Lords of the East - Library

[CiviC]

On the banks of Ganges, under the majestous walls of Golden Temple of The Holy City of Varanasi a great pyre is prepared. On the pyre lies the body of Maharajah Vindhyavarman daubed in saffron. His heir the new Maharajah Devapala aproaches with a lit torch and sets the pyre on fire while devotees chant Vedic hymns to the clashing of cymbals and beating of drums reaching a crescendo. Then a deep silence follows interrupted only by the sounds of burning pyre and one by one the many wives of the deceased Maharajah walk into the flames to follow their beloved husband and master to the next life. The fire burned for hours untill the sunset then the ashes were scatered in the holy waters of the Gange.

Now the Rajputs have a new master, Maharajah Devapala. He stands on the top of The Great Tower of the Delhi Fortress and watches the endless plains of India with their many meandering rivers and the Himalya Mountains on the background. He meditates on his father's many heroic deeds and great achievements, to the Empire he founded and the many wars and battles him, Prince Devapala, as a child and young man, took part as an aprentice and right hand of his father. He then turns his eyes to the mountains where the Sun sets down dreaming to new oportunities and new worlds that expect him ...