It was a dark time. On the very first day of the 147th year of the Silver Calendar, the Murzaan Empire had already seized the Southern lands of the continent by ruthless means. No king, no kingdom, no warrior was strong enough to fight the vicious Azael Aftaab Murzaan, the ruling King of the Murzaan Dynasty.
Azael Aftaab Murzaan had been crowned a king at only age fourteen. And what happened when someone so young had inherited such power, with a harem of a thousand concubines and widowed queens, whose husbands Aftaab had proudly beheaded with his mammoth Army?
Emperor Aftaab was no ordinary king. He was raised by wolves- the Chief of Army Quila Kahan, whom he called Kahan Baba (father), and his father's beloved mistress Mazala Shieza, whom he called Ammi (mother) and they, together, had raised him to be ruthless, vicious, and unforgiving. He knew only one thing- win, conquer, and rule. Together, they had created a monster!
Emperor Aftaab had just turned eighteen and he was looking for his next adventure. Queens, wealth, palaces, forts, jewels, weapons, relationships, lust, nothing thrilled him anymore at his kingdom, the capital, Shesh-a-baad. He had it all!!! He craved a war, but there was nothing left to conquer in the Southern lands of the continent. That is when he heard of a small self-sustaining kingdom named Indira, which was tucked away in the Northern corner of his Empire's border, where the people believed their Goddess Indira ruled above any King or Emperor. Emperor Aftaab mocked their belief as his eyes shone with pride and he whispered arrogantly, "...it's time to show the people of Indira that there is a King, Aftaab, greater than their Goddess."
And in the lands of Indira, a gold-ornamented idol of Goddess Indira stood tall in the main hall of the Indira Palace of the Chandraprava Dynasty. The king, Raja Moti Chandraprava, and the entire royal family bowed down to the goddess, as the priest chanted prayers in the name of Goddess Indira. One by one, each family member stepped forward to offer their respects. When it was the turn of the King's eldest daughter, Princess Veera, she suddenly ran off. Shocked, queen Rani Roopai, her mother screamed out, "Veera… come back here!" The queen herself ran after her daughter, Princess Veera. Raja Chandraprava frowned, but the younger princess assured him that mother would bring her back. But Veera raced through the palace corridors, dodging silk curtains and guards who were trying to stop her. She looked up at the sky and exclaimed "there it is!" and dashed towards the palace gates. "Princess Veera is leaving the Palace!", the guard announced in urgency as they chased her, but Veera was unstoppable. She had run out of the gates and caught a small, injured bird just before it crashed. The Queen and the guards reached her. The Queen, Rani Roopai scolded her, "Veera… this is no way for a princess to behave. You disrespected Goddess Indira and broke palace rules. You know very well that you cannot leave the palace without permission and guards." Veera smiled and held out her hands, "but Mother… This bird is hurt… I had to save it." Rani Roopai interrupted her, "and you are the Princess of Indira, you're worth much more than this bird Veera." Veera revolted, "you are wrong, Mother. This bird can fly. It has no boundaries, it knows true freedom, unlike a princess trapped in a palace." Raja Chandraprava had arrived at the site of commotion, "you have a kind heart, Princess Veera. Ask for a reward. Anything! Jewels, your own quarters…" Veera smiled and thanked her father and sought permission to visit the ancient temple of Goddess Indira in the dense forest at midnight as it was the first day of the Moon Year. Raja Moti Chandraprava hesitated but Veera pleaded, "please, father…" He finally agreed. The queen, Rani Roopai was not happy.
That night, behind the closed doors of Raja Moti Chandraprava's palace, in his boudoir, Rani Roopai spoke like a typical wife and complained to her husband, "how could you allow it???" Raja Moti Chandraprava tried to assure her "worry not, my love, Veera is safe. I have sent enough guards to escort her to the temple in the forest." But Rani Roopai retorted "...enough guards? Are you forgetting Azael Aftaab Murzaan's army outnumbers us and…" Raja Moti Chandraprava interrupted "Azael Aftaab Murzaan has no interest in us, or our Kingdom Indira, we are too small a Kingdom for him to take interest in." But Rani Roopai wasn't convinced and demanded "please… she is our pride, our eldest daughter, the eldest Princess. She cannot go into the forest."
But Veera had already left the palace in her palki ( a beautifully decorated enclosed carriage carried on the shoulders of four to eight bearers, with wooden frame and poles extending out on either side for the carriers to hold. The exterior was jeweled with gold embellishments. The sides were covered with embroidered silk curtains for privacy, allowing the female royalties to look out without being seen), escorted by Chandraprava soldiers and her personal maid-servant, Nehi.
Veera's palki finally reached the ancient temple which was a cave-like structure in the middle of the dense forest. Veera, along with her maid-servant, Nehi and a few guards entered the dark cave and prepared for their prayer rituals. But as Veera offered her devotional prayers to Goddess Indira, she overheard some commotion outside the cave. Veera, Nehi and the guards inside were alerted and frazzled when Veera ordered the guards to go check what was happening outside. A dozen Murzaan soldiers dashed into the temple and attacked! Shocked and fearful, Nehi screamed out and ran to protect Veera with her life, when they witnessed skillful Murzaan soldiers slaughter Chandraprava soldiers, her guards, in seconds. Veera too picked up a sword for her protection as the remaining guards cordoned her and protected her and tried to take her out of the enclosed cave. But in all this commotion, Nehi got left behind and she was abducted by Murzaan soldiers. Veera cried out for her, emotional, she tried to rush after the Murzaan soldiers, but the guards stopped Veera's impulsiveness, and cordoning her to safety, took her away in an urgency.
The Chandraprava soldiers, with great difficulty fought off the Murzaan soldiers and somehow managed to exit the temple area. They finally reached a safe spot with Veera which was a few meters away from the temple. But Veera's sight was stuck on the temple, which seemed to now be burning in fire. Veera glared at the sight of the temple dancing between the flames, with anger seething in her eyes and tears rolling down her face as she witnessed how the Murzaan soldiers destroyed the temple, looted the goddess's idol and rushed off taking everything valuable from the ancient temple. The Chandraprava soldiers advised Veera to return to the palace at once, but Veera refused to go back without Nehi and ordered the guards to search for Nehi, in the forest as she herself got on a horse and took charge!
Veera and the Chandraprava soldiers rushed through the forest area and called out for Nehi in darkness, but there was no sign of Nehi. The soldiers stopped at a point and requested Veera to turn back as they would be now crossing the boundary and going into the Murzaan Empire. But Veera didn't stop and she charged through the dense, dark forest fearlessly calling out for Nehi. The soldiers were left with no choice but to follow their Princess, but they soon got left behind as Veera disappeared into the dark forest. The Chandraprava soldiers called out for her in worry, 'Princess Veera! We have lost you! Princess Veera!' The Chandraprava soldiers were worried to have lost the Princess and wonder how they would answer to their King for losing his daughter in the dark forest.