Manithan Vaanam

In-Game Time	29th Day of the 5th Dharan Cycle
Played On	27th of June, 2025

After the party falls unconscious within a dusky room built in the gates of ice, they wake up in cells, handcuffed and stripped of their belongings. Aadhi and Shwari are in one cell, while Bhavannan and Haavani sit in the next one. As they take in their surroundings, the party has a conversation about what to do, ultimately deciding to tell the truth and possibly beg for their freedom. The guards thus learn that the group is awake; four enter the dungeon, unlock the cells, and lead each person out of the dungeons and onto the palace, a glistening building of ice-white, gold and light blue motifs covering the floor and walls, as well as a prominently displayed mural of Murugan placing his last footstep upon Malai Hill (the creation story of Malai). The guards bring the group to a massive throne room, a spiked icy throne at its far end. Sitting atop it is a poised, elegant woman, adorned with jewelry and wearing an icy blue sari that darkens into a blood red. The guards shove each member of the group onto the floor, and they lie bowing to the throne. The woman leaves her throne, walks towards the party, and with a saccharine voice, asks the group to touch her feet in respect. They do, she asks for them to stand, and she introduces herself as Lady Ambikadevi Ragendran, the lady of Malai.

As she stands there looking at the group, she asks them to plead their case. The lady and the party have an intense back-and-forth; as the group defends themselves, Ambikadevi interjects with more truths and toys with them in the process. Lady Ambikadevi reveals her knowledge of the twins father, claiming that Venkataram had beaten her and Alagan to killing the Raasa. At one point, the topic of the Murugeshwara twins arises, which prompts Ambikadevi to call her maids, who bring in the baby twins. Afterwards, Lady Ambikadevi plays her full hand: to throw the party into an arena and force them to fight for their freedom. Bhavannan first appeals to dharma, exhorting her to generosity; when this fails, he mentions her father (whom Bhavannan had seen personally as a youth) and his reputation as a just man, to which Ambikadevi responds with a lack of care. As the guards handcuff them again and lead them out, Aadhi telepathically reaches out towards Harshan and gets a cry in response. The doors close, and they are promptly taken underneath the palace, towards the arena.

As they wait for the arena gates to open, the party, according to Ambikadevi's rules, selects from their possessions two items to fight with; they whisper words of encouragement to each other. The gates open, and they walk into the snow-filled arena. Standing across them are five beleaguered individuals, and sitting in a soaring tower is Lady Ambikadevi, who counts down to the fight. As the last number echoes through the stadium, the fight begins. Weapons strike and manthiram flies through the air as the weak team is felled one by one. At the very end, Aadhi strikes the last person standing across the head with her dancing sticks. As the audience roars, Lady Ambikadevi silences everyone and demands yet another fight: a duel between Bhavannan and her gold-clad bodyguard Chivan. Bhavannan accepts the duel, even knowing that it was a fight to death.

Bhavannan and Chivan stand across each other, bracing themselves during the countdown. As the final number is shouted, they rush towards each other; spear meets sword, clanging and cutting through armor and skin. The match is tense and even, and just as Bhavannan seems about to fall, Haavani heals him from the sidelines, emboldening him. However, Lady Ambikadevi catches this and heals Chivan as well. The fight continues, and, for a brief moment, silence falls as Bhavannan sends his spear upwards into Chivan's throat. As Chivan falls, Chivan reaches his arm out to Bhavannan, which Bhavannan seizes, softening Chivan's fall as his last breath escapes into the frosty air. The audience erupts in cheers, contrasting with the deathly display on the ground. Lady Ambikadevi descends from her tower into the grounds of the arena and congratulates the party on their freedom. She reminds them that they are not allowed in the city of Malai ever again but offers Bhavannan a job as a fighter if the need for it shall ever arise in him. As the party leaves the arena, they mourn the deaths and failures of it all, understanding that they were made to reap the consequences.