This is the legend of A-Jo and the love of
his life, Baby.
1942
B. C., Mesopotamia:
The times
in Mesopotamia were changing. The glory and the prosperity were past their peak
a long time ago. The hardships that had come upon the subjects had forced a
great amount of civilian unrest. Riding on a legacy of peaceful and prosperous
existence that spanned over millennia, the administrators of Mesopotamia found
themselves incompetent to tide over the crisis. Some serious steps were
required to be taken and quickly. For Mesopotamia, the time was running out
quickly.
The crisis
of Mesopotamia had started a decade ago with the state of Avon declaring its
independence after the central army of Mesopotamia failed to secure its gates
against the invading Trichons of the North. The Trichons of the North had
abducted the Low Chancellor of Avon, Teea and the subjects of Avon had demanded
Teea be rescued. But as the constitution of Mesopotamia placed the state before
the rulers, this was not to be. And this led to Avon declaring its
independence. Many other neighbour states who feared an invasion by the raiding
Trichons of the North too declared their independence. Thus, cut off from its most
of its resourceful regions, Mesopotamia was under tremendous stress.
“What
should we do now?” asked the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“We need to
do something, I think!” reiterated the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“We should
consult someone.” said he High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“The Oracle
of Jay had predicted the crisis of Mesopotamia a thousand years ago!”
reiterated the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“But no one
knows where the Oracle is now. The founding Fathers of Mesopotamia had hidden
in some undisclosed location. And the boundaries of Mesopotamia have greatly
expanded since then.....” said the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“Yeah, and
greatly shrunken also”, chucked the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“Whatever!
We need to find that Oracle. It’s our only hope.” said the High Chancellor of
Mesopotamia.
“Guards,
take out our torches and load our ships. Today we said to find the lost Oracle
of Jay.” said the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“We cannot
go! We are the administrators of Mesopotamia. And also that we are old.....
None the less, in order to correctly express the gravity of the situation, we
must call this a very High Level State Sponsored Secret Mission. We will have
to appoint someone to do this.”, reiterated the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“But, how
will we find the right person to find the Oracle of Jay?” asked the Chancellor
of Mesopotamia.
“Just the
same way as our founding fathers founded Mesopotamia. We will leave at night
and travel through the darkness with blindfolded eyes and whosoever we see in
the morning first will be our man.”, declared the High Chancellor of
Mesopotamia.
“Or
woman.....” chucked the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
And so they
set sail. The night was spooky. And the Chancellor's constant chucking
throughout the night also contributed to freaking the High Chancellor out of
his skin. Finally, the day dawn. The duo unfolded their eyes. And stay in the
midst of the unknown land waiting to glimpse upon someone. Waiting for their
hope.
At a
distance the High Chancellor saw a young man in his early twenties walking
alone, whistling a sweet tone. “Good morning Young man. We are the High
Chancellor of Mesopotamia and the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.”, said the High
Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“Sire, I am
A-Jo. I am a cute and a serious boy!” replied the young man.
“A-Jo, the
entire fate of Mesopotamia depends on you. You have to find for us the Oracle
of Jay”, said the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“Okay.....
How does it look, where is it?” asked A-Jo.
“Well, if
we knew all that stuff we would have got it ourselves.....” chucked the
Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“We will
wait for you here so that you don't have difficulty finding us later”, said the
High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“It seems
like a dangerous voyage. Searching unknown things in unknown lands. What if I
don't return.......” asked A-Jo.
“Well then,
we won't wait for you.......” chucked the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“Huh...!”
exclaimed A-Jo.
“Young man,
we'll settle all that after you come back. And think positive. The nature calls
for you. Remember, we want only the Oracle, you can keep the ruins of the war!”
said the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“Ok, but
what if I run of supplies on my journey?” asked A-Jo.
“Tell them,
you are on a very High Level State Sponsored Secret Mission.”, replied the High
Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“And how
will I know when I find the Oracle of Jay?”
“Just trust
your instincts.” replied the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
And so,
A-Jo set on a journey after which his life would never be the same.
After
travelling for 2 days, A-Jo was finally out of liquor. He went to a shop and
demanded liquor. The keeper gave him and when asked to pay, A-Jo replied, “I am
A-Jo. I am on a very High Level State Sponsored Secret Mission. The State will
pay you.” And so, the keeper handed him over to the state authorities.
“Who are
you?” asked the Counsel.
“I am A-Jo.
I am on a very High Level State Sponsored Secret Mission.”
“What
non-sense. And which state is it?”
“The State
of Mesopotamia!”
“Guards,
Mesopotamia sends drunken spies to Trichon. Imprison him in the invasion tower.
They will have to pay for this....... Another invasion is on..... In three days
we will invade Mesopotamia.”
In the
detention tower, A-Jo was thrown into a cell with only one window. The room was
dark and clumsy but for a narrow beam of moon light entering in through the
window. A-Jo had become sober by now. “Who--- Who's there? I am A-Jo. I am on a
very High Level State Sponsored Secret Mission of Mesopotamia.”, he asked.
“I am Teea,
the Low Chancellor of Avon.” was the reply.
A-Jo looked
towards the narrow beam of moonlight flooding the clumsy cell. And what he saw
stunned him. He lost many a heart beats. From the shadows emerged a figure.
Flawless fair colour. Hair that shimmered in the moon light. And did I forget
to mention that he had never seen bigger or more beautiful eyes than those. The
gait, majestic and classy. A-Jo was swept off his feet. He moved closer. Extending
his hand, he touched the beautiful face feeling the warm breath.
“You are so
beautiful. What can I call you?” wondered A-Jo loudly.
“Baby!
That's sort of a pet name.” replied Teea.
“Oh Baby,
you are the most beautiful creation of the creator. All my life, I have dreamed
of someone like you. If only I could make you mine?” A-Jo excaimed.
“In fact,
you can!” replied Teea. “If we escape from here, you can. Finders keepers!”
“That’s
great. But how do we escape from here?” asked A-Jo.
“Well, you
seem to be the chosen one. So, you figure out.” replied Teea.
“Have you
never tried to escape?” asked A-Jo.
“Well, no.
Why should I? I am the Low Chancellor of Avon. Isn't Mesopotamia supposed to
send someone over to rescue me? This is such a moot question. And also I don't
know horse-riding.”, replied Teea.
“O......,
but for this beauty, I would never rescue you. And by the way Avon has been
independent for over a decade now and so technically speaking its Avon's job to
rescue you, not Mesopotamia's.” replied A-Jo.
“My God, I
am ruined! That invasion has brought about so much bad...” cried Teea.
“Do you
care educating me a bit more about the invasion?” asked A-Jo.
“OK. You
must be aware that Avon has been known to produce the finest species of horses,
the Avonian Raptors. Unknown to us, some of our Raptors had escaped our stable
and run into the Trichon territory to the North. The Trichons, now craved for
the Raptors. And so they invaded Avon and took away the Raptors.” replied Teea.
“Then why
did they capture you?” asked A-Jo.
“Well,
their leadership felt that I would look very lowly of the mighty Trichons to
invade only for horses. So, as the Head of State they took me away as well,
aiming to bargain me for a few more raptors and extending the olive stick. But,
now I can understand, Avon and Mesopotamia are themselves in a mess, so nothing
has happened. Bloody bureaucracy!” sighed Teea.
“I heard
them planning to invade Mesopotamia again in three days! What could they want
now?” asked A-Jo.
“Well, as
far as the rumours go, they are upset over Mesopotamia sending over drunk
spies! Or, in untrained hands, Raptors are difficult to control. They must have
run off and now they want more.” said Teea.
“Then why
don't they trade you for some Raptors as planned, rather than invade?” asked
A-Jo.
“You see,
Avon is independent of Mesopotamia now. I was an administrator for Mesopotamia.
Now, in Avon nobody cares who I am. Dirty politics!” replied Teea “Now I get
why this tower is also so sparsely guarded.”
“So,
escaping will not be difficult. There is the Great Bear”, said A-Jo pointing at
the stars from the window “So, that is the north and Mesopotamia is in the
South-East. We have directions. All we need is time and speed.”
“Well, you’re
getting lucky!” exclaimed Teea “Baby likes you, and he is the fastest Raptor
I've known.” replied Teea.
“Then, what
are we waiting for? Hop on. Let's go Baby!!! Yee-haaa!” cried A-Jo.
Surely,
Baby proved that he was the fastest horse on Earth. By the time the guards
could alert the borders of the escape, the three had already galloped out of
sight. By noon the next day, they met the High Chancellor and the Chancellor of
Mesopotamia.
“Here's our
man!” exclaimed the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“And his
woman....” chucked the Chancellor of Mesopoamia.
“No, this
is my Baby! And this is the erstwhile Low Chancellor of Avon.”, replied A-Jo.
Mesopotamia
prepared its armies.
“I want you
two, to quickly go to Avon and get them on our side.”, said the High Chancellor
of Mesopotamia.
“But she is
worthless there. Avon is independent of Mesopotamia and no one gives her a
damn!” protested A-Jo.
“Go there
and tell the people that the proponents of Independent Avon had you abducted
and Mesopotamia has rescued you. Come on, I expected better from you! You
aren't new to this....” said the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia, looking at
Teea.
“Dirty
politics.....” chucked the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
And with
that Avon and her sister states resolved to rejoin Mesopotamia. The Trichons
surrendered when they heard of Mesopotamia preparing an army. Thus, the borders
of Mesopotamia expanded even in the North.
“But, the
kid didn't get us the Oracle of Jay, and yet he kept the ruins of the war....”
chucked the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“That is
the Legend of the Oracle of Jay! It always appears when Mesopotamia is in
danger. Let us say, we have hidden it somewhere safe, only to be searched when
Mesopotamia is in danger ever again!” said the High Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
“Legendary...!”
chucked the Chancellor of Mesopotamia.
A-Jo and Baby lived happily ever after.
