The hall where he once ran and played felt strange today. The amber pillars with their colourful etchings seemed welcoming no more. Last summer, they were to be repainted. But couldn't as the funds were spent on getting him the books from the capital. The domed ceiling with the pictures of the celestials looked chipped in places, just like the pillars. Karnan sat on a bench against the wall; the patriarch's chamber to his right had become a cacophony of arguments. Mostly, on what to do about him.
"What about the coins? Who's going to pay for them!"
"Leave about the money, what of the ridicule we must face from the other families? We did adopt a stray where everyone else had closed their doors! Now, we will be a laughing stock!"
"Shhh, he can hear us!"
"So what! Do you think I care about what that bastard will feel? Where is he?"
The doors flung ajar with a thud. Patriarch Manrajam's colossal figure stormed out. Karnan flinched and slid away from the fuming man. Master Sha Kuntala stepped before him.
"Patriarch! Stay your hand! He is just a child and is in no way responsible for what happened today," she breathed hoarsely.
The patriarch wasn't alone; the five elders joined his side. Faces that once smiled at him were now twisted as if watching something repulsive.
"Karnan! Consider yourself banished! I take back the Al Veera name of you, boy. Begone! Begone!" Patriarch thundered. Karnan could feel the pressure coming off him. He was channelling.
Karnan fell at his feet. "Patriarch! Mercy, mercy, please. I don't want to leave my home. I will try harder, way harder than anyone on this continent. But, please let me stay."
Elder Harman spoke, "Patriarch. Please calm yourself. I think we should think about this."
"What is left to think of, honoured elder?" the patriarch said, "My honour, the clan's honour, everything is gone. I was there when this one was abandoned on the streets. None took him, none, but me. And this is how he repays me?"
Anger swayed him over. Karnan rose like a martial artist, swift and in a single fluid motion. He looked Manrajam in the eye, "You may kill me if you so wish to. But I would never think of you as anything less than my own father."
Manrajam's lips quivered, his fists were balled tightly. Karnan continued, softly this time. "Just that I would die with the grief of not being able to serve you ever or even return a fraction of my debts." He then bowed, deeper than he usually did.
Manrajam turned his back on him. "How do you think you can repay your debt?"
Karnan wiped away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He had thought of this. "I cannot return the respect you have lost because of me. But I can at least replenish the coins that have been spent on me. I will-"
The door to his left and leading out of the hall, was flung open all of a sudden. "Father!" Nina said, barging in. She stopped on seeing him.
He flashed a weak smile. She walked past him. "Father." She addressed the Patriarch. "I will be leaving tomorrow. This is the list of what I require," she said, handing Manrajam a long scroll. Then she spun and crossed him without even a glance. The doors slammed shut after her.
Karnan's heart felt like being shattered from the inside. He wanted to throw up, to sit and gawk at the still walls and pillars before him, to be left alone. He forced himself to stand erect before those he had wronged and awaited his sentence.
Patriarch Manrajam folded the list and proffered it to elder Janak, who then took a long look before shaking his head in disapproval. The clan had no funds left to even buy Nina's requirements before she joined the Mars clan.
Manrajam clenched his jaw, looking scornfully at him, "You'd repay me? You imbecile, you bastard. See what you have done. I cannot even pay for my daughter's clothes." While saying this, his voice cracked, and he slumped onto the bench.
"Please don't worry." Master Sha Kunatala intervened before any of the other elders could. "I will request that the Mangal clan handle these expenses. After all, she will be one of us."
That took a huge weight off his chest, and Karnan found his breath back. He again bowed to each of the elders. Sneers and scoffs were all he heard, but he kept himself steady. "Respected elders and revered Patriarch. I, Karnan, promise that in a year's worth of time, I will repay whatever the clan has thus far spent on me. Please, let me know the exact amount I need to"
"A hundred thousand gold coins," elder Janak quipped instantly.
Karnan was about to bow and agree. Master Sha jumped in, "Consider my fees paid. What will be the new amount?"
Elder Janak frowned and began calculating. Karnan, dumbfounded at the Master's words, looked at her. She gave him a nod, which didn't help in explaining the sudden favour that he had been granted. But he was glad for what she had done.
"The new amount will be eighty-seven thousand gold coins." Elder Janak said.
Karnan accepted with a bow.
"After one year, starting from today. I will return with the amount, and then shall I use my whole name again. This I promise before you all."
None of them looked at him as he talked, for them, he was back to being a stray. But, he wasn't leaving his family. He felt a new kind of fire emerging within him, something that was already burning away his pain and anger. It was as if his own body wanted to flood itself with a resolve to succeed.
Karnan stopped at the doors Nina had left through. For a moment, he had expected to see her there. Waiting for him with eyes full of tears. But, she wasn't there; only a faint draft of lavender lingered. Maybe that was the only piece of hers he now deserved.
Laughing at his own naivety, he trotted through the long corridor overlooking the clan garden and the huge fountain that was now dry of its water. The double doors leading out of the premises opened as he approached. He passed through, and they shut behind him with a bang.
Outside, the city swarmed him with its sights and smells. It was overwhelming. The clan's compound was in the middle of the city, surrounded by merchant streets. Food was being fried, people haggled, and traders shouted prices with prana-infused voices. Karnan had once hated such chaos. Now, he was a part of it.
He was still in his ceremony robes, thankfully, Elder Janak hadn't asked those off him. It was a white overcoat with gold embroidery at the cuffs and the hem. Inside, he wore a blue shirt paired with black trousers. His white shoes still retained the polish he had so meticulously done in the morning. Those would fetch a good price. He had no money to eat, and he hadn't eaten any breakfast either.
Karnar looked up; the sun was fixed to the east as always, just above the horizon. The moon was directly overhead, a faint disk of white against the light golden sky. Bells rang throughout the street, signalling the passing of the thirteenth hour. Only six hours remained until the shops closed. He had to sell his shoes and eat, and arrange accommodation before the daily curfew.
He broke into a jog towards North Street. The clan estate's wall was to his left, with the eateries being on his right. A cobbled road stretched in between, jacked with scurrying lower members of clans who were going to celebrate the results of the morning's ceremony. Ravim had been selected by House Ketu, the last in the list of the large celestials, but a powerhouse in itself. Its members were famed beauties, known for their dancing sword arts, able to gobsmack even enemies with their graceful movements.
Karnan hesitated. He now stood at the intersection of the street he was on and the road leading to the taverns and then to Ravim's estate. Should he ask for help from his old friend?
Is he still your friend? His mind answered, and deep down, Karnan believed the same.
He turned back to where he had meant to go. The shoemaker's street lay two blocks east of him, and his hunger was becoming unbearable by the minute. He decided to take a shortcut through an alley that cut diagonally through the first block. That would save time.
He dove into the said side way. It was devoid of the bustle of the market roads with the backends of the various shops lining astride. Halfway into the alley, a group of five boys lounged inside a wood crafter's backyard. Workers, taking a break perhaps. A tall and broad-looking boy sneered at him. Karnan gave him a stare, long enough to make him shift and pop his knuckles, and then he realised his folly. But it was too late. The four behind him had caught on their leader's cue.
They had him surrounded. The leader pinched his coat, "I know you. Karnan Al Veera, mutt of the owl clan."
With his right hand, Karnan clasped his wrist. The leader's face shuddered while trying to suppress a wince. "Don't include the Al Veera name with me, I am not worthy of that. And, one more thing." he hardened his voice, "Don't try to bully me. I might not have the blessings of any celestials. But, for you, I doubt I will need any."
He put more force into his grip, and the boy finally gave in. He went to a knee, crying with pain. Karnan smiled; there was still hope left for him. He wasn't as weak as he was made to be. He-
Boom!
Karnan found himself suspended in the air. He was flying six feet above the ground. The boy's hand held him from being sucked into the sky. Laughter erupted from those around him. The kneeling boy looked up at him and grinned. "How does it feel? To be finally at the bottom of the rung."
The lad was channelling and using an unknown art from some tiny, unknown constellation clan. Yet, Karnan was the one feeling afraid.
"I am called Rajuma. Remember my name, you unwanted scum."
With another boom, the pressure keeping him afloat vanished, and Karnan was flung down. Instinctively, he brought his forearms before his face. He slammed onto the hard stones, stabbing pain flared from his arms, chest, waist and knees at the same time, and an anguish-filled cry escaped him.
"Break both his arms, and a leg too. Leave his face. I don't want any vice with the owls. Moreover, I doubt he could woo girls with a sharp and narrow mug like that," the boy said to his colleagues.
"No! Wait! Listen to me, listen to me!" Karnan yelled out in panic as they picked and stretched his leg. One of them readied his arm for a chop.
"No! No!"
The cosmic light-sharpened hand swung down like a sword. Karnan closed his eyes, his body shivering.