Book Excerpt: 'The Timingila' - Chapter Two

Tasvak of Trishala

"Let me go, brothers." Tasvak urged.

Some faces can be confusing -- looking at them, one can't really decide whether they are beautiful or ugly. Tasvak's face was not one of them. It took just one look to be certain that it is the ugliest face one has ever seen.

Tasvak was a large young man, around nineteen, with dark hair and pale skin. The deep scars on his face and his piercing green eyes made his appearance intimidating.

His appearance did intimidate his stepbrother, Prince Nahusha, a sickly fellow and the crown prince of Trishala. Nahusha felt that Tasvak's sheer presence undermined his authority, and that made him rather insecure.

Nahusha didn't spare a chance to pick a fight with Tasvak, and beat him with the help of his younger brother Kindisha. The scars on Tasvak's young face were tokens of injuries from such fights.

When he was a kid, Tasvak had tried to reason, but could not understand why his stepbrothers kept bullying him. But he had realized one thing very early -- that nobody was going to protect him, not even his father.

The scared little boy had ran to his father, the king, for protection as his stepbrothers came after him. But King Vighasa had brushed him away. Tasvak was born of King Vighasa's momentary affection for a girl of lower birth, a mlechcha. When the king learned about Tasvak being born, he had the girl executed. The king would have killed Tasvak too, but Guru Sarvadni, the Tapasi monk, had convinced him otherwise.

"You can't kill him, he is your son. According to the Tapasi faith, a son carries the blood of the father. He has your blood. If you kill him, it will be a great sin."

The king let Tasvak live, but that didn't stop him from despising his mlechcha son. "Show this mlechcha his place!" he had told his highborn sons. "But take care that he doesn't die. He is my blood, and your stepbrother, after all."

The bullying had continued over the years, and Tasvak had no way out but to fight back. He fought back, because it hurt less than not fighting back.

Today, Nahusha had attacked him under the pretense of wrestling. Tasvak overpowered Nahusha with ease. Seeing this, Kindisha jumped in, and pulled Tasvak over. The two brothers could barely control a raging Tasvak. Although restrained, it looked like Tasvak was the only one who had control of the situation.

"You almost broke Prince Nahusha's hand." said Princess Keya, the king's daughter from his other wife. With her surreal beauty, Keya could charm anyone, except her brothers.

Keya herself was bullied by her stepbrothers, but she never let go of an opportunity to bully Tasvak.

"Tasvak, you son of a mlechcha, you fiend!" shouted Nahusha, kicking Tasvak. He was trying to hide his embarrassment. Kindisha smirked.

Tasvak didn't say anything. He just wanted this to be over.

"Let him go." ordered Nahusha. "He has learned his lesson."

Nahusha was afraid that Tasvak will overpower him again. Better take the high road, he thought.

Kindisha released Tasvak, and warned him, "I am waiting for the day when father won't be there to stop us. Then, you are a dead man."

Tasvak nodded, and walked away.

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'The Timingila' is a fast-paced fantasy thriller, now available worldwide on Amazon and Google Play.

Read Chapter One: The Place to Be