part0018

Faint whispers could be heard as he opened his eyes, a white light blinding him and allowing him to see nothing for a while. And then slowly his sight began to recover. He saw Durukti towering over him, her face contorted into an expression of concern.

“Uh, yes,” Kali heaved. He couldn’t stand. He was frozen to the spot. “Sorry, yeah…”

Durukti helped him up as Kali noticed there were two soldiers in the room, concerned for him. He waved and they immediately left, while he staggered over to the bed and sat.

“Why do you think you fainted?”

Kali shook his head. He had no idea how. He was relentlessly coughed till the point he had a blackout.

“Because of you, the council meeting has not begun.”

Kali looked up at Durukti. How little she had been when he had saved her from their burning village. The sight of a young lad with an infant wrapped in his arms still haunted him to this day. He had seen horrors he was not ready to speak about. She had now grown into a woman of beauty and grace, topped with a noble heart. She had knee-length hair braided to perfection, while her eyes were the same as Kali. Golden. Only their tribe had these genetic traits.

“You look sick.”

“I am perhaps. I am seeing visions and…my lungs they don’t feel all right.”

Durukti sat beside him and held her palm against his chest. She felt his heartbeat.

“It’s going too fast.”

“Yes. I should be leaving.”

Durukti nodded. “Take care, brother. I’ll meet you in the chambers.” She kissed his cheek and left.

He walked over to the polished brass plate, gazing at himself. And then he began to put on his clothes. He didn’t have any sword with him for he hated weapons. Too violent for his own use, he would ponder.

Dressing up, he exited the room and made his way towards the council chamber. He had reached the central maze of the forest in Rajgirh. He passed the prefecture as the floor opened out to steps that led to a pedestal. The walls were made of glazed stones, strong and dark, tall enough to touch the skies. The stationed soldiers were like hawks, peering at everyone, standing formidably with their weapons. Unlike the other cities of Illavarti, Indragarh didn’t have high ceilings or buildings, but were mostly open in plan, letting the skies play its magic.

He had entered the chamber, which was itself an open courtyard, in the midst of four trees, with a mammoth round table in between the bronze thrones.

Kali could see Vedanta sitting with his two guards, while Kuvera, Raktapa and Vasuki were waiting for Kali.

“I’m sorry for my delay, my friends.”

“For an important day like this, you shouldn’t have,” Vasuki complained.

“I am having a few health issues.” And his eyes darted towards Durukti, who slowly walked over to the throne, which belonged to Kali. She stood alongside Koko and Vikoko, who were wearing their bloody, dirty armour.

Kali sat on the chair and looked at everyone. “Shall we begin then?”

“You decide. After all, everything happens according to you,” Vedanta rambled.

“Well someone is disrespectful,” Kuvera playfully quipped.

“Of course I am. My people hate me. They call me a coward.”

“And soon they will term you as a visionary,” Kali said. “With the inclusion of Vasuki, you will have better ministers among your administrators, against Eastern and Western attacks. With Raktapa, you’ll have a stronger army, and with Kuvera your mercantile business will grow tenfold. It looks like a curse right now, but it’s only for the betterment of this kingdom.”

Kuvera nodded. “Yes your highness, you will have my support.”

Vedanta growled under his breath.

Kali looked at Koko as he brought the decree and placed it flat on the table. “The Treaty of Indragarh has been drafted by our legal advisors. Now it’s time to sign it and make it real.”

“The Dakshinis must be laughing at me,” Vedanta said, gritting his teeth.

The Dakshinis were the Southern kings, like the Udaiyas who were the Northern Kings of Illavarti. The Udaiyas controlled cities like Indragarh and for now, Kali had conquered and created pacts in the north.

“The Dakshinis aren’t my problem. They have their naval system, and they have their own relationship with Eelam,” he spoke about the island of prosperity that was populated by the Rakshas, the dark-skinned and literate warriors. “They are not our problem.”

“Exactly,” Raktapa said.

“Let the people of this city and the rest be accustomed to the new life, a life where everyone is equal and looked up to as a respectful citizen, despite the caste and class they come from.” Kali devotedly spoke. “Also, Lord Raktapa, I would need you at Agnigarh. There’s a small rebellion that must be staved off. While you are there, stay and handle the situation with King Samrat.”

“As you say, Lord Kali,” Raktapa smiled, baring his small and sharp canines.

“Shall we move forward then?”

Everyone nodded except for Vedanta, who reluctantly growled. Kali walked casually over to the table, dipped his quill in the inkstand and signed off his name. The same was done by Kuvera, then Raktapa, followed by Vasuki and finally by the stern Vedanta. Once it was done, Kali handed the paper to Koko and told him to keep it in the safe.

“As of now, the plan is that we will have new forts built. So we would need King Vedanta’s labourers at our disposal. Kuvera will handle the street bazaars.” To which Kuvera humbly nodded. “The theatre, miscellaneous activities and the armouries will be handled by Vasuki’s men. Tell Takshak look over the personal army of the state.”

“What about my commanders?” the Manav king asked, astounded.

“To be fair, King Vedanta, we don’t think they are capable enough.”

Vedanta rolled his eyes.

“What about the villages? Are we calling off the taxes?”

“Since the treasury is almost extinguished, and Kuvera’s promise to fill up the treasury has been delayed due to the problems in transportation, we should continue with taxation, at least temporarily.”

“The farmers are the cornerstone of Indragarh. With any additional taxes, they’ll be burdened unduly,” Vedanta protested.

Kali looked at him with hard eyes. “Your highness, I don’t really care. We need money to sustain this city, especially if we are building armed forts for ourselves.”

“He’s right,” Kuvera began, “but who will be the lucky person to handle that?”

“Not you,” Vasuki grinned.

Kuvera smothered a frown. Kali knew there was a bit of acrimony between these two tribes, but he toned it down with a timely and strategic announcement.

“My sister Durukti is capable of these affairs. She can enforce will when needed.”

“What will I do then?” spat Vedanta.

Kali looked over through the pages that were scattered on the table. He pulled out one. “You have the most important job. You will travel around the city with your chariot and men and tell the tale about how good it was to make a pact with us and how well Indragarh will rise from the underdevelopment it was suffering from, for so long.”

“You mean I should lie?”

“It’s one way to look at it and the other way is you are instilling hope in people that you weren’t defeated by us, which you clearly were, but you had worked with us because you saw them before yourself. You need to show you are still their king. You saw the future. You wanted me to make sure they don’t hate you. With you out there promising them a good thing, that’s exactly what I’m letting you have.”

Vedanta was fuming with anger and his eyes had grown bloodshot, but he didn’t say anything. He just clenched his fist and let go while Kali could only grin. How can I be any more reasonable?

Kali felt a burn in his chest that he ignored. He struggled with a smile as he ended the council meeting, “I’ll be organizing a feast at Rajgirh as well as a feast outside for the city dwellers, at a meagre cost of one silver coin per person. It’ll be good,” he paused, as the chest burn began to increase, “for signifying the brighter future we have ahead of us.”