The new king was Takshin, the only heir of Qodnim. He was crowned the same day as the great king’s death. King Takshin continued to follow the policies of his uncle. He too ensured the justice of each and every citizen. What often irritated some of his courtiers and attendants was his short temper. He would scream at his jester for a bad joke and at his poet for a bad verse. He would fire attendants for delaying his food or making such trivial mistakes. He not only had a taste for good food, music and poetry but also enjoyed luxuries like palaces and summer houses.
It was the month of June. During the summer months King Takshin would migrate from his majestic and magnificent palace located on the plains below (where it would become quite warm, and the king only liked cold weather) to his majestic and magnificent summer house located high on the mountains of the western part of Yegiusqihi. On looking at him sitting with his legs spread on a chair in his garden, staring into the whiteness , it would seem as if he was extremely fond of nature and scenery. But reality was different, and if you were one of his advisors or for that matter, even one of the kings of the neighbouring kingdoms, you would know why.
An important aspect of the king’s character that had been hidden to the public till this point of time was his ambition. He was extremely ambitious unlike his predecessor, and his ambition was to expand his empire to an unimaginable size by conquering central and eastern Enip omoelia upto the Sea of Uzhotx. To achieve this, he had already sent spies to three of the neighbouring kingdoms. He had already begun war with one of the kingdoms, and was extremely successful. In another neighbouring kingdom, he had carried out a coup against the king and replaced him with a noble who would be a puppet ruler in his hands. However, the most formidable neighbour still remained, and he knew war with this king was not going to be easy.
At that moment, when many would perceive him to be enjoying the serenity of his mountains, he was actually devising a strategy to fight that kingdom. A loss to that kingdom would not only mean a fatal blow to his ambitions, it would also mean losing the two captured regions and even portions of his own kingdom. The next day the battle was about to begin, not very far from those mountains.
The king bravely led his army through the chilly passes from where the highlands could be crossed. The first two or three days were satisfactory for King Takshin. He was able to slowly advance into the other kingdom. However, the fourth day was a disaster. The other army had managed to surround them by controlling the pass, and Takshin’s army was trapped. Thousands of soldiers were killed, and King Takshin managed a narrow escape by jumping into a river that flowed into his kingdom. He reached his palace on the plains below humiliated, and desperate for vengeance. However, the worst was yet to come. The neighbouring king too was pursuing expansionist objectives, and had invaded Yegiusqihi.
There was killing and oppression throughout his kingdom. The king’s favourite poet no longer spoke happy verses, but instead said:
“Come and see the blood in the streets,
Come and see the blood in the streets,
Come and see the blood in the streets!”.
The king realized that since the day he had murdered his uncle, his kingdom was doomed. He then killed himself, being left with no other option.
Note:
The lines
“Come and see the blood in the streets,
Come and see the blood in the streets,
Come and see the blood in the streets!”.
have been taken from Neruda’s “I explain some things”
