The sun had barely risen when the forest screamed.
Steel met steel among the trees as the first skirmish erupted—Magadha scouts ambushed on Kalinga's outer border, a narrow path known as the Blood Woods. The name came from the war long past, but today, it would earn its title again.
Ashvath led the vanguard, Sita at his flank, blades drawn, eyes sharp.
"AMBUSH!" came the cry. But Ashvath was already moving.
---
The Skirmish Begins
Arrows flew. Smoke bombs cracked. Kalingan soldiers, dressed in black and crimson, rose from the underbrush like demons.
Ashvath's sword sang through one neck, spun to parry a spear, then swept clean another.
Sita ducked and rolled, slashing a leg and spinning behind a tree. "They're not ordinary soldiers!" she called.
"I know," Ashvath growled. "They've been trained. Like me."
He spun—and then froze.
Across the clearing, walking calmly as fire bloomed behind her, was Mokshara.
---
First Encounter
She wore no armor. Her robes flowed like smoke. Her hair was unbound. Her eyes—amber, wild—fixed on Ashvath.
"So," she said, voice calm beneath chaos, "the loyal dog leads the hunt."
Ashvath stepped forward, blade low. "Mokshara."
"I watched you as a boy," she said, circling him, blades yet sheathed. "You moved like shadow. Like something ancient. You were born to rule beside Ashoka... or over him."
"I was born to protect peace," he replied. "And I'll die doing it."
Mokshara smiled, tragic and cold. "Then you'll die soon."
She drew twin daggers—curved, black, kissed with poison.
Their blades met in a whirl of sparks.
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Ashvath vs. Mokshara
She was faster than he remembered. She struck like a whisper, vanished like mist. Ashvath blocked high, dodged low, but she danced around him.
"You fight for a king who doubts you," she hissed between strikes.
"I fight for what's right."
"You fight to be seen," she snarled. "To matter."
He caught her arm—flung her back.
"I matter to the people I protect."
But her foot hit his gut—he fell back. Blood in his mouth.
She stood over him, dagger raised.
"Then protect them. With your death."
---
Sita's Arrow
A single arrow hissed through the air—slammed into Mokshara's shoulder.
She screamed and vanished in smoke.
Ashvath coughed, pulled himself up.
Sita ran to him. "Are you—?"
"I'm fine," he gasped. "She wanted to test me. Not kill me. Not yet."
He stared at the spot where Mokshara vanished.
"She's not here for Kalinga. She's here for something bigger."
---
Meanwhile: Ashoka's Realization
Back at camp, Ashoka studied old scrolls from Jain sages, ones predicting war and betrayal.
He paused on a line, heart heavy.
> And from the shadow of the lion will rise another lion, who wears no crown, yet holds the fate of kings.
He looked toward the woods where Ashvath fought.
And he whispered, "Brother, are you my sword—or my end?"
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End of Chapter 12