Not so Shalya. Looking deeply troubled by the bargain, he said, ‘Your Grace, the Syamantaka! I apologize for the Greek. I didn’t know he was going to ask for that. It is too steep a price, even for his support.’

‘What’s a Syamantaka I have never beheld, to the storm that has wreaked havoc in my life?’ Jarasandh asked, his voice strangled by memories. ‘No, I need Kalyavan. Krishna is the kind of fire you don’t throw water on. You suck the air out of the room and watch him fade. Kalyavan’s blazebane and his attack from the North-West, will choke off the Mathuran supply lines.’

Ah, blazebane...that’s why he is called Firelord. That was his real contribution, apart from his charming personality. Fire that could not be extinguished by water. Fire that pierced armour and spread on the slightest breeze. It was said the blue flames of blazebane had been given to Mortals by the Gods for the war against the Daevas, but it seems only the Greeks had been wise enough to take notes.

But Shalya wasn’t done. ‘I still seek forgiveness on Kalyavan’s behalf, for both his demeanour and his demands. I regret I must entertain him for the next week. My treasury will be half empty by the end of the ordeal.’

Jarasandh, however, was in a pensive frame of mind. ‘Haughty, reckless, and full of empty chivalry. But not without honour. Not yet. I felt I was talking to myself; a younger version of me,’ he admitted sadly. ‘A green boy, more like to be brave than wise. But arrogance is a poison... it seeps into your soul when you have never been undefeated, even at such a young age. Every man should lose a battle in youth to stay alive in wars when old, eh Shishupal? Don’t you agree?’

If this was all he was going to be asked to lend his expertise to, he was glad. ‘Indeed, Your Grace.’

‘Now Shishupal, you must be wondering why I brought you here, away from the shadows of anonymity you prefer, unlike your brother. Where, by the way, is Dantavakra?’

Probably seducing the daughters of your important nobles. ‘Preparing for the Tournament no doubt, Your Grace.’

‘Many wagers on him, I hear,’ Lady Rasha added.

Not mine. ‘We must hope he brings them fortune.’

‘You have heard of this swayamvar of the Panchalan Princess. What’s her name?’

‘Draupadi, Your Grace,’ Lady Rasha answered. ‘I hear all sorts of Vedan heroes are going there to participate. The winner will receive a handsome dowry, no doubt. Chedi could use some dowry.’