The Wrath of Gammon

Disclaimer: This story is my humble attempt to write a fanfiction of the epic Mahabharata. My intention is not to hurt anyone's sentiment.

Aum Namah Shivay!!

Major Jayant Roy, SM is a fictitious character. Any similarity with any living person is merely a coincidence.

Chapter 35

Hastinapur, Dwapar Yuga

Bhishma POV

The five Pandavas weren't present here. Even Duryodhana and his wife weren't here too. To tell the truth, Hastinapur was not the same without them. I missed the calm presence of Yudhisthir and the mysterious aura of Duryodhana. I missed the loud laughter of Bheem and the presence of Arjun. I missed the twins too.

I was sitting in my room, thinking about the situation in front of Hastinapur. After our victory over Magadha, I could see a political polarisation coming towards us. The attack on Duryodhana and his wife was something that forced me to think deeply. My political experience and gut feelings were telling me that there was some big conspiracy behind everything. The attackers shouted the name of Maharaja Drupad...it was another thing that reeked of a conspiracy.

"Mahamahim Bhishma ki jay ho!" a soldier entered into my room. I looked at him. He bowed to me,

"Rajkumar Yudhisthir is coming back, along with his brothers and Maharani Draupadi. A horseman just came and gave that news. They already reached the border of Hastinapur."

I stood up with joy. It was really great news.

"Have you passed this message to Maharaja Dhritarashtra?" I asked him. The soldier nodded and informed that another soldier went to him with the news. Then he went outside after bowing his head to me. I walked out from my room and walked towards the main gate. The servants were already there, preparing for a grand welcome for the Pandavas. I spotted Kripacharya and Vidura standing there, supervising the work. Dronacharya was standing beside them, with a calm smile in his lips. He was the first to spot me, and gestured Kripacharya and Vidura. The three of us walked towards me and greeted whole heartedly. I returned their greetings too. The four of us were talking, when we saw both Dhritarashtra and Gandhari walking towards us, supported by Sanjay and Sugada.

A few moments later, we saw the chariot of Yudhisthir. Beside his, his brothers were on their respective chariots. But then I saw another unknown chariot, on which Panchali was sitting. But she was not alone. A tall, thin man was sitting beside her. He was clad in armour, and had a sword on his waist. I couldn't see his face, because it was covered with a part of his turban. The man looked at me, and our eyes met. Those eyes seemed familiar to me. It felt like I knew those eyes from a long time ago. Those hate filled eyes...I saw them somewhere before, but where?

The four Pandavas came to us, and they took our blessings. Then I saw Draupadi walking towards me, but there was something in her facial expression that shocked me. It felt like not a human being, but a burning fire was walking towards me. I even felt the heat. I quickly glanced at the two Acharya and Vidura, who were looking a bit worried. Panchali came and took blessings from us and then she walked away.

"Please forgive her, Pitamah. From when she heard the news of Arjun and Subhadra getting married in Mathura, she was burning in anger. None of us can manage to calm her down."

"Wait a minute, Arjun married Subhadra? Then, what about Duryodhana?"

Yudhisthir heaved a deep sigh.

"Arjun abducted Subhadra, but it was Subhadra who held the reins of the chariot. The Yadavas were angry at first, but Vasudev Krishna managed to calm them down. Dau Balrama welcomed them with open arms."

"But what was the reaction of Duryodhana? Was he angry with Arjun?"

Yudhisthir nodded his head negatively.

"As much as I know, he is neither angry, nor sad. But he is able to mask his emotions, so I can't tell you what is going in mind."

I nodded affirmatively. Yudhisthir was right. The eldest Kaurava had the ability to cover his emotions, just like the dark clouds had the ability to cover the blue sky. After meeting with all of us, Yudhisthir went inside with his brothers. Now, the mysterious young man was standing there alone.

He stepped down from his chariot then slowly walked towards me. He stood in front of me and then unmasked his face. His face was familiar and his eyes were more familiar. Then suddenly, like a flash of lightning, memories started coming in my mind.

"I will come back, Bhishma. I will reborn and reborn until I become the cause of your death! Gangaputra Bhishma, mark my words."

My line of thoughts broke when a voice came inside my ears.

"Gangaputra Bhishma, please accept the regards of Rajkumar Shikhandi, son of Maharaja Drupad."

I looked at the face again. I could find the similarities between the two, a woman from my past and the man standing in front of me. Both of them had similar eyes, with the same anger and hatred in them. Shikhandi gave me a sarcastic smirk then walked inside of the palace. I looked at his passing form.

"I have a boon of choosing the time of my own death. I am carrying my life with my own hands, now here is someone who might be the cause of my death. But, I just want to see my Hastinapur to be safe and in proper hands. Mahadev, is that too much to ask?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and saw Dronacharya standing beside me. He probably sensed the expressions of despair and sadness in my face. We were the students of the same teacher, and we were brother-in-arms too. We fought together in war, along with...

"Ashwatthama?" I heard the Acharya spoke with shock. I looked at the gate and saw another chariot entering the palace. Ashwatthama was standing on it. Beside him, I saw Dussasan standing on his chariot. Both of them stopped in front of us. The two young men came in front of us and bowed. We blessed them both, though I didn't miss the expressions of tension in their faces.

"Dussasan, you and Gandharraj went to Mathura together, but now you are here with Ashwatthama? Where is your Jyesth Bhrata? Where is Gandharraj?"

Ashwatthama looked at us.

"Pitashri, Mahamahim, Mahamantri, Mamashri, we have very important news to tell you. The dark cloud of danger is coming towards us. We must take steps to prevent it; else it will be too late."

We were all shocked. We, the people of older generation looked at each other.

"What do you mean?" Dronacharya asked him, without masking his shock.

"Not here, Acharya. Let's go to my room. Dussasan, Ashwatthama, come with us. Vidura, Kulguru, you too come with me."

"One moment, Pitamah...we must call Angraaj too. This matter concerns him also."

We quickly went to my room, and after taking our respective seats, I looked at Ashwatthama. He was trying to be calm, but the gem in his forehead was glowing, showing his anger. A few moments later, Karna entered in the room. He probably guessed something from the atmosphere in the room. After he greeted us and took a sit, I looked at Ashwatthama, gesturing him to speak.

"The attack on us in southern Panchal was organised by the king of Salwa. He used his flying machine, the Sauva Vimana to spy on us and at the night he attacked on us."

We were all shocked. Karna's face was burning in anger. His fists clenched automatically. He tries to stand up, but I stopped him.

"Angraaj, do not take any decisions in anger. I feel that Ashwatthama isn't finished."

He slowly sat down, but I could feel that he was still burning in anger. I couldn't blame him. His wife was injured there.

"Shalva isn't alone in this conspiracy. Poundrak Vasudev is with him; actually he is the brain behind all of this. Now, they have managed to strike an alliance with Kichaka."

"The commander of Matsya kingdom?", Kripacharya spoke slowly.

"He is not just a commander, Kulguru. He is the power behind the throne. Maharaja Virat was just a king by name in Matsya, whereas Kichaka has the power.", I slowly spoke.

"Kichaka is planning to attack Trigarta kingdom.", Dussasan spoke for the first time. I looked at him, with question in my eyes.

"Vasudev Krishna got this news and he passed it to Jyesth Bhrata. Jyesth Bhrata passed this news to me and Mamashri. Then he sends Mamashri as an emissary to Maharaja Brihadvala."

"Maharaja Brihadvala of Koshala kingdom?", Dronacharya spoke slowly, "Why will he help us?"

"In the swyamvar, he and Jyesth Bhrata became friends.", Dussasan spoke slowly.

All of us sat silently for sometimes. The situation was really becoming grave.

"We must prepare ourselves. If Kichaka attacked Trigarta, and we can't do anything, then it will become a matter of embarrassment for us. We must be ready for everything."

All of them agreed with me then they took their leave, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I slowly sat on my couch and closed my eyes. But I couldn't concentrate. Two angry, hateful eyes covered my mind and soul.

"Arjun, where are you? I need you Putra, come back!"

So this is chapter 35. I hope that you all enjoyed the Durga Puja and Navratri.

Also, Subha Vijaya Dashami to all my readers.Please read, vote and comment.