Chapter I
A woman wrapped in a dark cloak hurried down the street. Quickly she turned a corner onto another street that was lined with temples dedicated to many different deities. She went unnoticed as she hurried up the broad jade steps to one of the smaller temples. Her cloak dropped as she hurried inside revealing pure white hair tucked up into a servant's knot. Her deeply tanned skin set off the whiteness of her hair. She wore a simple aqua dress that matched her eyes perfectly. The woman, who was not much more than a girl at the time grabbed the cloak she had dropped and set it again so it covered her hair. She did not want attention to be brought to her, that was the last thing she needed.
The girl settled herself in the far-left corner of the temple as to hide herself from the people on the street. She looked around the temple. It was empty save for two guards who stood outside the glass doors. The temple was made of pure white marble with an altar in the front. Embedded on the altar were opals and jade. A carved jade idol of the goddess Geshri sat atop the altar.
The girl, slow and deliberate walked toward the altar. When she reached it she pulled a stick of incense from the folds of her cloak and lit it. She set it in a shallow metallic bowel at the base of the idol and took a step back from the altar. She bowed her head low so it touched the ground in front of the altar and then rested herself, sitting on her feet. Finally she felt safe.
She thought back on what had happened recently. Running away from her master wasn't the smartest thing to do but she had no other choice. Stealing food from a vendor downtown wasn't the best idea either. Now she needed to find somewhere to work and somewhere to live. The food she had stolen wouldn't last her long and it wasn't safe for a girl her age to be walking the streets at night. She needed a plan.
It wasn't safe for her in Shintöv so she had run away. Yujri, her master or his nephew Jaffrix might find her there. She had run for days until she made it to Tset Zhan, the most religious city in all of Sirizia. It was here were all the temples in the country were. It was to here where pilgrimages were made. It was here that she wasn't even safe. Yujri had spies everywhere from mountaintop to the busiest city in the country, which is where she was. It wouldn't be hard to find a girl with white hair in a crowd of women with dark hair. Why did she have to be so unique? She brought her hand up to make sure her hair was covered.
After contemplating her problem a bit more she decided that she should at least find somewhere to stay for the night. As the girl exited the temple she looked about her. She figured that if she wanted to find somewhere to stay she should at least figure out where she was. She headed down the street and found herself in the middle of a street fair. There were women dancing and selling trinkets, men were talking and children were running around playing games. The street smelled of foreign spices and the air was thick with the scent of frying food. Trying not to bring any attention to herself she walked to what appeared to be an inn.
When she got inside the door she blinked her eyes, trying to get used to the dim lighting. As she approached the counter a man turned around. He had greasy brown hair pulled back into a long ponytail that hung down his back. His clothes were plain and homespun and he looked as if he was a beggar but the girl knew he was probably the one she needed to talk to if she wanted a room. She came to the counter and above all the din of the small tavern she managed to tell the man that she wanted a room. Somehow he told her that she needed twelve draakni if she wanted one. The girl pulled out her dark leather purse from her boot and counted out twelve little silver coins. She looked at the remains realizing that she only had four draakni and one shranja left in her purse. That would last her seven days, maybe eight but not any longer than that.
After the girl gave him her money he took her upstairs to a cramped room. As she enter threw the low wooden door she looked around. There was a stub of a candle on the table that the innkeeper was lighting. There was no window and no other exit but the single door she had come in. The bed, if you could call it that was a dirty mattress on the floor. There was also the tiny wooden table that the candle was sitting upon. After lighting the candle the innkeeper left the room and closed the door leaving the girl in almost complete darkness.
All that she wanted to do was go to sleep but she made herself perform the prayers required by the gods. She prayed to Ithrán, god of the sky, Rina, his wife and the goddess of the earth and Geshri the goddess of love and the water. Geshri was always her favorite goddess and the girl never knew why. It was Geshri she prayed to when she needed help, Geshri who she prayed to for protection and Geshri who she believed helped her escape from her master.
As soon as she finished her prayers she fell onto the mattress. She thought over what she had to do. How was she going to find a job? A fifteen year old girl in the middle of a huge city, she'd be lucky of she made it through the next week. She did not have much to protect her, should anyone come along. However, there was one thing.
She slowly put her hand around the sack she wore around her neck. It was small, no more than the size of her fist and it was made of dark velvet. She kept it on a long, thin chain under her dress where no one could see it. As she pulled on the silken cord a small stone fell into her hand. It had the look and shape of a large opal but it had a name etched into it. Her name, Jahandri was written in gold on the stone. As she closed her fingers around it heat radiated from the center and its warmth filled her body. The magic that the stone contained would be strong enough to protect her from anyone she might meet. Not many held stones that were given to them by gods. When she thought about it, not many had a goddess even speak to them. She thought back to the day that Geshri had given her the stone.
It was dark and Jahandri was walking along a river. It was winter and the air bit at her exposed face and arms. She had been only four years old at the time and had not even met Yujri yet. Jahandri didn't remember why she was walking along the river or even where she had come from before. All she could remember was a shimmering light dancing over the river and then a woman appeared. She had ink black hair and the same unusual eyes that Jahandri had. For some reason Jahandri recognized her but she didn't know who she was. Slowly she walked toward the woman but when she got to the water she stopped. The river was deep and swift, one foot in the water and she would be swept away. The woman beckoned her forward. Jahandri put a shaking foot on the water and found that it was solid beneath her feet. She looked down and saw that the water had been frozen. Looking at the woman she realized who it was. She had such a powerful control over the waters and her face was so familiar. Jahandri had seen it many times before in the temples. It was the goddess Geshri.
Jahandri's eyes widened as she fell to her knees. She began to bow before the woman but was stopped by the shaking of the goddess's head. "Come."
Jahandri got to her feet and continued across the river. When she got to where the woman was standing she looked up and into her eyes. The goddess smiled. She pulled out a knife from her pocket. Slowly and carefully she drew it across her finger. Just as slowly she picked up a stone from the ground and let her blood flow onto it. Three drops of black blood covered the stone in glassy darkness. Geshri drew her hand across the stone and magically 'Jahandri' became etched on it in gold flowing script. She held out her hand. Jahandri gave her a questioning look. The goddess only said "Take it, it will protect you from the evil that you will face in your life. Do not lose it!" As soon as Jahandri took the stone Geshri disappeared as quickly as she had come.
Thinking back on the strange occurrence Jahandri wondered why she had been given the stone. What evil was she to face? It had been eleven years and she still hadn't faced anything that required her to use the stone. She didn't even know how she would use it if she ever needed it. She let out a yawn and put the stone back in its purse. Laying her head on the grimy pillow she thought 'Well, this is better than nothing' and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next day when Jahandri woke up she realized her candle had burnt out. The room was completely dark save for the light that flowed through the crack under the door. She stood up and wished for a light and a mirror. "I at least had a decent room and some light when I was working for Yujri," but she realized that staying in Shintöv would not have been a good idea. "I wonder what time it is." She left her room and headed downstairs.
"You got anything to eat around here" Jahandri asked the innkeeper.
"Yes ma'am we do, but it'll cost you another few draaknis, unless you be willin' to give us a show. Pretty girl like you? I'd give ya free room 'n board fir that."
Jahandri eyed the man. "Thanks for the offer but I can pay for what I need." She was used to men wanting to get at her. Jaffrix had tried every chance he got. He had even gone so far as to ask his uncle for her. Yujri probably would have given her to him after he had a go at her himself. "Men are perverts," she muttered after grabbing the brandy he offered her.
Jahandri ate a meal that consisted of slimy meat and a stale hank of bread. It cost her two of her remaining draaknis. As soon as she finished her 'meal' she walked outside. Her cloak was wrapped tightly around her head even though it was an extremely warm day. 'Much different than Shintöv' she thought. Shintöv was located high in the mountains and Tset Zhan was near the great desert that covered the top half of Sirizia.
As Jahandri was walking along the street she realized she had no idea where she was going. She thought about her options. There was always becoming a prostitute but Jahandri would starve before sell herself to random men. She would have to hire herself out as a servant but to whom? Hiring herself out meant telling people her name. It meant trusting someone. Hiring herself out would make the possibility of being caught much more obvious. Jahandri didn't want to face the consequences of being a runaway. Runaways in Sirizia were punished with death: slow and painful death. When the torture was over your head was cut off and stuck on a spike in the center of the town. No, being caught was not an option.
Jahandri thought about whom to hire herself out to. Who would take a lonely fifteen-year-old girl who had no papers or credits into their home? Then and again someone had taken her out of the orphanage and into their home when she was seven without a single question. Yujri Greshem. If she were to hire herself out it would be to a large mansion where she could work unnoticed. Even then who wouldn't notice a girl with pure white hair? Even if she did cover her hair with a scarf there was still the matter of her aqua eyes. It seemed that everyone in the city, country and world had dark hair and dark eyes. Why was she so different? 'Geshri, help me!' she prayed.
As if by some magical occurrence a woman dressed in expensive robes and jewelry came up to her, "Are you looking for a job?"
"Why do you ask?" Jahandri replied.
"You just looked as if you need help. I haven't seen you around here before. Also I am looking for a maid. You see my previous chamber has taken ill and can no longer work for me." The woman looked to be about twenty-five. She had dark hair, flawless skin and her eyes looked like golden almonds. Makeup adorned her face, black lines around her eyes and golden powder made her skin shine. Her clothing was of the finest quality Jahandri had ever seen. Jewels hung from her ears, neck, wrist and a tiny diamond pierced her nose. A nose-ring signified that a girl was married or engaged.
"Yes I am looking for a job but why would you hire me. If you don't mind me asking."
"Oh not at all dear. You seem... well different than the rest of the people in this town. I sense something about you. I don't really know what it is but I just felt I had to come up to you. There was just a force drawing me to you"
"Geshri..." Jahandri's voice was merely a whisper.
"What? Oh never mind. Would you like to take the job?"
"Don't you want to see my papers? My identification? Anything?
"Yes I suppose," the woman appeared to be in a daze, "but it can wait until later. Just come along dear." It was then that Jahandri realized she had a death grip around the pouch that contained the stone.
Jahandri followed the woman up and down many streets before they appeared at a large house. It was the most extraordinary building that Jahandri had ever seen. It was made of polished rocks and stood three floors high. An emerald lawn that had a walkway surrounded by roses leading up to the house preceded it.
A woman wrapped in a dark cloak hurried down the street. Quickly she turned a corner onto another street that was lined with temples dedicated to many different deities. She went unnoticed as she hurried up the broad jade steps to one of the smaller temples. Her cloak dropped as she hurried inside revealing pure white hair tucked up into a servant's knot. Her deeply tanned skin set off the whiteness of her hair. She wore a simple aqua dress that matched her eyes perfectly. The woman, who was not much more than a girl at the time grabbed the cloak she had dropped and set it again so it covered her hair. She did not want attention to be brought to her, that was the last thing she needed.
The girl settled herself in the far-left corner of the temple as to hide herself from the people on the street. She looked around the temple. It was empty save for two guards who stood outside the glass doors. The temple was made of pure white marble with an altar in the front. Embedded on the altar were opals and jade. A carved jade idol of the goddess Geshri sat atop the altar.
The girl, slow and deliberate walked toward the altar. When she reached it she pulled a stick of incense from the folds of her cloak and lit it. She set it in a shallow metallic bowel at the base of the idol and took a step back from the altar. She bowed her head low so it touched the ground in front of the altar and then rested herself, sitting on her feet. Finally she felt safe.
She thought back on what had happened recently. Running away from her master wasn't the smartest thing to do but she had no other choice. Stealing food from a vendor downtown wasn't the best idea either. Now she needed to find somewhere to work and somewhere to live. The food she had stolen wouldn't last her long and it wasn't safe for a girl her age to be walking the streets at night. She needed a plan.
It wasn't safe for her in Shintöv so she had run away. Yujri, her master or his nephew Jaffrix might find her there. She had run for days until she made it to Tset Zhan, the most religious city in all of Sirizia. It was here were all the temples in the country were. It was to here where pilgrimages were made. It was here that she wasn't even safe. Yujri had spies everywhere from mountaintop to the busiest city in the country, which is where she was. It wouldn't be hard to find a girl with white hair in a crowd of women with dark hair. Why did she have to be so unique? She brought her hand up to make sure her hair was covered.
After contemplating her problem a bit more she decided that she should at least find somewhere to stay for the night. As the girl exited the temple she looked about her. She figured that if she wanted to find somewhere to stay she should at least figure out where she was. She headed down the street and found herself in the middle of a street fair. There were women dancing and selling trinkets, men were talking and children were running around playing games. The street smelled of foreign spices and the air was thick with the scent of frying food. Trying not to bring any attention to herself she walked to what appeared to be an inn.
When she got inside the door she blinked her eyes, trying to get used to the dim lighting. As she approached the counter a man turned around. He had greasy brown hair pulled back into a long ponytail that hung down his back. His clothes were plain and homespun and he looked as if he was a beggar but the girl knew he was probably the one she needed to talk to if she wanted a room. She came to the counter and above all the din of the small tavern she managed to tell the man that she wanted a room. Somehow he told her that she needed twelve draakni if she wanted one. The girl pulled out her dark leather purse from her boot and counted out twelve little silver coins. She looked at the remains realizing that she only had four draakni and one shranja left in her purse. That would last her seven days, maybe eight but not any longer than that.
After the girl gave him her money he took her upstairs to a cramped room. As she enter threw the low wooden door she looked around. There was a stub of a candle on the table that the innkeeper was lighting. There was no window and no other exit but the single door she had come in. The bed, if you could call it that was a dirty mattress on the floor. There was also the tiny wooden table that the candle was sitting upon. After lighting the candle the innkeeper left the room and closed the door leaving the girl in almost complete darkness.
All that she wanted to do was go to sleep but she made herself perform the prayers required by the gods. She prayed to Ithrán, god of the sky, Rina, his wife and the goddess of the earth and Geshri the goddess of love and the water. Geshri was always her favorite goddess and the girl never knew why. It was Geshri she prayed to when she needed help, Geshri who she prayed to for protection and Geshri who she believed helped her escape from her master.
As soon as she finished her prayers she fell onto the mattress. She thought over what she had to do. How was she going to find a job? A fifteen year old girl in the middle of a huge city, she'd be lucky of she made it through the next week. She did not have much to protect her, should anyone come along. However, there was one thing.
She slowly put her hand around the sack she wore around her neck. It was small, no more than the size of her fist and it was made of dark velvet. She kept it on a long, thin chain under her dress where no one could see it. As she pulled on the silken cord a small stone fell into her hand. It had the look and shape of a large opal but it had a name etched into it. Her name, Jahandri was written in gold on the stone. As she closed her fingers around it heat radiated from the center and its warmth filled her body. The magic that the stone contained would be strong enough to protect her from anyone she might meet. Not many held stones that were given to them by gods. When she thought about it, not many had a goddess even speak to them. She thought back to the day that Geshri had given her the stone.
It was dark and Jahandri was walking along a river. It was winter and the air bit at her exposed face and arms. She had been only four years old at the time and had not even met Yujri yet. Jahandri didn't remember why she was walking along the river or even where she had come from before. All she could remember was a shimmering light dancing over the river and then a woman appeared. She had ink black hair and the same unusual eyes that Jahandri had. For some reason Jahandri recognized her but she didn't know who she was. Slowly she walked toward the woman but when she got to the water she stopped. The river was deep and swift, one foot in the water and she would be swept away. The woman beckoned her forward. Jahandri put a shaking foot on the water and found that it was solid beneath her feet. She looked down and saw that the water had been frozen. Looking at the woman she realized who it was. She had such a powerful control over the waters and her face was so familiar. Jahandri had seen it many times before in the temples. It was the goddess Geshri.
Jahandri's eyes widened as she fell to her knees. She began to bow before the woman but was stopped by the shaking of the goddess's head. "Come."
Jahandri got to her feet and continued across the river. When she got to where the woman was standing she looked up and into her eyes. The goddess smiled. She pulled out a knife from her pocket. Slowly and carefully she drew it across her finger. Just as slowly she picked up a stone from the ground and let her blood flow onto it. Three drops of black blood covered the stone in glassy darkness. Geshri drew her hand across the stone and magically 'Jahandri' became etched on it in gold flowing script. She held out her hand. Jahandri gave her a questioning look. The goddess only said "Take it, it will protect you from the evil that you will face in your life. Do not lose it!" As soon as Jahandri took the stone Geshri disappeared as quickly as she had come.
Thinking back on the strange occurrence Jahandri wondered why she had been given the stone. What evil was she to face? It had been eleven years and she still hadn't faced anything that required her to use the stone. She didn't even know how she would use it if she ever needed it. She let out a yawn and put the stone back in its purse. Laying her head on the grimy pillow she thought 'Well, this is better than nothing' and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next day when Jahandri woke up she realized her candle had burnt out. The room was completely dark save for the light that flowed through the crack under the door. She stood up and wished for a light and a mirror. "I at least had a decent room and some light when I was working for Yujri," but she realized that staying in Shintöv would not have been a good idea. "I wonder what time it is." She left her room and headed downstairs.
"You got anything to eat around here" Jahandri asked the innkeeper.
"Yes ma'am we do, but it'll cost you another few draaknis, unless you be willin' to give us a show. Pretty girl like you? I'd give ya free room 'n board fir that."
Jahandri eyed the man. "Thanks for the offer but I can pay for what I need." She was used to men wanting to get at her. Jaffrix had tried every chance he got. He had even gone so far as to ask his uncle for her. Yujri probably would have given her to him after he had a go at her himself. "Men are perverts," she muttered after grabbing the brandy he offered her.
Jahandri ate a meal that consisted of slimy meat and a stale hank of bread. It cost her two of her remaining draaknis. As soon as she finished her 'meal' she walked outside. Her cloak was wrapped tightly around her head even though it was an extremely warm day. 'Much different than Shintöv' she thought. Shintöv was located high in the mountains and Tset Zhan was near the great desert that covered the top half of Sirizia.
As Jahandri was walking along the street she realized she had no idea where she was going. She thought about her options. There was always becoming a prostitute but Jahandri would starve before sell herself to random men. She would have to hire herself out as a servant but to whom? Hiring herself out meant telling people her name. It meant trusting someone. Hiring herself out would make the possibility of being caught much more obvious. Jahandri didn't want to face the consequences of being a runaway. Runaways in Sirizia were punished with death: slow and painful death. When the torture was over your head was cut off and stuck on a spike in the center of the town. No, being caught was not an option.
Jahandri thought about whom to hire herself out to. Who would take a lonely fifteen-year-old girl who had no papers or credits into their home? Then and again someone had taken her out of the orphanage and into their home when she was seven without a single question. Yujri Greshem. If she were to hire herself out it would be to a large mansion where she could work unnoticed. Even then who wouldn't notice a girl with pure white hair? Even if she did cover her hair with a scarf there was still the matter of her aqua eyes. It seemed that everyone in the city, country and world had dark hair and dark eyes. Why was she so different? 'Geshri, help me!' she prayed.
As if by some magical occurrence a woman dressed in expensive robes and jewelry came up to her, "Are you looking for a job?"
"Why do you ask?" Jahandri replied.
"You just looked as if you need help. I haven't seen you around here before. Also I am looking for a maid. You see my previous chamber has taken ill and can no longer work for me." The woman looked to be about twenty-five. She had dark hair, flawless skin and her eyes looked like golden almonds. Makeup adorned her face, black lines around her eyes and golden powder made her skin shine. Her clothing was of the finest quality Jahandri had ever seen. Jewels hung from her ears, neck, wrist and a tiny diamond pierced her nose. A nose-ring signified that a girl was married or engaged.
"Yes I am looking for a job but why would you hire me. If you don't mind me asking."
"Oh not at all dear. You seem... well different than the rest of the people in this town. I sense something about you. I don't really know what it is but I just felt I had to come up to you. There was just a force drawing me to you"
"Geshri..." Jahandri's voice was merely a whisper.
"What? Oh never mind. Would you like to take the job?"
"Don't you want to see my papers? My identification? Anything?
"Yes I suppose," the woman appeared to be in a daze, "but it can wait until later. Just come along dear." It was then that Jahandri realized she had a death grip around the pouch that contained the stone.
Jahandri followed the woman up and down many streets before they appeared at a large house. It was the most extraordinary building that Jahandri had ever seen. It was made of polished rocks and stood three floors high. An emerald lawn that had a walkway surrounded by roses leading up to the house preceded it.