Chapter 36 - Stones in the Current

The Silk of Fate

Chapter 36 – Stones in the Current

Idran learned long ago:
If you wish to move a river, do not dam it.
Place your stones one by one, until the current learns a new path.

That’s how he began.

Not with declarations.
But with conversations.

His first visit was to a former court administrator turned merchant—Raka, a wiry man with sharp eyes and a sharper memory.

They met in a warehouse at the docks, surrounded by spices, silk, and the scent of dried salt.

“You’ve been quiet since you returned,” Raka said, pouring tea. “That usually means you’re planning something either brilliant—or dangerous.”

Idran smiled. “I was hoping for both.”

He laid out his vision:

Fairer trade. Interfaith protection laws. Regional alliances not dictated by conquest but shared prosperity.

Raka didn’t laugh.

Instead, he leaned forward.

“And who else knows?”

“No one,” Idran said. “Not yet. But I’m choosing carefully.”

The next day, he visited Citra, a widow who ran one of the largest rice mills in the southern provinces—known for her generosity and for sheltering orphans from both Hindu and Muslim communities.

“I don’t need your protection,” she said, arms crossed. “But if you want to build something honest, I’ll help feed it.”

And so the circle grew.

A merchant.

A miller.

A poet-priest who preached tolerance beneath banyan trees.

A former sailor who had seen the cruelty of kingdoms and still believed in justice.

Each time, Idran didn’t make promises.

He shared vision.

And with each new ally, he wrote a single word in the corner of his journal:

Tali — thread.

One thread at a time.

Lianhua’s next message arrived hidden in a treatise on water distribution networks.

At the bottom, between technical jargon and dull ink, was this:

Even the moon knows when the tide has turned.

He pressed his thumb over the ink, just briefly.

And whispered aloud:

“Then we turn it.”