Vajradandaka discussed his in-depth analysis of the subject with his big brother the week before, when he got the intel from the frontlines.

'Firstly, obtaining a divine sanction indicates an inclination to conquest. However, obtaining a divine sanction by the name of a minor, obscure god indicates a conspiracy. A long term one.'

'Little Cactus, don't complicate things,' his big brother drawled sleepily. It was just after court and he was planning to go take a nap before sword practice. 'It is already great that those heathens got to name their god. Some Vedic Brahmana must have taken pity on their ignorant ways and enlightened them as to who were the true gods.'

'Brother!' Vajradandaka stomped his foot, 'You are too naïve. The barbarians live in the desert! Which Brahmana out there is so nice to brave the conditions to meet with them and change their ways for no reason? And even if there was someone, these people would've killed him just for setting foot in their territory! For someone to do this, there must be martial support!'

His wavy hair messily thrown all over his face from sleepiness, and long limbs languorously stretched out on the chaise longue, the eldest prince's strong muscles were reminiscent of a resting jaguar. The young man looked dangerous even lying down like that. He asked lightly, 'Alright firecracker. I'll listen to you. Keep talking.'

Pleased, the little prince pulled the foot stool and sat on it, his face inches close to his brother's.

'Idiot, that's not for sitting.'

Little prince ignored him and said, 'Brother, do you know who Rudra is?'

The eldest prince frowned. His knowledge of the Vedas was only on a surface level. 'Some...stormy guy. Fearsome, I've heard?'

'Big brother, let me tell you some of the characteristics of Lord Rudra. First. He's characterized by his fearsome roar, or howl, which is also the root character of his name. Rud meaning howl. Now I want to remind you. One of the most fearsome things about the barbarians on the battlefield is their battle roar. Their style of war is characterized by it, and there are several instances in which their roaring has shaken our soldiers' morale.'

'Little brother is so smart,' the young man rubbed Vajradandaka's hair affectionately.

The little prince dodged as he continued, 'Rudra is an archer. Several verses in the Vedas speak of his brilliant archery which is said to rend heaven and earth.'

The eldest prince frowned, 'The barbarians aren't necessarily better than us in archery.'

'No. But every one of them is an archer! Not just a unit or a legion. All of them, even women and children are excellent hunters adept at using bow and arrow while on horseback. It is their culture. Archery is a prominent element of their culture and it could be one of the selling points why they accepted Rudra.'

It in turn means, someone indeed acted as a merchant selling the god! But the brothers didn't need to say out loud such a nasty thing. Getting serious, the eldest prince rose from the recaimer and sat up to listen.

'The third feature. Rudra is described as being somewhat barbarous to look at. Even his hair was said to be in dreadlocks, just like the barbarians often have! He is said to be leader of all the storm gods and wherever he goes, the phenomenon is like a hurricane or a tempest that no one can stand against. He is a god characterized by rage, is wild, rude and untamed...He is cruel and ruthless, he is said to make even the other gods cringe with fear. He is someone to be curried favor with, and not to be provoked...'

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'Ok...so he is very appealing to the barbarians in that case,' the eldest prince frowned mildly. This kind of person is a god too?

The eldest prince was worried about the opposite thing than the little prince. The barbarians now have a source through which they can draw spiritual strength? What if this Rudra or whoever just gives them whatever powers they ask for? This kind of god surely will be satisfied with subjects like those wild barbarians! He might even be ecstatic. No one ever prayed to him before!

'Eldest brother, Rudra is like a god tailor made for the barbarians! And someone studied that in depth...and planned all this! It must've taken a long time for them to change the barbarians' thinking. They weren't willing to adapt the Aryan way of life before!'

'There is a god for every way of life in the Vedas,' the eldest prince shook his head and refused to give in to the conspiracy nut that his little brother was.

'But for people to follow this god?!' the tiny tot stood in front of his brother, his hands folded across seriously, 'Big brother, I don't believe the barbarians who never cared about out lands or our way of life simply bought into our way of thought for no reason. Big brother, they don't care about our gods! Not until yesterday. I believe someone purposely led them into believing in Rudra and assimilating his features with the large monolith they usually worship as god. And it gets even more complex than this!'

The young man in front sighed looking at that small head in front of him. He couldn't help but wonder how so many things fit in that small place. 'Complex, you say...' he said dimly.

'Yeah...In the last one year, there has been folklore among the common people about the origin of this god Rudra. It says that when Brahma created his Prajapatis, supreme gods like Daksha and all the other auxiliary gods, he also created a goddess named Usha, who was the most beautiful of all things in the universe. She was the first light of dawn and was so resplendent in her beauty that even her own father has fallen in love with her. This caused all his sons and the rest of his creations to criticize him harshly and even stop acknowledging him as the greatest god of all. Usha herself committed suicide and became the red sky of dawn.

'However, the love Brahma felt towards her was the intellectual love a creator feels towards his source of inspiration. It wasn't lust. But there was no way he could explain it as at that time, there was only one creator in the world. Drawing from the rage caused by that incident, Brahma created his avenger. And that was Rudra, the destroyer. He was born to destroy all the other gods who have become too complacent because of their high birth. That is why he is so fearsome. He is also dirty and barbarous looking because he is not like those other gods who are born into riches and have therefore become corrupted so easily. He belongs to the wilderness and nature. He comes and goes

freely like a storm...leaving devastation in his wake.'

'Big brother, isn't it like saying all the Aryans with their ancient pantheon of gods have become corrupted and complacent and the barbarians, who are like a roaring tempest are here to wake them up? Big brother, for a folk tale like this to suddenly become popular in the year before the barbarians have renewed their raids under a new banner...doesn't this mean, they are throwing our entire race a challenge? Doesn't this showcase their ambition to conquer all the lands with the old, traditional gods?'

The eldest prince, the scion of the nation didn't reply. His muscular hands stretched on either sides of the couch, he threw a look from under that messy hair covering his face. A servant girl ran up to fix it for him. Neatly tying up his hair into a dignified style, she exposed the face that was able to charm countless women in the country. With strong contours, a masculine jaw and predatory eyes, the eldest prince looked as dangerous as he was chivalrous. The young girl then started to neatly pleat the prince's angavastra.

The little prince wasn't irritated by this interruption. He was happy instead because this proved his brother was taking him seriously. When his brother wanted to talk seriously, he never did so with a sloppy appearance. The beautiful servant girl gently arranged the top cloth on the prince's shoulder, covering a large portion of a scary looking scar on his chest. Then she quickly disappeared.