Vyas smiled, then suddenly stopped and peered into Nala’s face. ‘Nala, you….’ His eyes twinkled as if he had uncovered something mischievous. Nala felt as naked as a newborn. Does he know? He looked away from that searching gaze. ‘You are different from the other boys, aren’t you?’ Vyas remarked with a wry smile.

‘Aye, Acharya. He is a Valka, if you believe it.’

‘Quite so.’ There was an unsurprised look on Vyas’ face. ‘But Vachans are different.’ His eyes never left Nala as he continued, ‘They are ritualistically invoked, and difficult to ordain, even by a trained Namin. A Vachan wraps a chain around your soul. Imagine having to do all of Acharya Irum’s drills with a huge boulder on your back.’ Nala could only hope Acharya Irum was not eavesdropping on this conversation. Wouldn’t want him getting any ideas.

‘You will be tired for a few days, yes, but it will make you stronger over time. However, if the chain holding the boulder breaks, the boulder will crush your back. Likewise, break a Vachan and it will burn you to cinders. It is notoriously difficult to ordain a Vachan, and many well-meaning Namins have burned to death while administering one. That is why Vachans have been banned across the realm, except with the approval of the Saptarishis.’

An ominous silence followed Vyas’ words.

‘Mandalas, on the other hand, well, they…hmmm,’ Vyas scratched his beard, ‘they require atman in the way a lock requires a key. The more complex Mandalas don’t use atman in any destructive way, like Vachans or Shraps, but connect with the atman of the world. Now tell me, what is the atman of the world?’

‘The Elementals,’ the boys chorused, happy to have the answer.

‘I see that you have been reading attentively. Good. Yes, it connects us to the Elementals, or N’yen Valren, as the Daevas called it in the Old Tongue. It allowed us to use and mould them as we see fit. Show me the book you are reading, Nala.’ Nala handed over the hefty volume with two hands. Vyas was instantly distracted by the book. ‘Ah, I thought we had lost this one to the Rose Coterie.’

‘Beg your pardon, Acharya? Rose Coterie?’

‘A vigilante group, book thieves, criminals of the highest order! Ignore them. I see you are studying the basic Mandalas. Yes, I remember when I too, studied them with relish. I still remember a few by heart. The design is crucial, Nala.’

Acharya Vyas raised his rosary-wrapped wrist and stabbed the air with one finger. The air suddenly bled white light, leaving a fiery trail as he moved his arm in a circle. Varcin sprang back and bounced off his stool, crashing into a bookshelf. Nala gasped as he shielded his face with his hands, peeping at the beaming circle between his palms. Vyas’s fingers moved as if he were painting a mural.