Rushing out of the Jasmine Chambers, I slipped back into my single cotton cloth. Descending one brick at a time, I pulled out and replaced each loose stone carefully. Suddenly, a big cloth bag was thrown at my face—I had forgotten my belongings and Sikala had helped me with it. In the dark, it was harder to find the exact pull-brick, and the sword in my bag poked uncomfortably. Finally, I jumped and landed on a mud pile, stepping out and rubbing the creases from my clothes. A hand pulled me aside.
"My Prince!" a voice echoed in the dark.
"Senga, you scared me!" I exclaimed, starting to walk down the narrow lane while holding a torch.
"It was you in the tournament final, wasn't it?" he asked with excitement.
I smiled and confirmed with a nod. "I've been watching you since your childhood—you couldn't hide it from me, Adhiya."
We stopped as we heard footsteps nearby.
"You would've finished them in a second. It took me two whole minutes, Senga," I whispered. Then we moved on.
"I've gotten old! Now I'm just a decorated messenger—that's all I am," Senga said sadly.
"Senga, every time I call you by your name, I feel ashamed. Can I call you Uncle, my lord?"
"I would be honoured, Adhiya." We entered the tent in the bazaar.
Drums rolled to make way for the royals, followed by utter silence. I pulled back the tent curtain to see Jari and the people of Venn walking out of the capital despite the night. Commoners gossiped about the mark on his face as he kept his head down, walking out of the city gates. A whole crew—at least a thousand members—walked out in silence.
I turned back and saw the tent's number had grown to six people. I looked at Senga, and he asked everyone to wait outside.
"Sorry, Uncle. I know they are part of your ministry, but right now, I cannot trust anyone."
I opened my bag and began placing every item, only to find a new palm letter inside: "Six friends await on your path back home."
Senga took the letter and checked it again. "Adhiya, did you encounter assassins?"
I stopped him.
"Sathyerans have infiltrated our core, Uncle."
"I warned that idiot. Forgive me, my prince."
"Never mind, Uncle. You can call him whatever you want. You were also the reason he's on the throne now!" I held his hand.
"And this…" He handed me a scroll. "It's nothing, but it was a royal message!"
"Fifteen people were executed by the Gandar Squad, and Amirtha wants an explanation? I don't have time for this now. And doesn't Security come under your ministry, Uncle?"
"You know what's happening after the Ankalan war. Thejan is in Hira Gardens; everything is governed by her. I tried to resign from the ministry multiple times, but Thejan refused it."
"Leave it, Uncle. People may be suspicious—let's go somewhere. I haven't eaten anything since morning."
We left everything in the tent and walked to the nearby Maadhu bar. We crossed the other end of the amphitheatre and saw people cleaning up, gossiping about Nakalan's ruined face, mocking the wink he had given the empress earlier, and laughing at his crying on the ground.
On the eastern side of the fort lay a large circular coconut tree grove with around a hundred trees. Torches were tied to random trees, providing a path. A middle-aged woman with a big diamond stud in her nose and a blue saree was offering toddy—unusual, as it was typically served in the early morning, rarely at noon, and almost never after sunset.
Senga asked the woman, "Anything special?" She pointed to the centre, where a large group of men sat. A man was shouting.
Senga looked at me. "It's him—we should see!"
"That's his uncle," I said, and we sat under a tree, listening to Nakalan blabbering while Elaya scolded the Empress openly.
"Ankalan toddy hits differently!" I burped.
Senga kept his ear to their conversation and pointed for me to listen.
Nakalan shouted, "It was not a foreign guard dog. He was not a eunuch. The whore is hiring without our knowledge!"
I almost jumped up in fury, but Senga held me and calmed me down.
Elaya intervened. "She followed our instructions and refused to meet the Minister of Chakra. She asked their prince to visit for talks. Don't burn the bridge over a foreign dog. She promised she would execute him by tomorrow morning."
Nakalan laughed hard; everyone looked confused.
"My foot! Our spies saw her come out of the Jasmine Chamber alone and announced him missing! I will take our Dhira's golden cloak guard and kill anyone who resembles him."
I looked at Senga. "These idiots should never drink. Uncle, who are they?"
He drank a full glass of toddy and looked at me.
"Cowards. They are just cowards. They share a border with Sathyera and control all the imports, including foreign guards, and the agriculture heart of Ankala. During the Battle of Chendurai two years ago, they refused to come out of their little palaces in the south and surrendered. Idiot Thejan, instead of annexing, made the Ankalan's daughter empress."
I signalled Senga. We watched the departing Nakalan and Elaya with his men. Nakalan's face was smashed; his teeth were visible from the side, and the blood was still fresh—he hadn't covered it.
"Forget about those bastards. Empress Parandvani is gearing up the whole empire for your coronation. We are heading home, right?" He smiled.
"We'll talk about that in the morning."
Senga took me down the dark path. We crossed the amphitheatre and could see some golden cloaks roaming around. We hid behind the parked temple chariot for a while.
"These Ankalans are true craftsmen—see how beautiful their temple chariot looks!"
A ten-foot-tall teak wood structure, with depictions of gods on every inch. Large metal wheels held it up, and there was another one under construction in the opposite lane.
"How many do they need?!"
"Shh, come on, Adhiya!" He took my hand, and we went inside our tent in the bazaar.
There were six men inside. I looked at Senga, and everyone went out.
"Tell me the route to reach—" He stopped. "You forgot the route home?"
"No, Uncle. I'm going to Vakkanam, and not via Anniyur."
Senga looked confused.
"Why? The only time Thejan and I went to Vakkanam was to conquer it! I will come with you—we can start at first light. Now sleep."
Senga woke an hour before me and prepared everything. He wore a large wool coat to cover his sword. Thelan was standing outside. I went to him, and he rubbed his head against me. We started riding out of the city gates. The descent was easy in the morning, and we exited the plain perimeter.
"Senga Uncle, I said not via Anniyur."
"Yes, Adhiya, we will not go there!"
We reached the common stone bench where I had parted ways with Jaya.
"Are we going via Ankottai?"
"Yes!" He pointed to a commoner who had noticed my accent.
We went silent for a few hours as the crowd from the tournament walked back home. As we rode, the people grew fewer and fewer.
A few old men stopped us. "Who are you visiting?"
I held Senga's hand and answered, "Thori. We are visiting Thori from Ankottai. I'm asking his granddaughter for her hand in marriage."
They looked surprised and nodded. We continued.
Senga looked at me. "Just an acquaintance, I know."
"Just don't ask for her hand in marriage. One Ankalan woman has made enough misery already in your life."
I smiled, and we continued. The road changed from dry farmland into open dry land with mud houses alongside.
From a distance, I saw a young woman holding a baby and feeding him. As I got closer, I realised it was Jaya. Now I understood why those old men had looked surprised.
She smiled at me. "So you finally came. Welcome to Ankottai." She handed the baby to her servant and washed her hands.
We got off our horses and smiled at Thori, who didn't remember me. Jaya called a little girl over and asked her to check on Malla. She ordered her maids to prepare a feast.
"I don't want to bother you—we will leave soon for the Chakra Empire!"
She looked at me. "So you're trying to say you left the easier route and traveled two kadams longer just to leave soon?"
Senga and I sat on the floor. I looked at Jaya. "About the child?" I murmured.
She asked boldly, "What about the child?"
"Can I hold him?"
"Ha, sure! You do know how to hold a baby, right?"
I played with the boy. He was happy with me for a few minutes until he started to fuss. She took the baby and went inside, but for those few seconds, I felt wonderful.
Malla walked in and smiled, sitting near her. "Did you convince her? I saw you two together in the tournament!"
He shyly scratched his head. "What about the child?" I asked curiously.
"It's her child, but I will raise him as mine."
I respected Malla.
She and her servants started serving food for the three of us, and it was a feast—all the Ankalan signatures: the pepper, the jackfruit, the spicy chicken rice. Even the empress hadn't served me this well.
We washed our hands outside the house. Malla ran inside and started serving Jaya. I went inside and sat near Malla.
"Next time I see you, you should be married! And how long is the Chakra border?"
Her mouth was full of rice, but she answered, "There is no border, no checkpost—just go along, and you will see the refugees."
"Refugees?" I wondered.
Malla continued, "After the Ankalan war, everyone in the Kash region—the North region—lost everything. The war only happened here, and the rest of the kingdoms escaped. They failed to rebuild. Many lost homes and lands, and our empress forgot about us. She even refused to give our Ponni Devi statue back. So everyone lost hope, and even living as a refugee in Chakra looked better to them."
Most of Ankottai was empty, as people were still walking back from the tournament. Senga, Malla, and I were near the Ankottai well, chewing betel leaves and talking, when we heard horses approaching. There were four golden cloaks.
The first was tall and lean, with a wide face and a barely grown moustache. He pointed at me. "This man matches the description!" He approached as the other three held back twenty feet behind.
The second man, wearing a steel helmet, nodded.
The wide-faced golden cloak man dismounted and drew his blade. Malla tried to stop him. "Hey! He is our guest—stop!"
"He matches the description of the one who assaulted the tournament. By the order of the prince of Dhira, I am executing this man."
Jaya came running out toward us. "They are our guests, and this is not the Dhira kingdom!"
The wide-faced man slapped Jaya and shoved Malla to the ground. I reached for my throwing knife at my hip, but it was missing.
A growling sound pierced the air. For a second, I looked up—the wide-faced man's head was pierced by a long sword. It was Senga's. He walked toward the man and pulled his sword free, breaking the skull further.
The three remaining golden cloaks dismounted, fully armoured with helmets, facing the shirtless sixty-year-old man holding his long sword with both hands. They drew their thin blades. Malla moved to help; I held him back and watched.
As they began swinging, the amateurs had no chance—even three against one, fully armoured. All three struck at the same time, and Senga held them all, driving the golden cloaks back to the ground. He gave them a second chance and waited for them to stand. They switched to a 1-3-2 attack pattern. It was like a dance, watching him handle them with ease. The thin blades couldn't withstand his Wootz steel, and the golden cloaks' swords shattered. Two golden cloaks knelt; he cut through their throats. One ran—he threw his sword, and it pierced the man's armour and came out the other side.
"Bha-ha! I still have it!"
He went to retrieve his sword as Malla looked at us in fear and doubt.
"Please leave as soon as possible. We will handle this!" Malla said to me.
"But Jaya—we told some elders on the way that we are coming to see you."
Jaya dusted off her saree. "I will take care of it. Don't worry!"
I walked toward Jaya. "I don't want you to get into trouble. Are you sure you can handle this?"
She assured me again and nodded. "If you want to reach me, just say the message is for Adhiya at the Anniyur checkpost, all right?"
I nodded at Malla, and we started the ride east.
Senga and I rode in silence for a while, and he ate a sweet potato.
"So, have you been here, Uncle?"
He took a bite and looked at me.
"Yes, many times during our childhood and early years. King Aadhi—our brother—would take us to this market. Now it may look like a ruined ghost town, but believe me, Ankottai was the most beautiful place on the island. Thejan used to come here secretly to see the beautiful women. Admit it—deep in your heart, Ankalan women hold a separate place."
He punched my shoulder playfully.
"I don't need to tell you about Ankalan women."
He looked out at the dry lands and continued.
"The sky was not merciful. When I was young, these fields fed the whole island. The mighty Ponni River saved the people of the island from starvation for many centuries. Some say it's the gods' wrath; some say it's man's fault. But I never imagined in my lifetime that the Ponni River would go dry." He grew quiet.
"I never saw you this emotional, Uncle," I said.
"It's not just emotion—it's politics too. Empires fall because of hunger and debt. Today, the Chenna River blesses us, but we shouldn't take it for granted. When Ponni dried up, the first thing the Ankalans did was attack our Chenna lands, which triggered everything. They couldn't feed their armies and ran away. They didn't come for land—they came for rice. The Patakulas knew it and insisted we hold back. But we were young—King Aadhi, Thejan, and me. We turned everything upside down. At the time, we felt like heroes. We had statues, palaces. But as we matured, we understood what we had done."
"These are valuable lessons, Uncle."
"Lessons not to be learned. We never had formal education—only Aadhi had the mastery of the sword and spear. He taught us for eight straight weeks and formed the largest army on the island with farm boys. Thejan was the only one with an elephant. Oh, those days! In the old tradition, all palaces were outside the city, and war would never harm the commoners. You can still see it in Chendurai. Thejan burnt the old tradition—and the city on which it was written."
"Yes, I know," I murmured.
"What?"
"No, I meant—I've heard about it."
The sky was orange, and birds were nesting. The wind turned cool, and the plain dry land slowly became brownish, bushy terrain. I stopped Thelan. "Uncle—movement." I pointed to the bushes and rode toward it.
Three men started running and shouted, "Guards! Guards! Guards!" They didn't look like robbers or commoners—they were malnourished, skin tightened to their bones. We followed them to a dry lake with barely any water and saw hundreds more.
An elderly man knelt before us. I got down from Thelan and asked him to stand. He offered Ankalan silver coins and said, "Please keep this and leave us alone. We will reach Chakra and never come back here." He wept.
I held his hands. "We are not guards, and we are also leaving for Chakra."
Senga made a disappointed face. The old man continued, "Please join us. We leave in the dark."
Senga came near me to fetch Thelan and murmured, "You know Chakran security is my portfolio, right!"
I smiled, and a young couple offered us water from a large clay pot. The man asked, "What are you going to do in Chakra?"
I spilled some water. "Us? We are going to sell these horses, but the checkpost taxes us a lot. What about you?"
He smiled at his wife. "We are going to Vakkanam. The new king is giving employment to all the refugees, with a place to stay. He's been doing this for the last two years. My relatives are well-fed now."
I looked at Senga. "Don't blame this on me, Uncle."
The man continued, "Previously it was easy to get in, but after the Ellai forces, it is almost impossible. But don't worry—our elders know a way."
Everyone started moving with their large cloth bags and the last valuables they owned, leaving the land their families had held for thousands of years, hoping for a better future for their children.
We trailed behind at the very end and reached the dry Ponni River, which had a magnificent bridge—far more advanced than the one I had previously crossed. A large stone-pillared bridge with arches and shade, now ruled by grass, a remnant of a lost world.
We travelled further east—I had no knowledge of the place. The refugees halted at a tree, and we continued in the dark.
Senga smiled. "We are in Chakra now!" He threw away his wool coat.
We saw a small statue on the roadside. Senga poked me. "You know who that is, right?"
"Is it yours?"
Senga yanked his reins. "No—mine is bigger!"
"Then?" I asked, confused.
"It's your brother's statue, Adhiya! He was the hero of the last war of Vakkanam at a very young age. I think it was his third internal conflict, and he dealt with it like a true emperor. Enough of him—I feel you will reach greater heights than all of us."
All the members of the royal family and palace had been angry at my brother—no one even spoke of him when I was there. But during this voyage, I had learned something about him. I didn't want to push Senga further; he had already given more than he intended.
As we rode, we saw another batch of refugees settling on the roadside. They watched us until we had passed.
Senga yawned. "I seriously want to know what that idiot Kariyan is doing with all these refugees."
"Let's find out, Uncle! Should we rest till sunrise?"
"No, we should ride before noon. We will reach Vakkanam, and I don't trust these Ankalans."
We joined another batch of refugees who made way for us. A group of five Vakkanam soldiers stopped us about ten feet ahead.
One soldier came forward and asked us to dismount. I looked at Senga. He turned back and smiled at his colleagues.
"See? Now they're coming on horses—then they'll come on elephants. Anyway, give us all your silver coins and horses too if you want to get in."
We dismounted, and the soldier continued.
"What is this old man going to do?" He turned to me. "You look like you can carry logs."
A hard slap landed on the soldier's cheek, and he hit the sandy ground. The other four ran toward us.
"Is this how you talk to the Prince of Chakra?" Senga roared.
The four soldiers dropped to their knees, and the refugees behind us scattered as far as they could.
"Tell Kariyan that Prince Adhiyavan and Minister Senga are here."
The four soldiers ran, leaving one behind.