A strange blue iridescence formed on the edge of the petals. The flower began to bloom, revealing glaring gaps where petals should have existed. But then, before the lotus fully unfurled, before they could get another glimpse, the glow died, causing it to curl into itself again.
But what was unmistakable was the ghostly blue image of Amaravathi’s grand palace that had appeared in the central receptacle of the lotus when it unfurled briefly.
“This is the most I can command the lotus to do. Because it obeys the will of the person who can wield it,” said Sage Aswi.
The sage turned to face Bheesmala. “Your Majesty, we are a sect of sages who live in the Vindhyas. Our knowledge isn’t infallible, because it is passed by word of mouth through generations. But what we know is that the lotus key was last used by a person named Anandi, who later called himself King Amarendra, after his marriage to a princess of a great kingdom. People speak of his legends down south. It has always been people of his bloodline who could operate the key. And that is why I said Amaravathi.”
He nodded at the closed flower still hovering gently in the air. “The lotus is a lifesaving key. It seeks to repair itself and, as such, will guide you on how to complete it. As you can see,several key pieces are missing. The image you saw on the lotus is the location of the next key piece. You will need to go on a journey to find all the component pieces, complete the key and then use it on the mechanism at the right time, to stop Meru from erupting.”
* * *
Veer took a break from the discussions of what was to happen next. He wanted a bath to wash away the soot and grime of the mountain trek, but he walked a short distance to a large rosewood table. A ring of small mirrors, no bigger than coins, surrounded the circular table, feeding whatever they “saw” into it. Veer waved his hand over its surface and his father’s magic embedded into enchanted the table recognized him.
A diorama of the subcontinent sprang on the previously smooth surface of the table, with a black line delineating the borders of each of the seven kingdoms. It was a topographical map and was magicked to resemble real-world events.
A small replica of the kingdom of Rajgarh formed at the foothills of Meru, which now reflected the volcano with fire at the top of the mountain. But Veer’s gaze went farther south, past the great plateau of Vivismati and Hoysyala, the flat plain, where the subcontinent’s three rivers—Narmada, Tripti, and Pravani—merged briefly before going on their own paths. Past the dense forest belt of the Tapovan, where man and beast dwelled in an uneasy companionship, dwindling out to the evergreen woods that thrived in the tropical climate of the south.
To the borders of Amaravathi. A place he had tried his darndest to forget for the past seven years.
Amaravathi was an old and ancient kingdom with vast wealth and knowledge. There were rumors that its main palace had been built on the remains of an even older kingdomthat belonged to the supernatural beings and was said to be indestructible.
Years ago, when Rajgarh had been a fledgling kingdom, King Bheesmala had set out to consolidate their influence by vanquishing the then existing major kingdoms and performing therajasuya yagna,a ritual of sacred fire, which gave Rajgarh sovereignty over the subcontinent. And gave him leave to declare himself the emperor of the Saptavarsha. His march for power came to a head when he encountered Amaravathi on the battlefield.
Three long years of battle followed, with much loss on both sides and the end nowhere in sight. Eventually, a truce was called. And to make sure each of the respective kingdoms held to their end of the bargain, a much deeper relationship than friendship was proposed.
Marriage.
To this day, Veer couldn’t say what made him choose Princess Chandrasena as his wife. He had met her once before marriage and they had parted that meeting, maybe not as bitter enemies but certainly not as friends. If he had known that meeting would prove to be a prediction of what his marriage would be like, he would have avoided it like the plague.
Instead, he had married her. Against all the well-meaning advice of their courtiers and against his own better judgment. And she took her revenge by attempting to kill him on the day of their marriage.
Veer might have eventually forgiven her for this transgression because of her status as his wife and a princess of a prestigious kingdom. What he found difficult to forget or forgive was that his dearest childhood friend had died at her hands during that attempt on his life.
Her family was appalled at her actions, but she exhibited no remorse or regret at a publicly held trial the next day,proudly condemning him and their marriage. He determined her punishment—a dozen rounds of whiplashes to be delivered every year and then abandoned her in Amaravathi for all these years.
Last he heard, she was banished from setting foot in the capital city of Amaravathi. Veer still didn’t think that was enough of a restitution for her crimes.
Since then, he tried his best to avoid any news of her. If it meant he had to immerse himself in wars, so be it. That she still walked the earth, a free woman, while his friend’s corpse lay decomposing in the ground, was a permanent wound on his heart that refused to heal despite the passage of time.
A hand fell on his shoulder.
“Are you all right, Veer?” asked King Bheesmala. “Do you need to rest?”
“I’ll rest after a course of action has been decided,” he said, trying to hide his exhaustion.
“Ah, yes. About that…” his father began.
“I’ll be going to Amaravathi, of course,” said Veer, anticipating his father’s words.
Bheesmala looked at his son, square in the eye. “Are you sure? It might mean revisiting the past and letting go of old grudges.”
“I am aware, Father, that there are some who doubt my stability after the incident with Ilavu,” said Veer, stressing over the words. “However, I’d thank you for showing some faith in me. I am, after all, your only son. It wouldn’t do for the crown prince to be thought of as so uncompromising that he couldn’t do a simple task of facing his old enemies.”
“That isn’t what I was referring to and you know it,” said Bheesmala, with mild reproach.
“But it’s in the minds of some of your courtiers,” said Veer, flicking his eyes toward the group of people nearby. Several of them, who had been staring at them, glanced away hastily.
“They’ll follow you, Veer,” said Bheesmala with conviction.
