Short Story – Prophecy

—-Disclaimer :- This story is a complete fiction. The reference of the TV Show Game of Thrones and the Novel Series ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ is just to increase the thrill of the story. The story is written by me and all rights are reserved—-

The usual routine continued. Shruti got up from the bed and was getting ready for the school. She was getting more and more beautiful every coming day of achieving youth. She was 15. Half her classmates had already proposed her and she grew tired of rejecting them. Ofcourse, she had many reasons for not to date anyone, her goal of joining the Merchant Navy being the foremost. The goal was the reason her bedroom was full of different sized earth globes, maps and posters of Merchant Navy Legends.

She was the beloved daughter of the family and the only child to her parents. That’s because she got almost everything she demanded but she never ever disrespected her parents. They loved her. She loved them as every child would.

Apart from being scholar in studies, she was a swimming champion, a gold medalist in general knowledge. Conventionally these attributes keep a student away from TV and Computer Games but make no mistake, she was obsessively attracted to Game of Thrones, the American TV show. She loved to read the original novels as well and that’s why, may be because of her over obsession with the epic fantasy, she started thinking her life was a prophecy, just like Jon Snow and Azor Ahai.

It might be said that prophecy was a part of her DNA. Her Mom used to think she was giving birth to the next Avatar of Kalki, the lord Vishnu’s elevanth and upcoming incarnation believed as per Hindu mythology. Her father used to dance Tandava Nritya dressed as Lord Shiva in his college days. Beliefs and trusts can shape our lives in any possible way. That’s what happened with Shruti.

Coming back to this day, Shruti got ready for the school. It was Saturday. Light rains were cooling the room temperature. She generally used to cycle her way to school. She’d always encounter an abandoned 100 year old mansion halfway through the route, badly famous for being haunted. It would slightly remind her of Castle Black from Game of Thrones. For many reasons including fear, she never dared to visit it.

But today was different.

Heavy raining started and she had to halt in the shelter of the same mansion. The road was empty, just like the mansion. She read the board written on the gate of it, that it was the Bank’s property, forfeited for defaulting the loan. Bank wasn’t able to sale it in the auction because of the rumours of the mansion being haunted. It stayed as it was.

She somehow dared to jump through a broken window. By now, curiosity had taken over her fear and she decided to visit the bungalow. She could literally feel that she was walking inside Castle Black. Similar architecture, similar rocks used except the absence of the ice wall.

She was lost in many thoughts along with feeling each corner of that mansion. Such rock built mansions are called Waada or Haveli in India. But all she knew that this was the real life castle black.

Any girl on the verge of puberty and youth would feel love. She loved Jon Snow as well, the heroic figure from Game of Thrones. She literally thought for a second, that Jon Snow will appear all of a sudden and she would hug him. But alas, this was reality.

But she was lost, forever.

That one simple incident changed her life afterwards. She came back home, bunking the school. She was having fever. Her Mom could hear she was murmuring something in her sleep as any fevered person does. But she was repeating the oath of the Night’s Watch, the same oath Jon Snow swore.

She fell asleep. Woke up in the evening and her Mom told that she finally had her first periods today. Her youth was begun in such a beautifully dramatic way. But she was lost. She was still aware of her life goals and her identity but she was, somehow, lost.

10 YEARS LATER……

Shruti was now a high ranked Captain in Indian Navy. Yes, instead of joining Merchant Navy, she joined Military Navy because the Indian forces needed more men and women to fight the World War 3. India, however, was neutral in the World War till a nuclear war threat from Pakistan. India defeated Pakistan, freed Balochistan and Sindh, took back the Pak occupied Kashmir. China, sided with Pakistan and was holding India in the Arabic Sea. Shruti was now leading a fleet from Chabahar Port to attack the Gwadar Port, occupied by Chinese Navy. A hardcore sea battle between Indo-China resulted in a landslide victory of India, and China finally surrendered it’s weapons in the World War.

The 4 year long War was on the verge of getting over. The union of US, India, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Israel was successful in stopping any nuclear attack from the allied Russia, Italy, China, and Pakistan.

Russian naval forces were still not amused. They were invading the Northern Ireland through the creek of Magheramorne Quarry. Irish Navy was already destroyed. Thus, India decided to help them by sending Naval forces commanded by Captain Shruti.

She never thought she would ever visit the actual location where Castle Black was filmed. Yes, the Magheramorne Quarry of Northern Ireland. But the purpose and situations were different. She was about to fight enemy troops where she watched Jon Snow fighting.

On reaching the Quarry, the Naval forces commanded by Shruti outnumbered the Russian forces and they were winning. The scariest and deadliest World War 3 was literally ending by this very battle.

Shruti, all of a sudden, jumped off the ship and swam ashore to the Castle Black filming location. Second-in-Command Ranganathan thought she was shot dead and he took the command.

Here, Shruti entered the location. She was armed and armoured. One Russian Navy soldier approached and she shot him dead. She realised that this Castle was occupied by hundreds of Russian soldiers to attack the Indian fleet floating by the location. She took her AK 56 and started firing on all the Russian soldiers. She signalled Indian ships for being aware by firing a signal gun. The Ship fired some explosives towards the Castle and the Castle was fallen.

Snow was falling. All the ships struck in the freezing water. Russia was fallen. Indian soldiers were worrying about their brave Commander but no-one dared to jump of the Ship in such a freezing water.

Shruti was badly hurt. She was fallen. But she was happy. Happy because the war was over. Happy to bring the event of conclusion. Most of all, she was happy for her imaginary love Jon Snow, that she defended his castle. She was happy cause she knew she was dying. She was hoping to reborn in the alternate reality of the fictional world of A Song of Ice and Fire.

16 days after the war was over, rescue team could successfully find the frozen dead body of Shruti under the ruins of castle. She was silent. But her Mom could hear what she would probably have said before she was dead. Yes, the swear taken by Jon Snow,

“Night gathers,

and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory.“

In the alternate reality, her concious lived. Because she lost it there. In the alternate reality, she was born as him, the Prince that was Promised. She was born as Jon Snow. Her watch has now begun.

Written by me..!!

— Warm Regards

Dnyanesh Make “The DPM”