Chapter Two: The Empire Sends Iron

Ullal Fort – Dawn After the Explosion

The sea was still burning.

Smoke twisted up into the violet sky as fishermen hauled charred bodies from the tide. Seagulls circled overhead—silent, waiting.

Abbakka Chowta stood on the battlements barefoot, cloak soaked in sea-spray and ash. She watched the ocean like it had insulted her.

Behind her, her captains waited for command.

"She started a war last night," one whispered.

"No," said Muthu Nayak grimly. "She lit a match. The war was already here."

Abbakka turned.

"We strike first. Or we drown later."

Portuguese War Council – Goa

Half a sea away, the halls of the Portuguese Viceroy trembled with fury.

Captain-General Dom Jorge Cabral slammed a goblet against the map.

"She burned our ships with fishing boats!"

"She is a witch," muttered his advisor.

"No," Cabral growled. "She is a queen who forgets her place."

He pointed to Ullal on the map.

"Send the Black Flag Brigade. I want her dragged in chains through Goa's streets."

"And if she resists?"

Cabral smiled.

"Then send iron. Set the coast on fire."

Ullal Fort – Throne Room

Abbakka sat in council, flanked by her generals and temple seers. A stone map of the coast lay before them.

Muthu marked out possible landing zones. "They'll come in force, high tide, from the west."

"We need to fortify the fishing village," said Asha, her archer-commander. "And hide the women."

"No," Abbakka said. "They will not expect us to protect the coast. That's where we'll strike them."

One minister cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty, I must remind you… we are still at peace. No declaration of war has been issued."

Abbakka rose slowly.

"I declared war the day they nailed our fishermen to boats."

Flashback – One Year Ago – A Royal Marriage

Abbakka stood beside her husband, Lakshmappa Bangaraja, during their ceremonial walk around the fire.

He whispered, "Why not just let the Portuguese trade?"

She replied without looking, "Because they trade like snakes. They bite after the deal is done."

Months later, he would leave her—claiming she was unfit to be ruled.

That night, he would dine in Mangalore with the same men who once sent warships to her coast.

Present – Temple of Durga

Abbakka knelt before the goddess's idol, blood on her hands—this time, not hers. The sacrifice had been a goat.

She whispered,

"They pray to crosses. I pray to fire.Let mine burn brighter."

Thunder cracked overhead.

Outside, a messenger rode in, soaked, panicked.

He knelt. "They're here."

Scene – The Invasion Begins

At sunset, five Portuguese warships appeared on the horizon, sails like black wings. Drums echoed from their decks.

Each ship carried musketeers, mercenaries, and barrels of cannonfire.

From the cliffs, Abbakka watched.

"No flags," she noted.

"They come not as diplomats," said Muthu. "But as thieves in the night."

Scene – Ambush at the Waterline

The first wave of Portuguese soldiers disembarked onto Ullal's southern beach.

They moved fast—disciplined, armored, silent.

Then their captain noticed something wrong.

Too quiet.

The huts were abandoned.

No boats.

No sounds.

And then the sand beneath their feet shifted.

Traps.

Dozens of spikes hidden beneath woven mats. Explosive jars buried like mines.

A torch flew through the air.

The entire beach ignited.

Flames erupted around them as Abbakka's forces attacked from the palm groves, arrows raining down, blades flashing.

She rode at the front, face veiled, sword raised high.

She didn't scream.

She smiled.

Back at the Fort – The Spy

High Minister Devaraya sat alone, staring into a burning lamp.

He took a sealed scroll from his robes and fed it to the fire.

It contained:

Map of Ullal's supply routes.Weak points in the stone fort.Secret cove access.

He muttered a prayer as he did it.

But not to any Indian god.

To the Cross.

Behind him, Asha watched from the shadows.

Scene – The Counterattack

The Portuguese regrouped.

Cannon crews lined the beach and began bombarding Ullal Fort. The walls shook. Stones split. Fires erupted across the courtyards.

Children were evacuated through underground wells.

Temples burned.

One shell hit the palace gardens, killing a priest mid-prayer.

Abbakka did not flinch.

Instead, she climbed the southern tower, and in full view of the enemy, raised the bloodied sword of their fallen captain.

Then she vanished into smoke.

Nightfall – The Enemy Within

That evening, Asha burst into the Queen's chamber.

"I saw him," she said. "The High Minister. He passed intel to the enemy."

Abbakka's hands clenched.

"He has served our kingdom for twenty years," she said coldly.

Asha drew her blade. "Then let him serve it one last time."

Later That Night – A Knife in the Dark

Devaraya lay in his chamber, whispering a confession to a hidden cross.

The door creaked.

A shadow entered.

He looked up. "Your Majesty?"

Abbakka stepped into the moonlight, sword in hand.

"I trusted you," she said. "You gave them our blood."

He stammered, "I was promised land—Mangalore, gold, peace…"

She didn't let him finish.

The blade flashed.

There was no scream.

Only silence.

Final Scene – Message to the Portuguese

The next morning, the Portuguese ships found a raft drifting toward them.

Tied to it was the body of Devaraya, branded with the mark of Ullal, and a message written in Portuguese inked across his chest:

"This is what we do to men who kneel."

Captain-General Cabral read it with shaking hands.

He looked to the sea.

But the mist had swallowed the coast.

And from somewhere in the fog… came a woman's laughter.

✨ End of Chapter Two