Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Myths & Legends

The queen narrowed her eyes and considered the man in front of her. Her chin rested on her left hand, the elbow on the softly padded arm of her chair; not a throne, really, just a large chair, with padding covering the hard, white stone beneath. A silver cloth embroidered with golden designs was wrapped over her shoulder, obscuring her right arm from view.

He was a small man, clothed in a simple brown tunic tied around the waist with a deep red rope, attached to the end of which was a small silver medallion. He was on his knees, shaking, and she chould see the sweat on his forearms. Evidently, her reptuation preceeded her, and this pleased her mightily. She began to speak, softly at first, but growing not louder, but sterner as she went.

"You know, we hear all sorts of legends here. All sorts of fictions are brought before me. You did see the bodies that line the road to Carthage, did you not? All of them, liars. All of their blood strengthening the road to Carthage. All of them dead." Her voice turned cold, the sound of gray steel glowing in a dim light, "Are you lying?"

"N-n-no, Queen Hannah, no, please, I'm not."

"Have you seen these beasts?"

"No, I have not."

"Then how can you be so sure."

The man was silent, staring straight ahead, aware that no answer could possibly appease her. The Queen stood up, and approached him. She reached out a hand to his chin, and lifted it so she could gaze into his eyes. Slowly, she unwrapped her right arm, bringing her hand up to his cheek.

"Do you feel that? Do you know what it is?" she asked.

He fought to keep his head from jerking away, as the thick scar tissue of her right hand moved across his face. He gulped, and nodded.

"Good. Then you know we have no distaste for blood. Guards!" Instantly, five muscular figures were by her side. "Take him away to the spire. Make sure he is comfortable, and fed. If he tells the truth, he shall live. If not, the ravens will feed on his eyes."

It was, to be honest, the best he could hope for.

The queen carefully re-wrapped her arm, raising the hem to her lips as she finished, then returned to her seat and struck up a conversation, although nobody else was present. "Preposterous. Four legged beasts that can be ridden at great speeds for great distances, some with massive teeth curving out of their mouth? Absolutely preposterous. If there were such a thing, we would have heard of it--nay, we would have some." Her eyes dropped. "Still ... We cannot be too careful, can we?"

* * *

"She can't be serious."

For the fifth time, Hadrumetum's Captain of the Guard read the paper she held in her hands. She focused on the seal at the bottom, trying to find the mistake that would reveal it s a forgery. There was none. She sighed, and pushed herself back from the desk. "Ianna!"

A thin woman with shortly cropped red hair entered into the room and stood, ramrod straight by the door.

"The Queen has spoken. We are to train two thousand women as ... " She glanced down at the paper again. " ... spearwomen. They are to take five foot sections of strong wood and attach sharpened knives to the ends." Ianna's eybrows rose almost imperceptibly, but she knew better than to respond. "These are to be used to defend against large, four footed beasts, some capable of great speed, others weight as much as a dozen men."

Ianna couldn't stop herself, and turned to the Captain. "Cows, Captain? We're supposed to fight cows?"

The captain took a deep breath, and lowered her voice: "No, Ianna, not cows. The Queen has heard of beasts in foreign lands like this, and fears an invasion. More importantly, the Queen has spoken. I believe I said that once already. Do I need to say it a third time?"

Ianna stiffened back to attention. "No, Captain."

"Good. Go. We have six months to have the first five hundred ready for royal review. If they aren't ready by then, we'll both be food for the birds on the road to the palace. Dismissed."

After Ianna left, the Captain leand against her desk, shaking her head. "Cows, indeed."

Monday, May 5, 2008

The rise of Arabia

The next 2500 years in Arabian history constituted the biggest period of expansion in its history. Beginning with the founding of Medina in the hills to the southwest of Mecca, the Arabians proceeded to fill their small island with cities in the years to come, including Damascus in 1160, Baghdad in 540 and - after almost 1000 more years, Najran in 350 ACE. Many other great successes filled this period, ranging from a wealth of new technologies, building a network of roads to fighting off a Barbarian assault on Damascus. Truly memorable milestones include the discovery of a huge new continent, which they called الآخرو, to the northwest of the modest Arabian isle in 960 BCE and in building of the Temple of Solomon - the spiritual center for Judaism - by the Great Prophet Zoroaster in 680 BCE.

More, during the exploration of الآخرو, the Arabians began encountering new and foreign powers including, in order, the Mayans, the Spanish, the Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Sumerians. During this era the Mayans and Babylonians became trusted friends, while the Spaniards and Babylonians adopted a hostile posture.

However, the moment history best remembers occurred in 310 BCE. The Arabians completed one of their most cherished creation, a Jewish temple in the heart of Mecca. And that night an enormous hurricane struck Mecca and destroyed only a single building: the new Jewish temple. The religious debates and lamentations from this certainly God-ordered turn of events would continue through the entirety of Arabian history and become among the most important myths in the both Arabia and the Judaic world. Still, during these years Arabia rose to a point of tremendous might.