[Disclaimer: The following contents in this part are based on history but are not real and have nothing to do with the actual history of Ava. The following contexts are the inspiration of the author]
The King of Ava, Shwenankyawshin Narapati (Pronounced as Shwe’nan’kyawt’shin Nara’pati), was listening to the documents and reports that his ministers assigned in the night meeting. Then, his vision blurred, his sighting errored. He saw one thing as two and two as one. He heard two noises as one. Noises were exploding in his head, followed by a squeezing headache.
The ministers reported to him about the newly founded Taungoo or their main rival, Sawlon of Mohynin. Yet, the king could pay no attention. They presented him with the cases he needed to judge. Yet, the king could not hear clearly. All he cared about were his throbbing headache and the following dizziness. He was eager to end this meeting as soon as he could. His eyes were hazy and his head was lowered. The minister felt a great sense of frustration by just looking at him.
Then, through the royal eunuch, the commander of palace guards pleaded to come inside the hall. King Narapati allowed the commander to come inside.
The commander walked quickly and bowed down in front of the king. Only when the king said, “Get up”, he was allowed to face him. Only when the king said “Speak,”
“O lord of golden fortune, the great monastery of the holy, venerable ascetic U Agga you worship, was burgled by a sinister Weizza. To talk about that, the saintly U Agga have come, my Lord,”
Upon hearing U Agga’s name and the case, most of the ministers were frightened and horrified, some were disgusted, and all knew that the meeting could last no more. Mingyi Yan Naung, the bravest among minsters, requested, “May I speak,” but as the king was too dizzy, he could speak no words and only gestured for approval.
“May I speak, O Lord of the great palace. There is no reason for a monk or an ascetic to come to the palace in the nighttime. Neither appropriate nor suitable, it is. If the case is an emergency, then we shall assign it for the morning meeting tomorrow,” he spoke. Some ministers admired his bravery, some viewed Mingyi Yan Naung as a troublemaker, and most knew nothing could happen.
But the king could not think of keeping his master to wait for a night. “I, the great, am now dizzy. I need to drink the holy water of my Master, ascetic. Let the meeting end here. Commander!” he called in a sluggish tone.
“Yes, sire,” the commander replied quickly. King Narapati said,
“I will meet the ascetic at the great audience hall,” and, his order was finished.
Only the minsters with assigned night duties stayed, and the other left. Despite being annoyed by the king's less attention to politics, no one could speak up. Nor none dare to do so. The king had forgotten the duty of holding meetings regularly.
After the ministers had left, the king went to the great audience hall in hazy steps. Two young maids had to stay beside him while walking to prevent falling. The commander also came with them for security. It was a long walk from the meeting hall to the great audience hall. After the walk, he was too dizzy to open his eyes. U Agga was waiting for him.
Narapati used all his might to bow in front of his master. U Agga prevented him from bowing and lifted him. Then, he took a cup of water, chanted some spells, and told the king to drink.
Before drinking, Narapati saw one thing as two. He even saw his ascetic master as two persons. But after drinking, his vision was clear again. His hearing was stable again. The exploding noises, the throbbing headaches, and the dizziness were all gone as he sipped the water.
“O great Lord. By your salvation I was alive,” The king said and paid homage to the ascetic, touching his feet. The maids also had to do the same. The commander of royal guards, although not willing, had to participate as others. He made a short, silent sigh upon seeing the king’s actions. Then the King allowed the maids and the commander to go wherever they desired. The maids left the hall with folded palms. The commander, not wanting to see the King’s actions, went outside with the maids and guarded afar.
“My Holiness, I’ve heard about the reason you came. How do you want me to handle the burgling case?”
“Handle not the burgling, ye Narapati. The burglar is not a person you can handle,” U Agga said in his deep tone.
“Why? My Lord, I don’t understand you,”
“The Burglar in this case is not an ordinary human but a weizza. He can break walls and fly. He can sneak into my monastery without my knowledge. You can do nothing about him,”
“Then, what shall I do? What do you want me to do, my lord?” said King Narapati confusingly.
“I want you to catch and detain all the male youths of the Popa Region.”Narapati was more confused, “Why, my Lord? That will be too much,”
“The burglar weizza is a youth, ye king. I have seen him through the eyes of my Nanarupas (Robots). One of the Nanarupas hit him with its hammer. He could run no fast. The direction he flew was to the region of Popa. Thus, I want ye to arrest all male youths of Popa region,” Narapati could not refuse the authoritative words of his master.
“Yes, As you will, my holiness. But if I couldn’t catch the weizza, what shall I do?”
“Ye, Narapati, are truly foolish. Haven’t I told ye that ye can do nothing on the Burglar?”
“Yes, My Lord. Yes,”
“Now, what I am saying is that by fabricating with the case of the burglar, I… want… you… to catch young males! Then, send them to my monastery. I will turn them into Nanarupas (robots/cyborgs) and make them your slaves! How could ye not understand it?!”
“Yes, My Lord. Yes,” said the king, while bowing his head.
“Isn’t your kingdom being attacked by Shans? Even last year, the Mohynin Shan tribes took sixteen villages from your territories. (In 1511, Saw Lon of Monhyin seized sixteen villages, including Bhamo, which would later become a city) Even Taungoo disobeys you, although you gave your sister. (During the earliest reign of Narapati, he sent his sister to Mingyi Nyo, the king of Taungoo, as a gift, along with the prosperous Kyauk Se region. Even before getting these gifts, the King of Taungoo secretly allowed the rebels who planned to dethrone Narapati to live in his new kingdom) Now, even your old rival, the Hanthawaddi Kingdom, is dealing with Europeans and better than your Kingdom by all means. (1423 to 1538 was considered the golden age of the Hanthawaddi kingdom by historians) Are you not afraid of them?!”
U Agga’s voice was loud, sharp as thunder, and chilling for those who heard.
“Yes, I’m afraid, my lord. I’m afraid,” Narapati said, and his eyes couldn’t face the wrathful ascetic.
“If you are afraid, then consider the Nanarupas (Cryborgs) as your saviors. They will precisely execute the orders you give. If ye order them to burn villages, they will! If ye order them to kill children, with no hesitation, they will! They can dismantle cities in a day. They can demolish forts and villages as ye order. Through them, through fear, you will have to regain your power, your glory! Thus, I told ye to arrest young men and turn them into mindless Nanarupas. King, do you understand now? Only by the Nanarupas, you will become the lord of all Jambudvipa (A mythological continent in Indian and Asian mythologies, containing all of mainland Asia)”
Narapati bowed and said, “I understand,” He wanted to get the title “King of all Jambudvipa,”. He had seen the power of cyborgs (Nanarupas) before, and he trusted it. As long as those cyborgs exist, no one will dare to question his power. He could conquer foreign lands and pass this power to his later generations. He could get all the riches of nations. He wanted his name to be written in all chronicles. Thus, he agreed to the deal of ascetic.
Reference books-Kala, U. The Maha Yazawin (the great chronicle), second act, Yar Pyae edition.Than Tun, Dr. Nae Hlae Yazawin (Travel chronicle), First compilation edition (2004).Harvey, G.E. History of Burma: from the earliest times to March 1824, the beginning of the English conquest (1925)
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