To Nazir's surprise, Darsana approached them. He was resplendent in a rich blue robe, even without any jewels adorning his person. Darsana was handsome, as all Akataran royals were. Legend said they were descendants of the hidden people of the mountains. But the prince didn't possess the same coldness in his visage like those of his brother and cousins. It was in the way he carried himself.
There's something that made it hard to dislike him.
The soldiers quickly stood in attention and even Nazir himself bowed reflexively. The prince quickly took his hands. They were warm and a little callused, the hands of a swordsman, unlike Nazir's scribe hands.
"Please be at ease, sir. Let me take a look at you. You're hurt..."
Darsana was looking up at him, inspecting his wounds. Apparently the prince was a little shorter than Nazir. Up close like this, Darsana looked more beautiful than handsome. His pale brows were frowning with pity. Nazir almost forgot. He must be looking so awful and made the prince thought he was one of the flood victims.
"We are here to help," said the prince, his voice soothing. "Which district do you come from?"
"No, Your Highness." Nazir quickly shook his head. "You're mistaken, I'm—"
"NAZIRUNABAAD! YOU RASCAL!"
Old Vandrabad's voice boomed as the old man found him among the soldier. The rishi strode briskly and pulled at Nazir's ear as if to a small child. Nazir was taken by surprise and couldn't stop himself being dragged away by the ear.
"You dare ran away for almost a whole day and come back looking like this! Have I been too soft on you, boy??"
"Muni![1] Please calm down. He's hurt," Prince Darsana ran after them. "Muni, you know of him?"
"Know of him? Of course I do! This little runt is my foolish disciple. Did you mistake him for a refugee, Your Highness? Psh! This kid, instead of helping the rescue, what kind of trouble he's been getting into. Did you get into a fight, Nazir?"
"Yes." He blurted out, still out of sort.
"Insufferable!" Vandrabad smack his head hard, then suddenly the old man stopped yelling and whispered in a serious tone. "Did you win, though?"
If you knew what I did you would've wished I have lost, Nazir thought.
Nazir ignored the irrelevant question and instead said, "I was at the slum by the banks of Tamal when the flood suddenly came."
"What are you doing in the slum?"
"...Fighting."
Well, he needed to make up some excuse. It was as good as one.
"This stupid boy," Vandrabad was working himself to anger again.
"You saw when the flood came?" Darsana cut in. "How was the people there?"
Nazir shook his head. "I did, but I couldn't warn them in time. Some were washed away, others were evacuating. The town guards already came to help."
"How unfortunate." It was Bissu Esfandiar.
The older men and Aruna had approached them and heard what Nazir reported.
"We have relocated the slum several time to no success. The people keep coming back to the river banks."
Of course they would, Nazir thought. The river was convenient. It was an easy source for water, sanitation, and it provided them with fishes to eat. The slums was also located near the wet market that would hire many unskilled workers for rough work like lifting goods.
But that would be a discussion for another time. Evacuation was already under way in the slum. There wasn't much they could do there before the flood subsided.
"If you're at the banks when the flood came, how did you get away from it?" asked Aruna. The red head eyed him suspiciously. "What, you outrun the flash flood?"
"I climbed up a tree root, Your Highness. The river won't reach a certain height so I was able to save myself once I reach high enough ground," Nazir explained.
"Won't reach a certain height?" Aruna raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, it's... One can see it on the cliffsides, there was weird line in the sediment, dividing the color of the rocks."
"You seem to understand the lay of the land quite well," Darsana looked at him with admiration.
"No, I was only—" Nazir felt a little guilty at Falguni. Regretting how he was too harsh at the fake beggar but benefiting from the other boy's words.
"A friend..." He would accept that offer of friendship if they ever meet again. "A friend told me."
"Ah, that's such a good friendship then," Darsana nodded and smiled.
"Your Highness, it is time." Esfandiar reminded the prince. "We need to make the offering before the condition worsened."
"Mm, yes, we should."
"An offering?" Nazir frowned.
"Yes, to appease the goddess of Tamal," Darsana explained. "We seem to have angered her greatly that she sent a flood in a dry season like this."
It was the belief of the lands. There truly are gods in this world of [Chronicle of Mora] and they walked among humans at times. But Nazir had uncovered the hidden secret in Antieum Chapter and he knew that what happened wasn't because of a goddess' wrath.
"The goddess of Tamal is dead," he quickly said, stopping the princes and bissu from going.
"Don't spout out nonsense, child. This is a serious matter," Esfandiar looked at him disapprovingly.
"But it's true. I don't know if she had really died or not, but she's dying. That, I am sure. This is not her wrath, it's her dying breaths."
"Your friend also told you this?" Aruna cocked his head in doubt.
"Explain, Nazir," said Vandrabad.
The old rishi looked doubtful, but Nazir's his disciple. The master would lose face if the disciple did wrong, so the least Vandrabad could do right now was giving Nazir a chance to prove himself. Darsana and the others were also looking at him for explanation.
Nazir tried to find the words without having to disclose too much. The stone inscription, the system, and the existence of Falguni need to be kept secret for now. He need to win their trust and earn his place by Darsana's side to advance the storyline in the right direction.
"The river spoke to me," he lied.
First he needed to appease to their spiritual inclination, only afterwards they would listen to the real reason.
"It was because the greed of men. The forest up in the mountain where she came from were disappearing. Without the forest, she couldn't sustain herself."
And it seemed to work. The eyes that were initially doubtful at him were surprised, and before they could think of other things Nazir pushed forward his reasoning.
"The trees kept the soil intact so that when rain comes it flows into the Tamal gradually. Without the trees, the soil become like clay and runs off with the water into the river all at once. That become the flash flood downstream."
"The mines—" Darsana's eyes widened and he quickly turned to Esfandiar. "Have we received any words from outside the city?"
"We haven't, Your Highness." Esfandiar was puzzled.
"There might be landslides upstream too," Nazir added, putting pressure so they would believe him.
They were shocked at the possibility of more disaster waiting for relief. In this kind of condition, where should they start? When the rain got worse, they will be isolated from other towns and cities, unable to ask for immediate assistance.
If there were truly landslides upstream like Nazir predicted, there might be more victims waiting for rescue. Mount Sala was the biggest source of Antieum's treasury. The gold and silver mines there were important, but it was also the cause of Tamal's unpredictable nature.
In the middle of this uncertainty and confusion, Darsana took the lead.
"In the absence of my father, I will take command of Antieum," he decisively said.
"Esfandiar, you will be responsible for the refugees. Open the palace granaries and set up emergency shelters on the town squares. Prepare enough cloths, food and clean water for at least two months supply. Get the temples and noble ladies to aid the preparation."
"As you command, my prince," Esfandiar bowed his head in obedience.
"Aruna, you are to go to Lord Musa. Tell him to divide the battalion, one third to help the rescue effort inside Antieum, two thirds to prepare for rescue to Mount Sala. The engineers are to be sent to the mountain."
Aruna nodded. "I understand. I will go with the second group afterwards."
"No. I want you to ride for Demavi once the weather cleared. You are to coordinate with the merchant and craftsmen guild—"
"What's that got to do with me?" Aruna protested, he looked offended. "Just because I'm a merchant's son, doesn't mean that I want to be one. Cousin, I'm a soldier! I'll go rescue the people."
"Aruna." Darsana's voice hardened, he was warning the other boy. "As a soldier, I am you superior. If you go up the mountain without my consent, I will take it as a desertion."
Aruna shut up immediately. Seeing the red head's response, Darsana softened.
"You are the son of the Merchant Confederation's leader. They will listen to you and won't give us unreasonable demands for their help. This is as important as saving lives on site. Can you do it for me, cousin?"
"Alright..." Aruna was deflated for only a moment, because he quickly picked himself up and made a military salute. "As you command, Sir!"
Darsana smiled and turned towards Nazir and Vandrabad.
This time it was Nazir who was full of admiration. Seeing the real living person in action was truly a different experience than just hearing it from another's story. Darsana assumed the mantle of leadership naturally like a second skin. Like a firstborn that has been trained since a young age to be the heir.
No matter how smart and talented Girivar was, he had been living under Darsana's shadow in his formative years. Suddenly taking a supreme command position had make Girivar constantly agitated, worsening his bad temper. Not to mention people keep comparing them, Nazir was included in that group of people. According to stories Nazir heard, the two brothers were also close, so losing Darsana was like the last trigger that turn Girivar into a madman.
He made the right decision this time. He'd stick to this mythical character and prevent the prince's death. Darsana have to be the next king. He
"Old Vandrabad, Nazir," Darsana addressed them. "I would need your help to inspect the lay of the land and the scope of the damage. Can you help me?"
--
[1]Muni: holy man.