Week 3 Story: The Hunters

At the feet of Gatharnum and Myra lay the dead witch. She had been cut down by one of Myra's arrows, after taking many a blow from Gatharnum's blades. As the two siblings sifted through the witch's belongings, searching for any decent loot the old hag may have held, two Celestial spirits sprung forth from a tome in her bag. They revealed that the witch had long ago entrapped them with a wicked spell that only ended upon her death. They thanked the brother and sister, and vowed to come to the aid of the witch hunters the next time they found themselves in danger.

After the spirits dissipated, Gatharnum and Myra continued their journey towards Yavunai, through the eastern reaches of Dal. They were laden with many tokens and trinkets of the hunt they had embarked on some two months ago. The eye of a werewolf, the signet ring from a vicious vampire lord and several sets of fangs from his many spawn, among others. Suddenly, as if from thin air, dozens of monstrous beings sprung from the trees, completely surrounding the sibling warriors. In one fluid motion, both of the hunters threw off their packs, drew their weapons, and were engaged with their new enemies. Myra at once slew three with a volley of quick arrows, before they approached too close, and she had to begin to evade them. Meanwhile, Gatharnum's silver blades were carving the beasts at ease. As the throng began to grow thin, they saw more figures approaching from the trees, these were no beasts, but vile demons, the spawn of a witch.

The Witch and Her Children, Etching by J. Wellcome (Source: Wikimedia)

The demons revealed that they had come to avenge the slaying of their mother, promising a slow and painful death for both hunters. As arrows and blades struck out against the demons, fire and thunder and acid sprung forth towards Gatharnum and Myra. While they struck down a few of the witch's spawn, they were no match for the entire pack. When all hope seemed lost, two beams of light struck down from heaven. In the mystic pillars, the Celestial spirits manifested as two mythic weapons, one each for the two siblings.

Gatharnum wielded a great silver mace that cackled with immense energy. He struck out against one of the demons, and the force of his strike seemed to be multiplied a thousand fold. Myra wielded a golden extendable flail that, upon her command, spawned fiery explosions to emanate forth from the spiked ball. With these gifts, the two hunters were able to vanquish all but the last of the vile witch-spawn. He was the chief among them, the witch's first born. He had four arms, each of which held a different weapon. In one hand, he held a mighty greatsword too large for even the strongest of men, in another, a ball of green flames danced and begged to be unleashed. Another hand held a large battleaxe that shined darkly with the blood of those that it had slain. In his last hand, the demon had the handle of a sword that had no blade but lightning itself. With these weapons, he lashed out at the two siblings in front of him. Gatharnum and Myra each tried to attack him, but the great demon was too strong, being able to resist the powers held within their weapons and dealing heavy blows to each of them.

At last, together they struck him with both of their weapons together, combining the power of each, and bringing a pillar of light down upon the head of the demon. His body burst asunder, and the holy light turned him to ash and what remained was blown across the earth. When the demons had been destroyed, the weapons returned to their spiritual form, and thanked the siblings again for freeing them. As they vanished into the aether, they foretold a time when the two hunters would meet them again. Gatharnum and Myra rested before hastily making their way to the nearest village, where they could recouperate after the arduous ordeal they had been subjected to.

Bibliography - "Thataka" from Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)

Author's Note:

In the original story, Rama and Lakshmana kill a rakshasa named Thataka. They do not wish to kill her since she is a woman, but do so eventually to be rid of her threat. After killing her, Vishwamitra chants mantras in their praise, and two celestial weapons appear before Rama. He tells them that when he has need of them, they should appear. A band of rakshasas led by Thataka's son Maricha attack the brothers, and Rama defeats them using the weapons. One blasts Maricha hundreds of miles out to sea, and the other consumes Sabahu in flames. After killing these two, they kill all the others as well.

I wanted to keep the original spirit of the tale, but to put a different spin on it. I changed the two characters from being two supernatural beings to simply being two siblings that slay monsters for fun. Instead of having both weapons be used by the same sibling, I gave one to each so that they are both able to actually participate in a meaningful way in the battle. Instead of having the evil beings all be rakshasas, I made the mother into a witch, and her children into demons that she spawned as her children. I elaborated on the nature and shape of the two weapons that were given to the two siblings, making each one unique and cooler (in my opinion). I tried to keep the story short and sweet, leaving a lot of specific details to the reader's imagination.