published by Goff Books, an imprint of ORO Editions www.goffbooks.com info@goffbooks.com Copyright © A. D. Dauphinais 2021 Text Copyright © A. D. Dauphinais 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying of microfilm, recording, or otherwise (except that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of United States Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press) without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
executive publisher: Gordon Goff editor: Alejandro Guzman-Avila development editing and copyediting: Stephanie Marohn proofreading: Kirby Anderson character artwork: Marie-Eve Soleil book cover design: Damian Scott and Sarah Cunard map co-design: Brooke Biro book layout: Pablo Mandel Typeset in Esmeralda and Minion Pro
Special thanks to my husband for all his support during my author phase —A.D.D.
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A. D. Dauphinais
THE GOLD LOTUS Thousands of Cupid’s Arrows on the Battlefield of Love
Prologue
“H
ow long have I been floating in this pool of amniotic fluid? Only darkness lingers around me.” His small hands touched his almost naked body. “Why am I covered in saline waters – are these water drops or tears? I can clearly see memory lines carved deep into this gold pistil, probably pollinated by bees of a preceding era. Where do I come from, who am I?” Yearning to unearth the truth about his origins, having just recently opened his unique eyes, one of pure, radiant gold and the other a shining sapphire, he figured he was sheltered in an enclosed gold lotus drifting into oblivion. He, who had no name, touched one of the dazzling stigmas. Then a bright, golden light glided toward the pistil as the gold lotus flower began to fall apart; stamens, petals, sepals dropped into the cosmic sea. The capillary receptacles began to swell as the fertilised ovule at the base of each pistil developed into a seed. The receptacles broadened and slowly began to ripen. The first peduncle to mature manifested the origin of all creation. A large white dragon with countless coils upon coils floated on the ancient undifferentiated waters. Upon his gigantic coils lay Iswara, the Original One, plunged in yoganidra – the great slumber. All the elements, all creation, all of time were withdrawn into the Blue God and layed dormant like fire slumbering in a piece of wood. The three gunas – virtue, passion, and darkness – were perfectly balanced and nothing stirred anywhere. Perfect equilibrium held all things in immaculate abeyance. The Ocean was infinite, as was the white dragon afloat upon it, and the sleeping Blue God lying on the coils. Then kaala, the spirit of time, disturbed the balance in the three gunas. Passion thrust out from the Blue God’s navel as a slender
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stalk, a fine umbilicus. The stalk reached high into the firmament and unfurled in an immense, brilliant crystal lotus that shed its conscious light everywhere. Iswara, the Source of all creation’s spirit, flashed up through the stalk and entered the refulgent goliath lotus. Then he created another form: Brahma. Brahma thought he was born of himself. He found himself alone and self-learnt the ancient dharma (Vedas). With wide eyes, he looked around him and found that he gazed in all directions simultaneously, for he had four heads. All he saw was shimmering, blue water stretching away endlessly. Brahma saw he was seated above a giant crystalline lotus. He peered down the stalk of the flower, white and gleaming, but could not see from where it sprouted. He went down the tubular stalk for what felt like ages but did not find its root. As he was ready to give up, the waters of the infinite sea spoke to him through their waves, saying, “Tapa, Tapa, asceticism, asceticism.” Brahma shut his eyes and sank into a plumbless meditation. For a hundred cosmic years, Brahma sat immersed in soul-searching. Then he suddenly saw the Creator of all creators, the Blue God, whose eyes stared at him as if the moon and the sun were showering refreshing and brilliant lights. Brahma was instantly enlightened; he knew his life mission was to serve his only Master and manifest an endless sea of possibilities – multiple worlds and multiple beings. Before the almighty Blue God disappeared, he shared a few words. Upon hearing his Master’s heavenly voice, Brahma’s body trembled with emotion, for the ambrosia of the Almighty’s speech was so sweet he wished he had been created with thousands of auricles. The Origin of all manifestation shared, “I have imbedded all knowledge into your heart. Listen carefully and manifest all realms according to your mental capacity. When the stage is set and the constellation of divine love perfectly aligns with the lethal star of destruction, I, the Almighty One, will personally dive into this creation to reset the endless play.” Prologue
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Brahma stretched out like a staff at his Master’s lotus feet. The Blue God vanished. Brahma understood that this universe was only one of an infinite number of subjective realities. With a sincere desire to please his Master, he thought, “I have to manifest a variety of flavours so my God can relish them when he personally visits this creation”. He thus fashioned fourteen realms; the lowest was Patalaloka and the highest above all was his personal dimension, Satyaloka. Only his personal assistant whom he fashioned first – Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge – could reside by his side. To prevent any disturbance, he created an impassable barrier, known as the Vija River, and fashioned two, four-headed Fu dogs as its protectors. Earth was located at satya, the connecting middle belt of this universe. The created beings’ lives drew shorter as they manifested toward the middle girdle and extended in time and existential years as they expanded from below as above. The lower and the higher sections were equally balanced, creating two inverted triangles joining at the connecting points of the satya and atala realms. The celestial worlds’ triangle pointed downward while the hellish worlds’ triangle pointed upward. He created good and bad with equal powers and planted a devotional creeper into each and every one of his expressions. The child with the gold and blue eyes could fathom the origin of the manifested creation but still couldn’t understand who he was. “Why am I lying on an endless stretch of soundless waves?” As the question popped into his mind, one of the lotus seeds started flashing. Curious, he touched the peduncle with his soft thumb, but before he could pick it up in his delicate hand, the sky filled with illuminating sceneries – one flashing after another. “This is the story of my origin.”
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Thousands of Cupid’s arrows Lying on the battlefield of my heart Have I won or have I lost? One note of his flute Ruptured Cupid’s bow A Second note of his flute Sprouted my sleeping soul The Third note of his flute Shattered my karmic chains The Fourth note of his flute I have gone insane Have I won or have I lost?
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Yanmei’s Seven-Day Deadline
I
n her chariot, Yanmei was still trembling. She was well aware her royal sister had no mercy and if the people around her were no longer useful, she would discard them. Feeling her life at stake, she thought, “At first I wanted my husband to willingly fall in love with me, but now due to circumstance I will have to charm him with my snake eyes and make him my slave”. Yanmei knew well that, by using some magical charm, it wouldn’t be real love between them. Still, she was content with the idea of having the God of War to herself. She rushed back to her palace and put on shining makeup and her nicest dress to greet her newlywed husband. Her spies informed her he had gotten back to his palace while she had been visiting the Empress. Glorifying her lucky stars, she positioned her gemstone headpiece and splashed her body with charming powder so he would only see what his inner heart desired and rush toward her loving embrace. Kānu knew his father’s biggest threat would be his stepmother. He also wanted to test her real intent. Each time he saw her, the fragrance her body exuded was the exact same scent that had lingered in his mother’s cottage the day she was killed. Now was the perfect opportunity. His father was sealed in his meditation room for seven days and all his attendants were running tasks under Xinren’s order. Kānu smiled, as he thought, “I will take my father’s appearance and see what I can fish out of my stepmother’s mind”. Kānu explained to the loyal maidservant of the God of War that he would impersonate his father for the next few days to allay his new mother’s suspicion and so she wouldn’t report to the Emperor that his father was wounded. The maidservant agreed to assist in full confidence. Yanmei’s arrival was announced at the God of War’s palace Yanmei’s Seven-Day Deadline
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entrance. Kānu wanted to test her, so he asked the maid to inform Yanmei that the God of War was busy – she would have to come back later. Yanmei was furious but figured he managed all the celestial armies. She exercised a false reasonable demeanour and left his palace without putting up any resistance. Her niece arrived. Gao Yin had come under the pretext of visiting her aunt, but in reality, she only wanted to see Kānu. She had come a few days in a row but still hadn’t been able to see him. She came up with a plan: “I will ask my aunt to walk to his palace with me.” Her aunt understood that her niece was afraid of her royal mother and was only visiting to meet up with her stepson. Yanmei agreed to help, even though she despised Kānu’s existence. Kānu, hearing someone coming toward his palace, instantly resumed his appearance and manifested himself sitting at his study table absorbed in painting a blossoming golden lotus while Yanmei and Gao Yin pushed their way into his writing chamber. The maids at the entrance hall had been ordered not to let anyone in, but the arrogant Yanmei demanded that she was the lady of the house and anyone that stopped her from entering his palace would be severely punished. When they dashed into his study, Kānu, appearing as serene as a blue lotus and more radiant than millions of cupids, lifted his head, stood, and warmly welcomed his new mother. Seeing that her dress had been disturbed by pushing her way into his palace, he asked in a gentle voice, “Is everything alright, mother? She immediately resumed her calmness and said, “A mother cannot come and see her son?” He smiled, “Of course, please sit.” He ordered his maids to bring them tea and desserts. While they were sitting, Gao Yin kept on gazing at his perfect face with lust-filled desires. Kānu understood her objectives, so he covertly summoned Suke using his magical feather, requesting that the eagle rescue him by announcing that he was needed at his father’s palace. Suke arrived bearing the urgent news. Kānu gracefully excused himself and offered to escort Yanmei and Gao Yin outside where he 182
continued on to his father’s palace. Yanmei wanted to follow him, but Kānu explained that all the generals would be there, so it wouldn’t be convenient for her to barge in during an important military meeting. Gao Yin, happy to see Kānu, informed him that she would be back the following day to bring him desserts that she would personally cook for him. Kānu simply continued walking without any response, internally lamenting his current hindrance: “Now I have to deal with two unwanted situations.”
Yanmei’s Seven-Day Deadline
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Day Seven: Final Deadline
Y
anmei woke up in her husband’s bed, feeling dizzy. She remembered falling asleep while her husband was touching her head. She brought her hand to her woozy head and, upon touching herself, felt a strong energy completely different from her husband’s. She figured someone had gone through her memory chambers. She focussed her vital chi and saw Kānu witnessing the scene of his mother’s death engraved in her subconscious. She figured the person who had drugged her must have been her stepson. In a panic, she jumped out of bed, repeating, “I have to find my husband and make him fall under the love poison. I’ll have him kill his rascal son.” Using a locator spell, she paced around the palace, following the arrow to the meditation room. Once the arrow stopped, she was relieved to have finally found him. She rashly pushed on the bamboo door, yet she was propelled into the air, falling like a pebble on the cold marble floor. Xinren immediately arrived. Knowing she needed to get in the room at all costs, she attacked the attendant from behind while he was checking on the shield. He fell to the ground unconscious. She transformed into her python form, spitting balls of toxic fire at the powerful shield. Her timing coincided with Kānu entering the ice time orb. The shield’s power had been drastically reduced. Using her large tail, she cracked it open, transformed back into her Goddess form, and sprinted to her husband who was sitting deeply absorbed in his recuperative meditation. She rapidly placed some poison in her eyes. Using her powers, she snapped the God of War back to reality while sitting right in front of him. He viewed her snake eyes. Shocked that she was right in front of him, he moved his hand to push her away, but it was too late. The Day Seven: Final Deadline
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poison had reached his heart; in his eyes, she appeared as his loving wife, Liling. Still weak, since his body needed the full sun cycle of the seventh day to rejuvenate completely, he desperately took his sham wife in his arms and passionately kissed her. Yanmei had been waiting for this moment for thousands of years and willingly played along. He lifted her in his strong arms and brought her to his bed. After satisfying her lascivious desires, she told her husband, “We need to go and see the Emperor. He is waiting for us.” The God of War was now her puppet, as he obediently followed her to the great hall. The gatekeepers announced their arrival. The Emperor noticed the God of War was openly holding the Imperial Princess’s hand. He selfishly glorified himself, saying, “I am not only a great ruler, I am also an excellent matchmaker!” Yanmei gave her sister an affirmative wink – the God of War was at their command. The Empress had been waiting for a long time for this last chess piece to fall in place. Secretly, she requested her maidservant to deliver a message. Not even an incense stick after the God of War had taken his seat. The gong of war reverberated in the azure sky as an army general rushed into the great hall shouting, “The Naga Realm is under attack by the Bird Kingdom!” The Empress stood up and cried, “My Lord, give my realm justice!” Yonggan, who was in the hall, screamed, “This is not possible. The Bird Realm renounced their high position centuries ago. We don’t even have a king or a queen. We only have priests, healers, and peaceful generals. Our main focus is always to help those in needs and propagate harmony in the celestial worlds. We are often sent to Earth to help during great calamities, the earthlings even nicknamed us “Archangels.” Give me one good reason why our realm would attack the Nagas.” The Empress immediately requested the guards to arrest Yonggan. When she saw the guards were not moving, obliged to wait for the Emperor’s order, she fell on her knees, begging her husband to find out the truth and to arrest all members of the Bird Tribe. The 212
Emperor asked the general to explain the reason why the Bird Realm had attacked the Naga Realm. The general, who covertly worked for the Empress, answered, “I was notified that an ancient snake creature woke up in the Naga toxic lands. It started to create havoc, so the Naga warriors tried to stop it, but it then fled to the Bird Realm. Their generals declared war on the Naga people, thinking they were the initiators.” Yanmei immediately fell on her knees in front of the Emperor and begged for justice. She stared at the God of War, who straightaway requested permission to go and personally handle the battle. The Emperor agreed and then ordered that Yonggan, the daughter of the warrior chief from the Bird Realm, be arrested. Her sentence would be given once the war was over. The prince from the Fairy Realm, seeing his beloved getting arrested was going to fight, but the Moon Realm Prince murmured, “Wait, if you go now you will only meet your doom. Please be patient. Upon Kānu’s return, we will both help you rescue your maiden.”
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About the Author
A. D. Dauphinais started her “out if this world� life journey during a long solo pilgrimage in India at the age of eighteen. For the past twenty-five years, she has been immersed in ancient knowledge, fascinated by Buddhist, Vedic and Sanskrit literatures. The Gold Lotus is her first fantasy book, part of a multi-world drama series. She is the founder of two non-profits, an ancient temple dance teacher, director of Devi Communications Music, founder of TerraVoyage LLC and the managing director of Big Island Farms. She spends most of her free time planting trees and saving ancient seeds at her organic permaculture bases farms.
www.gold-lotus.com www.addauphinais.com 432