"The crowns give us the false notion of power. You wear them, and for a moment, you lose yourself. You feel invincible. You begin to expect the universe to bow to your wishes. But then, it humbles you, reminds you, you are nothing more than a pawn in its schemes."
King Shukra offered a wrinkly grin to Digvi's musing. "I am all but a humble servant of this realm, my king. I cannot bear to assume such arrogance." He paused, drawing a long, deep breath. "But incidents such as these cause inconveniences to my people that are hard to ignore."
Aditya king Shukra was a shriveled old man with a sallow, creasing face and dim, gray eyes. He claimed his crooked back was a keepsake from the time he rode alongside the late Lord Puru into a battle. A gaudy shawl always covered the old man's deformity.
"Sage Parasu is a highly regarded member of your council…"
"WAS a highly regarded member of my council," Digvi cut him off, "Now, he is free to act as he wishes."
"Was found violating the sacred rules of our Sun temple," Shukra carried on, in a slow, cracking voice, paying no notice to Digvi's words, "not to mention your son, who was spotted with a….a young maiden of questionable nature…..stealing our precious water."
Digvi scoffed. "Sacred rules. Precious water. Your empty words make this meeting futile."
When Digvi received an urgent message for an audience with the Aditya king, he already suspected his son's hand in it. And he should not have trusted that fool of a snake, Rathi, to bring Bali back.
The old man, Shukra, adjusted his crown on his balding head and then dropped his hands to the high council table before him. "Empty perhaps, but not without their sting," he rasped, and then hunched closer to the table. "In the wrong ears, they can bring much….anguish. Not to mention the unflattering look it will bring for your regime."
The portal before Digvi was a large transparent window in thin air circled by a golden light as fiery as the sun's. On the other side was King Shukra with his officials leaning over the council table, so clear as if they were in the very chamber Digvi was in with his own advisors. A very impressive piece of sorcery, Digvi admitted to himself, special to the Adityas, the Portals. Perhaps Digvi would learn its secret once the Book of Asura was in his hands.
Shukra was flanked by his son, Pushan, to his left, and his advisor, Kshatri, to his right. Three more advisors shared his council table. The only people Digvi invited to this meeting were the two he trusted the most, Lord Kartikeya, who was fully armored in scale mail of red and black, and High Minister Trijat, the biggest Himasura to ever live, with his customary journal and quill.
"Our dynasty has never concerned itself with looks." Annoyance was quickly building inside Digvi, but he had hidden it well behind his unfazed smile.
"You may not, but the confederacy will." King Shukra stopped and leaned away from the portal, turning his head to the left. It was his son, Pushan, whispering something into his ears, and a wry smile appeared on his thin, wrinkled mouth. What Digvi would not give to wipe that smile off that sickening face!
"My son tells me they claimed to be your convoy on a mission to the east. There are also chatters of a book. Is it something the OneRealm needs to be worried about?" Shukra glanced up at Digvi through the furrowed brows of phony concerns. Pushan was the oldest of Shukra's seven children, young and tall with the arms of a swordsman, ruthlessly committed to his father. When the old man croaks, he would be sure to take the throne, unless some grave misfortune falls on him.
"An old man's ramblings," Digvi swiftly dismissed the old king's concerns, "and the convoy was traveling on its own.
Shukra snorted, before reaching out for the glass with a shaky hand and taking a few swallows of the liquid. "Is it not vexing when your child does not hear your instructions and brings shame to the house? My youngest one is the same. She worries her mother a lot."
The old man had made enough mock of Digvi's familial troubles for a day, and he was quickly running out of patience. "Bali is a prince, in line to ascend the great throne of the OneRealm. I assume him to act like the future king, not my lap dog."
The words pricked King Shukra. His smile disappeared, replaced by a hard, grim line. "So long as those actions do not bring you to disrepute."
"Watch your tongue, Aditya," Kartikeya objected, jumping to his feet. He seemed about ready to cross the portal and pounce on the ancient descendant of the Sun God, but Digvi calmed him with a show of his hand.
Shukra did not stop even after the warning. "I am merely hoping to resolve this between just the two of us before matters become grave enough to bring to the confederacy table."
"What are your demands, King Shukra?" Digvi watched the old Aditya intently. Shukra let out a long, labored breath, the grimness slowly leaving his jowly face.
"Requests, more like," said Shukra, "You must remember my sister. She has served me closely as a counselor for centuries. But now, she grows tired of my…..modest council table." He tapped on his table twice. "She thinks her vast experience would be better suited for your council table if you let her join."
Digvi exchanged a knowing glance with High Minister Trijat. "A great counselor is a priceless gem to a king," Trijat deep voice rumbled through the council chamber, "to be willing to give her up so easily casts doubt on her ability, King Shukra."
Shukra barked with a short laugh before it turned into a fit of coughing. Finally, he cleared his throat. "If you fear I am implanting spies in your council, fear not. Any wise king knows a king's council has enough cracks for secrets to leak through if you have the right amount of gold."
"I accept your offer," Digvi declared plainly.
But Shukra was not done with his terms. "One more thing. The human king….he has been causing some unease. My men bring me reports he outlawed magic in his region."
"We cannot tell a king how to run his kingdom," Digvi sent the old man a curt reminder which he did not seem to notice.
"….And now, I hear he has been building tools….machines he is calling them to bring magic to those who are magicless."
"Does that threaten the realm?" Digvi had heard those murmurings, tools that bring light at night and let a man move quicker. But it was in human nature to make light of magic and try to bend the world to suit their needs.
The old man sighed. "It is only a matter of time before a simple unease becomes a dire threat. The simple tools of today become weapons to vanquish magic."
"And what is your ask?"
"Simply that you declare me the Emperor of the Sun Region," Shukra boldly asked, "I will serve you in that title and make sure that the magic of this realm is never threatened."
"Such proposal must be passed by the confederacy of the ten kings," Minister Trijat quickly reminded all present in the room and on the other side of the portal.
"And as the leader of the confederacy, King Digvi, the final decision remains in your hands," argued the Aditya king, in his scratchy voice, "I only intend to quicken the process."
"Release Sage Parasu, and I will bring this up at the next confederacy meeting," Digvi pressed on.
Shukra shook his head with dissatisfaction. "Make the decree in your name, my king, and I will suppress the whispers that your son attempted to steal our sacred water like a common thief," he requested with a thinly veiled threat.
In the end, Digvi yielded to the Aditya king's demand. Once the private meeting ended, Digvi instructed Lord Kartikeya to send their men to track down Bali and, more importantly, investigate the maiden that Shukra so blatantly jibed about.