Royal Academy Diaries I

Dragonfly ⚜ Ch. 6

Literature was an intriguing class to Avantika. She was happy they were reviewing Indian literature, and of course in the Magic Academy, they went over a great deal more legends and myths than a traditional class might.

But she could never have guessed what Professor Killian would spend the day on.

"Good morning, class," he began, adjusting his glasses. "We have another sever myths and legends to cover today from Lady Karanjikar's home country of India."

She nodded in response, and leaned back in her seat.

The professor ran a hand through his hair. "First, we have the legend of the Curse of Talakadu."

The sorceress almost choked. She knew that city name nearly better than her own.

Professor Killian read from a small book. "Talakadu, under the sovereignty of different rulers had seven townships. Among them Malingi is-"

"May I, Professor? The legend of Talakadu is of particular interest in my family. Perhaps," she smiled, "you would fill in the information I'm missing?"

"Oh, yes of course. Please," he said.

"Raja Tirumala was the resident representative of the Vijayanagara people at Srirangapatna. He had an incurable illness, and brought his wife - Queen Alaheluamma - to Talakadu in desperate search of treatment.

"Meanwhile, the Raja Wadiyar of Mysore lusted after the land and large collection of jewels belonging to Queen Alameluamma. He was under Vijayanagara rule, but persuaded his army to plunder the town of Srirangapatna, surely with the promise of great riches.

"Unprepared, Tirumala and Alamelamma were defeated and the jewels were stolen from her palace."

Killian interjected, flipping through the pages. "Interesting, my book says that "being an ardent devotee of goddess Ranganayaki Thayyar, Alameluamma had the custody of the jewels from the temple offerings."

A light bulb went off for her, and she scrawled the name of the goddess on her notes. "Yes, that could be possible. Anyway, the crux of the matter is that the greedy ruler of Mysore, raided the land and stole the treasure of a woman who was in distress with a dying husband. 

"Very soon after, her husband did die. She was disgusted and enraged about the situation surrounding of his death - the loss of their land and treasure to a man they had trusted. Alamluamma threw what crown jewels she had brought to Talakadu into the water."

"The Cauvery," Killian added.

"Yes. Before the Queen threw herself after them to join her husband in the afterlife, she cast three curses on the Raja of Mysore: 'Talakadu maralagali, Malangi madulagali , Mysooru doregalige makkaliladehogali' - 'Let Talakadu be filled with sands, let Malangi turn into a whirlpool, and let the Rajas of Mysore be without children for eternity.'

"And sure enough, Talakadu was buried in sand, Malangi is under water, and for many generations, the rulers of Mysore have either had no children, or only daughters - forcing their power to go to others. Alamluamma's revenge - and sorrow - was complete."

The class was quiet as she finished her tale. 

All except for a kid named Leon, who was not usually impressed. "Woah," he muttered.

Professor Killian snapped the book closed. "Brilliant. Any questions?"

Avantika had ten. There was a correlation with the goddess Ranganayaki Thayyar, she remembered something from her father's notes.

The class passed in a blur as her mind tried to process what she'd learned. The moment the bell rang, she jumped up and practically ran out into the hall, nodding to the professor as she passed him.

In the hall, she almost ran into Stefan, who was almost running himself. 

"They taught it in literature!"

"Someone found a new planet!"

She stared at him in shock. "What? A new- A new planet?!" The ran a hand through her hair. "A new planet?!" she asked again incredulously.

Stefan looked over the moon. "Yes! A new star chart was released in Astronomy! We have to go over it tonight! Vanera?"

"Yes, absolutely," she nodded. "I want to know exactly what I'm looking for."

✧❈✧ 

That night, they met in the bakery to talk. Avantika arrived second, and saw the table spread with star sheets.

"Look at all of this," she grinned. "I've been waiting for this all day."

Stefan was just as excited. "I've been going over these all day. So, they're naming the new planet... Pluto."

She nodded. "Lord of the Underworld, how intriguing." Looking over the star map, she couldn't believe this hadn't been charted before. "Incredible," she murmured.

"I wonder if this could be the final piece to the puzzle," Stefan surmised. 

"Perhaps," the sorceress nodded. "The observatory is closed tonight, but fortunately I know what spell they use on the lock. And the counter spell."

"Thanks to me," he grinned, and they bumped fists again.

"Thank you for showing me this. Astronomy didn't give nearly enough time." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the cute bakery boy, and was glad she had cast a cloaking spell on herself. "You stay," she grinned. "I'll let you know if I make any more breakthroughs."

He blushed a little and nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Getting to her feet, she winked as she left. With her own copy of the star chart in her book bag and a sketched out version in her notes, she was set.

She got a cab back to the school - which were free to anyone with the RA crest. The whole way her mind tried to piece together her father's notes. 

Her hope was to find the lost city of Talakadu and the lost jewels of Queen Alamluamma.

The moment she got to the entrance, she jumped out of the car and ran inside. She ran up flight of stairs after stairs, going to the highest tower in the castle.

The sorceress went up to the observatory, which was closed for 'cleaning' (magic upkeep and recasting of enchantments). With a simple wave of her hand, the door unlocked and she slipped inside.

The telescope beckoned to her, and she climbed the steps. Looking at the familiar brass, she whispered a name it had never heard before.

"Pluto."

The gears engaged, and the telescope turned to point to a new spot in the sky.

She eagerly looked into the eyepiece, and sure enough, the lost planet's blue glow emanated from deep space. As she engaged the magic zooming in, the blue turned to red, and she could make out a blurry white patch that looked remarkably heart shaped.

She pulled out her notes, and tried to envision new constellations. Particularly a strange shape she'd seen in her father's notes - one she'd memorized purely for its oddity.

Her heart nearly stopped as she saw that Pluto did indeed fill the gap. An odd arrow was created from the shape, though there was something about it that was reminiscent of a teardrop.

And there was only one place it could point.