Your Nephew Is A Wild Beast!

Dear Ketu,

Your nephew is a wild beast! How did you believe that sheltering the child in the palace and not sending him to a gurukul is the right decision? He is sixteen years old, already beginning to set in his ways. Did your brother consider that the child is the future king of the five kingdoms? Did your brother think how difficult it will be to mold and train him now? I have watched him for seven days, and he shows little interest in reading scriptures or memorizing shlokas. He is restless when he sits in the class, having no talent for meditation whatsoever. During lessons, his eyes are on me but his mind elsewhere, paying little attention. The other day I asked what year was the second battle of Yamani fought, and he looked at me as though I had grown two horns and then he said….

Never you mind. Has he never opened any textbooks when he was in Kundali? I blame your brother and the great master of RakhtaPrastha for absolutely failing the child.

The day he arrived here, he tried to escape. Under my watch! Do you believe that? Of course, I found him later gorging on an entire doe raw! Poor child did not even know how to cook meat! Do you remember how we used to train when we were in Master Marichii's gurukul? We lived in the wild for weeks, training and learning how to hunt animals, butcher them, prepare our food. And there he was, chowing down on raw meat. RAW MEAT! You are his uncle, and you and your brother have taught him nothing, and now, you two decided he is my responsibility?! I understand that you have a family now, wife and children, but he is the future of this land. Your duty is to serve him, too but you shirk your duties.

Yes, I admit Shura is skilled at Yantra and some Tantra. The day he was fleeing, he had transformed into a tiger. Not a bad transformation at all, pretty impressive for a 16 year old, let alone for someone who barely received any training at a gurukul. If it was not for my divine blood, I could have never smelled the demon under his tiger guise. I saw some of his tantra skills too.

Some days ago, I took my pupils to the town market to buy some supplies. While we were there, this monsieur sees a man beating up his wife. So, instead of informing me, he takes it upon himself to march up to the guy and beat him up. When my gaze fell on the two, the man had his dagger out about to attack your nephew. Of course, I admit I did not expect Shura to grab the dagger and turn it into dust. I only know of two other people in this land who practice reverse Tantra. It must be a skill he inherited from his father.

No, I did not let him know that reverse Tantra is an arcane art. That child is already cocky, he doesn't need to know he possesses something that others will envy. But, that skill in the child must be nurtured. And nurture, I will, I assure you that. But you must have heard of my methods, and so has the king. You must have sent the child to me as the last recourse, and I give you my word that I will train him to be the greatest warrior in the land. But I am stringent and firm with my pupils, and you can never question my methods with Shura, no matter what. You must give me your word, in return.

I also received your brother's message, and I immediately searched for the child when he was still in Nalanda. Yes, there was a Pret there, in the prowl. But whether was after your nephew or not, I could not say. I disapprove of obscure messages such as those, and I do not appreciate being kept in the dark. If your nephew's life is in danger by someone or some beings, I must remain aware of that, so I can protect him to the best of my ability. It is my obligation to him as his teacher. But for that, I need all the knowledge you have or else you can have your nephew back.

In a few days, I will decide what year of pupils he should train with. He is sixteen, older than most here, and his martial and spiritual powers are second to none if you do not count me. But his knowledge of statecraft and warcraft is lagging behind even the first year pupils. Let us pray that he would have no need of these any time soon and leave the rest to me. You and your brother may have forgotten that Shura is the future king of the five kingdoms, but I have not, and I will train him as such.

Lastly, my dear friend, I hope you are taking good care of that pain in your arm that you mentioned in your last communication. I am also enclosing more of the potion that you said relieved the soreness, along with this letter. Do not hesitate to visit me if the pain gets worse. You know the healers in your court are absolute rubbish.

In a week's time, we have the Yaosang festival. My friend, if possible, come visit. It has been some time since we exchanged words in person and you can see your nephew too.

Take care.

Yours,

Vashi

Vashisth put the quill down and scrutinized the letter once more. He was happy that his third attempt was a success, every word correctly spelled and cleanly written, not one dot out of place. Next, he folded the letter cleanly and placed it inside an envelope, before putting the seal of his gurukul on it. He then walked over to his large window, letting the silvery moonlight paint his face. His lips curled into a forlorn smile as his mind filled with the memory of one such moonlit night from years ago.