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“Thank, thank you miss.”

Jericho smiled warmly in acknowledgement of the thanks.  “You are always welcome, my friend,” she said softly.

There was quiet a moment.

Then, realizing they were waiting on her to speak, she nodded once, almost to herself.  “Very well, I will tell my tales,” she said, “though I warn you; my people are storytellers, and this is an old story we have passed down.  It has since been embellished and lengthened and is now told in an order different from that in which it happened.”

At the continued expectant silence of the others, Jericho smiled, and began the story.

~*~

I suppose it began with a dragon.  The mighty Kiaan, oldest and wisest of the dragons, the first who learned to speak.  He towered over the others, for he was the first to live so long and grow to such size.  He was the first of the greater dragons.  And he was the first to learn the ways of shakti, of the gift.  It was a power within him that he could wield to boil seas or raise mountains.  And he taught this gift to the humans of the land.

Once those gifted with shakti had learned how to harness their power, two groups had formed.  The Bairi, who used their gifts for destruction and self-gain, and of which there are always only two; and the Shanti, who tried to use their gifts for the good of those around them.

This story starts, when it is told traditionally, after the fall of the Shanti when they had been all but wiped out and an Empire had conquered most of the land.  At its head were two Bairi; one, the Emperor, and the other, his apprentice and stalwart enforcer.  He was called Tarak.  And we begin with him capturing a princess, Anayah Chahala, because she was a leader of the rebellion against the Empire and a spy.  One of her entourage escaped Tarak, however; a thief by the name of Ekavir who had been enslaved for his crimes and put in service of the princess.  Anayah had managed to speak with Ekavir before her impending capture, and told him to seek out Kuvadhuh, one of the last Shanti who remained in hiding.

After a few misadventures, Ekavir found himself in service to a small farm outside of Samaveh in the desert.  The couple that ran the farm were stern, weather-worn, and set in their ways.  They would not be easily persuaded to help in his plight.  But also on the farm was their foster-son, Raj Daraya, a slip of a youth with an adventurous soul.  Ekavir told him of Anayah’s beauty and the danger she was in.  Raj did not know Kuvadhuh or where to find the old Shanti, but he did know of a hermit who lived not far from the farm by the name of Kivadh.  And so the following morning Raj and Ekavir departed to seek Kivadh.

Meanwhile, Tarak had realized one of Anayah’s entourage had not been captured, nor was his body accounted for amongst the dead.  So the dark warrior sent his soldiers into the desert to search for Ekavir in case he carried information that could be used against the Empire.

When Raj and Ekavir found Kivadh and explained the situation, asking if Kivadh knew where they may find Kuvadhuh, they discovered that Kivadh was, in fact, Kuvadhuh and had used the name Kivadh while in hiding.  Kivadh told Raj that his father had been one of the Shanti like Kivadh, and that Raj also carried the gift of shakti within him.  Ekavir and Kivadh tried to persuade the boy to help in their rescue of the Princess.  But Raj’s responsibilities to the farm were weighing on his mind and he went back, against Kivadh’s warnings.

When he arrived Raj discovered that the farm had been ruined, the two burned bodies of his foster-parents lying just inside the door.  Tarak had traced Ekavir to the farm and had it destroyed.  This was all that was needed to persuade Raj to join the quest, as now he would also be gaining vengeance for his parents.  The three thus went to Samaveh and recruited a pair of mercenary merchants – Azad Agar and Balveer – to help them escape from the imperial soldiers in the region and get to the imperial prison outside of Alamut, the Princess’s city, where they believed she was being held.

Outside of Alamut, Tarak was attempting to learn what information Princess Anayah had acquired by means of brutal persuasion.  Outside of the prison was a mighty standing army, equipped with all manner of weapons and war machines.  Tarak had imprisoned the people of Alamut threatened to have Alamut razed to the ground if the Princess did not tell where the rebellion resided; she relented and told him of an abandoned city in the desert.  Tarak then had the Alamutians slaughtered and the buildings destroyed, despite his earlier word.

When Raj and his companions arrived only rubble remained of the city, but the Princess was still an important leader and strategist of the rebellion.  So a daring rescue plan was hatched.  Before Tarak had joined the Bairi as the Emperor’s apprentice, he had been one of the Shanti, and Kivadh had been his master.  Kivadh entered the army’s encampment and antagonized the soldier, causing great chaos and disorder among the ranks.  Raj, Azad and Ekavir meanwhile snuck into the prison while everyone was thus distracted, and after many misadventures, escaped with the Princess back to where Balveer awaited them.

But Kivadh’s antics soon drew the attention of Tarak, who challenged his former master to a duel.  Raj caught sight of it, and, entranced by the flashing of damascene blades as the warriors performed their deadly dance, could not help but watch.  Many of the imperial soldiers also paused what they were doing and merely watched the spectacle with amazement.  Tarak and Kivadh were evenly matched, gaining then losing advantages like the rising and falling of tides.  But as the fight wore on Kivadh left an opening, and Tarak took the opportunity.  He struck down his former master.

Azad and the princess had to drag Raj away from the scene so they could make their escape to where the rebellion truly resided, for Anayah had lied to Tarak earlier.  Upon their arrival Anayah gave the information that she had learned, and it was soon discovered that the Empire had followed the princess and her companions to the rebellion.  An attack was impending.  Azad and Balveer, mercenary as they were, simply took their reward for aiding in the Princess’s rescue and would soon be gone before the battle started.  Raj, now having no home to go back to, joined in the rebellion and fought for them.  In the battle that followed the rebels surprised the Empire by attacking their camp, destroying their war machines and forcing the soldiers to flee into the night.  Raj became engaged in combat with Tarak and when it seemed the young man was about to be felled, Azad returned and blocked the blow, forcing Tarak to follow his men.  Thus the day was won.

~*~

Jericho smiled at her audience.  “That is but the first part of the story,” she told them, “but I do not wish to make you sleep.  I will tell more at another time, perhaps.”

@this-is-not-an-alien @kimlikesart