Her Lethal Seductress

‘India’, the land of enigma, of spirituality, of magic, of tantra, of mantra, a land of civilised history that dates back 7000 years. It is the land that was inhabited by the Indus Valley civilisation, one of the ten oldest civilisations of the world. These were the days of monarchies, where small kingdoms flourished under the rules of kings. Numerous self-sufficient kingdoms, autonomously managed, created the entire political blueprint of the Indus Valley. Sometimes stronger kings would fight and unite vast tracts of land under their empires. Alexander the great Greek Emperor decided to conquer the Indian subcontinent. He defeated the mighty King Porus in present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Punjab area of India. He pushed deeper into the Indian Subcontinent, moving to the East of the country and was ready to face the Nanda Emperor. But something mysterious happened there and he decided to head back, never to reach his homeland. It is believed that a sinister human weapon known as Visha Kanya was used against him. No one will ever know what exactly transpired. These were the days when the ancient civilisation of India was doing phenomenally well in the fields of medicine, mathematics, pure sciences, sociology and many other fields that would make humanity achieve greatness. Taxila University, known to be founded in 1000 BCE, in modern day Pakistan was a seat of higher learning where people from all over the world came to study, some even in residence. Arrian, Alexander's historian mentions Taxila as a well governed, prosperous and wealthy city whose ruler King Omphis, peacefully surrendered to the Great Emperor.  This is where the realism of history ends and the mysticism of mythology begins. In those days, due to the constant fights and struggles of the monarchies, because of all the conspiracies and treachery that lurked in the chambers of the kings, a dangerous science of toxicology was at its pinnacle. The Ancient Traditional Medicinal practice, Ayurveda, created a method by which the knowledge of toxicology would be used to make human weapons. This method is documented by Kautilya in his book on statecraft, Arthashashtra, but no one in the modern world has ever tried it and that knowledge is lost to us. No one in the modern world knows how to combine the delicate knowledge of astrology and the science behind various poisonous concoctions, antidotes and potions to create the world's deadliest weapon, a Visha Kanya (Poisonous Maiden). Girls who were born in a specific set of astrological sequences were selected while they were still toddlers and raised on a diet of poisons until there came a time that their breath itself was poisonous for anybody who came close to them. Due to the various rituals and procedures performed on them, these girls became so sensual and beautiful that they could ensnare any man with their sexuality. When a man chose to kiss them or to make love to them, he instantly died. Only a few girls would survive and live on to adulthood, and the ones who did, became immortal assassins, killing anyone who dared to cross paths with them. Our story begins 500 years ago when King Prabhat Ray Syiem Sutnga ruled the Jaintia Kingdom, the land around the Jaintia hills (It is most of the Sylhet region of Bangladesh and India, in modern-day). Those days India traded in spices and silk through the silk route on land and through the ancient sea routes on the Arabian Sea & the Indian Ocean. Portuguese traders and seafarers visited the King’s court very often.  The chief of the traders Johan Diego visited King Prabhat's court. His beautiful daughter Lianor Maria Diego had accompanied him. She was mesmerised by the grandeur of the court and the attractiveness of a gorgeous young minister in the King’s court. Rudra Nath Singh too fell in love with the beautiful fair goddess Lianor Maria Diego. They got married within days of meeting each other. Their marriage was celebrated as an important political alliance. Within a year of marriage, they were blessed with the birth of their son who they named Jonathan Lianor. His parents loved him and his mother made sure that he knew at least five languages of the kingdom she had married into. Since childhood, she trained him in speaking Portuguese and English. The boy had caucasian looks, short black hair and blue eyes. In a few years, Rudranath’s sister Sheela Singh was married to another minister, Ram Singh, in the same King’s court. Within a couple of years of marriage, Sheela gave birth to a beautiful dusky baby with sea-green eyes and hair as black as night. Jonathan was super excited. He was told that she would be his wife after a few years. He had no idea what a wife meant, he was an innocent child who was happy to get someone to play with. She was named Panna Singh, an apt name owing to her green eyes. (Panna is a Sanskrit word for emerald). One evening when his aunt Sheela and their cheeky little daughter Panna were visiting them, some guards came knocking at their door. The defence minister had passed an order to get the girl trained in combat. It was silly! A two-year-old who couldn’t yet balance herself was being asked to surrender for training. Sheela did not want to let her go but Ram Singh insisted. He was the minister of State affairs and he knew that their borders weren’t safe. Every child needed to be trained and every citizen needed to be a warrior. Jonathan’s training was done with the King’s son Majha Gosain and was managed by the King’s court. Boys were the assets most courts invested in. Two weeks later he was home talking to his mum when aunt Sheela came over to their place crying heavily. She was to stay away from her daughter forever. Panna was born in the astronomical yoga of Visha Kanya and she was to be a Visha Kanya in the future. It meant their family would be one of the most important families in the court and they would be given immeasurable gold and wealth against their daughter's sacrifice. Jonathan was angry. He was only twelve but he knew what that meant. Panna would now be one of the priceless assets of the court inaccessible to everyone, even the King himself. She didn't ask for this! She was just a toddler, and yet she was to travel a path of no return. A path where she would either die or become someone who will be destined to a lonely life long after the King and the Kingdom is gone. His world came crashing down as he reflected on the image of the innocent green-eyed toddler in his mind and he vowed to get his cousin out of the mess. ***