It is power that is coveted, it is knowledge that is hoarded, it is weapons that are honed and it is people that must be beaten.
Uncommon terms:
Sitar - a musical instrument from India like a guitar, with a long neck and two sets of metal strings.
Tabla - a pair of small hand drums, one of which is slightly larger than the other, used in Indian classical music.
Dasi - female servant.
Lord Catura sat back in his chair at the head of the north wing’s courtroom, he watched the two figures ahead of him with hooded eyes. His pudgy frame was moulded into a posture of practiced ease and nonchalance, his dark eyes gleamed with intent. The court room was dark, two lone candles flickered and the gold-silver opulence of the court glinted mutely with every flicker of the flames, as if the room was swathed in dark honey. Catura was closest to the candles, and the rich finery of his clothes reflected the golden light. He looked like a dark prince surrounded by a drowning star.
The two figures in front of him bowed and the older one spoke, “Lord Tushta of House Hiraka sworn to High House Vishyah my Lord, I have come to pledge my allegiance to High House Sathyarath.” Tushta’s soft spoken voice held a quiet deference.
Catura looked at Tushta, “what benefit shall I gain from your allegiance?” his melodious voice had darkened, it flowed like black silk.
Tushta blinked, before his brain could formulate as answer his companion spoke, “My Lord, we shall put all our effort and skill into ensuring that High House Sathyarath comes supreme among the other High Houses, we shall do whatever it takes, we – I – shall kill for your glory and shall fight for your glory.” His voice was cold.
Catura raised his eyebrow at him, “how old are you boy?”
Marala’s face flashed, a sharp, hot anger was quickly schooled to neutral stone, “15 years old my Lord, I am Lord Marala of House Saha, sworn to High House Karmisht.”
Catura gave him a long look, “you shall kill for me?”
Marala smiled then, a dark pleasure overtook his face, “without hesitation my lord.”
The gleam in Catura’s eyes seemed to brighten, “your allegiance is accepted.”
Tushta and Marala blowed deep, leaving Catura alone in the honeyed darkness.
***************************
Lady Rukira stood in her room staring at her door, trembling she panted, feeling out of breath, shaky like she was losing control, like she was spiralling. Hot tears burned in her eyes, desperate to fall. She wanted to cry, she wanted to howl and scream till her throat gave away. She wanted, she wanted so badly to lose control and just scream, she wanted to break things, she wanted to feel something.
She wanted to feel something other than this hot trembling feeling that took a hold of her, she wanted to fill this void that had sprung up in her chest ever since her husband had died. She wanted to cry, to mourn and grieve.
But she couldn’t.
She couldn’t.
Rukira drew in a sharp breath, blinking away the tears on the edge of her vision. She couldn’t. she was a High House Head, she was strong, she was formidable, she was heartless, without emotion.
Her tears receded, her tremble disappeared, her cheeks cooled.
She was a High House Head.
**********************
The main hall made up the central portion of the Royal palace, and it certainly looked the part. A large windowless room with a high ceiling, carved from the most exquisite dark ebony, regaled with gold, silver, carved and inlaid with ivory and jewels. The room was dimly lit, the light from the coloured glass chandeliers, lit with firelight, bathed the room, lilac, pale blue, ochre, red, orange, soft green giving the hall an otherworldly, ethereal look. The plush opulent dark finery of the room shimmered with every flicker of the golden candlelight.
The soft scent on incense wafted through the room, as heady as sedatives. Upon the raised platform, the dancers, men and women clothed in the most opulent finery, danced. A part of the palace as much as the finery that decorated the room. The music played, the melody of the sitar, the steady beat of the tabla accompanied by the fluttering song of the flute.
All the High House Heads and the low houses were in the room, as if it was an evening of celebration, supposedly enjoying the performance, mingling with each other. Aadrika sat away from the others, surrounded by an illusion of isolation.
Aadrika watched as the everyone mingled with each other, their smiles too big, their laughs to loud, their postures too rigid. Her eyes moved over everything analysing, remembering, cataloguing, searching, probing, noticing. She looked at her fellow High House Heads, they were all scheming, feeling things out, sizing people up. Planning, plotting and scheming to take everyone else in the room out. She wondered if any of them had mages, no High House had official mages, but she wondered if any of them had managed to find and train a mage, make the mage loyal to the house, and then work out a system to keep them hidden – from everyone.
She looked at the low Houses, how they mingled, she looked at how everyone reacted, how, to whom and why. Her mind started to make connections, and she could see a glimpse of what they were thinking, what they might be planning, she could see what they might be susceptible to, if she just manipulated –
No!
Aadrika started out of her thoughts, for a flash, an intense anger could be seen on her face.
No!
She would not get drawn in, she would not! She couldn’t afford to get caught up here, in this web that the houses were spinning. She could not focus on them; they were not important. She had to keep in mind the bigger picture, she had to think beyond this bubble that the King had put them in because the bubble was temporary, the King will return eventually, and that is when the real war will start. She had to be ready.
Aadrika looked around her again, and saw how everyone else was participating. She saw how lively the low houses were, how loud they were.
Distaste curled in her mind, they were fools all of them, this farce, this forced attempt at normalcy was nothing but folly.
Perhaps it was time to leave.
Aadrika moved swiftly, wasting no time. Her mind worked, after not being able to find anything in the King’s private quarters the previous night she had gone straight to the only room in the entire palace, where there was no opulent finery announcing the Royal thrones might.
The archive.
The archive was amongst the largest rooms in the palace, deep underground, carved from ebony, it was lined from floor to ceiling with large shelves, packed with books, scrolls, essays, articles, papers of every kind, belonging to every genre. The mountains of shelves seemed to stretch endlessly among the dim golden candlelight of the room, as the shelves disappeared towards the ceiling. It was the largest consolidation of knowledge in the entire kingdom. There was no topic on which the archive did not have an abundance of information.
Aadrika had gone to the archive and spent the night poring over King Kedar. She had spent her time absorbing every scrap of knowledge that the archive could offer her on him. The first rule of war, was knowing your enemy.
********************
Anala stood in the hall, watching the dancers, he stood straight his head held high, a picture of pride. Despite his lack of height he managed to radiate importance. He was standing midst a group of low houses, watching and listening, occasionally saying a word or to. Each High House Head stood far apart, the centre of their own group.
Hot and intoxicating pleasure flowed through Anala’s veins, pride suffused him, it added a swagger to his step, a small smirk to his face. He was the High House Head, he was the one with power, he was the one in control. Nobody could stop him; nobody could deny him his right any longer.
Anala watched Catura and Rukira from the corner of his eyes, he would beat them, he would play their game, but come what might he would win.
Anala Nishath did not bow down to anyone.
*********************
Aadrika’s steady stride stuttered as she jerked out of her reverie. The dasi quickly sped out of her path bowing deep, stammering, apologising profusely. Lady Vishyah jerked away from her, her face a mask of fury as she sharply scolded the dasi for her mistake.
The dasi bowed deep, trembling in fear as she begged for forgiveness.
Aadrika moved through the empty corridors quickly, her lehenga rustling. Her face was stone calm, the frightened face of the dasi had seared into her brain.
Her steps quickened.
Her mind was away, in the pine paned lanes of memory. She moved over what she remembered, the High House Heads and the low houses in the hall playing pretence. The High House Heads, the low houses…. and the servants, darting about doing their job invisible and unseen, a part of the palace like the furniture.
She had not seen them before.
Aadrika saw them now.
The King never would have locked them in, that would mean locking himself out.
Aadrika moved swiftly towards her quarters, her thoughts the raging sea, lashing her mind.
*******************
The darkness clung to the sky, a misty silk veil even as the first rays of dawn pierced it, enlivening the pale blue of the firmament, pulling forth the sun to wakefulness and bringing about the beginning of a new day. The watery rays of first light glinted on the bejewelled opulence of the Royal palace, making it shimmer like a mirage against the fleeting darkness of the sky which was vanishing away like smoke.
Far above the ground, in the highest veranda of the palace, surrounded by verdant greenery, basking in the budding dawn and cooling breeze, sat four figures.
“Our alliance is henceforth formalised.” Lord Tosa of House Hrishi sworn to High House Karmisht looked at his companions, his voice was calm, neutral, quiet – forgettable.
“I do hope we get to kill someone; everything has been awfully boring since the war ended.” Lady Vagala of House Laksa, sworn to High House Sathyarath, smiled in dark pleasure, her old frame a posture of stiff discipline. She was an old woman, small, hard and compact, her voice was gravelly, it came out haltingly, as if used to shorter sentences. “This should shake things up a little.”
“I dislike bloodshed.” The voice was meek, but its owner’s eyes held hidden gleams of intelligence, his face was soft, gentle, sheltered, he looked like a scholar. “There are easier, less messy ways of doing this. We should not have to resort to – barbaric means.”
Lady Vagala sneered at Lord Yohula of House Tapati sworn to High House Nishath, with unconcealed disdain, “you are weak. Unaware of the reality of life. I have fought battles. I know how to kill people.”
Lord Yohula narrowed his eyes, his demeanor contrasting his tone, before he could speak, the figure at the head of the table spoke. “We will not resort to open war, nor will we shy away from bloodshed.” The voice was commanding, strong, it resonated with an overbearing quality that only someone prone to obsessiveness could muster, “you shall all do exactly as I say.”
Vagala and Yohula frowned at Lord Balhaka of House Hutansa sworn to High House Nishthavan, protest written in their eyes.
Tosa watched the other three. He sat back in his chair, remaining silent, watching Vagala and Yohula try to argue with Balhaka, he watched Balhaka slowly and steadily wear them down.
The dawn bloomed, gold, pink and blue.
*******************
Ida sat in his private quarters, eyes closed, mentally combing over everything that had happened in the ballroom one last time. Catura had sat in his chair, his pudgy body a posture of ease, saying a choice word or two, the head of all the low houses milling about him. He exuded an air of confidence and assurance that worried Ida, who was convinced that Catura had – regardless of how scarce they were becoming – managed to get a mage for his house.
Or, he had found a low house with a mage and was now manipulating either the mage, the low house or both to meet his ends.
Ida frowned, the possibilities were seemingly endless, muted frustration licked the back of his mind, everyone was manipulating everyone. He had too little information to draw any conclusions.
Rukira had stood stiff, an opulent statue, as she watched the dancers with a single-minded focus. Ignoring everything around her. Seemingly oblivious to the chattering of the low houses around her. Her face had been hard, creases set in stone. She had barely moved all day, not even changing position to eat or drink.
Anala….. Anala had been the most vocal of the High Houses, he had held actual conversations with the low houses, there was a swagger in his step, a smile on his face. He showed emotion, something rare for a High House Head, which had brought low houses towards him, even if temporarily.
Finally there was Aadrika. Ida tipped his head back slightly, eyes still closed, as he recalled the memories. Aadrika had sat far away, isolated.
Then, she left.
Aadrika had left the ballroom, less than an hour into the festivities.
Ida straightened; his eyes opened. Perhaps he had been wrong about her, she was the youngest, symbolic hangings aside, maybe all she was, was a little girl.
The low houses had been immensely busy, he had seen them, milling about, they were never subtle and Ida had caught every gesture, every secret glance, smile and whispered word. He saw them as they moved, currying favour with the High House Heads, setting up meetings, planning alliances.
Ida looked out his window, the docile light of the fledgling dawn poured into his room like milk, the finery of the room glimmered under this feeble sunlight, making the unlit room sparkle.
One of the low houses had a mage.
End of chapter
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137,435 Literary Works • 672,020 Reviews
Hello there, one of King Koopa’s loyal henchmen, here!
Hello again! ~ Writing Commentary
I can see that these people, even the young ones are born and raised into this blind allegiance to power. They will kill, claw, and fight.
We are already seeing the toll that living a life like this takes on these people. From what I remember, Rukira has been at this for a long time, so it makes sense that she’d be tired of all this.
Your descriptions this chapter are especially on point! I feel like you really capture the feeling of an endless mansion filled with people who want to kill eachother.
Gotta admit though, it is cool to see Anala like this, since I believe he was a former lower house, to move up to a high house is a great accomplishment!
Some recommendations…
I think here you would want to add “as” between trembling and she.
Just some corrections here~
“Aadrika watched as everyone mingled with each other. Their smiles too big, their laughs too loud, their postures too rigid. Her eyes scanned the group, analyzing, remembering, cataloguing, searching, probing, noticing.”
I think that a period between other and their would be good because you start to describe other actions by Aadrika. Aside from the little corrections, this is still a cool segment! Aadrika’s inner turmoil is really put on display here. All she cares about is planning her next move…
Lies and Mages ~ Closer
So it seems it has been all but confirmed that one of the lower houses has a mage! I will say, this is not too unexpected seeing the way things are going…I wonder if the high houses will pay for their abuse of power.
Thanks for the review!
Hello Again, My Friend!
It's me, Raven, and I'd like to review the next chapter in this great story using my Familiar method! Let's dive in, shall we? Heh heh heh...
What The Black Eyes See...
Ah, with a celebration bringing all the house heads together, it seems we gain more clues. Aadrika is still focused on the king which is awesome, while Ida is using his wit to single out who is plotting what, and who may be hiding a mage in their ranks. Let's get into the details though.
Where The Dagger Points...
I didn't really have any recommendations to make for this one! Good writing job ~
Why The Grin Widened...
Loved the introductory description of Catura and the court room, had to say that first lol.
Ooo, someone from Aadrika's own house is now making a pledge to the house of Sathyarath? I wonder what this will entail for Tushta, Catura, and Aadrika. With that eerie note about their willingness to kill in Catura's name, even reflecting amusement at the thought, my guess is that it won't end well for somebody...
[Minor capitalization note]. I really like this display from Rukira's character!! It shows how important that display of control and power is to the heads of the houses, even though it can be extremely hard to maintain sometimes. It allows you to empathize with Rukira without taking away from the feeling that these are powerful, and sometimes even merciless leaders.
The main hall where the celebration takes place -ah! It sounds so freaking beautiful, and every detail from the dancers, to the music, to the incense in the air just gave it such an immersive element.
Hm, so all the heads of the houses are present here. I would say that now would be a good time for something to strike, but most of the schemes in this book so far have taken place from the shadows, so maybe not. I am also intrigued by Aadrika's decision to isolate herself, instead of at least pretending to take part in the enjoyment.
The way Aadrika's thoughts are narrated, cooly picking apart everyone she sees in the room and being more than aware that others are plotting, immediately gave an ominous vibe to this gathering. Especially when the king was brought up, with that unsettling clue she found last chapter.
The Archive sounds awesome, and I liked this final note from that section:
While others are sizing up each other, Aadrika's over here focusing on the king. It seems she's the only one too. Ooo...
Loved how you described Anala, with his inflated ego and sense of pride now that he's a High House head. It already looks like he may be getting a little drunk off power, and especially when he starts sizing up Rukira and Catara, you can't help wondering how far it will take him.
Ooo, I love the possibilities that can stem from this revelation, and it also speaks to how the high houses -maybe even the low houses- view the commoner caste.
How foreboding!!
I loved seeing Ida break down everyone's behaviors at the celebration. How Catara's confidence could point to him having access to a mage somehow, how Rukira gave no clues with her stiff demeanor, how Anala seemed to be building rapport with the low houses, and of course Aadrika -described only as a "little girl" which implies innocence.
As well as breaking down all the details and secret gestures of the low houses, settling on the theory of a mage being among them, I thought all of this once again show off his deep thinking and wisdom -someone keen to the merciless nature of the game between the houses, but seemingly (for now) a much less aggressive player himself, opting to find and piece together the clues instead. And I really enjoy his character for that!
Our
MadThoughts...Overall, that was an awesome chapter, nicely done!
Thank you so much for the review Raven!
Hi khushi!! Yep, it's me again, mint XD I'll get right into it!
This is such a gorgeous and elegant description :0 "dark honey" evokes a precise image that fits the scene perfectly.
Huh. I wonder why they're willing to do such extreme things and why they want to swear allegiance to a different High House. Does Lord Catura not question it?
This was quite a powerful scene. High House Heads have appearances to maintain, so they can't grieve like other people can. It must be stressful to always conceal one's emotions, and I wonder how that toll can manifest in a High House Head's actions.
It makes me happy whenever scents are described in novels :> Smell is an underrated sense. Good job describing multiple senses to truly bring the scene to life in the mind of the reader!
Very interesting sentence. The "illusion" part subtly shows that it's intentional. :]
Great job drawing the reader into Aadrika's thoughts and then jolting them out as she shakes herself out of those thoughts as well! I can tell she's an intelligent character by the way she prioritizes what to focus on, and I appreciate that. :>
This is such a unique way to describe distaste, and I love it.
Small thing, but I think this sentence should be split into multiple sentences, both for grammar and for ease of reading!
Something like this could work:
"The archive was amongst the largest rooms in the palace. It was deep underground, carved from ebony, and lined from floor to ceiling with large shelves packed with books, scrolls, essays, articles, and papers of every kind, belonging to every genre."
Or:
"The deep-underground archive was amongst the largest rooms in the palace. It was carved from ebony and lined from floor to ceiling with large shelves. Those shelves were packed with books, scrolls, essays, articles, and papers of every kind, belonging to every genre."
Nice way to slip a fact of his appearance in without infodumping ;D
Quite confident there, are we? >.>
Here, I felt like I was missing some important bits of context. What mistake did the dasi make? When did Lady Vishyah suddenly appear?
OOH excellent observation :0 So the barrier isn't the work of the king...? Hm. But probably whoever constructed the barrier could also take it down?
Gorgeous description <3
And as dawn blooms, so do new alliances dawn and bloom. Very interesting. :3
Ahahahaa no, she is not a little girl XD
Oh? Curious how he got to that conclusion so confidently.
Overall, I really enjoyed this chapter! I can't wait to find out what happens next. Keep writing!! =D
Hey mint, thanks for the review!! (And so sorry for the late reply, I've been really busy of late)
All the High Houses are not going to survive this ordeal, so all the low houses are just trying to support the ones they think is most likely to survive, placing their bets if you will. This is known to all the Houses. All the scheming is to ultimately survive, preferably with power.
And thanks for the grammar nitpick, I'm going to change that as soon as I can
Also, I've noted what you said about the lack of context in the scene between the dasi and Aadrika, I'm going to change that as soon as I find the time and figure out how!
No worries!! I've also been busy with traveling, but I'll def continue reviewing when I get back in a week and a half ^^
Ohhh got it. That makes a lot of sense, thanks!
Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!!
First Impression: OOoh well this is quite the set of developments here, a lovely little party with so many little mind games happening as everyone's just quietly trying to assemble their own plans and be the ones with the most knowledge.
Anyway let's get right to it,
Oooh a little cut to our other lord here. We haven't really gotten to see a whole lot from this particular perspective just quite yet. Let's see how exactly this is going to end up turning out here.
Well it seems in this particular situation, Catura seems to quite appreciate that commitment there, rare to see from these high house heads who look to be trying to murder as many low houses as possible. Loving the vibes that we're working with so far.
Oooh our first touch of genuine emotion in this world smothered in so much hatred. That's not something that you run into every day there. I think that makes things quite intriguing here.
Oooh well it seems we've got ourselves a little bit of a party going down here and its one of those classic affairs where everyone manages to be in a very bad state of mind while simultaneously trying to come across as if everything is just perfect.
Well Aadrika's doing her best to try and think a little beyond what everyone else here seems to be getting caught up in with the hole do your best to pretend like everything is absolutely fine idea.
Oooh looks like she's hoping to escape for a little moment here to try and get herself into a better more productive position. Just never stopping looking for an edge there as she bides her time.
Well Aadrika is defintiely not slacking when it comes to finding out as much as she can. Although that is now quite a lot of sneaking about here. She's going to have to be a little bit careful that no one picks up on all of this.
Well Anala seems to be pretty drunk on power there really enjoying this little move that he's been able to get to work. Looks like this is very much what he wanted here and he seems to be ignoring the threat for the moment.
Well she seems to be on quite high alert there. Lots of things out and about and lots of plots and plans being laid out even as she's just walking through. Loving the vibes created here.
Well that seems like another little section is slowly aligning itself. It seems like every other hour one of these deals is going down. I really low how you capture this in the story with how loyalties and priorities shift.
Well looks like despite being allies they don't exactly get along too terribly well there despite all that. Everyone is really only fighting for themselves it would appear and given how things are going that appears to be the only way to remain safe anyway.
Looks like that's going to erupt into something soon. The low houses are definitely upto something there in the way that everything's slowly taking various shapes there. I think you capture it quite beautifully here. It really feels like a cutthroat political landscape where no morals exist whatsoever.
Oooh loving this little description of them all now contrasting nicely with what we had in chapter two showcasing how the murder and some time to think has affected it all. Catura all in all just being himself showing his age, while Rukira is clearly affected deeply by all this.
Oooh well I mean we see Anala and the pep in his step from this latest little development but I'm very intrigued about how Aadrika is coming across here. Perhaps her wonderings are not arousing suspicion but going the opposite way here.
Love the ending here with Ida's big conclusion to think of with regards to that whole mage fiasco that we've been dealing with right here and I think its a perfect little way to remind us of what's to come here.
Aaaaand that's it for this one.
Overall: Overall I think you've done a wonderful job here, as we build on everything that we know so far and the various avenues everyone has taken to try and unravel this mystery. Looking forward to seeing where we go from here.
As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Kate
Thank you so much for the feedback! It's always a great help.