Post by Malignant Naricissism on Apr 19, 2011 18:12:10 GMT -5
Somewhere far, far away from Cormyr-
The vizier read out the Sultan's sentence to the condemned.
"You are all guilty of insurrection against the Sultan. But in His infinite Mercy, one of you will be spared execution, to suffer a fate worse than death."
It was clear the vizier was speaking facetiously. But the condemned, those who still stood after the battle and were captured and brought in chains for a quick trial by the Sultan's men, stood anxious. As the sentence was read some broke into tears, others stood silently awaiting their apportioned fate.
"One of you, determined by lot, will be cast into the Gate as an example of those who betray the Sultan and his glorious Empire. You who will be chosen shall be cast away from our people, our culture, and perhaps worst of all, our gods."
At this point, none knew which was worse: being executed and sent to their final fates, or to be cast through the Gate.
They drew lots. Saifullah, one of the rebellion that had once sought to end the Sultan's oppression, was chosen. His face betrayed no emotion, but he quietly uttered a prayer to the gods.
The remainder were taken out and quickly beheaded, their heads placed throughout the city as warnings to those who would stand against the Sultan and his mighty host. Saifullah was led in chains to the Gate, a one-way portal that led to an unknown place.
The Gate was created by accident, but as myth and legend began to surround it, it became an excellent political tool and instrument of fear. Still, none knew where it led, and none who had gone through it had ever returned to the Land of Fate.
Saifullah, bearing no fear on his face, stood at the ominous gateway. The vizier and his men cackled, and he spoke once more. "Now...what have you to say fallen one, oh great knight with no master?" Saifullah spoke simply, "Faith is my master, and you shall not shake it."
As he seized by two guards and prepared to be thrown into the unknown abyss, he cried out, "The sands will claim your bones, guilty of sin as they are!"
Saifullah was then cast out, only to reappear on a remote trail somewhere near a land called Cormyr. So far away from home as to never feasibly return, and too far to call out to his gods, Saifullah became a stranger in a strange land.
The vizier read out the Sultan's sentence to the condemned.
"You are all guilty of insurrection against the Sultan. But in His infinite Mercy, one of you will be spared execution, to suffer a fate worse than death."
It was clear the vizier was speaking facetiously. But the condemned, those who still stood after the battle and were captured and brought in chains for a quick trial by the Sultan's men, stood anxious. As the sentence was read some broke into tears, others stood silently awaiting their apportioned fate.
"One of you, determined by lot, will be cast into the Gate as an example of those who betray the Sultan and his glorious Empire. You who will be chosen shall be cast away from our people, our culture, and perhaps worst of all, our gods."
At this point, none knew which was worse: being executed and sent to their final fates, or to be cast through the Gate.
They drew lots. Saifullah, one of the rebellion that had once sought to end the Sultan's oppression, was chosen. His face betrayed no emotion, but he quietly uttered a prayer to the gods.
The remainder were taken out and quickly beheaded, their heads placed throughout the city as warnings to those who would stand against the Sultan and his mighty host. Saifullah was led in chains to the Gate, a one-way portal that led to an unknown place.
The Gate was created by accident, but as myth and legend began to surround it, it became an excellent political tool and instrument of fear. Still, none knew where it led, and none who had gone through it had ever returned to the Land of Fate.
Saifullah, bearing no fear on his face, stood at the ominous gateway. The vizier and his men cackled, and he spoke once more. "Now...what have you to say fallen one, oh great knight with no master?" Saifullah spoke simply, "Faith is my master, and you shall not shake it."
As he seized by two guards and prepared to be thrown into the unknown abyss, he cried out, "The sands will claim your bones, guilty of sin as they are!"
Saifullah was then cast out, only to reappear on a remote trail somewhere near a land called Cormyr. So far away from home as to never feasibly return, and too far to call out to his gods, Saifullah became a stranger in a strange land.
