DjinnTheBinding:GameFiction

How I won the key to the lands of Death. By The Kings Raven

“Tell us a tale!” I smiled at my companions, “I cannot tell a tail for my throat is as dry as the deserts of our homelands and my stomach is louder than my voice”. A good natured laugh went around the fireside as food and drink were placed before me, I raised my hands in mock surrender. “I shall tell you the tale of how I gained the keys to the lands of death!” A quick cheer went around the table then silence as I began to tell a tale of magic, a tale of wonders, a tale of adventure!

Once when I dined to visit Samarkand I heard music, more wonderful than any music heard in the world ever since. I knew I would not rest until I found the man capable of such a feat and so I asked across the city until I a small beggar boy brought be to the home of al-Kindī in exchange for a coin.

I asked al-Kindī to play for me and in return I offered to grant his wishes! He played music more beautiful than god himself and in return he only asked to hear the songs of other lands, with my hand I reached up and drew winds from across the world and on those winds came music from as far as the Orient and song from as distant as the Americas.

This continued for many years, when the desire came upon me I would travel to the home of al-Kindī, he would play and I would pay him with music from across the world until one night I arrived bearing food and drink to find my friend in the grips of a dark mood. "Alas my friend" he said to me "I cannot play for you tonight. I have grown too old, my fingers shake and my strength has left me".

Now I thought to myself that this was not how things should be, al-Kindī was a good friend to me and he had created music that would never again be heard on Earth. It was not right that something so wonderful would soon vanish forever so I took gold from my treasury and went to the merchants. I brought camels and provisions, sweetmeats and wines so that our nights will not be tiresome and I asked al-Kindī if he would travel with me in search of the Oasis Who's Waters Heal All Wounds And Restore Youth.

We travelled through the desert for one hundred and one nights before finding the Oasis, its waters were a perfect crystal blue reflecting the sky and the heat of the desert could not approach its shores. When al-Kindī drunk from the waters his weakness left and his youth was returned, he lept and danced for joy and played music in celebration. It was then I thought to myself that my friend was not the only great man: There were scholars and philosophers. Kings and artists. Architects and physicians. Why should any of these have to die? In our travels we had drunk much of our wine and our water and the camels still carried many empty skins which I resolved to fill with the waters of the Oasis Who's Waters Heal All Wounds And Restore Youth to bring back with us.

That evening at Sunset as we began our journey home filled with victory Death himself came and stood before me. "Stop!" Declared Death. "What you wish to do, I cannot allow. Every man has an appointed time to die, you cannot change this. Because you have travelled for one hundred and one nights to find the Oasis Who's Waters Heal All Wounds And Restore Youth I shall allow al-Kindī to live but you must give me the waters you have taken".

I had no wish to surrender anything to Death and when I told him so he raised his arms and called forth his army, ten thousand solders from a hundred nations still wearing the armour they took to their grave charged at me! I summoned the tornado, the hurricane and the whirlwind and sent them against death's army! With his army defeated Death raised his arms again and the ten mightiest sorcerers to ever live stood before him, their learning even greater from their studies in the underworld! As they sent their spells against me I listened to the wind and snatched conversations between master and apprentice, a breeze went through ancient tomes of lore and I prepared my own spells for battle! Finally his sorcerer’s defeated Death drew his sword and I drew mine.

We fought for hours and though neither of us ever landed a blow, I began to grow weak; every thrust and parry drained my Strength. Just as I feared I was defeated I remembered I carried water from Oasis Who's Waters Heal All Wounds And Restore Youth at my hip. One single sip and my Strength was restored to fight on. This continued all through the night until at sunrise, the last of my water spent, death lowered his weapon and lowered mine for though I had not landed a blow I had won! Do you see, when you fight death to survive is to be the victor!

"You have bested me, I shall trouble you no more" said Death. But as I looked round the battle I saw that al-Kindī and all my camels and even the Oasis Who's Waters Heal All Wounds And Restore Youth had been swept away or buried under the sand. I turned to Death and said "That is not enough. You have taken from me my friend, my camels and my water from the Oasis Who's Waters Heal All Wounds And Restore Youth. I have bested you and you had no right to take this from me. I demand reparations". Death reached into his cloak and gave me a small key made from human bone. "With this key you can pass through the gates of death itself, since I have taken from you the power to prevent men from dieing I grant you rights of passage through my realm so you may enjoy the company of the dead at your leisure."

And since that day I possessed the right to visit the dead upon my wish.

I finished my tale and ordered more wine and meat from the calf roasting over the fire. Ahihud an Ifrit who's bravery I have come to respect told us of his greatest glory: standing in a band of three hundred Djinn who defended the Prophet from an army of demons sent to kill him at the moment of his conception. Sargon shared a tale of how a wondering wise man came to his mountain cave to challenge with a duel of riddles, how be won the contest by hiding truth inside a pebble that so that his opponent might sit upon the pebble and never notice it. His prize was the secrets to the heart of women. Shehariah spoke of how one day a star fell from the sky and on the Sultan's command he raced to secure the star before the Sultan's enemies could find it. For the next year and a day he fled from the Sultan's armies lest his treacherous Vizier take the stars power for his own until they found the ladder Jacob saw ascending to heaven and the star climbed back to the sky.

At last, our hunger sated on rich meats and our thirst quenched with wine it was time to depart. As I left I looked back, the light of a trusty fire seemed like another world to the prideful lights of Las Vegas. Someone closed the door and I walked on into the night.