The tricycle demonstration had ended, the garden cleared, the banners folded. But the real ripples hadn't even begun to hit the shore.
Within days, letters arrived.
Some praising. Some probing. Some politely warning.
And within House Darsha itself, dinner conversation had transformed from idle gossip to transportation theory and territorial consequence.
Sharath had expected this.
But he hadn't expected Uncle Aldric to arrive uninvited.
❖ The Opposition ArrivesAldric, brother to Lord Varundar and self-declared guardian of "the old ways," strode into the estate with the authority of a man who had never once doubted himself.
He was tall, silver-haired, sharp-eyed—and deeply suspicious of anything not found in a dusty scroll or taught by a bearded elder.
When he entered the solar and saw the tricycle displayed like a museum piece, he paused.
"So," he said flatly, "the child builds carts for squirrels."
Sharath, seated nearby with a blueprint in his lap, didn't flinch.
"Actually," he replied calmly, "the weight load can support three goats, four barrels, or two politicians."
Lady Ishvari covered her smile with a tea cup.
Aldric stared.
"…It speaks now?"
Sharath blinked. "Only when provoked."
❖ The Council at HomeThat evening, a private family council was called.
Sharath sat silently in a cushioned corner, a scroll tucked under his arm. Beside him, Lady Ishvari offered quiet presence. Across the table, Uncle Aldric loomed.
"This device," Aldric began, "is not tradition. It is disruption. You will undermine the dignity of noble stewards and laborers alike."
Sharath tilted his head. "By making their loads easier?"
"It removes the need for enchantment. Undermines mage-run travel. Creates instability."
"Or opportunity," Lord Varundar said, voice even. "Sharath's invention, if scaled, could connect estates faster, cheaper. Even the king's own roads might benefit."
Aldric scowled. "At what cost? Power drawn away from spellcasters, redistributed to craftsmen and peasants?"
There it was. The real fear.
Not the wheels.
But the shift.
❖ Mother's AnchorLater that night, Sharath sat in the lantern-lit hallway outside the council chamber, legs tucked under him, rereading his notes.
Lady Ishvari approached and sat beside him.
"I remember when you were barely a season old," she said, "trying to balance a soup spoon between two pears."
He smiled. "I was testing weight transfer."
"I know. We never told you to stop. Just to be careful."
Sharath looked up at her. "Do you think it's too soon? To change things?"
She brushed a curl from his brow.
"No. But I think people change slower than wheels turn. Be patient. Be clever. But never stop moving."
❖ Father's CalculationsThe next morning, Lord Varundar invited Sharath to the map room.
"Come. I want to show you something."
He unrolled a scroll of the kingdom's southern routes. Pins marked trade lines, toll stations, supply posts.
"This," he said, "is the movement of wealth."
Sharath traced a route with his finger. "Slow. Fragmented."
"Exactly. Your invention threatens every one of these posts. The Guild of Enchanters runs most of them. But…" he pointed to a lesser-used trail, "if we offered your design here—among allies—they could test it without backlash."
Sharath's eyes widened.
"You're strategizing."
His father chuckled. "Of course I am. You've moved the wheel. Now we must move the board."
❖ Believers, Quiet and LoudOver the next week, messengers arrived with inquiries:
A guild envoy asking if the trike could be adapted for cargo.
A hedge-mage wondering if enchantments could be layered onto the design.
A common-born carpenter requesting drawings "for educational study."
Uncle Aldric scoffed.
Lord Varundar archived.
Sharath replied to each one—with clarity and purpose.
He began to see:
The believers, who saw hope.
The skeptics, who saw chaos.
The powerful, who saw leverage.
And through it all, he kept building.
❖ Log Entry – Political Landscape ShiftOpposition: Uncle Aldric, conservative noblesSupporters: Mother (emotional), Father (strategic), Craftsmen (practical)
Requests Received: 11
3 nobles
4 artisans
2 mages
1 traveling circus (?)
1 strange letter signed only "F."
Response Strategy: Controlled sharing + low-impact deployment zone
Next Steps: Identify route for first external trial. Build portable prototype. Begin diplomacy with House-friendly regions.
Sharath stared out the tower window that night, watching the moon glide slowly over the estate.
Not everything would go smoothly.
But if wheels could turn without magic, maybe minds could too.