Close your eyes and focus on your chakra. What do you see? Shri asked.
Karnan sat cross-legged inside the tiny room Vanu had allowed them to stay in. The Vanar hummed a tune as he paced up and down the stairs. The ground floor was the tavern with a kitchen, a bar and a bed for Vanu. They lived in the topmost one. The rest in the middle were all used for storage. The third and second were for dumping anything broken or unusable. The fourth, guarded liquor and other essentials.
Like Shri had told, he breathed in. Prana travelled down his lungs and then to his chakra. The white and pure prana, the source of all things living, met with the silvery strands of his star's power. The silver appeared a bit deeper in colour.
"My star light has deepened," he said.
Hmm, just as I had thought. Now, use your celestial art to form spheres.
Karnan recalled the patterns in which both powers had to dance to form the sphere of heatstrike. To his surprise, instead of a single one, he had two balls of power. He opened his eyes. Shri bared her teeth in a smile.
"How is it possible? Have I advanced?" he said and then quickly checked his stardrops. In his mind's eye, situated at the centre of his forehead, right above where the eyebrows met. He saw a pale white dot, twinkling incessantly. A tiny teardrop was above it. The stage inspection art was the first thing Shri had taught him. Generally, it was part of the initiation ceremony after being chosen by a celestial. So, no one had cared to teach him this simple technique after his 'mischoosing' as he had suddenly become invisible to everyone then.
"The same white dot with a single drop. Then how could I?"
Your singing made it happen. Shri said, licking her left paw. She sat near the door, sometimes gazing at the cuckoo's little ones. The family had stormed up quite a cacophony. Shri loved the noise. Perhaps, she was making up for all the silence she had endured for three thousand years.
Karnan said with a frown, "singing?"
Yes. Tell me. What are we?
"Humans?"
She shook her head.
"Living beings?"
She again said no.
"Errrrrr,"
We are cupboards, closets, boxes. Anything that can store. We are that.
Karnan caught up to what she meant. "So we are like boxes to keep the starlight?"
She blinked once. Yes. So, when you were deeply merged with your music. Unknowingly, you tapped into the zone. A state of absolute deep meditation, when your body can absorb more starlight. Even surpassing that of when you sleep.
"Meditation?" Karnan asked. The term wasn't new to him. But meditation was used as a calming exercise. As stillness of the mind ensured stillness of breath. A paramount requirement for maintaining an undisturbed flow of prana. He had heard about artists who lost control of their breath during fights and were defeated, even by weaker opponents.
Yes, in my time. There were different schools of thought for celestial arts. Mine was more concerned with the cosmic light rather than on prana. As prana is nothing but the air we breathe. It's readily available and requires no effort. The cosmic energy, in contrast, was always fluctuating. She said.
"Fluctuating, meaning the constant movement of the celestials? So, there was a greater focus on conserving it in one's body?" Karnan retorted.
Shri gave a curt nod.
The shifting of the cosmic entities was the very reason for the unease, the turmoil of the night and the great war that had followed. Shri had no memory of those times.
Loud thunking footfalls came from the stairs. Vanu's face became visible in the open doorway. Yesterday was a roaring success. He had kept on singing and playing till his fingers hurt. The guests loosened their purses, and coins jingled a tune that was sweeter than cake.
"I have done as you had requested. Innkeeper Avyu now has his payment. Though he looked sceptical and a little fearful on seeing me. I don't know why. I even grinned at him to show that I meant no harm." Vanu parted his lips in a smile. It looked like a monstrous snarl. No wonder poor Avyu was rattled.
I can smile better than he. Shri interrupted with a grin of her own, which was even more disturbing than Vanu's.
Karnan folded his hands. "Please. I beg both of you. Now onwards, don't try to smile."
Vanu grunted. Master Shri went two steps ahead and tried to pout. Karnan put up a palm. "No, no human expressions please. We don't want people to be scared instead of being entertained."
But why would we entertain them? Master asked while stretching.
"Coins! What else for?" Karnan touched the pouch in his belt. His tips from yesterday. Ten pales, a jot needed ninety more. Hundred jots, he'd have a gold. He needed eighty-seven thousand gold to fulfil his promise within a year. Even though he had a way to earn now. Reaching that number would take several lifetimes if he continued at his current pace. He needed a shortcut to amass more coins quickly.
Shall we continue? Master Shri said impatiently.
Karnan gave her a short bow and straightened. Vanu said before leaving, "One last thing. The drunkard has gone to track the assassin. He'd be away for some days. He said the chameleon was gravely injured and won't be bothering you for a few days, before it's healed. The drukard will catch him. Though I would still urge you both not to venture out. Anything happening to you is bad for my business. And, please be there in the tavern before the thirteenth hour. I have also found a better lute for you." He went downstairs to prepare food.
Where were we?
"The use of cosmic light."
Yes, show me your hand.
Karnan stretched his right arm. Shri placed her paw over his palm. She closed her eyes.
You have a single drop from your star as of now. And at the Pathak stage. Six more drops to get to the Sainik stage.
The Sainik stage? But how could he advance? Each individual received a fixed amount of light from his celestial. Advancement was possible but within the limits of their stages. A one-drop Sainik can at most become a seven-drop Sainik. They can't transcend levels.
He asked while scratching his head, "But master, how can one jump levels? Isn't that impossible?".
You have enormous growth potential. She said absently before pausing and looking up at him. Wait, didn't you know?
"Knew what?"
She removed her paw and sat there staring at him. Karnan could read her thoughts. How could they haven't told him? Didn't they see?
"Master," Karnan leaned forward. His heart raced with anticipation. Though he expected nothing good.
She cocked her head up. Yesterday, when I told you that I can make you an emperor, a kushak. That wasn't just a figure of speech. It was the truth.
Karnan's forehead was puckered with worry, which grew exponentially by the moment.
Shri stood and began pacing the cramped room. Your celestial is strange. It's not bound to the current laws of the universe.
She stopped at the farthest corner, and perspiration trickled off Karnan's forehead as he focused on the next set of words from her. Your star moves. It wanders the skies. Now, as we speak, it is hurtling towards us. The closer it gets, the powerful you become. Where all the other bodies stay where they are. Yours is the only one that travels. That is why your growth potential is immeasurable.
Karnan blinked. His mind kept repeating the master's words. He truly could become an emperor. His star moved. His head spun thinking about all the possibilities.
Master's stern voice splashed cold water on his daydreams. Stop grinning like a fool. Don't forget you are only a Pathik now. There are five stages, each with seven sub-stages of its own, before you become a kushak. Understand? In total, you'd need to go up thirty-five levels. We have a long road ahead of us. So, stop wasting your time and listen to me. This will be your first assignment.
"As you command, Master." Karnan bowed. Joy surged inside him. It crawled inside his skin, flowed in his veins and beat his heart like a drum. He found himself grinning again.
Good composure is akin to our pride. Never lose it. Now, let's begin. Your celestial is a star. What else is a star?
Karnan knew the answer, "The sun is a star too."
Correct. The sun is a ball of fire and wind. So, you can use the arts of these two elements. Unfortunately, none of which are mine. So, the arts I know can't help you.
Karnan snuck in a question, "What is your element, Master?" he knew it wasn't respectful to interrupt Shri. But his curiosity had got the better of him.
Shri yawned and shook her head a couple of times before answering, Glass. She said with her ears lowered, as if she was hesitant or even ashamed of her element.
"Aha! So, the barrier you had made when the assassin had attacked was made of glass?"
She nodded, yes. My element is not suitable for combat. So, you will have to level up quickly. Enough about me. Any more unnecessary questions?
"Err, no. My apologies, master." Karnan apologised without feeling apologetic. He was at the zenith of human happiness, and nothing could shake him off that throne today.
Amitabh told me about a grand library here in this city. It has a section for the arts. We have to find a suitable one for you there. You can't control fire arts yet. We will go with the wind for now. Let's leave without delay.
"The library?" Karnan's voice trembled as he repeated after Shri.
Yes, the library. It's not far from here. We can be back before the tavern opens. Let's go. Why is your face white all of a sudden? Shri said, halfway out through the door.
Karnan shook his head. "Nothing. Let's leave, master. I know the way."
The library she had mentioned was inside his old school. The only school in Paras. It was part of the chain of institutions run by the Jupiter clan, or as called in the formal tongue. The house of Bhruhaspati.
It being the busiest hour of the day, the streets were bustling with traffic. People gave them a wide berth. Gasps and shrieks were how they were met with. Karnan had maybe apologised a hundred times, with still more than two clicks remaining to be covered. What was even more distressing was that the school was in the western part of the city, which was also referred to as the seat of power. All the major clans had offices there, including the Lion clan, which administered the city.
Shri was having the time of her life, though. It seemed she had lost her mind with all the attention. She hopped, skipped and wagged her tail like a house dog.
What is this delicious smell? Such a beautiful fountain! Can I swim there? Ohhh! Look! That man is juggling fire!
She was ecstatic like a toddler tasting her first sweet roll.
"Master," Karnan said.
Hmmm!
"We are nearing the school."
So soon! Can't we stroll a bit more! I saw a huge grassy park near the fountain back there. I haven't rolled in grass for agesssssss!
"We will visit it after we are done here. I promise," he felt like assuring a pesky teen.
Okaaaaay, she said, drooping her tail. Her version of making a long face.
A huge square was before him. In the middle of it was a twenty-foot-high bronze statue of patriarch Vikramaditya. A six-drop Maha Nayaka, the most powerful martial artist in the city of Paras and the head of clan Lion. A bust of a roaring lion rested on his right shoulder; he was bespectacled with a well-trimmed beard and moustache. He had only seen glimpses of the man during public festivals or when he'd visit his daughter in school. So, he knew that the well-etched muscles of his frame weren't in any way exaggerated by the sculptor.
The square also functioned as a crossroad. Carriages, both large and small, ferried on the well-cobbled roads. Drivers, dressed in affluence, poured prana into the carriage engines while their occupants goggled at Shri. He took the road leading left and after walking a few meters. The school stood to his right. A large four-storeyed structure of white marble, barriered by strong stone walls. The building was rectangular, draped with long strands of colored prana displaying the flags of the clans. Among them, on the last but one from his right, stared black circular eyes of an owl over a green background. His clan's symbol.
"Master, I have a request."
What is it?
"No matter what happens here. Please, don't react."