//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: The Message // Story: The Sandstorm King // by PioneeringAuthor //------------------------------// “My Liege!, a message has arrived from your brother,” Ghayth called out to Karam, meeting him as he was about to head to the banquet hall for lunch. Karam halted and spun around. “WHAT? Where is the messenger?” “In the throne room!” Karam galloped to the throne room and the guards threw open the doors for him. In the middle of the room was a Pegasus Horse, who turned around and bowed to Karam, holding out the slip of paper in his wing. Karam grabbed it with his aura eagerly, desperate to hear from his long-lost brother. Was it true? Was it really Daud? After all this time? DAUD, ALIVE!? In his heart, Karam was praising every god he ever heard of, and his blue eyes lit up with stars of joy. Yes, yes, he recognized the horn writing! It WAS Daud! Yes! ...It... ... what? As he read, his excitement slowly turned to dread, and the smile on his scarred face fell. All his advisors gathered around him, eager to know what the message was, and when they saw his expression change, they all became worried. “My Liege? What news?” “Oh Strong Wind, why do you seem shocked? Please tell us." “My Lord, what is it?” “Great one?” “Well? Sire? What is it?” As he stood there, re-reading the note, Karam felt his breath become shallow and fast. To Karam, supposed King of Saddle-Arabia, From Daud, rightful ruler of aforementioned land: “Brother”, if that is what you truly are, I want you to meet me at the Kanarat Oasis. You have two days to meet me. “Something’s wrong,” Karam said, taking a deep breath to steady himself, “He wrote to me as if I am an enemy, and he wants me to meet him at the Kanarat Oasis.” At that, the advisors looked at each other in fear. Karam showed them the message so they could read it themselves. “Well, we shall meet him!” Ghayth declared, “Perhaps he misheard something about you--surely if you meet muzzle-to-muzzle you can show him that you have been nothing, if not honorable, ever since your father died.” “Ghayth is right, Strong Wind,” Avram soothed, “Do not panic. Surely this is a simple misunderstanding.” Sighing and convincing himself they were right, Karam breathed normally and turned to the messenger, saying “I will meet my brother at the oasis.” The next day, Karam arrived with his advisors and a small group of guards to the oasis. The Kanarat Oasis was so large that multiple caravans could stay there, sharing the water and the fruit from the palm-trees. On this day, no merchants gathered. Instead, the oasis grimly hosted an army of nomadic tribes all gathered beneath one banner featuring a silhouette of Daud with three rocks around him in a triangular formation. All Karam's posse braced themselves. In his ornate, black and silver tack, Karam stood there, standing tall and proud, looking for his brother. His heart raced. Was this really happening? Was Daud... going to fight him? Gradually, there was a movement in the crowds, and the creatures parted, allowing a tall figure in a hooded cloak to approach. Karam studied the figure. When the figure was close enough, Karam could see the eyes between the folds of the Kaffiyeh he wore. It was Daud. At last, Karam found his brother! With his magic, Karam adjusted his own black and silver kaffiyeh, moving the fabric so he could see his brother better. There he was, standing tall and proud in his own brown robes. Daud Al-Butrus was alive. Finally, they were together again. For a moment, Karam forgot there was a massive army nearby, and his fears melted away as he watched his older brother draw closer. With a joyful gleam in his blue eyes, Karam unfolded his wings and called, “Daud! Brother!” However, his brother did not greet him. Instead, he glared at Karam from behind his veil and stabbed him with these words: “Karam, Son of Khayri, I order you to step down from the throne, to be tried for treason.” Initially, Karam did not register the words. He searched his brother's eyes for any signs of a joke. None existed. Realizing what his brother said, Karam gradually lowered and folded his wings while his smile twisted into a look of horror. All his advisors and guards stiffened in shock. “Wh-what? E-elder brother? WhY?” Karam squeaked as he shifted his weight in the loose sand. “You killed our father and took his throne,” Daud replied in a stoic monotone,” And you shall be tried for that.” “THAT IS A LIE!” GHayth declared with a stomp of one of his hooves, “King Karam executed the true traitors a few days ago! Please, come back with us and we shall tell you the entire story!” “Yes, please--” But before another advisor could add anything, Daud snapped his broad, grey wings, revealing them from his robes in an authoritative gesture. “SILENCE! I am speaking to Karam, not to YOU!” At that, the guards stiffened, ready to swoop in and protect King Karam, while the army behind Daud also readied for battle. “Brother, please! They are right! The real traitors were Afzal and Heydar!” Karam pleaded, “Please, let me explain!” “Step down, or I will send in my army to pull you off the throne,” Daud replied firmly. “You... are giving me an ultimatum?” Karam responded in a hollow, shocked voice as his wings collapsed, dragging on the sand. “You have two days to reply,” Daud answered in his stoic monotone as he folded his wings, tucking them beneath his robes once more. “...and….you’ll...start a war...if… I refuse?” Karam quietly asked, gulping hard as his ears folded down. “Yes,” Daud said with a nod and a quick flick of one of his grey ears. “...Brother, please, let me explain!” Karam begged him, tears in his eyes. “There is nothing to explain,” Daud snapped, “I do not wish to hear your lies.” “...Very well… I’ll….go and...think,” Karam sighed, turning away as he picked up his wings and folded them again. Daud watched as Karam left, and Karam took one last moment to look at his elder brother sorrowfully before he unfolded his wings and flew towards the palace. It was true. Daud was against him. Why? How? What? Nothing made sense to Karam. In his mind, Karam replayed the entire scene, picking it apart and pulling it together once more as he struggled to make sense of it. In his heart he recalled all the time they spent together growing up. After all they learned together, endured together, felt together, how could Daud do this? No, no, this had to be a bad dream. It had to be. Surely Karam was about to wake up and Father would be there, and Daud, and they would all have a long discussion about this strange dream and then they would all laugh, and then Karam would forget it all. Yes, yes, that had to be it, right? There was no possible way that after losing Father, Karam was losing his Big Brother too, right? ...right? .... Everybeast that couldn’t fly followed Karam along the ground, while the fliers were close behind him, trying to speak to him, but Karam said nothing the entire way home. Later he listened to his advisors in the meeting room. “My Liege, we must prepare the army for battle. He’s left us no choice but to start a civil war,” Ghayth said firmly. “No, surely we can still persuade him!” Avram parried, not wanting to have a civil war after all the nation had endured already. “I do not wish to be pessimistic, but he was most sincere,” Jaffar sighed. “But surely we can still persuade him!” Alem agreed with Avram, “King Karam, we must try again to speak to him--you are still his brother, and I am certain that deep down he still cares for you!” “He seemed like he had absolutely no affection left,” Zahir noted, “I hate to say this, but I feel that Ghayth is right and we have no choice but war.” “The best option would be to prepare for war, but send him a message with the full details of all we know about the traitors!” Qadir offered quickly, stretching his electric blue wings as he spoke. “He’s right, let’s prepare for the worst but hope for the best,” Kamal agreed. “Although war does seem unavoidable, it does cost quite a bit of money, and although we aren’t exactly broke, I do not recommend rushing into things,” Kalil said, trying to give some economic advice instead of siding with either side directly. Everybeast turned to Karam, studying his yellow face. Although he heard every word, Karam stared silently at the table the entire time, re-playing his brother’s words in his mind over and over.“...Strong Wind?” Avram prompted quietly, while the others turned away and said nothing. It was clear to them all that Karam was suffering, but most of them were too afraid to directly say what they all thought. “...We’ll send him a message explaining what happened, and also that we will not yield,” Karam decided in a hollow voice, “As Qadir said.” With that, he stood up from his chair, and all the other advisors stood up from their chairs in respect as he left the room silently. Daud’s message arrived like a heavy boulder weighing down on them all, and none were entirely sure what to say. As for Karam, his heart ached deep inside. How could his beloved elder brother do this? In his room, he laid on his regal bed, pondering what to do. Oh... to whatever god may hear, please... please help my brother listen to reason. Please. Please. Please... I don't want to fight him. He's all I have left. I beg you... whoever you are... have mercy... or give me the strength to kill him. Though he prayed with all earnestness, he wasn't even sure who to pray for, or what to say. Even while he was trying to pray his mind doubted every word. After decades of living with his brother, Karam knew that Daud wouldn't listen to reason once he got an idea in his head. He was as stubborn as a mountain was tall. Could Karam war against his own brother, though?