Rathnayur

  The guards helped me climb into the grand chariot. Inside, I noticed Queen Chandra's servant girl staring at me with a terrifying expression on her face. Queen Chandra accompanied me, and soon the procession began. I stretched my legs out to ease the discomfort, while Chandra sat opposite me.

  “Tell her I won’t eat her!” I said lightly, then gave a soft slap to my injured thigh to shoo away the flies buzzing around.

  Queen Chandra touched her cheek and nodded gently.

  “Men treat women differently here, my prince,” she explained. “She was a slave to a man until last week. I had to intervene and buy her from him.”

  I looked closely and saw scars and burn marks around her neck and hands. She was just a child. How could any man do this to her? I couldn’t even imagine what the poor girl had endured.

  I plucked a small yellow aavaram flower from the bushes lining the chariot’s path and offered it to her.

  “You know, they say this flower only grows where gold is found,” I told her gently. “And the only gold I see here is you.”

  She accepted the flower, smiled shyly, then hugged Chandra tightly. When she looked back at me, I made a goofy face, which made her smile even wider.

  “So, Queen Chandra,” I said, turning to her,

  “I wasn’t fortunate enough to hear about King Gibra earlier. Why don’t you start with your love story?”

  She turned her gaze aside, looking out at the vast dry lands as the bumpy road shook the chariot. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. The servant girl quietly wiped them away, and Chandra gave her a small, grateful smile.

  “I was a happy young girl in Kilar,” she began. “Everyone respected me when my father, the chieftain, was alive. But when he left us to join the gods, everything changed. The king saw me that day… and took me. Even my brothers were happy about it.”

  I was lost for words. I continued after a moment.

  “I promise you, Chandra—there will be change in the ways of Swarpa when I am crowned. You have my word.”

  We continued our journey in silence for a while.

  “Last night I was told about your bastard brother,” I said quietly, glancing at her.

  “Please, my prince,” she replied, “don’t call him a bastard. I consider him my true brother. When my real brothers left me to die, he was the one who stood up against the king—and he was punished for it. If you could do me one favor… take him to the Empire’s capital. He will be useful to you. Please.”

  I nodded solemnly.

  Soon we entered the city of Rathnayur. I parted the curtains and saw hut-like houses with open sewage running alongside the roads. People, their skin clinging to their bones, squatted and watched the chariot with eyes full of hope. Gradually the landscape changed—marble houses appeared, green grass fields stretched out, and people stepped outside to greet us, bowing as the chariot passed.

  There were perhaps twenty such fine houses before we reached the palace. The chariot came to a slow halt.

  I descended carefully, with Gupa assisting me. I looked up at the palace: no gates, no forts, no high walls—nothing resembling serious security. I began walking toward the court.

  It took about five minutes to reach the grand court. The architecture was unique, unlike anything I had seen in the other cities of the empire.

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  The court announcer proclaimed the arrival of King Gibra. A large man with open arms approached me, smiling broadly. He enveloped me in a hug so powerful I couldn’t even wrap my arms around him. Then he turned and slapped the announcer hard—the sound echoed through the palace.

  “Idiot! The future Emperor is here and you announce my name first?” he roared, then smiled warmly at me. “Pardon me, my prince. I hope you are healing quickly!”

  I turned around—no one stood behind me. Chandra was hiding behind a pillar, Gupa waited at the entrance, and the guards remained near the king.

  “Please come with me, my prince,” Gibra said, leading me into a private chamber.

  The room was elaborate, filled with servant women and a medic. The medic sat on a wooden stool embroidered with rubies, while the servants wore silk and gold jewelry. She examined my wound, reapplied the medicine, and bandaged it again.

  “I will send word to the capital,” Gibra began.

  I caught his hand, stopping him. The servants, medic, and guards looked shocked.

  “Please, my king,” I said firmly, “I will deliver the news myself.”

  He understood immediately.

  “Take some rest, my prince,” he replied. “Join us tonight for the feast I am hosting in your name!”

  Later, when the room was lit with oil lamps, I awoke. The medic and servant women helped me up. I washed my face. A guard informed me that Gupa had left on urgent business but had inquired about my well-being. I turned to the medic.

  “What did you tell him?”

  She stood nervously, head bowed, and murmured, “Three days, my prince.”

  King Gibra entered with his booming laugh.

  “I was waiting for you to wake, my prince. Come—I have something to show you.”

  I nodded and limped beside him through the grand palace.

  “I’ve never seen such beautiful architecture, King Gibra,” I remarked, touching a finely carved woman on a granite pillar.

  He smiled.

  “You are the first royal to visit Rathnayur in nearly five hundred years. All we do is export gems, jewels, swords… and women.”

  He continued as we walked.

  “Our lineage is far older than Pathukala. Mallari was founded by our ancestors. Wutz steel was forged in this very palace thousands of years ago—sadly, we have no poets to sing our praises.”

  He stopped. Six soldiers carried in a large wooden box.

  “This is my gift for your coronation day, my prince!”

  They opened it to reveal a shining suit of armor, complete with helmet. The Chakran symbol—a raging male lion—was forged proudly on the chest plate.

  “It is a small gift,” he said. “Armor made entirely of Wutz—it will feel as light as a feather. Nothing compared to the gift I gave your father when he became Emperor: the beautiful Hira Garden. I hear he spends most of his time there now. I am happy.”

  I touched the cool metal and felt its strength.

  “Come, we can talk more after the feast.”

  We entered the dining hall. A long table seated fifty family members already waiting. King Gibra began:

  “Long live Chakra! Long live Swarpa!”

  The feast commenced.

  I sat in the center, surrounded by twenty people. King Gibra and his wives sat opposite. He introduced no one.

  His daughters served me meat, rice, and sweets. Chandra sat beside him, yet he paid little attention to anyone.

  After the meal, I washed my hands. King Gibra accompanied me to a balcony overlooking a large ground below.

  My eyes widened. About a thousand people sat on the floor eating from banana leaves. Some stood when they saw us.

  “The feast is in the name of our future emperor—Adhiyavan Chakran!”

  We returned inside. In another room, three men wearing turbans adorned with diamond stones stood waiting. Each carried a golden scepter topped with a fish emblem.

  Gibra introduced them one by one.

  “This is Dasan, Chieftain of Kangur—the ruby mine heartland.”

  The shorter man with a big mustache bowed.

  “This is Giri, the new Chieftain of Dharmur—the gold mines.”

  The taller, younger man—barely my age and no warrior—bowed proudly as Gibra tapped his shoulder.

  “This is Siran, Chieftain of Kilar—the armory of the Chakran Empire.”

  He clapped, and guards brought in a large table displaying a roughly drawn map of the island.

  “We have the entire map of Sathyera—their strongholds and their weaknesses. This was gathered through our merchant intelligence, my prince. We will assist you in the upcoming war,” he paused, “…and it seems this help comes with a cost, doesn’t it, King Gibra?”

  He smiled.

  “We heard Kariyan ,hmm King Kariyan is building big ships. If you could lend us some, we could open fresh trade routes with the foreigners—especially the Mahanad mainland. Just say the word.”

  “Consider it done,” I replied. “We will sign it at my coronation.”

  King Gibra smiled at his chieftains and held my hands.

  “We could finally bypass the atrocious taxes of the Ankalans and their pesky little boats.”

  I looked at them steadily.

  “Vakkanam and Swarpa should build new towns and maintain their security. The crown will monitor them under its ministry. Laws on trade, tax, and theft must be written. Any Mahanad man or woman who commits a crime will be dealt with under Chakran rule. And there will be no slavery in the new towns.”

  King Gibra’s face showed slight confusion.

  “But slavery…”

  I stared at him until he lowered his head.

  “The new towns will have no slavery, my prince,” he promised quietly. “I swear it.”

  We left the room. Over the next two days I met ministers and merchant leaders while my wound continued to heal.

  Three days later, I woke up feeling much less pain—the wound was nearly closed. I looked at the medic.

  “Ask the men to prepare my horse. I leave today.”

  Minutes later, King Gibra entered.

  “I would be honored if you stayed one or two more days, my prince!”

  “You know the schedule, King Gibra. I am already late. I leave today.”

  “Of course, my prince. But please join me for a moment.”

  He led me back to the dining balcony. The guards opened the doors.

  Below stood ten thousand armed men.

  “I present to you the Swarpa Regiment, my prince.”

  I accepted the honor and walked back inside. I had never known Swarpa possessed its own regiment. If added to the Chakran army, it would become the third largest force in the empire.

  “How long have you been hiding this regiment, King Gibra?”

  “It was at the Emperor’s request, my prince. We had the men and weapons but lacked food to sustain them. The Emperor rerouted supplies and ordered us to raise this force for the Ankalan invasion—but as always, His Majesty won with just the Aadhi regiment.”

  We returned to my room. I gathered my belongings. Thelan had been groomed and fitted with new shoes—he stood ready.

  The king, chieftains, and ministers gathered on the ground for my send-off.

  I turned back and looked toward the balcony. Chandra stood alone, waving goodbye.

  With that, I began the journey home.