At the Malava Islands,
The trajectory of the emerald shoreline was suddenly interrupted by the silhouette of a solitary female figure who sat beside a boat tied to a peg on the shore. Her billowing robes and tresses streamed in the wild and restless air of the evening. She had been sitting in the same posture for hours without moving a single muscle of her body or batting her eyelids.

A casual onlooker could even mistake her to be a statue. There was a momentum even in her silence and position of stasis as though quite a lot was running within her and she did not want to dissipate that tremulous flow of energy within by dissipating it in outward movements and words. After the last birds had forsaken the skies for the night and returned to the coziness of their homes and nests, she slowly rose up and made her way to a small hillock near the shore where the waves constantly caressed it day and night.

She fingered her bodice to reach out for a knife that was secretly perched in one of the inner folds of garments. With a quick flick of her fingers, she left a sharp line on its rocky surface. There were many lines like the one she had just made on the hillock. But they all seemed to have been made at a previous date than the current line.

Malli, one of her friends who had come in search of her watched her in fascination, "Everyday you sit here  on the shore facing the same direction for hours together. After that you make that mark on the hillock and then return home. I wonder what you see there in that vacantness, Aparaajitha?"

"That is the direction in which Mahishmati lies....MY HOME. Every night I make that mark on that hillock so that I can remember how many days I have spent in exile away from my original home", Aparaajitha said. "Did mother send you for me?"

"Yes, Annapoorna Amma sent me to look for you. She told me you would be here", Malli continued in a chirpy and cheerful voice, humming a soft tune as she danced her way behind the slow, measured and steady steps of her friend. "You know I was a toddler when I came here. I hardly remember anything of Mahishmati. Just vague memories of fields and houses burning. I try not to think of them because they disturb my sleep and appetite for days together....By the way, do you still remember Mahishmati?"

"One remembers only what one forgets.....And I have never forgotten Mahishmati for even a single second. I don't run away from my memories. I rather invite them. Good or bad, they are mine", Aparaajitha said after a long pause.

"Have you never wanted to return back to Mahishmati?" Her inquisitive friend queried.

Aparaajitha did not say anything in reply. She kept walking back in silence. And receiving no satisfactory response, Malli reverted back to other trivial topics.
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Malli and Aparaajitha reached the entrance of a small, cozy and comfortable hut where they parted ways. Annapoorna sat near the door sifting the rice for impurities by flapping a wicker tray up and down in the air. Observing her at work, Aparaajitha offered, "Let me help you with this!"

Annapoorna nodded her head contrarily, "This is almost done!" She rose up and placed the sifted grains in a corner near the fireplace so that they could be used for the morrow. "I was waiting for you so that both of us can have dinner together. Wash your hands and legs and sit down! I will serve the food for you."

Aparaajitha did not say anything in reply. She sensed that her foster parent was in one of her morose and lethargic moods. Looking after her and taking care of her needs and wants was the only thing that distracted her from her cares and worries in a good way. Both mother and daughter ate the meal in silence. After the meal had concluded, the daughter broached the topic of what was worrying her parent, "Are you thinking about that condition put forth by Emperor Sharyar?"

"Yes......But how do you know I was thinking about it? I wish we weren't boxed into such a situation of choosing between the devil and deep sea. My mind is not at ease."

"But mother, you accepted it in the best interests of all of us. There was nothing we could do in the existing circumstances. We need those army regiments very badly. We need this alliance more than Emperor Sharyar needs us. All these years we have grown our army strength and prowess. But every time, in comparison with Subhahu, we have remained ten steps behind", said Aparaajitha trying to comfort her mother.

After a pause, Aparaajitha hesitantly began, "We will never be able to defeat our enemies until we know how the exact ground situation is in Mahishmati. We have already received reports that several parts in Subahu's vast empire are rising up in rebellion. Several kings have united hands against him. If we are in Mahishmati, we might be able to take adavantage of this situation. We have to meet our enemies' enemies and form tactical alliances with them. Mother...if you allow me....I will...."

"Stop there, Aparaajitha. Your mother will take care of all those things", Annapoorna gruffly remarked cutting short Aparaajitha's words midair even before she could fully voice them.

Aparaajitha cried out in frustration, "What is so wrong if I want to help you in your endeavors? I am no longer that small girl whom you are trying to shield and hide behind the hem of your saree from the rest of the world."

"I don't wish to discuss! You will always be my little girl for me. I have lost quite a lot in my life. I can relinquish my dreams of reconquest and revenge. At this stage in my life, all those things seem quite immaterial. You alone matter for me", Annapoorna reacting fiercely to her daughter's words. "If you want to proceed on this path, forget that you have a mother! Consider me dead before you embark on that wild quest."

Aparaajitha was apparently nettled by the restrictions and bonds imposed on her by her mother's excessive love and over-protectiveness for her. But she would never be old enough to refute or ignore her mother's wishes, fears and insecurities over her own. If only there was some way of making her foster mother willingly let go of her.

The dangers of the mission she was raring to go on were many and the success chances of the mission very few. Once she set foot on the soil of Mahishmati, her life would be in perpetual danger. She would be risking discovery and a cruel death. But even at such tremendous odds, she wanted to die trying rather than live in inaction. They had spent thirteen years in exile doing nothing much. And their current status quo wouldn't change unless she took the initiative to change things into her own hands.
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The next morning,
The small children were running hither and thither jumping for joy, "Our fleet has landed at the Varuni island. They are unloading all the stuff. Our supplies have arrived. By today afternoon, everyone will be here. Our Mrithyunjay Anna is back. It's festival time!"

Their fleet of ships usually landed in the farthest island of Varuni while most of their habitations, settlements and farms were in the interior islands of Malava. All their ships and naval bases were located on the Varuni island of Malava.

The shallow waters, the strutting islets that jutted and projected out angularly, the occasional sandbars and dunes that rose up without a warning and the tricky incoming and outgoing tides made it feasible for all the bigger vessels to be stationed and anchored outside. Then all the supplies and purchases were brought on boats and canoes little by little.

It would take months for their mercantile expedition once it went into the high seas to return. When they were near the waters of other kingdoms, they usually flew the flags of the kingdoms of their allies. They even procured a few testimonials from influential officials and officers of that kingdom by bribing them with hefty sums so that they wouldn't be questioned too deeply about these ships and where all these pearls, crystals, gems and exotic spices that they sold were actually from.

The return of the mercantile expedition signaled a surplus of provisions, food items and other amenities and supplies for at least a few months before they began depleting again and they would again fall back on their usual minimum rations. This trading mission was undertaken once a year by Mrithyunjay, Samarth and his crew. So whenever they returned victorious from another seafaring venture, the welcome they were accorded by all the inhabitants of the islands was very warm and rousing. The atmosphere for the first few days at least was akin to any other festival.
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That afternoon,
As everyone sat around in the open clearing, Mrityunjay and Samarth gave their profit and loss balance statement, "This is how much we sold the things we took.....This is what we made as profit.....These are the provisions and supplies we brought with the money....These are the weapons and logistics we acquired ....This much has been expended during the journey for our expenses.......Our ships had a minor brush with the dreaded sea pirate, Simhamukha and his pirates....We managed to give him the slip but some of our vessels incurred damages which we had to get repaired after we escaped from there.....So these are those additional expenses that were incurred.......We recruited more people on the mainland in Mahishmati, Vijayapuri and Ashwakootam to expand our spy network. All of them are extremely reliable and efficient.....The mercantile expedition has overall been very profitable this time."

As they finished, everyone clapped their hands in appreciation. Mrithyunjay and Samarth handed over the remaining money to Annapoorna for safekeeping. After this formality was over, she spoke, "Our current strongroom is brimming to its fullest capacity. So we need to construct a new structure to store our profits, supplies and arms from this expedition. That work will start tomorrow. But now it's time to celebrate. Food has been served. I invite all of you to join us. We have made many traditional delicacies of Mahishmati and Vijayapuri. I hope all of you will enjoy it."
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