect in front of the King.
“Thank you, Your Majesty. Would you kindly explain why you need so many men at arms to welcome us? We are here to proceed with the peace treaty. Not to attack your kingdom, Your Majesty.”
King Kalingga smiled sadly, “Please accept my apologies. I of course do not doubt your intention, for I know King Pilar Bhuwana, as I am, is a man of honor. However, all this is necessary for your own security. I believe you have not heard about the passing of King Jamukha of Ghowa Empire?”
General Arung Laga looked at Prince Banyu who quickly stepped forward to answer the question. Banyu wore a golden crown on his head that was in contrast with the color of his shoulder-long black hair. His black eyebrows almost met when he was frowning.
“When we left Genta Bhuwana, we have heard about his sickness, Your Majesty. Does this mean that Singha Paruwa is now the new ruler of Ghowa Empire? That is truly a bad news.”
“Yes, indeed, Prince Banyu. And worse is……” The King sighed before he continued his words.
“We received a warning from him about ten days ago.”
“What warning?” General Arung Laga asked.
Wesi frowned looking seriously at his older brother. Suddenly he felt sick. He knew he was going to kill someone very soon. And he hated it.
“That he is preparing an invasion.”
The words brought silence in the room. Suddenly the mood for celebration flew out through the window, replaced by tense.”
“I have sent messengers to spread the news to every Eastern Kingdoms. I’m sure your father has received the news by now.” The King continued.
“Sire, maybe it is better if we sit down and talk.” General Arung Laga proposed.
“That is exactly what I have in mind, General. This is General Kertabhumi, he will show you the chambers. We will meet again after you have freshened up a little. I know you are all tired from the long journey.”
General Kertabhumi came forward and shook hand with General Arung Laga. He motioned his men to escort everyone to their chambers. They walked side by side discussing the urgent matter at hand. Prince Wesi walked behind them with Prince Banyu close at his side. From now on Wesi would never let his eyes off his brother. He knew his martial art ability was above him, so although he was younger, he felt it was his duty to protect his beloved brother. He glanced around and saw a strange boy dressed in black. Wesi frowned but kept on going.
After the exhausting journey, the company had to attend planning and tactical meetings and then more discussions and more planning. At the end of the day, Prince Banyu had no energy left to even stay awake. He fell asleep in the middle of tactical meeting. It was then that the King decided that his guests were allowed to retire, while he and the rest of Kandaka people continued with the preparation.
Banyu was almost asleep when he heard someone knocked on his door.
“Come.” He said.
Wesi’s innocent beautiful face appeared from behind the door. His long hair that nearly reached his waist was neatly combed and was damped. He had just taken a bath.
“Wesi, what do you want? I’m so tired. I wanna sleep now.” He said pulling the blanket and covered his head.
Wesi climbed up the huge bed and slipped under the blanket.
“Fine. I wanna sleep too.” He simply said.
Banyu couldn’t believe his ears. He sat right up and looked down to his younger brother’s face.
“Come on, Wesi. I have no time for jokes now.”
Wesi calmly pull the blanket tighter and closed his eyes.
“I don’t care you like it or not, I will stay close to you from now on. Now I will go to sleep, so you better be quiet.”
Banyu shook his head and sighed. Suddenly he remembered something.
“Hey Wesi, do you remember that strange woman introduced to us as Black Canary?”
Wesi opened his eyes lazily.
“Yes. The General’s daughter? I’m sure I have heard about her somewhere, but I can’t remember.”
Banyu smiled and tapped his brother gently on the head.
“Of course you have. She was the intruder that killed General Kamandanu. We thought she was a man, or a boy. It was after the second incident at the border when she came to Genta Bhuwana and started killing some important people in the army. I have seen her once after she killed Captain Mandala. She flew over the rooftops, so fast that I could hardly see her. You went up the mountain to the monastery with Master White Fox when it happened.”
Wesi looked at his brother seriously, “Are you sure that’s the same person?”
“Yes. I’m sure of it. Damn. That woman is a professional assassin. We should be careful, Wesi.”
Wesi smiled and closed his eyes again.
Banyu knew his little brother didn’t talk much. And he knew what he meant by that smile. It was as if he was saying ‘why do you think I want to sleep with you?’ The truth is, he was happy that he had such a loving brother who’d be willing to protect him around the clock. He knew in some way, Wesi was stronger and more talented in fighting than he was. So he let him sleep in his bed and a few minutes later he too fell into deep sleep.
Black Canary stood by the window looking out into the darkness, feeling the night breeze brushed her face gently. She had taken off her veil. She heard footsteps coming closer.
“What is wrong?” A man’s voice asked her.
She turned to look at him. Her full lips started to shape a smile. She shook her head.
“Nothing, father.” But her hazel eyes betrayed her, because they were filled with sorrow.
General Kertabhumi stood beside her and now it was he who looked into the darkness.
“Aisha, do you realize that this might be our last time to have a heart-to-heart conversation? We will be at war soon and who knows what could happen afterwards.”
Aisha Kertabhumi a.k.a Black Canary, glanced at her father for a moment, then fixed her gaze to the dark open space in front of her. She looked up to the sky but the sky was as dark as the night. She didn’t say anything.
“My dear Aisha, what is troubling your mind? I know you have never been in a war before.….”
Aisha turned her head to her father and spoke. Her face turned red, trying to hold control of her emotion.
“That’s the problem father. I am a trained warrior, yet I have never been in a war. Not once, in my life. Now we are about to have the greatest battle in the history of Kandaka and what about me? What about me, father? Have I given a chance to proof that I’m as good as the male warriors or better? No. Never!!”
She fell silent again and sighed. She turned her head away, but the General saw tears falling down her cheeks. He knew his daughter well. He had known about her frustrations years ago. He had seen that hopeless stare in her eyes. However, he couldn’t do anything. He had tried to recruit her in the army or join the team of top fighters to no avail. Although she was highly qualified for the job, they rejected her because she was a woman. King Kalingga who had seen her ability knew better that she was best to be assigned in a more delicate work. Delicate in physical terms, however more dangerous.
“You know I’m better than they are.” She finally said.
“I know, my dear. The King has given you special assignment to protect the Princess. That is an equally honorable task.”
Aisha couldn’t believe her ears. She turned and looked at her father in the eyes.
“Honorable? I am a warrior, father. You trained me to become one. The King had turned me into an assassin. Tell me, father, where is the honor in killing people in silence? Hiding in darkness to kill your enemy while he turns his back on you or using poisons to terminate someone’s life…. is that what you call honorable?”
Aisha couldn’t restrain her emotion any longer. She blew up in front of her father, saying her words in sharp tones.
“Protecting the Princess is a task for a bodyguard, father. Not for me. I am talented enough to go and join you in the front line. And you know that. Among all people in this Kingdom, you know that I’m right. If I had a choice, I would rather leave and just be an ordinary woman. You know, get married, and raise children. Being a warrior brings me nowhere, father. ”
“I know, my child. I know that. Sometimes, we can’t get what we want the most. Instead we get things that we do not want. That’s life, Aisha. Who says it’s fair? You just have to learn to accept it, and make it better as best as you can.”
He came closer to her and held her in his arms. Aisha’s cry died down as soon as she felt the warmth of her father’s arm. It felt so safe. She felt her burden was taken away suddenly. She closed her eyes and held him tighter.
“I don’t always agree with the King’s decisions. I don’t always like the assignments he gave me. The King often rejected my ideas and I could only try to make the best out of the experience. That next time I should come up with new ideas and that I should understand more. And you see, I have been His Majesty’s favorite General for the longest time. And you know that His Majesty hears me out more often now. He even lets you join the court meetings, out of respect towards me. All this you can not achieve in two or three years. Sometimes it takes forever to be trusted.”
Aisha smiled, looking at him. Her father was the wisest man she had ever met. And no matter what her problems were, he seemed to know the right words to pull her back on track. This time was no different.
“I guess I trusted people too easily that I expect people to trust me easily too.” She said.
“Yes. Like I said, sometimes it takes forever to trust someone. Your becoming the first female assassin was a giant step in His Majesty’s history. It would take longer time to make a leap having a female in the army. Just be patient, my dear. There will come a time for you to show yourself. Maybe it’s not now, and it’s not here. The world is changing fast, my child. The time will come sooner. I believe that.”
Aisha smiled and kissed her father on the cheek. She knew the problem had nothing to do with trust. It was because she was a woman. No men, no soldiers, in this army would allow themselves to be ruled by a woman. Her father’s word confirmed that.
“I love you, father. Thank you.”
“Good night, my dear.”
Wesi Bhuwana awakened from his sleep. He sat up right on the bed, bare-chested. He checked on his brother and Banyu was still fast asleep. He thought he heard noises from a far. Had it been a dream? No. There he just heard it again. Quickly he jumped and looked out the window. Suddenly he felt his Goosebumps had risen up. The scene in front of him was horrifying. He saw hundreds… no thousands of torches in a distant. He could hear the noises of clinging of sword fights carried by the wind. He couldn’t see anything because it was too far and too dark to see.
Quickly he awakened Banyu.
“Quick, brother, get dressed. I think the city is under attack.”
Banyu didn’t waste time. They both got dressed and collected their weapons. Banyu looked to the window and he too felt his hair rising at the sight of it. Both Princes had never seen any war before.
“Well, there goes my wedding ceremony, Wesi.” He managed to say.
Wesi didn’t answer. He pulled Banyu away from the window and together they exited the chamber. They ran towards the main hall. Many people were running and shouting in panic.
“We are under siege!!” They said over and over again.
Wesi and Banyu finally stop running. They were confused.
“Where should we go, Wesi? These people are running around without direction.”
“I think we should find General Arung Laga.”
“That’s a brilliant idea. Let’s start looking then. Should we start from the kitchen?”
Wesi didn’t comment on Banyu’s sarcastic joke. Being raised together had made him gotten used to it.
“We should go back to our chamber, brother Banyu. If we can’t find him, he’ll find us.”
“What makes you think he’s still here?”
Wesi looked at Banyu in disbelief.
“He’s here. He won’t leave without us.” Wesi said.
“Oh you’re so innocent. You make me cry, Wesi. Come now, let’s just go there.”
“Where?”
“The main hall. That’s the only way we know from here. Come on, lazy boy. Move your legs and run.”
They ran as fast as they could, using their inner force, only to find that halfway to the hall had been destroyed. Ghowa soldiers had won and forced their way into the palace. They must have slept too long, or they had been too tired to hear all the commotion earlier. There were 2 layers of defense to this city and the enemies had gotten through both of them. There was no time for them to think now. They turned and went back the way they came. Now it was clear to them why those people were running around without direction. It seemed that all the way out of this wing to the other sections of the palace had been blocked. Wesi now remembered that General Arung Laga slept in the other wing. There was no way for him to rescue them. Banyu was right after all.
It was fortunate that both Princes were wearing casual clothes and had left all of their royal identifications behind with exception of the royal pendants hung to their necklaces. The pendants were the ones that should stay with them till the day they died.
Ghowa soldiers killed without exception. Women and children didn’t escape their arrows and swords. Their bodies were scattered on the ground. The smell of blood was thick and almost made them puke. Wesi felt he couldn’t run anymore. He wanted so badly to help them, but Banyu held him on the wrist and dragged him running as fast as the wind. Arrows coming after them like bees around a flower. Banyu had to let go of Wesi’s hand to cover himself from the flying arrows. Wesi too, was busy. It was the second level of The Strike of 1000 Whirling Winds that they were using to shield themselves from the arrows. They used the force of the whirling winds like an armor around them. Every arrow that hit the shield would break. It was quite easy for them to blast away the arrows with one strike.
Then again, it was experience that made a difference in a battle. The two young Princes might be quite talented and powerful, yet they had no experience in battlefield at all. By the end of 5 minutes, they finally found a dead end. They had run through corridors and open fields and now in front of them were the palace walls. It was too high to climb, even if they used their inner force.
“These place is like a fortress!” Wesi complained.
“Blast it, Wesi. I will cover you. Blast the wall open. I know you have studied the Book of Light.”
They were cornered like rats now. Still the soldiers didn’t dare to come too close, realizing that their skills were far beyond them. They only hope that the archers would hit one of them soon. From the air of their faces, the soldiers could easily guess that they were royals. Which meant they should be taken hostages, instead of being killed.
“I haven’t finished studying it, brother. I don’t know if… ”
“Well you have but one choice now, Wesi. Or we both die.”
Wesi realized that too. He didn’t doubt that the soldiers would kill them. He only doubted his ability. White Fox had never told him how good he was and he had never used his force to destroy anything but rag dolls as a target practice.
“Are you gonna blast it open on New Year’s eve?” Banyu shouted at him.
Wesi quickly prepared himself for the Lightning Strike. He gathered his inner force in both his palms. He guessed the thickness of the walls. His palms were beginning to feel warm. A sign that he had successfully gathered his inner force. It was such a great energy he had to gather that his palms started to feel hot and itchy. He let out a scream as he pushed out the energy through his palms to the walls. With a loud booming sound followed by a blitz of bright light part of the walls in front of them turned into dust.
The rush of energy had made the air around them felt hot like fire. Banyu had to cover himself and shield the hot air with the third level of the Strike of 1000 Whirling Winds. The soldiers who hadn’t suspected anything became the victims. The ones who suffered the direct hit were barbecued alive, while those standing further got burnt badly. The air suddenly filled with sickening stench of burnt flesh. While they were busy putting of the fires from their friends’ bodies, both Princes flew away. An archer saw them and he quickly aimed. But the Princes were too fast for his arrows.
“Go! Go! Go!”
Vice General Dharmana shouted. Black Canary took the Princess’ hand and pulled her. She half lifted her off the ground as she ran behind Vice General Dharmana…. Flying as she was flying behind him. By using their inner force, they could boost the energy flowing through their legs, made them run so fast almost flying.
“No!! Father!! I want to be with my father!!” Princess Kemala Chandra Puspita cried out.
Black Canary wanted so badly to gag the Princess’ mouth because that was what she kept shouting over and over again. Canary hardly believed that the King had died. Apparently, more than one assassin had been working undercover all this time. When the siege had begun, the assassins quickly located the King and killed him instantly. It had been her who found him lying on the ground in his chamber. Two blades were stuck in his chest. His eyes were open and blood came running out of his mouth. Princess Kemala was also there, hiding under the bed, badly shaken.
Finally they reached the bunker. VG Dharmana opened the secret door and led them in. “Go now, Canary. Save the Princess. This way goes underground. It will lead you just outside the city wall.”
Black Canary grabbed his arm, “What about you?”
VG Dharmana smiled, “I will go back to help your father.”
“I want to fight too.” She said again.
VG Dharmana nodded his head and patted her shoulder.
“I know. I’m gonna need you too. But who’s gonna take care of the Princess? Go now, Canary.”
Black Canary didn’t move an inch. The Princess seemed confused too. She had seen her father’s horrible death and it almost shook insanity out of her head.
VG Dharmana came closer and landed a light kiss on Canary’s cheek. She was surprised. So was the Princess.
“I’ve always wanted to do that. Please go now, while you still have the chance.”
He said again, caressing Canary’s hair. He seemed out of his character. Canary had never known that Dharmana had a crush on her. There was only one reason now why he showed his affection towards her.
“We are not gonna win, are we?.” Canary said.
Dharmana patted her shoulders again, “Perhaps today is a good day to die.”
He quickly exited the bunker and locked the door.
“I guess there’s no use running after all.” Canary thought, lighting the torch.
“Come on.” She said to Princess Kemala.
“I do not want to go!!” She answered stubbornly.
Black Canary wanted the same thing, but she had given her promise to the King. And as a warrior she knew that although the King was deceased she was bound by the promise she had made. She closed her eyes to clear her mind, then opened them again. With a quick move she knocked her fingers to two nerves center on the Princess’ neck.
She took the Princess body, slumped it over her right shoulder and started to run. Black Canary ran as fast as she could with the burden on her shoulder; her left hand holding the torch. She had been running for ten minutes when suddenly the tunnel branched into two ways. She stopped. She cursed under her heavy breathing. It was unfortunate that VG Dharmana had forgotten to mention about this branch. She didn’t have much time to think, so she took the left tunnel, hoping there would be no more branching in front of her. Running alone in the dark with only the torch in her hand that lighted the way, she couldn’t keep her mind from thinking about her parents. Her father must have fought bravely, yet she didn’t know what would come to pass with her mother.
Finally she came to a stop. The tunnel had ended suddenly and she quickly browsed around for a way out. There was a trap door above her. She could reach it easily, however it would need more than just a push to open it. She put down the Princess on the ground and started to concentrate flowing her inner strength into her palms. With one blow, the trap door gave away. She took the Princess body first and let her out of the tunnel. Then she came out too as quickly as she could manage.
Black Canary looked around her with horror. She hardly believed her eyes. She had obviously taken a wrong turn. What she saw in front of her was not the city wall as VG Dharmana had described, instead she was in the outer boundary of the battlefield. It was such a dramatic scene she saw. Quickly she hid herself and the Princess out of sight. The sound of metal blades and the scream of death were sickening. The air was filled with fume from the fire. The Ghowa soldiers had burnt almost all buildings around the city. The fire reached so high, reddening the sky. When the wind blew, she could feel the hot air around her. It was hell on Earth. She saw hundreds or thousands of dead bodies. The ground beneath them was becoming soft from the river of blood.
Suddenly her eyes caught some movement on the right side of the battlefield. From a far she could see a man jumping out slaying Ghowa soldiers. Around him were Kandaka soldiers fighting bravely. Although Black Canary could not see the man clearly, but from the style he was using she could identify him as her father, General Kertabhumi. A moment later more Ghowa soldiers came to help their comrades and surrounded the Kandaka fighters. From the number, Black Canary could predict the end of the fight. Her heart was torn in two now. Part of her wanted to fight side by side with her father. She realized however, that a promise she made was more important. One woman would not change the odds. She closed her eyes again. Tears ran slowly down her cheeks. She shook her head and took the Princess on her shoulder again and started to walk away. Before she went too far she suddenly heard a loud cheering voice. She stopped instantly and turned around to look.
She saw more of the Kandaka soldiers had been slain and the Ghowa soldiers were tossing up one body on the air. When it landed they tossed it up again. She could hear their laughter and caught some of the words. She suddenly lost her will to survive.
“No!! Father!! FATHER!!!!” She screamed in tears.
She dropped herself on the ground, putting away the Princess’ body in front of her. For a moment she cried silently, sitting on the ground, clutching at her black robe tightly. The noises around her suddenly died down and she felt a terrible loneliness. For a few minutes she struggled with her feelings, trying hard to fight back the tears. Slowly she began to hear the noises around her again, as she started to gain her self-control. Slowly she stood up, picking up the Princess and looked to the sea of fire in the distant for the last time.
“Goodbye father. Please forgive me.” She whispered.
She turned her back and headed east to the city wall. Running among the dead bodies, she didn’t once turn her head again to the ruin of Kandaka city. The burden she carried now was not only physical. Her heart was bearing more than her body. Crying, she ran as fast as her feet could take her. When she reached the city border she turned to the North. Crying still, carrying the Princess she ran towards Langgeng Swantosa, a region of the slaves.
The two Princes ran out of the Palace as quick as they could. The soldiers had stopped running after them. However, they had not any idea where to run. So, they went out to the open and instinctively ran towards the center of the battlefield, caught in the middle.
“That’s General Arung Laga over there!”
Wesi shouted to Banyu who was busy driving away arrows and blades that were flying around them. Wesi pull out his sword and started to fight beside his brother. They both easily wiped up Ghowa soldiers around them and found a way to run to the General’s side.
In a distant they could also see General Kertabhumi and Vice General Dharmana fought bravely. General Arung Laga, although felt thankful for their presence did not forget his duty. He started to advance forward and made way for the two Princes to run.
“Go now, Your Highness. Run and save yourselves. This battle is lost already.” He said.
Wesi nodded and pulled his brother away. Banyu, reluctantly followed him to leave the battlefield. It wasn’t easy for them to get away once they were alone again, for the Ghowa soldiers seemed to arrive more and more. They were like waves that rushed to the shore… they kept coming. Banyu lost his patience and killed about twenty people at once with level 6 of the Strike of 1000 Whirling Winds. There were totally 10 levels of it, but both Princes had not perfected it yet. They could only use the style effectively until level 7. It would take more meditation and practice for them to match their father who had mastered all 10 levels of the style.
However, using the style over and over again had proven ineffective when the enemies kept coming in. The situation was chaotic, especially when the Kandaka soldiers had been outnumbered by 1 – 10. Only spirit and faith and loyalty that made them kept fighting.
The two Princes had run across the field when they were finally forced to fight again. Banyu had drained his inner force and was beginning to feel tired. He could only strike with level 2 or 3 of his style. If he forced himself to use above the level, he would have damaged his body and bleed internally. It was fortunate that Wesi was stronger. He could still fought using level 6 of the 1000 Whirling Winds. It was at that critical moment when they saw a blade swinging on the air above them. It was not aimed for them. Wesi quickly saw that it was aimed at General Kertabhumi. Wesi tried to block the flying blade with his strike, but it was too high and he was too busy blocking the attacks aimed at him at the same time. He had to jump to block the flying blade and for a moment his concentration was split in two tasks. Protecting his brother and saving the general’s head. The blow he aimed at the blade was a few seconds too late and the flying blade slipped away. At the same second, an arrow passed under his arm and landed on Banyu’s unprotected back. The arrow went through from his right shoulder to his right chest, piercing a part of his lungs.
Wesi shouted to the General, not realizing that his brother had been hit.
“General, BEHIND YOU!!!” He shouted.
At the same moment, Banyu screamed in agony and dropped to the ground. Wesi didn’t hear it for he was shouting and looking in horror when General Kertabhumi’s head fell down to the ground. Wesi quickly look around and was shocked to see Banyu’s body was already on the ground. He picked him up quickly and jumped as high as he could, using his inner force to get out of the battle. The Ghowa soldiers suddenly stopped attacking. They were cheering and took General Kertabhumi’s headless body. They threw it on the air and before it landed they caught it and threw it again over and over. The head was taken to their General. The remaining of Kandaka soldiers fled from the battlefield. Some Ghowa soldiers let them flee, but some who had cruel heart took them and slain them on the spot.
Wesi flew away, heading North. He remembered there was a small, poor region on the North of Kandaka, which hills connected to the road to the Gap of Jelamprong. He couldn’t take the road to the East, for he knew the Ghowa soldiers must have had it barricaded to prevent anyone from escaping to Genta Bhuwana. So they seemed to have to travel through the mountains.
He looked back as he ran, and saw the sea of fire. His heart beat faster, his head was spinning. There were various emotions he felt mixing up in his heart. Anger, sadness and fear all together at the same time. He shook his head to clear his mind. Wesi was a tender man. For one night he had seen so much violence and blood more than he had ever seen in his lifetime. Unwillingly, his tears fell. He didn’t want to cry now. Not this time. But he couldn’t help it. Prince Wesi kept on running…..
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The Tale of Three Princes – Chapter 3