Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

For the past few months, Aziz and his master—the leader of the group controlled by that man. He was even scared to utter his name. They have been travelling for a mission. During this time, Aziz was being trained as part of the group. He learned the use of different weapons, disguises, and communication.

Communication was the odd one out of the training session. He didn't know the use of it. The more he learned, the better understanding he got of the communication part.

This was necessary to gather information and better the disguises. Good communication skills can enhance the information gathering and also lower the susceptibility of the disguises.

Throughout months, Aziz travelled through various places like the Amir Sultanate and parts of the Mughal Empire. His master was the forefront of the mission so he did most of the work while Aziz was just left with some laid jobs.

The main objective was information gathering and sharing.

'I wonder who they are sending this information to.'

He was yet to meet the so-called "lazy- guy."

"Master, what is our mission about?" Aziz asked with a curious look. He held his curiosity back for a long time.

His master, wearing a disguise of a trader. "Why do you want to know?"

"I am curious; we have been gathering random information so far." Aziz explained. "Temple situations, people's hardships and other things."

"We have not gathered any military or rebel intel." He claimed.

"The Liege is the one planning. We are just pawns in his elaborate plan." His master said sternly. "Act and behave like pawns; do as you have been told."

"But I have been with you all this time, and yet I know nothing about Master's face, name, or the group." Aziz complained. "I have proved myself multiple times."

"Yet, you never give me any information about the group nor the mission." He said. "At least tell me something."

He sighed and walked into the inn. "Fine, follow me. I suppose it's time."

They both moved to a private place to talk about the group structure.

"I can't go too deep. I can give you some ideas about the group workings."

"It's fine." Aziz said curiously, his eyes gleaming with energy,

"Our group is known as Trishul." He said.

"The weapon of Lord Shiva? I have heard about it from a priest." Aziz exclaimed.

"Yes…."

"Like the Trishul, the main parts of the group are mainly divided into 3."

Aziz listened intently.

"Creation that is me, Preservation that is our Liege and lastly Destruction is the one we are sending the information to."

"Oh... I see. So you are one of the main leaders?" Aziz asked. "That's why your clothes are different."
Find exclusive stories on empire

"Liege is the ultimate in the end." His master said with a faint smile. "His orders are absolute for everyone."

"Hmm…"

"Anyway, moving on. The group's main force comes under me." He explained. "There are five people under me, the strongest of the group—soon to be six."

"You are one of the candidates for the sixth position, Aziz."

"Really?"

"Yes, that's why I am tasked with training you."

"When can I meet them?"

"Soon, if you are moving at this pace."

Aziz sighed and leaned back. He got a vague idea about the group. The five people under Master's command were strong and Aziz knew something about strong people. They tend to be eccentric most of the time.

The targets of the mission were the Mughal and Amir; there was a huge plan in place for this mission. The first impression of the Liege was scary and the man seemed to be ruthless and calculating.

Aziz could barely breathe in his presence, a suffocating and cold presence. His master also praised the Liege a lot. This got Aziz wondering what the man was planning on such a large scale to be gathering little information like ritual timings and trade routes.

His master told him that the Liege was supposed to be a bit older than himself. Aziz couldn't help but think of the monstrous talent in that man. Yet he didn't know a thing about the man.

'Do they have a thing for keeping everything in the dark?'

This made him remember another instance. It was from the Vijayanagara Empire during the Civil war. It was well established that either the first or the second prince would be the eventual victor in the war.

No one expected the Fourth Prince to ascend the throne despite being the dead-last candidate with little to no influence under his wing.

That was a display of monstrous talent.

Although most of the subcontinental leaders downplayed his achievement at that time. They have come to realize it wasn't a fluke with the recent annexation of the Qutb Sultanate.

During the information-gathering stint at the Amir Sultanate. He found that several kingdoms were worried about the Emperor of Vijayanagara's aggressive annexation of the Qutbs.

It was so quick and caught many off guard.

They quickly realized the true nature and the threat that the Emperor posed to their kingdoms.

Talks for an alliance were going around to protect themselves from the aggression of the Empire. From the task's given to Aziz, he could infer a bit about the real intention behind the mission.

The Amir Sultanate held a lot of power through it's merchants. It was almost a nightmare to go against them with a lot of the wealth focused in that place. Declaring war or attacking them meant the violation of the merchant that focused their wealth and administration in the kingdom.

It would give birth to the merchants, endlessly supplying arms and men to the Amir Sultanate. The unstable Amir Sultanate would cripple most of the administration, trade, and commerce of the nearby kingdoms, including the Mughal Empire.

What Aziz couldn't picture was—In a politically unstable landscape like the Subcontinent. The goal of the Liege succeeding.

Yet, his master didn't have a tinge of doubt in his liege.

He thought. 'I really can't picture it…'