//------------------------------// // The Sandstorm King // Story: Random Ramblings // by PioneeringAuthor //------------------------------// The stony halls of the Saddle-Arabian palace echoed the sound of hooves clicking across the floor. It was the average sweltering summer day, but there was a slight breeze blowing through the glassless, ornate windows of various rooms, making things feel tolerable. Of course, the natives were used to the heat, and thought it was just a tad warm. The tall, powerful king of Saddle-Arabia was casually strolling through some of the narrower, quieter halls today, enjoying some peace and quiet. His grey hooves loudly clicked on the flat tiles of the corridor, warning the servants in nearby rooms to prepare in case he entered. As he walked, his brown-black cannons moved him forward, each muscle all the way up his legs tensing and relaxing with every step. Clearly, he strengthened his physical side as much as his magical side, for his shoulders and chest carried plenty of muscles, although he was still rather winnowy compared to a body builder. The light from the magical lanterns above him and from the windows at the end of the hall in front of him lit up his golden yellow body, which contrasted with his black mane and tail politely. When he reached the end of the hall, he gazed out the window and breathed deeply. The stony halls were silent for a time. Stretching his enormous yellow wings, he groaned and yawned, making sure to not get his horn stuck in the lattice of the window by mistake. If that happened again, he would never forgive himself. His blue eyes surveyed the capitol city far below him, watching as his creatures went about their daily businesses. For a time, he allowed a tiny smile to form on his lips, which pushed back the spider-like scar on his left cheek. Indeed, he was an Alicorn, but like all creatures he was mortal, and learned that the hard way when he was a stubborn colt. In a somber quirk of history, it also happened to be the same way he earned his destiny mark, as well as his title, Al-Asif, The Strong Wind. Now his personal name and title were Malik Karam Al-Asif, and for more than a thousand years he had ruled Saddle-Arabia with as much courage, justice and honor that he could muster. However, that is a story for another time. Today we shall talk about something more mundane, which includes him yawning again. Karam yawned again, realizing he really should go to bed earlier. Unfortunately, some Arabic words broke his peaceful moment. “My Liege, ” it was Sadiq ibn-Assad al-Harun, a young Horse who was part of the court, “is something wrong?” he asked. Karam turned and, putting on his sterner face, explained, “No, nothing is wrong--why?” “You seem awfully tired,” the pale brown horse answered,“is something keeping you up?” As he asked, the sun went below the horizon. “Business keeps distracting me,” Karam sighed, turning away from the window, “Surely you have more important matters to discuss with me, do you not?” As he spoke, he maintained a serious, almost harsh tone. After all, he couldn’t let anybeast feel he was weak. Indeed, he was taller than most of his citizens--slightly taller than Celestia of Equestria, to be exact-- and indeed he had strong magic, but he knew that weakness came in forms other than physical and magical, and he never wanted anybeast to believe him to be soft. He only showed gentle emotions under favorable conditions. However, he was never cruel, although he did have a temper that was a tempest of its own. Thankfully, today he had no reason to be upset… yet. “Well, all of us have been concerned with your well-being,” Of course, if the court had at some point underestimated him, that had been a long time ago… “Although I appreciate your loyalty, you are not here to pamper me, but to advise me,” Karam reminded him, straightening his black halter and neckband with his magic as he spoke, which made the silver carvings sewn into the fabric click together a tiny bit. “Well, in more important matters, we do have a slight problem with the decorations of the Victory of the Wind Festival,” Replied the young horse. With the festival a few days away, things were being a bit… slow… Karam sighed, “Do you really need my approval for that? Can’t you just decide by yourselves?” “Well, while some of us think that such is the most… adequate… path, the artisans believe that it is important that you see the designs and approve them, ” He told the Alicorn, waiting. “Fine. I shall approve them,” Karam agreed with an irritated air as he followed the horse to where the decorations were. After seeing different designs, Karam picked the ones he preferred, and went to fetch a drink for himself, but was interrupted once again. “Sire, we need your advice on the schedule for the festival,” A Camel announced humbly. “Didn’t we already finalize that?” Karam questioned confusedly. “Unfortunately, it was lost and we have to make a new one,” The Camel explained with an apologetic expression on his face. Karam groaned, “You must be joking.” “No Sire, it is the truth,” The Camel acknowledged with a gulp. “Rewrite it the same way, and it’ll be fine! Can you not figure that out yourself?” Karam snorted as he stomped away from the Camel, who humbly agreed and left with a short bow. Although Karam did manage to get his drink of water, there were plenty more minute problems coming to interrupt him. “My Liege! ” it was another Camel who ran towards him, “There is a problem in the kitchens!” He exclaimed. “What? What is wrong?” Karam answered, fearing it was some grave disaster. “We cannot decide what dessert to make!” She explained frantically. For a few moments, Karam stared at her in disbelief before scolding her with, “Of all the things to torment your king with, you ask him THAT?” She backed away from him as he continued, “You foolish baker! JUST GO SELECT SOMETHING!” With that, Karam turned around, flaring and folding his wings as he walked, trying to relax himself. He got about ten feet before-- “Sire, if I may?” “*snort* What now?” Karam mumbled in annoyance, “This better be important.” “Oh King, the captain of the guard wishes to have your final approval on the new dress uniforms.” “He is the CAPTAIN--he has the authority to decide!... But I suppose I can see them if he insists.” For the next few hours, Karam found himself on a thousand petty errands. Yes, he understood that everybeast wanted his approval during this special time of the year, but this was ridiculous! Not EVERYTHING needed his approval--the whole point of selecting advisors and leaders was so that THEY could handle the tiny problems, was it not? As you can probably imagine, Karam was having trouble keeping his temper in check. After some time, he realized that if one more thing went wrong, he really would snap. “Sire, if I may,” A Gazelle began. “NO YOU MAY NOT!” Karam roared, finally snapping. Instantly, all the nearby servants and subordinates--including the scared Gazelle, dropped to the floor and covered their heads in terror. Now the King of the Wind was furious, using his voice known only as the Howling Wind, which could very well rival Luna’s old Canterlot Voice. “IS NOBEAST IN THIS PALACE INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO HANDLE BASIC DECISIONS? DID I SELECT ADVISORS MISSING HALF OF THEIR BRAINS? WHY MUST I BE CONSULTED FOR EVERY LITTLE DETAIL? YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I PREFER--GO CHOOSE IT! CHOOSE SOMETHING WITHOUT MY CONSENT FOR ONCE! YOUR KING HAS SPOKEN!” After that speech, he stood there in the middle of the room, gasping in anger, with his wings fully stretched. A howling wind could be heard echoing through the hallways, which happened whenever he was angered like this. For what seemed like an eternity, nobeast dared to open his or her mouth. When the wind died down and Karam finally lowered his wings, all the nearby servants and other creatures cautiously stood up again and returned to their duties hastily. Karam sighed, cursing himself for losing his temper, and turned to leave. Hearing something, he stopped and listened: it was the sound of feathery wings approaching. Within moments, a Pegasus Horse flew into the room, and while he yet hovered above the ground he gasped, “Sire! A sandstorm has been spotted nearing the capitol!” “Where?” Karam demanded, partially worried for the city and also glad that at LAST there was something actually important for him to handle. “About ten kilometers, east by southeast,” The Pegasus informed him, landing on the ground and bowing respectfully. With that, Karam charged through halls until he found a balcony, launching himself from it immediately. Meanwhile, in the city below, many creatures bustled about their daily affairs. Some rode in shiny new steam-powered cars while others walked or flew. Some, however, watched the skies eagerly. “Are you certain there is a storm coming?” An impatient Horse asked his friend who was an Oryx. “I can sense it,” The Oryx replied firmly. Knowing that the Oryx had wonderful weather-senses, the Horse sighed and nodded, still staring at the palace. “He’s bound to come out any moment now,” Their comrade, a Camel, determined while chewing on some straw. “I saw a Pegasus… ” He stopped mid-sentence upon noticing somebeast flying out towards the outskirts of the city, and not just anybeast… “THE KING IS ON THE MOVE!” The Oryx announced as he bounded forward. “KHALIL! GET THE WATER!” The Horse ordered, galloping after the Oryx. The Camel obeyed, and the trio charged out of the city, following their winged king. As they exited, they found many other creatures were following them--no, not them, the king. After all, many creatures wanted to watch the Sandstorm King in action, so of course there were many storm chasers. Karam, meanwhile, kept his blue eyes on the blur far on the horizon, feeling a rush of excitement--at last, something important for him to do! The bright sun made his golden pelt glow, and highlighted his Destiny Mark: A sandy tornado, swirling with energy. The Sandstorm raged and the wind howled, and all were in awe and expecting. About to see once again why did their King earn the title of “The Sandstorm King.” As the Storm Chasers watched, Karam flew closer and closer to the mass of dust and energy until he was close enough to get some sand in his eyes. Closing said eyes, Karam lit his horn up with his golden magic aura, focusing as hard as he could. Within moments, he shot a beam into the whirling storm, which enveloped him shortly afterward. For a seconds, nobeast could see anything from the outside as Karam held his breath and made his magic lasso circle around the edges of the storm quickly. Feeling that the outer reaches were under his control, he made his magic swirl upward, pulling the wind with it until it became a massive sand tornado. “He’s doing it! HE HAS GOT IT!” Some creatures cried, watching everything from a safe distance away. Karam made his magic spin around faster and faster, gathering the sand and wind into a tighter and tighter mass, until it was a thin wall around him--still a massive tornado, but now with a huge, hollow center. Allowing himself to breathe again, Karam opened his eyes to survey the status of the situation. Nodding firmly while still hovering in the air, Karam concentrated his magic, pushing it downwards slowly. Little by little, the sandy tornado became shorter and shorter, also becoming slower and slower, until it dissipated into a ring of sand around him. Stopping his magic, Karam eyed the sand dunes around him and smiled. Another job well done. It wasn’t long before the storm chasers gathered on the ring around Karam and cheered. With a grin, Karam straightened up, hearing their cheers and cries of admiration. Suddenly, he coughed a bit, and then realized that he had forgotten his Kaffiyeh. Oh well, he had forgotten it before, and survived those times; he would survive again. After all, the Sandstorm King is not brought down by tiny bits of sand, but brings down the greatest of sandstorms with ease. “Your majesty! ” called out a colt, running towards him with a Kaffiyeh, “You dropped this, ” He said upon approaching. “Thank you…Young One,” Karam thanked the child, wondering who on earth would let their child just go storm chasing like that, but also appreciating that somebeast found it. Karam led the citizens to the capitol, and resumed his affairs in a better attitude. Indeed, Saddle-Arabia was glad to have the Strong Wind within their palace.