Chapter 69: Search for the Pond of Eternal Sentience- Part 2 [Veer]
Veer opened his eyes and what he saw baffled him. There was not one human in the lake. The knights and the maidens had disappeared, leaving behind all linens and clothes and oils and other rinsing items. Veer sprang to his feet and dashed towards the lake. It was eerily still, with no trace of his companions. He even ran to check the other side of the lake, but that too was in vain. It was as if they were swallowed whole by the earth.
Dejected, Veer hurried back to where he was watching over Guru Briharshi's belongings and anxiously waited for the guru's return. Guru Briharshi came strolling back not long after, with many flowers, fruits, and leaves crammed in his sack.
"Guruji," Veer rushed to the old man and bowed. "Something awful has happened. The men have all vanished, and I suspect a spell."
"Vanished where?" Guru Briharshi looked here and there, his eyes suddenly alert and darting.
Vidyut began to recount the events. "I was meditating by your belongings and practicing my mantras with my eyes closed. The men were all rinsing in the lake. Then, a group of maidens arrived and entered the lake." He stole a glance at his guru, who was quietly nodding while inspecting the area. "They began to ask our knights all kinds of questions, and a few moments later, they were all gone."
Guru Briharshi's brows were knotted in deep thought as he listened to Veer's account. "And you suspect a spell?"
"If not, what else can act so quickly?"
"If there was a spell, there must be a spell caster." The guru mused as if it was more of a scholastic interest to him than a matter of life and death. "Do you have a notion of who that might be?"
Veer painfully recalled the lessons on spells. Among humans, only the tantrics and some sages could cast spells, but a vanishing spell was too powerful an incantation for them. Among inhumans, Asuras were notorious for casting spells, but their clans were extremely rare in this region. That left the nature spirits, the Gandharvas and Yakshas, and only one of them could be this mischievous and wicked.
"A Yaksha!" Veer exclaimed.
"Yes!" Guru Briharshi slapped the youth on his shoulder. "You have been listening to my lessons, after all. Now, come with me. We must find the Yaksha and rescue our friends before he devours them." Guru Briharshi declared with a chilling calmness that made Veer shudder.
Veer and Guru Briharshi left the grassy meadow and made their way into the nearby jungle, searching for the knights. Gnarly trees with wide-spreading roots weaved a net of hurdles. Time to time, unsuspecting travelers would walk into those traps or entirely lose their way in the deepest parts of the woods, never to be seen again. Both men carried a sword to cut down the low-hanging branches and twigs and carve a path across the jungle.
"Keep an eye for the sentinel tree." Guru Briharshi reminded Veer, his gaze watchful and alert. "Yakshas favor trickery over real combat. In this dense forest, any thorny shrub, any little plant could be their sanctuary. They will likely use enchantment as they did with our fools earlier and hide the true form of their home. It would appear as anything but a sentinel tree. " Guru Briharshi's wisdom poured in uninterrupted as the master and the pupil trudged deeper into the forest.
"Guruji," Veer's stifled call froze the master in his path, and he turned towards Veer. The pupil was staring at an old, mighty tree, shady and gnarled, larger than any other in the vicinity. If there were one sentinel tree in the entire jungle that was home to a Yaksha, this would be it. The two men slinked towards the tree, their swords drawn and ready for any ambush. When they reached before it, they were stunned into silence by what they saw.
Wooden male and female figures were carved onto the tree trunk. The male figures were carved as fearsome warriors, their armors on their bodies, their weapons in their hands. The female figures were suave and voluptuous with heavy bosom and hips and narrow waists. While the male figures stood straight and tall, the females swayed in elegant serpentine gestures as if they were dancing to an enchanting melody, their fingers held in beautiful mudras.
"Magnificent." The guru whispered, awestruck.
Veer was speechless. Even in his wildest dreams, he would not have imagined anything as peculiar as this.
"Is this the sentinel tree, Guruji?" Veer did not have to ask, but he could not miss the rare occasion of his master making an error.
"I would be a blind and a fool if I say no. Regard the number of warriors sculpted on its trunk, Veer. How many do you see?"
"Ten."
The guru slowly bobbed his head. The implication was clear. The ten warriors were none other than the ten knights of RakhtaPrastha, now trapped in the trunk of the sentinel tree. The master and the pupil needed to find a way to set them free before their life force was drained out entirely by the malevolent Yaksha that resided in the tree.
Seeing no other choice, the guru decided to appeal to the Yaksha's nobility.
"O mighty Yaksha, the guardian of this forest and of the lands that are nigh, please accept regards from me and my pupil." The two men kowtowed in front of the tree. "I request you to release our men." Guru Briharshi's powerful voice echoed through the forest. No spirit could ignore the formidable plea, and yet, there was nothing but silence in response.
The guru recited his prayers several times, but all fell into deaf ears. And each time, he grew more desperate. Before long, he lost his patience and openly challenged the Yaksha in a bid to draw any form of response. Veer did not interrupt, knowing how foul his master's temper was.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
FantasyBliss30
FantasyBliss30 Author's Notes:
Yakshas: are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha
Mudra: is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, usually in dance.
Gifts
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received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone