The Symbol

Few years back, the rumours of a strange looking symbol spread across Vishonava. The rumour was, that if you carved a swastika with a circle around it on your hand with the help of a Sharitra stone, you would gain immeasurable power. Sharitra stone was rare back in those days but now it is have been localised by the merchants of Vishonava on a large scale. People seemed to believe in that rumour because of the rarity of the stone. These rumours were spread by the remaining members of the Manatha cult. Later, they were found and executed by the government. These rumours caused a lot of deaths around the country. Sharitra is a dangerous material and it shouldn't be touched without the mastery of Karitu (the technique of putting your spirit energy in an object and stabilizing it's properties). Karitu was usually used by the Royal Hawaldars in the national rescue team or the mid to high tier Aarwans. Exposing the stone directly to your blood would cause a massive explosion in your soul armor that could even lead to your soul energy been poisoned. This rumour was later controlled by the execution of the remaining members of the cult. After some investigation done by the government, it has been assumed that they were trying to perform some sort of ritual involving a resurrection of something.

"The rumour seems to make some sort of connection to the locket. The same symbol of swastika with a circle around it." Asthav thought.

He was in the library at the lunch period, collecting information about the rumour.

"There still seems to be some uncleared information about the Manatha cult" he thought while reading about the cult in a history book.

It has been 1 week since the Rudra incident happened. Asthav's hand was covered with the hard metal plaster done by the Aacharya. He got up from his seat and moved towards the shelf to pick the next book.

He stumbled upon a history book called "The Cults Of Vishonava". His eyes widen up as he stared at the book for 2 seconds before picking it up. He sat down on the chair and examined his environment. There seems to be only 12 people in the library, either reading a story book or studying for the next exam. He opened the contents page of the book and started searching for the Manatha cult.

"Yess!! It is on page 112!! Finally!!" Asthav said with a loud tone.

The noise made by him disturbed the people around him. The librarian slammed his stick on the table, warning Asthav to not to do that again.

"Ooooppss!! Sorry!" Asthav said and proceeded to look for the page. He began reading the page in his head.

*Manatha cult came to Vishonava in the early Kushka period, during the reign of the leader Humarath. The leader opened the cultural borders and welcomed many cults and religious groups into the country to teach the people about the outside world, who couldn't afford education like farmers, shopkeepers and many other lower classes. They were signed under the policy of Zurahi. This policy said that the cult will spread their influence and teach the people about the outside world without committing any violence and toxicity, they will inform the government about their actions and they'll' make a list, recording their actions every 2 hours and they would not interfere in the personal matters of the country. Everything else like food, shelter, clothes etc would be provided by the government. Many religious groups and cults agreed with this policy and entered Vishonava. People were getting educated about the outside world without paying the high fees for the temple. Manatha held a higher rank amongst the religious groups and cults that entered Vishonava. Their influence and knowledge spread across the land of Vishonava and half a century later, almost everyone in Vishonava seems to know about them. After 100 years, things started to become strange. Manatha stopped telling the government about their actions, they became more hidden and mysterious. They stopped spreading their influence. Things went too far when they tried to attend the national meeting. The government planned an immediate extermination of the cult by the Royal Hawaldars. They were successfully exterminated without any difficulty. No clues were found that what they were exactly trying to do.*

*The few members of the cult somehow survived the extermination and came again after 20 years. They spreaded a rumour about a symbol, causing many deaths around the country. The few remaining members were found and executed on the spot. It's still unclear that what they were exactly trying to do but some evidence suggests that they were performing some kind of ritual, resurrecting an entity.*

Asthav simply closed the book after reading that much.

"Man! My head is really spinning after reading all of that. History really is not my thing!" He said with a confused face.

His mind was processing the summary of what he has read so far.

"So, it seems like that symbol was associated with a ritual of some kind. That locket wouldn't really help me, assuming that it is some kind of ritual material. It would'nt work....................or would it?!??" Asthav was really really confused.

"Aaahhhhhhhhh!! I am sick of it!!! Come on Asthav!! Why are you soo dumb?!? Just decide one thing, god danm it!!". The bell rang and the lunch period finally came to an end. Asthav kept the book in the shelf and left for his next class.

The eyes of a Royal Hawaldar starred across the corridor of the Mandir. The Royal Hawaldar Raman wore a black mask with a black hat on top of it. He wore a black long kurta and a black leather pajama, stretching till the bottom of his legs and a black Juuti with the government's mark on it. He wore accessories like a sword hilt and various leather pockets across his kurta and pajama. He held a two handed talwaar on his waist. He looked like a complete warrior in a garden, ready to fight whenever you want. His mask was completely blank covered with black paint, showing no signs of emotions whatsoever. The sound of his walking sounded like a blacksmith hitting a sword with a hammer. The gloves and the wrist protectors of his were made out of stainless steel. His shoulders, knees, elbows and back were protected by a coating of metal. His arsenal and suit looked heavy, like you'll need an entire village to lift it.

Raman entered the room of the Pratham Guru.

"Ah! Welcome Hawaldar Ji!!" Pratham Guruji said, greeting Raman.

"So, there's a student from our temple. He is going to give the Aarwan exams next month. The problem is that the Wandering Guru that was coming to explain him about the concept of Manta had been attacked by the Kapura Beasts and got heavily injured." Pratham Guruji said.

"So? What do you want me to do!?" The Royal Hawaldar Raman said.

His voice sounded soo manly yet soo calm and oddly terrifying. Pratham Guruji felt like if he wasted his time then he would surely kill him.

"Ummm.......So I've heard that you were a Wandering Guru before you became a Hawaldar. So, If you could teach that child then it would be a great help. Asthav would be departing probably in one week from now and there's no Wandering Guru available right now" Pratham Guruji said.

There was a minute of silence in the room.

"Fine, I'll do it" Raman replied.

"Ahh! Thank you Hawaldar Ji! I've never expected such a gratitude from you!" Pratham Guru Ji thanked Raman for his help.

In the sunset of the evening, Asthav starred at the red sky with his tired eyes. It was as if he could fall asleep anytime. The cold breeze of the evening passed through his skin and the sun got down, making the sky completely black, as the day came to an end.

-(Episode 5 end)

"Quote of the next chapter : "Sit down and let me explain the greatest arsenal of yours"

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