Zhenjin's Departure

  On the morning of their departure, the court of Khan assembled to wish them luck on their travels. They traveled with 100 horses and caravans carrying personal baggage and supplies for their long trip. One hundred caravans were loaded with gifts for Zhenjin's uncles. All the vassal heirs were mounted on horses they had personally trained. The three young girls, Wise Crone Uddiawan, Cheongsun Queen Dusshela and Lady Sumita rode behind the palace guards. The Empress Chabi's caravan came next. Zhenjin, Huaizong, and Mahintha followed the Empress's caravan, and behind them, the three uncles and Aunt Pereri were all in one caravan. The supplies came next, then the camel caravans, and finally the mounted rear guard.

  Immediately, Rajiv's uncles complained that their caravan was crowded.

  "There are four of us in this caravan," Somash grumbled. "There is no privacy for my wife and I. It's indecent."

  "Does Khan know we are being made to travel in this squalor?" Uncle Patali complains

  "Huaizong," Zhenjin said, his voice level, "tell Rajiv'sa uncles that if they are unhappy with their accommodations, they may stay behind."

  "That should shut them up," Huaizong murmured. "Khan will leave tomorrow, my Prince. He will travel only with his Kheshig."

  "That means they will be at Kharakhorin ten days ahead of us," Zhenjin observed.

  "I will ride fast ahead, Zhenjin, and catch up with the Emperor before he enters the Ancestral Court!" Urduja bragged, a glint in her eye.

  "Ride like the wind, little one," Zhenjin smiled at her, his gaze warm.

  "I will catch you!" Cheongsun called out, already urging his horse forward.

  "I'm the fastest!" shouted Tala, grinning.

  "Prove it!" Ligaya was boisterous, galloping ahead.

  The younger vassals took off on their horses, the three Tawalesi and Cheongsun doing what they loved to do most: ride.

  ———————————-

  The Madjapahits: The Escape of Queen Gitarji, Princess Rajidewi, Queen Mother Gayatri, and Zalir, King Waruk Hayam's Prime minister. MalayGascar the island of giant flightless birds.

  Across the sea on the other side of Mahasagara Sea the MalayGascar was an island nation of the Madjapahit Empire. Like all nations at this time, it was being torn apart by militarized religions. The Gascari are also Austronesians, using outriggered boats and crab claw sails. MalayGascar is a huge island with incredible flora and fauna. The huge island had remnants of several volcanic craters when the island was still part of the 1st super continent. But the MalayGascar island broke away and floated North with the tops of the craters detached from it's volcanic vents when the first gods dismembered Austronesia

  The Gascari used these strange rock formations for their settlements. There were many such formations but most important were two formations separated by a river flowing between them. Ambohiby was the bigger rustic. Bebato was smaller but more "hip" . These two Collapsed domes comprised the Madjapahit Empire. The other collapsed dome formation all hailed Waruk as King but in truth except these two massive structures, the Ambohiby and the Bebato, other human settlements were independent. Run by local chieftains some of them quite benevolent.

  To keep them safe from the wildlife ancient Gascari fortified the natural formation of the of these detached, collapsed volcanic domes to serve as their outer perimeter wall. They blocked gaps in their perimeter wall and set gates

  There are many incredibly colorful birds on the island. They are exceptionally large and noisy. There were the flightless giant elephant birds that the Gascari call the "lehibe".They learned to tame and ride the lehibe. These elephant birds could leap into the air and take short flights, or could glide down from a high point to a low point even burdened with a rider.But their body weight made real flight impossible.There were also raptors. Most terrifying on Malaygascar are the flightless raptors the Gascari called the "mitandrema". They are more like dinosaurs than birds although they were smaller then the lehibe . The mitandrema is the top predators on the island. And if it weren't for the collapsed dome structures, no human settlement would be possible on MalayGascar. Over the centuries the Gascari hunted down the Mitandrema. But of this telling they still posed a danger to any one traveling alone.

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  The Gascari used feathers for everything. And they dressed in gorgeous plumage. They used it to decorate their houses. And their language was like that of birds.

  Politically, the kingdom had split into two: the conservative half and the more progressive Buddhist half. The Vedics were a mix. The widow burning shaivites were a minority. Bebato was also a mix but had a bigger Buddhist population.

  At the Queen's Pavilion, Prime Minister Zalir reported to Queen Gitarji. Queen Mother Gayatri and her daughters, Gitarji and Rajidewi, were bedside. King Waruk Hayam, leader of the Gascari, was dead. Bhre Durjana had usurped the Coral Throne, and fighting had erupted in the Gascari as court.

  "Do they know he is dead?" asked the Queen.

  "They will soon. Durjana has long wanted the Coral Throne,"Zalir replied, his face grim.

  "I am prepared to fight," said Rajidewi, her hand instinctively going to a dagger at her side.

  "Nonsense! We won't win! We have a small window to escape, and we must take advantage of that. Hurry up with your packing," Gitarji commanded, looking at her sister. "We have twenty soldiers outside who will fight if we ask them to, but that's condemning them to death."

  "We take our twenty soldiers and run!" Gitarji declared.

  "We will sail from Madjadjanga to Dhaka. From Dhaka we will make our way to Darjeeling. At Darjeeling, we will try to make contact with Khazan Zhenjin," Zalir explained, outlining their desperate plan.

  "We aren't actually escaping just a suttee. If Zhenjin gives us sanctuary, he takes Durjana on as an enemy. Are we not making enemies for Khan? He will not appreciate that," Gayatri worried, ever the cautious Queen Mother.

  "No, he may not. But at least we will be safe from Durjana's assassins," Gitarji countered, her resolve firm.

  ""We must be discreet.”, says Zalir “It's just a short distance from the port to Darjeeling. You three ladies will pose as rich tourists. I will sleep at the port; I will await our soldiers there and requisition our Balangay."

  "Can we ask the Brotherhood for help? Or the Medang King for help?" Gitarji asked.

  "The brotherhood is more a problem than a solution my Queen. Sunda is fractured into uncountable pieces. We can't risk exposure. I can't take that risk. Queen PutriRani Shima is old, frail, sickly. Some of her counselors are advocates of the Prophet; some are Vedics. There are too many interested parties. The religious infighting is intense. Brother against brother. The Batang Hari is a toddler. He might not survive the infighting. I feel safer with the healthier, more seasoned Khan. There are no Vedics in Khans court. Durjana will, in fact, be watching the southern port. We depart from the north. We move now!"Zalir urged.

  The ladies began packing in a rush. The entire entourage of the Queen was in a panic as they hurried out with the ladies-in-waiting onto elephant birds. The three ladies were proficient riders; only the royals rode these giant birds bigger than ostriches. Twenty loyal soldiers moved on foot. They moved in the dark; secrecy was their only chance. And thats difficult on an island full of noisy birds the slightest movement causes all the macaques and the mina birds to chatter. Lehibes are in fact very noisy. And they are colourful. Kakapos, peacocks, pheasants and chickens were extremely large noisy and colourful in Malaygascar.

  Above Zalir's falcon Terbang followed his master . Raptors can never be totally domesticated. But they can be intensely loyal. But only an expert falconer like Zalir, who incubates the egg by tying it in a blanket to his body and nurtures the chick and imprints himself upon his falcon can bond with this untame spirit

  They would rendezvous at Madjajanga, at the port from where they would depart for the Sindhu continent and make for the Darjeeling mountain pass, which leads straight to the Imperial highway.

  Queen Gitarji, Princess Rajidewi, Gayatri, and Zalir were riding fast on the open road. They encountered a little creek. They followed the creek until it came to a fork and continued. Zalir always checking with Terbang for directions

  "Is Khan friendly with the Batang Hari?" Gayatri asked, concerned.

  "He is not at war with Medang, and even the great Khan, along with the Kingdoms by the Sea, will think twice before he dares cross the Kalaliman."Zalir reassured her. "We will try to contact Khazan Zhenjin at Darjeeling. The Khazan offers sanctuary to all widows and daughters escaping the suttee. We will have to move quickly, as surely Durjana will send assassins after us. We have to be discreet.". We must dress in black. We must move silently.

  The women were completely covered, veiled and burqa-ed. Zalir wore a helmet. Meanwhile, the rest of Gitarji's twenty loyal infantrymen sprinted to Madjajanga on foot. Their lives depended on their speed and silence in the dark.