Karna & Arjun - The Union of Brothers

3. The First Flight

"Son, are you ready?" Lord Parashuram asked Karna, who stood erect with a blissful smile on his picturesque face that was blessed with a golden radiance.

"Gurudev, I seek your blessings before this tournament," Karna said as he touched Lord Parshuram's feet and placed his bow and quiver next to his feet.

"Yashasvi bhava. My blessings and my teachings are the only weapons that you will be taking along with you," Lord Parshuram started sharing the rules of the tournament with Karna and he listened to him diligently.

"Vishwa Yodha Spardha is held in honour of Tridev and has three phases to it. The creation phase will be held in the skies, followed by the operational phase on the seashores and finally the phase of destruction in the mountains. You will be weaponless in the beginning and you have to earn your way to the victory. I can't tell you anything beyond this to be fair to everyone," he completed.

"Being blessed by Ram himself, I don't think I need to know anything else," Karna said as looked at his Gurudev whose beard spoke of thousands of years of experience coupled with an ocean of humility in his smile.

The moment of calmness was soon disturbed by a high frequency ticking sound coming from a long distance in the south. From its sound, it seemed like like a million insects were flying in perfect synchronization. Having trained in night combat, Karna was quickly able to identify the location of the flying object with its sound. It looked like a brown conical object from a distance, which was surprising because neither the birds nor the insects were shaped that way. As Karna focused, he could literally zoom in and see a detailed view of the flying object. At first it looked like a pyramid but then Karna could admire it's temple like intricate carvings. He had read about the Vimans in Vedas, but that was first encounter with one. The Viman had hundreds of propellers at the base, facing vertically and horizontally, helping it stay afloat and navigate.

"That's your ride, Son," Lord Parashuram said with a smile and Karna reciprocated in a similar fashion.