The Mysterious Nine

Prologue

Emperor Ashoka, the Great sat reclined on his throne. Surprisingly, he was devoid of the magnificent jewels and garments that usually adorned him. He had just donned a simple saffron cloth. His scarred face that habitually wore an enigmatic smile was replaced by a grim expression. A number of individuals had gathered in the throne room.
"The ever faithful kings under my reign, Wise council of mantris, loyal knights and other wise men."Ashoka began,
"You have assisted and aided me in difficult situations of my life and you are there whenever I needed you. After the battle of Kalinga, after seeing millions of dead bodies pile up before me, I have decided to give my people what they really deserve, PEACE."
"No more bloodshed.", He continued.
"I am asking for ways to ensure peace for now and the coming centuries. You may give your ideas."
"Your majesty," said a man whose black face is partially hidden by a long twirling moustache and a thick beard. He wore a golden armor and a woolen clothing beneath it.
"For proclaiming peace, you must have no enemies. So I suggest you to invade and conquer south india and became chakravarti."
"I am asking for peace, not war, king Aditya," Ashoka bellowed.
"Request to speak, your majesty." The head of the ministry, appealed. He was a plump man with a bald head and he was heavily perfumed with sandalwood. Once, he was a witful and resourceful minister, but age and wealth took a toll on him.
"Proceed."
"My beloved high king, we must inflict heavy punishments for disturbers of peace. Poachers and thieves should be hanged, rapers should be castrated, rebels should be exiled. This will surely maintain internal peace among the people. To frighten our enemy kings, we will strengthen our infantry and cavalry manifold." he uttered with a smug smile.
But the emperor was not satisfied. After he heard the counsel of most of the ministers and kings, he tried as best as he could to hide the disappointment in his face. When he was convinced that this meeting was an utter failure, he decided to end the worthless meeting. But then, a wizened old man from the crowd outside came limping to the throne room.
"King, I have something to say," he squeaked.
"Commoners have no place in the high council, old fool." A Knight roared.
"Let him speak." Ashoka ordered.
"My King," The old man said with a small yet clear voice, " To have eternal peace and tranquility in the motherland, their should be a undefeatable power that guide the people. All sorts of man should fear and respect it altogether."
"You thought our noble emperor is not capable of this?" asked King Aditya with plain anger and distaste.
"No," The old man continued with a smile, "every known men can be defeated by bravery, wisdom or evil. Brave men estimate the enemy's army strength and wealth and could defeat them by war strategies. Meanwhile, wise men estimate a man's intelligence and overthrow them by their worldly wisdom. Evil men estimate a man's innocence and honesty and could overthrow a man by acts of treachery and betrayal."
" Then who can be unbeatable?" Ashoka asked without attempting to conceal his curiousity.
"The Unknown.", the old man replied. " Brave men, Wise men, Evil men all of them fear what is not known to them. They fear the mysterious. Brave men could not dare fight them without knowing how powerful they are. Wise men would not challenge what is not known to them, the evil could not lay its hands on the unknown. Thus, brave men will bow to them, wise men will respect them and evil men will fear them. So my king, I hereby propose a secret society of unknown noble men with superior power and knowledge of the world," The old man ended his speech and looked inquiringly at the Ashoka.
Ashoka smiled. "Wise Old man", he said, " Ask for anything, gold, diamonds, pearls, palace, land, ask whatever, it will be laid under your feet before the sunset."
" I need what you need, King, Peace." he announced with a mystifying smile dangling on his lips.

Author's Note:
Thank you for reading. Every reader and follower mean a lot to me. I am just a blooming writer so feel free to point out the mistakes in my writings. Chapter 1 will be coming soon. Cheers!