As he ran towards the city, following the black shape, Shervin could see the fallen men and women slowly stir from their catatonic spells. The ones who were dead stayed dead. The ones who made it alive looked around with blank expressions on their faces. Some realised what they had done, and were now clutching their faces in sorrow.
Shervin could sense that this was just the beginning, a taste of what would come next.
Suddenly, he saw a dark blur disappear to the right. It was the Palace Road. Naira must have run towards the Palace because it was probably the safest and the most well-guarded area.
Shervin turned a corner, and the road widened, branching off into the east, where it met the High Road, and the west, where it led towards the Palace. Here, the madness hadn't caused as much of a stir as it had back in the village and the market. The small smattering of shops outside the palace still went about their usual business like nothing had happened. Horse driven carriages clattered across the road like it was a normal day. The sky above was a brilliant azure, devoid of the purple smoke it was choked with last night.
All this was only possible because the Palace Road had Wards around it. He saw a faint crimson glimmer of the ever-present defensive Wards lining the road, stretching all the way towards the outer walls of the Palace. Were these Wards powerful enough to protect from the Mad One's presence? What if there was another, larger attack?
He made his way gingerly along the road, towards the palace, expecting to see a black blur any moment. Instead, he saw Naira emerge out of an alleyway, her manic eyes searching everywhere for her shadow of an attacker.
When she saw him, she let out a squeak.
"You?"
"Are you safe, Naira?" Shervin asked.
"Were you following me?"
"I… I can explain," said Shervin. "I saw that black shape chase you, when I was in the market."
"And you thought you could fight it? So you gave chase after it? You don't even know Warding."
Shervin didn't need to be reminded of the fact. He almost felt insulted at Naira's words. He just wanted to know his father's whereabouts.
But before he could say it, Naira smiled at him.
"I lost whoever was following me," said Naira. "Probably eaten up by the Palace Wards."
"Probably," said Shervin, meekly. "Have you seen my father?"
"What?"
"My father. Did he come by your house to deliver robes to Minister Vernit?"
"My father left for Terrin Tara in the morning," said Naira. "He took the Warder Cart. I was in the market, buying oranges. My brother was at home when the attacks began."
"Is your brother safe?"
"Of course he is. Our house is protected by Wards."
Naira said this matter-of-factly. But then something shifted in her expression.
Shervin dug his heels.
"I am so sorry," said Naira. "I... shouldn't have said that."
The commoners and the village-folk never learned Warding because they were never allowed to. And because of that the outer periphery of the Rukhnar kingdom, where there was a smattering of villages, never really had any magical protection.
Warding had always been for the elite, by the elite. Naira knew this. Shervin had always known this. And Naira had just inadvertently reminded Shervin that he would always be a second-class citizen.
His caved in roof swam in front of his eyes.
Shervin let out a deep sigh, "It's alright, I am sure you didn't mean to. I just want to find him. I have had a long night…"
Shervin paused. He wondered if he should tell Naira everything about the events last night. He knew if he told her about the Raidens, she would just tell him to be careful around them in school.
"What were you doing last night?"
Or he could tell her the truth. A part of it, at least.
"A Karathin came to our doorstep," he said.
Naira's eyes widened. Then, she pressed her finger to Shervin's lips. "This isn't the place to talk, then. Come with me."
She darted into the same alley she had come from. Shervin followed, his heart racing. The alley reeked of cow dung, and was narrow enough that their shoulders brushed the walls.
As they moved further, their footsteps stopped making any sound. They walked in silence for a while, until the alley led them to a closed off area, where reeds grew with abandon, clinging to walls and lampposts, doors and windows, a snapshot of the wild reclaiming lost territory.
"Where are we?" asked Shervin, his voice barely a whisper.
"You see that?" Naira pointed to a hollow in the wall just opposite to them. Shervin nodded.
"It is a portal that leads inside the Palace," said Naira. "This is a place absolutely no one knows about, except the highest ranked Ministers and trusted people of the Palace."
"Okay, but why are you telling me this?"
"Because this is one of the safest places in Rukhnar."
Shervin looked around. They were practically inside a box of reeds. Then he looked behind.
There was no sign of the alley.
"I trust you," she said. "And if you trust me, you'll tell me everything about last night."
Shervin told her about the Karathin. Naira listened intently. Shervin left out his adventure in the woods.
When Shervin was finished, Naira exhaled sharply.
"There is a reason my father left for Terrin Tara," she said. "He knew about the attack."
Shervin suddenly felt very weak.
"What do you mean?"
"Sometime — and I am really not sure about the details here — between last night and the day before yesterday, all Warders felt a tremor."
"Tremor?"
"Yes. All Warders channel the kith, the Violet God's life-force, to be able to use magic. But something happened, and every Warder started feeling very weak. If the Mad One is truly out of his prison of dreams, he will chase down every Warder. His first line of attack will be the Karathins, obviously, the original acolytes."
"That's true."
"But there is something else," said Naira. "A prophecy."
"Now you're just making shit up," said Shervin.
"No, I am not. Listen carefully. In Terrin Tara, there lives a blind old woman with her aged dog. Her hut is crumbling, but her voice is clear, authoritative. When the tremors were felt, the Head Priest of Rukhnar heard a hoarse and trembling voice in his dreams. The voice spoke about three Chalices."
"Chalices? You mean receptors?" asked Shervin.
"That's all I know... But I am thinking -- could these chalices could be actual people?"
"Hold on. You mean the Violet God is not dead? He could return?" asked Shervin.
"He could. My father has gone to Terrin Tara to speak to the woman, and try to figure out what these chalices actually are."
A sudden realisation hit Shervin, clear as day.
"If what the old woman said is true, it would mean… That would explain the attacks, right? The Mad One's followers are after those chalices."
"Yes, Shervin," said Naira. "It could mean the Violet God will get reincarnated soon. He could be among us, here, in Rukhnar."
And as Naira spoke these words, Shervin felt a slight tingle on his arm.