Meerkat Asks: Hi lovely author, I was rereading book two and I had a question So in book two after Indra tell the gods who attacked Micah to return back to svarga Dushyanta chooses to remain because he fears “HIM”.
During my first read I had assumed that this him referred to ember who was acting as Yama but now I’m not so sure because I thought about it a lot and some things came to mind. Fist Dushyanta is an established god who has a station and Yama( Ember) at the time was not even in possession of the full soul so how can she force Dushyantas hand. Two how exactly would Yama have met Dushyanta, at least I assume he mainly resides in svarga so how would he have been able to contact him and threaten him? Three and the most important point for me Dushyanta was ready to face the wrath of Indra, Agni, Prithvi and the other brothers after being warned to leave the mortal plane by all of them and I don’t think Yama possesses enough influence or power to get him to choose to go against all these powerful gods out of fear. But we’re never explicitly told who sent him after Micah and it’s never addressed after the whole event had passed with him dead.
So I wanted to ask if I’m just overthinking and the Him he was referring to was actually Yama or there’s more to it and we’ve just not been made aware as of now.
Sorry if this reads more like a rant. Hope you’re doing well❤️
No rant at all! I was so excited about this question! It’s small details like this that oftentimes get brushed aside or missed. In this case, there is much more to Dushyanta’s ramblings and his willingness to face the wrath of powerful deities just to get his hands on Ezra. I will say that it was not Yama who coerced Dushyanta. It was then suggested/believed that Indra had something to do with it.
In Part III, it was touched on once more:
“He wants to trade Ezra for Dhumavati,” Varuna informed stiffly.
“I am merely expressing our need for the God of Death—”
“A need you saw fit to recognize by sending Dushyanta to the mortal realm?” Prithvi intervened, coming to a stop between Agni and Varuna. She placed her hands on her hips, angling her head to meet Indra’s shrewd eyes. “It wasn’t the welcome that would reassure Ezra of his place here.”
Indra’s bold brows drew together. “I did not send Dushyanta after him.”
“Despite being the God of Enmity and Destroyer of Evil, Dushyanta was a coward,” Agni said bluntly. “He had to be following someone’s orders—someone with enough clout.”
Indra’s rings flashed as he waved away their accusations. “Say what you will, Dushyanta was never under my control.” He inclined his head marginally to express reluctance. “Admittedly, Svarga was not ready to house a Reaper just yet, but after careful surveillance and preparation, we are now as ready as we can be.”
Granted, we don’t know enough about Indra (yet) to take his word for it, but in this particular case, Dushyanta is not his design. We will find out the identity of “HIM” in Book 4, and he will be a significant character in this next arc. It’ll be a fun ride 😉
Thanks for reaching out, meerkat 🤍
Avery Hendrex 