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The Book of Wounds and Milestones
An in-universe record of deaths, births, illnesses, journeys, victories and sorrows that define the world of Travesty. Compiled from letters, court records, memories and the testimony of those who endured the last years of Treta Yuga.
How to use this document
Each entry is categorised by type:
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| BACKSTORY | An event that occurred before the main chronicle but continues to shape the story |
| DEATH | A death that leaves a consequence, memory, or unresolved wound |
| PREGNANCY | A pregnancy or related event with consequences for the story |
| ILLNESS | Illness, injury, or physical suffering that affects a character or community |
| WOUND | A physical or emotional wound whose effects continue beyond the original event |
| JOURNEY | A significant journey that changes a character, relationship, or political situation |
| MILESTONE | A significant event marking a change in status, relationship, or political circumstance |
DEATHS
1. King Dashrath
Location: Referenced in Ch. 6 (Discordant Accord) and Ch. 8 (Nocturne of Sita and Ram)
Type: BACKSTORY / DEATH
Who: King Dashrath
What:
Died during the first exile of Raghav (Ram). His passing cast a long shadow over the House of Raghu and shaped the loyalties that followed. Even after his death, the promises Dashrath made in life continued to bind those who loved him.
2. Ravana of Lanka
Location: Referenced in Ch. 1 (Prelude of Koshala) and Ch. 11 (Chorus of Sisters)
Type: BACKSTORY / DEATH
Who: Ravana of Lanka
What:
Slain at the end of the Lankan war. His death brought victory, yet peace proved more elusive than war itself. The wounds left behind would continue to haunt both victors and survivors for years to come.
3. Senani Rudrashura of Kekaya
Location: Referenced in Ch. 1 (Prelude of Koshala), Kaikeyi’s interior monologue
Type: BACKSTORY / DEATH
Who: Senani Rudrashura of Kekaya; Kaikeyi
What:
Killed despite a peace treaty, betrayed by his own brother. His death transformed young Kaikeyi. She learned then that trust and love could become instruments of ruin in the wrong hands — a lesson she never forgot.
BIRTHS & PREGNANCIES
4. The Children of Ram and Sita
Location: Conception referenced throughout Ch. 1–12; birth occurs in Book 2
Type: ONSTAGE / PREGNANCY
Who: Ram; Sita
What:
Conceived after the return from Lanka. The pregnancy became both a blessing and the centre of dangerous rumours. Sita endured the discomforts of early pregnancy with quiet dignity, and continued to concern herself with the welfare of Saket and its people.
5. Mandovi’s Secret Hope
Location: Referenced in Ch. 2 (Golden Serenade); resolved in Ch. 10 (Bassline of Unease)
Type: ONSTAGE / PREGNANCY
Who: Mandovi
What:
Mandovi herself suspected she carried a child, though she kept this knowledge hidden until she was certain.
6. Sita’s First Trimester
Location: Referenced in Ch. 2 (Golden Serenade), Ch. 3 (Discord in the Chamber), and Ch. 4 (River Rhapsody)
Type: ONSTAGE / ILLNESS
Who: Sita
What:
Nausea, soreness, chills and exhaustion accompanied the first months of pregnancy. Yet she continued to participate in ceremonies, journeys and affairs of state — accepting no special accommodation that was not offered to others.
ILLNESSES
7. The Ailment of Queen Sumitra
Location: Referenced in Ch. 5 (Sunset Sonnet) and Ch. 12 (Final Cadence)
Type: ONSTAGE / ILLNESS
Who: Queen Sumitra; Lakshman (Luxman)
What:
In her advancing years, Sumitra required constant care. Lakshman devoted many hours to attending to his mother and ensuring her comfort, a duty he bore without complaint.
8. Fever Among the Canal Workers
Location: Referenced in Ch. 5 (Sunset Sonnet)
Type: ONSTAGE / ILLNESS
Who: Canal workers near the Trimurti temple
What:
Workers near the Trimurti temple suffered high fever and were quarantined. Swift action prevented a wider outbreak and preserved the kingdom’s efforts against drought.
WOUNDS
9. Lakshman’s Near Death in Lanka
Location: Referenced in Ch. 8 (Nocturne of Sita and Ram)
Type: BACKSTORY / WOUND
Who: Lakshman (Luxman)
What:
The war almost claimed Ram’s brother. He survived, though the shadow of that moment remained. Some in the court never ceased to regard Sita’s long captivity and the war it brought as the cause of all that followed.
10. The Emotional Wounds of Raghav (Ram)
Location: Referenced in Ch. 8 (Nocturne of Sita and Ram)
Type: BACKSTORY / WOUND
Who: Raghav (Ram)
What:
Exile. The death of Dashrath. The war at Janasthana. Sita’s abduction. The war with Lanka. Lakshman’s near death. These events left scars deeper than any sword wound. That Ram bore them without visible grief was itself a kind of grief.
11. Sita’s Captivity
Location: Referenced in Ch. 1 (Prelude of Koshala) and Ch. 8 (Nocturne of Sita and Ram)
Type: BACKSTORY / WOUND
Who: Sita
What:
Though she emerged physically unharmed from the fire ordeal, the memories of separation and suspicion followed her into queenship. She spoke of the year rarely. Those who knew her well could see it in the way she paused before certain words.
JOURNEYS
12. The Fourteen-Year Exile
Location: Referenced in Ch. 5 (Sunset Sonnet), Ch. 8 (Nocturne of Sita and Ram), and Ramayana Summary
Type: BACKSTORY / JOURNEY
Who: Ram; Sita
What:
The longest trial of Ram and Sita. It forged affection, companionship and shared purpose between two people who might otherwise have remained strangers to each other’s inner lives. The forest gave them what the palace could not.
13. Relief Expedition to Matsya
Location: Referenced in Ch. 3 (Discord in the Chamber); journey depicted in Ch. 4 (River Rhapsody)
Type: BACKSTORY / JOURNEY
Who: Ram; Sita
What:
Ram and Sita journeyed west to witness drought and deliver grain. The misery they encountered along the river strengthened their resolve to govern not from ceremony but from proximity to the people’s suffering.
MILESTONES
14. Coronation of Ram and Sita
Location: Referenced in Prologue before Ch. 1
Type: BACKSTORY / MILESTONE
Who: Ram; Sita
What:
Three months before the events of the main chronicle. The kingdom celebrated with a joy that felt, to some who were paying attention, slightly too insistent — as though celebration itself could hold back what was already gathering.
15. Return from Lanka
Location: Referenced in Ch. 1 (Prelude of Koshala)
Type: BACKSTORY / MILESTONE
Who: Ram; Sita
What:
After years of separation, husband and wife returned home together. The welcome procession filled the streets of Saket. What came after is what this chronicle records.
16. Alliance with Kashi
Location: Referenced in Ch. 6 (Discordant Accord) and Ch. 7 (Harmony in Greens)
Type: ONSTAGE / MILESTONE
Who: Sita
What:
Sita’s diplomacy secured friendship where conquest might have failed. She understood that a kingdom held by persuasion is more durable than one held by force. This was not always a view she and Ram shared.
For Readers Who Want to Go Further
Leave a comment using the Select a Passage option under Dear Reader.
I will add entries as the screenplay and Book 2 develop.