The Last Rudra

Udolf never claimed himself all-knowing like Ventus, however, few things could surprise him now. And what the boy had just said was certainly one of them. 

"Samvat"  was a Vartian term for the year in the spirit tongue. And as per the Vartian calendar, it was samvat 1041.  So if the boy was not a suta (tale-weaver), he had travelled in time. But How was it even possible? Udolf, in his 6 centuries-long life, had never heard of such a thing. Yes, he knew some dwizas (awakeners of Varta) who were believed to be oracles and could peek into time. But peeking was one thing, travelling another. 

Udolf masked his surprise and doubts as he went on asking more questions ignoring the boy's rising anger. 

And despite his accumulating doubts, he realised the possibility of the boy being sent into the past was getting stronger.

Udolf took a deep breath, trying hard not to show the turmoil and shock on his face. He looked into the boy's abyss black eyes, to check again if the lad was using a tale-weaver's path. 

The flow of spirit about his head told him the boy was not concocting the story. He had really travelled back in time, and it was he, Udolf, who had sent him here in Glassia for something. 

As much as inconceivable was the discovery, the wizard couldn't reject the screaming facts. His emblem was one thing, the unification of Vart under one King Aslan, whom he never heard of, was another.  Currently, Varta had nine warring states, each wanting to devour the other. 

So Udolf, who had seen myriads inconceivable things,  couldn't help but accept this another hidden secret of Mazia. He didn't ask anything further. 

As for helping the boy into his mysterious cause. 

Udolf didn't try to rack his brain to figure out the purpose of the boy's time travel. Because he knew he couldn't. Almost two millennia were standing between him and his future self.  Mazia would have gone through a ground shattering change in such a long time, and so would have his future self's understanding of magic.

"As you said, I told you not to believe anyone.  " Udolf said after considering something, "I think it includes me too. So I will advise you to use your intuition. And if you feel it is time you should leave then go ahead."

"Do you think I'm stupid? I've already wasted my whole month following this so-called intuition. It would have gotten me killed twice. So if you have nothing to tell me, I'm leaving.  " Ishit was missing his home, his mother and even his strict father. He wanted to fight with his sister and meet his one and only friend Guha. 

Udolf didn't answer immediately. He looked at the time traveller intently.  His aura was rising due to emotional turmoil. The boy badly needed guidance. However, the wizard knew he was not the right person to do so. 

The young man before him was shrouded with mysteries unknown to him. 

Making Kritya leave was not only one odd thing about the boy. His spirit body had the blessing of Osric, the soul-herder. The boy was the second person that had survived after drinking Osric's Tear.

The hidden aura of a druid around him was another puzzle. 

"Did you try learning druidism here ?" he asked, after a long pause.

"No. I didn't get a chance. Though I did learn their healing art a little."Ishit recalled his time with the old priest of Lamia. And the sweet family that had housed him like their own son. His heart was saddened.  The druidess had told him that no survivor had been found so far. Villages beyond Vasta, had been completely wiped out. 

"I think you should take a look at their scriptures before you leave. I'll ask King Nirvano to allow your entry in his royal academy. " Udolf said. 

Ishit thought for a while and decided to visit the knowledge centre of Glassia. Because knowledge wouldn't harm him anyway. He might come up with some good attacks after reading their strange magic. 

So they left the garden and visited the Glassian king. Nirvano readily agreed to their request.  Of course, there were some restricted areas or scrolls which Ishit couldn't be allowed to explore. 

King summoned an old man clad in a blue cloak and told him to guide Ishit during his visit to the library. 

So without wasting any more time Ishit left for the Pratima library, the largest archive of Glassia. Udolf didn't accompany him, for he had some personal business to attend. 

*****

Avida 

Inside Pratima Archive …

Ishit eyes were saucers, after seeing so many scrolls and tomes on every subject. 

The royal archive of Glassia was a seven-story building, cramped with all kinds of scriptures. Scroll on healing, scroll on taming beasts, scrolls on commanding the five elements, scrolls on forging divine astras and so on and so forth. 

Ishit wanted to read all of them, however, there was not enough time. Because Bhadra had to leave Glassia after two weeks. And as his apprentice, Ishit had to accompany him.

So Ishit had to use this little time carefully. 

After a long mental duel, Ishit decided on the divine Astras. Because he lacked in this area the most. Even after trying all month, he couldn't summon a good spirit weapon. 

So he turned to Amartya, the old librarian, who had been accompanying him on king's order. The blue cloaked druid was a good company. He had explained everything that he needed to know about the various schools of druidism. And the knowledge had amazed Ishit. 

***

Druids were not like spirit-wielders. To become a druid one needed the magic blood or the blessing of mother nature, which was not easy to come by. 

It meant if your father or mother was a druid, you would be a druid too. However, if your father was a commoner, your chance of having a druid's power was very low. Only one in thousands had such a blessing. 

As for the power of druids, they were divided into five types.

White -cloaked -- had healing powers.  They could visit the astral plane with their soul. 

Red cloaked --sacrifier or warrior. They had the power to command the five elements and wield divine astras. 

Blue -cloaked-- had the power to forge divine astras, beast taming, tending spiritual herbs, and other skills.

Golden cloaked-- elders and called arch-druids. 

Brown -cloaked--apprentice.

Ishit recalled Ruchito, the apprentice-healer of Vasta. His death had shocked him, shattered his illusion that he could do anything in this strange land. Ruchito was clearly not an ordinary druid. There was some story behind him living a disguised life in a black-water land. But now there was no knowing, for it too had died with him. Ishit short stay in Glassia blackened his innocent heart, made him realise the cruelty of the world and the fragility of life. 

Ishit shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to grow stronger if he wanted to live in this merciless world. 

Ishit told Amritya to give him all the scrolls from basic to advanced, one copy each. 

Amritya looked surprised at his request but the old man didn't say anything. King Nirvano's instructions were clear; he had to cater for every request of the young man if it didn't break Glassia's codes. So the old man arranged the requested scrolls and escorted him to a quiet chamber. 

In the small reading chamber, There was a window looking over the street that led to the royal academy.

At this hour of the day, the street was bustling with the brown cloaked apprentices. Ishit looked at their bright faces, smiling and laughing so carefree. Slowly, the grimed face of Ruchito surfaced up in his mind. He wouldn't have died if Ishit hadn't come to Vasta and made him fight with Izidor. 

He would have fled away from the city. He might join the royal academy of Avida one day. 

A gloom sat on Ishit's heart. He kept watching the apprentices, spilling out of the grand building. Silence fell around him. After a long time, he mumbled 

"Your death will be on me." 

The air around him tensed up like the string of veena1. He felt relieved as if the promise had calmed down the hunting memory of the dead Ruchito. 

Ishit took a deep breath and sat down in the cushioned chair at the wooden table.

He calmed down his racing mind, and with a renewed determination, he opened the first scroll. 

                          "Fundamental Principles of Divine Astras "

Ishit read the scroll written in spirit tongue, and just reading the first line his interest hooked in. 

"The whole creation is a fine balance of two powers. One is Adi and the other is Adya. Adya is life , Adi is death. One binds us while the other frees us. However, for a divine smith, both are the same. He uses both powers to cause destruction..."

Engrossed in the scroll, Ishit forgot the passing of time, his surroundings and then himself.  Why wouldn't he? The scroll was so profound that just by reading basic principles, he felt he could now forge his spirit weapon. The profound understanding of druids of this world amazed him. He realised how the breathing that kept him alive was killing him slowly. The very water that was essential for all life, was slowly poisoning them. 

It was as if every being, living or dead, were conspiring against one another. 

Ishit kept reading scrolls after scrolls as a starving man eats a meal.

When the night fell, Amartya came to check on him, but Ishit didn't respond to his call. It was as if he couldn't hear what was happening around him. 

The old man left, feeling both frustrated and surprised at the same time. In his years-long career, he had never seen such a young man. Of course, druids were different, they could study for a whole week, without eating and sleeping. 

Time slowly ticked away, nights came and went, however, Ishit didn't come out of the room. The chamber's walls were now full of sketches. The floor was littered with scrolls and parchments. 

The news of him studying for three days straight without rest spread like wildfire in the royal academy. Apprentices began to come to check on him. 

"You mean he hasn't even left for the bathroom. " A girl with a soul-enchanting face asked Amartya. 

"Yes, princess. I think the boy has gone insane." Amartya said, his wrinkled face full of adoration and love. 

"You should stop him. And tell him to have some rest. It is not like the library is running away somewhere. " The girl said with worry written on her face. Her curly locks were dark bumblebees hovering around her lotus face. 

"I don't dare. His Majesty has ordered me to cater to his every whim." Amartya said adjusting the tomes, in their slots. 

"Oh!  Then, I will talk to him. Or he would die here."

The girl said as he walked over to the reading chamber where Ishit was lost in his thoughts.

The veena, also spelled vina (IAST: vīṇā), comprises a family of chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent.[3][4] Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.[1] The many regional designs have different names such as the Rudra veena, the Saraswati veena, the Vichitra veena and others.

https://en..wikipedia.org/wiki/Veena