Betrayal, Battle, and Peace
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
By now the pieces had fallen into
place. Certain events had spurred
others, and before long Rama stood at the coast of the mainland,
working out a plan to cross the ocean into Lanka. Surpanakha had
long
fled to the underworld, in search of a new life. News of Rama
traveled
fast to Ravana, and my brother seemed a bit on edge. Many times I
had
told him of his one true weakness, man. I didn't bother to remind
him
again. I could see it on his face as he convened the group of
elders
for support. I attended the meeting and pleaded to my brother to
return Sita, and spare the rakshasas'
life and land. Sin had built a solid wall around my brother that
I
could not break. At the end of the meeting, I announced my
intention
of leaving the island under the protection of four rakshasa knights who
had sworn to protect me. On my way out, I thought of waking my
brother
Kumbhakarna and informing him of the situation, but I knew it would do
no good. I spoke to Trijata and told her to look after
Sita. Then I
made my complete break with the family and joined Rama in his quest to
rescue Sita.
When I stepped onto the shore of the mainland, I was greeted with suspicion. Lakshmana and others were wary of my sudden appearance, and thought it was a trick. Luckily, my new-found friend Hanuman stepped up and vouched for me, and Rama greeted me as an equal. It was surprising to see the vast group work together. After all, they were a variety of species collected to form Rama's army. Bears, monkeys, humans, squirrels and now a rakshasa had come together under one unified leader and one unified goal. It was inspirational watching as they built a land bridge and crossed the great ocean.
I answered any questions and prepared the troops for what they might expect during the battle. I revealed tricks that the rakshasas used to gain the upper hand, and became an important link in their chain. Rama asked one last time for Sita's release, and after he was denied, a brutal battle took place that lasted for days. I watched as my people perished under the false guidance of my brother Ravana. This grief was difficult to overcome, but I realized afterwards that my family and friends made their own choices arriving at this situation, and I was merely a tool used by fate to right the wrong. Rama's army didn't rely on their leader alone, but each link of the chain had to fulfill its part. Finally, after many days of battle we achieved success. Many of my friends had perished. Kumbhakarna and Ravana both met the end of the lives on the battlefield, but the evil was vanquished. Sita returned to her husband, and for my effort I was given Lanka back to rule as I saw fit. That's how I became the King of Lanka many years back. I redirected the remaining rakshasas into a very nice life on the island.
Time passed by like the wind, and I saw many changes. I watched as my leader and now friend Rama went back home to heaven after his stay on earth came to an end. He granted me the gift of immortality before leaving, which is why I still live today. I watched as the human population grew rapidly, and I invited them to live among us here on Lanka. Slowly the rakshasa existence seemed to fade like a fond memory, and I too conformed, taking the shape of a human. I received visits from friends like Hanuman, who also was immortal, and we reminisced about the old times. I spent many a day reflecting on my life, and keeping the island in order. I sought after silence, and relaxation. I dreamt only of good things until tonight. Tonight is the anniversary of my brothers' deaths so many years back. Tonight I was reunited with Surpanakha.
Author's Note: This chapter in my story dealt very quickly with the Vibhishana changing sides, the battle over Lanka, and what happened once the novel ended. I enjoyed glazing over the already established plot lines in the story, and expanding on the holes left behind. I felt that Vibhishana has been a great character to fill in these holes since he is a secondary character within the actual text. Looking back, my story truly switches character roles giving voices to minor characters, and expanding on relationships either defined or created just for this story. I also made an effort to establish the differences between the rakshasa army led by a self serving entity, and Rama's army led by a righteous figure. The description of a variety of species uniting for good seemed to add a nice touch. I have to laugh, because every chapter ends with a cliff hanger and I wasn't quite sure on how to end this one. I finally found my last tie in when I looked back and found that Surpanakha disappeared from my story, much in the same way she disappeared in the epic. This became the lead into the conclusion, opening up great possibilities and keeping my audience still reading, I hope.
Bibliography
Ramayana by William Buck (1976).
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
When I stepped onto the shore of the mainland, I was greeted with suspicion. Lakshmana and others were wary of my sudden appearance, and thought it was a trick. Luckily, my new-found friend Hanuman stepped up and vouched for me, and Rama greeted me as an equal. It was surprising to see the vast group work together. After all, they were a variety of species collected to form Rama's army. Bears, monkeys, humans, squirrels and now a rakshasa had come together under one unified leader and one unified goal. It was inspirational watching as they built a land bridge and crossed the great ocean.
I answered any questions and prepared the troops for what they might expect during the battle. I revealed tricks that the rakshasas used to gain the upper hand, and became an important link in their chain. Rama asked one last time for Sita's release, and after he was denied, a brutal battle took place that lasted for days. I watched as my people perished under the false guidance of my brother Ravana. This grief was difficult to overcome, but I realized afterwards that my family and friends made their own choices arriving at this situation, and I was merely a tool used by fate to right the wrong. Rama's army didn't rely on their leader alone, but each link of the chain had to fulfill its part. Finally, after many days of battle we achieved success. Many of my friends had perished. Kumbhakarna and Ravana both met the end of the lives on the battlefield, but the evil was vanquished. Sita returned to her husband, and for my effort I was given Lanka back to rule as I saw fit. That's how I became the King of Lanka many years back. I redirected the remaining rakshasas into a very nice life on the island.
Time passed by like the wind, and I saw many changes. I watched as my leader and now friend Rama went back home to heaven after his stay on earth came to an end. He granted me the gift of immortality before leaving, which is why I still live today. I watched as the human population grew rapidly, and I invited them to live among us here on Lanka. Slowly the rakshasa existence seemed to fade like a fond memory, and I too conformed, taking the shape of a human. I received visits from friends like Hanuman, who also was immortal, and we reminisced about the old times. I spent many a day reflecting on my life, and keeping the island in order. I sought after silence, and relaxation. I dreamt only of good things until tonight. Tonight is the anniversary of my brothers' deaths so many years back. Tonight I was reunited with Surpanakha.
Author's Note: This chapter in my story dealt very quickly with the Vibhishana changing sides, the battle over Lanka, and what happened once the novel ended. I enjoyed glazing over the already established plot lines in the story, and expanding on the holes left behind. I felt that Vibhishana has been a great character to fill in these holes since he is a secondary character within the actual text. Looking back, my story truly switches character roles giving voices to minor characters, and expanding on relationships either defined or created just for this story. I also made an effort to establish the differences between the rakshasa army led by a self serving entity, and Rama's army led by a righteous figure. The description of a variety of species uniting for good seemed to add a nice touch. I have to laugh, because every chapter ends with a cliff hanger and I wasn't quite sure on how to end this one. I finally found my last tie in when I looked back and found that Surpanakha disappeared from my story, much in the same way she disappeared in the epic. This became the lead into the conclusion, opening up great possibilities and keeping my audience still reading, I hope.
Bibliography
Ramayana by William Buck (1976).
Image Copyright by Cyril Helnwein
"Sun Tree"
Websource: Cyril Helnwein
Websource: Cyril Helnwein
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________