Private Tales Daughters of the Sand

[Keket]

The sway of the camel's gait was a familiar, comforting rhythm to the woman astride the desert beast. Most of her body was hidden, wrapped in the garb of the sand elves to protect her from the harsh Amol-Kalit sun. Small, youthful hands grasped the animal's reins, and dark ringlets escaped the hood that hid all but the flash of amber eyes. An Abtati bow and quiver was slung from the camel-saddle, a small pack as several waterskins.

Keket traveled alone in her journey through the desert. She was, in fact. not moving through it, but within it. The nomadic tribes of Abtati were a difficult people to track, but wielded power in the desert. The Vizier of the Stars knew desert power was critical for the empire, and so a finger on the pulse of the drifting sand elves was vital to the ongoing health of the empire itself.

As a child of a sand elf tribe, Keket served as a Sapphire Hand within the desert. As a wandering Abtati, she could move from tribe to tribe, oasis to oasis garnering news of the desert people, their stance on the Empire, and any indication of disloyalty or resistance to the Empire and its city-states among the strong-willed Abtati.

The welcomed sight of date palms rose above the wavering horizon, soon accompanied by the signs of a few squat huts. An oasis ahead. The camel hastened its plodding pace, as if it too saw the promise of water dancing in the heat waves across the sand.

Cyra Al-Dushar

 

[Musah]

Cyra might have made a mistake...Ok, a huge mistake, but could you blame her. Her tribe, the expectations, her father, everything had just been to much. Stuck in Rhoquam like some sort of antique doll meant to only be looked at and admired. It was enough to drive anyone crazy. Every day she got to watch the other members of her tribe go off to train or raid. The only way Cyra was getting out of her city was with at least 15 guards. Well...maybe not the only way.

So she had run away. Did she have a plan? Was she prepared for the desert? Nope. Was she going to die? No. That last one was thankful because of Dhukal. All it had taken was placing her hand on the sands and calling on the power of her contract. In no time, she was on a camel and heading towards an oasis.

She had to change her plans when she saw that a tribe was already there, but all she would need is to change her appearance a little bit. This was all going through her mind, and maybe that was why she did not notice the rider coming up behind her, also heading in the direction of the oasis.

Keket

 

[Keket]

While the landscape ahead appeared to be flat, the play of light and heat on the sand surface had indeed hidden some contours to the dunes. Appearing out of a depression in the sand appeared another camel and rider. Keket's keen eyes discerned that the rider too was a female, heading for the same oasis. That in itself was not unusual, for all travelers chose the courses that took them past such pockets of water and life. But for a woman to travel the desert alone was unusual. For two to arrive at the same oasis at the same time was quite strange.

The quick pace of her eager camel began to close the distance between Keket and the stranger, as the oasis began to appear a bit closer. As the image of the rider ahead of her became clearer, the imperial spy could confirm that it was a woman. Her garments were Abtati but of finer quality than the average desert tribeswoman. Who was this lone woman? What tribe would allow her to travel alone, especially since she was most likely someone of some importance? The spy's curiosity, both professional and personal, was piqued, and she smacked the camel on its haunch, coaxing it into a lumbering gallop until it drew near the woman.

"Greetings, sister." Keket called out to the woman, using their language. "Care for company on the last leg to the oasis?" The dark Sapphire Hand suggested, drawing up next to the camel-rider to get a better look.
Cyra Al-Dushar

 

[Musah]

Cyra finally realized someone was coming up behind her when she heard the hooves of a camel nearly on top of her. A quick motion with her hand changed her features, but only slightly. The nose became a bit sharper, and a few blemishes appeared on her face, along with changing her eye color to light green. She was also prepared to reach for her spear, but she heard the greeting and stopped herself.

She turned to Keket with a smile. "Greetings, sister." Her eyes looked over the woman thinking essentially the same thoughts that Keket had about her.

"That sounds like the perfect idea. It is rare that we get company on our travels." Cyra was just trying to sound like she traveled often and was not some weird runaway.

 

[Keket]

The woman returned Keket's greeting politely, and the Hand drew her mount up next to the strangers. Once Keket was able to get a good look at the woman, Keket found her to be rather beautiful. She did not stare, though she wanted to, for there was something vaguely familiar about some of the woman's features. The spy trusted her eyes and instincts, and paid heed when they found something curious. Perhaps she did know the woman, or, the stranger simply shared some common features when someone else.

The woman professed to travel alone on a regular basis, which was also unusual. She was armed, a spear close at hand, and Keket could only assume she knew how to use it. The spy also wondered who the woman meant by 'we'. Did she mean the camel, or was it in the sense that some aristocrats refer to themselves? Already so much interesting about the stranger.

"I am Keket." She used her true name in the desert. Many knew her from her days in the tribe, and it would only prove more suspicious if they found her using a false name. "Where are you traveling from, if I may ask." Keket inquired, directing her camel to match the pace of the woman's mount.
Cyra Al-Dushar

 

[Musah]

Cyra looked over the woman as her camel road next to her. The woman herself was beautiful with a confident demeanor even though she was in the desert alone. She was not from Rhoquom because if she was then she would have recognized Cyra.

Cyra almost instinctively used her real name in the greeting, but settle on her dance instructor's name. "Pleasure to meet you Keket. I am Nialla. I've come to the city of Ragash."

Cyra had never been there, but she had heard interesting things about the city, much like Annuakat, it was on her list of destinations that she wanted to visit while she was free.
Keket

 

[Keket]

"Hmmm." Keket hummed in curiosity, nodded as the woman introduced herself. Keket was based in Ragash, but the woman, by that name, was not familiar. But the woman did not say she was from Ragash, only that she was traveling from there. Still, there was that sense that Keket had seen Nialla before. Considering that it would be seen as suspicious or rude to stare, Keket only caught glimpses of the woman in sidelong glances as Nialla's head coverings shifted in the hot desert wind.

"I too am coming from Ragash." Keket offered. "Well met, Nailla, perhaps we could share a drink of cool oasis water and a meal when we arrive." She proposed, eyes fixing on the small village built around the oasis, the plodding camels bringing them inevitably closer. There was not much activity there, nor signs of caravans or other visiting groups. Keket would not get as much information as she would have hoped from the number of travelers one usually found at an oasis.

 

[Musah]

"I would like that, Keket. I also know Wasim would enjoy the company." Cyra giggled as she patted her camel on the neck, who in response let out a grumble.

Cyra could tell when she was being analyzed. It was something that she had grown accustomed to over the years. She was also adept at putting up a façade. It would be easier just to stay isolated, but Cyra was a social person at heart, so the company was much needed.

The childish part of her almost made her ask about Ragash when Keket mentioned that she was coming from Ragash, but she stopped herself. That would be dumb.

When they both entered the oasis, the site was...disappointing. Cyra had spent her life in the desert, but the oasis her tribe visited were often must larger and more populated. The number of people her was pathetic when compared to places like Rhaqoum. Although, that was probably a good thing.

 

[Keket]

Keket offered a smile at Nialla's lighthearted response. The woman was friendly enough, and while Keket too would welcome the company, her natural and professional curiosity would compel her to learn more about the lone desert woman.

They arrived at the oasis. While the small tribe milled around the squat tan buildings and date palms surrounding the water, it appeared few travelers were present, and no caravans. As vital stops for water and rest, most oases were busting with travelers and caravans. Temporary markets would pop up where merchants would trade and sell goods to other merchant caravans and travelers. But this place was far from that. Keket knew why. The waters had been reputed to be poisoned at one point, which drove off any hoping to stop there. But a magician was said to have cast the poison from the water, making it pure again. Yet many still avoided it for fear that the water was still tainted.

Keket had visited since then and found nothing wrong with the water. The Imperial Hand climbed down from atop the camel, pausing to lean against the animal's side and stretch her legs. A boy in dusty robes hurried to greet the new arrivals, bowing and grinning. Keket slid her saddle bags from the back of the beast, then handed the reins to the boy, along with a few coins. The camels would be lead to a trough to drink, then fed.

"Come, Nialla, there is a place to eat and rest over here." She said, gesturing to one of the small buildings with a worn sign next to the door with the image of a camel slurping from a tankard. "I would love to hear the adventures of such a lovely lady and her travels in the desert." The dark woman offered with a grin and a gentle pat on Nialla's shoulder.

 

[Musah]

This oasis was...peculiar to Cyra, particularly, because she has never been to such an abandoned oasis. The few spots she had been in her travels when she was allowed out with the tribe were often to large trade hub oases.

Her head was constantly moving as they entered the oasis to get a look at the next new thing that attracted her attention. She was lost in her own curiosities when she noticed what Keket had done. She quickly handed Wasim off to the boy and handed him one gold piece.

"Oh, of course...I'm afraid I don't have too many stories. I live a rather boring life." That last bit was not technically a lie.

 

[Keket]

The pair entered what served as a small cantina. It was sparsely occupied, with only a few patrons that looked more like local Abtati tribesman than travelers. Keket chose a table against the wall, taking a seat at a rough-hewn table. An elderly woman with worn, desert-weathered skin approached the table. She had an earthen pitcher in one hand and two clay cups in the other.

"Greetings travelers, may I offer you water?" Setting a cup before each of the younger women, she poured them water from the pitcher. "We don't have much to offer as far as food, the caravans have been scarce lately. We have date cakes and flat bread." The crone offered apologetically.

"Both." Keket replied, welcoming anything to assuage her hunger. After Nallia replied to the server, the dark woman turned her gaze to her companion. "Boring life?" Keket said quizzically, finally responding to Nallia's comment. "I find it hard to believe that a woman as lovely as you, who travels the sands alone, could be anything but boring."

Indeed, there was something about the woman, but Keket could not put her finger on it. Nallia was too well dressed, spoke too well to be just a simple tribeswoman. The tattoos that covered just about every exposed part of the woman's body were intricate. Keket found this very intriguing. "What do you do in Ragash?" The dark woman asked.

 

[Musah]

"Unfortunately true though. I was just passing through Ragash...I spend my time trading wherever I go."

Cyra took a seat at the table and took one of the cups of water with a polite thank you. The cantina was...quaint, but that was what one should expect when living a normal life, she supposed.

"I've spent my life traveling and I guess I have just never stopped. It's as simple as that really. I make my money from trading whatever I find, or dancing."

She knew this fake story so well because she had been dreaming of this for most of her life, ever since she was a child. This small story had been her dream of freedom if she wasn't subject to the responsibilities of the tribe. Now, she was getting a chance to live it...well, kind of.

 

[Keket]

Trading. Nallia did not come across as a trader, but that didn't mean it wasn't so. She certainly didn't fear crossing the sands alone, nor did she seem the shy sort. Dancer, now, that Keket could believe, beautiful and lithe, the woman had the figure and grace of one well acquainted with dance. The spy sipped at her tepid water.

"And you always travel alone, you have no associates in your business? And no one has captured your affections?" The last question was posed with a smirk. Certainly Nallia had many suitors. A loaf of flatbread was brought to the table on a wooden platter for the two women to share. Again, Keket met the gaze of her companion, finding her features so familiar. It vexed Keket that she could not determine the name or place where she might have seen the woman before.
Cyra Al-Dushar

 

[Musah]

"Not always, but I do when the need arises." Cyra released a light giggle at the mention of affections. "No, no one has managed to do so, yet." The idea was too ridiculous to imagine. To wed her, such a person would have to not only pay an incredible dowry, but she was sure that her father would make them perform various tests. It would be amusing, to say the least.

Cyra watched the bread arrive hungrily and hesitated before reaching her hand out and taking a piece. She normally was not accustomed to such informalities with eating, but this was not some special dinner party.

While eating, she took a moment to look more closely at Keket. She had largely kept the questioning on Cyra and not the other way around.

"What about yourself? What are you doing out here, alone?"
Keket