Chapter 84.

PART 1.

James returns from handing over the yantra which he built to Hatori. After realizing how big the project was, he effectively bullied Hatori and took over the yantra part, so he could focus on the ritual.

The yantra is a sentient one, the first one James ever built, which will protect the ritual sight, clean it up, and manage its general upkeep. But that is not what is on the mind of James right now. Currently, he is thinking about the reasons to avoid going back to the room.

Shin walks to him, who seems to be distracted. “I can’t take it anymore!” he said when he saw James.

“What?” Shin is very emotional out of them, so James has trouble understanding why he is being so loud.

“The fight. No peace in the dorm, no peace outside, it is just maddening!” he clarified.

On that, James agrees and understands why Shin is being so loud. “But what can we do about it?” asked James, the default response after hearing a problem. Hatori understands this tendency of his, while other people who are just looking to vent get frustrated by it.

“Not everything needs a solution.” Said Shin. ‘Maybe you shouldn’t cry to me then.’ He thought grumpily.

“What can we do about it?” Asked Shin with an exhausting disappointing sigh, which only comes after realizing the size of the problem. “What can we do about it?” he repeated.

“You know what? Let’s talk to them separately, and then compare notes. We’ll try to come up with a solution after that.” suggested Shin.

“Brilliant.” Said James. Now, this is his kind of solution. No emotional screaming, no winging it; instead proper planning, observation, and then action.

PART 2.

Whereas Hatori is preparing for the ritual in the forest at this time by repeatedly practicing the elemental spells taught to him by Professor Mantar, Shin is talking with Raven. They have a nice chemistry Shin feels, since they are kind of the same, looked down upon by everyone else for their birth.

“So, Suresh hasn’t come yet?” asked Shin. Each year during the month-long festival, various events are organized in the Academy. one of which is the chess championship. Suresh is the boy who has won it for the last two years, and he often used Raven as a sparring partner, where he utilized his openings against Raven, and see how he responds.

“No, not yet.” Said Raven. “But I’m already studying the games of the other champions; they are very insightful. I’m sure they would come in useful when I start to play for the championship from next year onward.”

The championship can only be contested among players who are fourth year and above, so Raven is looking forward to the next year. “Great. But I don’t see Josh here.” Shin tries to bring up the topic for which he is here, the part of the library where historical records of the students are stored here, who have participated in the events either for the school or by the school.

“Probably still lazing around in the room.” Said Raven with a harsh tone.

“Say, you guys are friends from childhood, right?” asked Shin.

“Well, yeah, but I do think that friendship is now over.” Said Raven.

“Why?” asked Shin. “I’m not prying, but as someone in my position, I don’t get to make friends aside from you guys.”

Raven shakes his head. “You’re fine. I don’t mind. The problem with Josh is that he thinks of himself all the time. When it comes to proving that he is a friend, he cowers away. I mean, people have been calling me his servant ever since I was five, and not once has he had the guts to correct them. Do I want a friend like that?”

This time, Shin is the one who shakes his head, jingling the bells in his hair. “I don’t know man, all I know is that one impulsive blind boy pulled me along with you, and I’ve yet to look back.” Said Shin. “It would be sad to see the group splinter like that.”

PART 3.

Implementing the plan immediately, James goes to Josh, finding him in the room, reading a book on economics. “Does that interest you?”

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“Yeah, not only the math but the human behavior.” Said Josh. “Did you know that actually, math is pretty bad at predicting human behavior, or any behavior in general?”

“Interesting.” Said James.

“Yeah, just because someone might behave in a certain way statistically, it is not certain that they will continue to display that same behavior all the time.” Said Josh. “I do need to cross-reference economics with anthropology. According to this author, who is an expert in both disciplines, both of them can use each other to learn more things about human behavior.”

“Great. Do you think chess players like Raven can analyze people?” asked James.

“I highly doubt that.” scoffed Josh. “Chess is a great game, but it does not encapsulate life completely. I learned this word from this book, by the way,” said Josh, turning the page.

“You’ve been friends with him since childhood, haven’t you?” Said James. “How is it to have a friend for so long?”

“You didn’t have a friend before I take it?” asked Josh.

James nodded, unwilling to spill his lonely childhood. “The thing is, when you know someone for so long, you start to learn everything about them, good and bad.”

“So what is good about Raven?” asked James, “And what is bad?”

“Good things. Hmm. I think he is intelligent, and has some ambitious goals. I think living around Hatori has exacerbated the ambition. But he doesn’t realize that he lives in a dangerous world. He is mostly angry with me because I never stood up for him, or he thinks that way.” said Josh.

“But the matter is not that simple. You come from a noble family; you know how things are. Our cousins, brothers, sisters, everyone is looking for weaknesses to pounce on. If I defended him, you know what would happen.” Said Josh.

“So you think Raven shouldn’t be ambitious?” asked James.

“Not exactly. But he should curb them some.” Said Josh.

“What about Hatori? Do you think that he should have folded easily when the families demanded that he abandon Porus’s side?” asked James.

“No.” Said Josh. “I was angry, and I shouldn’t have said that. if he were to fold easily, we wouldn’t be here discussing this thing, since he would be nothing more than a weapon for the families.”

James excused himself after that conversation, leaving Josh alone with his book. He meets with Shin on the ground near the stream, underneath a large oak tree. “Any luck?” he asked.

“No. you?” asked Shin.

“The same. It’ll be harder than we thought.” Said James.

PART 4.

Hatori wakes up, still feeling exhausted. He finds the snake and the elephant nearby. “What happened?” He groaned. The last thing he remembers was the ritual draining his magic, and the spirits going crazy.

‘Typical human behavior.’ Said the elephant from outside the camp.

‘Do you feel fine now?’ asked the snake, ignoring the snarky elephant.

“I feel weak. I don’t think I should go out today.” He said in a trembling voice.

‘Don’t worry, we’re here.’ Said the snake. ‘We’ll take care of you.’

“How did the ritual go?” Asked Hatori, after the snake gave him some dried meat to eat. “Did I blow it up?”

‘ no!’ Said the elephant. ‘It worked fine, and now that the entire sight is filled with more creatures, they’re all lined up there to get modified.’

‘These are the ones who didn’t learn about it the first time.’ Said the snake. ‘Of course, the wasp and bee queens are running the whole thing. They’ve promised to share the profit with you.’

“That’s fine. Wait, profit?” asked Hatori.

‘Yeah, while they do not charge for using the lake, they do charge for lodging and nesting.’ Said the snake.

“Those two are scary.” Said Hatori.

‘And now you get it.’ said the elephant.

“What happened to the spirits?” asked Hatori.

‘Well, they all went up in smoke after the ritual was done. They haven’t shown up ever since. I think your ritual destroyed what kept them anchored here, so they left the forest entirely.’ Said the snake.

“You’re getting good at the theory.” Said Hatori. “If I ever built a library, I’ll put you in charge.”

‘And what about me?’ asked the elephant.

“You can be the scary guard.” Mumbled Hatori, falling asleep already.

(End.)