NOTICE: This story has been updated in my portfolio, and can be found here.
Three days. He had been captive for three days now. Three days alone in the dark, with the cold damp of the stones behind his back and his eyes fixed in the direction of the cell door. No one had come to question him. No food had been brought. No sound had been heard outside his cell for the entirety of his captivity. Truth be told, Hanuman was starting to feel forgotten.
He had come to Lanka looking for the wife of his lord, who had been abducted by the king of demons, Ravana. He found her under a tree, guarded by Ravana's underlings. Under the cover of darkness, Hanuman had slipped between the guards and made his way to the tree. He told Sita she had not been forgotten by his lord, and that he was coming.
That's the point where things got a little more difficult. Sita was shocked by a talking monkey and blew his cover. Honestly, she couldn't have been a little more considerate, given the situation? Regardless, the guards took notice, and set upon him before throwing him in this moldy cell.
As Hanuman was dozing off, the cell door clicked open and he was dragged to his feet. Suddenly awakened and blinded by a burning torch, it took him a moment to see that he was being brought before Ravana himself.
The throne room was as opulent as they come, but tastefully so. The center of the room held a massive carpet leading up to the throne with deep blue and black designs woven in intricate patterns, and a flowing golden trim elegantly laced around it. The edges of the room decorated with suits of armor placed between black marble pillars.
Hanuman only took a moment to enjoy the room as he locked eyes with Ravana, The demon king was more beast than man, with deep purple skin and a savage expression on his face. He wore a glossy black steel breast plate bearing engravings of the faces of his 9 greatest foes, moments after their defeat. Those who had seen him in battle swear he had twenty arms for his speed was such that he could attack multiple foes and defend at the same time.
"Little creature, why have you come to my kingdom and approached my prize?" Ravana's voice sounded as if it came from the bottom of a great abyss, and the pillars of the room resonated with each syllable.
"I came on behalf of my lord, Rama, who seeks revenge upon you. You have stolen his wife, and shall see retribution." Hanuman's neck tingled as Ravana narrowed his eyes in contempt. The room felt colder and the air thinner.
Ravana rose slowly from his gnarled ironwood throne. "Dispose of this creature. I have no more business with him, and other duties to attend to." His departure was as swift as his decree. As the great doors closed behind Ravana, the guards moved forward to grab Hanuman.
Looking deep within himself, Hanuman pulled at the energies of the earth and ripped the fire from the torches in the hall, enshrouding himself in a monolith of flame, and incinerating the demons in the room. Before more guards could arrive or the great demon could return, Hanuman dashed for the exit, maintaining his fiery form, and setting the palace ablaze.
Leaving a trail of blazing glory, Hanuman ran like mad through the streets of Lanka. Arrows disappeared in his conjured inferno, and all in his way were reduced to ash. He did not dare to release his magic until he had cleared the city gates, and only looked back once he crested a hill overlooking the city. Lanka was burning to the ground, and the cries of it's demonic residents filled the still night air. Ravana stormed from his burning palace and roared at the sky, causing the earth to tremble and reminding Hanuman that he should probably keep running.
Author's note:
I felt that this is a story that could do with a great deal of embellishment, and it was fun to write. I wanted Hanuman to be more powerful, but I felt Ravana had been downplayed quite a bit in some of his stories. The first thing I changed was that Hanuman got captured on accident. I also decided that I didn't really want to have Ravana present when Hanuman escaped, since the difference in powers is said to be so great. Finally, rather than Hanuman being set on fire, I wanted him to showcase some magical abilities, and it tied in pretty well with the burning of Lanka.
Bibliography
Story: Hanuman and Ravana
Book Title: The Ramayana: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic
Author:R. K. Narayan
Link
Hey Geoff.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your story. I thought your descriptions were very vivid, making Ravana's castle seem as elegant as it should. I thought your interpretation of Ravana was also very interesting; having his other heads be part of his armor and having his other arms merely be an illusion to his blazing speed was pretty neat. I also liked the paragraph about him finding Sita; it was a good taste of humor. Some of the words you chose when describing Hanuman (dozing off, enjoy the view) made me feel like he was unfazed by his days in prison, but other portions made him seem very hopeless. I was wondering if that was what you were meaning to convey?
This story is excellent! I really like how descriptive you were in the beginning and some of the descriptive words you chose to use in the story. You used great imagery through out the story and I was really able to get and image as to what it actually looked like ( especially Ravana's Castle). This was overall really creative and I am looking forward to reading more of your stories through out the semester.
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