"Yes."
Shakuni smiled. "I received the invitation at Gandhara, so yes. I will be there."
Duryodhana's expression relaxed. "Good. I will feel more assured if you are on my side."
Shakuni's smile remained, but he shook his head. "I will certainly be on your side, nephew. But we cannot travel together."
Duryodhana looked puzzled. "Why?"
"Because there are two people whose utmost trust you must gain."
Shakuni raised one finger.
"First, Mahamahim Bhishma."
Then another.
"Second, Karna."
His expression became serious.
"Especially Karna."
Duryodhana listened.
"You have already seen how quickly people's opinions of you changed after you governed Bhagirathi Pradesh without me. Bhishma noticed it. The court noticed it. The people noticed it. You must continue that."
He stepped closer.
"As for Karna, you must understand what kind of man he is."
Duryodhana's eyes narrowed.
Shakuni continued, "Everyone calls him righteous. Everyone says he follows Dharma. Everyone says he does what is right. But look at the kingdoms standing beside Dakshina Kalinga."
He began counting them.
"Hastinapur, even though we are not formal allies. Magadha. Kashi. Mathura. Dvaraka. Uttara Kalinga. And now Dakshina Panchala."
He looked at Duryodhana.
"He has some of the most prosperous and powerful kingdoms of Bharatvarsha connected to him."
Shakuni gave a small, humorless laugh. "Kuru and Magadha are enemies, yet both support Karna."
Dushasana and Duryodhana remained silent.
"Do you understand what that means?" Shakuni asked. "He has managed to maintain relationships even between kingdoms that cannot stand one another. That is not merely righteousness. That is influence."
He lowered his voice.
"Look at what happened to me."
Duryodhana's expression hardened.
"You were forced away from your own home, and I was thrown away from my sister's house, all in the name of justice." Shakuni's fingers tightened. "He does not need to threaten kingdoms. He makes them believe that following him is the righteous thing to do."
Dushasana finally scratched his head. "Uncle, I don't understand."
Shakuni looked toward him.
"On one hand, you praise Karna and say we need him. On the other, you speak about him as though he is dangerous. Is he our friend or our enemy?"
Shakuni laughed. "My nephew... Karna is not our enemy."
He looked at Duryodhana.
"Certainly not. We cannot afford to make an enemy of him. If anything, we should do everything possible to remain on his good side."
His expression then became colder.
"But do not mistake that for friendship."
Duryodhana listened carefully.
"Even though he is your brother-in-law, Karna cannot be treated like an ordinary friend. He is different from Yudhishthira."
"How?"
"Yudhishthira follows Dharma because he believes Dharma is the right path. And Dharma is his pride, and he is under the control of Dharma. You control Dharma, you control Yudhishthira..."
Shakuni's eyes narrowed.
"However, Karna uses Dharma and justice as a medium… as an excuse... to do whatever he wants."
Duryodhana remained silent.
"He uses them to advance what he believes should happen. That makes him extremely difficult to deceive. You cannot easily trap a man like Karna by appealing to Kshatriya Dharma, because he will simply decide for himself what Dharma demands."
Shakuni shook his head.
"And once he reaches a conclusion, very few people can make him change it."
He paused.
"The only way to bind such a man is through relationships."
Duryodhana understood. "And we already have one."
"Dushala," Shakuni said.
His nephew nodded.
"Exactly. Your sister is married to him. That relationship already gives us something."
Shakuni placed his hand upon Duryodhana's shoulder.
"And now look at you."
He smiled.
"You are Crown Prince."
Duryodhana's eyes brightened. "Karna indirectly made it possible."
"Yes." Shakuni's smile became calculating. "Which means the next step is obvious."
He turned toward Duryodhana.
"We must tighten that relationship until Karna finds it impossible to stand against you."
Duryodhana remained thoughtful.
Shakuni continued, "First, discover Karna's intentions. Find out exactly why he made Draupadi his sister."
He raised another finger.
"Then discover the exact nature of their relationship."
"What do you mean?"
"Were they merely brother and sister in name because of the ritual? Or is he emotionally closer to her as well? Even if she becomes your wife, can you use that as your advantage to manipulate Karna?"
Duryodhana understood immediately.
"If Princess Draupadi is truly close to Karna as a sister," Shakuni said, "then winning her hand becomes extremely important."
Duryodhana frowned.
"And what if Draupadi doesn't choose me?"
For a moment, Shakuni said nothing.
Then a quiet, unsettling laugh escaped him.
He patted Duryodhana's shoulder.
"Do not worry about that, my nephew."
His eyes gleamed.
"This Shakuni always has another plan behind every plan."
***
A few weeks later, Kampilya had begun to look less like a capital preparing for a festival and more like the center of Bharatvarsha itself.
Guests were arriving almost every day.
Royal caravans entered through the city gates carrying the banners of distant kingdoms, accompanied by soldiers, ministers, attendants and servants. Temporary residences had been prepared within and around the palace complex, while the streets remained crowded with merchants hoping to profit from the sudden arrival of wealthy visitors. The palace servants had barely finished preparing one set of chambers before another delegation arrived, and the sound of horses, chariots and elephants had become an almost constant presence around the royal quarters.
Inside the palace, however, Draupadi had found a quieter way to occupy herself.
She sat with Subhadra, Karna's young queen whom he had brought with him at her wishes, in one of the inner chambers.
Before them lay a collection of clay figurines.
The palace maids had made them according to descriptions and information gathered about the kings and princes arriving for the Swayamvara. Some were crude, some surprisingly detailed, but each was recognizable enough to give Draupadi and Subhadra an idea of what the important guests looked like.
Subhadra picked up one of the figurines.
It represented a heavily built warrior, with broad shoulders, thick arms, and a powerful physique.
"This is Duryodhana," she said. "Hastinapur's Crown Prince."
Draupadi glanced at the figurine.
Subhadra continued, "People speak quite highly of his physical strength. They say he has the strength of a thousand elephants, is extremely difficult to defeat in mace combat, a great administrator, and a great warrior."
She turned the little clay figure slightly.
"Three months ago, he even fought against the Rakshasa tribe near Bogatgram and freed the villagers who had been taken captive."
Draupadi nodded politely.
"Is that so?"
There was little excitement in her voice.
Subhadra noticed.
She placed Duryodhana's figurine down and picked up another.
"This one is Crown Prince Ayush of Kashgira."
Draupadi looked at the new figure.
"Kashgira?"
"Yes. A kingdom in the Himalayas."
Subhadra's expression became more interested.
"They are usually extremely isolated. They hardly trade with other kingdoms, and their people rarely travel outside the mountains. Apparently, this is the first time their royal family has come down from the Himalayas for an event like this."
Draupadi listened.
"And their Crown Prince is rather unusual." She raised the figurine slightly. "Prince Ayush is not actually the biological son of the present King."
Draupadi's eyebrows lifted.
Subhadra continued explaining. "He was born from an unusual union between an Asura princess and Maharshi Manikanta."
"An Asura princess?"