Child Of Manas ( Part 2 )

The priest did this so that no single kingdom would covet Manas and take over it. Manas was much smaller in comparison to these four kingdoms and it did not have a standing army. It would be as easy as flipping their hand for any of them to conquer its territory. While letting them each rule it on the other hand will make sure they will keep one another in check. Also, since by letting young princes come and rule Manas as part of this supposed 'training', he could use their best qualities to his advantage while easily suppressing their faults using the name of god. In the Vedic Aryan world, Brahmins were the ones with most power. Though Kshatriyas had force on their side, Brahmins were not so easily outdone.

It was just as well that the priest made that pact with the four kingdoms back then. As history would have it, one of those four kingdoms which were all equal of size back then became the colossus they called the Kingdom of the Central Plateau these days. It renamed its capital city Amaravati, the city of immortals! It conquered everything in sight until the kingdom became an empire and the empire became a geographical feature that did not even need the demarcations made by man. One of the three remaining kingdoms became a vassal to the empire, one was split into several small states, many of which also became vassals, while others turned into lawless territories. The last one remained suppressed. Still, to maintain its autonomy despite Amaravati's great power, this third state by the name of Dhupa was not a simple one either.

Despite Amaravati's great power, the Central Plateau undergoes periodical chaos caused by the Asura sects. The way an yearly cyclone cannot be stopped, one also cannot stop this chaos from happening. The reason is that the Deva factions themselves want the chaos to happen. If it doesn't, the faction in power cannot be replaced. A new reign cannot begin. It was only thanks to this periodical chaos that the Manas kingdom was still able to retain its autonomy. The Manas capital had a spiritual significance to it than cannot easily be touched. When everything is going to hell, the head priest of Manas can be approached to mediate between gods. He is also a messenger who can send to and bring messages from Devlok. The Kshatriya kings didn't care whether or not it was real. It was a form of diplomacy in times of emergency and they all accepted it. It was better than going to war and killing each other.

By keeping the original agreement with the priest of not taking over, the Manas kingdom became a major political center with relations to over thirteen autonomous states, several vassal kingdoms of the Central Plateau as well as the two major states of Dhupa and Amaravati. Meanwhile, having served the state for five years, no matter which prince of which state it is, they all maintain friendly relations with Manas after they have gone back and taken over their own lands and country. They always have Manas in their heart even if they ascend the throne of Amaravati itself. This was also the head priest's intention. Manas was a place where there was beauty, art and devotion. It was as Vajradandaka's grandfather once described, a pristine and pure Love-known category civilization. Once anyone lives there for five years, they will already become a person of Manas. This was another reason no one wanted to take over it in the end, though its diplomatic and economic potential was worth giving anything for. Ruling Manas was serving Manas. It was impossible to covet something that you've served, because in your heart, you long belong to it and not the other way around.

In this way, the wise sage ensured that Manas will always maintain its exalted status among states. But just in case, it falls for its own corruption – the old priest did not believe that brahmins were immune to corruption – he also left a route open for Manas to turn into a proper state run by a Kshatriya later on. One need not worry so much about corruption when a state is ruled by the Kshatriya. The warrior race is open and honest. They do not have the cold reptile blood that corruption needs to feed itself on. This is why the ancients gave the power of governing to the Kshatriya. The sage did not want to deprive the people of Manas from this form of honest government should there ever be a need for it. So he said that a chosen one will come day with an army of ten thousand men. Each one among them will be as powerful as a storm god and wherever the army passes, it sweeps clean all evil in its path. The chosen one will not be matured yet when he arrives in Manas, and he will be adopted by the god and goddess who rule the Manas kingdom where they've been enshrined. That's how they will know that he was the chosen one.

The priest added this last clause just so no one will take advantage of the situation easily. Sure enough, many royal houses over the decades, tried to groom little kids into becoming army generals. Who wouldn't want to take over a powerful country that was both rich and had connections with so many other powerful kingdoms? But even an average army would not accept an immature brat for a general, let alone a powerful one of ten thousand men where every warrior is like a storm god. Two hundred years passed, yet no one succeeded…until one did.

That morning, Kush's sleep was ruined when twenty-two beautiful girls barged into his room singing a high-pitched song describing the dawn and the wakeup calls of the birds. To call it a room would be confusing though. It was clearly a giant airy pavilion made of stone with some embroidered blinds here and there that made some parts invisible from the hallway. A huge canopy covered the bed. It was clearly made of cloth, but was blinding gold in hue as it reflected the morning rays of the sun. The cloth was overlaid with a thin sheet of the malleable metal using a secret craft until the two textures blended into one. Some maids couldn't even look at it directly, the light was so bright. The underside of the canopy was still cool however. Several indoor plants and shrubs that can grow in shade were planted in expensive brass pots that surrounded the bed.

The exuberant young maidens who were light of step and easy to laugh, tittered as they came close to the bed and removed the sheets covering Kush to wake him. The boy who was lying naked inside jumped off the bed and screamed. "Dammit. Not again!"