Kingmakers

Prologue

"Who is this, Raju?"

"The best fighter I've seen on the streets. He may be a servant, but he looks a little too much like the king."

"Do you think he is the descendant?"

"There is no harm in finding out."

"What is your name, boy?"

A small boy looked up at the bald man speaking to him. "Prabhakar"

"And who is your father?"

The boy did not answer. "What about your mother?"

"She passed away last year."

"Are you an orphan?"

Silence. The man called Raju slapped the boy hard across the face.

"Let me ask you again. Who is your father?"

"I don't know." Another slap.

"I don't know."

Raju raised his hand one more time. The minister blocked it.

He said, "Can you see the bow there, boy? I want you to try and lift it."

Right in the middle of the room, on a wooden table, was a majestic golden bow. Raju pushed the boy towards it.

"Lift it."

The boy gripped the bow. He looked at the other person who was there in the room with them. She hadn't spoken a word this whole time.

He looked down at the bow. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It had slender, intricate carvings, carvings no human hand could ever design.

"Hurry up, boy."

Prabha lifted his hand. It felt weightless. It felt like homecoming. Then suddenly, a huge burst of light erupted from the bow he had raised. There he was, a fatherless twelve-year old boy working for the local goldsmith, wielding a divine bow that only the descendant of the Emperor of Tanja could wield.

The three onlookers stared at him. Prabha himself couldn't believe what was happening. The two men kneeled before him. A small sound erupted from the minister's throat.

"All hail, the Heir of Tanja."