Manithan Vaanam

After forging a riddled bond in a mysterious maze, the party walks through a portal door. In the portal, they are blinded by the angelic white of the room, and, as they move through, they seem to almost float upon the white feather they walk upon. They exit the portal into a shallow riverbank, where the yaans and the infant twins are seen playing and splashing in the water. The group rejoins with their carefree companions and rests for a few minutes, contemplating the maze. Whilst relaxing with Daisy, Nila notices the faint silhouette of a temple in the far distance. She points it out to Shwari, who reasonably concludes that the city is Kaverinaadu. They round up the rest of the crew, disturbing Bhavannan from his contemplation and Aadhi's streaming tears over Prabhathan. As they collect their belongings and mount their yaans, they begin their last stretch of journey for Kaverinaadu.

They ride along the grandeur of the Kaveri River and soon enough reach the gates of Kaverinaadu. However, blocking the gates are crowds of refugees from Keya. They flock towards the group upon the yaans and almost bring them to a full stop, begging for any charity. Bhavannan immediately spreads a few silvers around the mass, appeasing the crowd as the rest of the party watches in confusion and shock. The refugees disperse and the group walk through the gates.

The streets of Kaverinaadu are bustling as merchants and travelers fill every nook and cranny of the city. Bhavannan's priorities are realized when the first stop he makes is at a soaps and oils stall. As the party purchases various items for hair and hygiene, Bhavannan asks the vendor questions about the state of the city and his thoughts about Alagan. The vendor explains quickly that the city was preparing for war with the Neithal Kingdom and that refugees from Keya were scrambling to Kaverinaadu, which seemed to fill the vendor with contempt.[1] He also spoke about Alagan with high praise, addressing him as "Annah". Bhavannan peppers the vendor with more questions, and, feeling overwhelmed, the vendor asks the group to leave, and they do. They then decide which tavern to stay at, with Bhavannan wanting to go to the classier A Sweet Neera, but Shwari making the ultimate decision to go to the more common A Blooming Drink. They enter a tavern empty but for the tavernkeeper. They grab a table and Aadhi immediately starts oiling Nila's hair, braiding jasmine into it as well. As the group sips their drinks and rest, they discuss their next steps and decide on going to the city's library of manthiram.

They go to the library and the group immediately splits up; Bhavannan, Nila, and Shwari go upstairs to the history section, while Aadhi stays behind to ask the bookkeeper for books about psychic manthiram. She grabs Aadhi three books: Telepathy: A Lost Device of Communication, The Basics of Reincarnation, and The Manthiram and Power of a Manithan. As she reads those, the other three find a news clipping of the removal of Alagan as the heir apparent to the Maaveeranam Kingdom and Kaverinaadu's innate disappointment regarding the decision. After reading this, Shwari leaves to find books about manthiram tied to a Kadavul, and reads two books: The Boons of Kadavul's and Murugan's Appointed Warriors of the Vaanam. After the three upstairs finish, they go downstairs and ask the bookkeeper on her thoughts about Alagan. She, similar to the hygiene vendor, speaks high praise towards Alagan. Yet, when the three ask her if she had ever met Alagan, she responds with a no, but reinforces her good feelings towards him. As they are talking, Aadhi goes upstairs and finds a book titled The Maranam of the Raatchis. After flipping through the pages, she comes back downstairs in a state of shock. However, she does not want to talk about it, and the party leaves, heading for A Blooming Drink.

They enter a busy and crowded tavern and find an empty table with great difficulty. As the group is eating their plates of biriyani, a drunken man sits with them, and attempts to make conversation. He talks to Bhavannan, and Bhavannan, in jest, punches the drunk's shoulder. However, the man, offended, threatens Bhavannan. Bhavannan attempts to make peace; however, while he is doing so, another manithan shoves the drunken man onto the table. Immediately, a tavern brawl breaks out within the city of secrets.