Ashborn 359: Summit (Patreon)

“This is a travesty! An outrage!” Raja Matiman Chitra roared, throwing his drink on the ground. The glass shattered, staining the priceless silken rug with shards and liquor. “Not only does the Akh Nara return, but he can create Ash Gates at will? And who was that woman with him? A concubine? Did my eyes deceive me, or can she make Ash Gates as well? Are there not one, but two monsters in our midst? Why did we know nothing of this?”

With the exception of the Aindri, all the Rajas of the realm had gathered in Thaman’s grand palace, in a room reserved for the courting of Thaman’s most esteemed guests, though ‘room’ was perhaps not the right word. While the space had been liberally adorned with gold, silver, and all manner of silk and velvet, its sheer size made it an imposing space for most non-Bairan guests—a shortcoming that, to Thaman’s chagrin, no amount of money could solve.

Today, however, that strained ambiance served as a perfect complement to the tension that pressed upon all who had gathered. While customary after a tournament for the clanlords to congregate with drinks, the nature of today’s assemblage more closely resembled an emergency military meeting of the heads of state than any celebration.

“I admit, the ability to create Ash Gates out of thin air is new to me,” Rajni Kira Panav, currently in her half-naga form, said, throwing a pointed look at Thaman.

“Believe me, this is as much of a shock to you as it is for me. I had planned to personally escort the Akh Nara with the Ravager’s aid.”

“Escort?” Matiman cried. “Do the Baira side with the Akh Nara, then? As that traitorous Ravager has?”

“You lose yourself to panic, Matiman,” Thaman replied, forcing his voice to remain calm and steady, even as he glanced at the damage the foreign clanlord had just wrought upon his personal palace. “As I have said several times, we are doing nothing of the sort.”

“What of the Ravager’s declaration of war, then?”

“What of it?”

“Don’t be coy with me, Thaman,” the kothi said, pointing his finger accusingly. “It’s no secret you are working with the Akh Nara in secret. You resisted me at every turn during the war, and now, you work to bring down my clan!”

“Please. You flatter me if you think I hold an ounce of sway over that old fossil. You know as well as I that the Ravager does as the Ravager pleases. Nobody in this realm, dead or alive, can bend him. This is how it has always been, and it is the reality we face now.”

“A damned criminal is what he is. He ought to be thrown behind bars.”

“And what bars are fit to restrain a being such as Cirayus?” Thaman asked. “Tell me, Matiman. I would rather love to know.”

The Chitran Raja did not reply. He couldn’t, for there were none.

“The Ravager is one thing, but the other…” the Chiran Raja spat. “Why have you not slit that abomination’s throat? Why did your forces bar my people from descending to the stage to finish the job?”

Thaman raised a brow. “Why did I not allow you to slaughter the newly crowned Champion at my sacred Tournament in full view of fifty thousand demons? Come now, Matiman, you do not need me to answer that question. It would have been pandemonium, and you know it. The Champion defeated the Ravager in honest combat. He has broken no Bairan laws, and as such, shall be protected under them. Especially when it was largely thanks to him that order was maintained.”

“It is he who destabilizes the entire realm!” Matiman cried. “Or have you forgotten what he is?”

“Your squabbles with the Akh Nara are your own,” Thaman replied in soft yet firm voice that radiated every ounce of his significant authority.

Matiman frowned. “You mean to say that once the Akh Nara leaves your country, you will not move to protect him?”

Thaman laughed. “Does that one look like he is in any need of protection? If you wish to commit violence upon the Akh Nara, you are free to do so. Outside my clan. I am simply attempting to keep the order, Matiman. As would you, should your clan ever have the honor of hosting such an event.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment, and none of the other rajas in the room dared interrupt.

“Tch.” Matiman pointed at Thaman. “Watch yourself, Thaman. Do not think you can break this alliance without grave cost to your clan. Think over your actions. It is not too late to avert a tragedy.”

“Ah yes. A tragedy,” Thaman replied icily. “Like slaughtering an orphan. A tragedy indeed.”

“Tread carefully, Thaman. You are about to throw our realm into chaos.” 

“That remains to be seen,” Thaman said softly.

Uttering a curse, Matiman spun on his heel and stormed out of the lounge, slamming the doors behind him.

“Well, that could have gone worse,” said Kira, exhaling loudly as she stretched her arms. “Could he be any more uncouth?”

The tension evaporated the instant Matiman had left the room, leaving Thaman alone with the Panav Rajni and the Iksana Raja. 

Thaman rubbed his temples. “Be thankful Girindra is not here, at least,” he said, referring to the Aindri Raja.

“Yes, indeed. Bad enough having one despot. When those two get together, it is as if they feed off each others’ toxic energy. Building, festering.”

“The Chitran cause. Justified,” Raja Sagun’Ra, who until now, had remained silent, finally spoke from atop his perch on a tall bookshelf. Why he’d chosen such a position, no one in the room could fathom, and everyone knew better than to ask.

Kira pressed her lips together. “Perhaps,” she murmured. “But no cause can justify the murder of an entire people.”

Sagun’Ra did not respond.

Kira cleared her throat. “About what Matiman said, Thaman. Will you truly do nothing should harm befall the Akh Nara? Will you not rally to his side when he asks aid of you?”

“Would you?” Thaman fired back.

Kira grinned. “I asked first.”

Thaman let out an exasperated sigh. “I meant every word,” he said, staring not at Kira, but Sagun’Ra. “I’ll not be the first to break this alliance of ours. No matter my personal feelings on the matter.”

“Not the first, but perhaps the second, is it?” Kira said.

“Dangerous games you play. Greatness or ruin lie in our future. What of Balancer of Scales?”

“What of it?” Thaman said. “It is his by right. To deny it now would be as severe a crime as granting the art to him unearned.”

Sagun’Ra was silent for a long moment. 

“Dangerous games, indeed. Savior? Or Destroyer? The Master of Gates.”

The Iksana Raja jumped off his bookshelf, landing lightly on the floor. “I shall be the test of him.”

“Don’t do anything rash,” Thaman warned as the Iksana faded into his own shadow. “Do not make enemies you’ll come to regret. Not now, when the balance of order hangs on a thread.”

Sagun’Ra barked out a laugh. “On a thread!” he cried, just before his face disappeared into his shadow, leaving Thaman and Kira alone in the massive room.

“I could live for a thousand years and I will never know the mind of that man,” Kira said. “I say this as one who has befriended many an Iksana over the years. But Ra? He’s just… too different.”

“I imagine you are not alone in that belief, Kira,” Thaman said, finally letting his guard down.

“Another drink?” Kira asked, bottle in hand. “The last one left a bitter taste in my mouth, I’m afraid. I suspect I’ll need at least two more to wash it out.”

“I’m afraid not,” Thaman said, looking out a window into the distance. “We tread on thin ice, Kira. Should this Akh Nara business be allowed to get out of hand…”

“Chaos in the streets,” the Nagini completed with a sigh. “No, I suppose this is no time for celebration, is it? Such a shame. Regardless of that one’s actions, this day will be passed down in demonic history for millennia to come. It feels wrong not to remember it.”

“Remember it we will,” Thaman said. “Just… afterwards. When blood has cooled. Besides, I hear you have your own situation to deal with?”

Kira sighed. “News travels swiftly across the realm. I imagine my next weeks will be filled with damage control.”

Thaman grunted. “That goes for all of us.”

“May Badrak be with you, Thaman.”

The Bairan raja nodded. “And Yuma with you, old friend.”

— — 

Raja Sagun’Ra appeared in an unlit room, as most Iksana-built rooms tended to be. Lights were unnecessary distractions for most Iksana, kept mostly for juveniles and invalids incompatible with Sight. 

This room, however, was not unoccupied.

“Your eyes respond,” Zarak’Nor said in the traditional greeting, falling to both knees and pressing his palms together.

“You actions. The impact. Do you understand?” Ra muttered, barely more than a whisper.

Nor heard the words, nonetheless.

Rising slowly to his feet, he hung his head low. “I’ve shamed the clan with my loss, Raja, but—”

“Nor,” Sagun’Ra said in a voice that silenced the younger Iksana. “I give you free reign. I let you poison your enemies.”

Zarak’Nor froze. “I… I did—”

“Poison. Not any demon. Vaak. Of the Ash! The Akh Nara. In poisoning him, you have turned him against the Iksana. Understand?”

Nor, seemingly realizing that playing dumb would only make his situation worse, grasped the Raja’s forearm. “He-he does not know!”

“Tara Panav knows.”

Nor frowned. “That girl? What of it? I can have her silenced—”

“She is not to be touched. Nagas see poisons as we see prana. The beast lives. The flower identified. Failed and discovered.”

“I-I will make this right,” Nor said, stammering. “I swear it upon my name. He’s just a boy. Akh Nara or not. We can assassinate him. Now, before he gains power. We can strengthen our ties with the Chitran! It’s what they want.”

“And the Ravager?”

“We’ll avoid him. Kill the Akh Nara when he’s away.”

“He has Baira. Soon, he will have Panav,” Sagun’Ra said, pacing around the pitch-black room.

“Do you think he will succeed?” Nor asked. “Do you think he’ll overthrow the Chitran as he claims?”

“Uncertain,” Sagun’Ra replied. “Irrelevant. Only the fool makes an enemy of an ally.”

“Ally? Him?” Zarak’Nor fumed. “You mean to pledge the Iksana to his cause? You mean to betray the alliance? You will doom us all.”

Sagun’Ra gave one look. A single look, and Zarak’Nor recoiled in sudden realization of just how precarious his situation truly was.

“Perhaps you have doomed us already.”

“You can’t know that,” Nor muttered.

“Hear me, Zarak’Nor. The competition. Forbidden. Now and forever. The Akh Nara. No hostility. Understand?”

The ghael ground his teeth.

“Nor?”

“I hear and obey,” Nor said, bowing his head, even as he continued to mash his teeth together, drawing blood.

“Nor?”

“Yes, Raja?”

“My Sight. You cannot hide. Do not fail me again.”

“Yes, Raja.”

By the time Zarak’Nor had raised his head, the leader of the Iksana was already gone, sinking into the shadows.