Sikva, the capital city of Kavish

Blazing strokes painted the sky as the sun dipped into the horizon. The tip of Mount Gaja, the mountain of Lord Ganesha, stood magnificently behind small mountains far away in the west. Raja Vaithiyar Agathiyan, the royal physician stood by the window of his room with his hands behind him—observing. His eyes roamed over the city of Sikva and landed at the busy market.

Crowd moved in and out of the merchant market, closest to his house, grabbing essentials before they were closed. Among the crowd Agathiyan spotted a lady in an old tattered saree roaming by the side of the market walls who seemed mumbling to herself and looking disorientated. His heart crushed. She must be one of those ladies waiting for her man to return, his eyes welled up remembering the faithful day in the history of Kavish.

His teary gaze shifted back to the sky arresting his thoughts from dwelling further into the day and what followed after the chaos. A pigeon coming from the west fell in his vision line. Agathiyan's squinting eyes widened at the sight of the bird. The pigeon fluttered through the opening and landed on the table by the window. His thick wrinkled hands reached for the pigeon's feet and untied the note it brought along.

'To Mount Gaja. See you there. Good luck', he read. The message he was asked to wait had arrived.

He glanced out the window. The sun, no longer visible but only its last rays feathered the sky welcoming the night. The royal physician hurried out of his house and to the palace durbar. The journey to mount Gaja would take at two weeks if they were to take the horse and he would only reach on time if they leave the next day.

Taking the ratha vimana was out of question, he shook his head trying to shake off the option. The flying chariot might shorten their route but the king had seized its use outside of Kavish.

Agathiyan rounded the corner into the palace's main entrance. He needed the king's permission and an official letter with the royal seal to pass through the border, and he had to hurry before it's too late.

From a few score feet away, the view of the durbar door being dragged to a close caught his vision. "Wait! Hold on!" His yell went inaudible to the guards. The raja Vaithiyar scampered through the long corridor, ignoring the greetings of the noblemen who were leaving the court. When he reached the door, the guards bowed low. "Greetings, raja Vaithiyar, but the durbar is over for the day," one of them said.

"I need an audience with the maharaja before he leaves for his evening puja. Let me in and I'll speak to the king," he ordered, and the guards opened the door for the old man.

Maharaja Bavaneswaran, on his way out of the courtroom through another entrance leading to the royal temple, stopped in his track when he heard the doors opened. The royal physician folded his hands together as he reached the king. He was sweating profusely from the run and a tad bit nervous for the permission he wished to seek.

Agathiyan had been practicing hundreds of times in his mind, yet he was nervous to speak to the king for the first time in his forty years of service as the Raja Vaithiyar of Kavish. He cracked his knuckles in the process.

"Raja Vaithiyar? Weren't you supposed to be in your house? What brought you here?" Maharaja Bavaneswaran dismissed his servants with a waft of his hand and reached for the panting Agathiyan with a cup of water he fetched from the nearby copper water vessel.

"Your Majesty, apologies for causing delay for your evening puja, but I would like to get your permission, maharaja." Agathiyan's voice shook a little. His face gave away his anxiousness, but he masked it with a smile and took the cup offered by the king.

"What is it, raja Vaithiyar?" asked the king, warm smile adorn his oval face.

Gulping the lump in his throat, the royal physician started. "I would like to get the permission of Your Majesty to visit Mount Gaja," he let it out and the heaviness in his chest lightened by a quarter.

"Mount Gaja?" The king chided; his brows creased. "You know it's a restricted place now, raja vaithiyar. How can you seek permission to visit the mountain?" Maharaja Bavaneswaran scorned, the smile on his face vanished, he threw one end of his heavy velvet shawl off his hand, letting it hang from his shoulders.

Agathiyan however tried to reason, "Maharaja, I'm well aware of the restriction, but it's crucial. With my depleting health, it's only wise I finish what I started and resign the post, giving it to one of the many qualified young men out there." Although it wasn't the best excuse, Agathiyan tried to make it sound as genuine as possible.

The king shook his head, unable to accept the fact that it's from the chief physician. He who knows the risk of going to the mountain, wants a permission to visit the place? Bavaneswaran couldn't phantom the possibilities that might occur. He can't allow his raja vaithiyar to visit Mount Gaja knowing he could be attack if there were spies planted.

"Raja Vaithiyar, the restriction was made keeping our people's safety in mind. You had seconded that many years ago. What made you change your mind?" asked the king, flustered with the request.

"Yes, I did. It was only the right thing to do back then but we need to change this, maharaja. Many of our people are away from their family but there is nothing we can do for it. Perhaps this could be the first step to lift the restriction. It's been many years as well."

"It's dangerous there, raja vaithiyar. Durja is always on the lookout to attack us! And no, I can't allow you to go to Mount Gaja." Bavaneswaran exasperated, marching back and forth the long courtroom. His long velvet shawl swept the granite floor.

"If you are not happy sending us alone, you can send us with a small group of soldiers for our safety." Agathiyan suggested.

The maharaja stopped in his track and narrowed his brows as he turned to Agathiyan. "Us?" His voice low and threatening. A sense of irritation built in him for the royal physician kept insisting on going to Mount Gaja despite him dismissing the request and topped it off with adding a companion to his trip.

"Maharaja, I wish to bring the youngest princess with me—"

"What? What do you mean by bringing Nakshathra with you?" The king bellowed. His patience had gone beyond control at the mention of bringing his daughter to Mount Gaja. His scrutinising gaze flinched the chief physician.

"It is for her that I have come to seek permission, maharaja. She is excelling in her studies in the field of healing and as a future medical practitioner, she is bound to know every medicine that is available in the land of Lambodara. Nothing that you don't know, Mount Gaja has the most effective herbs and needed medicine for untreatable diseases in our land. Under those unfortunate circumstances, we have stopped everyone from going there except for the four-day celebration in a year but I seek your kindness to allow us. You can send the best of the best knights with us." His requested with joined hands yet the king wasn't giving in.

"I respect you a lot, Raja Vaithiyar Agathiyan but no! Neither you nor the princess is going anywhere outside, Kavish. This is my order, raja vaithiyar! If at all you wish to visit Mount Gaja then do it in the four-day celebration of Vinayagar Chaturthi." Bavaneswaran joined his palms together as an end of the conversation and stormed out of the courtroom leaving a disappointed Agathiyan.

Pushing the huge door out of his way, the door shut with a loud bang startling those working around the court. The thought of performing his daily puja disappeared and replaced with rage. So furious Bavaneswaran made no attempt to acknowledge one of his ministers on his way. He did not except the wise and most respected man of all in the kingdom to take a risk. To make a foolish request.

Doesn't he know the chances of returning home safe from Mount Gaja will be slim?

Bavaneswaran reached his room in no time, threw his shawl off his shoulder and strode to the balcony. Clutching his throbbing head in a hand he slammed the parapet with another. Memories of the horrific day found its way into his troubled mind.

A cartful of dead bodies of his citizens who left for Mount Gaja haunted him yet again. One and a half decades had gone by since the unfortunate event however, the visual of gruesome mutilation of his people stuck to his mind permanently. Men, women, children and old folks were killed mercilessly. They might have been left to die a slow death for he was sure he saw one or two heaving their final breath when the cart reached Kavish. Till date he hears their screams and feel their last agony.

Bavaneswaran closed his ears with both his hands shielding their screams from reaching him. Even after many years their scream haunted him.

The guilt for not protecting his people pricked his conscience every now and then. Knowing that Durja always looking for an opportunity, he can never let anyone from his kingdom to enter Mount Gaja. Not even anywhere outside the strong protection of the neighbouring kingdoms on any other day apart from the four-day event.

***----****----****---

Mahina, the capital city of Durja

"Nonsense!" noises of the brass pots pushed to the ground rang loud in the chamber. Alli found no control over her temper when she heard the news of the meeting in Mount Gaja did not take place. Another failed plan.

"How? How did this not work, old man?" The lady growled at Kovalan standing far from her. His face however did not reflect the same disappointment as the lady but calm.

"The king of Kavish refused to give permission, Devi. It's a wise decision by the king. Keeping the accounts of attacks, no one in Kavish will allow anyone to Mount Gaja, Devi," he answered, his eyes stuck to the far end of the room.

She expected the old man in Kavish would open the path for her plan. For her prey to fall into the pit she had been digging for the last sixteen years—for their fall but she failed in her second attempt as well. She slammed her fist on the armrest of her chair.

Cursing in a whisper, "Bloody Ranganathan's words came true." She did celebrate too early and it collapsed even before it started. Now he would add this to his list of her foolishness.

She threw a glance at Kovalan and minced dangerously close to him. Intimidating the tall, aged man.

"Get it done! Or you know what will happen."

**--**--**--**--