Rudra suddenly opened his eyes to see a pale sky above him, white clouds lingered everywhere while the golden sun rose over the distant horizon. He had fallen asleep just after completing his meditation. Though unintentional, the sleep completely rejuvenated him, feeling fresh and full of energy.
Stretching his limbs, Rudra stood up and glanced around. Everyone else was still asleep, their faces worn with exhaustion. His eyes landed on a nearby soldiers whose armor had shattered so badly it was unrecognizable. Then a new wave of resolve surged within him. They had to move now.
Rudra then sat down as he carefully opened his bandages and washed his wound, applied some medicines and covered them. He was now completely ready, as everyone else. Rudra walked up to Isha and Vedna who seemed to be busy in some discussion.
"Where is the second shelter?"
"Calm down, my friend! I will guide you."
"Follow me!" Isha said as she walked out of the ruins.
Isha and Vedna walked alongside, where as the other members stayed in the middle while Rudra and Sohajan walked in the back. Isha sneaked and hid behind the jagged stone spike that jutted from the ground, dashing from one spot to another, and everyone else had to follow her exact steps to stay hidden from some reason.
***
After travelling through the wasteland for nearly an hour, they finally got the vision of another ruined castle. Rudra's heart began to pump tremendously due to excitement of meeting his friends, but somehow he kept himself composed while thinking of what to do next if he met the other companions.
Rudra looked at Sohajan. "Hey, I have a question!"
"What do you think we should do after we met our other companions?"
Sohajan glared at Rudra before saying. "If you ask me, I would find that brat Sourav and kill him," he gritted his teeth.
"Aren't we gonna do that anyways?" Rudra replied.
"What do you want hear from me then?"
"Aah, I am asking for some advice!" Rudra said.
"Let me tell you one thing, I am not in the correct state right now to ask for any advice
"Maybe you should ask Vedna, according to me she would give you the best advices after Mayra," Sohajan said.
Rudra nodded his head as remembered Mayra, who would have already been there to guide him, but unfortunately she wasn't. Rudra looked ahead to find that they enclosed the ruined castle a lot. This was when a young warrior wearing clothes similar to Isha sneaked out from behind a stone spike. But he immediately recognized Isha.
"Miss Isha, you have finally come."
"We were for you people to arrive!" the young warrior guided everyone inside the ruined castle.
Inside the castle were a few people clad in silver armor with a seal that shimmered under the sunlight. Then there was Sohika clad in the normal Skambha clan armor, and a few more people in similar outfits as Isha. Sohika stood up as she dashed towards them and hugged Rudra, Sohajan and Vedna very tightly at once. This moment of reunion was very precious for Rudra, tears streamed down his eyes ashe felt a s relief that these people were safe.
But then, a slap landed across his face, delivered by Sohika. "Where were you?"
"I was kidnapped!"
"What? How?" Sohika exclaimed.
"I will explain it to you!" Vedna walked Sohika away while explaining everything.
Whereas the two seal warriors walked up to Rudra. "Its been a long time since the last time I saw you," The Skandha said.
"I don't remember you guys!"
"But we do!" Dharana said.
Rudra nodded as he frowned and asked. "So, What should we do now?"
The seal warriors exchanged glances before Skandha said. "Right now, you are the only one from the lineage of leader Vihaan."
"Therefore, you should be the one leading us!"
Rudra sighed as he heard this. "Umm, so why don't we devise a plan?"
"A plan?" Dharana smirked.
"Come on, let's talk!" Skandha said. "So, for a plan, we need a goal."
"What should be our goal?"
"To prioritize the safety of the leftovers from our clan.
"In my opinion, we should first find a new temporary hideout. If you know, the nearby village was recently ravaged by some mercenaries, I am damn sure they came here looking for you people."
"But we couldn't rely on that hideout for long as well, we need a new base for our clan."
"Which means we need to find a new town or city away from the reaches of Masaan."
Skandha, Dharana and everyone else heard his plan very carefully. Skandha who seemed pretty impressed said. "You plan is nice, but Masaan has its influence spread nearly all the Mahak state.
"And….," Dharana said.
"Even if we find a new town or city for our new base, there is a high probability that it would be inhabited by an already existing clan. To stand against and suppress even an ordinary clan, we need much more manpower than this."
"That is alright, but why we gather with our previous clans and start taking Masaan clan's branches in its nearby city one by one." Sohajan asked.
"Umm.. I think shouldn't do that and think about our safety first." Rudra said.
Sohajan seemed to be infuriated upon hearing this as he stood up. "What is wrong with you?"
"Our clan and city was completely devastated by the Masaan clan."
"In such a time, when we should make them payback, without letting ourselves down!"
"And you say we shouldn't."
"These words aren't coming from the Rudra I knew. You are much weaker now than before..."
As Sohika and Vedna heard Sohajan screaming, they dragged him away while explaining him to control himself. Where as Rudra just stood there while glaring at Sohajan, thinking of what he was doing was right, and at the same time, his heartbeat began to feel refreshing, filling him with . The only indication Rudra needed to believe in his plan.
Rudra looked at Skandha as he said. "He gave us a new hint– Allies!"
"Remember Dhaara clan! Our ally, we should ask them for some favor!"
Here, Sohajan kept screaming until Sohika slapped him. "Have you lost your mind after what happened?"
"In such times we should focus more on staying together by each other's side in unity instead of fighting within ourselves!"
"By saying we shouldn't do that and focus on our safety first he meant, that we should first strengthen ourselves, expand our clan, safeguard our clan's lineages, to prioritize what matters to us the most, then our revenge will be much easier yet most impactful and satisfying,"
This explanation silenced entirely as he lowered his head. Maybe even if he didn't agree with Rudra, maybe working with the plan and waiting for the right time was the right thing to do according to the situation they are in.
Vedna and Sohika left Sohajan alone while discussing suggesting some improvisation in the plan. Whereas Rudra walked to Sohajan and sat right beside, an awkward silence remained between them until Sohajan spoke up.
"I am sorry."
"I didn't realize that you too are suffering."
He passed, his eyes softening for a moment. "It's alright, you realized it – that's what matters the most." he said, though a flicker of old pain crossed his face for just a heartbeat.
"How are you able to stay calm in even such situations?" Sohajan asked.
"Uhh, maybe it's because I've been regularly meditating all these years."
"Which trained my mind to stay calm in most situations, boosting my focus and thinking capabilities."
"But sometimes, in certain situations, even I have crash outs or breakdowns. Like I had an year ago." Rudra replied.
"So, what do you do after that?"
"I….." Rudra took a pause.
"Its like an impulse for me. That motivates and drags me even after I break from inside, thinking if I didn't lose till now, I won't lose further as well, I will become the best of myself.
"stay calm and steady, and react accordingly to the situation, I can assure you that most of the things will go right," Rudra explained.
"Thanks,"
"I accept your plan. I am ready to wait, till then I will become strong enough." Sohajan clenched his fists.
"Then, we shouldn't delay anymore, " Rudra said as he stood up and gathered everyone.
That was when Rudra spotted the seal warrior involved in friendly session and got hooked. Skandha was using his spear where as Dharana fought with his sword. Both swung flashing attacks at each other while at the same time deflecting their opponent's attack. They were stuck in a stalemate until Skandha delivered a sidekick on Dharana's left knee, chasing him to lose balance for a moment.
Dharana managed to regain his posture in a split second as he darted his sword forward, barely missing Skandha's abdomen as Skandha took a step back to avoid the hit. Dharana took the opportunity as he delivered a jump kick. As the kick hit Skandha, he staggered multiple steps backwards before using his spear to support himself.
At last, Skandha and Dharana dash at each other, waving their weapons at each other, only for them to collide with a few sparks raining around for a split second. The sword and spear were stuck in the stalemate while struggling oppress each other until they were called out.
"That was a nice sparring session!" Skandha said.
"A Good warmup." Dharana replied.
As Rudra found the interesting sparring session had come to an end, he looked at Sohajan before saying, "I think we should get going now."