For Altair.  Even though I'm lazy and haven't updated IC in a week.

I've had a request to post in entirely LOLprincess.  I can't quite bring myself to do that, but for you, Altair, I do

One would think that by now I would have learned to keep my mouth shut.      As ever, I am a fool.  No good can come of revealing one's deepest thoughts and feelings to another -- even when that other requests it. 

I am glad that I was productive earlier in the day.  A gentleman from Pathi visited the Embassy, and although I am afraid I will have to deny his request, I believe that I furthered diplomatic relations some.  Though, he gawked at me when I arrived.  Perhaps I should commission clothing that people in this city are more accustomed to.  Nothing quite like an open-mouthed stare to make a woman feel like a freak of nature.  I don't look all that different from most women in Amber. ... Do I?

I think tonight will be a night for the blue potion, that I might sleep soundly.

The Son of Dawn has come to Amber, borne on the wings of strange auguries and dark portents.  Is it wrong, then, that I am glad to see him?  I had forgotten how his presence soothes me. 

Comfort is a strange thing.

So, I'm a little late on this, but Badriya's playlist: 

The Feeling Begins - Omni (originally from the Last Temptation of Christ/Peter Gabriel)
Desert Rose - Sting (Predictable, but cut to video of Aishwarya Rai)
Aicha - Khaled (In French, with beautifully poetic lyrics.)
I Put a Spell on You - Natacha Atlas
Leily - Dania (Yes, I know the title says Leila.  It's Leily.)
Simarik - Tarkan
Everybody Yalla - Karim Nagi
Ojos Asi - Shakira
Serenity - Godsmack 
When Doves Cry - Prince
Touched - VAST
Sweet Dreams - Marilyn Manson
Paralyzer - Finger Eleven
Perfect Drug - Nine Inch Nails

And, one more tidbit:
Oud Solo - John Bilezikjian (in case you don't know what an oud is! Badriya plays one.)

I traveled to the Oisen with the Priestess, my brother and another man.  Such a blighted place... I felt the need to scrub myself from head to toe when I returned to the Embassy.  It was wonderful to see Samas, though.  His manner of speech has not changed, for he ever has a flowery phrase at hand and a kind word in his heart.  He believes that I have been too harshly punished for my supposed misdeeds.  Perhaps he is right.  Her Majesty, however... well, She is more stubborn than I.  She will not unbend. 

Perhaps it is better that sand and sea separate us.

I write to you from my rooms in the Embassy in Amber.  I have settled in, and will once again take up the mantle of emissary to the Court here.  Although I regret the timing of it, I am pleased to have somewhat returned to Father's good graces after succeeding with the Third Binding (as I am certain you have heard by now).   Mother is as unbending as always.  It is the right of the Noor, though, so I'll not complain. 

Would you be so kind as to send along a bit of the rose shisha of which I am so fond, when you are able?

Dutifully,
Driya

Once, before the Great Sands stretched as far as the eye could see, our land was a lush, fruitful garden, its air filled with the rush of many rivers running wild through it.  There, our mothers' fathers lived in peace, wanting for nothing.  No hunger gnawed at our children's stomachs.  No thirst parched their throats. 

The Sun Himself was gentle and kind, shining its benevolent warmth upon our people in the Garden.   We were as children, walking innocent and naked beneath Ab's rays.  The Moon watched over our people in the dark.  Umm's light was a constant glow that drove away night terrors that lurked beyond the Garden's farthest marches.

But even in comfort and plenty, the seeds of greed bloomed within our hearts.  We began to covet our brothers' riches, our sisters' strength and even our neighbors' wives.  These sparks of greed that our hearts to the Djinn, who were once among the highest of the heavens' spirits.  They danced in the skies with Ab and Umm, but they were jealous of the benevolence and love that was showered upon us, as a gentle rain from the heavens. 

So it is that the Djinn came down from the heavens, dulling their own light and walking among us to whisper words that fanned the spark of discontent into a growing flame of anger and dissatisfaction.  A shadow began to spread within the garden, as foul things crept in from its borders.  They slunk beneath the tall trees, concealing themselves from Umm's light, only to burrow into dark earth when our Father Ab rose in the morning, fouling the soil with their presence. 

We shook our fists at our Mother  when the bountiful fruit trees began to moulder and rot before our very eyes.  We shook our fists at our Father when our children fell to pestilence.  Some few began to erect temples, to preserve those things which were holy, though they were persecuted by their brothers and sisters.   The Djinn spoke to our people of the arrogance of those that had begun to call themselves priest and priestess, and their poison fell onto fertile ground. 

Umm and Ab watched their children's beauty and innocence diminish, even as they watched their cherished Djinn bring themselves low in their hatred and envy.  The Mother and Father began to withdraw from our world, leaving us to our own devices... and again, we shook our fists.  We blamed our brothers and sisters in the temples for this, plotting their destruction.  Blood was shed and holy altars were overturned, though none could touch the greatest secrets that remained locked far beneath the temples, hidden in great, deadly mazes.

It was this last that enraged our father and sadded our mother.  Ab's fury scorched the last of the garden's bounty, searing the pestilence from the land.  The dying screams of our fathers and mothers fell on deaf ears, as flesh melted from bone and bone charred to blackened dust.  The Djinn were set afire in our Father's anger, and still they burn, forbidden to return to the heavens and forbidden also to walk upon the land without their Father's fire marking them as the great traitors.

Only those faithful who had taken shelter in what remained of the temples survived, huddled together in terror.  At last the screams of the dying faded.  At last the crackle and roar of the blazes diminished, to be replaced by the soft brush of rain over the ground.  When they looked out, they saw the steaming remains of their home, bare of life and bare of joy.  Our Mother cried her tears over the last of her children, quenching the last of the fires, leaving them with a bounty of water by the end of that night, from which they drank and were grateful.  When Ab arose, his anger still burned hot, and the water vanished before their very eyes, along with their hope of survival.

But when the Sun descended for the night, those of the Djinn's brethren who remained in the heavens whispered their secrets unto some few among those who survived.   The Stars told of water to the east, and so it is that our people left the temples and traveled east beneath the faded light of the Moon, hiding themselves from the Sun's anger in the daylight.  

At last, with the temples far behind them, our people came to sudden valley in the sweeping sands of the desert.  There, they found that Umm's tears had gathered, and some small remnant of their garden had sprung up about it.  It was not much, no, but they were grateful and sang our Mother's praises.

The royal line (and inheritance in Alhambra in general) has been through matrilineal succession  The culture arose from the ashes of another culture that was torn apart by succession wars .  If your mother is the Queen, there's no doubt you're of royal blood. Succession is always clear.  Nonetheless, this does not mean men are second-class citizens in Alhambra.  Rather, men's duties are different from women's.  Women protect the Blood and men protect the Land. 

When a child is born, her mother will claim her. And if the mother has living family, they would take an orphaned child on, so long as  she was claimed.

It is worth considering that children have some sort of psychic tie to their mother, and if it's severed early enough, say by the mother's death, it allows a skill to develop.  The skill would be along the lines of a Low Magic, but stronger than most are able to manage.

The Royal Line has some magics of its own -- the High Magics. Others would be able to perform Low Magic.  High Magics in Alhambra include those involving stars and fire, while Low Magic is of a more earthy sort, reading tea leaves and the like. 

What's necessary?
- Palace of Light
- Desert
- Shisha Cafe
- Observatory

What would be nice?
- Library


Still thinking...