The Sands of Saria

Dania
(Moments before dawn, at the city gates)

Silver under the moonlight, white sand curled around her feet, moved by the cold wind. Sky was dark over the dessert, resembling a velvet cloak as it spread far above the sleeping city, and no sound came from behind the closed windows. The roofs and towers of Saria shined touched by the light of the moon, as the streets stayed dark in the shadows, hidden and keeping their secrets, all covered in tiny grains of sand.

She reached her hand. Tiny indeed, she thought as white sand covered her fingers like a glove. Yet so powerful, when the right person uses it.
She smiled for herself - if anyone, she was the right person.

No more than a move, no voice nor artifacts, and she manipulated everything around her. She was told that Saria was a crown jewel, shining above all the others. They said it was a town of magic and of gold, always the best protected, hiding the darkness in its very heart.
But Dania's seen jewels, and there was none that couldn't be buried in the deeps of the dessert. She's seen magic, and defeated countless opponents. She's seen gold and she knew of darkness, and she's conquered cities that made her the enemy.
This was her time, and she came to what was promised to her.

The sky above the palace begun to lighten, shades of pink and blue playing with the deep black of the night, and a scream broke the silence.
*

Sati
(Breaking dawn, the palace)

Death could be felt.

In the whispers of people, in the way they walked, in the rush and in the panic, in the way they all avoided each other's eyes, at the same time craving to spread the word in their own way. The King was dead, he could tell by the cries of the little princess and see it in smiles of her older brothers, and murder could almost be smelt in the air. He doubted anyone's noticed him, wandering through the palace, keeping to shadows and not speaking a word. In the light, when he passed next to the brothers and circled around the dead King's bed, he was as invisible as air itself, hidden in the plain sight.
Illusions were so easy.

As if he was a ghost - which, really, wasn't so far from the truth.
He followed the young slave, a girl who broke the news to her noble master. By all means, he was more interested in her than in all of the King's children together. Hunger for power, love for a protector and a family member, hatred towards the life and death themselves, all of that Sati could easily understand. But a girl naive enough to believe in her master grieving after his father's death, so optimistic that it was a true wonder how she managed to survive in a palace.. that was still rare enough to be interesting. And the girl had knowledge of magic.
Sati wondered why would any sorcerer wish to spend a life serving a master, even if he was a sorcerer too - especially if he was a sorcerer too. Did she hope to learn? A smart magician would never tell his apprentice how to become more powerful than him, and prince Kassim for sure was a smart magician. And if she wasn't counting on lectures, what did keep her there? Fear? Need? Love? Sati has seen it all.
Really, it was hard to understand why any human would want to spend a life serving another human. For him, it came natural to have masters, but they didn't have his need for wishes. They never felt the taste of power after making someone's desire come true, they never knew how agonizing and enchanting it can be to be able to do everything. And even Sati wished for freedom for so long, to be able to choose his masters himself, to decide on his own which wishes he'd fulfill.

He stopped following Jamie as she took a turn in some hallway, becoming visible again. People knew he was there anyway, he just enjoyed making them not see him from time to time. Some maybe hoped, but no one really believed that he ever truly left the palace.
And why would I, he wondered, watching through window as the sun rises over the city. He liked it here, he got everything he needed. He got to see conspiracies and act, deaths and lies and forbidden romances. He could hear prayers and curses, whispers of hope and those of betrayal, and screams of pain and sadness. Everyone in the palace had a wish. Even more, each soul around him, at any time, had a desire they were ready to give up anything for, and all he'd have to do would be to pick. He knew some are secretly hoping he might come to them, to make their dreams come true, and he enjoyed letting them wait and hope. The more they hope, the stronger wishes get. It was really not that hard.

Hearing young princess crying from somewhere, he smiled for himself. He could remember when she was born, and the moment her father fell in love with her big eyes.
Sati loved watching new humans being born. They fascinated him. With their clear eyes and unaware of the darkness awaiting in the world around them, with untainted hearts and souls, with no wishes or dreams on their mind.. He'd always let the babies see him, even if the others in the room couldn't. Sometimes, when they were really little and crying in the middle of the night, he'd even show his magic to them. Babies were easy to entertain, and it was easy to keep himself from hurting them, as they had nothing to give him yet. They were similar, in a way, never making differences. But they all grew, to become Princes and Princesses, slaves and thieves and assassins and sorcerers.. Sati doubted he'll ever get a chance to see that change, no matter how long he lives. He wondered if any of those babies could still remember him, and would they tell him an already prepared wish if he'd only ask.
*

Mortuiestis:

Mortuiestis walked into the merchant's shop. He looked around the room. There were two customers waiting in line to talk to the merchant, sitting behind a desk. The merchant was his target. Mortuiestis had been hired by a rival merchant, as this merchant was becoming too influential. Mori shoved his way to the front of the room. The merchant looked up, clearly angered. "And you are?"

Mortuiestis remembered what the other merchant had told him. "My name is Harim, I believe we have an... important meeting to attend to." This was not how he usually worked, but he was getting paid to do it like this, so he wasn't going to argue.

"Ah yes, please follow me. You and you, get out," he said to the customers. The customers left with sighs and groans, and the merchant shut the door and bolted it. "Come, follow me," the merchant said. He pushed aside a curtain and lead Mortuiestis into a small back room. The merchant sat a large chair, behind yet another desk. Piled on the desk were bags of coins, Mortuiestis smiled. "You know, you shouldn't dress like that, people might think you're Mortuiestis." Mori smiled when he hear the merchant say it. Mori smiled and raised his hood over his head. The merchant jumped, and he started muttering, "No, no, no, no..." but he did not try to run. Mori walked up to the man, grinned, and snapped his neck. The man fell to the ground, instantly dead. Mori searched the room for something black. The first thing that caught his eye was the curtains. He pulled out his knife and cut two pieces off of the curtains. He returned to the merchant. He bent over him, and gently closed the man's eyes. He then went on to cover his eyes with the cloth, his sign.

"Thank you," Mortuiestis said. He grabbed as many bags of money as he could carry, and slipped out the window into the street.



Mortuiestis walked through the door into his employer's home. He found him right where he expected, behind his desk. "It is done," Mortuiestis said with a smile. "I must thank you though," Mori said.

"And why is that?"

Mori reached into one of the bags and pulled out a coin. He flicked it towards the man, and the merchant caught it. "For making it too easy." And before the merchant could reply, Mortuiestis was out the door.



Mortuiestis disrobed and submerged into the bubbling water of the hot springs. The water enveloped his body, soothing his sores instantly. He sighed. He needed time off, but there's no rest for the weary, especially when you're the best. His assistant approached him, and he sighed. Like he said, no rest for the weary. His assistant would never approach him here unless someone was here to see him. "What is it now?"

"Someone is here to see you, Mortuiestis," he said. Just as Mori had figured. He sighed, rose from the water, robed, and went to see who was disturbing him.

Spoiler

If nobody claims, I have another plan for who it could be.

Adina

She heard about the King's death, how could She not? It was all anyone talked about, even the men of the barracks gossiped about it like girls. Why did it matter to some of them? The Princes, sure. But for most, it was just fodder for their insatiable gossipmongering appetites.

She supposed that the king of the country mattered to them, but in the end... What would change? They would go from one corrupt king to another, and ultimately Saria would remain exactly the same.

Then she came to my Mistresses home, in the barracks, and paused.

Minnah was in her chair, busy with something. Her face was sad, though silently so.

Adina frowned, and watched closely for a minute. What was she so sad about? Her ex husband had... Always been less than kind to her. Surely she didn't love him. Right?

But watching her, the way she mourned someone who barely paid her any mind, made the young woman begin to think differently. She still found it hard to process, but... It was... Humbling. That any feelings could have stretched past the neglect and anger... Made me realize that she was perhaps a kinder, more sensitive, even more caring woman than she had ever expected.

She decided that the best course of action was to let her be sad, and not address that, for fear of inciting any hidden bitterness, and simply be as kind as she could be. That would be best.

Prince Farid/Palace:


Farid and his men had looked over the kings chambers forwards and backwards, they had searched in ever nook and cranny- and came up with nothing, no evidence, no means by which the killer entered unless he managed to slip by all the guards, servants, and family member utterly unnoticed- which was unlikely.

The prince had even brought his hounds into the room to try to pick up the killers sent, but they were baffled, they couldn't find a sent it seemed- they milled about the chambers, sniffing at this and that and no amount of coaxing could get them on a trail.

The guards cursed under their breath, they had never seen a crime with so little evidence, they had nothing to go on. All their usual tricks and ways of searching came up empty.

“My lord..... wh-what shall we do now?” Farid's Second in command asked him, Farid rubbed his temples.

“We keep looking, we ask questions, we keep going until we can pinpoint who did this. He can't hide his crimes forever, he can't always stay hidden.” He straightened and his eyes were unreadable, “Murders can never go unpunished. Keep looking, start asking questions. And you,” He said to a guard, “Go send the spies out into the city, have them start digging.”

“You think this might be work of the underground my Prince?”

“Not likely, this isn't their kind of crime, besides- they like to leave a calling card so they can laugh at us while we struggle. This is different.” Nodding to his men he turned and strode from the room.

The body of the king had been taken from his chambers and placed in the Infirmary of the palace, the healers who attended the king in life now sought to do the same in death.
They had been about the body all day trying to determine the cause of death and try to make the body less gristly.

Farid entered the room in which the flock of healers busied themselves about his father,

“Well? What do you have?” The chief healer looked pale as he strode towards the Prince.

“My prince, first let me give you my sincerest condolences on your inhumanly great loss. It is a tragedy felt throughout the kingdom, all in this city are wailing and weeping and every heart is so heavy each beat is painful.” Farid felt his head begin to ache again- this was worse then Saja's screaming and hysterics.

“Thank you for your sympathy, but Master Leech I am here for a report.”

“Of course Captain.” The old man went over to the table upon which Emeers body lay covered in a fine white sheet, he folded back the top to reveal the dead kings upper half.
Farid looked down with inner conflict in his heart- his father was dead, it bothered him he felt nothing looking at his corpse. No grief, just nothingness.

“Captain? Prince Farid?” The healer said softly- eying the young man concerned.

“Tell me what you found.” The healer nodded,

“Of course, but it's not pleasant.....” Farid gave him a look, swallowing the healer continued, “The king was murdered.” Farid felt a muscle twitch.

“Yes I know that, that part was quite obvious. I was hoping for something more.”

“His throat was slit...” the healer looked green for a moment, “from ear to ear.... it was almost as if.....”

“He were butchered like an animal?” Farid finished, examining the cleaned wound- it was indeed like the cuts made to the throats of cows at slaughter. The healer nodded.

“I'm so sorry...... but yes.”

“ I see.”

Jamelynn (Jamie)

Prince Kassim was visiting with his brother Prince Amir for a long time, and she could only imagine what those poor men were going through. Jamie set about cleaning Kassim's room, lost in her own memories.

What would it have been like to have had a sibling? Would things have been the same for her? She sighed and quickly finished her chores, hesitating to go interrupt her master.

He had told her to come to him when she finished her chores, but did that extend to this day?

She paused outside Amir's door and debated a moment longer before determining that this was one of the few times that she should not, in fact, go in and get something more to do. She could busy herself, and he wouldn't want her to interrupt his mourning. That would be a little shameful.

She backed away from the door and hurried away, unable to be a little bit relieved. He still put her on edge.

Jamie had quickly figured out that if she looked like she was doing something, like she was busy, then people assumed she was and left her alone. So if she acted like she was off running an errand for Kassim, then nobody questioned the slave girl wandering into one of the old and abandoned parts of the palace. She couldn't say much for her acting skills, but the effort seemed to be paying off.

Nobody bothered her as she made her way through the more dilapidated part of the palace, and Jamie found she was glad of that. She quickly came to her little courtyard and sighed.

She had found the little courtyard weeks ago, it didn't get direct sunlight, and the ground was actually dirt. Not sand, not stone, but real dirt. She had no idea how it had gotten there, but she had felt it was a sign that maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to be happy there.

So she had set to work. A week ago she had dragged buckets of horse manure from the barn in the dead of night to help the soil, and then managed to mix it in, and today she was planning to start seeding.


Adina

She slowly made her way into the suite and started making Minnah's favorite tea, searching for something to say that wouldn't be considered offensive. She was hardly accustomed to being... Kind to her owners.

After a moment of hesitation Adina made her way over to Minnah and gently touched her shoulder. "Milady?"

Minnah looked up at her, and Adina struggled internally for a second.

"I made you tea." Well it was awkward, and a bit rushed, but it did seem to get the point across.

"Oh... Thank you Adina." Minnah murmured in her gentle voice, accepting it.

Adina shuffled uncomfortably and nodded, trying to come up with something to say, some way to help. She came up short.

Sati

He rested at the window bench in Saja's room as young princess came in. She wasn't crying anymore, but tears still filled her eyes, and Sati could feel her desire to have her father back. He knew a thing or two about raising the dead - opposed to usual interpretation, it could be done, it even wasn't so hard. But the man return would never be the same as the man who left, and this girl, who'd ask to bring her Papa back, would be lost if Sati would fulfill her wish.
Humans were so complicated. With all the feelings and all that went with it..
He almost made little princess see him, when a man walked in.

Big brother, that was. The same one which carried her from their father's room, Farid. Sati wondered what he was doing there, as she didn't seem to wish to see anyone.
"Have you calmed yourself?" He asked, and little princess modded, though Sati was pretty sure she's just pretending to get her brother out of there. Such a loving family. If put in a ring together, they wouldn't hesitate to kill each other.
"Good. You should stay in here now. Should I lock you in?"
"No," the princess said silently. "You can go do your duties."
Her brother nodded and turned around. A moment later, Sati heard the key turning in the lock anyway, and the princess sighed.

Now that her beloved king was dead, she had no one to protect her - Sati understood that much - and her brothers, especially the other two, will probably not want any kind of competition. She might use a friend, but he didn't know how to be a friend with anyone, even though the topic interested him. He knew how to serve his masters, and how to make people think he's serving them. This kid? She was nice, and with power that comes with having him as a servant... She'd change. Sati wouldn't like the little princess to change.
*

Dania
(Palace of Mages, hopefully that place exists, lol)

Dania entered the Palace of Mages, followed by sand her cloak swiped from the street, and a young sorcerer with big brown eyes almost dropped the bowl he was holding.
"You-you-you came. Again."
Dania frowned. She was told that she'll be welcomed as a Mage of her calibre should be. She was told about bows and servants and magicians that would greet her. Who was this person? He couldn't possibly be old enough to remember the last visit of Dania, and yet he obviously knew who she was.
Oh, well. I'll take what I've got.
"Your magnificent in noticing details", she said, and the young magician seemed pleased and confused at the same time. "Are you of the high rank?"
He licked his lips.
"Um.. No. I wish. Should I take you to prince Kassim?"
Should I know who prince Kassim is? Guessing he must be a Mage of higher rank - otherwise this man wouldn't mention him, would he?- and really is a prince, Dania slowly nodded. It was as good a place to start as any other.
"Take me to your prince Kassim", she said. "Use the emptiest passages you can, and make it quick. I will not be needing a room for later, so don't even ask. As for others, no one needs to know I came until I discuss it with your superior."
*

Princess Zia- Castle


The palace was silent; not people-drunk-to-much-over-a-party-silent, nor King-has-a-hangover-so-shut-up silence- dead silence. The silence witten about in poetry, the kind of silence that just creeps along your spine for so long you just want to knock it off- but you can't. It was something was happening silence.

Zia purses her lips in the mirror. She thinks she may have drunk to much, but she had been trapped in the castle for two weeks. She needed a good drink, much to her sadness. Drink were nasty things, and the weight they held above you was equally as terrible. Zia most definitely didn't need that, out of all the things she had to deal with.

One of the maids- the one that served her and her next oldest sister, Slyv- Gods, how she hated[i] Sylv- slinked into her room. Zia brushes her hand through her hair- [i]tangled. "The palace seems awfully quiet today. Is there anything I missed?"

The maid likes her, she thinks- at least more than Sylv, who is a brat. "Princess Saja found his Majesty dead this morning, Miss. Gods bless his soul."

Zia feels sorrow, but more out of obligation and fear than actual emotions- what would happen to her now? There's a bit of pity there to- Saja was an innocent, and the only sister she had with a heart- the list excluding herself on a good day. "Is everyone alright?" Zia asks distractedly.

"To my knowlege, yes. Do you mind?"

Zia takes off the night gown, allowing the maid to fix a simple cotton dress on her. She thinks it is a good thing that everyone is safe- the arguement could become bloodier with more deaths at the beginning- there was going to be arguement, as her 'father' had not named an heir. There had to be- and, to her suprise, she was not looking foward to it. Once the dress is fixed and the veil is on, Zia asks; "What have I been told to do?"

The horror on the maids face; the upcoming face of the anarchy coming rememebered; tells her all she needs to know. "T-There isn't anything."

"And is Prince Farid or Prince Amir taking care of the matter of my... Father's death?"

"Of course!" The maid is new- horror again flashes across her face- a Princess should never do that sort of thing! Why would she ask? I am intelligent, silly maid, and not even I proper Princess. I can do what I want, and that has been made evident.

"I was just checking." The maid is taking a brush to her hair now, and the illegitamite Princesses mind wanders. What to do with my day? She wants to go out so bad, and through the chaos she could slip with out problem- but getting back in would be to hard- nearly impossible, with all the chaos that would soon be blossoming. She is itching, and she couldn't possibly stay in her room and pretend to wait patienly- she has to do something.

Saja crosses her mind- yes, the young girl had the best room in the house, needed a shoulder to cry on, and had wild fantasies that made Zia feel like she really was outside. It is settled then. I will see Saja.

"Alright, Liona- go take care of Sylv. I am fine. Thank you for your service."

**********

Zia knocks on the door gently, then tres to open it- the familiar sound of a stop hits her hear like a full force- it's locked. She is itching- she tries again.

"What do you think you're doing?"

please reserve me a spot for a named dancer

Name: Aeaela ( ay-ay-la), doesn't give out her last name.

Age: 17

Gender: F

Role: was a commoner, but now works in the palace as a dancer.

Description: Not tall, not short. Not skinny, not fat. Not strong, not weak. Sort of in between and average, except for her facial features. Stunning eyes, grey like the ocean on a cloudy day. Long and thin nose, high-arching eyebrows, clear complexion that refuses to darken in the relentless sun. straight blonde hair past her shoulders.

Personality: Pretty much a ditzy blonde. Accident proned, no sense of balance(only the gods know why on earth she chose to become a dancer). Sweet, quiet and calm. loves bright colors and flower gardens. Often mistakes what people are saying (example: two servants in the palace halls are talking about the recently deceased king, so she immeadietly assumes they are the murderers) But an over all gentle person. Loves pretty, shiny things. Has visited the black market on occasion looking for a rare spice, Dilfen, which she adores, but is very exspensive. Even though she's ravishing, guys don't pay attention to her because of her issues(see other). guys aren't interested with dealing with that most of the time....

History: was a commoner, now she's a dancer. thats pretty much it

Other: has slight problems with ADHD, paranoia, OCD, hearing voices....Basically a sweet, mad girl....

Up for love: if you can deal with her issues, by all means....(straight)....(she really is lonely you know)...

Hi, this sb look amazing so far. Can I reserve a place of a the oldest princess
Sorry. I'm soo late. Will post character profile asap.

Prince ~ The Palace

Travelling to his childhood home, Prince had finally become convinced that his father was truly gone. He had managed to find a numbness to counter the desire to mourn, but he cold not ignore the evidence of the news spreading over the city. A pall had fallen over the normally bustling streets, and while business continued as usual there was a general air of sadness and fear. Fear of this time of peace and industry grinding to a halt with the death of its ruler.

He took the back way into the palace, figuring this would be the worst day possible to be caught by someone other than his brothers. Usually the back parts of the palace were abandoned even by most of the guards. It was save enough to thread through the old room and take his secret paths.

But no. Today there was activity.

Moving silently, the thief crept forward until he could peek over a ledge and see the person in his way before they could spot him, or at least catch him.

He was surprised to see it was a girl, and more surprised by her activities. She was trying to scatter seed on the ground, and it wasn't going very well. The bag was being too unwieldy.

Too curious for his own good, he crept down to her level, inwardly amused as she cursed softly. For a moment he just watched her, smirking . Grateful for this moment of distraction.

(ooc: Aria I'm working on Kassim's post as we speak. )

Jamie

It only took a few minutes to realize that the bag of seeds was far too big and heavy for her, and Jamie found herself at a loss. She could scatter by the handful, but that would waste more time than it saved. Though as a throbbing started on her back where she had to bend to help drag the bag of seeds, the idea was more and more tempting to Jamie. Her arms were burning, her shoulders ached. Maybe the walking would do some good.

After a few more minutes of struggling she gave up. How could one single bag of seed be so- so impossible? She planted her hands on her thin hips and tried to think. If she rested just a moment and dragged the bag over to the door, she could go find a bucket, and that would both speed the process and save her shoulders. She should have thought of that earlier.

So she set to work, dragging the heavy bag over to the wall, struggling and shaking pathetically. Why was it so terribly heavy?

The girl was so wrapped up in her work that she didn't even notice a boy standing there until she was halfway across the courtyard, and she froze.

"H-hello..."

Kassim ~ The Palace

When Kassim was told a woman was waiting in his private parlour to see him, he nearly didn't go. With the king dead, there was much to prepare. He needed to be ready to make his move, and Amir would need coaching to play the role of heir presumptive well enough.

But then he was told she came through the mage's guild, and that made him reconsider. She must have impressed someone, or they wouldn't have brought her to the palace. And if she was that interesting....Now wold be the prefect time to form new alliances. He needed as many players in the game as could reasonably be managed.

So he agreed to see her. And for purely aesthetic reasons he was glad he did so. She definitely looked like the kind of woman he would be interested in, but not perhaps for the reasons she had actually come here for.

"To what do I owe the honour?" He asked, sitting across from her.



Prince ~ Abandoned courtyard

"Greetings," he replied, smiling mischievously.

She watched him warily, as if waiting to see what he was up to. A certain light in her eyes suggested to him that was really waiting to see whether he was going to hurt her. So instead of stepping forward to converse, he leaned back against the wall behind him.

It wasn't hard to fake being relaxed. He was fairly confident that she was no threat to him. Better yet, he didn't think she would try. More likely she was a wary as he was.

"You can keep going if you like," He assured her.

Jamie

"What are you doing here?" She replied, instead of getting back to work. It always put Jamie on edge when people stopped and watched her work. Especially men.

He shrugged, not bothering to really answer her, and she found that bothered her a little bit. He couldn't be of much higher station than her, judging by the way he dressed. What made him so high and mighty?

She bit her tongue. He acted no differently than Prince Kassim, though he was younger, and well... Not as well off looking.

After a few more minutes of their awkward silence, she tried again.

"Are you going to help me, or just stand there acting like I should be waiting on you hand and foot?" She kicked herself for rudeness the moment it was out of her mouth.

Prince ~ Abandoned Courtyard

Prince raised an eyebrow at her. Of course she didn't know who he was, but it was still an interesting reaction. Particularly since she didn't seem to have meant to be so vehement.

He glanced at the muck on the ground and at his bare feet.

"I think I"ll just stay here."