CHAPTER ASHBORN 441: A FUTURE OF HOPE

Vir watched the army disperse with a measure of bitterness. Though he’d harassed them as much as he could on their way out, it amounted to little more than nipping the smallest leaves off a thickly growing weed.

Annas would regroup and return, and as much as Vir wished to vanquish them here and now, he knew that patience would pay handsomely.

And so, Vir finally broke off his pursuit and returned to the caravan, hoping to speak more with the Iksana Raja.

Instead, he found the entire Iksana army had vanished. Sagun’Ra included. Vir could only sigh and shake his head. It would have been stranger for the mysterious clan to linger until he returned like normal people. Having secured Ra’s support was already a surprise. That was one less variable to deal with.

Vir caught sight of the airship descending to land. If his hunch was correct, that might end up being two.

Tara hopped off the moment it was down, but upon spying Vir, decided to look away, making no motion to close the gap.

That was no issue, as Vir did so in less time than it took to blink.

“Gods!” Tara gasped upon seeing Vir suddenly appear before her eyes. “Give people some warning before you pull a stunt like that! What movement art is that, anyway? I never asked.”

Vir shrugged. “It’s a technique from the human world called Blink, though they call them Talents, where different arts are placed on a rarity scale. This one, along with Haste, which I use frequently, are both considered Rare tier Talents.”

“Huh,” Tara said. “And all of this is possible without an inscription? Quite an astonishing feat, don’t you think?”

Vir smiled, and given how he was fully aware of what Tara was trying to do, there was no mirth in his eyes. “Why did you steal my airship without telling me?”

Tara froze, then deflated upon realizing she’d been seen through. “You would never have agreed.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Vir said. “Famine is my most pressing concern. If you’d said there was even a tenth of a percent chance of convincing the Panav to send aid, I’d have happily granted you an airship. At least then I could have outfitted you with a proper guard detail. I could’ve sent Ashani with you, precluding the need for a caravan in the first place. You’d never have been captured, and the supplies would’ve been delivered to Samar Patag by now.”

“You’d send the goddess with me on a whim?” Tara said, eyes wide. “What if I’d failed? What if I couldn’t convince them?”

“Then Ashani would Gate you back to Samar Patag, and we’d now have a permanent, instant means of getting to Vraj Parah.”

“O-oh. Right…” Tara hung her head in defeat. “You’re right. That was foolish of me. I’m sorry. For not trusting you. The idea felt harebrained, even to me. I just thought…”

“Well, you thought wrong,” Vir said before softening his voice. “Guess there’s a first time for everything, huh? Just ensure nothing like this happens again.”

“I will,” Tara said immediately. “I swear it.”

“Good. And… thank you,” Vir added. “These supplies are an incredible boon. I’ll have to personally thank the Rajni later.”

Tara laughed awkwardly. “I’ll be sure she gets the message. Also, you should know that the Panav thank you immensely for freeing our people from Chitran enslavement. Say it how you will, that’s what Matiman was doing, and it was unacceptable. You have the full support of the Panav, and our clan recognizes your rightful claim to the Gargan throne. Er, at least, that was what I was supposed to convey.”

Vir’s eyes widened. “The full support?” Vir asked, wondering how he’d gotten this lucky. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

Tara nodded. “The Panav are prepared to bequeath Yuma’s Embrace to you, though they’d feel much more comfortable handing it over once you’ve been officially crowned. For legitimacy purposes.”

“I see.”

One more pressing item to add to the list, Vir thought. He knew he’d have to host a crowning ceremony sooner or later, but with the clan in such a dire state and with two armies marching on the capital, ceremonies and celebrations were the last thing on his mind. Once the invaders had been repelled and the most immediate issues quelled, perhaps then…

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Vir looked at the caravan. Ashani had already opened a Gate to Samar Patag, and the wagons were proceeding through one by one. By the looks of it, Ashani had opened the Gate along the main road, no doubt seeking to use the caravan as a means to boost morale.

“There’ll be an uproar on the other side,” Vir said. “I’d better get going.”

Tara nodded. “I’ll come with. Your Asuras certainly don’t need me to fly your airship, ha!”

Vir gave Tara a sidelong glance before rolling his eyes.

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The procession caused as much of a stir as Vir had anticipated. The voices were small at first, with wide eyes and looks of suspicion among the many homeless Gargans in the streets.

Yet as wagon after wagon proceeded through the Gate, whispers grew into full-blown conversations. Conversations that spawned guesses. Rumors. And rumors spread like wildfire.

Soon, the whole city was talking about how the Akh Nara had miraculously solved their food crisis, summoning forth food, blankets, and yes, even Nagas, from beyond the Boundary. Some even postulated that the souls who came to help them were somehow divine. Servants of the goddess Ashani, blessed by the gods.

Vir didn’t even bother to stop the rumors from spreading. For one, he’d learned that such a feat was nigh-impossible, and he doubted that would be any less true if Janak himself were to decree as such. Besides, he couldn’t deny that these rumors only added to his authority. From Samar Patag, the rumors would continue to twist and warp, growing ever more grandiose, and by the time they reached Chitran and Aindri ears, they’d be so unrecognizable that his enemies wouldn’t know where to begin to unravel the mystery.

As with nearly every rumor, the hidden kernel of truth at its core couldn’t be ignored. Yet how much was exaggeration and how much was reality? His enemies and allies alike would be forced to ponder.

“Well,” Cirayus said, joining Vir atop the roof he stood on. “That’s one crisis averted, at least.”

Vir nodded. “Hunger will no longer be a concern for the time being. And between the Nagas we freed and the ones Kira Panav sent over, we’ll likely not see any further casualties to the elements or other injuries. Still, it’s only this first crisis that’s been averted.”

“Indeed,” Cirayus said, crossing both pairs of arms. “Now, we wait for the coming storm. Though I’ve no doubt you’ll mete justice to the two armies that march to our doorstep, I am nonetheless shoring up every defense possible.”

“Thank you, Cirayus,” Vir said, looking up at his godfather. “I honestly don’t know where I’d be without you.”

“Dead in the Ash somewhere,” Cirayus said with a shrug before bursting into laughter.

“Grow some backbone, lad,” he said, clapping Vir on the back. “All of this is your doing. Take some pride in what you’ve accomplished. Now, we rebuild. Now, we expand. So much to look forward to. Truly, when this city fell two decades ago, I did not know if I would live to see this day. It… It is good to see karma rebalanced.”

Vir swept his gaze over the scene. From the Automaton standing in the distance to Ashani, doling out kind words and food to the needy, to his Asuras rebuilding Samar Patag’s walls… despite knowing the trials and tribulations that were to come, Vir couldn’t help but stand a little straighter.

“That’s the way,” Cirayus said. “Now, where are you off to next, O Akh Nara?”

Vir rolled his eyes. It had become a running joke that Vir was ‘off’ to somewhere or another. So much so that some variation of ‘Where are you going now?’ had become standard parlance in any conversation with him, regardless of whom he spoke to.

“Well?” Cirayus asked, seeing Vir’s expression. “Am I wrong?”

“No,” Vir sighed. “You’re not. I’m planning on paying Saunak a visit. I’m hoping the time gap between here and his place has allowed him to make good progress on a number of projects I’ve tasked him with.”

“What of the Iksana and Panav Ultimate Arts?”

Vir shook his head. “Saunak has them both, yet I don’t feel comfortable inscribing them until the Rajas do. Both want to see me crowned for that.”

“Understandable,” Cirayus replied, stroking his beard. “I’ll see to it that Greesha and Janani make the appropriate preparations. However, I feel you should not postpone the coronation overmuch. Not more than a few days after we successfully repel the Chitran, I think.”

Vir winced, yet nodded nonetheless. “You know, Cirayus? I think I’m going to enjoy what’s to come.”

Cirayus raised a brow. “You’ll enjoy being paraded in front of your people? I never took you for the hedonistic sort, though I suppose a bit here and there can’t be an issue.”

Vir snorted, shaking his head. “Not that. Rebuilding. From the minute I left Brij, I’ve either been on the run or fighting. First it was Mina, then it was the Ash. And here it’s the Chits. I don’t know. It’s just a feeling.”

“You wish to build something anew, after Fate has forced you to destroy for so long,” Cirayus said, putting it far more eloquently than Vir ever could.

“Yes, precisely. Cirayus, when I see Samar Patag, I don’t see a small city of impoverished demons. I see merely the innermost core of a much vaster, larger city. A prosperous city as large as Sonam. I see airships dotting the sky, bound for the farthest reaches of the Demon Realm. I see highways connecting the realm like never before, and I see Gate nexuses at every major city. This realm has so little, and yet, that means it has so much potential. Don’t you agree?”

Cirayus didn’t answer, prompting Vir to look up at the giant.

When he did, Vir’s mouth parted in surprise.

For Cirayus, Ravager, ancient demon… had a stream of tears running down his face.

The moment didn’t last long, however, as Balagra jumped up to the rooftop they’d been standing on.

“Akh Nara, Ravager, we have a problem.”

“What is it?” Vir asked, somewhat irked by the sudden intrusion.

“It’s, er… a demon used the Gate nexus to come here to Samar Patag. He claims, well, he claims to be Saunak the Deranged. And he claims to be working for you.”

All the happiness Vir had felt drained from his face in an instant, leaving behind shock, rage, and disappointment.

Just when events were turning for the better, Saunak had to come in and ruin everything.