CHAPTER ASHBORN 442: SAUNAK’S GAMBIT

Vir rushed to the throne room, chest filled with anxiety. Why had the mad Thaumaturge decided to appear now, of all times? Didn’t they have an agreement? That his reintroduction to the world be a gradual process, handled with utmost care? What did that old demon hope to accomplish with this?

“Well, go on then,” Vir said, bounding from roof to roof with Cirayus. “Tell me you told me so.”

“At my age, one does not take pleasure in such things, lad,” Cirayus said. “You know well my feelings about that one. What matters now is only what we do about it.”

“That will depend on who’s seen him,” Vir said, already wondering how he’d stuff this djinn back into its bottle. Assuming only a few had spied him, Vir may yet salvage this situation.

That hope was utterly dashed, however, when Vir arrived at the throne room to find Saunak sitting upon his throne, legs crossed, and in heated debate with Greesha.

Or rather, it was Greesha who was screaming at the top of her lungs, while Saunak crossed his legs, relaxing without a care in the world.

“How dare you occupy that seat?” Greesha roared. “After all you’ve done! I’d kill you now if I had the means!”

“I see your old age has made you forgetful. Allow me to refresh your memory, old hag. You see, your rebellion could not have happened without me? Where did you think those airships came from, hmm? Who taught Vir how to control that Automaton, hmm? And who do you think inscribed the boy’s tattoos? Ask any thaumaturge, and they’ll tell you what I did is well beyond their ken! It’s art, quite frankly. Skills you lot have lost over the years. I swear! I leave for a few centuries and the whole realm goes to shit.”

Two dozen Asuras stood nearby, obviously wrought with indecision as to the veracity of Saunak’s words.

Worse—not only were Greesha, Janani, and a host of Asuras present, several Gargan Laborers were, too. It seemed there had been a meeting going on before Saunak barged in.

And while violence had yet to break out, Vir could tell it was only a matter of time. About half the crowd regarded Saunak with skepticism—younger demons who weren’t alive when Saunak committed his atrocities. The other half had expressions full of hatred and disgust.

As much as Vir disliked relying on Ashani, he sure wished she was here by his side for now. She was still overseeing the Panav convoy, however. No, Vir would have to face this storm alone. It would prove the first test of his newly established leadership.

“What commotion in my halls?” Vir announced loudly, striding up to the throne.

The room that had just been filled with the din of chatter silenced immediately.

So far, so good, Vir thought. But will they riot when they learn the truth of Saunak’s words?

Vir walked up the steps, coming to a stop in front of Saunak. He said nothing, instead staring at the demon expressionless.

“Fine, fine!” Saunak said. “I only sat there because there weren’t any other chairs. Where else was I to rest these old bones?”

Vir suppressed an urge to roll his eyes as he took his throne.

“Why are you here?” Vir asked.

“Well, I had a breakthrough!”

“A… breakthrough?” Vir asked, raising a brow.

“Yes! One that you’ll want to see immediately.”

“And why could you not show me this breakthrough in your tower? Where you had agreed to stay?”

Saunak let out a long sigh. “Because it’s that project. The one that needs to be deployed in the Demon Realm?”

Vir’s eyes widened in understanding, but Greesha cut him off before he could reply.

“Akh Nara, can you please be so kind as to inform the room of what exactly is going on? I don’t wish to believe it, but—”

“It is true,” Vir said, raising his voice for all to hear. “This demon, Saunak—known to some as Saunak the Deranged for the countless atrocities he committed against demonkind—is under my employ. It was his inventions that allowed us to win the war. From the airships to the Imperium Automaton, and yes, even to the tattoos inscribed upon my body. Saunak has done the realm an immeasurable service.” ɽÄＮОβÈṧ

“I cannot believe this,” Greesha seethed. “You saw fit not to kill him as would have been proper but to employ him?”

“I did,” Vir replied, his voice brimming with confidence. “Because the crimes that this demon has committed cannot be atoned for in death. No, I deemed that too easy a sentence for one with a mind such as his. Depraved though he may have been, centuries sequestered in the Ash have changed him. Saunak wishes to make amends for all that he did those years ago. And so, in serving us, he serves the realm. For the rest of his days.”

The room fell silent for a long while as everyone digested this.

“Why did you not tell us?” Janani asked quietly. As a younger demon, there was no malice in her question, merely curiosity.

“As you are all undoubtedly aware, Saunak has a certain reputation,” Vir said. “I deemed it best to reveal his existence once he had proven his trustworthiness. And I have trusted him enough to inscribe not just one, but two tattoos upon my own body. Both intricate, difficult operations that could have easily gone awry, were he to show any ill intent. That I am alive today proves he did not.”

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“You’re missing the part where he tried to kill you first,” Cirayus said, causing the room to stir and Vir to shoot him a glare before realizing his godfather was right. Hiding that fact would only come back to bite him later. Best to get it over with here and now.

“It is true,” Vir said. “Cirayus and I first met Saunak in the Ash. Upon learning who I was ,he tried to kill me.”

“Not kill you!” Saunak said, speaking up for the first time in his defense. “I simply wished to study you!”

Greesha snorted. “Don’t you see? This is how he has always been. Thaumaturgy above all else! Saunak cares not for morals or the value of life. So long as he can perform his little experiments.”

“Lies! I’ve already learned all I can from live experiments on demons. Why would I repeat them?” Saunak said, completely missing Greesha’s point and doing absolutely nothing to help his cause.

“Saunak was also the one to gift us an Automaton when we left his tower, even going so far as to teach me how to use it,” Vir said before the Thaumaturge could do any further damage to his already tattered reputation. The bit about Vir threatening to kill Saunak was wisely omitted, and Cirayus saw no need to correct him this time. “It was that Automaton that allowed Cirayus and me to delve into the deepest depths of the Ash, blazing a path to the Demon Realm. Without it, we may never have succeeded.”

Vir let his words sink in. The crowd ambled uncomfortably. In their faces, Vir saw the expected anger, but also guilt and indecision.

“I will be honest with all of you. I recruited Saunak to our cause because, despite his many failings, his mind is too valuable for the realm to lose. This goes beyond the Garga. Saunak will be indispensable in restoring our realm—indeed, by combining my knowledge of the Human Realm with his talent for Thaumaturgy, perhaps even lift this realm to heights it has never seen before. My people, watch and judge for yourselves. See Saunak’s new invention, and tell me that this is the wrong choice.”

Recognizing his cue, Saunak turned to face the crowd, puffing his chest slightly. “If you Warriors will be so kind? You’ll find the device near the Gate within my tower. Bring it here.”

The Asuras in the room looked at Vir, who nodded. Only then did a half-dozen depart.

Vir was wondering how he would fill the awkward silence, but Saunak spoke up once more. It seemed he had a whole speech planned out.

Maybe this isn’t as impulsive as I thought… Vir thought, wondering why it was that his people felt the need to go and do things without telling him first.

“Regardless of all that I have done to contribute to your little rebellion,” Saunak began, “regardless of all I’ve yet to contribute. This singular invention trumps any that have come before it in demonkind’s history. Indeed, such is its magnificence that even the hallowed Goddess Ashani might smile upon it.”

That got a response from the crowd. Some whispered, wondering what this invention could possibly be, while others remained skeptical.

Greesha, having clearly dealt with Saunak’s antics in the past, was not so easily stirred. “And are you planning to inform us? Or are we to spend the way listening to this drivel?”

Saunak spun on his heel, pointing an accusing finger at the old seer. “You! Don’t deign to intrude upon the crowning moment of my life! Mark my words, this day will go down in history as the day demonkind changed forever!”

Vir shifted in his throne, regarding Saunak with a gaze that was part suspicion and part hope. If this was indeed the project he’d tasked Saunak with, and if it worked even half as well as Vir guessed it might, then his words might very well be more than boasts and fluff.

Before he could say any more, the Asuras who’d gone to fetch the device returned, once again proving that the realm had already changed irrevocably. The perilous journey of what would have been months, if not years, was done in mere minutes thanks to Ashani’s Gate.

They wheeled in a large, heavy-looking object covered under a black cloth which Saunak grabbed and pulled off in theatrical form.

“Behold!” he declared. “The Prana Distributor!”

Upon witnessing the clear, gleaming crystal shaped like a tall, pointed pyramid and standing 3 paces in height, the room… remained utterly silent, much to Saunak’s chagrin.

“What is it?” Greesha asked at last.

The Thaumaturge held his face in his hands. “Must I explain everything! No! I refuse to stoop to this level. You do it!” he said, pointing at Vir.

Vir suppressed a sigh and instead rose from his throne, descending its steps as he spoke.

“Instead of answering, allow me to tell you a story first. A story of a realm with cities, the most modest of which dwarf our Samar Patag. With highways and airships and vibrant trade amongst its countries and armies that make the Chitran forces attacking us look like quaint militias. Now, allow me to pose you a question. How is it that the humans, with their total lack of understanding of Chakras and inferior magical orbs accomplish this?”

When no one answered, Vir continued. “With people. The Human Realm’s population outstrips our own ten to one. Perhaps even more. Yes, they live shorter lives, but again, they not only survive, they thrive. How?”

Whispers of ideas echoed through the room, and Vir heard several that got close to the mark.

“Several of you cite the crops that must be required to sustain such a population, and you are indeed correct. It might surprise you, then, to learn that humans maintain farms comparable in size to our own, despite supporting a much larger population.”

“Prana,” Janani said. “Their prana must be better.”

“Exactly,” Vir replied. “When compared to our realm, the Human Realm is blessed with an abundance of prana. This vitalizes their crops, makes their Ash’va sturdier, and even enhances their growth and physique, allowing more to develop magical talents than we demons. Prana is the energy of life, and as such, it lies at the root of our realm’s woes. No longer. Saunak? Please tell them what it is your device does.”

“With pleasure,” Saunak replied, licking his lips. “As its name suggests, this creation distributes prana. Our problem is not that prana is impossible to find—indeed, with the Goddess and the Akh Nara working to create stabilized Gates to the Ash, there is no reason our realm cannot have the same density as Mahādi itself! Yet, we cannot create millions of Gates. Each bleeds prana, and so each requires constant maintenance. Considering how the Goddess is the only being alive capable of creating them, and the Akh Nara the only one capable of sustaining them, you can see the issue.”

The crowd blinked uncertainly at Saunak, which caused him to ruffle his wild hair in disgust.

“I am saying that, when connected to an input Gate leading to the Ash, each of these distributors is capable of conducting an immense quantity of prana into the ground and high up into the air, essentially sucking the prana from the Ash an redistributing it to our realm. Each can cover an area miles in diameter, though I hope to multiply that several-fold through further development. What you see here is but a prototype. A harbinger of what is to come.”

“And how quickly can these distributors boost the region’s prana?” Vir asked, only keeping his voice even through sheer force of will. “How quickly can they be made to rival the densities of the Human Realm?”

Saunak shrugged. “Difficult to say, given the factors. Prana drain being the chief among them. But, assuming we had a network of distributors spanning the realm, all connected to Mahādi… A few months? Perhaps a year, at most. The rate will mostly be determined by how susceptible the populace is to prana poisoning.”

Vir took a moment to internalize this revelation. Building these units en masse would be difficult, though if each unit could be made to boost the prana for dozens or hundreds of miles, then perhaps not altogether impossible. And as the ambient prana grew, Vir’s burden would diminish, with each Gate requiring less and less prana to sustain.

With time, they might even exceed the Human Realm’s prana. With time, they might rival that of the Ash.

When Vir fantasized about the realm’s potential, he’d envisioned a plan taking centuries to bloom.

With this revelation, however, that dream felt far closer than Vir could ever have imagined.