Chapter 16: Dance of Death

Pinang Jingga was miffed. Ever since hearing confirmation from Uda and Utih, eleven years before, of the exact manner of his parents' abuses and executions at the hands of Biduk Bota, he had lived for this moment. To see the final defeat of the abominable Sumatran usurper in a battle, with he himself playing a leading part in it. That had just been achieved. Now it seemed that Adhi Vira, his adopted father, protector and first source of inspiration, was about to put it all on the line. All for the sake of satisfying, at least to him, some silly warrior pride, after Biduk Bota's forces had been soundly routed by the new Dharma Kusuma army.

But there was no way that the young captain could go up against Adhi Vira's command. To do so would be treason. Pinang Jingga glanced at Nibung Ulung. He could not fathom what was going on in his cousin's mind. Oh well, perhaps it was all for the best, he decided. Perhaps a spectacular victory in a battle, finished off with a series of five one on one duels to the death, was just what Amdan Negara needed to inspire the other subjugated kingdoms of the Langkasukan Federation to all rise against their common foreign conqueror. If only everything went according to wish and plan.

As Buluh Padu's opponent charged at him with a kelewang, he danced to one side and slashed his golok down onto the man's wrist. His foe faltered, and Buluh Padu ripped the man's gut open from side to side with his kerambit. As the man's entrails spilled out all over his groin, Buluh Padu raised the blood soaked claw shaped blade and slashed it the other way across the man's throat.

Pinang Jingga parried his adversary's thrust, then arced his keris across the man's face, catching him in the eyes and blinding him. Then he buried the keris, a treasured heirloom from his late father, in his adversary's chest all the way to his heart.

Nibung Ulung stepped in to meet Kebo Laro's wild charge with a golok aimed at his belly. He caught the man's arm and twisted it, snapped it at the elbow, then thundered a knee into his groin. As Kebo Laro doubled up, his face contorting in pain, his golok slipped and slid from his hand. Nibung Ulung then swung his kelewang down against Kebo Laro's neck with full force, decapitating the man's head completely.

As the dismembered head fell, the young warrior grabbed it by the hair before it reached the earth, turned in the direction of Biduk Bota, and glared at the man. Then he thumped his chest with one fist and roared like a wild beast, the sound tingling the spine and curdling the blood, and flung the head at Biduk Bota, who had to leap aside to avoid being hit in his chest and splattered by the blood of his captain's deputy. Then the Sumatran wiped his right eye. A little splash of crimson had struck it. Could it be a bad omen? Naah, he immediately dismissed the thought.

Now came time for the next duel. Demak Sawo and Prabhava both started with kelewang. Circling each other, they were a well-matched pair. Neither could make much ground over the other even after much cutting and thrusting, and blocking and parrying. They had slash wounds all over their arms, their legs and their now shirtless bodies, but none were yet too severe. After several breaks to catch their breath, they both threw down their blades and proceeded to fight with just their limbs.

More breath breaks came and went, still neither man could yet find a way to best the other. Coming off the seventh break, the two charged at each other. At the last moment, Prabhava stumbled. Demak Sawo caught Prabhava's neck, dropped on one knee, rose again and swung Prabhava down to the ground, still keeping Prabhava's neck in a vice hold. It was a dangerous position for Prabhava, and he struggled to break free, but Demak Sawo's grip was like a python's coil. The more Prabhava squirmed, the tighter his opponent's hold became.

As they grappled on the ground, Prabhava pushed at Demak Sawo's jaw with his right hand, but the stocky Sumatran did not relent. Prabhava drew his hand back, bunched his fist, then shot out a punch at his foe's face. For a brief moment, Demak Sawo was distracted. In one movement, Prabhava shoved his opponent's head outward and swung his own leg up and over, wrapped it around Demak Sawo's neck and pushed the man down while raising his own body up, breaking himself free.   

The two men rose, then circled each other. As Demak Sawo swung a right fist at him, Prabhava parried with his right arm, then smashed his right elbow into the man's face, following up immediately with an elbow uppercut on his chin.  As Demak Sawo staggered, Prabhava whacked the same elbow into his opponent's throat, then scythed the man's legs from under him with his own left leg, sending the man sprawling heavily against the ground.

Any other man would have reeled from those blows of Prabhava. But Demak Sawo was a tough ox. He rose, and the two circled each other again. Then, as he swung a powerful roundhouse kick toward Prabhava's head, Prabhava stepped in and trapped his thigh, lifted the man's whole body up high, then locked his own leg and smashed Demak Sawo's back on his knee on the way down, shattering the man's lower back vertebrae. As Demak Sawo wailed in pain, Prabhava grabbed his head and twisted it, breaking his neck and ending his suffering instantly.

Thus the first four duels went, all in the defenders' favour, as if scripted by some higher power. Now came the time for the final duel. The one everybody was by now waiting for. The ultimate contest between two ultimate warriors, the Lord of the Mountain and the Lord of the River. Biduk Bota was a giant among men, perfectly befitting his name, which meant Ogre's Ship. While Adhi Vira, though of quite powerful build, was only a little over medium height.

Biduk Bota stepped into the centre of the fight zone with seemingly supreme confidence. The watching crowd whistled and screamed, mostly in jeer rather than cheer. Adhi Vira circled Biduk Bota for some moments, then charged at him with his kelewang, aiming the blade at the man's belly.

But Biduk Bota moved surprisingly fast for a man of his bulk. He parried Adhi Vira's thrust, then spinned around and swung his golok at Adhi Vira's head. Adhi Vira bounced backward, leaning away from the tip of the man's blade. Not bad, this ape, Adhi Vira thought. The crowd clapped in applause at the athleticism of both fighters.

Someone started beating a drum. Another began thumping a tambourine. Yet another one put his mouth to a flute. The combined sounds quickly gathered rythm, harmony and intensity. That fired up the atmosphere even more. The crowd lapped it all up. They showed their appreciation without reserve. This last dance of death would be a show they would not forget easily for a long time.

With a great roar, Biduk Bota lifted his huge golok high up over his head and charged, slashing downward. At the last moment, Adhi Vira danced to one side and whipped his kelewang toward Biduk Bota's torso. The Sumatran giant was still agile. He parried Adhi Vira's blade with his own, then turned it around on the bounce toward Adhi Vira's throat. Once more Adhi Vira had to leap backward quickly to avoid a cut.

By then Adhi Vira had the measure of his opponent. He began bouncing. Forward and backward, then side to side he moved, then circling again. His movements gained fluidity and variety, becoming increasingly more difficult for his foe to predict and counter. Biduk Bota did not like this new development. It disconcerted him. Occasionally, Adhi Vira would whip fast flick kicks at Biduk Bota's legs, ribs, chest, neck or face. That roiled the man, making him increasingly angrier.

Biduk Bota slashed again with his golok. Adhi Vira blocked neatly with his kelewang. As they locked blades momentarily, Adhi Vira let fly a whip kick to Biduk Bota's face. It struck the left side of the man's jaw. He swayed and lurched for a few heartbeats.

§

Either of the fighters would plant his weapon erect in the ground if he needed a breather. A span of time it took to cook a pot of rice passed. Then two. The duel between Biduk Bota and Adhi Vira had still not yielded any conclusive result. All both had were wounds and gashes, none of them yet too major, all over their torsos and their limbs. Both were consummate bladesmen and agile athletes, and both attacked and defended with great skill. Now both were sweating profusely and gasping heavily. They stared at each other, then agreed to a longer break after both had a word with the referee.

Biduk Bota was no ordinary fighter. He was a warrior of renown during his days in Palembang, undefeated in any duel, with or without arms. As he waited for his breathing to return to normal, he surveyed Adhi Vira. His strength vastly exceeded his foe's, Biduk Bota judged. The man from the mountains had made a grave error in accepting his challlenge, he concluded. As for himself, he had nothing to lose now.

"We'll fight without arms next," Biduk Bota suggested. Or more like insisted.

The Sumatran had a brazen, arrogant air about him, Adhi Vira decided. It disgusted him. Then he thought of the things Biduk Bota had done, the people he had killed, the women he had hurt. Suddenly Adhi Vira wanted to spit at him.

No. To have the best chance of beating his massive opponent, he had to keep all feeling under iron hold. Biduk Bota had a formidable physique and  immense strength. But Adhi Vira believed that he had the resilience and the fortitude, as well as the will, to defeat the giant facing him.

"I accept," Adhi Vira replied calmly. "But this time, the fight will go to the end."

The fight resumed. This time the two men would fight only with their hands, elbows, feet, and knees. And their heads too. As soon as they entered the fight area again Biduk Bota reclaimed his spot in the centre. He turned in position, while Adhi Vira circled around him.

"You've made a big mistake, mountain man," Biduk Bota cracked his knuckles.

No sooner had he spoken than Adhi Vira shot out a right hook, catching him in the chin. The Sumatran stumbled to one side, bewildered. "No, you have," Adhi Vira replied.

"You're going to die soon," Biduk Bota brought up both fists. Then he began to circle Adhi Vira.

"Really?" Adhi Vira remained unruffled. Then he smiled casually, as he looked over his opponent. It was a fearless smile. A smile of death. "No, I think you are."

A shade of doubt crossed Biduk Bota's mind. Adhi Vira snapped a swift flick kick to his ribs.

Biduk Bota's face reddened. He leapt forward and swung at Adhi Vira's face. It was a wild blow which Adhi Vira ducked easily, then countered with an uppercut. The Sumatran moved too fast and Adhi Vira missed, and Biduk Bota riposted with a knee to Adhi Vira's gut. But Adhi Vira moved away in time and smashed an elbow into Biduk Bota's face.

The Sumatran was now seething with rage. Charging forward like a crazed bull, he grabbed Adhi Vira, who somehow could not wiggle out in time. Biduk Bota lifted Adhi Vira off the ground, then began crushing him in a death embrace. There was nothing Adhi Vira could do. Both his arms were trapped in Biduk Bota's vice hold. His legs did not have any room to manoeuver. The wind in his chest was rapidly running out, and his face was paling fast.

All Adhi Vira had in him now was will alone. Slowly, he slumped forward, to his left. "You fight like a sick eunuch," Biduk Bota sneered, tightening his hold. The pain was excruciating.

No, it could not end this way, Adhi Vira thought to himself. If it did, he would forever be remembered by the people of Amdan Negara as the clown prince who gave away the kingdom he had regained by a hard fought victory back to his defeated enemy on a platter.

He saw Prabhava and Kembang Seri Wangi standing stiffly side by side several armspans away. Prabhava had his hand on his sword. Kembang Sri Wangi had hers on her bow. He knew she could nock and draw in a heartbeat if she had to. They were waiting for a signal from him. But he kept them waiting. He had to beat Biduk Bota on his own.

The long years of his hard struggle, the tough sacrifices of his people, the vicious killings of innocents by Biduk Bota, all swam through his mind. Images of the violent deaths of Utih's and Uda's parents, and the cruel abuses and executions of the mothers and fathers of Pinang Jingga and Nibung Ulung, formed in his head. Then he recalled the prophecy of Teratai the Seer about his daughter.

No. He would not allow anyone to rob Kembang Seri Wangi of her foretold destiny. His blood warmed, simmered and boiled. He felt something surge in him. Drawing every last bit of his remaining strength, with a grunt Adhi Vira whipped his head up and rightward, smashing the right side of Biduk Bota's jaw. The big Sumatran swayed, but his hold did not falter.

With another grunt Adhi Vira whipped his head again, this time from the right, snapping leftward, striking Biduk Bota's jaw on the left. Biduk Bota lurched, and his hold slackened a wee bit. Adhi Vira reared backward as far as he could, then with a loud roar slammed his head squarely into Biduk Bota's face, shattering his nose. As Biduk Bota swayed further, Adhi Vira gained more space and whacked his left knee into the man's groin. Biduk Bota groaned and dropped Adhi Vira, then staggered back a step.

It was enough for Adhi Vira. He had gained a few good breaths, and his strength returned quickly. Spinning leftward a full circle, Adhi Vira leapt high and with a great bellow thundered his right foot into Biduk Bota's head. The Sumatran fell like a log. "And you like a dumb ox," came Adhi Vira's delayed reply.

For the last ten years all the fighting Biduk Bota had done consisted of beating up injured exhausted peasants whom his men had hunted and captured after they rose against him, disobeyed his orders or refused his demands. It was not the best of conditioning for a fighter's body, but it was enough for him, he always thought.

Adhi Vira, on the other hand, had had to always keep himself in peak combat condition, in order to lead his fledgling defenders' army by example. He would be running two prasanga uphill on at least two days of every week, and swimming another half prasanga against the tide on another two days.

He would also be regularly whipping his limbs against the stems of young palm or bamboo, besides taking part in punishing tree climbing sprint contests which often he himself organised. Robust sparring bouts with the more advanced among the trainee fighters under his tutelage formed a staple activity. While in the last two months, preparing for his assault on Bukit Panau, he had ramped up his bone crunching training regime another notch.

As the duel wore on, Adhi Vira's superior fitness, endurance and finesse began to tell. In the end, Biduk Boda was beaten to within an inch of his life by Adhi Vira. The Sumatran's nose was already a bloody pulp. Now his entire face swelled up like a fat pumpkin, his eyes almost completely closed, his left leg, right arm, left shoulder, his jaw and several ribs broken.

There was no hope for Biduk Bota now, and well he knew it. He signalled submission, which the referee accepted. Then he begged for forgiveness from Adhi Vira.

"It is not I who hold the right to forgive you," Adhi Vira stood firm. "It is the people of Bukit Panau, and everybody else who's had family, relatives or friends killed, injured, maimed, or abused by you and your men."

"There can be no forgiveness!" someone screamed.

"Blood for blood!" another shouted. "Limb for limb! Life for life!"

"An animal must die like a animal!" yet another one yelled.

"Let's get it over with quickly then," Biduk Bota retorted. He was expecting to be personally executed by Adhi Vira. How wrong he was. The crowd turned wilder.

"The crocodile's cage!" a man roared. "I want him in the crocodile's cage! Today Biduk Bota will be the dish for Jaka Pelara!" A few others screamed and yelled their agreement. The calls grew quickly. The crowd worked into a frenzy.

"Wait, all of you! Get a hold of yourselves!" Adhi Vira tried to calm them down. To dissuade them from pleasing their own primordial urge. He should have known better. There was no holding back the floodgates of long suppressed wrath. Hundreds of angry villagers stormed toward Biduk Bota from all directions. In among them were Utih and Uda. Pinang Jingga and Nibung Ulung looked on coldly from the sidelines. But Adhi Vira knew each of them had a tempest raging in his heart.

There was nothing Adhi Vira could do now. There was no way he could stand in the crowd's way. Not even the Lord of the Mountain could deny them the justice they had to have.

Biduk Bota looked at Adhi Vira, his face forlorn, his eyes pleading. The prince warrior looked all around himself, then shrugged. "I can duel with a brave strong man and beat him," he slipped in a backhand compliment. Not that it mattered in any way anymore. "But I can't argue with an army of furious men." As Adhi Vira spoke those last words, his face turned into a mask.

Several men dragged Biduk Bota toward his crocodile's cage, the man struggling in vain against them. Amid his ghastly screams, they hoisted him, held him up high for some moments for Jaka Pelara to drool at, then threw him into the cage with a relish, to be devoured by his own personal reptilian executioner.

The hungry beast grinned as it pounced on its master and tore savagely into him. It bit off and swallowed an arm, then gorged on a leg, then wrenched out a large chunk of flesh and bone. Several loud groans loosed out of Biduk Bota's throat. After a while his screams grew fainter and fainter.

The water changed from light brown to crimson. The reptile sank its huge teeth into the man's belly, lapping up his entrails, completely oblivious to all the fuss going on around it. The crowd winced and gasped. Then it bit his head off and munched on it, crunching his skull and slurping on his brain. Several people turned away. A few of them vomitted.

At last, complete peace came to the two young warriors, Pinang Jingga and Nibung Ulung, and their two uncles, Utih and Uda. The pain and bitterness they had had to bear through all those years had now been healed. With the ultimate antidote. They had not had the pleasure of killing the killer of their parents with their own hands. But what had just happened before their own eyes was good enough for them.

Thus was how, their spirits forged in the furnace of pain, suffering and adversity, their bodies toughened up by the unforgiving life in the mountains, their souls strengthened by infinite persistence and perseverance, six hundred fighters of the defenders' army, the Dharma Kusuma Army, fought over two thousand well armed enemy warriors in their own bastion and vanquished them completely. 

§

Every fighter of the Dharma Kusuma Army now looked so happy. Their glorious victory, hard earned as it was, filled their hearts with good cheer. Strangely, however, Pinang Jingga sat huddled alone on a coconut tree stump.

"Pinang," Adhi Vira approached his adopted son. "You're looking so morose. We're all supposed to be celebrating, you know. Something is troubling you."

"I was just thinking, Father," the young captain replied. "Had we lost that series of one on one fights just now, it would have meant that Biduk Bota would have remained in power in Bukit Panau, to continue lording it over the people of the area, and the entire Kelantan River Valley. Even though we had already smashed his army, and should have executed him immediately."

"I see. So that's what had been vexing you. I should have known, you've never changed all these years, Pinang. Always thinking too much about little things."

"What little things, Father? You gambled what we had won from our hard earned, hard fought victory in order to satisfy some stupid warrior pride of yours. What if we had lost to Biduk Bota in that individual combat?"

"But we won, didn't we? So why are you still wallowing in this silly self-recrimination of yours?"

"Oh, Father," Pinang was flush with angst. "I don't know. I just thought it was so ... unnecessary."

"If it makes you happy, Son, I had already instructed Wawa and Wangi, to take appropriate action if any of our individual combatants, beginning with Buluh Padu, had looked in serious danger of losing. They and their fighters would have charged at the remnants of Biduk Bota's army with all their might and killed every one of our enemies, including Biduk Bota himself. To ensure that none of Biduk Bota's sly plans would ever have materialised." 

"But Wawa had looked as if he was truly worried about your acceptance of Biduk Bota's challenge. And Wangi too."

 "That meant that they were both good actors then."

"You mean that ... you had it all planned out, Father?"

"Of course, Son. What else do you think?"

"Oh, I never."

"And you thought that you knew me, after all these years. I still surprised you, didn't I?"

"I should have known better. But, Father, you had already pledged to Biduk Bota to honour your part of the terms of the fight."

"Pinang, a promise is a promise. It should be honoured. But I wouldn't have hesitated to break my promise, especially a promise to an enemy as vile and vicious as Biduk Bota, in order to save the life of even one of my own men."

"In that case, why did you even bother to accept Biduk Bota's challenge to individual combat? Forcing us all to put our lives on the line so unnecessarily? Wasn't that a stupid act that jeopardised ourselves for nothing, Father?"

"No! It was certainly not for nothing. I wanted to test your valour and have you display it. Each one of you."

"So it was all for testing and display?"

"More than that, Pinang. It was also for improving and strengthening your skills and self-confidence. For your own sakes and for the sake of Amdan Negara. Didn't you yourself once tell me that you wanted to be a great warrior? Now, greatness in fighting will not be obtained from merely training with friends, or fighting against ordinary opponents. Those are only for building a base."

"Then, how else?"

"Greatness is only acquired little by little, fight by fight, fighting opponents who are themselves great fighters. One day, when you have become a great fighter yourself, a respected general perhaps, then only you might understand. And you know, the next time you fight in individual combat, you will fight even better than today. Because you have already experienced it once."

"Ummm ... so that is the way."

"Come, Pinang. That evil monster who had hurt, abused and murdered your parents has received his just punishment. Let's go and celebrate with the others. It isn't proper to be drowning yourself in depression while others are having a smashing time. Let's go!"

"All right, Father."

§

Two young ladies were hurriedly leaving the palace grounds. Each was carrying a basket of personal goods on her head. They both looked nervous and worried.

"Where're you two going, if I may know?" Adhi Vira enquired.

"Err ... umm ... we're just going away, my lord," one of them answered sheepishly. "Just leaving this place, my lord."

"So, do you have a particular destination in mind?"

"Not really, my lord," the other one spoke. "We'll just follow our feet. Wherever they lead us to, there we shall go. We can't go back to our villages, I don't think. Our folks might not want us."

"Were you servants of Biduk Bota?" The two women cast their eyes downward.

Adhi Vira thought for a while. "Very well then. If you two have no place else to go to, why don't you just stay? I expect that my family would be needing your assistance, to help us with the housekeeping and all. That's if you both agree, of course."

"We would not want to inconvenience you or your family in any way, sir," the first one spoke again.

"Of course not," Adhi Vira assured them both. "Don't you two worry about that. And the building is definitely too big for my daughter alone to administer. I'm sure she'd be only too happy to have you both to assist her."

"My father is right," Kembang Seri Wangi approached softly from behind the two young women. "I would be needing help from the two of you. I would be glad to have you both stay with us."

The two women looked at each other. They seemed to brighten up again.

§

The people of Amdan Negara uninamously agreed to appoint Adhi Vira as their next Narapati or Provincial Governor, pending official approval from Palembang. In truth, however, they did not care so much anymore about Palembang's blessing. From then on, he would be their chief and leader, with or without Palembang's endorsement. Subsequently, Adhi Vira appointed himself as Senapati or Commander of the Army. In short order, he made his daughter Deputy Narapati and his son in law Deputy Senapati. Nibung Ulung, Pinang Jingga and Buluh Padu were named Junior Commanders.

Gemilang Sakti Palace was restored to its former centuries old ancestral name, Dharma Kusuma Palace. As soon as he moved into his family's ancestral abode, Adhi Vira set about sending letters of friendship to Kedah Negara, Gangga Negara, Patani Seri Negara, Terengganu Primula Negara, Pahang Indera Pura and Gelanggi Ayu to revitalise long waned relations with them.

"Would it not be proper for us to send a similar letter to Maharaja Chulamani Varma Deva, Father?" Prabhava asked his father in law.

"That wouldn't be necessary just yet," answered Adhi Vira. "We'll just wait and see Palembang's reaction toward us. If we're too hasty in approaching them, it might be interpreted as weakness or insecurity. We have to demonstrate courage and confidence, but without appearing arrogant. Let them be in the position of not really knowing our true strength. Anyway, news of our spectacular victory would be reaching them soon through merchants and adventurers travelling to Palembang or transitting there."

"But we have to do something about Palembang, Father," Kembang Seri Wangi approached from the main hall.

"Of course. But all in good time. We'll make preparations to go there, in two teams. Covertly and in disguise. The Celestial Horse will masquerade as a trading fleet from Bhangala, with Prabhava as the fleet's chief. He will play a Bhangali merchant with close connections to the Pala Dynasty, who is on a trading expedition to the Golden Peninsula and the Golden Islands. With his background, that shouldn't be too difficult for him. The rest will act as servants and shipmen. Prabhava will find more Bhangali adventurers to join him. That would help make things look more authentic."

"And the other team, Father?" Prabhava enquired.

"Nibung Ulung will lead it. Buluh Padu will assist him. They will be disguised as ordinary adventurers. Their team will split into small groups, which will arrive in Palembang separately. Only your team will arrive together. Both teams shall scout and spy on Palembang, especially assessing their intentions toward Amdan Negara. You will both report what you find to me. If we can confirm that conditions there are safe for us, then only shall I send Pinang Jingga to lead an official friendship delegation there. Even then your team and Nibung Ulung's shall remain in Palembang. To be the rescue force in case Pinang Jingga and his team suddenly find themselves in unexpected danger."

"Ummm ... what if our intelligence suggests that Palembang is planning an attack on Amdan Negara?"

"You will send news to me immediately. Then both you and Nibung Ulung, with all your men, must return to Amdan Negara with all haste. We shall make preparations to face Palembang's army here. And on your way back home, you will stop by Gelanggi Ayu, and recruit as many mercenaries as you can who are ready to serve with Amdan Negara's army, irregardless of their clan, tribe or nation. Including men from Java, Berunai and Sulawesi. As long as they're willing to pledge allegiance to Amdan Negara all through the period of their service. We shall assess their loyalty with greater stringence when they arrive here."

Thus Prince Adhi Vira, aided by his daughter Kembang Seri Wangi, his son in law Prabhava, and his two adopted sons Nibung Ulung and Pinang Jingga, eventually vanquished the foreign usurpers of Amdan Negara and wrested back his family's ancestral home, Dharma Kusuma Palace. That centuries old heritage of the Dharma Kusuma Dynasty in Bukit Panau. The place that would be the next base for his family's quest to regain their lost ancestral throne and restore the fallen kingdom of Amdan Negara. After both had been taken away from their ancestors by foreign conquerors, from whom they had slipped into the hands of pretenders working in cahoots with bands of pirates, brigands and marauders.

Nevertheless, Adhi Vira knew that his Dharma Kusuma Army, if it came to it, was not yet strong enough for him to entertain any serious thought of unilaterally declaring total independence for Amdan Negara from Palembang's overlordship. An all out war with Palembang over the matter would be out of the question. For the moment at least anyway. So, as Amdan Negara's new Narapati, he would continue to pay tribute to Palembang. Still, the people of Amdan Negara now dared to dream of complete sovereignity, and they cherished the hope that one day their long fallen kingdom would rise again, and eventually prise itself fully free from the stifling yoke of foreign vassalage.