Chapter Ashborn 387: Of Nor and Ra

“I do believe we’re lost,” Ashani said.

Vir didn’t need to turn around to know she had a smirk on her face.

“We’re not lost,” he grumbled, peering down around the airship. One would think that the visibility would be unparalleled in an open-air vehicle that flew high in the sky, but one would be wrong. In fact, it was nearly impossible to look straight down. To do so, Vir had to roll the ship at a steep angle.

He could see in every which way… Except the one he needed most.

“The moment I get back, I’m going to have a word with Saunak.” He needed windows in the bottom. Something. Anything.

“You sure?” Ashani asked. “Because we've been flying in circles for the past ten minutes.”

Vir sighed. “Okay, maybe we’re lost. But only a little.”

Ashani giggled. “Unless the rules of logic have changed recently, I am quite certain the state of being lost is a binary one.”

“Just need to find the road,” Vir said, ignoring her jab. “If only I could fly below these infernal clouds…”

Clouds. Another thing Vir hadn’t anticipated. Normally, he’d dive under the thick blanket, but with jagged peaks everywhere, he could very well fly right into a mountain. He’d been forced to fly higher, and now, he couldn’t see anything, even if he wanted to.

“I’ll have to risk it,” Vir said, throwing the airship into a dive. The craft complained, the added weight of the wolves throwing off its balance, but after a bit of fighting with the controls, Vir managed to point the nose down.

The moment they entered the clouds, visibility dropped, and the air grew ice-cold. Moisture plastered his face, as if it were raining, and Vir was forced to rely on Prana Vision. Effective in theory, but lackluster in practice. The mountains of the Demon Realm scarcely had any Earth Affinity within them. By the time Vir registered it, it would be too late.

Luckily, when They broke through the cloud layer, emerging in a valley between peaks.

Unluckily, if Vir did nothing, they would crash into one of those peaks in a matter of seconds.

Surging prana into the inscriptions, Vir threw the airship into a perilous bank, rolling almost sideways. Doing so caused the wolves to fall onto the side of their cage, which caused the ship to roll even further, and soon, they were upside-down.

The wolves howled in complaint, thrashing against the cage. Any more, and Vir was sure they would break it, but then Shan barked, and they stopped.

“Grak it!” Vir roared, trying to pull up. While they’d avoided hitting the mountain, they were now plunging straight down to the valley floor. Vir surged as much prana into the inscription as he dared, pulling on the manual lever that was connected to the wooden pieces at the back. The pieces that allowed the ship to turn.

Faster and faster they went, and Vir wondered if even he would survive an impact at this speed.

Just as he was about to tell Ashani to cut the wolves loose and bail, the airship started to turn. It groaned and protested the immense stress. Its wings flapped madly, and Vir was sure it would tear itself apart.

At his wits end, Vir flared Balancer of Scales

, reducing the craft’s weight to near-nothing.

The sudden reduction whipped the craft horizontal, and with only a dozen paces to the ground, Vir managed to level it out.

Bleeding off their excess speed by regaining some altitude, Vir finally brought the craft to a safe trajectory, heaving a sigh in relief.

“Oh, look!” Ashani said, pointing ahead. “We found the road.”

Vir considered landing several hundred paces from the entrance to Jalak Kallol, but ultimately decided against it. His days of hiding were over. In fact, acting stealthily here would only harm his cause. Let the world know that the Akh Nara visited the Iksana stronghold and left without a fight. Let the other Rajas gossip and rumor that the Iksana had switched sides. Even if they hadn’t, Vir’s visit and the Iksana’s lack of hostility would speak for itself.

Which was why he boldly flew the airship directly above the city’s entrance.

Jalak Kallol was unlike most other strongholds. Being entirely underground and off limits to all but the Iksana, it had been shrouded in mystery for centuries.

Rumored to have a thousand entrances known only to the Iksana and those bearing an invitation, there was but one entrance the rest of the world was aware of.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The Mountain Gate. More of a trading outpost than a town, it was the only part of the stronghold foreigners could visit.

And Vir landed the airship right in the middle of its central square.

Needless to say, his arrival caused no shortage of terror. He was first noticed well before he reached the square, and by the time he had, a mob had assembled, including several dozen Iksana warriors.

All staring up at him. All wondering whether to watch or attack.

Wishing no harm, Vir had the craft descend slowly, unlatching the ‘landing gears’ that he’d had Saunak install. The craft was originally meant to land in its cradle back in Saunak’s tower… and nowhere else.

Less than practical. So Vir had him devise wooden struts that could be unlatched and swung down to support the weight of the craft.

Even then, Vir activated Balancer of Scales to ease the stress as it landed.

Vir jumped out of the cockpit and offered Ashani a hand, which she took. She was currently in her demoness disguise, though as usual, that didn’t stop the unending stares. In fact, Vir felt she and the airship got more attention than he did.

Vir unlocked the wolf cage, allowing his friends out. They immediately circled the ship, establishing a defensive perimeter, snarling at any who got too close.

By now, at least a hundred demons surrounded them, gossiping amongst themselves.

Good,

Vir thought. Saves us the hassle of having to go find someone.

Eventually, a certain ‘someone’ pushed their way past the crowd, and when Shan jumped in front of Vir and began snarling at the newcomer, Vir knew who he was even before seeing his face.

“You!” the demon snarled, saliva flying from his mouth.

“Zarak’Nor,” Vir said, deftly sidestepping the liquid. “I wish I could say it’s a pleasure to see you again, but we both know that would be a lie.”

Nor seethed, but kept his mouth shut.

Vir smirked. “How are you still here, anyway? I thought for sure Ra would’ve banished you for attempting to poison my wolf.”

Shan snarled, lowering his hind legs to pounce.

Zarak’Nor took a step back. As if that would do him any good. The other wolves had all but surrounded Nor. He wouldn’t last a second if they all decided to pounce.

“You’ve come to settle the score? Is that it?” he said, eyeing the wolves nervously. “You wish to take revenge? Just try it! You’ll start a war!”

Vir snorted. “You flatter yourself, Nor. I couldn’t care less about you. You’re dirt under my boots. I’m here to speak to your Raja.”

Nor barked a laugh. “Fool! Do you think anyone can walk in here and demand to see our Raja? Only those with invitations are allowed into Jalak Kallol. Or were you not aware? Akh Nara?”

Until now, the crowd had mostly gossiped about Vir’s sudden arrival and his strange contraption.

That all stopped in an instant. A hushed silence rippled through the crowd, followed immediately by an uproar. Some screamed in terror, pushing past the crowd, trying to run away, while others eyed Vir with suspicion.

And a few—only a handful, really—regarded him with a different expression. One of awe. Of reverence. Of hope.

Vir took all this in the span of a glance. That not all of them had run away was promising. Had his debut in the tournament had the desired effect? Or was demonkind not as united in their hatred of him as the Chitran would have him believe?

“See?” Nor said, sweeping his hand across the crowd. “You are not welcome here.”

“Actually, I am,” Vir said, raising his voice. “I am here on the personal invitation of Raja Sagun’Ra.”

“Badrak’s Balls you are,” Nor spat. “Who would believe such an obvious lie? Turn away, or face the—”

“No lie,” a figure said, emerging from a nearby shadow. He wore an unadorned black robe, and his hands were clasped behind his back.

“Raja…” Nor said, whipping around. He fell to his knees, his eyes wide. “I apologize. I did not.”

“Begone, Nor. This does not concern you.”

Vir could almost hear Nor grinding his teeth. “I beg your pardon, Raja, but the Akh Nara’s arrival concerns the clan.”

“And who is responsible for the clan, hmm?”

“That’s…” The Iksana Warrior looked away in shame. “What do you intend for him?”

“You’ve no right to know,” Ra snapped, but then seemed to reconsider his words. “He shall go before the Trial of Bram.”

Vir’s eyes narrowed. He’d surmised the Iksana would put him through some sort of test. It seemed his intuition had proven true. He was relieved, in a way. Any Trial of combat or personal skill, he could handle. It was the political maneuvering he loathed.

Nor jolted, as if he’d been attacked by some Lightning Affinity spell. “The Trial!? You mean to allow him to undertake the Trial? What right does he have!”

“The right to your life,” Ra replied. That one sentence silenced Nor as though his lips had been sewn shut.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Begone, Nor. I will not say this again.”

Clucking, Nor faded into his own shadow, giving Vir a scathing glare before he disappeared.

Vir gave Sagun’Ra an appraising glance, not quite sure how the Raja had gotten Nor, of all people, to leave without a fight. It spoke to the power the Raja carried over his clan. A recurring theme, Vir found.

While he hadn’t yet met the Chitran or Aindri Rajas, Thaman, Kira, and Ra all carried a sort of omnipotence within their clan that Vir had only rarely seen in the Human Realm. King Rayid Hiranya certainly didn’t. Nor did Tia’s brother, the ruler of the Matali. The Rajas struck Vir as similar to Imperator Andros Kin’jal with their unquestioned authority.

Though unlike the Kin’jals, who respected their ruler out of fear, the Rajas seemed to rule mostly out of respect. They were the sort of ruler Vir aspired to be, and so he made sure to observe Ra keenly.

“Follow,” Ra said. “Much to do. Little time.”

Vir wondered what that was supposed to mean. As far as he was aware, he’d dropped by unannounced. What could there be to be done, other than chat about their future prospects? He supposed he’d find out soon enough.

“The wolves,” Vir said. “I’d like to bring some with me, if that’s alright.”

Ra glanced at the Ash wolves who faithfully guarded his contraption. Vir had expected the Raja to comment on the craft, but it was as if the airship were invisible to him. Rather, his eyes had been pegged on Ashani from the moment he’d appeared.

“Iksana have no need for air travel,” he said, as if reading Vir’s mind. Maybe he was…

Vir focused on Ra’s body and found that Clarity was indeed active. Which meant he could see the future, to a limited degree.

Awfully handy, that, Vir thought. It seemed Clarity had plenty of applications outside of combat. If he could guess peoples’ reactions…

Vir shuddered. It was perhaps a good thing the Iksana stuck to their caves, eschewing the politics of the broader world. They’d make fearsome negotiators, which didn’t bode well for Vir’s chances of swaying the clan through dialogue. Any deception would be seen through immediately. The only chance he’d have would be to bare his honest self.

“Your wolves may come. Yes, you may leave some to guard your ship.”

Vir opened his mouth before shutting it, nodding lamely.

“Lead the way,” he said with an awkward smile.