LEGACY ||Indian Historical Fiction||

21||FRIENDSHIPS

Darsh rode on his horse, cutting through the warm winds of the noon. Behind him followed Rajat and Abhik. The three rode into the woods of Ashokdhar towards the east finding coordinates of a tribe according to Rani Aradhya. Darsh halted under a vast tree to refuel his breath and his steed.

"We don't know for sure that the tribe are still there, why go through so much trouble?" Abhik asked getting down from his horse.

"Tribes are loyal to their land and nature more than they are to each other. I believe they'd not have relocated elsewhere." Darsh gulped down a mouthful of water and fanned his face.

A short break later, the three began riding again until they reached a small fence in the woods. It could easily have been crossed by the horse but Darsh stopped and looked into the fenced area. Just then an arrow wizzed at him from atop of a tree. Darsh caught it just before it would touch his iris. He scoffed and turned to Abhik and Rajat who took seemed to be impressed by the aim and speed of the arrow.

The man jumped down from the tree, his lower body covered in what seemed like wolf skin and his head adorning a leafy and rocky headwear. His physique screamed fit and his eyes were fierce.

Darsh, Abhik and Rajat all got down from their horses. Darsh looked the man in the eye and rose one of his hand up, gesturing surrender.

"Who are you?" The man asked with a strong accent that almost made Vayavya language seem foreign to the royals.

"We mean no harm. We come with peace," Abhik said, trying vaguely to match the tribe's accent. The tribe scrutinized them critically before stepping aside for them to enter.

"Thank you," Darsh smiled at him warmly before going in.

Small, mud settlements, over a hundred in number were scattered hapazardly on the land in the clearing of the forest. A vast one at that. It seemed like a valley, bordered with such greenery that everything else seemed dull.

As Darsh entered the place, every tribe's gaze was on him. They looked unhappy that royals had stepped into their home. Darsh turned to man who had attacked him, "Can I meet the sarpanch (chief) of the tribe?"

The man hesitated before calling upon an middle aged man from within his hut. The man could very well be in his fifties but didn't look like it in the slightest. He walked over as some tribe boys moved a huge peice of log as their seats. The chief sat down and gestured the royals to sit as well.

"Why are you here, Maharaj?" The chief asked rather directly. Darsh found their forwardness quite rude but they had nothing to offer but toughness.

"I have come here with a proposal. I need your alliance." Darsh stated directly as well.

"The tribe don't approve of royalty. Why would we side with you? We know the conditions these royals come with."

"I am not asking for your land. I won't be asking you to relocate yourself. Frankly, I need your help."

The sarpanch was taken aback by the look on his face but maintained his fierceness. He looked at his peers and turned to Darsh again.

"What help would a monarch like yourself need?" He asked.

"I'm here to ask for the tribe to side with Ashokdhar at times of war. The allies of my kingdom are scheming behind our backs. If and only if, we ever reach a time where war is our option, I need your finest warriors by my side."

"We have no interest, Maharaj, in the affairs of these royals. We live peacefully and hope to live that way henceforth."

"Peaceful, you are...I only ask you to be generous. If I needed my demands met, I'd have brought my army here and had you all kicked out since the region is still under the reign of Ashokdhar," Darsh spoke as the tribes glared at him and his threats.