The Aryavarta Chronicles Kurukshetra: Book 3 (2 page)

BOOK: The Aryavarta Chronicles Kurukshetra: Book 3
2.35Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Cast of Characters

The Firewrights

The Secret Keeper: Head of the Firewright Order.

Ghora Angirasa: Former Secret Keeper of the Firewrights. Known for his revolutionary ideas and beliefs, many contrary to the traditions of the Firewright order.

Devala Asita: A Firewright faithful to the old traditions and beliefs of the Order. Known for his skill with hallucinogens and poisons, he is considered one of the most dangerous men in all Aryavarta.

The Firstborn

Krishna Dwaipayana: The greatest Vyasa – head – of the Firstborn Order that Aryavarta has ever seen, now retired. Also biological father to princes Pandu and Dhritarastra of the Kurus.

Sukadeva Vasishta Varuni: Legitimate son of Krishna Dwaipayana and heir to his spiritual legacy.

Markand: Current Vyasa of the Firstborn.

At Dwaraka

Govinda Shauri: Former Commander of the Armed Forces of Dwaraka. Earlier a prince of Surasena, along with his brother Balabadra he brought together the warring Yadu tribes to form a Federation of Yadu Nations at Dwaraka. Also rumoured to have been responsible for the fall of Firewrights, despite having been Ghora Angirasa’s student. For this reason, he is considered a traitor by many.

Balabadra Rauhineya: Govinda’s older half-brother. Known for his fair and straightforward nature as well as his skill at wrestling and mace-fighting.

Yuyudhana Satyaki: Cousin to Govinda and Balabadra and former prince of the Vrishni clan.

Pradymna Karshni: The first of Govinda Shauri’s adopted sons. Married to Rukmavati, princess of the Vidharbha kingdom.

Samva Karshni: The second of Govinda Shauri’s adopted sons.

Daruka: One of the captains of Dwaraka’s navy, and close associate of Govinda Shauri.

At Indr-prastha

Dharma Yudhisthir: Former Emperor of Aryavarta and son of Prince Pandu of the Kurus.

Bhim Vikrodara: Second son of Prince Pandu. Known for his strength and skill with arms.

Partha Savyasachin: Third son of Prince Pandu. Known as one of the best archers in all of Aryavarta. Married to Subadra Rauhineya of Dwaraka.

Nakul Madriputra: First of the twin sons of Prince Pandu by his second wife, Madri.

Sadev Madriputra: Second of the twin sons of Prince Pandu by his second wife, Madri.

Panchali Draupadi: Former Empress of Aryavarta and Princess of Panchala.

Ayodha Dhaumya: Royal Priest and Counsellor to Dharma Yudhisthir and his family.

Subadra Rauhineya: Sister to Govinda Shauri and Balabadra Rauhineya. Married to Partha Savyasachin.

Abhimanyu Karshni: Son of Partha and Subadra, and adopted heir to Dharma Yudhisthir.

At Hastina

Dhritarastra: King of Eastern Kuru. Biological son of Krishna Dwaipayana, he is blind since birth and so was forced to yield the throne to his younger brother, Pandu. Becomes king subsequent to Pandu’s abdication.

Bhisma Devavrata: Patriarch of the Kuru family and once Regent of the kingdom. Respectfully referred to as the Grandsire and remains, despite his age, an undefeated warrior.

Syoddhan Kauravya: Eldest son of Dhritarastra and Crown Prince of Kuru.

Dussasan Kauravya: Third son of Dhritarastra and second in line to the Kuru throne.

Shakuni: Former prince of the Gandhara kingdom and Dhritarastra’s brother-in-law. Came to live at Hastina after Bhisma Devavrata annexed his nation and brought his sister to Hastina as Dhritarastra’s bride. Is especially fond of his nephew, Syoddhan.

Vidur: Half-brother to Dhritarastra and biological son of Krishna Dwaipayana by a slave-woman.

Sanjaya Gavalgani: Prime Minister of Kuru and counsellor to Syoddhan Kauravya. Was formerly a student of Krishna Dwaipayana and one of his closest confidantes.

Acharya Dron: Teacher and martial instructor to the Kaurava princes, and one of the senior advisors at King Dhritarastra’s court.

Acharya Kripa: Dron’s brother-in-law and fellow advisor at King Dhritarastra’s court.

At Kampilya

Dhrupad Parshata: King of Southern Panchala.

Shikandin Draupada: Son of King Dhrupad and once Crown Prince of Panchala. Known for his skills in the wilderness and for his distinctive braided hair.

Dhrstyadymn Draupada: Adopted son of King Dhrupad. He and his sister Panchali were foundlings who have no recollection of their lives before their escape from a burning structure in the middle of Panchala’s forests. Since his adoption, King Dhrupad has declared him the heir to the Panchala throne, superseding Shikandin.

At Upaplavya

Chief Virat: Chief of the desert nation of Matsya.

Uttara Vairati: Virat’s daughter.

Others

Vasusena: King of Anga and faithful friend to Syoddhan Kauravya.

Jayadrath: King of Sindhu and Syoddhan’s brother-in-law.

Asvattama Bharadvaja: Son of Acharya Dron and King of Northern Panchala. Brought up by his father as an incomparable warrior.

Part 1

1

THE SURROUNDINGS WERE, BY ANY RECKONING, UNPLEASANT
. A windowless space made entirely of rough, hewn stone and lit by a solitary torch set in a metal ring on the wall. Blood and other dark fluids stained the floor in morbid patterns. A broken chain, its links rusted and jagged, hung from the ceiling. Its lower extent was crusted with something that a weak mind in a weak moment might mistake for torn scraps of flesh. The air smelt putrid, overwhelming the strains of oil-smoke that filled the dungeon. The three men who currently occupied its small confines were a strange match for their surroundings, and stranger still was their fellowship.

First was the courtier, the man in the lead as those of royal houses often were, be their blood true or, as was in his case, not quite so. Sanjaya Gavalgani was as fully aware of his ostensible lack of nobility as he was of his factual right to rule. The contradiction made him angry and ambitious, and, all the more determined to have as his own that which he believed had been wrongly denied him – the throne of the Kuru kingdom and, thus, the Imperial throne. For decades he had manipulated and plotted to pit his two rivals, his half-brothers though they knew it not, against each other, and he had been successful. Dharma Yudhisthir, once Emperor of Aryavarta, was now an exile, though he had recently declared his intention to reclaim his throne – an idea that was to Sanjaya as ridiculous as it was pitiful. As for his other rival… He smiled to himself at the thought. Syoddhan Kauravya, the untitled ruler of Aryavarta, had been a useful puppet thus far, but his time, too, was over. War, that mighty, dark demoness lurked on the horizon. She would soon lay Aryavarta at Sanjaya’s feet.

And yet, at this, the pinnacle of his success, the ultimate step before his web of intrigue brought all Aryavarta under his sway, Sanjaya was aware that he was not omnipotent. His rise, his plans, had depended greatly on the might of the second man in the present company. Devala Asita, the bald, menacing Firewright, his soldier, inquisitor and executioner, all in one. Sanjaya felt no gratitude for this but was not without goodwill. After all, Devala was a Firewright and a loyal one. It was the third man in the group whom Sanjaya remained most wary of: Sukadeva Vasishta Varuni, son of the former Vyasa of the Firstborn, Krishna Dwaipayana.

When Dwaipayana, the brilliant kingmaker and immaculate political master had retired from Aryavarta’s affairs in favour of the mild-mannered Markand, Sanjaya, who had been Dwaipayana’s disciple, had put the opportunity to good use to reduce his first rival, Emperor Dharma Yudhisthir, to nothing. But he had barely had any time to revel in the accomplishment, for it was then that the usually mild-mannered, insipid Suka had come forward to reveal himself as a creature of ambition – a fact few in Aryavarta, including Suka’s father, would believe.

From that moment on, Sanjaya had felt as though he had caught the proverbial tiger by its tail, though Suka’s trade with Sanjaya had been a simple one: together, they would lead the Empire towards war, towards the very brink of darkness. And then, when all seemed lost, together they would offer the desperate rulers of the realm their one chance at peace – on their own terms. Suka would be Vyasa of a new Firstborn Order, one that would harness the science and weaponry of the Firewrights to fuel its own moral imperative. The Firewrights, in turn, would be forgiven, legitimized, even revered once again, at the small cost of pledging allegiance to their new leader, Devala. As for Sanjaya – he would become Emperor of Aryavarta, a ruler mightier than any the realm had ever seen.

It was, Suka had convinced them both, a plan to mutual benefit, provided they could stand united against their common enemy: Govinda Shauri. Despite their unimpeachable unity in hatred, Sanjaya still harboured suspicion, particularly given his current surrounds – the dungeons set in the very bowels of Hastina, where many a Firewright had met a painful, undignified death. Then again, there had been the final inducement, the ultimate bait that Suka had held out that had convinced Sanjaya – convinced him so thoroughly, in fact, that he in turn had prevailed on Devala, though without sharing the reasons for his newfound trust in the Firstborn. Suka, Sanjaya knew, was aware of the identity of the last Secret Keeper of the Firewrights.

Behind them, the door opened.

Devala whipped around, but Sanjaya could not help but remain as he was, watching Suka, the chiselled lines of the younger man’s profile made more elegant by the play of light and shadow from the array of torches outside that threw their beams into the room. He reminded himself of the reason they were here and turned towards the doorway.

Two hulking men, each one far larger than Sanjaya or his companions, entered the room, dragging something – or someone – between them. The men were dressed in the fashion of Danava mercenaries, but bore the universal look of malice that marked those of a violent trade. As they drew near, it became clear that the limp figure between them was a woman and had been a recent recipient of their violence in ways unique to her gender. Her garments were in tatters, tears and stains showing where her captors had grabbed and pawed at her, and her face was bruised, as if she had been slapped over and over. With a grunt of disdain, the two mercenaries threw her on the floor in the middle of the room. One of them spoke to the other in their native tongue, pointing to the chain that was suspended from the ceiling. The second mercenary waved off the idea and kicked the woman once in the stomach before leaving the room. His companion threw a toothy grin at the waiting men before following him out. Clearly, they judged their prisoner to be incapable of escape.

‘Well?’ Suka asked, staring at the woman before them.

Sanjaya said, ‘I cannot say. I have met the Yavana woman before, when she came on a diplomatic visit to Hastina. But I cannot tell if this…creature…before us is indeed her.’

Suka looked as though he had a harsh response, but before he could say a word Devala’s voice cut through the room. ‘You! Woman! Is your name Philista?’

The sound of her name invoked life in the insentient woman. Slowly, she pulled herself up onto her knees. Her hands, bruised and cut, came up in a weak bid to push her grime-stained hair back to reveal bright blue eyes. Eyes, Sanjaya noted, that would have been attractive but for the way they were now swollen and bloodshot.

‘Are you Philista?’ Devala barked, apparently unaffected by the utter destruction of the woman before him.

‘Yes,’ she said, the word indistinct through her swollen lips. ‘

Speak up!’

Her voice came again, louder but also harsher for the effort. ‘I…I am Philista.’

‘We have some questions for you. Answer truthfully, and we will help you. Tell us the whole truth, and we can get you out of here. But be warned, a single lie, and wild boars will feast on your flesh this very night.’

‘Many…’ she began, faltering as blood and saliva dribbled out the side of her slack, most likely broken, jaw. She looked down at the red slime, as though realizing for the first time her state of existence beyond the pain she had most certainly endured. It seemed to give her an unexpected strength. She spoke again, patiently enunciating the words into coherence. ‘Many have feasted on my flesh already. I…I doubt there is much left for the boars. And speaking of pigs…’ She turned to Sanjaya, her swollen eyes filling with recognition, and then again to Devala. ‘Devala…and Sanjaya Gavalgani of the Kurus…I know you… But your scholarly companion…is not someone I recognize.’ A question formed in her pained frown as her eyes shifted to the ochre-clad Acharya.

Suka did not hesitate. ‘My name is Sukadeva. I am the son of Krishna Dwaipayana of the line of Vasishta Varuni.’

‘Aah, the future V…Vyasa of the Firstborn. Fills my heart to see you alongside two Firewrights…’ She laughed with a rasp, blood and dribble spraying from her mouth. ‘Oh yes, I know their true identity… So, what… is it I can do for you es…esteemed noblemen?’

Devala made to answer, but Suka raised a restraining hand. He said, in a voice as mild as Devala’s had been vicious, ‘Govinda Shauri.’

The sheer mention of the name had a palpable effect. Devala’s lips curled with malice and Sanjaya swallowed back the rising bile. Philista smiled. ‘And what has he done now?’ she said, her voice softening as though a mother were asking about her truant child.

‘He is coming here. Even as we speak, he enters the city.’

‘Here?’ A distant look filled Philista’s eyes. ‘Where is this place? Where am I?’

‘Do you not know?’

‘No. I was…taken captive as I was heading north from Dwaraka towards a bay…where…where my ship awaited me.’ Her voice once again found strength as she remembered the torment she had suffered. ‘They…they threw me into a cart and we set off. Some time during the night, they began getting into the cart, in twos and threes… After that…I don’t know…’

The statement made all three men uncomfortable, Sanjaya the most, for this had been his idea and he had gone ahead despite Suka’s caution. He had known well what was likely – one expected no better from Danava mercenaries. Their violence, he had reasoned, would spare him and his companions the necessity of torturing a woman, for Philista, he believed, held the single piece of information that could change everything. He said, ‘You are at Hastina. We had you brought here as soon as we heard of Govinda Shauri’s intentions.’

BOOK: The Aryavarta Chronicles Kurukshetra: Book 3
2.35Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Immortalist by Scott Britz
Sawdust by Deborah Kay
Touch of Death by Hashway, Kelly
Vendetta by Nancy Holder
Howzat! by Brett Lee
Coming Clean by Ross Jeff
Death Of A Hollow Man by Caroline Graham
Death by Silver by Melissa Scott