“Dry seasons in Viryana were not so devastating for the population as they are now, I’m told. Daivyakt, both nobles and priests alike, would raise water from the aquifers beneath the island, similar to the exercise you did today with the bucket, and distribute it to vasudhakt in exchange for tithes or taxes.”
“Shouldn’t they have given it for free?” Poppy traced her finger on her own half-full water glass. “I thought the gods gave daivyakhi to people so that they could care for others.”
“The daivyakt had a kingdom to run,” Hasan said. “Everyone had to contribute, daivyakt with their power, and vasudhakt with their labor. It was a fair system in theory, though maybe not in practice. The Welks exploited this inequality. Their first expedition built their own well and gave the vasudhakt water for free, no tithe or tax required. All they had to do was listen to the Welkish missionaries preach about the Founder. They claimed their mission was to create a world where all peoples were equal, and how these wells were part of that mission to ensure that all could drink regardless of caste or color. Vasudhakt began to convert, realizing they had more value as servants of the Founder than as followers of the pantheon.”
As Hasan spoke, Rohini entered the kitchen, accompanied by one of the widows, both of them bearing a sack of produce. They dumped their haul on the counter and began to sort the different fruits and vegetables. Hasan didn’t let that interrupt them, continuing his story.
“At the same time, the maharaja, Zeyar Rai, passed away?—yes,” he said, laughing at the look on Poppy’s face, “Zeyar is named for that king. Explains his ego, doesn’t it?”
Poppy thought she heard Rohini smother a snicker in the corner, and fought to restrain a giggle of her own.
“Zeyar’s son, Jagat Rai, ascended the throne. Jagat had the misfortune of being the first king born without magic.”
“How?” Poppy interrupted. “I thought being daivyakt passes from parent to child?”
“Jagat was a bastard,” Rohini cut in, unable to pretend any longer that she wasn’t eavesdropping. She left the task of unpacking groceries to the widow and came to sit at the table. “His mother, the maharani, was sleeping with one of the vasudhakt palace staff.”
“Really?” Poppy asked.
“Zeyar Rai forbid open speculation, and of course the queen denied it, but many believed that Jagat was illegitimate,” Hasan said.
“It doesn’t matter why he was impotent.” Rohini waved a hand impatiently. “His reign was doomed from the start. Who wants a king who has been snubbed by the gods? It would have been better for everyone if Zeyar Rai had named Narayan as his heir.”
“Narayan?” Poppy asked. The name was familiar to her, though she could not place its significance.
“Jagat Rai’s maternal cousin,” Hasan said. “He was from the noble Sovan family, descended from a long line of water-wielders, and had the strongest affinity for the gift in living memory. His popularity made Jagat paranoid, and was probably one of the things that drove him to meet with the Welkish missionaries. Word of the Welkish missionaries’ growing influence on the vasudhakt had reached the royal court, though no one took it seriously until Jagat met with their leader, none other than Charles Sutherland.”
This was where Poppy’s Welkish tutors and professors at Thornhaven had always started the story, with Charles Sutherland’s alliance with Jagat Rai. Clearly, the Virians did not consider their union as beneficial as the Welkish did.
“Charles sold Jagat on a vision of Viryana without magic, where he would not be considered lacking simply because he had been born ‘normal.’ Jagat took Charles into his confidence and established a Council of Lords to advise him.”
“A council of Welkish vipers,” Rohini interjected. “He removed everyone who had ever dared to question him from positions that had been held in their families for centuries, and then he replaced them with turncoats and colonizers that his council endorsed.”
“Eventually,” Hasan continued, shooting his mother an exasperated look, “the Welkish missionaries convinced him to convert to the fellowship of the Founder. When Jagat converted, he also ordered the destruction of the temple within the royal compound, demanding that a cathedral to the Founder replace it. This was when Narayan confronted him, along with several other noblemen who were concerned about the direction of the country.”
“Too little, too late,” Rohini said. “Most of the original officials under Zeyar’s rule had already been replaced, the administration of the country pawned off on traitors and strangers.”
“Ma,” Hasan said, “can you let me finish, please? I’m almost done.”
“Fine,” Rohini grumbled. She picked up their empty plates and took them to the sink, where she began washing them.
“To Jagat, the confrontation was proof that Narayan had been trying to usurp him all along. War broke out, during which the Welkish Imperial Army took Jagat’s side. The Welkish historians call this the Unnatural Coup. While the daivyakt had immense power, they simply did not have the numbers to fight back against both the Imperial Armyandthe vasudhakt converts. Jagat targeted the compounds of his opponents, particularly their temples, which crippled the daivyakt’s ability to fight. The war finally ended after Jagat found Narayan and his family, and ordered their execution?—Narayan, his family, all household servants, and priests.”
Poppy gasped. “Even the children?”
“Especially the children. Jagat did not want to leave the door open to be challenged again by another member of Narayan’s family ten years later.”
“That’s horrible!” She shuddered.
“With the ‘insurrection’ quelled, Jagat continued to rule with the help of his Council of Lords. His health started failing, and in his final years, he gave more and more authority to the Council. When he finally died, the Council selected Sutherland to continue leadership of the country. Jagat had already handed off most of the workings of the country to the Council of Lords, making the transition of power nearly seamless. The emperor formally annexed Viryana and declared it a new territory claimed in the name of the Founder, with Charles Sutherland the first viceroy. The remaining temples?—of which there were few?—were destroyed.”
“Did no one dissent?” Poppy asked.
Rohini shut the water off, her dishwashing complete. “Those who did were taken care of,” she answered, swinging a dish towel over her shoulder as she turned back to face them. “My grandfather told me stories of those days. Protestors were arrested, interrogated, and, in some cases, publicly executed. Sometimes, even if your only crime was knowing a dissenter, you would be taken in. Neighbors turned their backs on one another, not wanting to be targeted by association. People learned pretty quickly that if they wanted to survive, the best thing to do was keep their heads down.”
Poppy couldn’t disagree with that. After all, wasn’t that what she’d been doing all her life? Keeping her head down, reciting scripture she didn’t necessarily agree with, trying desperately to become a success story so that she didn’t have to return to the streets?
“Thank you,” she said to both Hasan and his mother. “I’ve never heard that story told like that before. The way the Welkish tell it, the vasudhakt were being taken advantage of by the daivyakt, and they worked with Jagat to subdue the daivyakt and introduce the Founder to Viryana. When he died, Viryana joined the empire voluntarily.”
