part0041

Ratri had chosen the books from all over Illavarti, carrying each one of them personally, or by her allies, to be put in the library of Indragarh, the prestigious city in the kingdom of Keekatpur. Born in the villages of Indragarh, she had promised to uphold the culture of Indragarh. But much had gone astray as many hopped onto the violent bandwagon, something she had always detested.

Ratri had chosen and tried really hard to work her way through it, step by step. And that was what she had been gifted with—a library. She was exuberant about it. That was her ideal dream, to live and breathe among books. But it came with a price. King Vedanta had taken away her power over the hospitality and cultural programmes. No more theatre or flyers or free speech talks against any injustices done by Tribals. Truth be told, Ratri was never against the inclusion of Tribals. They were clearly the less developed race in front of the race of Manavs. But then it went against her when he took away from her the position that gave her power.

“Uh, we don’t want any issues surrounding the recent events and I know you want to be the voice of the people, but the government can’t handle this as of now.” And he had left her alone. “It would be better if you concentrate on building our national library for now, till things begin to cool down and then you’ll be reinstated again.”

This had all happened before the moment Lakshmi had come for her help. She was proud to have a niece like her, who strived for knowledge. And she was beautiful, not just in terms of her physical exterior, but she was also beautiful by nature. She was a good person and they were hard to find nowadays. Not many remembered what it meant to be a good person.

Ratri had taken revenge on Vedanta by using her powers to find the leftover weapons from the armoury, which she had tried to pass off as theatre dummy props.

But now, given the library, she wanted Lakshmi more than ever. It was a temporary shift from her powers as the hospitality minister, but it was arduous. The entire library, though stocked with all genres, had no alphabetical listing or orderliness. Her compulsive disorder had kicked in and she was already working with an assigned Yaksha, Kumar. He would speak in a very strange dialect, half of it in his own native language.

Though as of now, things had grown quiet, without Kumar vocalizing anything. From the first floor of the library, amongst the leather-bound books, Ratri tucked a lock of hair behind her ears and looked down. “Where are you, Kumar?”

“Madam?” The voice quipped from far off.

The figure stumbled excitedly until he reached Ratri’s vision.

“What happened, Kumar?”

“There’s a visitor specially to see you.”

“Tell him or her I’m busy! Don’t you see I’m busy? I’m bloody, damn busy.”

“But madam, it is… it is Lord Kali’s sister, Princess Durukti.”

“You mean Lady Durukti?”

“Yes, yes, that…” he chattered in his own language, “she wants to talk to you…” and his voice trailed when the booming voice of a woman came forth.

“I’ll take it from here, Kumar.”

“Oh your highness.” Kumar propelled himself, bowed and knelt down in respect. Durukti signalled for him to stand, as her guards took him aside.

Ratri looked at Durukti, wondering if it was about the weapons she had given away in a moment of hasty decision. What has Lakshmi done with them? All Ratri was told in terms of an explanation, was that she needed to trust Lakshmi.

And here Lady Durukti was, bearing down upon her at her library. She was a pretty woman, quite majestic for her age, but she had a sense of grandeur that went with her image. Ratri didn’t find it strange, for she was all dressed up. Physical appearances, though, were just societal injunctions according to Ratri.

“Yes? How can I help you?” Ratri came to the point, without wasting time with niceties or polite small talk.

“I hear you are the most educated woman in this city.” Her voice was gentle.

Ratri was impressed. Moreover, because Durukti had just complimented her and she had liked it.

“Yakshini is a complex language.” Durukti was still on the ground floor. “It took me a while to learn it as well, but I promised myself to learn all the Tribal languages before I would bring them together with my brother.”

“You did a good job out there, my lady, but how can I help you? I’m quite busy and it’ll be great if you can get to the point…”

“Have you heard of Shambala?”

Ratri looked up from the books, peering through the iron rails that supported the first floor. “Shambala?”

I am from there , Ratri thought.

“I have heard about the Soma Caves there. Is it true that they hold the medicinal capacity to cure the weak and the dying?”

“The flowers, yes. You need a qualified botanist to extract the juices out of it. I had a cold and it cured it.”

“I’m not talking about the flowers. I’m talking about the caves.”

She furrowed her brows. “You have heard the bogus stories as well then eh? I’ll just be very practical with you, my lady. I am a woman of science and books. The last thing I’ll really believe in is a bunch of stones that give you flying powers and cure your diseases.”

“Flying powers? I didn’t know about that.”

“Oh well, let’s just say people who ingest Soma get superhuman strength, which has never been proven, so I hardly believe it.”

“Has anyone ever taken it? If yes, what were the side effects?”

“Presently, no. The caves in the village have been shut down by the quakes. No one can enter. There was evidence of Soma consumption in the past, but they are all history book stories. They are all hearsay! Nothing true whatsoever, since nothing was definitively proven! Prove me wrong and I’ll gladly agree to be hanged.”

Durukti had a quiet, worried face. “I see. Just stories, then,” she spoke disappointedly.

“Just stories indeed, my lady.”

“Do you have a map to Shambala?”

Ratri nodded. “Check the G isle, and the map of Keekatpur would be in it. Many villages aren’t listed, but you might find sufficient information on Shambala.”

Durukti signalled her guardsman who checked the line. She studied the map intently as Ratri slyly peered over her shoulder while doing her work.

“Yes,” Durukti mused quietly. “Might I take this book for my reading?”

“Surely,” Ratri struggled to pull up a grin. “We haven’t started our memberships, but you are the first customer, so feel free to take it but don’t forget to return it. I hate delayed returns.”

“Don’t worry,” Durukti gently smiled. “I will.”

Ratri waved her farewell as she left the library. Ratri rushed downstairs and ordered Kumar to close the doors. He did so and then returned as Ratri sat down next to her study table and pulled out a paper. With a quill and an ink, she began to write.