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al-qadim:diary [2020-10-19 15:04] – [Previous months] sandra | al-qadim:diary [2020-11-07 16:47] – [The Tale of the Forced Surrender] sandra | ||
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+ | |||
+ | ## Magarib 1–2 | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Soul Dagger | ||
+ | |||
+ | Acererak created the dagger from a shard of the soul monger, a magical | ||
+ | skullgem, a ring of intelligence, | ||
+ | of a dragonborn, and the stone itself is in fact a fragment of his own | ||
+ | life. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The dagger is made from the soul of a living natural creature, and it | ||
+ | cannot be healed from the death of a living creature. The soul in | ||
+ | question is the mishap of a living creature, and the dagger is the | ||
+ | destruction of a living creature. The dagger is never killed, as it is | ||
+ | a living creature, and the destruction of the mishap is always the | ||
+ | death of the living creature. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The dagger can be used as a weapon, as a tool, or an ordinary dagger. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When al-Bek, the Kahin, ordered Sir Bradford to destroy the dagger, | ||
+ | the ghosts inside were restored from the evil forms Acererak had | ||
+ | turned them into and their souls found peace among the planes. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Even as the plane guardians watched their numbers dwindle, their | ||
+ | sovereigns continued to look on with hope and goodwill, and the Vizier | ||
+ | of Fate also continued to watch the trouble with which the planeshifts | ||
+ | were carried out. When the planeshifts had been completed, Vizier | ||
+ | Hajama ibn Abd al-Waqadah, the God of Courage, was among those who | ||
+ | were most disturbed, for the change that he saw was not one that he | ||
+ | had been warned of. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of al-Karakas' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Four plain golden rings were forged, one for each of the four heroes. | ||
+ | Sharwin al-Hukra, the Wind/Sea mage. Her brother, Talgen, the corsair, | ||
+ | and his corsair friend, just going by al-Karakas. They had been joined | ||
+ | by an outland warrior, Sir Bradford, who carried the legendary | ||
+ | Shatterspike. | ||
+ | |||
+ | They each had their names carved into their rings. And swore to always | ||
+ | wear them as they were meant to be the everlasting party. | ||
+ | |||
+ | They kept on coming up from night to night, but one night they had all | ||
+ | been at their lodgings, when the evil spirit of wanderlust that was in | ||
+ | them gathered them all together, and took them to the palace, where | ||
+ | the pumpkin-headed queen was sitting on her throne. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Al-Karakaras was Treasury, and was the first to wear the ring, but | ||
+ | many of the Masters of the trade are not great, and know well enough | ||
+ | all the plots of the Enemy, having been appointed by him. He is the | ||
+ | First to salvage the sheep of the Desert, and to wander over more | ||
+ | lands than any other, for a simple desire to see the light, and a | ||
+ | desire to have the best of the best of the apples for his fellow | ||
+ | sa' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Watch Captain | ||
+ | |||
+ | Krag is what they call me. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Two times every day, Eli had looked out over the dead horizon. I had | ||
+ | watched him, almost every time, seen the rays of sun dance over his | ||
+ | neck of sand and earth, as he looked out over the water. His name for | ||
+ | the sea was his roaring, crashing danger. | ||
+ | |||
+ | That danger was not how he died. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Neither the waves nor the dunes claimed him. Humanity did. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A man with white clothes, a red sash, and a silver ring with a golden, | ||
+ | embedded symbol of a scimitar had struck him down. Openly in the | ||
+ | street. Apprehended immediately, | ||
+ | With Gellan al-Pirwa, the godfather of smuggler bands, still in jail, | ||
+ | the guards were lost at sea with Mahnaz in exile and Eli dead. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Jumlat' | ||
+ | for the best. I was never as invested as Eli was in the sultan and his | ||
+ | affairs. I was happy to work with my hands and shovel during the day, | ||
+ | and read into the wee hours by candlelight in the evening. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I feel just lost as lost as the guards, as Safaq as a whole. I haven' | ||
+ | looked over Eli's financials yet or how I'm gonna pay for this place. | ||
+ | I am still living in his house. I still use my own room. I still read | ||
+ | Eli's books. I still use his towels, still eat off his plate. I am | ||
+ | still stretched on his grave. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ## Magarib 3–13 | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of Barnacle Bess | ||
+ | |||
+ | A bard cast Awaken on a crab, and the other missionaries were deeply | ||
+ | moved by the crab's dedication to Hakiyah and named her Barnacle Bess. | ||
+ | |||
+ | She loved singing, and especially singing hymns dedicated to Hakiyah' | ||
+ | wave of truth, and the most famous of them is | ||
+ | |||
+ | Weeping, my beloved, | ||
+ | who adores | ||
+ | the sea and the land, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Our hearts are filled | ||
+ | with the sorrows | ||
+ | of our own tears. | ||
+ | |||
+ | We have vowed to give | ||
+ | you our lives, | ||
+ | for you are a great one | ||
+ | |||
+ | O Hakiyah! | ||
+ | |||
+ | They say that the one who | ||
+ | is most beloved | ||
+ | is the greatest of matters, | ||
+ | |||
+ | and that the greatest of | ||
+ | the great is the | ||
+ | greatest of the lesser. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I have sworn to you, | ||
+ | to give my life | ||
+ | to find out what is true, | ||
+ | |||
+ | O Hakiyah! | ||
+ | |||
+ | She was adored by the missionaries. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Faith Ethoist of Hakiyah is gradually becoming more secular; the | ||
+ | priests now involve themselves in local issues, and the faith is more | ||
+ | familiar with the settlers. The faith is also less invited to be | ||
+ | involved in politics. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the present day, the faith is a highly respected institution, | ||
+ | referred to as the Widow' | ||
+ | The faith remains one of the few institutions in the Land of Fate to | ||
+ | keep a watchful eye of the latest arrivals of holy slayers and mamluk. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Founder' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Rubban Safaq bin-Jute himself assembled a force of half the people of | ||
+ | the city, together with the sultan' | ||
+ | lead by Evanore bint-Rūm. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Safaq and his crew defeated the hags and their fish, and they had a | ||
+ | great victory. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When Evanore and the other hags saw their fate, they were filled with | ||
+ | regret and stayed in captivity. They were allowed time to think of a | ||
+ | plan, but when they did, they found that the time for their escape was | ||
+ | short. They took a ship from the city, but when they got there, they | ||
+ | were met by a swarm of hounds who took them prisoners. They prisoned | ||
+ | them in the palace, but when they had been taken there, they set about | ||
+ | making their escape. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When they got there, they had to bear a great deal of cruelty and they | ||
+ | had to eat the flesh of five hogs. Each of them had to go through the | ||
+ | streets of the palace for a whole day, but when they were brought back | ||
+ | and told that the palace was empty, they got up and left. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When Safaq saw the shipwreck and the slaughter, he was satisfied and | ||
+ | said: "This is a wicked and treacherous race and they are all doomed." | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of Henrietta' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Henrietta' | ||
+ | who is also a wizard. The shop is full of exotic and exotic items, | ||
+ | usually hidden under the tops of bookshelves. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The shop is respected by the local gentry, and is often visited by the | ||
+ | stables of the Black Riders, who have complained of the shop due to | ||
+ | the number of odd (and colorful) items they see there. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The shop is usually full of exotic and exotic items from top to | ||
+ | bottom, but the problem is the shopkeeper' | ||
+ | wide variety of gemstones, but the shopkeeper' | ||
+ | in his own jewelry and accessories than in dealing with the locals. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Henrietta herself is a merchant who frequents the canteen and bath and | ||
+ | mooch. She has no idea why, but is still fond of it. She also has a | ||
+ | dimmish but fond sense of humor. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ## Magarib 14–19 | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Last Fels | ||
+ | |||
+ | As you all know, this eulogy is for Rumfels, who was eaten by an orca | ||
+ | earlier today. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Rumfels was usually alone. Half-elven, half-human, and with an | ||
+ | ambiguous expression, who liked to wear a big, loose cloak of camel | ||
+ | wool, originally brown but worn thin pale gray through many years on | ||
+ | board sunny decks. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The craftmanship of this cloak must' | ||
+ | the one time I saw them take it off, not a stitch was loose. It was | ||
+ | only the cloth itself that was being worn threadbare, day and night, | ||
+ | almost exposing the quilted lining. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Their bahrayin' | ||
+ | thread and needle, a mess kit, a tinderbox, and a durable, heavy | ||
+ | lantern. | ||
+ | |||
+ | A couple of times I saw them at the docks, marveling at the tales of | ||
+ | sailors from other ships especially when they had sea creatures or | ||
+ | exotic treasures on display. | ||
+ | |||
+ | As far as I know, they grew up on the high seas, but those seas never | ||
+ | lost their sense of wonder and fascination to them. Often looking | ||
+ | wistfully at the sun glittering on the waves of the Golden Gulf and | ||
+ | further south, on the Crowded Sea itself. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I asked them once where they had gotten the name Rumfels and at first | ||
+ | I couldn' | ||
+ | still softly: " | ||
+ | piece, for some rum." | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Skeleton' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The House of Dhi'b, or as some call them, the Sons of the Wolf, are | ||
+ | ruled by an old, gaunt sheikh, Anwat al-Makkar, nicknamed the | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | al-Dhi' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Anwat' | ||
+ | traveled to Hiyal to search help but was referred to the gnome rulers | ||
+ | of Sikak. Those rulers did not open the gates to this scruffy sha'ir | ||
+ | with his al-Badia–accented Midani. They did not let up whether they | ||
+ | knew of his reputation as commander of genie. | ||
+ | |||
+ | On the island village of Samak, he received the hushed whispers: | ||
+ | "Bring your young ruler-in-waiting to the hakimas on Saliam Island" | ||
+ | Eager to return home, he signed up with the Sea Ghost Trading Company | ||
+ | for passage home to his tribe in the deserts west of Ajayib. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Botched Raise | ||
+ | |||
+ | Thirsty Salt is what they call me, and me and my best friend Clever | ||
+ | Copper are acolytes here at Safaq' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Petitioned by the residents of Safaq, Na'wa min-Hakiyah, | ||
+ | priest, had attempted to raise the guard captain, Eli, from beyond the | ||
+ | shroud between life and death. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Accompanied by two of the novices, Hafam and Zobeiza, they commenced | ||
+ | the hour-long, solemn process. Suddenly, after just a few minutes, we | ||
+ | heard a terrible commotion, screams and… and a snarling, wet sound. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I, and Namarida, one of the novices here, rushed up the stairs and on | ||
+ | the other side of the door we saw a horrible stillness. Spatter on the | ||
+ | wall and floor and the three of our fellow clergy, with whom we break | ||
+ | bread before every vesper and after every laud, dead. Their injuries | ||
+ | too gruesome to detail, but, seemingly committed by tooth, claw, and a | ||
+ | curiously precise assortment of needles. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Eli's own body still on the slab, not a drop on him. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ## Magarib 20–21 | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Veteran' | ||
+ | |||
+ | This veteran' | ||
+ | you will help him carry it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | He will not be injured by it, | ||
+ | but it is not safe to be too full of it. | ||
+ | |||
+ | He may get rid of his fears and doubt, | ||
+ | but he will not be hurt by it at all. | ||
+ | |||
+ | He will not be hurt by it, but in the name of Hajama, | ||
+ | as a traveler in a state of great danger. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I see that you are a man of understanding, | ||
+ | That is one of those who know the truth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When he had finished, the imam got up and said: "I have heard, O | ||
+ | merciful king, That there is a stranger among the people of the city, | ||
+ | As tall as a mountain with a beard like a peacock." | ||
+ | |||
+ | This veteran' | ||
+ | like the enamel in a vase or as a mirror: | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is used by sailors as a weapon for striking with | ||
+ | and some as a weapon when they are being fond of us. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When their druggist makes his or her bed, the two of them are in the | ||
+ | habit of drinking wine together and eating, and sometimes they make a | ||
+ | peaceable companionship; | ||
+ | |||
+ | All in all, I prefer to take the chains and, if I are beaten, I will | ||
+ | follow your example. | ||
+ | |||
+ | If I find myself in a place where I can't get away, I will cut my own | ||
+ | wood and burn my own stoves, and so on. | ||
+ | His eyes glinted, and his heart beat like a spring in the storm. | ||
+ | |||
+ | His apprentice, the faithful quartermaster Captain Xendros, said: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In such cases, I dare you, my master, to pick a quarrel with me? You | ||
+ | are the one who brought me up, and I have been wronged by you. In that | ||
+ | case, it is not for me to give you a choice between me and him, and if | ||
+ | I am beaten by you, I shall cut my own wood and burn my own stoves, | ||
+ | and I shall then have to fight for you. I do not think you can make | ||
+ | the choice, master," | ||
+ | does not please me to hear you complain of the wrongs you have done me | ||
+ | and of the injustice you have done me. You are a coward, and I shall | ||
+ | strike up my own shop on the coast of the Crowded Sea." | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Ancient Vestments | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Loregiver tells of an amira in the twelfth century. | ||
+ | |||
+ | With a group of soldiers, they expertly escorted the amira through the | ||
+ | streets of the district, where she was met by a small crowd of | ||
+ | onlookers. Her presence was also noticed by two rulers of the palace, | ||
+ | whom she had in her service. The latter were the husband-to-be and the | ||
+ | younger daughter of the vizier, and that is to say, the two who were | ||
+ | killed in the palace. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The palace guards, who had been watching over Gana in private but as | ||
+ | usual remained in and out of her presence, were muttering to | ||
+ | themselves: "How could she be killed by the palace guards? We shall | ||
+ | not know about this until the day after tomorrow night." | ||
+ | being, they were in a state of confusion and during the night they had | ||
+ | wandered about the palace looking for her. They had not noticed her | ||
+ | before, and as for the vizier, he had not been able to sleep, as Gana | ||
+ | was still in the palace with the guard servants, and so he had only to | ||
+ | stay awake for a while. | ||
+ | |||
+ | By the time the next morning dawned, he was still in the palace. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Many of the tattered and ragged clothes from the amira' | ||
+ | lie in a seawater, particularly the pajamas, which are wrapped in | ||
+ | seaweed. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shibali herself has a strong dislike for the guests who | ||
+ | flee the palace, but she recognizes the value of them | ||
+ | after reading their stories and the stories of the | ||
+ | marids, for the storytellers and the mariners are all | ||
+ | in the palace. | ||
+ | |||
+ | She is extremely jealous and jealous of the guests. She is only | ||
+ | allowed two nights in a week, and in the first night she sleeps with | ||
+ | only the servants of the palace. She has a nightmarish sense of humor | ||
+ | and is quite unable to sleep. She has been known to wear accessories | ||
+ | and wear out their lives, so she has no qualms about being seen in the | ||
+ | palace. | ||
+ | |||
+ | She wears a sultana' | ||
+ | has drawn up for her, which he has kept trimmed with gold and adorned | ||
+ | with jewels. She is besotted by dreams of gold, jewels, and spices, | ||
+ | and each night she has a special night-time ritual: a night of | ||
+ | drinking, dancing, and singing. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Her festival is held every year on the first of the month of Saris, | ||
+ | when a party of Pantheon League treasure seekers (gathered here by a | ||
+ | wealth of the nearest cities and towns) ride out to meet the sultana. | ||
+ | |||
+ | These entertainments are chosen from a large roster of exotic items | ||
+ | and special effects, arranged in an exotic but worthless and corrupted | ||
+ | fashion. In the sultana' | ||
+ | and an exotic lamp with a magical enchantment, | ||
+ | the magic to design her own new items, which she twists into mundane | ||
+ | items. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Acolyte' | ||
+ | |||
+ | My compatriot is betrothed to Istishia | ||
+ | but I have pledged myself to Imix. | ||
+ | |||
+ | My worship burns in your presence, | ||
+ | And your knowledge is more powerful than the night. | ||
+ | Your light is like the moon. | ||
+ | Your certainty is like the fire. | ||
+ | Your knowledge is like the dawn. | ||
+ | Your power is like the morning. | ||
+ | Your answer is like the dawn, | ||
+ | and your peace is like the dawn. | ||
+ | |||
+ | You are the Lord of the funeral pyre. | ||
+ | Your truth is like the elders. | ||
+ | Your will is like the beasts of burden. | ||
+ | |||
+ | My worship burns in the | ||
+ | place of the great, the magnificent, | ||
+ | the illustrious, | ||
+ | the envious, the detractors, the idolaters; | ||
+ | the faithful, the faithful, the peace-loving; | ||
+ | the liberated, the oppressed, the refugees. | ||
+ | The sun, moon, and stars of heaven, | ||
+ | the swift, the swift, and the swift, | ||
+ | the beautified, the blessed, the free, the gracious, | ||
+ | the prosperous, the excommunicated; | ||
+ | the way of the righteous. | ||
+ | |||
+ | My worship burns within my hand, | ||
+ | And all my heart' | ||
+ | For fear of the one who has the power to | ||
+ | Deliver me from the clutches of the evil world, | ||
+ | Which has spread out like a fiery sea, | ||
+ | Despising me and seeking after me. | ||
+ | It is the wish of my heart that I should be your slave, | ||
+ | And your slave is my desire; | ||
+ | You who have given me a ship, | ||
+ | And the rudder of which I can lift, | ||
+ | And a beating heart that is set upon you. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is he who has brought me here, | ||
+ | But I have come to give you my word, | ||
+ | I have not insulted you but you, my master, | ||
+ | Who is the friend of righteousness, | ||
+ | Who is the servant of the upright, | ||
+ | Who is the servant of freedom, | ||
+ | Who is the slave of the blameless. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ## Magarib 21 | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Poisoned Water | ||
+ | |||
+ | From Jumlat, reports come of thousands dead by poisoned water. | ||
+ | Tourists, who did not realize that this haunted place was haunted by | ||
+ | demons, and by the ghost of the dead, who lived in the shadows before | ||
+ | the advent of the enchanted market. In the dark of the night, even the | ||
+ | noble. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The city is cloaked in grey and still, and the buildings are seen in | ||
+ | the distance. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The wind chirps in the trees and the gurgling water and the horse | ||
+ | galloping down the road. | ||
+ | |||
+ | It is only one of the many cities and towns where the dark magic of | ||
+ | the Brotherhood of the True Flame is kept in check. | ||
+ | |||
+ | And the corpses of the dead are kept in the hall of the palace. When | ||
+ | the palace guards see people' | ||
+ | if they can get them, they pack them into sacks and transport them to | ||
+ | the palace, where it is dressed and decorated with colorful horns and | ||
+ | other decorations. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There, the dead are kept in a large storage room, in the center of a | ||
+ | small courtyard. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The palace guards are constantly on guard to ensure the safety of the | ||
+ | palace, since the palace is guarded by a long wall of stone with large | ||
+ | iron gates. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Inside the palace gates, the dead are caged, nearly | ||
+ | up to a yard in the wall. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are no people to see them, and the walls are covered with a | ||
+ | thick, impervious copper coating that prevents too much light entering | ||
+ | the palace. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Forced Surrender | ||
+ | |||
+ | They call her Silver Map. She carries on without one of her sisters. | ||
+ | |||
+ | She was a warrior, said to have fought the efreets and | ||
+ | sons of the great ones. A great sage was once her brother. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Her sister has abandoned her, and she has sworn to protect her | ||
+ | from the sun and the moon, from the light of the | ||
+ | long-dead gods, and from the heretics. She has sworn to | ||
+ | destroy all the heretics and never let them stay in the | ||
+ | sultan' | ||
+ | she has no other sisters, and her sister has married the | ||
+ | sultan' | ||
+ | proud of this, as is the sultan himself. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ### The Tale of the Burial Chambers | ||
+ | |||
+ | The burial chambers on abd-Yson island, where the dead are buried | ||
+ | like the animals. The island is inhabited by desert birds, and it provides | ||
+ | their nesting areas. There are caves and sandy beaches here, where | ||
+ | the birds can rest in peace and their eggs can be hatched. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The burial chambers on abd-Yson island, as well as the shrine to the | ||
+ | cold elements, terraced with white marble, was restored to its | ||
+ | original state. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The mass graves of the House of the White Mage are filled with | ||
+ | skeletons of their former homes. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The White Mage is the key to the archipelago' | ||
+ | bishop of the city, Ghedd, is a hulking brute with a scimitar in his hand. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The result is that he is always in the dark about the truth of the | ||
+ | matter, and always appears to be a student of the dark arts. He has | ||
+ | since grown distant from his former friends, and his reduced to bitter | ||
+ | bitterness and jealousy. He hates the White Mage and their dealings | ||
+ | with the marid, who are a constant and very near companion. | ||
+ | |||
+ | He has settled on abd-Yson island, where the nobility worship the cold | ||
+ | of ocean. The dao kingdom is also not far from here, but this island | ||
+ | is surrounded by the waves of the Crowded Sea. Though the palace is | ||
+ | sepuchral, transformed to a place of burial. Sometimes the propaganda | ||
+ | of the city is carried by the acolytes themselves, who are too lazy to | ||
+ | keep track of the marids and the waves. | ||