One Hundred and One Salhinid Tales

[magical girl salhin]

XLV

THE GLIMMER TRICKS THE CROCODILES OF THE EDUTU

It is said that when Gellema arrived upon the banks of the Edutu, she peered through its limpid waters and beheld a cup in the center of the river. It gleamed so beautifully that she was immediately entranced, and she swore in her heart that the cup shall be hers. Yet, the Edutu was safevouched by Kula, and Kula had seeded the Edutu with life such that the riverbanks and its waters were guarded by all manners of beasts, the most feared of all being the crocodiles.

On a certain day, when Kula was away tending to Bel-Ishȗn, Gellema appeared by the banks of the Edutu in all pomp and ceremony. She declared boldly that B'aara would like to take census of her subjects, and demanded that the crocodiles and the beasts of the river line themselves up so that she may count them. At first bewildered, but yet unable to imagine that Gellema would act so brazenly if it was some design of trickery, the beasts did as she bade, especially since she was of the Celestial Wheel.

Accordingly, Gellema began to count the beasts, stepping upon them as she did so, until eventually she reached the center of the Edutu. There, she snatched the cup from the waters, and raced back to the banks and beyond the shores before the beasts even registered her design.

It is said that it is because of Gellema's trickery that the crocodiles of the Edutu have been enraged ever since, and strike with ferocious disregard even for the sons and daughters of the tribe of Salhin, that none may ever come to do trickery upon them again.

After, when Kula confronted Gellema for the theft, all that the Sabotage would say was that the cup had been lost even to her, and is buried now in the earth, whereupon she concluded with these words:

Each thing of things hath its appointed tide / When 'tis, O sister, granted or denied.
Fortune and misfortune are two sides of the same / For woe and welfare aye conjoint abide.
The world divided from what is held dearest / After long union scattered far and wide.
But deigned in time to unite them all again / And from the cup is every good descried.

[magical girl salhin]

XLVI

WANDERINGS OF AGHIL AL-AMIN

There once lived a philosopher named Aghil al-Amin. As the cities of the Ashfolks grew and their realms spanned the Desert, many marvels were raised and many wondrous ruins of the old giants were unearthed, Aghil came to be obsessed with travelling all of the known lands. After many years, he returned to a gathering of the greats and learned, and spoke of how he had visited all the cities and villages of the Desert.

Quoth the audience, "What were these cities like, how distant the borders, how treacherous the words, and how well-tended were the wheel-shrines?"

Quoth Aghil, irate, "I would not know. I was in a curtained carriage, and knew of my wanderings at my servants' words."

At those words, the audience lost interest, for Aghil had travelled without sight and so had seen nothing of where he walked.

Chastised and humiliated, Aghil embarked upon yet another journey, this time on foot and towards the Summer Palace. There, he wandered the many gardens and galleries, walking amongst a thousand thousand art-pieces before hastily returning to the gathering of the greats and learned.

Quoth Aghil, proudly, "To the Summer Palace did I go, and there I saw every piece of art and wonders."

Quoth the audience, "And which was your favorite?"

Quoth Aghil, irate, "I would not know. I was tired, and there were so many that I had to hurry. I could hardly have lingered to study them closely."

At those words, the audience became disinterested again, for Aghil had travelled with sight but without understanding, and so had known nothing of what he saw.

Despondent, Aghil left the city walls and wandered instead, this time without purpose nor destination. He came upon a great tortoise amidst his wandering, and quoth Aghil to the tortoise, "Why were they not impressed? I have travelled the breadth and span of the Desert, been to every city and laid eyes upon every art.

The great tortoise shook its head, and simply took its time to munch on the grass about it.

At that, quoth Aghil, "Why do I wander? For the sake of distant sights, to impress the greats and the learned, those who did not share the road with me?"

Aghil al-Amin pondered upon those words as he walked, and eventually, he returned to his hometown. He never left the walls of his city again, but wandered its streets and its alleys instead, spoke to its peoples, shared tales and tears, lived and loved and celebrated and mourned and grieved. And despite never leaving the walls of his city again, he saw and he learned more within it than he ever did despite a thousand leagues' of the roads. Thereafter, he began to paint what he knew, and much, much later, his works were considered masterpieces that truly captured the ineffable essence of creation.

[magical girl salhin]

XLVII

THE PLEROMIC MARTYRDOM

a tale heard from Eloqui the Twindari

In ancient times, when the tribe of Salhin was yet young and cowering beneath the Mother's sable cloak, there were two brothers. The Magi was their father, and he would remark proudly to all, "Lo! See my two sons, who are so vivid and full of life! One I named Kalim, for he breathes the air of the high peaks. And the other I name Galim, for his hair catches the light when the dawn breaks."

On a certain day, Death came upon the Ashfolks. She was hungry, and thought to gorge herself upon us. Upon all fours she sniffed about and licked her lips for there were many abed who knew not that she was stalking.

It so happened that Kalim and Galim were about that night, for they loved the shining moon and the way it glanced upon the Edutu. From afar, they spied Death, and Death came upon them, and said, "Lo! My first meal in this dark! Sumptuous you both are, for I can feel the life beating within you."

The two brothers, beholding Death's designs, replied, "O, Death! We give ourselves to you gladly, all the life in the village we offer you as a gift, for here by the Edutu even you are loved. We have but one condition: you must slay us both at exactly the same time, for we desire to leave the world as our mother had brought us into it."

And Death, not foreseeing the trickery in the brothers' words, readily agreed, for they were so full of vitality that she had needed but to gorge herself on them both to be satisfied for the night.

Death opened wide her maws, and sought to devour the brothers both. But the pair, foreseeing her design, brought the measure of their lives and grew vastly, thrice and thrice again. Try as she might, Death could not swallow both at the same time. Furious, she sought to chop off their heads one by one, but she was bested and could not consume the other villagers, and went off howling into the night.

When dawn broke, the Magi came upon the corpses of his sons. He wept, and wept, and so there came to be the rains as his tears were taken by the Edutu, and he perceived the shadow of Death and said, "Lo! That my sons should martyr themselves for the lives of others!" And as he wept and wept, and as the Magi wept, his sons were raised to life once more, though they were much changed and could perceive Death wherever they were.

So it is then, and so it is now, that Kalim and Galim are locked in eternal contest with Death. With their cunning they sought to belay her predations, and they tend to us when their contest is lost, the measure of their lives dutifully spent to vouchsafe us in life and in death.

[magical girl salhin]

XLVIII

THE FALSE LAMB

When the first walls were yet being raised, it is said that the Wickedsnap wore the fleece of a lamb and disguised itself as one of Urazzir's flock.

Come dinner, Urazzir butchered the false lamb for mutton, but tasted only a mouthful of ash.

[magical girl salhin]

XLIX

THE MENDICANT AND THE MERCHANT

Two men once lived in ancient Ilstu. One was an impoverished mendicant who lived in a beggarly plight. The other was a merchant gilded in the lucre of business. Both donated charitably, abiding by all the customs of the tribe of Salhin, with the former giving all he can and the latter giving a fraction but still vaults of dinars more than the former.

On a certain day, the merchant and the mendicant came before a Waterbearer.

Quoth the merchant, "Measure my virtues against his, I bade, and know that mine is more virtuous, for in charity I have been the greater, lavishing the poor and the needy with vast sums of dinars."

Quoth the Waterbearer, "And for all that, his virtues weigh the greater, for though he may have given little, he had given all he can, and though you may have given greatly, you have harbored much of your wealth for ill ends. You have lavished upon the poor and the needful, of that I do not doubt, but you have given greatly to the wicked and the corrupt, to satisfy your own ambitions. This is why it is easier for him to enter the Mother's garden and Bel-Ishȗn than for you to be ever welcomed."

Quoth the merchant, outraged, "My friends are legion, across this city's alleys and streets. If you scorn me and do me this wrong, I shall bring down a great ire upon you."

Quoth the Waterbearer in reply with this couplet:

Take what she gives you, cherish it now / For now to fair and then to foul her fortunes are
Unjust it would be to bid the world: be just / Blame her not, she was ne'er made for justice

With those words, the three parted. Much later, the merchant came to fall upon hard times, with fortune turning ill for his allies politick, his wealth and dinars seized by the Janissaries, his properties taken from her upon allegations of embezzlement. His friends began to abandon him, a pack of jackals turning upon each other in a scramble to preserve what wealth and influence they had left, or to cast aspersions and blame upon each other that they may themselves escape unscathed.

Quoth the merchant then this verse:

Ill fortune dims the sheen of a man whate'er his wealth had been / E'en as the sun about to set shines with a saffron light
Absent he falls from memory, forgotten by his friends / Present he shareth not their joys for none in him delight
He walks the market shunned of all, too glad to hide his head / In desert places tears he sheds and moans his bitter plight
Amid his kith and kin a man, once though may he be rich / Yet waylaid by want and penury is but a stranger-wight!

[magical girl salhin]

L

THE KING AND THE GIANT

Once upon a time, there lived a giant. His was an ancient lineage, and for many seasons had he and his house tended to Bel-Ishȗn. The peoples of the world would come to him and his, to learn their crafts and glean of their Knowledge. He visited upon these peoples the gift of metallurgy and architecture, and at his feet did the peoples of the Desert serve such that the wonders of the giants multiply.

Yet there came a certain time of axe and bronze, and there was much ringing of hammers and smelting, and there was the bellicose and the turning of the Wheel, and there were great sorrows as Bel-Ishȗn was turned against itself. In ancient times, kin battled kin, brothers bloodied brothers, the walls fell, and an empire precursor to and predating ours shattered. And so came to us the twilight years of the Time of Learning, the Waqt Almadrasa.

Alone amongst his kin, the giant turned to the King's Keep, and he began to walk. Upon ancient battlefields and the broken bones of those whom he once called brothers and sisters, through ring after ring, he walked. A thousand thousand rings went by, until the giant finally stood before the King.

There, the giant bellowed - "There, Nusrum, the ramparts fallen. There, Ilstu, weeps the mother. There, Nappahi, hammer and bronze. Here, Musaru, darkened and tormented. We are dying in this City of your make."

Concluded the giant - "Why?"

Quoth then the King -  "Know you not that those who depart from my City in adherence to my laws and pay the debt to I which was received from me in salvation, their souls being obedient and pure, will obtain a most holy place by my side in the revolution of the ages, and they are sent into pure bodies? Know you not that I am the savior of your world, that in my Keep I safevouch your souls, that someday I the father of this creation will issue forth with a silvery brand at the turning of the age? The righteous is immortal in my demesne, and at the end of your feeble mortality you will be restored to my side. Why then do the petty woes of your meek empires and your timid cities or your fleeting anguish and sorrows matter at all?"

Concluded the King - "Knowing this, weep not for your own end. A thousand seasons you may glean and still yours will be fleeting flesh, so bade death as an old friend and spend your living years as you would choose - altogether righteous or altogether wicked. What is there to bemoan, when all the suffering and evils you may endure is but a frail flicker of time compared to eternal peace in the mists by my flank? At your life's end there will be a heaven of my making and the garden shall bloom again, so do not bemoan your earthly suffering with prayers of woe. Go now, and you will know the turning of the age by the sparks of the hot flame, as how leaves of a tree may turn saffron when autumn nears."

It is said that there are three endings to this tale.

In the first, the giant returned to the Desert, and greeted the onrush of the age. There was peace and calm acceptance, and contentment in the desolation of an empire. In time, death claimed him, with the suffering and anguish of his long mortal span but a fleeting trifle compared to an eternity in a heaven by his King.

In the second, the giant raged and rebelled against the King, stating that  if there was such a painless and blissful place by the King's side then it was unjust and pointless that he and his should be denied it until they have suffered through their mortal span. It is said that for his rebellion, the giant was yoked until he was not, and thereafter it is unclear as to the purpose the giant pursued. Perhaps he is dead.

In the third, the giant embarked on a long pilgrimage to bring about a just and perfect creation. We can only assume that he failed, or that he strives to remake the world to this very day.

[magical girl salhin]

LI

MARIB I AND THE WHITE SPEAR

After the Times of Learning and when the Gods and Ashfolks ceased to share bread and libations, Salhin would come to find a successor who would be father to the peoples after him.

The first of the Caliphs who would come to reign over the tribe of Salhin was Marib I, the White Spear, Sovereign of Bayt al-Alsayf, Commander of the Faithful, Sultan of Baz'eel, Sultan of Qa'im, Protector of the Great Ash Desert.

It was said that when ancient Ilstu descended into idolatry and apostasy, it was Marib I who became the first of B'aara and drove the Apostate Mu'tasim from the Summer Palace. For that deed, he was gifted the White Spear and named Caliph by B'aara, and to ensure that the rightful worship of the Wheel will not be strayed from again, he shattered his royal scepter into a thousand pieces and divided it amongst the Holies. His line would become the al-Maribids, and for countless generations they would steward the Desert.

In the years to come, the minarets of Baz'eel grew shining and numerous and the knowledge of Qa'im grew deep, and at the Summer Palace there was serenity, dancing, and song. Sadly, these days did not last, for it eventually came to be that the King would fall and the world turned to disorder, and came upon us an Age of Ash, of tumult and strange tidings amidst a dying world. But even now the tribe of Salhin does not forget that the world was once a garden fair, and shall be a garden once more.

[magical girl salhin]

LII

OSMAN I PARLEYS WITH THE DOORKEEPERS

It is said that when Osman I, founder of the al-Maribid, first of the hallowed lineage, first came to the throne, he bargained with the Doorkeepers for the keeping of time and ensured that history shone in the Desert alone. In an account of how this came to be, the Doorkeepers proclaimed that only those with the greatest of wisdom may bear the burden of keeping time, and sent six of their sages to the Caliph to test him. He welcomed the six sages into his glittering courts, and treated them as honored guests and not a hint of ire at their audacity to dictate terms of his great Caliphate.

Quoth the First Doorkeeper, "Time is a burden not to be kept by the unlearned, lest it corrupts and leads astray the King's peoples. We will not permit those who are not blessed with the Knowledge to keep time. This is our ancient charge and duty. Answer our questions, and convince us that you and your people have the Knowledge, and we shall hinder you not."

Quoth Osman I, "Ask, and I shall answer, for you shall know that we of the tribe of Salhin are blessed by the Magi Izdu himself, and our Knowledge is as deep as the seas and as vast as the Desert."

Quoth the Second Doorkeeper, "There are twelve towering trees, each with thirty branches."

Quoth the Third Doorkeeper, "There are two horses, one a charred hue of black, and the other white as crystalline glass. They race each other, but neither can overtake the other."

Quoth the Fourth Doorkeeper, "There is a group of jackals that prowl in the Desert, but sometimes there are thirty of them, sometimes there are twenty-nine, and sometimes thirty-one."

Quoth the Fifth Doorkeeper, "There is a garden and in it is a farmer with a scythe. He hews down the many-hued plants and flowers, caring not for their height, be they tall or short."

Quoth the Sixth Doorkeeper, "There are two trees rising from the ocean, and a bird has nested there. It sits on one tree at night and the other in the day, and when the bird flies from one tree to the other, the tree it departs becomes withered and the tree it lands on bloom anew with life."

Quoth the First Doorkeeper, "In the mountains there is a city of giants, but the giants departed from the city and migrated to the Desert. When woe and calamity fell, they were driven from the Desert, and they longed for the city that they had abandoned."

Concluded the First Doorkeeper, "Explain to us now the meanings of these sayings."

Quoth Osman I, laughing gaily, "The twelve towering trees represent the twelve months of the year, and such is how time passes. Of the two horses, they are night and the day, which strives ever to be ahead of each other. The jackals signify that on some months there are more days, and on others, there are less. As for the bird, the two trees reflect the two ends of the world, between the firmaments and the bedrock, such that the Wheel turns from one to the other with the bird as the cornerstone. The farmer who hews with his scythe is Death as time the reaper, who hews down as chaff the old and the young alike, should Kalim and Galim ever falter in their eternal contests. And finally, the tale of the giant is the tale of a man, who would abode in the dwellings of his parents but must eventually take his leave, and when travails and tribulations should visit him, would ever recall and long for the days of carefree youth."

Such great marvel exceeding marvel did the Doorkeepers proclaim, and after much debate and arguments, it came to be that Osman I extracted concessions after concessions until it was finally agreed that so long as the tribe of Salhin vouchsafe the secrets of timekeeping from those who dwell beyond the Desert, the Doorkeepers shall neither hinder nor tarry the blessed subjects of al-Maribid.

[magical girl salhin]

LIII

THE OSMANI CANAL

When Osman II ascended the throne, he surveyed his demesne and was deeply concerned by how distant much of his realm was from the Sea of Pearls. While glittering minarets were raised across the great cities of the Desert and houses of the Wheel were built with worshipful care, there were no builders or architects who could conquer the very earth. Yet, the Caliph was not satisfied, and issued a decree that the man who could devise a plan to move heaven and earth itself would sit by his flank as his vizier.

An old man had lived in a village far from the coasts, and his friends who had engaged themselves in the affairs of commerce have always bemoaned that they must rely on caravans and camels, risking the ash and storms of the Desert.

After a long thought, he declared, "We will move the very earth itself, so that the water may freely flow." His villagers laughed at him, and called him a fool, and said that it was impossible for a mere old man such as him to move the very earth. Quoth he in reply, "If I die, my sons will continue my labor. When they die, my grandsons will continue it. The earth may be great, but they will not grow. Over generations, they will diminish while my blood will remain."

With those words, his family began the slow and laborious task of excavating the rocks and soil, slowly but surely carving the beginnings of a shallow trench, and then a wider one, and then a deeper one.

When Osman II heard of this, he exclaimed, "Few can be wiser than this man, for while there are times when magick and cunning may be relied on, we must not forget that an undertaking begins with a single act. His is but one family; ours is the tribe of Salhin."

With those words, he decreed the beginning of a vast labor, and stone by stone, shovel of sand by shovel of sand, the great Caliphate of yore conquered the very Desert itself, and carved across it the Osmani Canal. From the very heart of the Caliphate to the coasts of the Sea of Pearls, there came then a winding waterway that would feed and water the empire for the onrush of the ages.

[magical girl salhin]

LIV

ALIKAH DRINKS POISON TO BE RID OF A VASSAL

Calipha Alikah was attending the banquet of a disloyal vassal when she heard tidings from her Vizier that the vassal intended for her to die by way of a poisoned chalice. If the Calipha was to die, even though the vassal's hands were clear, it was believed that the Calipha's successor would pardon her for the treason.

Without hesitation, however, the Calipha later downed the chalice when it was presented to her. Although she fell greatly ill and pale, she inexplicably survived. After both the co-conspirators were executed, the Vizier asked why she downed the poison chalice even though she was forewarned of it.

Quoth the Calipha, "I had ingested a bezoar before I supped of the poisoned draught, and knew that ill-stricken though I would be, I would survive. In exchange for a little harm to my person, I have rid myself of two venomous snakes."

Quoth the Vizier, "But was it worth it, to take such a great risk to your health?"

Quoth the Calipha, "It behooves a person who wishes to play the game of snakes in our saffron court to dare to place themselves on the line. This is no less a field of battle, and there is always the chance that your name ends up on the butcher's bill once you step onto the field. If you are unwilling to take such risks, do not step onto the field."

[magical girl salhin]

LV

MARIB II'S CONSTERNATION

It is said that when Caliph Marib II was in consternation over the Destitution of Ash, he despaired deeply of whether B'aarat and Kula would permit him into Bel-Ishȗn. When his mind was too troubled by the thought, he summoned a Waterbearer and demanded answers from the faithful.

Quoth the Waterbearer, "Remember always that the Gods will judge you, and on that day you will stand alone before B'aara our Mother, and Kula, and all the Spokes of the Wheel."

Quoth the Vizier, outraged, "O, he is Prince of the Faithful, and the Mother would welcome him into her gardens!"

Quoth the Waterbearer, ignoring the Vizier, "Remember that on that day, you will not have this man by your side to defend you."

[magical girl salhin]

LVI

THE PAINTED THRONE

When Reylul al-Maribid and Turyash al-Maribid jostled for the Caliphate amongst many others, they agreed to meet in parley that they may arrive at an alliance against the other pretenders.

When the negotiations commenced, Turyash arrived with many Janissaries, for she bore the White Spear. In contrast, Reylul arrived with only a single artist, and when asked, quoth he, "This is the greatest painter in all the realms, and I have commissioned him to paint for you the finest throne. With this throne, you will appear the greatest of all we who strive for Caliphate. I would yield to you the right to sit upon it."

Turyash was intrigued, and permitted the artist to paint. The painter labored day and night, covering a vast wall of the Summer Palace with an exquisitely elaborate depiction of a majestic throne, adorned with gold and jewels. Turyash, bewitched and entranced by this great piece of art, declared, "Upon this throne I shall sit, for it is wondrous indeed, and from it I shall govern the Caliphate entire!"

Her many soldiers and the citizenry, however, came to mock him, and for all the strength of her White Spear, Turyash's support waned and bled; and to this day, one who claims hollow power is said to be trying to rule from a painted throne.

[magical girl salhin]

LVII

VAHD I'S GAMBIT

It is said that late in the reign of Vahd I the Great, the rebellious city-state of Il Modo had sought a marvelous gambit whereby they issued forth from the Sea of Pearls to sack the Summer Palace. The Caliph's many legions were afield in Yaxatan in a punitive campaign, however, and so ancient Ilstu was sorely lacking in soldiery with which to man its walls.

After much thought, the Caliph ordered that the gates of the Summer Palace be unbarred and its walls be unmanned. When the soldiery of Il Modo arrived, they could only gaze with wonder as they beheld the Caliph and his saffron court upon the gatehouse, dining in a wondrous banquet with a thousand, thousand courses and glittering performances that lit up the sable cloak.

All knew of Vahd I the Great, of the Coup of the Sun and his undefeated legions, of his ineffable brilliance and how the Magi Izdu had blessed him upon his forehead with the star of Knowledge itself.

Believing that the Caliph had laid a trap and a cunning stratagem to break the armies of Il Modo, and that the Caliph's armies must be hidden to his flanks or behind the walls, the Modini commander hesitated and eventually ordered a retreat out of a surfeit of caution. The hesitation was costly, as it bought time for the Caliph's Janissaries to return, and eventually, Il Modo had to prostrate itself before the mighty Caliph as he garlanded the Summer Palace with triumphs after triumphs. Thereafter, the incident would be known as Vahd's Gambit, a desperate ploy girded by reputation that tricked one's foes into believing one to be more prepared than one truly is.

[magical girl salhin]

LVIII

FEYDSIYYAR II'S BANANA TREE

It is said that Feydsiyyar II dearly loved his sons, who were blessed as twins by Kalim and Gamil.

In the many-hued gardens of the Meidān, there grew a banana tree that was said to be the purview of blessed royalty, and only to be tasted by one who will come to govern the Caliphate. Uzbek and Zojhir fought for the bananas, until Feydsiyyar II, tired of their endless squabbling, proposed a contest.

Quoth their father the Caliph, "I will place a single banana on a branch on each side of the tree. You may both climb and take it, and whoever reaches their banana first will be granted the banana tree."

The two immediately agreed, and they bickered and struggled to reach their end of the banana tree first. Yet, spirited with vim and vigor, they each seized their banana first, descending from their climb at the same time. When they reached the foot of the tree, however, they discovered that their father the Caliph had taken all of the bananas from the ground and threw them away to be mulched.

Quoth their father the Caliph, "A great harrowing there will be if this strife you persist, and though you may each win a scrap of greatness you would have ruined our Caliphate entire in so doing. Cease your squabbling and your bickering, and aid each other in governing justly such that our tribe of Salhin may continue to steward this Desert for a thousand years."

It would be lovely to imagine a world where they listened.

[magical girl salhin]

LIX

UZPEK'S CHOICE

Once, the last Caliph was said to have faced a great dilemma at the height of the Harrowing, when what would come to be the Remade Armies had been issued from the gates of Qa'im, and the Janissaries were locked in brutal engagements across the Desert.

Amidst these travails and tribulations, the last Caliph faced a choice. A fresh legion had been raised, and the last Caliph could either convey it to the shores of the Edutu against the Enemy, or eastwards to safevouch a town besieged by the Barbarians. Unable to discern the right or the wrong, the Fleeting sought counsel from his court.

Quoth the last Caliph's vizier and tutor, who was a measure to al-Zuraqi, "O auspicious lord! The Barbarians at the borders are wont only to craven raids and will dare not trespass deeply into your realm. All they shall do is bleed the unworthy, and their sacrifice will lessen the burdens of our men. Convey our soldiers instead to the Enemy, where the war remains balanced upon a knife's edge, and where a fresh legion will tilt the balance in your triumph! What are the lives of some thousands to assure victory? Convey to the surety of victory rather than risk the ignominy of defeat!"

Quoth a Murid, wise of al-Na's learning, "O auspicious lord! We the children of B'aarat are judged for our deeds to our fellowship. Within this besieged fastness are thousands of innocents, women and children included, not to mention refugees displaced and dispossessed by the raids of the Barbarians. If our civic code is faith and obedience, then surely the code of our humanity must be the unspoken commandment that the purpose of our deeds be for the betterment of our peoples. To convey our soldiers from those in need only undermines your sovereign mandate in the eyes of the people, for when the shields of our soldiers are no longer turned first towards safevouching the safety of our tribe, then faith in the tribe becomes dismembered."

Quoth a Makhyoon, great in her ire, "O auspicious lord! We the children of B'aarat are judged for the wrongs to our fellowship. Ours is the brambled path, the harsh scourge, and the bloodstained banner. Terrible shall be the reckoning if we scorn aid to the fastness, and both heavy and accursed be the grudge that will be borne. Ours will be the cursed beyond death, the revenants of ash and dust that will haunt our soldiers long after the fall of the peoples abandoned. To convey our soldiers from those in need only invites that vengeance and that curse, and betrays your sovereign mandate in the spirit of the people."

Quoth an Avukat, learned in the law, "O auspicious lord! We the children of B'aarat are judged by our duty to our fellowship. Our dirges will ring with perpetual grief for the thousands upon thousands who would be butchered by the Barbarians if you forestall the legion's aid. To convey our soldiers from those in need undermines the legitimacy of your reign, and your adherence to the foremost duty of a liege to his subjects; to shelter them as your sacred charge."

Quoth the last Caliph, "Your words have I heard, and I bemoan this wretched choice that has been placed before me. Yet, I will not risk the Caliphate's demise for the sake of a few thousands. The legion shall be conveyed to the Edutu! Why, oh why, o Mother!"

Quoth the Godmother, nursemaid to the crown, "You remind me, child, of the man who lived by the Edutu. On a certain day, when the Edutu swelled beyond the banks, the man stayed in his home and cried for help from the Mother. As he was praying for aid, a man upon a raft came by his home, and offered to ferry him away. The man said no, that the Mother would save him, and returned to praying for the Mother's aid. As he did so, another upon a rowboat came by his home, and offered to evacuate him from his flooding home. Again, the man said no, that the Mother would save him, and his anguished prayers once more sought the Mother's aid. On the third time, an emir upon a palatial pleasure-ship passed by his home, and the emir invited the man aboard with all the luxuries and safety it may afford. Yet again, the man said no, that the Mother would save him. This time, the man drowned, and upon dying, pleaded with the Mother - why, oh why, o Mother, I have been faithful and I have sought your aid! Why did you not save me when the Edutu broke the banks? And the Mother replied, oh, child, I sent you a raft, a rowboat, and an emir's own pleasure-ship, how is it that you are now before me?"

Concluded the Godmother, "The Mother sent you a Murid, a Makhyoon, and an Avukat, not to mention Herself in Immolation so that we may be born from Her gift of water. What more do you want, O auspicious lord?"

Quoth the last Caliph, "What I want is for my Caliphate to endure another thousand years."

Long after the Caliphate was gone entire, a seemingly easy but undutiful choice is sometimes referred to as Uzpek's Choice.