Power built on greed will one day devour you alive...
On a small hill facing the sea stood the largest building on Lingga Island—the residence and office of the Regent of Lingga. There, Rakai Saloka stood.
Inside the room, his elder brother Yudha Saloka sat in the regent's large wooden chair.
"So you've decided to leave?" Yudha began.
"I decided the moment our father never returned," Rakai replied.
Yudha stared at him for a long time.
"You still believe his death was unnatural?"
Rakai gave a faint smile, one without joy.
"The report you received was too neat. Too suspicious."
"Neat doesn't mean fake."
"Precisely because it's too neat, it feels like something is being hidden."
Silence fell again.
The wind blew harder, gently fluttering Yudha's robe.
"Rakai," Yudha's voice softened, "Father fell in battle against the Chola fleet north of the strait. His ship burned. Many witnesses saw it."
"Many witnesses?" Rakai repeated quietly. "Yet no body?"
Yudha sighed.
"You know how sea battles are. Fire, waves, storms. Many bodies are never found."
"True. But strangely, every officer who was with Father also 'disappeared.' Not one survived to give direct testimony."
"The report came from Srivijaya."
"Exactly."
Their gazes met.
That name always carried weight.
Srivijaya.
The vast, powerful maritime empire… full of secrets.
Yudha stood and walked closer to his brother.
"What are you really after, Rakai? The truth? Or an excuse to leave?"
Rakai fell silent.
The question pierced his chest.
"I want to know why Father sailed with a small fleet when he was the supreme admiral. Why he didn't take the main Srivijaya ships. Why the order came so suddenly. And why, right after his death, Srivijaya immediately sent envoys to 'help' manage our trade routes."
Yudha tensed.
"Is that your accusation?"
"Not yet. Just suspicion."
"And Mother?" Yudha's voice dropped. "Do you suspect her death too?"
The question cut sharper than any blade.
Rakai closed his eyes briefly.
Their mother, Tri Tungga Dewi, died six months after news of Jayavisna Saloka's death arrived.
No wounds. No clear signs of illness.
The physician only said: her heart was weak.
But Rakai remembered that night.
Mother sat in the back room, clutching a sealed letter from Srivijaya that had just arrived. Her face pale. Her lips trembling. She whispered softly:
"It can't be… it can't be done this way…"
The next morning, she was found lifeless.
"Do you think Mother died of illness?" Rakai asked quietly.
Yudha didn't answer.
Rakai continued, "She was strong. Even after Father 'fell,' she still led port meetings, managed taxes, smiled at the people. But after reading that letter…"
"It was just a condolence letter," Yudha said.
"Did you read the whole thing?"
Yudha was silent.
"I wasn't authorized to break the royal seal," he answered softly.
"Even though you're the eldest son of Admiral Saloka."
"And now I'm Regent of Lingga. I must know my limits."
Rakai stared at his brother for a long time. Exhaustion filled Yudha's eyes—not just from governing, but from holding something back.
"Brother," Rakai said more gently, "you know something."
Yudha turned his face away.
"Some things… are safer left buried."
"For whose sake?"
"Ours. Lingga's."
Rakai gave a small, bitter laugh.
"Lingga has already lost Father and Mother. What else is there to lose?"
"You, my little brother."
The words hung in the air.
Yudha gripped Rakai's shoulder.
"I don't want to lose you too."
"I'm not leaving to die, Kak."
"Everyone who chases big secrets says that."
Rakai looked out at the sea again.
"I don't want to live only as Father's shadow. I want to know who we're really facing. If Srivijaya is truly an ally, why do so many of their policies feel like pressure? If they're not the enemy, why did the empire stay silent when Father was gone?"
Yudha walked to the edge of the veranda, gazing at the anchored ships.
"What do you want to become, Rakai?"
"Master of the seas."
Yudha gave a faint smile.
"Big ambition."
"Not just ambition. I want Lingga to depend on no one. Our own fleet. Trade routes no one can choke. And to know who's pulling strings behind the scenes."
"You'll become a pirate?"
Rakai raised an eyebrow.
"Pirate is just the name for those who refuse to be ruled."
"Answer me."
Rakai met his brother's eyes directly.
"I will build my own fleet. With or without Srivijaya's blessing."
Yudha let out a long sigh.
"If you step out of Lingga with that goal, you'll no longer be just the admiral's son. You'll be seen as a threat."
"A threat to whom?"
"To power. You know that."
Silence returned.
In the distance, seagulls cried.
"I can't stop you. And I know if I forbid you, you'll still go."
Rakai smiled.
"You always knew me best."
"Of course."
Yudha stepped inside, then returned with a wooden chest. He placed it on the table between them.
"This belonged to Father."
Rakai stiffened.
Yudha opened it.
Inside lay an old sea chart, some navigation notes, and two long swords engraved with suns, the Saloka family emblem.
"Father kept them separate from official documents. These swords and the map were his."
Rakai took the swords.
"Why give them to me only now?"
"Because now you've chosen the same path he did."
Rakai unfolded the map. Clear sailing routes were drawn. Several red crosses marked certain points.
"What are these?"
"I don't know. They're not official trade routes. Looks like Father drew them himself."
Rakai noticed one point to the north.
"A rarely used strait…"
"Yes."
"And this," Rakai pointed to small handwriting on the edge, "'Do not trust envoys who arrive before the dark moon.'"
Yudha stared at the writing.
"I never saw that part."
"You never opened this chest?"
"I… was afraid."
Rakai looked at his brother.
For the first time, he saw Yudha not as Regent, not as heir to Lingga, but as an older brother who had also lost both parents.
"Brother," Rakai said softly, "you're not to blame."
Yudha gave a small laugh. "As your elder, I should have protected you. Instead you're the braver one."
Rakai remembered their childhood.
Father was rarely home, always at sea. Mother was steadfast, hiding her worries behind smiles. Yudha studied statecraft and diplomacy. And Rakai? He spent his days at the harbor, training with sailors, learning to read wind and waves.
"I'll come back," Rakai said.
"When?"
"When I know the truth."
"That's not an answer."
"Because I don't know how long it will take."
Yudha looked at his brother for a long time, then hugged him.
The embrace was firm. Not sentimental. But full of meaning.
"If you find anything about Father… about Mother… send word. I'll search too."
"I will."
"And if you're in danger…"
Rakai smiled faintly. "I'm always in danger."
Yudha lightly punched his shoulder. "Don't joke, idiot."
"Haha, sorry."
They shared a brief laugh, strange after so long in a house filled with grief.
From afar came the shouts of dock workers.
"How many are going with you?" Yudha asked.
"None yet."
"Truly an idiot."
"I'll find them later. Loyal ones."
"Loyal to what?"
"To a dream that hasn't taken shape yet."
Yudha nodded slowly and smiled.
"Rakai."
"Yes?"
"If it turns out Father truly fell honorably… if all your suspicions are wrong… what will you do?"
Rakai was silent for a long moment.
"Then I'll still build my fleet."
"Why?"
"Because the world doesn't stop turning just because one truth is revealed. Lingga must become stronger."
Yudha gave a faint smile.
"You really are Father's son."
"And Mother's son."
The wind blew again.
"I'm not leaving to rebel, Kak. I'm leaving to understand."
"May the world never force you to choose the wrong side."