The First Strike
Two nights after the Pact of Chains was sealed, a caravan bearing saffron and silk prepared to leave Vishragarh. Its wagons were lacquered with Ashval's crest: the black lotus upon gold, painted boldly to declare its allegiance. Dozens of guards, mercenaries, and hired blades flanked the carts.
The merchants had insisted this would test Shaurya's promises — if Ashval's shield failed, the pact would collapse before it began.
But halfway through the Ravani Gorge, screams split the night.
Riders burst from shadow, their armor lacquered black, their spears bearing banners marked with a silver serpent — the sigil of Lord Mahadevan. They fell upon the caravan with terrifying precision, slitting throats, cutting ropes, torching wagons.
One surviving guard stumbled back into Vishragarh's gates at dawn, bloodied and near-dead, gasping:
"Mahadevan… the serpent… he owns the road!"
---
The Queen-Mother's Chamber
By midmorning, the court of Nandigram was abuzz with rumors. Nobles whispered that Shaurya's alliance had cursed them, merchants hissed that the pact was already broken.
The Queen-Mother sat in council, her golden bangles chiming as she lifted her hand for silence.
"Bring Maharaj Shaurya," she ordered. "Let him answer."
When Shaurya entered, calm as ever, the chamber bristled. Chandraprakash's face was pale with rage; Lalitha Sharma clutched her saffron-stained hands, trembling.
"Your pact has failed!" Chandraprakash spat. "Mahadevan slaughters under your crest. He makes us fools before all Vishragarh."
The Queen-Mother's eyes glittered, amused. "Maharaj Shaurya, what say you? Did you bind us only to be broken?"
Shaurya's voice was steady, neither loud nor hurried.
"No. I bound you so that when you are struck, you do not fall apart. Mahadevan believes this pact is weak, that he can scatter it with one raid. He is wrong."
The court leaned in. Shaurya continued:
"War is not decided by one strike. It is decided by who holds the roads, the rivers, the skies. And so I will take them. Permanently."
---
The Council of Ashval
That night, Shaurya gathered his ministers in the guest wing of the palace.
There was Bhargava, Minister of Defense — a broad man with a scarred face, once captain of Ashval's frontier guard. He distrusted merchants but trusted steel.
There was Vidyadhar, Minister of Commerce — thin, scholarly, spectacles perched upon his nose. His genius lay in numbers, though his nerves often betrayed him.
And Ananta, ever his right hand, silent and sharp-eyed.
Shaurya spread a map across the table: the Ravani Gorge, the passes northward, the river roads winding toward Ashval. Red ink marked Mahadevan's raids.
"Mahadevan is clever," Shaurya said. "He strikes caravans at choke points — places where escape is impossible. If we send guards, he scatters them. If we send armies, he melts into shadow. So tell me — how do we break him?"
Bhargava slammed a fist on the table. "We march! Crush his camps, burn his villages, hunt him like the dog he is!"
Vidyadhar shook his head nervously. "Too costly. Merchants cannot wait months for campaigns. Caravans move every day. Every loss bleeds coin. We must secure trade routes now."
Ananta spoke quietly. "Mahadevan is no common raider. He is a lord. His banner means he has allies. Perhaps even noble houses within Nandigram itself. If we strike blindly, we walk into traps."
Shaurya listened, silent. Then he spoke.
"Bhargava is right — fear must be answered with force. Vidyadhar is right — trade cannot stop. Ananta is right — Mahadevan has allies. So we will do all three."
---
The Strategy of Three Chains
Shaurya outlined his plan:
1. The Iron Chain — Bhargava would command Ashval's soldiers to fortify choke points. Not with moving patrols, but with permanent bastions: stone watchtowers, fortified gates across gorges, signal fires that lit the night.
2. The Golden Chain — Vidyadhar would re-route caravans into smaller, swifter bands, each disguised to look unremarkable. Merchants would grumble, but coin would flow, and raids would grow harder.
3. The Hidden Chain — Ananta would lead spies into Mahadevan's shadow network, uncovering which nobles supplied him, which merchants secretly funded his banners, and where his camps lay.
"This is not defense," Shaurya finished. "This is conquest. Mahadevan thinks the road is his. By season's end, it will be mine."
---
The First Bastion
Within a fortnight, masons and soldiers under Bhargava's command raised the first bastion at the mouth of Ravani Gorge. It was no mere wooden fort, but stone cut into the cliff itself, bristling with arrow slits and iron gates.
Merchants watched in awe as the Ashval banner was raised. One muttered, "He builds as if for war." Another whispered, "No raider can pass this."
When the first caravan rolled through under its shadow, guarded by Ashval soldiers, common folk cheered. For the first time in years, safety seemed possible.
But not all celebrated. In the shadows of the city, cloaked men slipped messages north. Mahadevan's eyes burned with fury when he received them.
"Stone towers," he spat. "The boy builds cages on my road. Then let us burn them."
---
The Serpent's Strike
One moonless night, Mahadevan's raiders descended on the new bastion. They carried torches, ladders, battering rams.
But the bastion did not fall.
As flames licked the gates, horns blared. Arrows rained from slits. Signal fires roared across cliff after cliff, carrying warning to Ashval's soldiers. Within hours, Bhargava himself arrived with reinforcements.
The raiders were slaughtered, their bodies left to rot as warning.
When news reached Nandigram, the guild was stunned. Chandraprakash whispered, "He truly holds the road."
The Queen-Mother's gaze darkened. "He turns merchants into soldiers, roads into fortresses. Does he seek to guard… or to rule?"
---
The Whispering Court
In hidden chambers, nobles muttered.
"If Shaurya controls the roads, he controls the coin."
"If he controls the coin, he controls the throne."
"He binds the guild, the soldiers, even the Queen-Mother's eye. Dangerous… too dangerous."
And far away, Mahadevan listened to these whispers, his lips curling.
"Good. Let their fear grow. Fear is the truest ally of the serpent."
---
Shaurya's Vision
Late that night, Shaurya walked the half-built ramparts of Ravani Gorge. The wind howled, carrying dust and smoke. Ananta walked beside him.
"You build as if for empire, Maharaj," Ananta said quietly.
Shaurya's eyes gleamed in the torchlight. "Not as if. For empire. Roads are veins of kingdoms. Whoever owns them owns the lifeblood. Mahadevan thinks he owns them. Soon, he will see otherwise."
Before his eyes, Adhipatya shimmered:
[Trial of Gold: Phase Three Unlocked.]
Objective: Crush Mahadevan's serpent banners. Secure all trade routes as Ashval's dominion.]
Shaurya let the glow fade. His calm voice carried on the wind.
"The serpent coils tighter. Now we strike the head."
To be continued....