As Rama and Luka trudged onward through the wastelands, Rama began to despair of ever finding Sita again. It had been so many months, and she could not think of anyone who had survived for so long in a Ravager den. Luka, however, remained optimistic and encouraged her sister to keep fighting.
As the days began to feel longer and longer, Rama and Luka traveled further from the forest where they had been sent to train and prove themselves for 14 years. One day, they were traveling by a lake, one of the cleanest bodies of water they had seen in some time, and they stopped to fill their water skins. While they were stopped, a well-built, tall woman emerged from a well-concealed den in a nearby hill and addressed them from a distance.
The woman introduced herself as Hanna and demanded answers as to why they were wandering this infested area in the garbs of the Order. “They don’t usually come out this far,” Hanna elaborated, searching for a reason why these two girls would be so far from the Order’s base. Rama and Luka were shocked at these queries – they were well outside of Danaia district by this time, and these questions made no sense.
The two explained as much to Hanna and inquired as to the status of the Order’s base and outposts in this district. The air seemed to grow heavy as Hanna became quiet and forlorn, casting her eyes downward and informing them of the district’s state.
Hanna explained that the district had been undergoing a violent power struggle for the position of director. A woman named Val, the original director, had gone off on a mission to aid some agents in clearing a Ravager den out of a series of caves that had grown too close to some local villages, leaving Sugriva in charge in the interim.
When Val failed to return from her mission for almost a year, Sugriva assumed total control and ordered the entrance to the den demolished for fear that the Ravagers were still hiding down there, waiting for an opportunity to attack. When Val returned to the entrance three months later, she took Sugriva’s actions as insubordination and a grave insult to her ability.
After months more of digging, Val made her way out of the cave system with her party and refused to hear Sugriva’s explanation. She drove Sugriva from the director’s seat and from the base, chasing her until she, Hanna, and a small set of forces still loyal to her managed to hide in these hills.
Hanna continued on, saying that the help of operatives from another district to take down Val may be exactly what Sugriva needed in order to wrest power back and keep the loyalty of the agents in her base. Their help would lend extra validity to the cause, especially in the light of how important Luka and Rama were back home. She enticed them further by hinting at the fact that, given their help, Sugriva would most likely be willing to deploy a set of forces to aid Rama and Luka in hunting down Sita and rescuing her from the Ravagers.
At this, Rama leapt forward, grabbing Hanna’s arms in a sort of eager desperation and immediately told Hanna to lead them to Sugriva so that they could work out the details of this deal. Luka, meanwhile, seemed skeptical of this woman who looked like some sort of bandit and the offer she suggested.
That evening, after setting camp, Luka went to Rama with her concerns and attempted to persuade her that the position of director here did not even seem to belong to this Sugriva character and that perhaps they could persuade Val to help them in their efforts to find Sita. Rama rebuffed her and sharply shut her sister down. In the dark night air, her words came out as a threatening hiss. “This is the most help we’ve been offered so far, and I’m not about to jeopardize Sita’s life further just because YOU’RE vaguely uncertain. That’s not fair to her.”
Luka saw the terror and fear bordering on madness in her sister’s eyes and let her be. This was not the right way to save Sita, but she would quiet her conscious on this matter to save Rama’s sanity, and the next day they went to meet Sugriva.
As the days began to feel longer and longer, Rama and Luka traveled further from the forest where they had been sent to train and prove themselves for 14 years. One day, they were traveling by a lake, one of the cleanest bodies of water they had seen in some time, and they stopped to fill their water skins. While they were stopped, a well-built, tall woman emerged from a well-concealed den in a nearby hill and addressed them from a distance.
The woman introduced herself as Hanna and demanded answers as to why they were wandering this infested area in the garbs of the Order. “They don’t usually come out this far,” Hanna elaborated, searching for a reason why these two girls would be so far from the Order’s base. Rama and Luka were shocked at these queries – they were well outside of Danaia district by this time, and these questions made no sense.
The two explained as much to Hanna and inquired as to the status of the Order’s base and outposts in this district. The air seemed to grow heavy as Hanna became quiet and forlorn, casting her eyes downward and informing them of the district’s state.
Hanna explained that the district had been undergoing a violent power struggle for the position of director. A woman named Val, the original director, had gone off on a mission to aid some agents in clearing a Ravager den out of a series of caves that had grown too close to some local villages, leaving Sugriva in charge in the interim.
When Val failed to return from her mission for almost a year, Sugriva assumed total control and ordered the entrance to the den demolished for fear that the Ravagers were still hiding down there, waiting for an opportunity to attack. When Val returned to the entrance three months later, she took Sugriva’s actions as insubordination and a grave insult to her ability.
After months more of digging, Val made her way out of the cave system with her party and refused to hear Sugriva’s explanation. She drove Sugriva from the director’s seat and from the base, chasing her until she, Hanna, and a small set of forces still loyal to her managed to hide in these hills.
Hanna continued on, saying that the help of operatives from another district to take down Val may be exactly what Sugriva needed in order to wrest power back and keep the loyalty of the agents in her base. Their help would lend extra validity to the cause, especially in the light of how important Luka and Rama were back home. She enticed them further by hinting at the fact that, given their help, Sugriva would most likely be willing to deploy a set of forces to aid Rama and Luka in hunting down Sita and rescuing her from the Ravagers.
At this, Rama leapt forward, grabbing Hanna’s arms in a sort of eager desperation and immediately told Hanna to lead them to Sugriva so that they could work out the details of this deal. Luka, meanwhile, seemed skeptical of this woman who looked like some sort of bandit and the offer she suggested.
That evening, after setting camp, Luka went to Rama with her concerns and attempted to persuade her that the position of director here did not even seem to belong to this Sugriva character and that perhaps they could persuade Val to help them in their efforts to find Sita. Rama rebuffed her and sharply shut her sister down. In the dark night air, her words came out as a threatening hiss. “This is the most help we’ve been offered so far, and I’m not about to jeopardize Sita’s life further just because YOU’RE vaguely uncertain. That’s not fair to her.”
Luka saw the terror and fear bordering on madness in her sister’s eyes and let her be. This was not the right way to save Sita, but she would quiet her conscious on this matter to save Rama’s sanity, and the next day they went to meet Sugriva.
Author's Note
I chose to take on these stories because I wanted to highlight how desperate Rama gets in regard to Sita. He really doesn't think straight even when Lakshmana does. I also felt that I wanted to make it clear that I don't think Sugriva ever really had a claim to the throne and Rama's business with him seemed more shady than it was originally written. I think that Lakshmana should have noticed that, and so, in my story he did.
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