Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes

Not part of Riordanverse This book or series is published under Rick Riordan Presents and its contents are not considered canon to the Riordanverse.

Spoiler Alert! Warning! This page contains spoilers for Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes.

This article is about the book. For the actual tree, see Amaravati#Kalpavriksha.

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes
Attribution
Author	Roshani Chokshi
Publication Information
Release date	April 7, 2020
Chronology
Preceded by	Aru Shah and the Song of Death
Followed by	Aru Shah and the City of Gold

Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes is the third book in the Pandava Quintet. It was released April 7th, 2020.

Synopsis

War between the devas and the asuras is imminent, and the Otherworld is on high alert. When intelligence from the human world reveals that the Sleeper is holding a powerful clairvoyant and her sister captive, 14-year-old Aru and her friends launch a search-and-rescue mission. The captives, a pair of twins, turn out to be the newest Pandava sisters, though, according to a prophecy, one sister is not true.

During the celebration of Holi, the heavenly attendants stage a massive PR rebranding campaign to convince everyone that the Pandavas are to be trusted. As much as Aru relishes the attention, she fears that she is destined to bring destruction to her sisters, as the Sleeper has predicted. Aru believes that the only way to prove her reputation is to find the Kalpavriksha, the wish-granting tree that came out of the Ocean of Milk when it was churned. If she can reach it before the Sleeper, perhaps she can turn everything around with one wish.

Careful what you wish for, Aru . . .

Plot

Saving the Twins

Nikita and Sheela, the reincarnations of Nakula and Sahadeva

Aru Shah, Mini, Brynne Rao and Aiden Acharya were at a Ferris wheel in Atlanta, Georgia. They were on a mission to rescue two people, one of them is a clairvoyant, someone who could see the future and prophesize, which could be determine the victor of the war against the devas and asuras. Mini suggests they climb the Ferris wheel, after all Aru once wore Spider-Man pajamas. After checking booth after booth, Brynne sensed demons, but then they found one with vines and a green light inside. Behind the vines were the two young girls that Aru and Mini saw in their dreams, the clairvoyant's name is Sheela and the other was Nikita. Suddenly, a rakshasa with a bull's head appears, it's the creature that they must save the twins from. Nikita created more vines while Sheela tried to hold the prophecy in. Although the rakshasa tried to so hard to get Sheela for the Sleeper, which included using a sword and stone, Mini used illusions to hide the twins while Brynne blew him onto a telephone pole, knocking him out. They humans all introduce themselves as Pandavas.

They decided to find out more about the Sleeper by carrying the rakshasa to Amaravati through the quick Dead Zone. Ordinary mortals refuse to believe in magic, and therefore ignore it. However, within the Dead Zone, the people who are banished there attempt to flee with them, causing the rakshasa to awaken. This allows it to hear the Prophecy Sheela speaks, then it escapes. Nikita and Sheela later get claimed by the Ashvins, revealing themselves to be the reincarnations of Nakula and Sahadeva respectively, their weapons were currently a green heart and silver star placed on their throats.

The New Plan

Opal, a crisis manager for the Court of the Sky

The concerned Council of Guardians visit Lanka, the City of Gold, as the Prophecy mentions a false treasure. The Prophecy mentions a "tree at the heart", the Pandavas to believe it refers to the titular Tree of Wishes, Kalpavriksha. They visit the garden where it is kept, but Nikita reveals it is a fake and that a hint to the real tree's location is kept in the Crypt of Eclipses, where there lies secrets, which is inside the House of Months. They decide to go on a quest to find the tree. Since they need a key to open it, they decide to visit Vishwakarma, the god of architects, first. The quest is kept secret from all others, except Boo, as they were forbidden from helping the devas. Aru is unexpectedly visited by a Naga prince named Rudy. He was the same Naga that helped them in their previous quest. Rudy insists on joining the quest as claims he can get them an audience with Vishwakarma.

They visit Vishwakarma who, after hearing their request, warns them that a key to unlock any lock needs to be alive, and live no things demand answers. It is revealed that the Sleeper once tried to find the tree, but whether he succeeded in reaching it is unknown. He was changed after the experience, though, and left "parts of himself" along the way.

Fighting Garuda

Maruts, storm warriors

The Pandavas sneak inside the House of Months, and sneak past Rahu and Ketu, the head and body of an Asura that takes the form of a dragon. The yslis, keepers of the Crypt, are initially suspicious, as they can sense their celestial weapons, but agree to take them to the Crypt. The Pandavas find a wooden bird, with its voice broken, which holds a memory of the Sleeper. Aru accidentally drops it, and Rudy tries to catch it, unwittingly setting off an alarm. It is revealed that the Yalis have the pillar that contains Narasimha, the wrathful fourth avatar of Vishnu. Aru bargains with the Yalis and they narrowly escape Narasimha. The bird she was holding calls out to Garuda, who initially suspects them of stealing it, since Rudy is a naga, but they are saved by Boo. He converses it into a message, which can only be deciphered by Chakora birds. Boo reveals that the Sleeper kidnapped Sheela and the group is deeply impacted. He also says Nikita is in the custody of the moon god. They travel to the Chakora forest, where they meet Sohail, a Chakora bird who is rejected by the others for his tendency to fall in love with luminous objects. The birds agree to decipher the message, for each one of their secrets, which they force them to say. The birds also reveal they know who Aru is, and give her the memory of the Sleeper, wherein he names her.

Space Gods

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Aranyani's Garden

Rudy, a naga prince

They go up to the moon realm, as the revealed riddle mention roots, which leads them to believe that Nikita might have the answer. So they retrieve her and are left on a supermarket where there are magical plants. Nikita speaks to them, and they find out that the tree is in Atlanta, in a floating island. While on the way there, Nikita and Aru reconcile.

Be Careful what you Wish for

The Sleeper ambushes them with his army. The other Pandavas rescue Sheela, while Nikita and Aru flee to the Tree of Wishes, whose real name is Kalpavriksha, where Aru leaves Nikita behind to protect her. Aranyani, owner of the Tree, warns her of the price, and gives her the final memory of the Sleeper. She also reveals that Boo made a bargain with the Sleeper to protect them, which hurts Aru deeply. She is conflicted and loses touch of good and bad. Nonetheless, Aru makes a wish, which is wiped clean from her memory. She pays the price of the wish immediately, as she is taken by the Sleeper.

Aru awakens chained, and meets Kara, a girl who claims to be the Sleeper's other daughter.

Chapter list

1. Aru Shah Is Not Spider-Man
2. That Time Brynne's Shoes Got Ruined
3. No New Friends
4. Magical Dead Zone
5. Worse Than Being Sent to the Principal's Office
6. Password! But Make It Fash-un
7. Bro, Do You Even Lift?
8. That's So On-Brand
9. Goal: Don't End Up a Dragon Snack
10. Knock-Knock, Who's There?
11. Get in Heroes, We're Going Questing
12. A Wild Goose Chase
13. Begone, Discount Artichokes!
14. In Which A Giant Nose Spells (Smells!) Trouble
15. No One Signed Up for a Horcrux Hunt
16. Florals for Spring? Groundbreaking.
17. Never Trust a Hot Dog Stand
18. The Plan Does Not Work
19. Isn't This...a Bit Much?
20. At Least There's Not a Dragon
21. Well, Never Mind, Then
22. That's a Nice, Creepy, Destructive God You've Got There
23. The Bird of Mass Destruction. Maybe.
24. You Poor, Unfortunate Souls
25. This is Not Fine
26. Is a Platypus a Bird?
27. Quoth the Raven...
28. Surprise Ostrich!
29. We Are All Potatoes
30. But Soft, What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?
31. It's Not You, It's Me. All Right, Fine, It's Also You.
32. A Parliament of Foul Fowls
33. What's in a Name?
34. What's a Publix?
35. Where the Deer and the Cantaloupe Play
36. Pick a Wife! Any Wife!
37. Gods Don't Nap. Ew.
38. Someone's Got a Burning Gaze. Literally.
39. And I - Oop!
40. Not the Tiny Legs!
41. You Brought Us to Home Depot?
42. Shh! The Baby Is Sleeping!
43. I'm Not a Regular Mom, I'm a Cool Mom
44. Who is Groot?
45. Please Don't Say You're Inevitable
46. Green is Not Your Color, Trust Me
47. We're Not Lost, Are We?
48. Ignorance Is Bliss
49. The Fury of a Pandava Scorned
50. The Word Aru Never Spoke
51. Epilogue

Prophecy

“THE SCORNED POWERS ARE ON THE RISE,

TO CLAIM THEIR STOLEN IMMORTAL PRIZE.

ONE SISTER SHALL TURN OUT NOT TO BE TRUE.

WITH A SINGLE CHOICE,

THE WORLD SHALL RECEIVE ITS DUE.

ONE TREASURE IS FALSE, AND ONE TREASURE IS LOST,

BUT THE TREE AT THE HEART IS THE ONLY TRUE COST.

NO WAR CAN BE WON WITHOUT FINDING THAT ROOT;

NO VICTORY HAD WITHOUT THE YIELD OF ITS FRUIT.

IN FIVE DAYS THE TREASURE WILL BLOOM AND FADE,

AND ALL THAT WAS WON COULD SOON BE UNMADE.”

Characters

• Aru Shah
• Mini
• Brynne Rao
• Nikita
• Sheela
• Aiden Acharya
• The Sleeper
• Rakshasa
• Opal
• Rudy
• Maruts
• Chandra
• Rahu and ketu
• Garuda
• Aranyani
• Shani
• Vishwakarma
• Kara (Pandava Quintet)

Trivia

• The book is dedicated to Roshani Chokshi's parents: May and Hitesh. She says they "always insisted on making sure we read the 'real' versions of myths and fairy tales." She thanks them for the "delightful trauma" and tells them she loves them.

Mentions of Other Cultures

• When climbing the Ferris Wheel, Aru Shah remembers the 2004 movie The Notebook, which was based on a 1996 book and remade into an Indian Hindi-language film in 2019.
  • Mini also claims she heard Aru sing the theme song for the 1967 cartoon of Spider-Man. Although, the song Aru sings sounds more like the one Homer Simpson sang about his pig in The Simpsons Movie.
• Aru mentioned two wives, one turning into a pillar of salt and another becoming a ghost and floating back to the Underworld. Those two wives were Lot's unnamed wife and Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus. In the Book of Genesis, Lot's wife looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah which were being destroyed by God, this was against his angels' instructions. Orpheus tried to save his wife from the Underworld but looked back at her against Hades' orders causing Eurydice to go back.
• Aru is revealed to now be more into Iron Man instead of Spider-Man.
• When talking about how the Sleeper left "parts of himself" while looking for Kalpavriksha, Aru mentions Horcruxes.

Quotes

• “‘Potatoes are strong, hearty, starchy, and versatile,’ said Brynne. ‘You can do all kinds of things with them: grate, bake, boil, broil, roast, dice, slice, scallop- … -grill, flambé-“ — page 236