This is a conversation I (Janakt) had with Shazirah around the time I was first tattoo'ed. I took out all the extraneous information to tidy up my own file, but I left the desert-echos as I felt they really enhanced the mood. Enjoy!

Shazirah says 'Ah, yes.'

Shazirah says 'It's been a while I suppose.'

You rest.

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

Shazirah rakes a hand along the sands, idly drawing some runes.

Shazirah says 'It's a story that doesn't start with me, but does start in the sands of the Araile.'

Shazirah says 'You are well familiar with many of the nomadic tribes in the desert?'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

You say 'Of one mainly, yes.'

You say 'Suppose the human tribes.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

You say 'Then the Ki-threen there are.'

Shazirah nods.

Shazirah says 'Many years past, among one of the tribes there was a girl named a'Shabei.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

Shazirah says 'A charming girl from what the legend says. Fair of voice and kind to the eyes, who wanted nothing more than to wander the desert and spread the joy she felt in her soul.'

Shazirah says 'Well, as it often happens, there was one particular period when the desert was more harsh than normal.'

Shazirah says 'Game was scarce, even some of the more resilient creatures had moved elsewhere.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

Shazirah says 'Under the bidding of her parents, a'Shabei was sent to find a man of wealth to marry.'

Shazirah says 'It wasn't something she desired to do, but like all youth, she wanted to be free from the scrutiny of her parents for a time.'

Shazirah says 'A perfect opportunity to wander and do as she wished, while seeking out what they wanted at the same time.'

Shazirah draws a few more lines in the sand, staring at them absently.

The night's bitter cold drains your strength.

Shazirah says 'She wasn't away from the tribe and her family long before she became enchanted by everything around her: the
sights, the sounds, the smell of the desert.'

Shazirah says 'Sometimes being alone out there can bring more enlightenment than with others.'

Shazirah shrugs slightly.

You nod.

Shazirah says 'But she wandered... hours, days, losing track of time. Now and then she would stop and look for a suitor, but only briefly.'

Shazirah says 'Some laughed at the idea, others wouldn't even look at her.'

The moon changes and begins a full phase.

Shazirah says 'She was alarmed, for a'Shabei wasn't an unkind or unattractive lady by any means.'

Shazirah says 'Time passed, and a'Shabei returned back to her home, only to find everything destroyed and no sign of life.'

Shazirah says 'Confused, scared, a'Shabei didn't understand how such could happen. She hadn't been gone that long...'

Shazirah says 'She rummaged through the camp, searching for something, anything. The hot sun glinted in the sand, and what she found was a mirror.'

Shazirah says 'Amusing, in a way.'

Shazirah sighs softly.

The night's bitter cold drains your strength.

Shazirah says 'What she saw there was an old woman, wrinkled and beaten down by a harsh life in the desert.'

Shazirah says 'Not a trick of the heat this time. She had lost herself, lost track of time, and in doing so lost her family.'

Shazirah says 'Struck by the idea that if she had only been more grounded, if she had done as her parents asked, they might have lived.'

Shazirah says 'Instead, they starved.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

Shazirah says 'Overwhelmed by this, a'Shabei shattered the mirror, and cut her own wrists.'

Shazirah says 'The desert, thirsting as it always is, drank of the blood spilled there.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

Shazirah says 'More time passed. The sands covered what was left of a'Shabei.'

Shazirah says 'Briefly, as her spirit drifted from her body, she was given the chance to see from above.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

You drink water from a bubbling spring.
The water quenches your thirst.

Shazirah says 'What she was shown was the past... her thriving village, her younger self leaving.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

Shazirah says 'Then she saw what truly happened. Shortly thereafter, bandits struck without mercy, torturing, pillaging, killing.'

Shazirah says 'So it was not a'Shabei's fault after all.'

Shazirah says 'As the sadness and guilt lifted from her spirit, she sunk into a deep darkness.'

The scorching sun parches your mouth.

Shazirah says 'The Spirit-Song a'Shabei slept many, many ages beneath the sand, even as her story of innocence and hope, fear and loss spread throughout the remaining tribes.'

Shazirah says 'There were stories of the rain that so seldom falls here.'

Shazirah says 'That even still, a'Shabei weeps for her family.'

The night's bitter cold drains your strength.

Shazirah says 'But she would soon wake, for the twisting of the desert to the north cried to her.'

Shazirah says 'Though a'Shabei is dead, the Spirit-Song carries across the landscape and shall do so forever.'

Shazirah says 'And so you see, I was that girl.'

The night's bitter cold drains your strength.

Shazirah smiles slightly, a hint of sadness in her eyes.