As the view of Orron’s southern flood walls grew to a prominence, Rraos insisted R’vag to a stop and climbed down his back. Rraos was thankful that the two young men were not using either the civil highway or the cargo route to Orron.

  That did not mean anyone from the highway had not noticed a speeding figure that seemed to avoid the broad road, despite the fact that the road could host up to four speeding carriages abreast. But regardless of what people had seen, it would take some time before anyone could investigate the matter. So, before anyone could do that, Rraos needed to make sure to get his story straight with this barbarian. Though Rraos disliked the crass youth, Rraos was now in the same boat as him and Jyevodirr.

  “We need to get our stories straight,” Rraos said, plopping down on the mossy ground. “I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation we are in.”

  Rraos’ attitude irked R’vag. Not only did Rraos perform poorly within his own estate, where he was supposed to have at least some power, the moment they were out of immediate danger he was assuming his old condescending tone, as though he stood over everyone.

  “Yes, and I suppose you’re the one who will teach me the things I don’t know about?” R’vag sneered. “Snap out of it you spoiled brat. You are a fugitive now. Worse than even us. You cannot lord over anything the way you used to.”

  Rraos was also getting riled up despite himself. As if he did not clearly comprehend his situation!

  This was why he tended to avoid overly violent and self-confident people. They hardly tried to understand how things worked and were too confident in whatever they knew. Such people also believed that anything that was not achieved by using violence was somehow pretentious or not worth their time.

  Still, Rraos now had to make sure the person before him understood the situation clearly. Rraos could hate the situation as much as he wanted, but it would not change just because he hated it. He also could not afford to get his life any worse than it already was right now.

  “Look, I don't mean to sound like I’m lording over you. There really are things you need to think about. If both of us are to survive this, no matter whether you like me or not, we need to work together.”

  These words resonated with R’vag. Survival was important, regardless of whether he liked the snobbish person in front of him or not.

  “Okay. Tell me what you want me to know.”

  Rraos could celebrate this victory, but he was too nervous, too desperate to do anything like that.

  “Firstly, I don't think anyone in the city knows anything about my situation. Even people at the estate did not know everything. I’m not sure about that, but at least I think they didn't know.

  The problem is that you cannot run into the city carrying me on your back. That will attract too much attention. Guards would likely suspect you to be a nefarious kidnapper who has laid his hands upon an Arroxath for his personal gains. Even if I vouch for you, they may very well think that you have threatened me in some manner or capacity to vouch for you. We will have the forces of the whole city swarming upon us.

  Not only that, the way we had been travelling had for sure drawn attention. We were running around like beasts off the road. Someone would surely be sent to investigate. When that happens, we face the same problem as before. Everything about us and our situation is just too unusual.”

  R’vag considered Rraos’ words. The Arroxath brat was right, surprisingly. But these considerations had as much clue to overcome them as deserts had rain.

  “What is your plan, then? I can't think about anything other running away with you, and that would mean holding out here for as long as Jyevodirr remains in your fancy house.”

  “That won't do,” Rraos replied with a scowl. “We cannot just all become fugitives in the empire. I already am one, so we cannot afford to make all of our situations the same. See, we no longer are in the age of heroes that some war will randomly break out and we will become the saviours of the Empire and be pardoned of our wrongdoings. Your friend wants to become the Kraturr right? Do you realize how slim his chances become if we all become fugitives before we even begin? But if he does become the Kraturr, the ruler of the empire, then he can pardon my crimes. Before that, we have to make sure that he is never counted as a fugitive.”

  “And why should I not just drop you off at your house and say that you misled us?” R’vag growled and crouched down to get face to face with Rraos. Rraos was taller though, so he had to look up at Rraos’ eyes. “You think I’m an idiot? We all fought for you, and now you’re only thinking about your own sorry ass. I mean forget me, but Jyevodirr is still in your home, trying to create a miracle I have no clue about!”

  Rraos nearly lashed out at the younger boy, but he did not follow through with it. This damned savage was too close to his face, and he was assuming too much. That felt disgusting in more ways than one.

  “Get off my face, you oversized monkey! How can I explain anything with your breath stinking up everything?”

  R’vag’s fist smashed into the thick tree trunk Rraos was leaning on. A shower of tiny leaves fell on the two, and the tree groaned threateningly.

  Rraos gulped in fear, but he did not back off from R’vag’s challenging glare. R’vag, on the other hand, backed off with frustration. There was no honour in beating up someone who was defenceless, and venting out his frustration on a wild tree was just asking for trouble. Now being such a weak person, why did the Arroxath boy have to be so much like an Acacia tree?

  “I've backed away and left you your own breathing space. Happy now?” R'vag shouted at Rraos.

  Rraos closed his eyes, tried to steady his breathing, and failed spectacularly. Being afraid wasn’t helping him at all, but he needed to keep talking.

  “Thank you,” Rraos replied. R’vag couldn’t care any less about Rraos’ gratitude.

  “Now explain your damned best.”

  “Yes, I will.”

  Rraos paused to steady his breathing and succeeded this time.

  “See, neither Jyevodirr nor you are a fugitive if I was the one who hired you two. This is the story going on at our estate right now. I’m sure Z’xalorr had planted this false information, but I cannot prove it. Still, I will help you both with whatever you need and also relieve you two of any suspicion, but I will need you two to protect me.”

  “That seems good enough. We put our lives on the line for you, and you do the same for us. Now what about getting into the city?”

  “For that, we need to pretend. You’ll pretend to be my xamos, and I’ll pretend that I wanted to test your strength. So, if anyone comes to question, you have run with me on your back to prove your strength.

  And now we’ll need to leave for the city, or we’ll be suspicious. Once we cross the Arriving-Wing block and enter the walls through the south gate, you should drop me at the Arroxath Lodgings at the Glass-Brooch block. Then you go meet Jyevodirr wherever you two had planned and come back to my lodgings as fast as possible. I don't know how long my situation will remain undiscovered, so please come fast.”

  Rraos noticed the hesitation written in thick letters on R’vag’s every motion and chuckled. Rraos was such a suspicious person, he couldn't escape being one even after having been stripped of everything.

  “You don't need to worry about me framing you two,” Rraos tried to sound as sincere as possible, which made him sound only more suspicious. “Z’xalorr is probably a traitor, and you two are my best chance for survival. If I get you two into trouble, how am I going to survive myself? Without you two, I would already have been locked up somewhere in our estate. And if I get rid of you two, how will I be protected?”

  R’vag was still full of suspicion. Who wouldn't be suspicious of such a sly person? Jyevodirr had already told him that Rraos was probably being dishonest with their employer. Now, the Arroxath youth was himself admitting to be using R’vag and Jyevodirr. The only thing Rraos had going for him was that Jyevodirr trusted him for some reason.

  It wasn't like Jyevodirr himself was very smart compared to these city people, but he was, for sure, smarter than R’vag. Also, R’vag always believed in Jyevodirr. If R’vag couldn’t even trust Jyevodirr, who could he trust? Maybe this rich boy was lying, and R’vag had no way of knowing; But Jyevodirr had decided to put his faith in Rraos, so R’vag would have to do the same.

  “Okay,” assented R’vag, offering his hand to pull Rraos up. “Let’s go now.”

  Relief flooded Rraos, and he found that he was smiling despite his situation.

  “Yeah.”

  Rraos clutched the hand offered to him and stood up. Like two young pups learning to trust each other on one of their first hunts they had snuck out for, R’vag and Rraos walked out towards the road together with uncertain steps.

  The walk back to the highway was unexpectedly long, having had to cross over the grass and bush covered terrain at Rraos' inexperienced pace. R’vag grumbled a little through the whole ordeal, but he did not snap on Rraos at any point. That was quite surprising to Rraos, but he was not able to appreciate it in a better capacity since he was having a terrible time with the crossing. Once the two finally broke through to the highway, they both took a moment to ease up with relief, unheeding of the perplexed gazes and whispers surrounding them.

  Rraos found it strange that no one had come out to check on them despite so much time having passed, but he did not dwell on the matter too much. They needed to get to his lodgings fast, and the southern flood walls were quite close.

  Rraos nodded to R’vag to indicate that he was done with his break, hoping that R’vag would remember his role. Thankfully, the younger youth did not say anything or act in a way that would instantly make him suspicious. R’vag did spend his time in Orron being a guard.

  The two marched on towards the walls, and before long Rraos could see the reason no one had come to check on them sooner.

  The road that went past the southern flood walls were flanked on both sides by soldiers of the city guard. These city guards were people responsible for the protection of the city, so their members ranged from simple hired guards to xamosa, and up from there to even some members of the Kraturr’s own army at the very top of the hierarchy. At this point of time, there was one member of the Katov – the Kraturr’s army – that stood at the lead. It was him who had gathered these soldiers to wait and welcome the perpetrators that made such a fuss near the city.

  Rraos gulped. He was sure that he had earned the ire of some god who had fixed their mind to just make him fall as far as the god could.

  “How bad is it?” R’vag asked without turning towards Rraos.

  “Pretty bad.” Rraos replied, his voice shaking with nervousness. “I think the best of the Southern City Guard are here, blocking our way.”

  “And how big a deal are these city guards?”

  Rraos almost whipped his face towards R’vag with astonishment. Almost.

  “Are you seriously telling me you don't know who the City Guards are?!”

  “Of course, you pampered brat!” R’vag’s answer sounded irritated again. “Why would I ask otherwise? You think I can't already see that our situation is serious?”

  Rraos had absolutely no wish to hold a class here in such terse situations, but he did not have any choice either. It would be an even worse situation if this boy decided to do something rash.

  “See – unlike villages or smaller settlements in our Empire, every city has their own force to protect them. These forces are the City Guards. While not all of them would be threatening to you or Jyevodirr, considering how well you two seem to fight, the highest-ranking officials might still be impossible for you two. That is because at their top, they have people from the Kraturr’s own army. And I don't think I need to tell you how strong people from the Katov are.”

  R’vag had heard tales of the Katov.

  The Kraturr’s army was made up of no more than a thousand people. Only being around the strength of the thousand strongest individuals in the empire would allow an individual to join the Katov. While not every one of the thousand strongest in the Empire opted to be a part of the Katov, these exceptions numbered no more than a hundred.

  It did not take a genius to understand how strong an army needs to be if they protect an entire empire with a mere thousand individuals. While other forces within the Empire saw to its internal protection and wellness, only the Katov banded together for external threats. And to have won wars with kingdoms from other continents during the past, and also to have gone head-to-head with a neighbouring empire during older generations, even tradition and history made sure that these thousand were people worth singing and telling tales about.

  Knowing that there were most likely some such individuals standing right in front of him added a near mythical weight to the people standing in their way. R’vag felt severely pressured.

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  “Okay. Let's still go with your idea. You’re a rich city boy. You should be smart enough to make this work.”

  Rraos did not reply. He could only hope that R’vag was correct.

  The two troubled youths kept silently walking ahead till they were quite close to the party standing in their way.

  “Qai Rraos,” greeted the one at the forefront of the line. The man’s insignia at the back of his uniform was that of the Katov’s below the City Guard’s. No other individual in this gathering bore the same mark, or the same power. “What have you been up to in this city? Are you in need of assistance, or have you just decided to forgo decency and discipline?”

  “Captain.” Rraos greeted back, guessing the man’s rank from the number of swords in his official emblem. This was, without a doubt, one of the four captains of the city guard, all of whom belonged to the Katov. “I regret to inform you that I may have violated some city rules. Having found two xamosa who decided to cast their lot with me, I wanted to test their strength. So, I may have made some rash decisions where I had one of them carry me out here. But in my defence, we did not use the road so as to not disturb regular traffic.”

  Rraos was certain that his words made the man so utterly annoyed that had it been anyone else instead of Rraos there, the person would probably at least give them a satisfying slap before throwing them into a cell for a few days and making them do labour for all the days they were detained for.

  Perhaps the man was intending something similar for Rraos, discounting a gratifying slap to his face.

  “Check Qai Rraos’ records. See what we need to do about this.”

  The moments following the captain’s declaration were spent in a hushed conversation amongst the city guards with tablets on hand. Though R’vag was feeling extremely tense, Rraos had relaxed a bit now, since he already knew what his records would suggest.

  “Qai Rraos. It seems this is the first time you have committed any offence at the city. What is it that you said you were up to?”

  Rraos flinched in surprise. He had not been expecting the suspicious edge to the captain’s question. Was he in trouble?

  “I was checking out the strength of our latest xamos. There was another, so he should also be arriving soon.”

  “I see. So, there is another one of you, is there?

  Well then, Qai Rraos, I must ask you and your xamos to wait at our barracks, while I go and check out on the situation at your estate. I would like to have a confirmation with the Arroxath Head about this whole matter, and drop your first warning off there. It would also be more convenient to pick up the penalty at your central offices, correct?”

  Rraos was done for. He knew there was no hope for him at that point.

  R’vag looked at Rraos with worry, but Rraos only nodded along with the man, his face having gone pale. Rraos never once looked at R’vag.

  R’vag wanted to do something then and there, but he did not want to take a risk without having Jyevodirr here as well. Since there was nothing more that could be done between the two of them, they moved along silently as they were escorted away through the suburbs outside the city walls.

  Rraos did not scream this time. He did not throw a tantrum or demand a thorough investigation. He simply, silently, donned on the Arroxath mask as he walked.

  The Southern suburbs of Orron through which the group now walked was a large city-block known by the name of Arriving-Wing. It derived its name from the fact that there were two city blocks outside the Orron city walls that were constructed in the likeliness of wings. Where the bones of wings should be, there were two extensions of the city walls that were known as the flood walls. These walls, as their name suggested, kept water from the Xap’yu river during peak monsoon from flooding into the city, and the two ‘wing’ blocks of the city thrived in the shadows of these walls.

  Now, the southern block was named the Arriving-Wing because this was where the poorer workers arriving at Orron for work first reached and stayed. As such, the streets of this Block were quite frequently crowded by people who had little knowledge of the city. These people usually milled about with their work, hardly ever seeing officials outside carriages other than City Guards.

  Seeing an important looking person parading about the streets today caused a lot of confusion and excitement amidst those who were tumbling about the streets. Some paranoid sections of people even felt fear, cooking up fanciful ideas of the officials being there to weed out the weak who failed to fulfil their duty with honour and diligence, where these same imaginative thinkers were the weak to be expunged. Some more pragmatic amongst the river of onlookers went to owners of establishments, or other locals they knew of, to understand what the situation was all about. They were the ones who learnt that the person at the centre of the parade was someone from one of the four families that controlled the entire city. But because the person had a mask on, no one knew who this person precisely was, or what reason was the person openly walking through the streets of Arriving-Wing for.

  R’vag himself was filled with wonder, despite knowing that the situation was not too great for any of them. It was his first time ever being surrounded and gawked at by so many people. He had only ever been a centre of attention at his village when he and Jyevodirr had done something particularly loutish. This was different, however. People looked so reverent! Maybe this was what Jyevodirr meant by ‘excitement beyond fighting’?

  R’vag was also feeling somewhat more positive about Rraos. The Arroxath boy was quite wimpy, but he had still somehow managed to turn this situation around. That was quite commendable. If the boy toughened out, he would actually be an amazing person!

  Eager to speak a little, R’vag slipped closer to Rraos. But before he could say anything, Rraos firmly gripped R’vag’s wrist.

  R’vag felt slighted, but this was not a place to display his disagreement. Maybe Rraos was still somewhat arrogant. R’vag would need to have a good heart-to-heart talk with Rraos. But for now, R’vag decided to look at the crowd and enjoy his status of fame.

  The pair escorted by the city guards shortly reached the main city walls and went in through the Southern Gate. People here also turned to look at the group, but these people were far more used to the presence of the Zax’syilava Ziggoyeth members moving around the city to attend some business. Moreover, it was not evening yet, meaning people were not yet free enough to engage in gathering or loitering, so the attention within the walls was much more dilute, and the pace of movement for the group much faster.

  In this region, the group marched with their elbows by the walls. They never strayed into the streets that took them inside the city. An entire city block was bypassed this way, and when the next block was reached, they quietly turned right into a spacious compound filled with City Guard soldiers both in and out of uniform. Any soldier who saw this group immediately stood to attention, and in this manner created a semi-fluid pathway towards the larger building at the centre.

  Once within the building, some of the soldiers dispersed to their stations, and the smaller group kept walking, up some stairs and through a corridor, till they came upon a heavy ebony door that was reinforced by mayya to withstand a lot of punishment. The door was opened, and every remaining individual streamed into the room. Beyond the first room was another one, into which Rraos deftly stepped without even glancing back at R’vag. On the other hand, R’vag was made to wait with the City Guards in the exterior room. No one attempted to strike a conversation with R’vag, and he too did not take any steps to bridge the gap himself.

  After that, the agonizing game of waiting began.

  As the seconds ticked away, R’vag decided to spend his time humming, or fidgeting, or clomping around, till he was bored of everything and simply decided to get some shut-eye. Rraos, on the other hand, spent each second navigating through hell in his mind.

  The first and foremost thoughts of Rraos’ mind were of escape. Once he realized he could not visualize himself escaping, then came the fear. Irrational thoughts and a monstrous anxiety played with Rraos’ head like a ball, after which his mind was passed on to guilt and overblown repentance. These thoughts morphed later to anger, when the guilt became too heavy a burden to bear. By that time, Rraos silently cursed his mother, cursed Z’xalorr, cursed Radus, cursed Jyevodirr and cursed all the Gods he knew. Once the anger was spent, Rraos set his mind back to thoughts of escaping and began the cycle anew within his brain. Throughout these cyclic burdens of waiting, Rraos never sounded even a squeak, and the only sound to be heard from his room was the steady tick of a functional wall clock waiting in its own way.

  When sounds of irregular movement arrived outside the rooms again, R’vag had no idea whether he had spent a few hours or a few minutes waiting. The rush of feet intensified outside the door to their room, and when it opened, R’vag was filled with relief.

  “Now this is a funny place for you to have ended up.” Jyevodirr was grinning cheekily at R’vag.

  R'vag smiled without a verbal reply, then got up and clasped Jyevodirr’s offered fist with a tremendous smack.

  “I can do things you can't even imagine, you crazy goat!” R’vag finally taunted back. After so long, R'vag found himself content enough to be smiling. The relief was so strong that R’vag physically felt lighter.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m actually surprised that a fight didn't break out with you here.”

  “Exactly! See, I can do things that you could not even imagine!”

  A few moments passed, where the two looked at each other with seriousness plastered on their faces. Then, like a volcano bursting suddenly and releasing fumes and magma, the two old friends burst out laughing maniacally, headless of where they were. The laughter boomed across and out of the walls, shattering the solemnity of the room and its surroundings.

  Every soldier within the room looked up at the pair of friends with various degrees of irritation. One of the more irritable ones snapped back at the two.

  “Shut up, you two! This is not a pub!”

  Had R’vag still been alone, he might have just let the admonishment pass, but with him feeling as excited upon Jyevodirr’s arrival as he did, R’vag could not keep his mouth shut.

  “Oh yeah?” R’vag challenged, “Why don't you just drop us off at the pub, then?”

  Before things could escalate, Jyevodirr stepped in with both arms raised.

  “Sorry, sorry! We are actually used to places like the pub instead of such kind of establishments, so we may have gone a bit overboard. We’ll keep the noise down.”

  The irritable soldier grunted like a pig, scowling the whole time like an irritated cat, then went back to sit with his colleagues, all of whom were smirking as if a great show had unfolded in front of them.

  R’vag wished he could pick a fight with these idiots, but they had more to lose than they could win by picking up random fights. And these were the city guards with the fabled Katov soldiers within their ranks.

  “So, we’re used to pubs, huh?” R’vag snickered.

  “They don’t need to know we don’t drink,” Jyevodirr whispered with a conspiratory smile. Then, he straightened and looked around.

  “So? Where is our man of the hour?”

  Jyevodirr’s question helped R’vag take his mind off the city guards.

  “You seriously thought we would all be sitting with him?” R’vag deadpanned.

  “Of course not, you blockhead! I’m asking if he is somewhere nearby or if was taken away somewhere else completely.”

  “Yeah, right! You probably just made that up on the spot because you thought not knowing would make you look stupid.”

  “Ugh! You’re such a nasty fart sometimes!”

  “So, you can't stay away from nasty farts, eh?”

  “Shut up and just tell me!”

  R’vag didn't reply immediately. He savoured the moment first. It was good to be bantering again after such stressful moments.

  “Okay,” R’vag spoke again, finally deciding to get to the point. “The rich boy is actually here. He’s in that room over there. I wasn't allowed to get into that room.”

  Jyevodirr huffed and stood up. He motioned R’vag to follow, which R’vag did. When the restive soldiers noticed the two young men walking over, they immediately launched into action.

  “What are you doing?” The same soldier who had raised his voice at the two now demanded. He was standing in front of them with his sword raised threateningly. “You think you can just barge in anywhere you want?”

  This time, Jyevodirr stepped in before R’vag could retort.

  “No, I don't think we can just walk in wherever we want. But if there is somewhere we definitely need to be, we will get there. Just so you know, I need to deliver a message to Qaiz'rra Rraos that I was asked to deliver to him by his mother. You know who she is, no?

  If your duty puts you in the way of our duty, we will need to settle it by force and then let the matter escalate to our superiors in standing. But if you don't want that, you could come in with us and hear the message yourself.”

  The soldier looked conflicted, as though he wanted to let loose and cut them down with the full authority vested upon him, but at the same time the thought of escalating the matter to his superiors chained him to his place. The threat of the Katov kept not only people outside the city guard in line, but those within it as well.

  A few moments passed this way with the soldiers and the two youths in a deadlock. Finally, the soldier standing between the two young men and the door to their third companion sheathed his sword and motioned to others. Most went back to where they were, while three others remained with him.

  “Very well. We shall go with you and keep you under supervision while you deliver the message. If we decide you to be a threat to Qai Rraos or to the city, we will not hesitate to kill you.”

  R’vag snorted at the man’s words, and Jyevodirr glanced back at R’vag. The men looked more annoyed than before, but they did not comment on this discourtesy.

  “Qai Rraos.” The soldier at the lead knocked at Rraos’ door. “We’re coming in. There is apparently a message to you from the Family Head.”

  “Come in.” The voice from within the doors sounded shaky, like the voice of a doomed man who still wanted to sound strong.

  The door was opened, and R’vag saw that the Arroxath boy still had his mask on. Smart.

  The guards dispersed into a tactical formation, with two standing behind Jyevodirr and R’vag, and two standing between Rraos and the two young men.

  “Qai Rraos,” began Jyevodirr, “I bring some requests from the Family Head.”

  Though Rraos gave no answer, he seemed to shrink in on himself. R’vag felt that Rraos was teetering between hope and despair.

  “The family head wants you to go and have a look at the Arroxath mines. We’ll escort you there.”

  This was news to R’vag too, but the effect of the message was more immediate on Rraos. He stood up straighter and radiated hope from behind the veil of his mask.

  “And what of security?” Rraos asked.

  “Me and R’vag, your two newest xamosa, will escort you there,” Jyevodirr replied.

  R’vag wondered if Jyevodirr was bluffing. If Jyevodirr was, it might have worked elsewhere, but would it work on the City Guards, who were supposedly quite strong?

  Rraos was having these same thoughts, so he decided to probe further.

  “And what of money?”

  Surprisingly to R’vag, Jyevodirr reached into his pockets and brought a wallet out of it in response to the question. Then, he flashed a black card towards Rraos. R'vag did not understand. What was that card?

  Whatever it was, Rraos seemed positively giddy at the sight of it. R’vag watched Rraos stand up and walk towards Jyevodirr, which surprised the guards as much as it did him. Rraos extended his hand, which Jyevodirr shook formally, as if agreeing on a contract.

  “Thank you for everything, Qai Jyevodirr. Once this whole debacle is over, we will go and have a meal in our finest diners.” Rraos turned to look at R’vag as well. “And thank you too, Qai R’vag. I am satisfied with the both of you and will look forward to having you both with our family henceforth.”

  Rraos walked back to his seat after that and relaxed as if he owned the place.

  “Now you two can go back if the guards decide that, but if it is okay with them, you two are welcome to lounge with me.”

  The guards responded that for Rraos' safety, they could not let that happen till all the verifications were done, and so the two were ushered out of the room. As the door was being shut behind them, R’vag saw Rraos finally loosening his mask and setting it on the side.

  R’vag looked away, patted Jyevodirr’s back, and smiled. He did not understand what had happened, nor was he smart enough to piece together anything, but what he understood was that Jyevodirr had pulled off something incredible. R’vag knew that with certainty, because Rraos’ expression could only mean that Jyevodirr had solved their situation.

  Of course Jyevodirr had! He was constantly doing things R’vag could not even imagine. Of all the people R’vag knew, Jyevodirr was one who could make a person, whose face was stained with tears, smile like they had been gifted a new life in the midst of such intense conditions.

  “Well done, brother,” said R’vag with pride.