Ashborn 358: The Akh Nara’s Return (Patreon)

Vir hadn’t quite known how the crowd would react to his speech. He’d braced himself for all-out pandemonium, with magic being hurled his way from all directions. 

As it turned out, everyone did as they were told and sat down. That was, everyone except the Chitran, most of whom steadily moved towards the commentator’s booth where he stood, despite the Bairans working to stop them. 

Other than that, however, the stadium was eerily quiet. Vir suspected it was mostly out of fear, but Vir could work with that. It was, at least, better than demons trampling over one another in frenzied panic.

Vir was under no delusion that this would end peacefully, however. He had a few more words to say, but after that, he’d need to flee. 

I wonder what will surprise them more? My speech? Or my exit. Vir smirked. Together, this day ought to go down in demonic history. As for whether it will be remembered as the beginning of a failed rebellion, or the start of a new era of demonic history, remained to be seen.

The first group of angry-looking Chitran kothis were now only twenty paces away, having broken through the lines of Bairans trying to keep them at bay. The Bairans had a tough job, having to deal with the crowd in a nonlethal manner, and so Vir felt bad for putting them through this ordeal.

Let’s make things a little harder for them, shall we?

“Would you mind if I borrowed this, er… Samik, right?” Vir asked the stricken commentator.

The Bairan stared back for a long moment, before finally realizing he’d been addressed, and nodded vigorously.

“Thanks,” Vir said with a wry smile. He wasn’t used to being a celebrity, and wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to the sensation, but he had to admit. It sure had its moments.

Exiting the booth, Vir Leaped out onto the arena floor, where Cirayus was being treated by a Panav.

Not just any Panav, it turned out. 

“Tara?” Vir asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh! The Akh Nara blesses me with his attention!” Tara said, placing a hand on her forehead and stumbling. “Whatever should I do? Do I bow down? Do I strike him dead? How spicy!”

“How amusing,” Vir said, without a trace of a smile. “I take it Cirayus is patched up, then?”

“Good as new!” Tara replied.

While Vir couldn’t quite place where she stood on the Akh Nara spectrum, she seemed jovial enough for now. It would have to suffice.

Turning back to the crowd, Vir saw the Chitrans who’d nearly reached him at the booth change course and push their way down to the stadium. Considering how high in the stadium the booth was, they had quite the journey ahead of them.

That bought Vir a bit more time.

“Lad, you may come to regret this,” Cirayus said, walking up to Vir.

“I thought this was what you wanted,” Vir muttered, slightly irritated to be getting a lecture at this point. 

Vir turned to find the giant beaming. “Oh, make no mistake, lad.I had hoped. I had dreamed of this outcome. A showdown at the finals with everything on the line. A glorious fight against a worthy foe at their full potential!”

Vir eyed the crowd. They were expecting him to continue, and he didn’t want to keep them waiting much longer. The main reason he was waiting was to allow Thaman’s forces to rally and organize. The more time he gave them, the more likely they would be to contain any outbreak that might ensue.

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Vir asked, exasperated that his godfather hadn’t even breathed so much as a hint about his desires.

“This decision had to come from you, lad. If I planted the seed in your mind, however small, you would have forever questioned if this decision came from you, or if it were due to my meddling. I could not allow that. For better or for worse, nothing will be the same after this.”

Vir could see the logic in that. “That’s an awful lot of trust to put in me.”

“And was it not well-placed? But to think you said all you did! That declaration was beyond even my imagination!”

“Oh, er, that’s…” Vir felt stupid for thinking he was due for a lecture. This was Cirayus, after all. He wanted nothing more than to see the Garga restored. If Vir said they were storming the keep tomorrow, he’d happily oblige.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you right now, lad. I take it you have a plan?”

 “The plan… Is to come up with a plan. Right now.”

Cirayus roared with laughter and clapped Vir’s shoulder. “Gah, I have missed this. This rush! This feeling of being alive!”

Vir glanced at Tara, who looked away. It seemed Cirayus’ antics were just as embarrassing to her as they were for Vir.

At that moment, Thaman, followed by two dozen Bairan soldiers in full armor, burst onto the stage. 

“We are ready,” the Bairan Raja announced the moment he landed. “Thank you for waiting. We are now in control of the situation.”

Vir glanced at the kothis who had been approaching the stage, and sure enough, their progress had halted, thanks to the swarm of troops they faced. Meanwhile, the rest of the stadium watched on from their seats.

His forces had been doing an excellent job of fending off the kothis and preserving order, but the peace was a fragile thing. A few poorly chosen words, and the chaos would erupt once again.

“Before I continue, may I clarify a few things?” Vir asked.

“I assume you mean to ask where Baira stands?”

Vir nodded. “Yes, and whether or not I have earned Balancer of Scales with this victory.”

Thaman took a long breath before delivering a short sentence. “With you. And yes.”

Vir smiled and nodded his thanks.

Clearing his throat, Vir brought the voice amplifier up to his mouth. Before he spoke, however, he searched the crowd and made eye contact with a certain demoness, high in the stands. Finding her, he nodded, and only after she nodded and began to make her way to the stage did he begin.

— — 

“I understand that many of you have preconceptions about who and what I am. Let me tell you, here and now, that I am not some great evil being, come to destroy this realm. I… am an orphan. I was robbed of my parents at birth, and would have died had my godfather, Cirayus, not ferried me into the Ash.”

Vir scanned the crowd. Every eye in the stadium was on him. Every ear listening with rapt, undivided attention. 

So far, so good, Vir thought.

“I was raised the son of a village lumberjack. Poor, simple, and oblivious to what I really was. An outsider among aliens. Over the years, I fought my way through the Ash to return here, hoping to find a place I might truly belong. Yet I return to find a realm which has decided to hate me, without ever once thinking to ask themselves whether that hate was warranted. Ask yourself—what have I ever done to you? And then ask yourselves, what have you done to me?”

The crowd stirred, visibly uncomfortable at the mention of their actions.

“You took my clan. You took my family and slaughtered innocents, all to kill a baby. And yet, despite the many wrongs you have wrought, I do not stand before you today promising revenge. This is not a declaration of war, and I have not come back to do harm to you. I understand that sometimes, difficult decisions must be made. That alliances must sometimes be forged, even when we loathe to link our hands with the devil. No, my qualms lie with one clan and one clan only.”

Vir pointed to the kothis who, even now, were clamoring to make their way to him. It was a wonder that violence hadn’t broken out, but Vir knew it was only a matter of time.

“The Chitran precipitated the war, and it is they who ought to be held accountable. My goal is simple. I merely wish to restore my clan, which was so brutally and unfairly annihilated, and to bring the Chitran to justice for their crimes. Past that, I am counting on all of you to ensure that this realm can exist in peace and harmony.”

“Lad, if I may?” Cirayus asked, extending a hand.

Hesitating only for a moment, Vir handed the voice amplification device over.

Turning to the crowd, Cirayus extended his two upper arms. “Hear me, demons of the Realm! I speak now, not as a Bairan, but as the sworn guardian of Sarvaak, son of Shari and Maion. By my title of Ravager, I swear to you now that I will end anyone who dares do harm to him. If you wish to get to Sarvaak, let it be known that you must through me, first.”

Cirayus beat his chest with such force that the sound was amplified by the device, reverberating through the stadium as a deep boom.

It was a bold move, and Vir was every bit aware of just how terribly this could go. It was also necessary that he knew where the lines stood, and who among the crowd was friend and foe.

Vir watched the assembled demons closely, paying special attention to the Rajas who were now in full view at the bottom of their respective clans’ sections.

Immediately obvious was the Panav’s reaction. They, along with the Bairans, were the only ones to clap once Vir had concluded his little speech. Whether that made them allies, Vir couldn’t say, but it was at least a good sign.

The Iksana were, as usual, difficult to read. Of all the clans, they seemed to have no reaction at all, while several of the Aindri had joined their Chitran friends in attempting to muscle their way past the Bairan guards.

So, Chitran and Aindri as enemies. Baira and possibly Panav as allies. And the Iksana neutral… For now.

“Could’ve been worse,” Cirayus grunted, and Vir had to agree. At this juncture, he was surprised anyone other than the Bairans supported his cause. Then again, having a Panav mother undoubtedly aided his plight.

“If I can bring the Iksana and Panav to my side…”

“Aye, t’would be a good thing indeed. There may yet be hope with the Iksana. If you can think as they do, and speak to them in earnest, perhaps. The Aindri, however, have been cowed by the Chitran. Weak-willed, that lot. Thoroughly domesticated at this point. Winning them over will be a tall order.”

“Brick by brick. Stone by stone,” Vir said, eyeing the crowd that had burst into chatter. “Everything one step at a time. For now, I’ve accomplished what I came here to do.”

“Aye, that you have, lad. Now, leave it to Thaman and me to escort you somewhere safe. You’ll no doubt be the talk of the land for some time to come. Not a bad idea to lie low for the time being.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Vir said, watching Ashani float over the barricade Thaman’s men had set up. “Besides, I have one last trick up my sleeve. One more message to send to the Rajas, so they know what they’re dealing with. “

The Bairan Guards began to panic, but Vir waved them off. “She’s a friend. Allow her to pass.”

Unbeknownst to the forty thousand demons, the only living being from the Age of Gods floated onto the stage, alighting gently next to Vir.

Thaman, who’d been speaking with his commander, turned. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure…”

“Ashani, and the pleasure is mine,” Ashani said, nodding to the Raja, who seemed at a loss for words.

Ashani, for her part, seemed to enjoy the dynamic, and smiled with what Vir was sure she thought was an amiable smile. In reality, it came across as terribly seductive.

“I, er… So, you are a friend of Sarvaak, then?” Thaman said stupidly. Vir decided to save the poor Raja before the situation devolved any further.

“Ashani? Would you mind creating a Gate to Cirayus’ home?”

“But of course,” Ashani said, extending a hand.

“Gate?” Thaman asked, but before he could say more, a shimmering oval portal rippled into existence just paces away, causing the Raja and all the Bairan guards who surrounded the group to jump away in panic.

They weren’t the only ones. The stadium had taken notice, and now, every projection showed the Gate, magnified for the world to see.

Good. Can’t have them missing this, after all, Vir thought.

“What in Janak’s name…” Thaman breathed. 

Vir couldn’t help but appreciate the irony of the Raja uttering the name of the demon who’d destroyed the world.

Reaching his own hand out, Vir infused his Ash prana. 

“The Gate’s stable, now, Ashani. Thank you, as always.”

“My pleasure!” Ashani replied, before walking through. “Oh, and again, a pleasure to meet you.”

“Y-you as well,” Thaman replied reflexively.

“Raja Thaman,” Vir said, bringing the giant’s attention back to him. “I expect arrangements will be made for the bequeathing of Balancer of Scales?”

“I, er… Yes. We will need time. A public ceremony will have to be conducted. But, Vaak, or Sarvaak… You are not the only one who can create Ash Gates?”

“Technically, I can’t. Only she can,” Vir said, nodding to Ashani on the other side. “I can only stabilize them. Working together, though, we can open and close Gates at will, across realms. Cirayus?”

“Right behind you, lad,” the giant replied.

Vir stepped through before Thaman could ask any more questions, but the Raja gripped Cirayus’ bicep, preventing him from following.

“Ravager… What is the meaning of this?” Thaman asked, his voice tinged with awe.

Cirayus’ grin grew even wider. “It means, old friend, that change is upon us,” he said as he stepped through. “And the Akh Nara will usher it.”

With eyes locked onto Thaman, Vir collapsed the Gate, leaving five Rajas with a mixture of awe, confusion, and most of all… Abject terror.

Thaman spoke for the realm when he uttered his next words…

“Don't you understand? This changes everything.”