If one fully utilizes their open eyes and observes the Samrat Karna Sabha - the council of the emperor's servants - they could see the gravitating fire so close to its enabler. They could perceive the cautious wind being careful in its approach, concealing behind the fire's brazenness, and witness the insecure one deluding himself into thinking power favors him more.
They would have to squint to see the senile one perching further away from power but not hidden from its sight. A hasty glance would reveal that there were five others. All who spoke not once.
The silence of those nine belonged to one man. Achal was his name. 'Samrāṭ kī Dhvani,' the voice of the emperor, was his title, which endowed him with the command to imprison speech.
The words were at his mercy; if he desired to set them free, he could, and if he desired to let them die in their mouths, he can.
"They killed my niece," His voice did not alleviate the dread in the eight.
Lord Achal had seen it latent in their ephemeral mannerisms. Despite decades of scheming they were incapable of obfuscating themselves. Their sensibilities were unconcealed by the vizard meant to elevate their status through carefully knitted deception.
Achal ran his gaze over each of them, crushing them with the weight of his colossal temper. "Men and women massacred in their own fortresses and havelis. In case you, proud lords, haven't noticed, they are winning, and you are doing nothing."
"We have their leader, Grandfather," spoke Crown Prince Bimbisara.
Achal regarded his grandson with slightly concealed contempt. "He is a symbol of their cause and his capture turned him a martyr."
"We need his public confession, my lord," stated Arunvijay Suruchira.
Karan Sagara said, ”You are a man of law, Dharmaghata of this vast empire. Yet, you lack an understanding of mankind's dubious mind. I find it very astonishing how you came this far in life."
The insult did not fall on deaf ears, but the brazen Suvarnadhitpathi Karna Sagara - master of wealth - did not grant him a chance for an apt riposte. "There have been food shortages in the south, my lord, and I have information on rebels who are involved in it."
"Where did you get this information?," Achal asked.
"The traders union of vanijyavarṇa have paid the painted lady for this valuable information. "
He unrolled a parchment in front of achal. "These are some of key locations of rebel hideouts. They need manpower to put an end to these pesky annoyances. In doing so will at least help us resume the trade and feed our populace."
He paused to brand the words indelible. "Restless citizens in these violent times won't favor our plans my lord."
"We don't have men to spare," Sahil Basu, Desrakshakaadipati - the lord protector of realm spoke and continued with palpable venom. "Especially not on the intel of that harlot."
"Perhaps, we have to tell them the truth, Grandfather. We can print papers with headlines that the traitor willingly gave himself up. That ought to weaken their resolve."
Achal threw the cup on the table, striking the goblets and wine jug. He gestured for his cup bearer to leave it be. "They speak of him as a god. They revere him as they revered our beloved founder. Telling them the truth is giving more power to his name. they won't buy into our narrative. They know he killed a wise man in broad daylight."
He towered over his grandson. "Do you have any idea what telling them would lead to? They would see us as weak and weakness will trigger a civil war unprecedented in known history."
The aged royal priest, Hanumanthu, spoke with a hint of struggle, "People... are not faithless, Your Grace. They won't easily... fall for the devil's words. Please... do not let doubt... cloud your judgment."
Achal abated his temper and answered, "I am faithful, Venerable Hanumanthu, but so were kings of old, who had traitors amidst their subjects."
He turned his attention to Nausenadipati, commander of navy. "My daughter, you have been mute for quite sometime. Pray tell us the situation at the seas. Why hadn't we received the ammunition?"
Lady Amrita Sinhnukha closed her eyes as she bathed in the dappled light cast by the flaunting peacock sculpted onto a tall wooden window. She sat at the far end of the table twiring the wine laden goblet in her hand.
Hearing her father's voice she opened her eyes and seeing all gazing upon her, she put down the goblet and spoke.
"I have written a detailed report and sent it with much urgency. It seems like you have not received it. I guess I will have to explain it right now,"
She snapped her fingers and leaned forward. " The presence of demons has grown over the seas. I wrote a letter to the crows and they have not answered my calls for aid. If we let this threat fester, the south would be entirely cut off from the north. With the drought they have right now, this will turn into an unsightly situation."
She gave all of them a nasty smile. "I am not sure if you fine men and women ate a man's leg, but let me assure you, it is not pleasant."
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She directed her gaze to the Guptanayakah, royal spymaster. "I was under the assumption that such valuable information would not escape your notice, Lady Upadhyay."
"It did not, my lady. I was waiting for confirmation of their authenticity before presenting it to the council," she said, smiling calmly. Amrita noticed the look in her sky-colored green eyes, which held the coldness of ripened snow.
"I am living proof of their authenticity. I killed two of them and lost twenty good men in the process," Amrita said, turning her gaze in the direction of her father. "We have to deal with this threat. We need crows, perhaps a hundred strong. If any fewer, draft the novices. Then, perhaps, we might have a chance at fixing this situation. Send your fastest rider to the east; we can't trust important messages to the ravens and pigeons anymore."
"Demons and rebels," Samraat ki Dvani sighed exasperatedly. "Dharmasenadipati, you have made the decision to give into the traitor's demands in my absence. The consequences, if your faith in your daughter is proven unfruitful, would be dire."
"It is not my faith in my daughter, my lord; it is the insistence of the wise men that led me to do this. You should know that the inquisition would never bow down to the devils," answered the bull of a man.
Achal turned to his cupbearer. "Geethanjali, my dear, would you be so kind as to fetch me ink and a pen?" As she walked off, Achal spoke, "I am sure you have a reason not to bring your wise men, Wise Lady Thalassa. But reasoning unknown for such important decision does leave a tart taste in my mouth."
Thalassa's fascade resembled marble in both coloring and shape. Her sharp features and crimson tresses granted her a salient sway, enchanting others while naught revealed of her true nature.
She was the only person in the room to match Lord Sinhnukha's eyes.
"I bear no offense, Your Grace. In a moment that begged for a swift decision, the prowess of this man guided my choice."
She spoke on with a furrowed brow. "Indrasena Taraka was once a captive of the ruthless Lady Kaur. He was imprisoned by her for seven months. Despite the long stretch of torture he did reveal the location of Avatar Ravi's talwar. Before escaping, he claimed everything from Lady Kaur—her life, her boundless wealth, her elite soldiers and her fair bride. If such a man were to yield willingly, exchanging his secrets for a bloody chronicle nobody would read, any soul would seize upon that offer."
"They won't expect him to give in to torture, which is why his willingness to spill the secrets wouldn't cross their minds." Guptanayakah said.
Geethanjali brought an ink bottle and pen along with a few parchments. "Thank you, dear," said Achal before addressing the members of Samratkarna Sabha. "The problems of the south will have to wait . Dharmasenadipati, arrest anyone who acts suspicious and execute them. Turn the streets of capital ash and red. Use every man at your disposal, spare no woman or child, do everything in your power to kill their morale. sooner or later the important of them would act irrational over their kind's spilled blood and will reveal themselves."
He laid his quill upon the parchment. "Dharmaghata, proclaim a curfew and instruct the nagararakshadipatis to enforce harsh punishment in their respective cities. As for your problem, Amrita, you can select five capable men from the capital's garrison reserves. I will send word to the pramukha adhikari to deliver the message to the crows. They will send aid. Now this concludes today's meeting; we will meet again tomorrow at daylight."
When all the members of the council had departed, a sound besieged Achal's much-desired quiet. But it was not something that could evoke a hostile spirit; for it was the favorable gait of his granddaughter.
"You have listened to the meeting, quiet as a mouse, and I am confident you have understood what what happened here and what your purpose is."
The cupbearer was a lass of eighteen summers who shared her grandfather's keen eyes and bronze coloring, which contrasted with her soothing white smile. She used a rough cloth to wipe the wine-sloshed table.
"What did you learn about them? What do you think happened here?"
"My brother lacked insight?" She wondered uncertainly and then nodded to herself. "He lacked wisdom."
"You are right!" Achal exclaimed. The lips under his white regal whiskers twisted into a proud smile. "What would a heir who possessed wisdom would do?"
The girl appeared thoughtful for a second before answering. "Listen," She said. "A wise heir would listen and learn."
He gestured her to take a seat and poured her a glass of wine. "Drink!" He ordered and the girl did so. "Tell me what do you think of the members? Be honest, I won't punish you."
"Aunt is the only one who appeared truthful?" Achal nodded and gestured her to continue. "Lady Upadhyay she has her own games. She is hiding something but I can't say for certain where her loyalties aligns. Karan Sagara is the dangerous of all,"
"Vakula Upadhyay is a spymaster; it is in her nature to play her little games. It is impossible to tell where her loyalties lie. On the other hand, Karna Sagara is a man who gravitates towards wealth; his father elevated his petty house beyond imaginations. He inherited his father's greed."
Achal filled his own cup and took a sip. "But greed isn't necessarily dangerous; it is predictable but Karna is strange. One can't say when he acted upon greed or his morality; he has too much of his mother in him."
Geetanjali noticed a subtle trace of wistful smile in her grandfather's face. "if the disease did not take her to an early grave, she would have been the queen and she would have been in this council."
"Did you know her well grandfather?"
He shook his head. "She was to be my wife before Ranvijay Sagara stole her from me, but I can't say if I knew her; she was too much of a mystery." He put his cup down and sized her up and down.
"You need to eat more. A queen mustn't appear weak."
Her bronze visage paled - noticing the shift her grandfather smiled. "Did you really think your bumbling fool of a brother would be the king? I wouldn't have convinced your mother to send you to the university and be my cupbearer to be married off to a power-hungry leech."
"No," he said. "I am old, your mother will be old, and so will be your father. Your brother, they will remember his name, but what about you? History wouldn't write about a meek wife hidden away in the safe confines of some rich lord's fortress, they would write of her brother, who despite possessing the blood of god, pissed on the entire continent. You are not a foolish girl with foolish father. You are a Sinhnukha. You are a Maurya. You are blessed with the things few people possess. You have the right temperament to be a queen."
"What will happen to my brother?"
"He will be shipped off to the sea to learn under your aunt. It will be years before you ascend the throne, and when you do, your aunt will be your voice. She will command the council, and her husband's brother will bear your name and father your children."
"Does father know about this?"
"Yes, and he had given you his blessings to execute the traitor,"
"Execution?"
"As the decendant of Raghava, your hand is holy, and your beheading of Indrasena Taraka will make people believe in the power of royalty and cement your family's legacy."
"I knew you expect great things from me, grandfather. But my brother wanted this throne his entire life."
"Does that bother you?"
"It doesn't bother me; it makes me pity him." She picked up her goblet and walked over to the window. Staring at the sun-kissed white city, she said, "I want to rule, Grandfather, and with your guidance, I want to take this nation further than my predecessors. I will be the queen, and your name will be honored as Queen Maker in the days to come."