“Take them to the guest quarters and see they are rested and fittingly dressed for tonight’s banquet.” He waved his hands in dismissal and turned away. Vasisthiputra jerked his head at them, indicating they should follow the women.
Relieved, the companions retreated. Guatamiputra was a bewildering mix of vibrant, charismatic leader and cultural mysteries that made no sense to them. For several tense minutes, Phoenix had been sure they were going to be executed on the spot. He was surprised to find the Raj so open to challenge and suggestion.
Vasisthiputra walked with them to the men’s tent. Phoenix protested when Jade was towed off to a different one.
“Hey, Prince Vasisthi…thithputra,” he stumbled over the name as he tried to watch where Jade was going.
“She will not be harmed. The women will take her bathe and be dressed for tonight’s welcoming banquet,” the prince said, smiling. “Please, call me Vasi.”
“I don’t get it,” Phoenix frowned at him. “Why do you all keep talking about a welcoming feast as though you knew we were coming?”
Vasi blinked at him. “But we did know.”
Now it was Phoenix’s turn to blink. “Huh?”
“The coming of the Shining One has been foretold for years,” the prince said. “Not the exact date, of course – and we are a bit surprised to find she is a woman.”
“And what’s this ‘Shining One’ supposed to do?” Phoenix asked, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.
“The prophecy is painted on the walls of the Pataleshwar cave temple in Punya-Vishaya. It shows a war being fought on the plains outside the town. High above, there is an eagle, soaring through the sky. On its back is the white devi – holding high the lost Silver Sudarshana.” Vasi waved his hands around, demonstrating as he spoke.
Phoenix exchanged alarmed glances with Marcus. Brynn, who was grudgingly translating for Cadoc, broke off and gaped at them in astonishment.
“The…er..lost Sudarshana, you say,” Phoenix tried to sound casual. “And exactly what is this Sudarshana. What does it do?”
Vasi frowned. “It is a weapon of sorts. A tool of the great god, Brahma. In his aspect as the devi Vishnu, the Preserver of the World, he carries with him four items: a mace, a lotus flower, a conch shell and a chakra. Many years ago, Vishnu chose to come to earth and his avatar lived amongst humans, doing great things with his chosen tools.”
The prince went on, explaining who the god Vishnu was and what each tool represented. Phoenix, who had jumped at the word ‘avatar’, quickly realised that it didn’t quite mean the same thing as it did in the modern world. Here, ‘avatar’ literally meant a god who took human form. It was a very weird coincidence, though.
“Vishnu is just one aspect of the great god, Brahman. Vishnu is the master of the past, present and future; the creator and destroyer of all existences,” Vasi said, obviously trying to put difficult concepts of the Hindu religion into simple words. “The Conch shell represents Vishnu’s creativity – the creation of the five elements: water, earth, air, fire and sky. The Mace represents the primeval force from which all mental and physical strength comes. The Lotus stands for freedom, knowledge and truth underlying all things. The Chakra, named ‘Sudarshana’, literally means ‘good vision’ – or the ability to see yourself clearly.” Vasi continued. “The one in Punya-Vishaya has been missing from its place in the statue of Vishnu in the cave-temple for three years. Legend says it is the Sudarshana – the one Vishnu himself used. Since it has been gone, my family has lost more and more of our kingdom to the Saka invaders. Our family has ruled wisely and justly for many years. We need to reclaim what is ours; to restore the balance of power here so the people do not suffer any longer under foreign rule. That is why we need the Sudarshana.”
Phoenix interrupted. “So you’re saying this missing Sudarshana has what, the ability to make people see themselves clearly? How is that a weapon?”
Vasi turned a clear, dark-eyed gaze on him. “It is like a mirror for the soul. Are you prepared to see what is in the darkest corners of your heart? Are you so pure that you can face every decision you’ve made without flinching? Are you so perfect that you always do the right thing; always choose the right path; always speak and think with humble gratitude and compassion? Are you never guilty of selfishness, ego or greed?”
He paused as Phoenix digested his words then continued. “If you are then you have nothing to fear from the Sudarshana. Here is your tent. I will send someone for you when the feast begins.” Bowing, he turned on his heel and strode away, leaving the companions in stunned silence.
When they got inside, Cadoc flung himself down on some cushions and sighed.
“So what was all that he said at the end? The boy stopped translating. You all seemed pretty impressed by it. What was it? Something about the wedding? Maybe Jade should just marry the guy to save all this drama. She could probably help more from the inside, anyway.”
Brynn slipped past, giving Phoenix a cool look. “The boy, has a name,” he muttered in the Svear language, “and the boy didn’t think his highness needed to know about the Sudarshana. The boy also thinks his highness should keep his stupid opinions to himself.”
Phoenix opened his mouth to rebuke Brynn for being cheeky but shut it again. Brynn was right but maybe not for the reasons he thought. He was obviously jealous of Cadoc’s friendship with Jade and therefore didn’t like the Prince but Phoenix was more worried that a discussion of the Sudarshana might accidentally draw out details of their Quest – which might, in turn, lead to one of them being deleted from the game.
Instead, he spoke to Brynn in the same language. “Jade needs to know about this stuff. Do you think you can find her and fill her in?”
The boy nodded, inspecting a star-fruit before taking a cautious nibble and talking around it. “Should I warn her not to tell princey-boy here?”
Phoenix glanced at Cadoc. The Player frowned at him, clearly not happy that they were excluding him from the conversation. Well, he’d just have to accept that they couldn’t discuss their Quest in front of him.
“Yes,” Phoenix agreed, “you’d better, just in case. Just tell her she’ll know why. Oh, and tell her we need a plan to defeat Bhumaka’s army, too.”
*****
Jade sat in solitary splendour in the luxury of the ‘women’s tent’, feeling stunned. As soon as she had reached it a gaggle of women had rushed out to embrace her and touch her face and hair. Helpless, she had been swept off by the king’s wife and daughters to be bathed and pampered until she was ready to scream.
Now, they had finally left her alone for a few minutes and she had no idea what to do. If she moved, something might get dislodged. They had taken off her travel-stained rough clothes and dressed her like a doll in a leaf-green sari exquisitely embroidered with silver and gold thread. Her hands and feet were decorated with red-brown henna in intricate patterns that defied analysis. Her throat, hands, arms and hair were bedecked in so much silver jewellery that she was scared to move in case she fell over with the weight. They had even put thick, dark kohl around her eyes and a red stain of some sort on her lips.
Gnawing on her reddened bottom lip, she resigned herself to a period of waiting. She propped her chin on her hand. Bracelets clattered down her arm. From the chatter of the women as they dressed her, she had gathered the basics of what was painted on the walls of the temple in Punya-Vishaya but it worried her. How could she possibly be the centre of some sort of ancient prophecy? How was she supposed to ride an eagle? What sort of weapon was the Sudarshana and how was she supposed to use it? Was she supposed to fling it like some magic Frisbee? Who was this Vishnu god guy, anyway?
Thinking back to Anuket’s instructions when the goddess handed them the silver chakra in Egypt, Jade frowned. Anuket had said ‘….a path will be taken that will make whole what is torn asunder; he who has wronged will be redeemed and an Empire will unite.’ The Empire must be Guatamiputra’s, that was obvious but who had done somethin
g wrong and what had been torn asunder?
All she knew was that the Sudarshana had to be returned to its rightful owner. Sudden panic struck and Jade struggled to her feet. Trailing lengths of green silk, she went to the neat pile of her things the women had left. Her seeking fingers found the Hyllion Bagia and she sighed in relief. It was safe. She tucked it and her life-dagger into her sari and carefully sat down again on a pile of gaudy cushions.
The statue in Guatamiputra’s tent must have been an image of this Vishnu guy, since it held a miniature chakra in one of its blue hands. Obviously the Sudarshana was too big to go on that statue but somewhere in Pune, there must be a big, four-armed, blue-skinned guy who was missing a chakra. She just had to find it. Maybe it was in the same temple as the painting about her and the eagle…?
An odd, hissing sound coming from outside the tent distracted her. It sounded like a gas leak but that was obviously impossible. She heard her name called and realised Brynn lurked somewhere close by. Scrambling over to the tent wall, she whispered to him.
“Brynn? Are you ok?”
“I’m fine,” he said, “how about you? What are they doing?”
“Nothing now,” she replied testily. “But I’ve been scrubbed clean and dressed in the most ridiculous outfit you’ve ever seen. They’ve even put makeup on me!”
Brynn giggled. “Nice to know you’re not being tortured, anyway.”
“That’s a matter of opinion,” she retorted. “What’s going on with you?”
“We’re fine, too. We’re being treated like royalty, actually. Food everywhere – as long as you can eat the spicy stuff they make here. The fruit’s funny-shaped, too.”
“Oh do shut up about food and tell me what been going on,” she interrupted.
“Well,” he mused, “Cadoc thinks you should go through with the wedding to keep the king on our side but Phoenix heard from Vasi that the Sudarshana is a weapon you need to wield in battle against the Saka.”
“Yes, I know that,” Jade said impatiently.
“You do?”
“These women gossip something terrible,” she sighed. “What else?”
“Phoenix says you shouldn’t talk to Cadoc about the Sudarshana – he says you’ll know why.”
“I will?” she thought for a moment. “Oh, yes. OK. What else?”
“Er…he says can you please come up with a plan for defeating Bhumaka’s army while you’re at it.”
“Great,” she groaned, “business as usual, I see.”
“Good,” the boy agreed, her irony lost on him. “I’ll go tell the others you’re going to come up with something.”
Before Jade could reply, there was a soft scuffling as Brynn slipped away. Huffing, she sat down with her back to one of the tent poles and folded her arms.
“Fabulous. OK. I’ll work on that. You guys just chat amongst yourselves and leave it all to me then,” her sarcasm fell on heedless tent walls. “Honestly. Men!”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Phoenix paced the huge tent, awaiting Brynn’s return. The boy had a perfect genius for sliding away unnoticed. The guards posted outside their door had not even seen him slip under a sidewall and disappear into the crowds. Of course, it helped that he now looked very much like any other small boy wandering about the camp.
After agreeing to go find Jade, Brynn had been quick to change into the clothing provided by their host. Then he’d smudged every inch of exposed skin with dirt and charcoal from the fire until he looked like a gutter brat. Finally, he slid under the canvas wall and vanished. Now they were awaiting his return and hoping no-one visited them in the meantime. He was small but they were sure to notice his absence.
There was a rustling at the back of the tent and Brynn’s grubby face poked under the cloth. Grinning, he rolled in the rest of the way and stood up, brushing himself off as he swaggered over.
“Why bother?” Marcus raised an ironic eyebrow at his filthy state.
“Hey,” the boy shrugged, “if you don’t want to know how she is, that’s fine with me.”
Marcus smiled. “You found her. I’m impressed. Tell us.”
Brynn lay back on a pile of cushions, interlaced his hands behind his head and shrugged. “She’s complaining about being dressed up and made up like a doll but otherwise she’s fine. She’d already heard the legend and she’s agreed not to talk and to come up with a plan to defeat Bhumaka.”
“Bet she didn’t say it like that,” the Roman’s sly comment went unheeded.
Cadoc stretched and sat up. “Why bother helping this Raj against Bhumaka? Why not just complete your quest now? You don’t owe him anything. I’m pretty close to completing mine, so why don’t we just ditch these guys and head to Pune now?”
“Our quest has to be completed on a specific day,” Phoenix sighed, scratching his fingers over his scalp. “We’ve got to wait a few more days before we can do what we came to do. I have a feeling this war isn’t going to wait that long.”
“You go ahead, though,” Brynn put in brightly. “Feel free to leave us behind if we’re slowing you down.”
The Player sent him a scornful look. “As if I’d do that. You guys are in a tight spot and if I can help, I will. Why don’t we see if we can come up with a plan, too.”
There was a scratching at the tent door and the flap opened to admit Vasi. Behind him came a vision that put a stop to conversation: Jade. When she glided in, even Phoenix blinked, temporarily struck dumb. Cadoc scrambled to his feet, stammering a greeting. Marcus said nothing but his handsome face flushed and he clenched his fists. Lifting the hem of her green silk sari, Jade stepped delicately toward them, her eyes huge and brilliantly emerald. Her hands were intricately decorated with what looked like reddish tattoos. Part of the sari was draped over her head, framing her delicate face and making her curled blonde hair almost glow.
She was beautiful. There was no other word for it: except, perhaps, ‘exquisite’ and all the other similar adjectives he could think of. Phoenix remembered he had originally thought them when he’d first met her avatar as a Player, playing the game from outside. So much had happened since that he’d just become used to her smart, sarcastic, cautious personality and forgotten her looks altogether.
He said the first thing that popped into his head. “It might be a good idea to get changed back into your own clothes if you really don’t want to marry this Sopaniputra guy. He’ll probably have a fit if he sees you like this.”
Jade frowned at him for a moment then smiled. “Why Phoenix, I think that was sort of a compliment.”
She then turned the full force of that smile on Vasi and laid a hand on his arm. “Thank you so much for bringing me to my friends. Would you mind if we had a few minutes to talk?”
Vasi stared at her for a moment then shook himself and bowed. “Of course, my lady. When you are ready, call and you will all be escorted to the feast.”
When he had gone, Jade turned back to her friends, and Phoenix caught a faint, satisfied, almost smug expression on her face. He had the distinct feeling that she was happy with the impression she’d made on the men. His real-world family hadn’t prepared him for how to deal with sisters but in this world he had two sisters and several memories of their flirting efforts with his friends made him uncomfortable. He hoped she’d go back to her normal clothes soon. It was distracting to have her dressed up. She could have pushed the others over with a blown kiss.
“I wanted to talk to you about the war,” she said, turning serious. “There’s a new problem. The Saka evidently use poisoned arrows.”
“How did you find that out?” Phoenix dropped back onto the cushions, relieved she’d changed the subject.
Jade paced the floor, jingling with each step. “Vasi told me one of our packhorses died from an arrowshot.”
Marcus jumped, looking guilty. She hastened to reassure him.
“It was such a shallow wound that the Horsemaster didn’t think it was worth telling us about. There’s no way you could have
known about the poison, Marcus.”
The Roman shrugged and they all sat down amongst the cushions. “So how does this affect plans for the battle?”
“Well, there’s no way I can heal hundreds of poisoned troops or shield them from thousands of arrows,” she said matter-of-factly. “So we’re going to have to come up with some way of protecting people against the poison.”
“I thought Elven magic didn’t work against iron weapons anyway,” Cadoc said.
Jade shrugged. “Mine does, to a limited extent, because I’m a half-elf but I don’t think I could hold against a whole lot of iron weapons in one spot at once.”
Cadoc nodded his understanding. He was busy brewing a pot of tea over the small, central hearth fire. Handing Jade a cup and nodding to the others to help themselves, he yanked aside a rug and rubbed a flat patch in the dirt beneath. She took the tea with a grateful smile, warming her hands on the rough clay pot. Phoenix frowned at them, wondering whether Cadoc was more interested in Jade than he’d realised. He’d have to keep an eye on the Player.
Cadoc sipped his tea then drew some lines in the dirt. “I’ve been doing some research into ancient Indian war tactics.”
Marcus and Brynn stared at him in astonishment, cups of tea halfway to their mouths. Luckily, Jade jumped in before they could ask the obvious question. They had no idea Cadoc was a Player with access to the Web in the real world.
“Great,” she beamed at him with more brilliance than strictly necessary. “What did you find out?”
He promptly launched into a detailed discussion of war tactics and battle formations. Before long, Marcus, Phoenix and Brynn were all hotly involved in debating various ideas. Phoenix and Cadoc were all for using a modern form guerrilla warfare but Marcus vetoed it on the basis that the flat, treeless terrain combined with the sheer size of the armies would make it ineffective as well as dishonourable. Phoenix saw Jade zone out when they started talking about the strategic use of elephants, chariots, infantry and cavalry. Cadoc went into great detail about the classic, standard formations that ancient Indian generals used to position their men – the lotus formation, the hawk formation, the chakra and the eagle formations.
The Sudarshana Page 10
