“Nnnnnnh!” There are slaves here, but I am a slave no more.
“Umm Hannei.”
She laid a hand over her belly again, and for a moment said nothing. The singing sands fell silent. And then, reluctantly, Hannei shook her head and said softly,
“Nnnh.”
A mother must have love in her heart and healing in her hands, she knew with bitter regret, and I have neither. This child would be raised by the Mothers, as was good and proper.
Daru’s eyes flickered in acknowledgment of her pain and sacrifice, or for some other reason, Hannei was not sure. Inna’hael growled softly as Daru raised his horse-head staff and touched Hannei’s forehead, softly, just between her eyes.
It felt, oddly enough, like a kiss.
“Who stands before me?” he asked, and then, for her ears only, he added, “Who stands beside me?”
Hannei brought her hands up and replied in hunter-speak.
It is I.
“Nazmah Din I name you before the people, of the line of Zula Din, first of your name. I see you. The heart within you, the sa and ka burning bright.” As he spoke, more of the Zeeranim gathered around them. “Ehuani I name you. Mutaani I name you. Saghaani I name you. Kishahani I name you. Nazmah Din you shall be to us now, in our hearts and on our tongues.” He took a deep breath and held it, and then in a voice that roared like the wind he went on.
“I name you Nazmah Din, first of your name, first among sisters, first queen of the Zeeranim.” He brought the staff down once, twice, three times on the ground between their feet.
Even as his words rang across the Zeera, even as those who stood around them responded with a chorus that rolled and swelled and sang like the very desert from which they had come in the long ago, Paraja padded from the fallen night to stand at her side. Beauty she was, and death. She butted her head against Hannei’s—Nazmah Din’s—chest, looking well pleased with her new-bonded kithren.
The stupid humans take a queen at last, she purred. There may be hope for you yet.
Inna’hael threw back his head and roared, a sound that made her feet tingle where they met the earth, and hundreds— perhaps thousands—of vash’ai added their voices to his, a sound which had not been heard in the Madraj for long lives of men. Paraja did not deign to answer. She was a queen, herself, and answered to none, but she dug black claws into the soft sand and purred.
Nazmah Din had been found worthy. Her heart burned fierce in her breast, hot with love for her people and the night and the sweet singing sands of home. She met Daru’s eyes. He smiled and bowed low.
“Long live the queen.”
JEHANNIM
His name was Ba’esh, son of Perthor son of Iftallen the Damned. “Nightmare Man,” they called him, and “Shadow King.” For a thousand years he had existed— he would not have called it living—without song, or sleep, or hope of death. These things had been stolen from him, as punishment for another man’s crime.
The tattered cloak swirled around his ankles as he bent forward and climbed the steep path into the Jehannim. Though the day was as harsh and unforgiving as any other, he did not feel it. The searing gaze of Akari avoided him, just as the Lonely Road was closed to him. He was, of all things that had ever been, singularly alone.
A harsh cry, and a fall of rocks. He glanced up, peering through the ruined mask that hid his ruined face, and caught the flicker-flicker of harsh shadows as a herd of mymyc fled before him. He was a man with no song in his bones, no dreams, and no hope for tomorrow.
He was the Nightmare Man, and the world was his nightmare. All he wanted—all he had ever wanted—was to sleep.
Ba’esh lifted his face into the wind, opened his eyes wide to the dawning of yet another day that should not have been—
—and screamed.
APPENDICES
THE LANDS OF THE PEOPLE
From the Notes of Loremaster Rothfaust
ATUALON
The mightiest kingdom in the Near West, Atualon is the seat of Ka Atu, the Dragon King. Fabled to be built on the back of a sleeping dragon, Atualon is the wellspring of a deep and ancient magic.
This magic is known as atulfah, and is comprised of sa and ka, female and male, heart and spirit, the Song of Life. Only those born echovete—able to hear the magical song of creation—have the potential to manipulate this magic, and only an echovete child born and raised to the throne may be trained to wield it.
SINDAN
The Sindanese empire stretches from the pearl-choked waters of Nar Kabdaan in the Middle East, over the ice-tombed peaks of Mutai Gon-yu, to Nar Intihaan in the Far East: End of the Bitter Lands, End of the Great Salt Road, End of the Known World. The story of Sindan stretches far beyond written memory and into the misted memories of the First Men, before the thickening of the veil. The Daemon Emperor of Sindan rules absolutely from his throne in Khanbul, the Forbidden City, though his thoughts turn ever westward. He is covetous of atulfah, for its power is the only thing greater than his own.
QUARABALA
Once a place of beauty and art, high learning and gentle culture, the Quarabala was scorched clean of life and hope during the Sundering. Few now survive in these Seared Lands west of the Dibris. Occasionally a story will turn up in the slave-trading town of Min Yaarif, rumors of the wonders of Saodan buried deep in the world’s heart, stories of wicked beasts and wickeder men driven to desperate acts as they struggle to survive on the Edge of the Quarabala. Even more rarely a shadowmancer, a shadowshifting Illindrist, will emerge from the smoking ruins, night-skinned and demon-eyed, leading traders with packs full of the precious red salt and eyes full of waking nightmares.
THE ZEERA
A land of silk and honey, great warriors and greater predators, the Zeera is a vast golden desert and home to the desert prides. Once a proud and prosperous nation, the Zeeranim are now a remnant of their former glory. The Mothers live in mostly empty cities along the banks of the Dibris, the Ja’Sajani take census and record the final days of a dying people, and the Ja’Akari guard the people against enemies within and without the prides. Too few are born, too few survive, and too few are chosen to become Zeeravashani, bonded to the great sabretusked cats with whom they are allied. The wardens write, the warriors fight, and the Mothers sing lullabies against the coming darkness, but their struggles are like the notes of a flute, lost and forgotten in the coming storm.
THE PEOPLE
From the Notes of Loremaster Rothfaust
Aadl (Istaz Aadl): Zeerani youthmaster
Aaraf (Loreman Aaraf): Zeerani storyteller and bard
Aasah (Aasah sud Layl): priest of Illindra, shadowmancer and advisor to Ka Atu
Adalia: warrior of the Mah’zula
Akamaia: Illindrist and oracle of Saodan
Amalua: Quarabalese Iponui
Ani (Istaza Ani): Zeerani youthmistress; also the last known Dzirani
Annila (Annila Ja’Akari): young Zeerani warrior, peer to Sulema and Hannei
Annubasta (see Hafsa Azeina)
Ashta: journeyman mantist studying under Loremaster Rothfaust
Askander (Askander Ja’Akarinu’i): First Warden of the Zeeranim
Ba’esh: also known as Nightmare Man
Bardu: Daechen prince
Basta (cat): kima’a to Hafsa Azeina
Bellanca (Matreon Bellanca): Matreon of Atualon
Belzaleel the Liar: an ancient, wicked spirit, currently trapped in a dragonglass blade
Boraz (Boraz Ja’Sajani): Zeerani warden
Breama: the Huntress
Bretan Mer (Bretan Mer ne Ninianne il Mer): salt merchant and liaison from Salar Merraj to Atualon; son of Ninianne il Mer
Brygus: member of the Draiksguard
Char (Charon): Guardian of Eid Kalmut; also Naara, daughter of Kal ne Mur
Daeshen Baichen Pao: the first Daemon Emperor, ruler of Sindan
Daeshen Tiachu: the current D
aemon Emperor, ruler of Sindan
Daru: young apprentice to Hafsa Azeina
Davidian: Imperator General of Atualon
Davvus: a legendary king of Men
Dennet: a daughter of Nurati
Devranae: legendary daughter of Zula Din; abducted by Davvus, king of Men
Deyenna: a young woman who seeks to escape Atualon
Douwa: bathhouse attendant in Atualon
Duadl (Duadl Ja’Sajani): Zeerani warden and churra-master
Eleni: attendant at the Grinning Mymyc in Bayyid Eidtein
Etana: Iponui and First Runner of Saodan
Ezio: Atualonian Master of Coin
Fairussa (Fairussa Ja’Akari): warrior of the Zeeranim
Gai Khan: Daechen prince
Gavria (Gavria Ja’Akari): Zeerani warrior
Ginna: Atualonian maidservant
Hadid (Mastersmith Hadid): Zeerani mastersmith
Hafsa Azeina: dreamshifter of the prides and queen consort of Atualon. Rarely: Annubasta
Hannei (Hannei Ja’Akari): Sulema’s peer and good friend; also Kishah Two-Blades of Min Yaarif, and Nazmah Din of the Zeera
Haoki: Counselorwoman of Saodan
Hapuata (Istaza Hapuata): Zeerani mentor to Theotara Ja’Akari
Hekates: Draiksguard of Atualon
Hyang: village boy from Bizhan
Ippos: stablemaster of Atualon
Isara (Isara Ja’Akari): Zeerani warrior
Ishtaset: Mah’zula warrior
Ismai: Zeerani youth; son of Nurati
Istaza Ani: (see Ani)
Jamandae: (deceased) youngest concubine of Serpentus, deposed Dragon King of Atualon
Jasin (Ja’Atanili’i Jasin): Zeerani youth and would-be warden
Jian (Daechen Jian, Tsun-ju Jian): young Daechen prince
Jinchua (fennec): kima’a to Sulema
Jorah: Zeerani craftsman
Kabila (Kabila Ja’Akari): Zeerani warrior
Kalani: Zeerani maiden
Karkash Dhwani: powerful Daechen prince, advisor to the emperor
Kekeo: Counselorman of Saodan
Kishah: (see Hannei)
Lavanya: Zeerani warrior and peer of Sulema
Lehaila: Counselorwoman of Saodan
Leviathus (Leviathus ap Wyvernus ne Atu): Sulema’s half-brother, son of Ka Atu, Leviathus is surdus—a princeling without magic
Maika: Kentakuyan a’o Maika i Kaka’ahuana li’l, queen of Quarabala
Makil: Zeerani warden
Mardoni: Daechen prince
Marisa: maidservant in Atualon
Mariza: Renegade Ja’Akari. Once banished and declared Kha’Akari, she now rides with the Mah’zula
Matteira: daughter of Bashaba, a former concubine of Ka Atu. Twin sister to Mattu, and sister to Pythos
Mattu (Mattu Halfmask): son of Bashaba, a former concubine of Ka Atu. Twin brother to Matteira, and brother to Pythos
Naara: (see Char)
Naruteo (Daechen Naruteo): Sindanese youth. Daeborn and yearmate to Jian
Neptara (Umm Neptara): daughter of Nurati
Nightmare Man: Ba’esh
Ninianne il Mer: Lady of the Lake, matriarch of the clans of Salar Merraj, city of the salt merchants; mother of Bretan Mer, Soutan Mer
Nurati (Umm Nurati): First Mother of the Zeeranim; mother of Tammas, Neptara, Ismai, Dennet, Rudya, and an as-yet unnamed infant daughter
Paleha: Quarabalese Illindrist
Perri: Sindanese youth; daeborn and yearmate to Jian
Puani: Counselorwoman of Saodan
Pythos: (long thought to be deceased) son of Serpentus, deposed Dragon King of Atualon
Rama (Rama Ja’Sajani): Zeerani warden and horsemaster from Aish Arak
Rehaza Entanye: pitmistress of Min Yaarif
Rheodus: young Atualonian man, member of Leviathus’s Draiksguard
Rothfaust (Loremaster Rothfaust): loremaster of Atualon, keeper of tomes and tales
Rudya: daughter of Nurati
Sammai: Zeerani child
Santorus (Master Healer Santorus): Atualonian patreon and master healer
Sareta (Sareta Ja’Akarinu’i): ranking warrior of the Zeeranim
Saskia (Saskia Ja’Akari): Zeerani warrior and peer of Sulema
Serpentus: Dragon King of Atualon deposed by Wyvernus
Soutan Mer (Soutan Mer ne Ninianne il Mer): son of Ninianne il Mer
Sulema (Sulema Ja’Akari): Zeerani warrior, daughter of Hafsa Azeina and Wyvernus
Sunzi: Daechen prince
Tadeah: (deceased) daughter of Bashaba and Ka Atu
Talilla (Ja’Akari): Zeerani warrior
Talleh: young Zeerani boy
Tamimeha: Grand Princess of Quarabala, chief among the Iponui
Tammas (Tammas Ja’Sajani): Zeerani warden, eldest son of Nurati
Teppei: Daechen prince
Theotara (Theotara Ja’Akari): honored Ja’Akari
Tiungpei (Tsun-ju Tiungpei): a Sindanese pearl diver who took a lover from among the Issuq; mother of Jian
Tsali’gei: Daezhu woman
Tsa-len: yendaeshi to Naruteo
Umm Nurati (see Nurati)
Valri: warrior of the Mah’zula
Wyvernus: Ka Atu, the Dragon King of Atualon
Xienpei: yendaeshi to Jian
Yaela: apprentice to Aasah
Yeshu: Atualonian weaver
Zula Din: trickster/warrior of legend, daughter of the First People
TERMS, PHRASE AND PLACE SO FINTEREST
From the Notes of Loremaster Rothfaust
Aish Kalumm (the City of Mothers): Zeerani river fortress
Akari (Akari Sun Dragon): according to legend, Akari is a draik (a male dragon) who flies across the sky bringing life and light to the world as he seeks to rouse his sleeping mate, Sajani the Earth Dragon
aklashi: a game played while on horseback. It involves a sheep’s head and quite a lot of noise
Arachnist: a human mage, who worships and does the bidding of the Araids
Araid: massive, intelligent spiders that live deep in the abandoned cities of Quarabala
Atualon: a western kingdom founded upon the shores of Nar Bedayyan; home to the Dragon Kings
Atukos (City of Dreams, City of the Sleeping Dragon): dragonglass fortress of the Dragon King, named for the living mountain into which it is built
atulfah: sa and ka combined to create the song of creation
Ayyam Binat: a period of time in the spring during which young Zeerani women vie with one another for the sexual favors of men
Baidun Daiel (also known as the Sleepless, or Voiceless): warrior mages who serve Ka Atu
Baizhu: a religious order of Sindanese monks
Bayyid Eidtein: trading town near the mouth of the Dibris, a known den of miscreants and rogues. The southernmost trading post along Atualonian-maintained roads
Beit Usqut: the Youths’ Quarter in Aish Kalumm
bintshi: a winged greater predator with the ability to immobilize and lure prey using psionic song
Bohica: patroness divine of soldiers
bonelord: one of the greater predators, bonelords are massive carnivorous creatures that rely on camouflage, speed, and mind-magic to capture prey
bonesinger: Dzirani sorcerer
Bones of Eth: an ill-reputed ruin or monument in the Zeera, formed of a rough circle of tall, twisted pillars of red and black stone
churra (pl. churrim): a hardy desert omnivore prized by the Zeerani as a pack animal, and seen as a suitable mount for outlanders
craftmistress/master: Zeerani women and men who have been trained in and work at their particular craft— blacksmithing, painting, building, weaving, etc.
Dae: a race of magically gifted people who reside in the Twilight Lands
daeborn: of Dae descent
Daechen: half-Dae, half-human Sindanese warrior caste (male)
daemon: commonly used to describe any wicked thing (also daespawn)
Daeshen: half-D
ae, half-human member of the Sindanese imperial family
Daezhu: half-Dae, half-human Sindanese ruling class (female)
Delpha (Big Sister): one of two moons; has a twenty-eight-day cycle
Dibris: a river that runs through the Zeera, supporting a wide range of life
Didi (Little Sister): one of two moons; has a fourteen-day cycle
Dragon King: Ka Atu, the monarch of Atualon (currently Wyvernus)
Draiksguard: elite military unit assigned to guard members of the Atualonian royal family
Dreaming Lands: see Shehannam
dreamshifter: Zeerani shaman who can move through and manipulate Shehannam
Dzirani: clan of wandering storytellers, healers, and merchants
Dziranim: members of the Dzirani clan, known for their forbidden magic of bonesinging
echovete: one who can hear atulfah
Edge, the: the geographical and socioeconomic fringes of Quarabala
ehuani: Zeerani word meaning “beauty in truth”
Eid Kalish: trading town, a stop on the Great Salt Road, known for its thriving black market and slave trade
Eth: Quarabalese destruction deity, he whose breath creates the darkness between stars
Great Salt Road: trade route that stretches from the edge of the Quarabala in the west to the easternmost cities of Sindan
Hajra-Khai: Zeerani spring festival
hayatani: a Zeerani girl’s first consort
hayyanah: Zeerani couples who are pledged to one another and remain more or less monogamous
herdmistress/master: responsible for the health and well-being of a pride’s horses and churrim
Illindra: Quarabalese creation deity, an enormous female spider who hangs the stars in her web of life
Iponui: Quarabalese runners, messengers, and warriors
Issuq: twilight lords and ladies who have a clan affinity for the sea and can shapeshift into sea-bears
istaza/istaz: youthmistress/master of the Zeerani prides
Ja’Akari: Zeerani warrior, responsible for keeping all the pridelands safe from outside threats