"Shiv! Look! It"s an messenger eagle." Aditya stretched out his hand for it. A message was attached on its feet."What does it say?" Abhinav popped behind him to see the message.
"It"s from General Dev. He says that they changed their course. They are not headed to the capital anymore, but to the wasteland in the north-west."
"Wasteland? But why?"
The trio was confused by General Dev"s message gravely.
Abhinav clapped his hands to bring back their attention.
"Then, it"s good right? We don"t have to go to the capital and moreover we don"t have to travel through the village of mist! Let"s hurry and go to the wasteland."
Shiv and Aditya nodded their heads in agreement. Shiv made them travel non-stop throughout the way until they reached the wasteland and met with General Dev.
Normally it would take 5 days to go to the wasteland from the place where they were at. But Shiv allowed no breaks along the journey and made sure to reach that place within just 3 days. He wanted to see Ira as soon as possible.
Every moment he spent apart from her felt like a decade. He wanted to hurry and see her. Her beautiful smile that warmed his entire being and illuminated his world, her graceful curly black hair that danced with the rhyme of the wind, her sweet minty scent, he missed them all.
His desire to hold her tight in his arms and never let her leave his side ever again were so strong that he endured that harsh journey.
All his waiting came to an end the moment he saw her beautiful and fair face as she was dressed gracefully in green and white clothing while walking towards to place of ritual.
His eyes were fixed on her, his desire only grew stronger the moment he met her. He couldn"t wait to pull her into his embrace. But he refrained himself from doing so as he was only allowed to see her by hiding.
If his presence was exposed, then it could create some problems not only to her but also to the people gathered at that place.
Ira was a little nervous as this was obviously her first time hosting a ritual. She was crying for Seal"s help deep within.
"What happened? Why are you so nervous? This is just a ritual. Just follow your instincts."
"Easy for you to say, but I"m still nervous. Seal help me."
"I just told you. Follow your instincts. That would do. Okay bye, I"m going to sleep."
"Wait! You traitor! Come back!!"
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After her internal strife, she took a deep breath to calm herself down.
Each step she took towards the holy Altar she strangely felt calm and collected. Her snow white hair started glowing along with her oceanic blue eyes. She looked extremely beautiful and breath-taking.
All the people present were enchanted by her beauty that they forgot their reasonings.
"Oh.. heavenly being... heed my call and bless these people with healthy and prosperous life... Let the past strife come to an end while we welcome a new and bright future..." The moment she finished saying those words, the air around her stiffened as the fire in the altar grew stronger forming an unearthly shape.
"Archi, Archi, Archi..." The spirit vanished into thin air after that.
Everyone present there were dumbstruck with what they witnessed. The elder heaved a sigh of relief as he mumbled to himself.
"She is indeed a Varma as he said. I must do whatever I can to protect her from falling into the hands of evil."
"What is this? What is happening here? Archi? Wait a minute... I am sure, I heard my grandma saying this sometime... Yes! Stories, bedtime stories! According to legend, after an altercation with a spirit, a farmer beat the spirit with his bamboo stave or archi. The spirit shouted archi, archi, archi and vanished; Archi became Rachi, and Rachi became Ranchi. Yes, the capital of Jharkhand, Ranchi.... But why do I feel like the happenings now is totally different from what grandma told me? Did I change the course of history or something like that?"
Ira was in a deep thought that she forgot her surroundings. The people were cheering for her loudly.
"Is she a divine priestess? Did she summon a heavenly spirit? Wah! So amazing!"
The people started to question her ident.i.ty.The elder tried to distract the crowd"s attention.
"Listen, everyone listen. The ritual has been successfully done. The only thing that"s left is to name our village. But just now the holy spirit named it for us. It is indeed an auspicious day today. Let"s have my granddaughter name it again and let"s start with our grand opening of our trade spot. My child, Ira. Do you hear me?"
Ira was pulled back to reality, by the elder. She nodded her head in confusion. The elder softly whispered to her, "The naming..."
"Ah... right! The name of the village! Yes, just like the elder said, the holy spirit gave us a wonderful name. Archi. From now on, this village will go by the name Archi!"
The tremendous cheer of the crowd echoed every nook and cranny of the village. Shiv and his group who were in hiding were all amazed at what they witnessed.
"Shiv, this is not good... If her ident.i.ty is exposed because of this, she will likely become the target of many. We should get her back soon..." Shiv completely understood Aditya"s words and it indeed concerned him.
Ira was putting herself in more danger while she helps them. He couldn"t help but feel concerned.
As per Shiv"s order, General Dev successfully snuck into the village of Archi. Their aim was to bring her back without causing any commotion.
"Elder, is she a divine priestess or something."
"Yes-yes, she summoned an holy spirit out of fire."
"Yes elder, they are correct!"
The people started guessing her ident.i.ty. But the elder didn"t give up. He strongly opposed them and protected her.
"What are you all saying? Can"t you see that she is just a little girl? How could she be someone divine? My granddaughter is just a lucky little brat, I tell you. Don"t think too much! Are you all planning to stay here and discuss instead of working?"
"Right, work! Let"s start our business!"
The people dispersed and went back to their positions. The hosting of ritual, naming the village and the grand opening of the trade spot everything was a huge success.
The village was bustling with all sorts of people. It was lively. The business was booming just as she expected.
Dev tired to spot Ira among the crowd. She was being surrounded by a lot of people and above all it looked like the elder of the village was being so protective of her.