A Tale from the Burning Sands
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Character: Rashaud al Faruq
Login: Dorakhan_Maysun - they say her name means beauty. Beautiful she is, without a single doubt in my mind, but names - words are such small things. I would like to say that I was the first to have seen the moon and the stars in her eyes, but such things are forbidden. She is a daughter of the Mulhorandi Pharaoh. I am but a lowly temple priest. Still, fate is not without a sense of irony. Her life is now in my hands.
It is hard to believe that she could be taken from the palace, that a full twenty guards would fall to a single man's blade, and that I were to be the only one left alive that saw that man's face. It was very apparent he was a northlander, with such pale skin - so pale as if to almost be without color - but it was difficult to tell how fair his features were against the black cloak he wore. Flaxen hair and eyes like emeralds - this is the man for whom I search.
I wish it was written in the stars for me to be a priest of Anhur, at least then I would have skill with a blade - but my devotion is to Thoth, Scribe of the Gods.
The Pharaoh gave me an escort - four of the most skilled Priests of Anhur, and sent me north on a merchant vessel in pursuit of the last ship out of Skuld. The sea was as quiet as death itself.
The moon's face changed once and I had come to know my companions well: Asad, Hamzah, Usama, and Zafir. In my tongue, the names of the first three mean 'lion,' while Zafir means 'victory.' It is common knowledge to all Mulhorandi that Anhur would not forgive a Priest who avoided the confrontation of evil. Though my companions were very strong and very brave, this did not save them.
The moon's face had turned from the sky the night we were raided - pirates. They were not famous pirates, nor were they particularly bloodthirsty, but my companions did not wish to let this opportunity to confront an evil pass them by. This was their undoing.
Though they succeeded in killing quite a number of pirates, each man was outnumbered ten to one, if not by more. They were each put down in turn, within minutes. I who had not raised my hand against the pirates offered them my purse. Call me a coward if you will, but I believe there are subtle differences between fools and cowards.
The moon's face changed many more times before my boat arrived at the Easting Reach. I traveled by a smaller boat from their northward through the Rawlinswood.
It is here my search begins, and the first chapter in my tale ends._
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Reviewed - XP Pending.
