Chapter 4: Bastard

The vast lands of this world were divided into seven geographical areas.

In the West was the massive arid desert, in the North were the frigid mountains, in the East extended the fertile plains, in the South the marshy lands. Then there was the Southeastern subcontinent, the Eastern-Western frontier lands and the Central plateaus.

The Raktdhara kingdom and the Western Marusthal Ganrajya both were situated in the Eastern-Western frontier lands. The confluence of the desert and the fertile plains.

In the cold northern mountains, there was a mountain called Vidyagrah, home of knowledge, which pierced through the clouds.

On the top of the mountain there was a large pavilion beside a waterfall overlooking a beautiful scenery of endless rolling mountains.

There was an old priest facing a dozen or so young priests. He was preaching to them.

“The self you believe that you are is nothing but an illusion. The universe that you perceive and inhabit is but a mere thought. The golden egg preceded everything there is. It thought of a world and so it came to be. It took the form of an all-pervasive consciousness, a universal will. Then it thought of life so it created the primeval waters. The waters incubated a seed. The universal consciousness then blessed this seed. The seed germinated for a year and gave birth to the first being. The being inhaled and the Gods, the Devas and the heavens were formed. The being exhaled and the Asuras, the Demons and the hell were created. The inhalation and the exhalation completes one cycle after which the cycle repeats itself. In each cycle the cosmos are created anew, thrives to the peak, gets destroyed at the end. Existence is but a passing moment...”

The priest was uttering each word slowly and distinctly. Suddenly a young priest raised his hand.

The old priest was interrupted and looked at the young priest. He was around twelve years of age and had a very average looking face. He had long black hair tied with a plain red ribbon.

After seeing who it was, the priest frowned a little. But regained his calm almost instantly.

He spoke in a very unhurried manner, “What is it young Zaria? Is there something that you don’t understand?”

The other young priests also looked at him and started whispering among themselves.

“It’s the bastard again!”

“Does he think that everyone here has enough free time to listen to his ramblings!”

“If not for the sake of giving respect to the third head priest, he wouldn’t even be allowed in the sanctuary much less a grade three class.”

“Shhh..keep your voice low. Haven’t you heard the rumours. He is most likely third head priest’s…”

All sorts of insults and gossips started, aiming at the young priest. But the young priest looked unaffected as if what all was being said had nothing to do with him.

The old priest shifted his gaze over the others abruptly and everybody became silent.

At this moment, the young priest stood up in a very casual manner.

“Gurudev, you said existence is but a passing moment. Then what is the purpose of it in the first place?” asked the young priest earnestly.

The priest thought for a brief moment then replied in a very calm and serene voice, “The purpose is not what is important here. What is important to know is that the existence itself is a fact. We have to accept it one way or the other. Finding its purpose is not something that will change this very fact.”

All the young priests nodded. Even as they looked down on the other young priest, in the end they appreciated the question he had asked.

They found the reply given by their teacher enlightening too.

But the young priest was seemingly not convinced by the answer given by the old priest to his question and asked further, “Gurudev, what is the difference between living and dying, existence and non-existence if there is no purpose to it?”

As the young priest continued his inquisition, even the old priest felt a little annoyed.

Though he had mastered control over his emotions and not many things could stir his heart and mind, he was not impervious to such thoughts. As such, he felt a little displeased but controlled his emotions nonetheless.

“Young one, it appears to me that you are unconvinced by the answer given to you. I do not blame you, though. Every person has their own ability to comprehend things. Some people understand things differently than others. While some understand things slower than others. I cannot comment on which type your cognition falls in but I would recommend that you try a little harder. You may find something useful that way.” the priest said neither too slow nor too fast.

“Pu..HAHAHA…”

Everyone burst into laughter all of a sudden.

One had to say the priest was a master of his words. Anyone would be hard pressed not to realise what his words meant. He was simply telling him that he was dim-witted.

Nobody could restrain their laughter after hearing such words.

“That bastard really cracks me up!”

“Even teacher had to eloquently tell him the truth.”

“What a joker!”

They kept whispering in a not so low voice while laughing their lungs out.

“Quiet down,” the old priest ordered, though he did not sound very strict.

The young priest sighed inwardly. It was unclear whether he was ashamed or simply disappointed. He eventually sat down amidst all the raucous.

The laughter subsided in due course.

“Alright everyone, I have something to inform you all about,” the priest said.

Everyone was focussed again when they heard the old priest.

“The annual reshuffling examination will be held in three months from now. This time it will be held for both scholarly and martial divisions at the same time. You can appear for both if you want but I would suggest to focus on just one as there will be a reward for those who rank in top ten in any of the divisions. Additionally, there will be a chance for those who perform well but were unable to be ranked at the top for some reason. They may attract attention from the twelve head priests and may receive tutelage from them personally for a month. As for those in the top twenty from both scholarly and martial divisions combined, they will be accepted as a true shishya of one of the head priests. This is a rare opportunity for you. Don’t waste it.”

When the young priests heard this they just couldn’t sit still from excitement.

“Is this for real? A true shishya of a head priest!”

“This is my chance to shine!”

“Stop dreaming! Do you think you can compete with those in grade two, much less the grade one elites!”

“Ah! I forgot about them! Still, if anyone is to get tutelage from then for even a month, the benefits would be boundless!”

All kinds of conversations started. These young priests were extremely enthusiastic and determined when they heard of such an opportunity.

Only the young priest who had raised his hand didn't reveal any change of expression. He couldn't be bothered about the news any less. He just kept pondering about his earlier query.

“Alright, that’s enough for today. Go back and start making your preparations for the test. Dismissed.”

The priest sent them back. Everyone descended from the mountain. They kept discussing their plans for the examination among themselves along the way.

The young priest descended alone. Nobody talked to him. He was used to it, though. He didn't mind it anyway.

As soon as he reached the foot of the mountain he heard someone in the distance.

“Hey! Isn't it that Bastard!”

Everybody around stopped talking to each other and turned around. When they saw who the person was, they shut their mouths. They appeared to be rather scared of that person.

However, the young priest didn't stop his footsteps and acted as if he had heard nothing.

The one who had just shouted felt incensed when he saw that and bellowed with rage, “You dare ignore me! You bastard!”

The others around were amused at this sudden turn of events. They were happy to see a good show.

“He ignored senior Utkal. He really doesn't know what's good for him.”

“He simply wants to get humiliated. How interesting.”

“I heard this bastard is really close to princess Ruya and senior Utkal is infatuated by her. This idiot is in for it this time.”

“Though, I feel a little pity for him.”

The crowd was rather boisterous.

When he heard the crowd on how close this bastard was to princess Ruya he became even more livid!

He made a grabbing motion in the air with one hand and pulled with another hand. A bow and arrow materialized in his hand. It looked both ethereal and exquisite. He released the arrow straight at the young priest.

The crowd was astonished!

They didn't think that the senior will go that far.

Did he want to really kill him!