Aksha did not expect the Sun Temple to be so splendid. The ones that she did see in this life were all made of sandstone or granites or marble. This monument was entirely gilded, its golden glow bright as the sun, so tall it could grab the ball of fire if it reached out with its pillars. The Adityas built this divine palace beyond the edge of the town, in the middle of golden paddy fields, reached only by a narrow dirt path that branched off from the main road.
As promised, Sage Parasu traveled to the southern territory of Trisurajya in his quest for the Pond of Eternal Sentience to revive his pupil, Sachi. And he still had enough trust in Aksha to let her accompany them, or it may have been her timely wisdom. But throughout the rest of their journey, Parasu did not question Aksha's truthfulness anymore. Prince Bali was quick to insist that he came with them, too, since the presence of royalty would help dodge any bureaucratic troubles. Aksha saw through Bali's phony gallantry and wondered about his true intention.
And it was not just Bali who was hiding a secret. Naga Rathi's slit eyes became increasingly shifty as the days slipped by on the road. He would jump at every small screech or knock, his mood growing more and more foul as they steered closer to their destination. That morning, at the town inn, he insisted on staying behind to guard Sachi from any danger. Tantric Vyom immediately proposed to remain by the boy's side, too; he thought his Tantra would come to use in the face of a sudden attack. So, it fell on the foursome of Aksha, Parasu, Bali, and Bhringi to retrieve the healing water of the pond. Upon some questioning, the friendly people of the nearby town of Madarka shared that the fabled pond was situated inside the Sun Temple that was in the middle of the field, an hour-long canter away.
As they rode past the golden paddy plants swaying in the warm breeze, Bali spurred his mount forward until he came beside Aksha.
"Why is the temple unguarded?" He asked. His sable eyes were squinted at the golden temple up ahead. The midday sun had turned the agni asura's glow into fiery red, like a bright splotch of crimson with a golden nimbus. The young asura's curly hair sat on his head like a dark, ornate crown, sticking to his forehead at places.
Aksha pressed her heels on her milk-white mare and slowed her down to a trot. "It is not," she said simply, "it has some of the most powerful practitioners of Tantra guarding them. We must stay vigilant." It was true the Aditya soldiers did not protect the famed temple, but they were needless. An entire brigade of highly skilled Tantric warriors shielded the monument from looters, and Aksha knew their clever plan could fall apart any moment if they were not careful.
The white stole around Bali's shoulder swelled up under the gusts of the hot wind. It cooled off the sweat, small relief from the damp heaviness in the air. "I do not see any tantrics," Bali remarked, with doubt, "neither do I believe they would be allowed in a place like this."
Aksha chuckled. "Not all who weave the threads of Tantra need be Tantrics."
The four travelers reined up at the bottom of the temple stairs and decided to leave their mounts unsecured, ready to whisk them away if they needed to flee at a moment's notice. They left their sandals there, too, as was the custom, and climbed the cool, uneven steps with bare feet. The stairs were carved out of pink granite and built for giants to step on, so high and broad they were.
Up close, the temple of gold was even more spectacular. The rough surface of the unpolished granite flooring gave way to the smooth, even white marble, warmed under the sun. It ran ten steps wide before meeting the gold-encrusted walls that stood tall and carried a large hemispherical dome in the center, like an enormous golden hat, and four smaller cupolas on each corner. Each of the domes narrowed to a beautiful pinnacle that served as a beacon to all that was holy.
The glare of the gold under the midday sun was making Aksha dizzy. She pulled her veil lower, up to her nose, but it was thin enough for her to still see through it. There was only one priest sitting on the floor of the temple porch by the open door.
"Midday meal time it must be," Bhringi, the bee demon, observed.
"We will wait," Parasu said before the wrinkles around his eyes creased deeper from a pretend smile. He sauntered over to where the priest sat by the door, with the rest three after him. "Regards," Parasu addressed the holy man, who was lazily lounging on a straw mat, guarding the door, "we are a royal convoy on our way to the east and have come here for a visitation of the Sun god. Prince of the OneRealm, Agni Asura Bali is in our party, and he wishes for a glimpse of the temple's inner sanctum."
The priest was a young man, his head shaved except for the tuft of hair on the top, his shikha. He regarded the four visitors with an impolite nonchalance and then pointed to the open door with a jerk of his sharp chin.
The inside of the temple was even more blinding. Intricate scrollwork and foliage designs paneled the gilded walls, crusted with glittering jewels. The gilded ceiling was scattered with motifs of birds and flowers, each decorated carefully with gemstones. The high hall that the four immediately walked into was the congregation hall of the temple, empty and airy from the small porthole windows carved into the walls and screened with latticework. The gallery opened into a narrow causeway from where sounds of ringing and prayers were drifting in.
For a moment, the four of them stood there trading uncertain looks.
"My pupil tells me I have eminent visitors," a deep voice addressed them from behind. Aksha turned, with others, to find an old man, short and stout, with clear, bright skin and a solemn face. As the priests of the OneRealm usually adorned, he was robed in sparkly white dhoti and a yellow shawl flung across his chest with holy verses printed on it in saffron. "Pardon our absence. My fellow priests and trainees are all engaged in midday prayers."
The four of them bowed to the old priest, who studied each of them with great scrutiny.
"We are a royal envoy on a mission to the east," Parasu parroted what he had told the young priest outside, "we were passing through Trisurajya and wanted to stop by to make a visitation to this holy place."
The old priest gave a slow, single nod. "We usually do not entertain guests, but my pupil noted that the prince of OneRealm is in the party. And as a house of a god, we do not turn away the divine ones." He gave Aksha a measuring look that made her pull down the veil further.
Bali stepped in before her in a gallant gesture. "We have heard from the townspeople of the legendary Pond of Eternal Sentience that remains confined within the four walls of the temple sanctum. We wish for a glimpse of the pond."
The priest considered the request for a moment, tapping his finger on his mouth several times, and then jerked his head. "How can I deny the request of the prince of the OneRealm?" He turned and gestured the rest to follow him to the narrow causeway leading out of the hall. "The pond is the reason we have canceled visitation of the public. Over centuries, the greedy ones have stolen its water, and now it is no more than a shadow of what it was thousands of years ago, as you will see."
The five of them walked through the causeway, so narrow that two men could not walk abreast, and arrived into a circumambulatory passage that overlooked a deep well with a mouth fifty steps wide. Aksha's head spun when she looked down into the abyss, and she lurched sideways, catching hold of the old priest's soft, round arm just in time.
"Be careful, child," the priest grasped her. Aksha shook her head.
"I just had a turn," she said dismissively, standing straight again, with one hand clutching the old priest's elbow, the other placed on the gilded parapet that fenced the passage way from the dark, bottomless pit.
"The pond gives you one if you make the mistake of staring into its depths," the priest warned with some humor, "where it was all clear, sparkling water once, now it has almost all dried up, leaving behind nothing but few drops." He sighed. "It is a shame that something with such great magic, something so powerful to survive even the merging, is now turning into dust."
"Magic can never turn into dust," Aksha pronounced, "it merely changes form."
The priest stopped abruptly and wheeled around, suddenly alert. "Where is the fourth one? The bee?"