“You wanted to know your father?” he said with a smirk. “This was as much a part of him as everything else.”
Vir’s knight in shining armor image crumbled.
“Anyway, I lost count of the number of advances he made on her, and each time she brushed him off.”
“Why, though? He sounds perfect. Like you said—he had it all.”
“Aye, and I think that was what drove your mother away from him. He seemed too perfect. Too good to be true. And yet… some people truly are that amazing.”
I can believe that, Vir thought, remembering Ashani. Maybe he was alright, after all.
“What happened after? Did she give in to him?”
“Not in the least,” Cirayus replied. “In fact, it got so bad that she actively avoided him for the longest time. But Maion was not one to give up, you see. For over a decade, he pursued her. Slowly and steadily, her wall crumbled. The irony of it all is they eventually grew to be close friends—something that continued even after they were married.”
“So… you’re saying he was a stalker,” Vir said flatly.
Cirayus broke out into laughter, clapping Vir on his back. “I suppose he kinda was, now that you mention it!”
The giant drifted off, no doubt thinking of fond memories.
“They were happy, then,” Vir said softly, eyeing a flock of flightless birds that sipped the water at the pond’s edge.
“Oh, yes. They loved each other dearly,” Cirayus said. There was fondness in his voice… And something else, too. Regret? Longing? Vir couldn’t say for certain.
“Those were the days, Vir. Your father assumed the mantle of leadership decades later, uniting and strengthening the Garga unlike ever before. They were prosperous times, when no Gargan went hungry, and everyone had shelter over their heads. Samar Patag under your father’s reign was glorious. They truly were the best days the clan had ever seen. People would prostrate as he went by. They’d shout his name in the streets.”
“He sounds amazing,” Vir said softly.
“Aye. Y’know, there’s a saying in the Demon Realm. Never meet your heroes. Had I not known him so well, I’d have been convinced there was something nefarious going on. Few heroes ever live up to their reputation. But your father? He was one of the rare few that did.”
Those are some large shoes to fill… Vir thought.
Yes, he had his status as the Akh Nara going for him, but what of his actual leadership skills? He was just a teen, not some glorious ruler with centuries of experience. What did he know about being a Raja—a king? What did he know about commanding armies and politics?
“But you know?” Cirayus continued. “He never once let his fame get to his head. Neither did your mother—who continued working her healing miracles, building out networks of healers across the clan. People called her a divine messenger, such was her fame. In my four centuries of life, I can tell you without a shred of a doubt, they were the best people I have ever had the honor of knowing. Courageous, loyal, humble, and responsible.”
When Cirayus turned, tears dripped down his face.
“Four hundred years of life, Vir. Four centuries to shore up my own strength. And yet, I was powerless to stop the Chits. In the end, it was all I could do to save just one boy.”
Vir thought he understood. It wasn’t only a dear friend and family Cirayus had lost. As bad as that was, it wasn’t just his grief that drove him to bring Vir across the Ash as a baby.
Cirayus had seen better times. He’d seen something great crumble and fall. And he felt like he didn’t have the power to protect what he cared for. To that end, he turned to his last hope. The only one he thought who could. Vir.
And so, the pressure continues to mount, Vir thought. The mountain that rested atop his shoulders grew taller, the expectations heavier.
Vir was genuinely happy to learn his parents were good people. Great people, in fact. He was beyond happy. He’d have loved to have met them. To have learned from them. He would carry their memory with him, knowing they were so well loved.
Maion and Shari were like suns in the night sky, shining so dazzlingly bright.
“How do I do right by their memory?”
Vir had whispered the words to himself, though Cirayus heard, nonetheless.
“I’d debated telling you, lad. I feared you might feel this way. But… I think you are better off knowing. Fate robbed you of your time with them. I shall not be the one to rob you of their memory.”
“No, I’m grateful. I truly am. Just, how do I…” Vir trailed off.
“How do you make your parents proud?” Cirayus asked. “You already know the answer to that, lad.”
“Become the Akh Nara,” Vir said. “Unite the Demon Realm. But how, Cirayus? How do I possibly live up to everyone’s standards? No, not just live up to. Exceed it. My people will expect the Akh Nara to rise above what my parents achieved. I just don’t know how I can manage that. I’m not a wise demon of three centuries. I’m no warrior of great renown, and I don’t know the first thing about leadership. How do I ensure I won’t let my people down?”
“You won’t, lad. Because you have everything they want in you already,” Cirayus said, putting a finger on his chest. “Here. No, not your tattoo. Deep within you. It’s your heart, lad. They need someone who cares for them. Who will put everything on the line to fight for them. That’s all. They do not expect perfection. They know how young you are. They don’t need a blazing inferno. All they need is a candle. The faintest flame of hope. Because right now, darkness surrounds them.”
“Am I really that person, Cirayus?” Vir asked. “Someone who’ll risk life and limb for them?”
“Well? Are you?” Cirayus asked, meeting Vir’s gaze. “This is a decision only you can make. Though I feel that you’ve already made it.”
“What do you mean?”
Cirayus smiled. “You haven’t realized it, have you?”
“Realized what?” Vir asked, frowning.
“You’ve been referring to the Garga as my people.”
Vir was about to disagree but found he couldn’t. Cirayus was right.
When did that happen?
The answer came immediately. Ashani.
The list of people whom he wished to protect was growing. Maiya, Neel, Ashani. And now, knowing who his parents had been… Knowing all they had sacrificed for him, there was something else worth protecting.
Their memory.
“They sacrificed everything for their people. Even their own lives.”
And how better to protect that than by preserving their legacy?
His father, the king of Garga, who’d fought to the death for him. His mother, the divine healer, who’d died during childbirth. The retainers who’d sacrificed their lives ferrying him to the Ash.
“Aye.”
Vir took a deep breath.
“I don’t know if I can become what they want me to be.”
His parents gave everything for the Garga. For him.
“I don’t know if I have what it takes to be the Akh Nara.”
And so, Vir would do the same in return.
“I’ll be relying on you.”
Not because of Cirayus’ wish for better days, nor even for the faceless masses who saw him as their salvation.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to try.”
But because he wanted to.
“To honor my parents’ sacrifice.”
From that moment on, he would no longer be Ekavir, bravest of the brave. He would be something different. Something more. The Akh Nara. A symbol of hope.
And he’d need a new name.
53OF SHAN & VAAK
“Sarvaak,” Vir said, testing the sound. “It’s… different.”