Vukunda Ma paced through the empty hallway, coming out into the area with the stairs. He'd have to descend, followed by climbing another set of stairs to the Principal's office. He hated the stairs and their useless design. He channelled prana into his chakra, using his starlight to create the body-strengthening art and move it into both his legs. He crouched and then, aiming at the third stair to his right, he vaulted.
He floated over many surprised gasps before landing awkwardly on the stairs, glad that it was empty. As teachers, they had been instructed not to display their arts before the students. But the situation had forced his hand today. He'd write something in explanation later. What mattered now was his presence in the meeting.
He ran up to the fourth floor. A long corridor awaited him at the end of the staircase. His art was still activated, and he raced through it. The twelfth bell struck right when he reached the headmaster's door. It was a stone carved one that had been painted to resemble wood. Only the heavens knew why.
He gently pushed it open, but not before cancelling his prana flow. The door swung a little, showing a glimpse of the guests inside the room. The council had started. Vukunda clicked his tongue and entered. All eyes swerved to him. There were six teachers assembled there. They were seated around a huge rectangular table made from oak imported from the Jupiter clan. The chamber was nothing extraordinary. However, upon closer examination, one would find treasures worth waging wars for, displayed in glass cases at each corner. Again, a gift from clan Jupiter. That clan wasn't a war-mongering one like Mars. Also, it wasn't an absolute political powerhouse like the Sun and Moon clans. Rather, it exerted its control through education. Every province, no matter the clan lording over it, must have a school of Jupiter. Because they were that good at teaching. Even the haughty house of Mercury, hot-headed and insane as they were. Had to request Jupiter to open a school in their capital.
"Take a seat, Master Vukunda." Master Sreleela said, pushing out a plush chair at her side.
Vukunda bowed, frowning underneath and claimed the seat near the beaming woman.
Principal Jomapunya, a member of Jupiter, sat at the head of the table. He was lost in thought.
Vukunda cleared his throat, "Headmaster. Shall we begin?"
Jomapunya sighed, looking at each of them before speaking. "How is he?" he asked master Maitree, who sat straight across him.
The white-robbed woman smiled, creases folding near both ends of her lips. "Recovering and way quicker than ever."
"It has been what, five or six hours since he was admitted to your care today, and already he is getting better?" asked master Dhiren. A muscular man with tree trunks for arms and legs. He occupied the area on Jomapunya's immediate left. The corner seat gave the widest berth possible to fit his hilariously large shoulder span.
Vukunda shot at him, "Yes, if you'd have been at your post. He wouldn't be in the infirmary in the first place."
The giant's face soured. He opened his lips to object. But, Lady Maitree spoke first, "The question is. How, without a powerful celestial backing him, is he healing so fast?"
Vukanda and the others looked at her. She was from the house Venus, and just like her house's reputation, she looked nothing short of a goddess. The full lips of the deepest of red, the slight flush on her cheeks and the milky white complexion. Vukunda's nerves tingled every time he was in her vicinity.
She leaned back, fingertips tapping each other in a rhythm, "And the larger question. Is that how he jumped two sub-levels to become a three-drop Pathik? And that too within just two months of his choosing and without any formal direction. A feat unheard of. Even the most exceptional talents take years to just gain one more drop from their celestial."
Vukunda, though he hated to do so. Didn't agree with her. "Leaving that aside. Which I may say must be nothing more than a stroke of luck or an error from our side in calculating his level when he was chosen. What we need to focus on is what he did to Meera. She is, after all, the daughter of my clan head, and believe me when I say so. He won't be pleased at what transpired today."
Maitree's face inched towards a scowl; Vukunda's heart sank. She quickly composed herself before saying with a hint of irritation, "Clan politics don't interest me. I am more intrigued by his sudden growth spurt. And, yes. I was there on the day of choosing. I myself had triple checked his level. Then, he was a one-drop Pathik, cursed by an unnamed single star. Today, he is a three-drop Pathik." She looked at Jomapunya, "Sir, I say we need to study him. Know how he did what he did. The implications of which can shatter the very foundations of our knowledge."
Principal Jomapunya sighed. The man looked weary. He hadn't slept well for the past few days. The function was in less than two months, and the venue was yet to be completed. Paras city had never organised something on this scale before, and, being the head of the school. He had been given the responsibility to conduct the festival. Though he wasn't too happy with the additional work.
Jomapunya was 'lazy'. A word Vukunda disliked to use for his colleagues. But, Jomapunya, with his nonchalance to every affair, small or big. Had earned the title. All the plump headmaster wanted was to lounge in the library, reading and writing.
On hearing Maitree, he slowly nodded his head and said. "What do you know about the heat-strike art that Karnan used?"
The teachers looked at each other. Vukunda answered, "It is a low-grade art. Too complex and too useless to be used." he didn't even try to mask his contempt. Why were they not discussing the matter regarding his clan? About the rage that Patriarch Vikramaditya would unleash on hearing about his daughter? Had they forgotten the thrashing he had given to the new teacher who had punished Meera once? He broke the poor man's chakra. This then drove him to end his life soon after, and the school ended up paying a huge compensation to his family.
"Correct, heat-strike is low-grade. Needs minimal cosmic energy and is too complex to form; its patterns are so intricate that using it mid-battle is tremendously difficult."
All agreed with him. "But," he said. Maitree's eyes lit up. Jomapunya continued, "Karnan managed to use it not once but twice and in a way that left someone one stage higher than him, someone who was blessed by one of the nines, injured to such an extent that she needed immediate reconstructive surgery. Karnan Al Veera did that. Being nothing but a Pathik." He waved a stocky index at them, lingering a few breaths more on him, much to Vukunda's annoyance.
Master Maitree slapped the table. Vukunda clicked his tongue.
"He is a prodigy. A genius of the kind seldom seen. But, all that talent." Jomapunya shook his head, "All that talent and he is but a Pathik and will remain so."
"A tragedy indeed. But let's focus on master Vukunda's concern for now. We have wasted enough time on that trash," said master Sreeleela and for once, Vukunda was glad to have her around. She was the antithesis of Maitree, too friendly, too showy and overly concerned about him. Yet, today, he was seeing her with an invigorated perspective. Something, he hoped, wouldn't dull in a few days.
"But,"
"Let it go, Maitree." Jomapunya said sternly, "I tell you this as your former teacher. Let it go. What you believe is but a mirage. Don't fret about that. Moreover, I sense her approaching. Prepare yourselves."
"Who?" Master Kundan, a wiry man with an oddly shaped head, said from the opposite end of Vukunda. These were his first words in this meeting and were also to be his last. That man was a miser with coins and words.
Her aura crossed over his chakra. A jolt raced through his feet, and by habit, Vukunda jutted up to stand as the door flung open. It slammed against the wall. The table shuddered, and one of the glass displays cracked.
Lady Chitrangada Ma Singha sauntered inside. Behind her, Meera followed. Her hand rested inside a prana cast. She had her head bowed.
"Greetings, Lady Chitra." Vukunda was the first to say that.
Lady Chitra acknowledged him with a slight nod. As always, she was elegantly dressed in a black one-piece suit, embroidered with golden chains, an attire that accentuated her thin and sharp features. A white scarf embellished with a red rose served the purpose of hiding her neck. She wore long netted gloves that covered the entirety of both her arms, and the back collar of her dress stretched behind her head. Her hair was tied in a bun and fastened with a lion head hairpin pin and on her forehead was a golden lion with three teardrops hovering just above it. The mark or 'tilak' of those who were above the rank of Nayak. Their prana had become so strong that it manifested the celestial's shape along with the number of drops on their foreheads. She was the strongest martial artist after her husband in the city of Paras, and she owned her power like royalty.
It was said that one without being a Nayaka or above couldn't even look at the upper practitioners of the Sun or Moon clans. If someone did so, they would be permanently blinded.
"Where is that boy?" she demanded. Maitree sat before her and didn't look pleased at all. Vukunda feared for her if she said anything rude. Her career as a teacher would pretty much be over.
At least greet her, Maitree. He thought, hoping that she would somehow listen and wipe the scowl off her face.
Jomapunya finally stood, and the others, including Maitree, followed. Vukunda sighed with relief. The principal gave her a curt nod and said, "he is recovering in"
"I want him handed over to me immediately. I heard he is with a dog?'
"Yes, it's a female dog and seems very loyal to him. She has been waiting before the infirmary door-"
Chitrangada again spoke over the principal, "Behead that animal and send him with it. Make it so that he walks with the head of his pet all through the city to our estate."
"No! Mother!" Meera said all of a sudden. She had raised her head. Her eyes were red.
"Insolence!" Chitra snapped, and Meera stooped her head again; she trembled as if she had a fever.
"Lady Chitra." Jomapunya's voice hardened, "I would suggest restraint. This is not that big of a matter."
"Master Jomapunya," she twisted her black lips, "I am ruthless not to avenge but to reclaim my clan's pride. If my girl had been beaten or even ravaged in private, I wouldn't have cared. It's due to her weakness that she suffers. But, this boy made a fool of her before others, and word spreads quicker than wildfire here." She pushed Maitree aside and leaned over the table. "I hope you understand my predicament."
"So clan Singha feels threatened by a clanless Pathik? What would you people do in the tournament then? Harass participants who defeat your members? Because I can bet my entire savings on the fact that there would be many such participants." Maitree snorted beside her.
There goes your future. Oh, my poor Maitree, what have you done?
Chitrangada spun to her. Her fists were clenched tight. She half-smiled before turning to Jomapunya. "I will arrange for a new doctor tomorrow. We need people who can respect our order. Coming to my ask. See that it is done before the first bell tomorrow."
"I refuse, and so does my school and one more thing. I am in no need of a new doctor. Master Maitree is far more adequate than any." Jomapunya thundered.
For the first time in the twenty or so years he had known him. The man showed anger, and that too towards Lady Chitra. Someone who was a level above him. Vukunda began making backup plans once the school closed. He'd give private tuitions. How and where he didn't know. But private tuitions seemed the best plan yet.
Chitra's eyes stretched up with surprise at first. But, as she registered Jomapunya's words, rage flashed in them. She unleashed her power.
For a moment, Vukunda's knees buckled. With the help of the table, he managed to stay upright. Meera crouched near the door, her palms to her ears. The rest of the teachers, all low Nayaks too, looked affected. Only Jomapunya and Maitree faced Chitra. Both released their energies at the same time. The meeting room began to shudder as if struck by an earthquake. His throat choked. Meera was now shrieking in pain.
"Lady Chitrangada." It was Jomapunya who spoke first, "You might be my superior as a martial artist. But don't forget your position. Your clan's position. Don't forget that by threatening me and my teachers and my students, you declare yourself as an enemy of the great Jupiter."
"And clan Venus too. Stop yourself before your own daughter is harmed." Maitree added.
Chitra pulled back. The pressure suddenly dropped. His throat opened, and Vukunda inhaled like a sponge soaking in water.
The lady of house, Singha, turned towards the door and was about to storm out when Jomapunya said, "Karnan is still my student. So, before you do anything, heed my words carefully."
Her exit was as fast and powerful as her coming. The chamber felt like it had been hit by a hurricane. The floor was littered with broken glass, cracks had appeared on the table, and the door banged on the floor. Sreeleela yelped. The piece of metal had been broken into two pieces from the middle.
Jomapunya sank into his chair, panting. "Once Karnan is awake. Give him whatever he wants and tell him. That if he ever sets foot in my school again. I will myself hand him over to the Singhas."
Vukunda smiled with relief. At least Jomapunya had enough sense not to blindly support that garbage. Only heaven knew what misfortune walked with him, and he wanted to be as far as possible from that.