Open Chronicles Pilgrimage of Rippled Blades

[Mirielle Merlon]

Two hundred horsemen of Lazular raised a cloud of dust you could see from the other side of Arethil. To a man they rode sadadu horses, strongly built with high endurance. Even though a bridge across the Baal-Asha cut the trip to Kherkhana in half, it had still been a two-hundred-mile ride. Each pilgrim had led the pilgrimage for one mile, singing a riding-song sacred to the Annunaki. Mirielle had taken a turn as well.

Now here they were, approaching the bridge, a mere twenty miles from Kherkhana. The great fortress of the blue orcs, the Sereti Ogres, looked down on them from the mountains.

Amir Farid Ibn Baha spurred his red stallion up to the front and held up a fist. The horsemen came to a halt just shy of the tall stone bridge and formed up to listen. A warm breeze caught their banners: golden stars above a sheaf of wheat on a blue background, the flag of Lazular.

"I am deeply proud of your endurance," he shouted. "You have earned the telling-steel blades we are here to buy. Some of you have made the trek to Kherkhana before; most of you have not. The respect you show in the great city of the Sereti Ogres will reflect on me and on Lazular. You have all met them before, as friends and neighbors within our city, but here you will be the guests, the handful of foreigners. May you return home with a new understanding, and the finest swords in the world!"

Farid drew and raised his own shamshir of rippling Sereti steel. Afternoon light danced off organic patterns all along the curved blade. He whirled the blade above his head, turned his stallion, and led the small army toward the bridge.

 

[Ashuanar]

To very many, the sands of Amol Kalit were nothing less than an arduous trial. With sandstorms and great beasts lurking between and beneath the dunes, it was frequent that many a trek through ended in failure for those unlearned in the sands' unforgiving and illusive ways.

But for the Abtati…

Centuries of subjugation and grief had forced them into the great expanses, the most dangerous that the desert had to offer. And they persevered. No. They dominated it. The wind, which once sought to blind and bury them, instead turned to their backs and made the way clear. The desert was no longer their foe.

It was a part of them, and them it.

Spoiler: Through the Sands...

From what seemed like nowhere, they appeared. Their number was hard to tell, only a sea of white rising up from the sands. And there, at the mouth of the bridge he stood – the head of the Imperial Army itself - Vizier Ashuanar. All around him his elite force seemed to shimmer into existence through the heat and dust. But they brandished not their weapons, or moved to take an aggressive posture. No, even as they appeared from all sides there was no malevolence here, only an observation.

It was a happenstance, that the two forces would cross paths. And as the flag of Lazular flew, so too was that of The Empire displayed.

All friends here.

Ashuanar raised his hand as the horsemen approached, somewhat lazily and peaceably.

He had not come here to intervene, but he had chosen to investigate. The cloud of dust which rolled up behind the horses of Lazular had been no small attraction.

Image Credit: sacient

Mirielle Merlon
The Empire​

 

[Mirielle Merlon]

Disquiet rippled around. The Empire's might be a friendly banner, but a force of sand elves appearing in a surrounding posture caused more than a few men to draw swords or nock arrows. The Amir whistled high and loud. Swords went back into sheaths.

Mirielle urged her mare forward through the Lazulari horsemen to join the Amir.

"What can you tell me, Empire-whisperer?" he said.

"Nothing but what you see. There's little to recognize about their leader. He could be anyone from Ashuanar himself to some warband-level commander. Farid, let me speak for you."

"Do it."

Mirielle spurred ahead and halted just before the bridge. She slid off the saddle, pulled back her dark veil so the Abtati leader could see her face, and approached on foot.

"I'm Lady Mirielle Merlon. My brother-in-law, Amir Farid Ibn Baha, is traveling to Kherkhana as a friend of the Empire. Why are you surrounding us, commander?"

 

[Ashuanar]

Ashuanar seemed to ponder a moment, as if gauging their number.

"These lands are perilous my lady," he said, uncovering his head to then offer a respectful nod, "and rife with enemies of The Empire."

He gestured with a hand to the warriors who stood idly by, "we were only uncertain of whom had driven such a cloud into the air. My apologies."

He stood quietly for a moment, "I am curious, my lady. Kherkhana is a place of few marvels, what would compel the Amir to visit such a place?"

He looked out on their numbers again, "should the Sereti choose to decieve you, do you believe a force such as this will defend you?"

He turned to look toward the mountain city, and then back again, "the Blue Orcs are useful, but treacherous."

 

[Mirielle Merlon]

Up close, she felt certain that this was Ashuanar or another of Gerra's generals; he looked familiar from her visits to the Empire's grand occasions.

"Is Kherkhana not the home of telling-steel, Sereti steel, the finest swords in Amol-Kalit? Lazular and Kherkhana have traded for decades, and many Sereti Ogres live in Lazular. This isn't a defensive band, General. Every few years, the Amir leads a contingent of his best young warriors to buy swords in Kherkhana. They set a hard pace for two hundred miles across the edge of the desert. It's a rite of passage. No, General, we have no fear of being double-crossed by Kherkhana."

Her head tilted.

"I'd thought Kherkhana was more firmly a part of the Empire than you seem to imply, General. Was that my mistake?"

 

[Ashuanar]

"Of course, it would be folly to oppose the Empire, my lady. I must ask another forgiveness," he placed his hand on his chest, "I have failed to introduce myself. I am Ashuanar, Vizier of the Imperial Army. It is my duty to ensure the safety of all the Empire, and to be certain of who it is I speak with. We too travel to Kherkhana, though our aim is different."

He motioned for the men near him to move aside, "I bid you and your men well, and perhaps we shall meet again soon."

With that he covered his head once more, and moved off to allow the Lazulars open passage.

In truth he knew little more than what was common of the Lazulars. But he did know of their rather unofficial association with the Empire, one that only interested him. He saw no trouble in it, at least for now. Lazular, after all, was a great asset.

 

[Mirielle Merlon]

"We'll see you there then. Safe travels, General."

Mirielle wheeled her horse and cantered back to the Lazulari men. "Well?" the Amir asked. She knew him well enough to see anxiety in the corners of his eyes.

"It's General Ashuanar. He and his men are heading for Kherkhana too on unspecified business. He claims surrounding us was just a matter of investigation. It's posturing, of course, it's all posturing, but he greets us as friends. I don't see this escalating."

"Hmm. So be it. We proceed like they aren't here." Amir Farid whistled and urged his red stallion toward the bridge at a brisk trot. Two hundred riders followed.

 

[Ashuanar]

The contingent of sand elves moved away and gathered together once more, all the while Ashuanar watched the riders move off.

"Trouble, Vizier?" Nak'Ehim - the Vizier's right hand - asked as he came close.

"No... a simple rite of passage, which we have now intruded upon."

Nak'Ehim couldn't help but grin. Of all the Abtati Ashuanar knew, he was the most spiteful toward even his own kind let alone others. He was also far more a polititian but much less a warrior than the once no-one nomad Vizier.

"How unfortunate."

Ashuanar's arms folded against his chest as his eyes remained upon what was now just a cloud of dust moving away, "It was unnecessary for us to intervene," he said - an irritation clear in his voice, "we saw their colors."

"On the contrary, Vizier," Nak'Ehim declared, "they would do well to appreciate your diligence. Had that been a company of rebels in disguise, or worse, then Lazular could possibly be wrongly accused of treachery."

"Perhaps you're right," Ashuanar conceded, "let us carry on."

Nak'Ehim bowed his head, and turned to issue the order, trying desperately to hide the beguiling glint in his eyes.

 

[Mirielle Merlon]

Ashuanar

All the way across the bridge and up into the mountains, Mirielle kept an eye on the Kaliti force. The Lazulari horsemen did the same but were better at hiding it. They had their pride and so forth.

Switchbacked mountain roads dominated the last twenty miles to Kherkhana. More than once Mirielle spotted blue orc sentries crouched high overhead in the crags. Enemies would have been the beneficiaries of rockfalls, but Amir Farid had visited several times. Lazular brought good business.

Up in the mountains, Mirielle lost all sense of whether the Kaliti were following.

 

[Ashuanar]

Kherkhana.

Even having been given blessing to enter the city to conduct the Vizier's business, the Abtati could not stay the feeling of uneasiness. As the sands grew thinner and the rock rose up, the tension had no choice but to grow. It was well known that the Kherkhanites had a longstanding tradition - to kill at least five Abtati - to only then be considered of age.

Despite the rise of the Empire and the God King Gerra, many of Ashuanar's troop were more than a little uncomfortable. While the Emperor saw value in them, were the blue orcs also to assume that perception? But of course, and Ashuanar knew this. But he had not taken on this task lightly - being sure to seek permission before the journey.

He'd waited a fair amount of time for a reply, but he eventually received it. Probably concerned over the nature of his request.

But... he was the Imperial Army's Vizier, appointed by the Emperor himself. Apparently even here in this looming mountain stronghold, that meant something.

"Nervous?"

"Of course not."

Ashuanar's eyes shot up. The Lazular horsemen, far closer to their destination that they, and much higher. And beyond them, the gates of Kherkhana just barely visible to him now. His eyes descended down to the path once more, and he fell silent.