Page 237 - DAIS Insignia 2021-2022

Blood Red
I looked up towards the sky, a small smile making its
way onto my lips. The moon was blood red, with a
fistful of shimmering stars dancing and twinkling in
the night sky, splattered haphazardly around it. From
the opposite direction I could see the clouds making
their way towards the moon with the obvious
intentions of enveloping its natural glow. Whether
they would succeed or not was a question yet to be
answered.
The metallic clang of the swords as they clashed
against the armors, accompanied with the enraged,
determined yells of the fierce soldiers engaged in
combat reached my ears, snapping me back to reality.
Both kingdoms wielded their flags, fighting for their
crowns, with the same desire and fuel in mind- to raise IN RETROSPECT - NAVIYA GUPTA
their respective flags in victory.
The strong smell of smoke penetrated my nostrils,
accompanied with the suffocating presence of dust. I A Tale of Two Perspectives
could almost taste the metallic tinge of the blood that
filled the atmosphere. As my gazed shifted from the The sun shone weakly on the miserable planet that grey morning. It always
night sky to the bloodbath in front of me, I saw looked that way, cheerless and plain and reminiscent of its inhabitants. For
hundreds and thousands of soldiers charging life on Earth had ground to a standstill. The streets were empty, the
forward on their regal horses- knives in their hands markets were bare. Not even the sight or shrill sound of bird life was to be
and the fire of determination in their eyes. The found. In an earlier era, today would be called Saturday- a day of fun and
deafening roar of the cannonball falling into the cheer and busy streets and relaxation and all of those utterly alien
enemy camp pierced my ears as clouds of smoke concepts.
X A went up in the air and the fire blazed in victory, with Amidst this desolate backdrop, a man cautiously peeped out of his home.
its orange-yellow flames licking the sky. The enemy
Almost unrecognizable in his hazmat suit, he padded aimlessly down the
ruler clutched his hair in panic as his soldiers and
An Orphan in the Ocean
weapons were destroyed in front of his eyes. streets, head bowed and heading nowhere, because everywhere was now
The Chesapeake Bay is America's largest estuary. A menacing laugh escaped my lips as I saw the rival nowhere.
Nearly two hundred miles long, its watershed covers an king's eyes widen in distress. Although laughs are He was one of the older ones, who had lived before Covid-19 struck the
Artopia- a place for the Art hearted area of sixty-five thousand utopian square miles with supposed to carry joy and cheer, mine was coated with human race, in what seemed like ages ago. Since then, new diseases had
more than a hundred and fifty rivers and streams malice and venom. As we made eye contact from come and gone, becoming increasingly hard to fight, leaving death and
Dreams, imagination, our minds’ eye are places where we do not let across the battle field, I raised my eyebrow in
anyone else enter. Our personal space, our safe space created at the barrelling into it. It is also a home to countless birds and amusement as he gaped at me in horror, making no destruction in droves. Millions had died in distant lands but those
back of our mind, cordoned off from other human invasion. Places, aquatic life. It is a haven to legions of recreational effort to hide his anguish and weakness, as I made no privileged enough to get all 42 vaccinations had somehow survived.
Humanity was now a confined species, and its children prisoners, by and
scenarios created because the stallions of our imagination gallop into boaters. The bay is indeed a creation of remarkable attempt to hide my triumph.
beauty. from birth.
the meadows of creativity, happiness and rapture. Unlike Alice, my My gaze went back to the sky, my mind floating away
rabbit hole takes me not to Wonderland, but to Artopia (yes like I cracked the surface of the water and gulped in the from the raging war around me, tuning out the fierce He looked up at the sky, as if begging for divine intervention, some salve or
Utopia) - the land of fine art. wet, salty air. I was probably the first thirsty man in the yells and cries. The thick clouds had finally reached savior from the crushing monotony of being trapped. If only he knew.
centre of a trillion-ton ocean. The long dive had made
Everything around me looks like something out of an art gallery . I can me to go farther down than was particularly safe. Yet, the sanguine moon, blanketing it, attempting to Far, far, really far away in another corner of the Universe, so far away as to
see open fields with lush grass, each blade of grass of the brightest when you throw yourself off from a thirty-foot cliff into shield the crimson light it shed all around. However, boggle the wildest fantasies of space travel of the puny human brain, a
green colour from a child's crayon box . The sky above looks as though despite their best efforts, it was the moon which technician was dozing.
an angry ocean, you should be thankful just to have a achieved victory. No shield was thick enough to
Van Gogh used it as a canvas to create his masterpiece 'The Starry heartbeat! As I tied the rope around the little boy, I blanket its luminescence and intensity as the red hue A loud snore later, he awoke with a start, spilling his Glarkon coffee (100%
Night' . Each tree in the meadow is decked with art supplies instead of looked about. Nothing that I saw was encouraging. continued to splatter over the battlefield, making the pure, designed to keep Quozak scientists hard at work) all over his
leaves and their bark like white canvas inviting us to draw on them. The With each streak of lightning, I eyed the three-story- blood of the fallen soldiers stand out even further. futuristic desk. Suddenly, alarm bells began to ring as he drowsily woke up
only sound that can be heard in the meadow is the blowing of the wind high cliff. Yes, I had been standing on it a while ago. I sighed in satisfaction as I sat on the majestic throne, and saw the hologram of the project he was working on. In shock and
- an uncanny resemblance to the sound of an artist brush stroke. The The rope attached to its top, now danced in the violent raising my bejeweled hand holding the glass of wine despair, he realized he had just made a terrible, terrible mistake.
whole meadow smells like fresh paint, like an artistic masterpiece His manager eyed him while he furtively glanced about, trying to avoid eye
wind. I'd been in the bay for less than a minute yet the to my lips while gazing at the fierce battle unfolding
waiting to come alive. in front of my very eyes. A sinister smile coated my lips contact. “Explain yourself.”, he asked, in the deep, intimidating, robotic
chill was already running through my spine. I yanked
In my Artopia, I am not alone for I am in the presence of the greatest the rope and started to climb up. I pulled myself up with as I watched my commander-general wielding the rasp the Quozaks were famous for. “The purpose of our scientific mission is
artists and artworks done in the centuries past. I can see the Mona Lisa all my strength. Every pull made my muscles shriek in red flag of my kingdom, yell out the bloodthirsty war to understand how intelligent life and societies in the Universe functioned.
cry while charging forward on his mighty horse,
looking at herself in a mirror, trying to force a smile on her face. The utter pain – would they tear away any second? With holding the sword as though it was the tool which Not only did you neglect your duties, you have also endangered that one
Scream or Der Schrei der Nature is a riot over the grass, clutching his the last ounce of my strength, I pulled the young, would lead us to our reign of glory. I settled back into project with too many modifications. Now, further research is impossible.
face trying to scream minus the sound. And Edward Munich running pampered boy around whom I had tied a rope. Once my throne as my silver eyes narrowed and the smile Consider this a warning for next time.” The technician hurriedly left.
after him trying to calm him down. At the corner of the meadow Van my body realized my task was complete, my muscles glazing over my mouth grew wider, watching the The manager sighed. Destroying projects was one of his least favorite
Gogh sits sipping his tea at the 'Cafe Terrace at Night' staring up at the went limp, and I fainted. destruction unravel in front of me. No matter the things to do. Opening his trans receiver-communicator, he directed a team
starry beauty of his creation. A glimpse of heaven on earth is found in Today, twenty years later, with a faint smile on my face, I consequences, our velvet red flag would be the one of technicians to follow as the protocol dictated in this sort of situation.
the lake beside the meadow where Claude Monet sits smelling the hold a letter in my hand. Its reminds me how I woke up raised in victory over the midnight blue of the enemy Efficiently, the team worked to wind down the program. But before they
'Water Lilies'. kingdom. could finish, there was one bureaucratic rigmarole to go through.
after two days on the cliff, with nothing but a student ID
The place is bathed in artistic talent and inspiration. And all I can do is of a young 'Muhammad Wang'. The son of a multi- There was no shield strong enough to block the power “Seeking confirmation for termination of project.”, warbled the
breathe it in, the paint, the art, everything! Inspiration can be found in billionaire, Wang had donated his wealth to charity and of my empire, my crown. There was no doubt in my technician's voice over the trans receiver. Giving one last look at the
mind that our victory was assured - after all, tonight
the most absurd places and I find mine in my little Artopia. Whenever I was now a simple millionaire. As always, with a shrug I was the might night that even the midnight blue sky hologram which still gleamed faintly. “Confirmation granted for
sit in front of a black canvas not sure of what to do next, just one visit to picked up the letter and tossed it into the heap of over a and the thickest of clouds could not hinder the blood termination of Simulation-745823, also known as- “and here he paused,
this magical land and the artist in me resurrects. thousand letters which he had sent to me. red moon from shining in all its glory and triumph. because he always had difficulty saying that alien word, “Earth.”
Varsha Sundar Tanay Pachisia Keya Vinay Shashwat Singh

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