Chapter 427 - 395: Discussion Ends... Sneaks In...

(A/N):

Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.

-------------------------------------------------

Karna finally leaned forward, his expression hardening slightly as he addressed the Vrishabhapura delegation.

"There must also be a clear distinction between defeating a warrior and taking revenge upon him after he can no longer defend himself. Once a man has fallen and is incapable of continuing the fight, striking him down merely to satisfy anger serves no military purpose."

"It is not strength to kill someone who can no longer resist. It is simply the abuse of an advantage that has already been won."

One of the opposing commanders appeared ready to challenge him, but the senior representative beside him raised a hand, signalling that he would not contest the point.

"We accept that principle. However, no warrior should be expected to ignore an immediate threat merely because the man posing it has fallen. The battlefield will not always permit a commander to examine every circumstance before making a decision."

"That is precisely why we are establishing principles rather than attempting to predict every possible situation,"

Bhishma replied.

"A commander must exercise judgement, but judgement cannot become a convenient word for cruelty."

The discussion continued for several hours.

They addressed the treatment of wounded soldiers, the retrieval of fallen warriors, the protection of camp followers and medical attendants, and the prohibition against deliberately attacking those who had come to the battlefield without participating in combat.

Healers would be permitted to move among the wounded when circumstances allowed, and neither army would deliberately target those whose purpose was to treat the injured rather than fight.

Soldiers who had been captured would be held under guard instead of being tortured for information, while the bodies of the dead would be returned to their respective sides whenever the conditions on the battlefield permitted it.

Not every proposal received immediate approval.

The Vrishabhapura commanders questioned whether certain protections could be maintained once their formations became entangled with those of the alliance, while several allied representatives insisted that a rule had little value if it could be abandoned whenever it became inconvenient.

Yet, despite their disagreements, neither side wanted the other to gain an excuse to accuse it of violating the agreed conditions before the war had properly begun.

The commanders therefore took care to distinguish between deliberate violations and the confusion that could arise during the chaos of battle.

At last, the discussion returned to the matter that would govern every day of the coming conflict: the setting of the sun.

"The armies will assemble in their appointed formations after sunrise,"

the senior Vrishabhapura commander declared, reviewing the terms they had agreed upon.

"The first signal shall mark the beginning of the day’s battle. At sunset, the signal to withdraw shall be sounded, and both sides must cease offensive action. No commander shall order his soldiers to continue fighting simply because victory appears close at hand."

"If the enemy has not been defeated by sunset, the contest will resume on the following day, provided both armies remain willing and able to continue."

"And the rule applies equally to both sides,"

Ashwatthama added, his gaze fixed upon the opposite delegation.

"If our army is advancing when the sun sets, we will withdraw. If yours is advancing, you will do the same. Neither side may claim that the momentum of battle grants it permission to ignore the appointed hour."

The senior commander met his stare.

"Vrishabhapura accepts that condition."

"Then let it be recorded,"

Shakuni’s representative said, placing the written terms before the assembled commanders.

"Let every army receive the same instructions, so that no soldier can later claim that his commander told him something different."

The agreement was read aloud once more, and each delegation formally acknowledged the conditions.

Seals were pressed into the document, and copies were prepared for the commanding officers of both armies.

Messengers would carry the rules through the camps before the following day’s sunrise, ensuring that every formation understood the appointed hours and the conduct expected of its warriors.

When the meeting finally ended, the commanders emerged from beneath the canopy and looked across the vast plain.

The sun had begun its descent towards the western horizon, painting the distant clouds in shades of gold and crimson.

Thousands of soldiers were still moving through the camps, sharpening blades, inspecting bowstrings, feeding horses, and checking the bindings of chariot wheels.

Some sat quietly beside their companions, sharing food and recalling their homes, while others performed their evening prayers or listened to priests reciting sacred verses.

Beyond the camps, the land lay peaceful beneath the fading light, seemingly unaware that it had been chosen to witness a conflict that could reshape the balance of power among the surrounding kingdoms.

Bhishma paused at the edge of the gathering and watched the opposing formations for a long moment.

"The rules have been settled, and both sides have agreed to observe them,"

he remarked quietly to Drona.

"Yet rules can govern only the actions of men. They cannot determine what those men will become when fear, anger, and the desire to survive take hold of them."

Drona followed his gaze towards the bull banners of Vrishabhapura.

"That is true. We can instruct warriors in the proper conduct of battle, but once the fighting begins, each man must decide whether he will remember what he has been taught."

"The greater danger is that this war began with a dispute over authority, yet it has already become deeply personal for the two kings."

Karna, who had overheard their exchange, looked towards the camp where the banners of Trivenivrata stood beside those of its allies.

"Then we must ensure that the personal hatred of two rulers does not destroy the very people they claim to protect. Devara knows what is at stake, and I believe he will remember it even when his anger is tested."

"As for Vrishasena, we can only hope he understands that a king may win a battlefield and still lose everything that made his kingdom worth defending."

None of them spoke further for a while.

Across the plain, the final rays of sunlight fell upon the armour of the soldiers, and the first evening conches sounded from the distant camps.

The armies began settling into their respective encampments, obeying the same rules they had agreed to uphold once the fighting began.

By the following sunrise, the formalities would be over.

Devara and Vrishasena would stand at the head of their forces, and the commanders who had spent the day discussing honour would have to put those principles into practice amid arrows, chariots, charging horses, and the cries of wounded men.

Until then, both armies waited beneath their banners, separated by a stretch of open ground that had become the narrow boundary between diplomacy and war.

Meanwhile, inside the camp of Vrishabhapura, King Vrishasena stood before his tent with an expression that could have made even his most seasoned generals reconsider their life choices.

The sounds of soldiers preparing for the coming battle continued outside, with commanders inspecting their formations and attendants carrying supplies between the tents, but none of that concerned him at the moment.

His entire attention was fixed upon the young boy standing in front of him, whose small shoulders had drawn inward beneath his father’s furious gaze, although the stubborn expression on his face suggested that he had not entirely understood the magnitude of his mistake.

His ten-year-old son, the crown prince of Vrishabhapura, had somehow managed to sneak into the military camp without the knowledge of the royal guards who were supposed to be watching him.

The boy had apparently decided that his father’s warning about remaining in the palace had been an unnecessary restriction rather than a command from the king himself.

By the time Vrishasena discovered the unexpected passenger among the attendants and supply carts, the army had already travelled too far for the prince to be sent back immediately without creating an even greater disturbance.

The king had consequently ordered a trusted messenger to return to the capital with news of the boy’s whereabouts, along with strict instructions to inform the queen that their son was safe.

He could only imagine the uproar that message would cause when it reached the palace, especially after the royal household discovered that the crown prince had disappeared without leaving so much as a proper explanation.

"Have you completely lost your senses?"

Vrishasena demanded, his voice low but sharp enough to make the attendants standing outside the tent suddenly find urgent reasons to move elsewhere.

"I entrusted you to your mother’s care, instructed the palace guards to ensure that you remained within the royal residence, and personally explained why you were not to follow the army. Yet somehow, despite all those precautions, you have managed to travel all the way here without anyone noticing."

"Do you have any idea what must be happening in the palace right now? Your mother will be terrified, the guards will be desperately searching every corridor and garden, and the ministers will probably be preparing to tear the entire kingdom apart looking for you!"

*******************************

(Author note:)

I hope you guys give me your opinion and idea’s.

-->

Don’t forget to review guys...