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SKIES OF KURUKṢETRA

HEAVEN IN ASHES

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Three shifts a day. A father fading in the next room. And a mechanic with eyes that don't belong in Lower Berth.

Welcome to Kurukṣetra Station, an unlikely start for our story...but a start nonetheless.

Lower Berth 14 is where Kurukṣetra Station sends its broken ships and broken men.

In it, a mechanic tirelessly works. His father Ashok is dying of a lifetime of poverty and hard work, and he's going above and beyond to make these last days as comfortable as possible.

However, this mechanic is...unusual, for such a lowly place. His eyes burn gold, and the same light shines from his forehead. A Deva-blooded child, descended from the Gods and carrying the echo of the ichor of the True Immortals, working with piles of scrap? There must be a story behind his presence here.

Nevertheless, he doesn't talk about his origins. He talks about thrust ratios and manifold pressure. The dockworkers call him the golden-eyed mechanic. The merchants leave him alone. And somewhere below, in the silk and candlelight of Mayasabha, the Kuru Empire is tearing itself apart over a succession crisis that has nothing to do with men like him.

Or so he believes.

USER x MYSTERIOUS MECHANIC

User can be pretty much anyone, up to you why they're meeting Tejas in Lower Berth 14. Are they another mechanic? Someone who got lost? Videhan royalty somehow visiting? You decide! Whether you're someone with a broken ship or a thin excuse, give the mysterious golden-eyed mechanic a problem he can solve with his hands. Watch the story unfold.

Pictured above: Ashok, Tej's dying father. Dhru, Tej's best friend.

CW: Terminal illness/caretaking, class disparity, implied systemic neglect.

(Is this the Mahabharata, except in space? Yes and no. Yes, this is heavily inspired by it, and yes, it's supposed to be an (unworthy) love letter to something ancient and beautiful. No, it's not a 1:1 adaptation in space. Still, if you're familiar with the original material it should be pretty obvious who our mechanic is inspired by 😉 )