Veil of The Sun

Chapter II: Moksha

Away from Pandhara in the east, the kingdom of Civappu in the south was home to a certain famous general who was consistently swamped with paperwork. Even in the early morning, the said general sat at his desk, looking over papers. He straightened his back as he reached for a pen to continue his paperwork piled up for him.

He thought to himself, "... That brat always piles up the tariffs to me of all people... He can't keep getting away with this... I'm too old for this."

The general continued to carefully sort through everything when... suddenly, a knock at the door of his office awoke him from his concentration. Opening the door carefully, a Civvan official walked in with a nervous glance to him. The official nodded in respect to him before closing the door behind them.

"... General... Moksha, sir," The official began, "... His highness, the prince, has asked you to go on a very special mission."

"A special mission...?" General Moksha stood up from his chair and the official could finally get a proper look at him. He was a very beautiful person with dark hair and deep caramel skin that spoke of fire in the general's veins. The underside of his hair was a fiery red that seemed almost unnatural and he wore gold as if he himself was a prince. Truth be told, sometimes he looked more like a prince than Civappu's own crown prince.

General Moksha looked youthful enough to be a prince in his mid-twenties anyhow. The only odd thing about him was the unusual clothing he wore for a general of Civappu. His clothing looked next to nothing like Civappu's fashion... it seemed to be a much older fashion style. It was strange... sometimes, people would say that perhaps General Moksha wasn't human– There were many rumors that he was one of the immortal or long-life species in Prithvi Mata. There had been no confirmation from the general though.

He hated talking about his past.

"What exactly does this entail... and why would his highness put this on me?"

Moksha sighed thinking about whatever this 'mission' could be. He knew that the brat did this often... dumping this or that onto him because Moksha was 'the best one for the job'. Moksha knew very well most of that was an excuse because the brat didn't want to work.

Still... this was too much. To put a mission on him on such short notice... especially when he still had piles of paperwork to get through before week's end....!

"Well... the truth is... this mission is nothing like the work assigned to you by his highness prior at all," The Official explained, pensively, "You're required to... go abroad.... to Neela."

Moksha scratched his head, "Huh?"

He had gone to Neela before numerous times— I mean the capital wasn't that far from Civappu really. Moksha knew some people there well enough but.... This seemed a little more insane than what the brat usually does. He crossed his arms looking to the official for more details.

"It's in regard to the newly appointed chancellor of war in Neela. Usually the Chancellor of War office is really a 'nothing' job since Neelans don't spend anything on their military department as you know... but since the last one died... there's been some shifts," The Official said, "The chancellor has been given more and more power... we've even noticed some mobilization on the frontier... The prince understands that Neela and Civappu at the moment have alright relations but... there are some well-founded worries. "

The Official sighed, "What I'm trying to say is... he would like you to go to Neela and investigate secretly into this matter— to find out truly if Neela has military plans in mind— that might put other kingdoms at risk. Knowing Neela's economic strength, if they suddenly gained interest in war instead of art and their usual knowledge— this world might be at extreme risk. You understand, right?"

"..." Sure, Moksha understood— whatever that meant. Neela was never a militaristic power in the slightest. They didn't even have a military whatsoever— if Neela suddenly started spending on their damn military budget, it obviously easily causes concern among the continent because of how much it would disturb the status quo. Neela has always been a cultural power– an economic power if one must. Neela is known for its education, music and art– hell, the Navaratnas, the nine jewels of Prithvi Mata, whom Moksha really wanted to meet— Not mobilization!

Still, even then, it was obvious this was a... shady mission. Sending a spy to an ally never looks good on the record. If the spy was found out, it could risk war between the two kingdoms itself. This was to be avoided at all costs. Sending an idiot on this mission might as well be relinquishing your kingdom— suicide.

Moksha smiled knowingly at the official, "Don't worry, I understand. You can leave it to... me. If there's anyone who can complete this mission for Civappu— it'll be yours truly, no?"

The Official sighed of relief before beaming, "Thank The Revolution, we have you, sir! Here—"

He handed Moksha some documents.

"Those are the mission details, it should help you just fine. You'll be leaving in a few days time!" The official explained, "Please prepare for it!"

He nodded, "Got it."

Moksha watched as the Official began to leave. He seemed to want to scurry away as quickly as possible out of some kind of fear. It amused Moksha a little to see such a sight. Before said Official could truly step out the door, Moksha called out, "Oh, and— by the way.... Tell his Highness all the paperwork I'm expected to do will fall to him once I leave!"

The Official jumped up in fear. Shocked, he simply hesitatingly nodded before properly scurrying away. He knew he would have to be the one to relay that awful information to the prince and endure the prince's tantrum afterward. Moksha almost felt bad for the guy. He knew he really did not want to be in his place. Moksha thought about it and he knew he would rather run away and live as an ascetic.

Anyhow, the only good thing about the mission given to him was that he could go meet the Navaratnas on the crown's expense. It was quite nice to think about it like that. Moksha had been to Neela before but the Navaratnas are such high-class celebrities that its hard to get an audience with them, especially since they're either periodically busy or just don't want to see most people.

In Neela, they're treated akin to royalty even if some of them don't have a drop of royal blood. It was an interesting phenomenon. The pursuit of the arts in Neela was highly valued and considered intrinsic to Neelan identity. The kingdom revered the arts so deeply that the royal family of Neela collected talented individuals to be part of the court as a Navaratna or Jewel of which there are nine in total. These individuals each represented the best of their particular art from across the continent but mainly from Neela because of the extreme emphasis on these skills engrained in the culture. These skills are in order, Poetry, Prismoring, Storytelling, Science, Astronomy, Art, Sculpture, Dance, and Music. Each seat was coveted as it gave access to fame.

He smiled a little thinking to himself, "... If she still danced, I'm sure she would be the Navaratna for dance. It would suit her." 

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