The Sandstorm King

by PioneeringAuthor

Chapter 1: Birth of the Wind

Author's Note:

Two things:

1. This story is finished, BUT NOT ALL PUBLISHED.
If I recall correctly, I started this in 2016 and did not finish it until around Fall 2019.
It would've been finished sooner if I hadn't procrastinated and life hadn't gotten in the way.
I am truly proud of this and honored to show you all this backbone backstory of one of the main characters of my AU, Karamverse.

I am planning on releasing this one or two chapters at a time each week, just so you all have something to look forward to while I work on other things.

2. For most of these chapters, I found some music that would be good background music.
If you want to listen, click on the green words. Open it in a new tab and look at it to start it.
If you see red words, that means end the music.

If there is no red word, then loop the music during the rest of the chapter, if you wish.
If you're fine without music, just let it run out of time naturally.
If you see blue words, then it's a link to a picture. For some reason, some picture links don't work on the website and there's no true upload button, far as I know, so I may end up just doing blue words for most of the pictures in this story.

All right, that's all I have to say for now.

Enjoy!

--Turquoise Dreamer, the dreamer with a heart for others and a thousand stories to tell ~+~

---

170 years Before the Solar Era...

Saddle-Arabia

Capital city of Rikhab

It was a day when the wind did not stop blowing over the desert sands.
Everybeast in the palace was as excited as the howling breeze outside.

This was a major event.

King Khayri and Queen Nura of Saddle-Arabia were about to have their second foal together. As he paced up and down the halls, Khayri recalled his first wife.
Sadly, Khayri’s first wife did not give him any sons, or any children at all for that matter, and after she died he was lonely. For weeks he had walked around the palace with his regal, blue-grey head held low, and he barely spoke a word. Seeing how depressed he was, all the servants around him had become more and more somber, until the advisors had held an emergency meeting.
Thankfully, it wasn’t long before they had convinced Khayri to remarry.
Finding a suitable Earth Horse, the tall Alicorn had found that his loneliness ebbed away in her presence. Eventually they had a strong, handsome son together-- Prince Daud.

He was grey like a rock, with paler patches on his hindquarters that contrasted his black legs, mane and tail. The palace adored him. Over the years, Khayri found himself laughing and smiling more than ever before.
Then things calmed down a touch, until Nura realized she was carrying another foal.
Now a second foal would be born.

This was exciting!

Another prince?

A princess?

Perhaps twins?

Everybeast-- Pony, Horse, Camel, other creature-- was incredibly excited. King Khayri had ruled quite a while without an heir, and now he would have two. It seemed the whole world understood the importance of this day, for the wind had begun howling over the desert early in the morning and had not yet subsided.
In fact, it grew fiercer.

Suddenly, one of the midwives exited the bedroom, galloping down the halls.

“IT IS A BOY! ANOTHER PRINCE!” She cheered.

Instantly, the palace felt both relieved and joyous. The wind outside turned and moaned its approval as well, it seemed. The willowy king and his older son gathered around the tired mother to inspect the newcomer. He was a dun colored Alicorn foal--golden yellow with dark legs, mane and tail. He lifted his head and his big, blue eyes darted around the room curiously, his nostrils flaring out with every excited breath he took.

“What are we going to call him, Father?” Daud whispered.

“Well… what do you think, Nura?” Khayri asked his wife gently.

Hearing Khayri's voice, the foal fixed his eyes on his father, and his ears perked up. Khayri's eyes widened slightly as he realized his son knew his voice. A soft smile crossed his face while his heart swelled with a deep, unconditional love for the tiny newcomer, just as it had when Daud was born.

Meanwhile, Nura, who was a light green mare with lighter spots akin to an Appaloosa, lifted her head and murmured, “I think we should name him Karam; I want him to be a generous ruler, like his father.”

With a grin, Khayri nodded. While little Karam looked around with confused, bright blue eyes, Khayri leaned his neck and head down and nuzzled him. Karam sniffed his father and mother and then sneezed, blinking his blue eyes in amazement at his own sneeze. Khayri, Daud and Nura chuckled at the cute little expression he had.

“Father, if he is a prince like me, who will rule the kingdom when you retire?” Daud questioned curiously as he turned to look up at his father.

He was such a young one that he didn’t realize how rude the question may sound.

“My son, since you are older, you shall have my throne-- but your brother here will have great political importance. Perhaps he’ll lead his own kingdom one day,” Khayri explained with a chuckle.

“At any rate, I’m sure he’ll be a powerful hero,” Nura predicted, “After all, the wind hasn’t stopped blowing all day--it must be a sign.”

“Did anything special happen when I was born?” Daud whispered, his own big, blue eyes looking expectantly at his father while his grey wings twitched with his mixed emotions.

“Yes-- on your birthday, we discovered a diamond mine in our territory,” Khayri said, “And I thought I already told you that story…. didn't I? Well, come now, your mother needs rest.”

After nuzzling his wife and newborn son, Khayri shepherded his older son out of the room with one of his large wings, quietly closing the door behind him with his magic aura.
It was a joyous day.

---

Some years later, Karam and Daud were flying together above the palace walls.

“You cannot catch me, Older Brother!” Karam shouted as he dived down and zoomed through some of the arches of the buildings.

“Ah, but I shall!” Daud declared, folding his grey wings and darting after his little brother.

The two brothers chased each other round and round until at last they both grew tired and landed on a balcony, flopping onto the stone floor and gasping for breath.

“I… say… I… won,” Karam huffed.

“No! It… was… a… tie,” Daud insisted.

For a moment, they glared at each other intensely.
Then they both rolled over and laughed. They really couldn't even pretend to dislike each other.

---

Over the years, the brothers bonded deeply.
Daud took on the responsibility of being a good role model, and did his best to obey his father and look out for his little brother. Indeed, everybeast noted that Daud would make a great leader, and Karam would be a wonderful advisor to him, or perhaps an ally in a foreign land. The two brothers were charismatic and energetic, and they brightened the palace together. In time, Daud's grey coat with white speckles and hindquarters steadily became darker over time whereas Karam was born golden yellow like his grandfather on his mother’s side, and didn't change much in color.
Both had their mother’s luminous blue eyes, and both inherited strong magic and large wings from their father. Certainly, their parents were proud of them, and the two had a strong, brotherly bond.

Unfortunately, Karam and Daud’s personalities were very different, and the two rubbed each other the wrong way often.

Daud was usually calm, resilient, and obedient.
Karam, however, was like a whirlwind--always dashing off someplace, and always chattering. While Daud accepted an order, Karam always had to question it. It annoyed Daud immensely--especially when he was trying to tell his brother to do something simple for him. In time, Nura and Khayri had many a laugh over their sons' petty quarrels.
Overall, the family was close, and their love lit up the palace, which lit up the whole kingdom. Indeed, things were looking wonderful for the future.

Even the wind blew its approval.

Little did they know....