Comet

A few weeks later

Ilankai

Arulmozhi was unfamiliar with the word "loneliness", being the kadaikutty child of his family he was surrounded by either his siblings or the kotaipengal who showered so much love on him.

Now being alone on a faraway island, with no sister to play a prank on nor a brother to spar with, Arulmozhi felt...lonely for the first time. With Poonguzhali and Sendhan Amudhan around, the first week on Ilankai was a breeze, after the war he and Poonguzhali had explored major parts of the island and the beautiful memories they created, be it dipping their toes in the cool breezy waves of the ocean or looking at the dark blue sky peppered with gleaming stars, were the ones he would never ever forget

Now that she is gone the sinking feeling of loneliness took charge. Arulmozhi walked out of his tent with a sigh. The moon graciously lit up, the light hit the sea, making it glow like a white velvet. A small smile crept up on Arulmozhi's face as he looked up, as usual, the moon and the stars were glimmering in their full glory.

Huh, that's something new, Arulmozhi thought, scrunching up his brows, amongst the cluster of stars, there hid something a comet, its sweeping tail spanning across the night sky.

"Beautiful," He murmured, it did look mesmerizing, he had heard his teachers tell him the importance of these rare celestial beings, they appear once in a lifetime, or so he had been told. Astrologers believed they were messages from afar, was it a good omen or a bad one? Arulmozhi did not know.

The next morning Arulmozhi would get his answer.

"Why have they called me?" Arulmozhi asked, getting ready, Periya Velar merely shrugged. The monks from the Vaithulya Biksha Sangam had summoned him for an "important" matter.

The guards offered to accompany the Prince owing to the fact that he was ambushed earlier this week but Arulmozhi denied, fearing it might intimidate the monks, after all the monastery was just a short walk from their camp.

After a short walk, the duo reached their destination, Arulmozhi initially thought they were going to the monastery but was extremely confused when Periya Velar switched directions.

"Why did you bring me here?" Arulmozhi asked, standing at the mouth of a huge cave.

"This is where they keep Ashokar's throne," Periya Velar said, walking inside, Arulmozhi followed him. "If they've called us here it must be something important," He added, no one is easily allowed inside a place of such significance.

Arulmozhi's jaw was on the floor when he entered the cave, the inside of the cave was breathtaking, the paintings on the floor, the flowers slowly climbing the walls of the cave to ceiling, the throne glimmering at them with all its glory and not to forget the larger than life Buddhar statue beside it.

Ponniyin Selvan usually takes great pride in his country's architecture, like the intricate sculptures in the temples, but coming to Ilankai has completely changed his perspective. They worship their gods in these small chambers while these monks build absolutely humongous shrines and statues dedicated to them.

Arulmozhi made a mental note to build a temple like this when he got the chance to, an architectural marvel that would last for centuries to come.

The monks warmly welcomed the Prince, Arulmozhi paid his respects to the Buddhar statue, showering it with a handful of flowers.

"Vaithulya Biksha Sangam welcomes the Chola Prince," The chief monk welcomed Arulmozhi.

Arulmozhi smiled. "I'm honored," He said, the monk gestured for him to sit down for which Arulmozhi obliged. "I heard you requested for my presence," He asked.

The monk nodded, "As you may have noticed a comet has appeared in the sky, we consulted ancient texts to find out what it means," He paused before continuing. "A great king like Emperor Ashoka had raised among us," Arulmozhi knew what followed. "You display all the signs of a great king,"

Periya Velar looked at his "son-in-law" proudly.

"The Maha Bodhi Sangam invites you to be Lanka's emperor,"

Arulmozhi did not know how to react, should he be happy that they considered him worthy to take Ashokar's place? Or should he feel guilty because he was about to turn this offer down?

"This throne belonged to Ashokar's daughter, all the kings of this island are first anointed on this throne, we give this to you," The monk said, looking at the throne then shifted his gaze to Arulmozhi. "Justice must prevail here, Lord Budhhar's wisdom must rule, all this can happen only under your rule, take the crown"

Arulmozhi took a moment, he knew what he was going to tell them, he just needed to word it in a way that would not offend them. Finally, Arulmozhi got up.

"Asiriyarey, My father commanded me to bear arms for the Chozha kingdom," Arulmozhi said. "As a defender of the Chozha kingdom, and a servant of its people, I cannot accept another crown,"

The monk's face was painted with disappointment, Periya Velar though, looked proud.

"I cannot defy my father's orders, Parent's word outweighs even the will of the gods," Arulmozhi said, "So I cannot accept God's will, nor your request, master," With that Arulmozhi made his standing clear.

The chief monk was surprised, In a world where families resort to treachery and betrayal to seize the throne, Ponniyin Selvan outright declined one, alas, it was the Prince's decision and he did not want to pressurize him into taking charge either.

One who bows low is destined to rise to the sky.

********
Not everyone had a positive response to the comet's appearance like the Buddhists. Thanjai's jodithar's, were in a turmoil, they poured over all the ancient scriptures and literature and found not one good thing about the comet's appearance.

The kodanthai jodithar was upset, he knew it was a bad omen from the start but they held on to hope which, well...turned into disappointment. No one can change the horoscopes can they? It was built upon centuries of research and observation, to prove it wrong is a mammoth of a task and an impossible one at that.

The comet shall not pass unless it quenches its thirst for the royal blood.

How can he say this to the Emperor? What will be the repercussions? With the Emperor's ailing health and both the Prince's at war, the comet has appeared at a very unfortunate time.

Alas, A Jodithar cannot hide his findings whatever may be the aftermath , it was against his duties.

A/N

Helloooo

fun fact Raja Raja Cholan's Thanjai Periya Kovil was inspired by Ilankai's huge shrines.

A lot of this writing was actually my speech for a college assignment, repurposed them to fit this chapter, talk about being productive

Also guys, getting 100 views per chapter for a book that has an unruly update schedule is just I don't know what to say😭 Thank you so much for showing me support even with me not uploading ever so often. You guys are the best and this makes me feel guilty for not uploading often, Really grateful for your support.

I'll try my best to increase the frequency of my updated people.

I'll stop with my rants now haha, maybeee I'll continue with them on my wall.

-kee