Two weeks after accepting the contract in Manyakhet.
Now we are at the almost border of Rashtrakut Empire with some of trusted forces of empire given by Emporer, he even wanted to train my forces in imperial way but I wanted to make my different identity from Rashtrakut decent as these men are already Deccanis.
My heart was filling heavy as this was going to be my first war how can I fight, how many people would I be able to kill.
My this feeling was ignored by almost everyone but two men noticed this feeling. After we people we stopped to take a break and according Emporer's commanders we were resting at exact borders of Empire and it were a hilly barren lands the recognition of Deccan we started campaign and I sat down under a big stone because long horse riding made me really tired and then Raghuvir and Sir Adivarah came and sat beside me. Raghuvir said, "I looked at your face it clearly said that you had that pre-war feeling your heart would be filling heavy as your first battle approchs, I also had this feeling when I was 22, I also fought a small on see battle". "You fought a sea war"?
"Yes I defeated some mleccha---- sorry I mean your people".
"What does that word mean"?
"It means foreigners who are not native to Bharat and eat even meat of holy mother cow". Sir Adivarah replied and countinued, "I also fought my first war when I become adult and just a week after my 16th birthday, my father who was already fighting the Tripartite Struggle was joined by me".
"Thank you I feel good from this conversation". "Don't need to thank you both are our friend now", replied Raghuvir
For the first time in my life someone called me a friend.
Then Adivarah replied, "This was for to make you understand that war is not something you can glorify it is a hell people die for what land, power, Glory, nothing can change the consequences".
I didn't wanted to understand this at that one time, so I changed the topic, "ok but now atleast tell me about the kingdom we are going to fight".
He sighed and explained, "The ancient kingdom of Kaling that rules odra desh has existed for a long time since for a long time once it was the undefeated power but was defeated by the greatest Emporer of Bharat from ancient magadh but from a long time it was vassal to Rashtrakut Empire but now under the leadership of Purbh ganga dynasty it has become independent and allied itself with kalachuri territory and now its king is Jagannath Samarthya".
So this was the power I was going to fight..... I am really a idiot.