Kingdom Hearts

Ch. 67

Agrabah

Jafar

A young boy wearing a blue tunic was walking alone in the desert. The day was ending with the light in the sky slowly setting. The boy limped across the sands that were turning from yellow to blue with the light fading. The boy's face was dry and deathly. Everything but the young boy's face was covered in fabric. He wandered through the desert as his lips lost their moistness. The world began twisting and turning to the nearly dehydrated boy. He collapsed on the desert sands with nothing but a large mountain in the distance. The boy starred at the dark sky witnessing the day turned to dusk then dusk turned to night. The light glimmered in the boy's eye once more before fading with only the stars in the sky left reflecting off his pupils. His eyes closed as the last light glimmered in the sky before fading. And with that a single thought came to his head.

"I hate this world."

The boy remained still on the sandy dunes alone and near death. Over yonder by chance a man in a golden cloak came by riding his camel. His animal rode past the boy and only by chance did the man notice the boy in his deathly state. The tall man quickly got off his camel and came over to the boy. He picked up the boy in his rusty hands and took out a water jar. He poured the liquid over the boy's face stirring him up. The boy opened his eyes to see a tall dark skinned man with a sliver beard in a golden tunic calling to him. "Young boy can you hear me?" he said shaking the child.

The boy subtly moved signaling he was alive. "Now tell me what is your name?" the man asked with an old soft voice. The boy uttered, "Jafar."

He passed out again closing his eye lids making everything go black.

In time, the boy opened his eyes again to see a ceiling directly above him. He snugged around a little bit discovering he was laying in a soft bed. He seemed tucked in under bright purple blankets. He removed the sheet from his body surveying the room. The bedroom was painted bright yellow and decorated with gold items hanging from the wall. With a window edged in the ceiling causing light to shine on the boy. He got up placing his feet on a red carpet covering the room. He walked around noticing a larger then average wooden door away from the bed. He then looked up at the window questioning why it was constructed in the ceiling.

An older black woman walked in through the wooden door built in front of the bed wearing a purple tunic and gold straps. She was insanely tall standing nearly 7 1/2 feet. Noticing the boy was up she smiled calmly and spoke to him with no ill intent. "Hello, my name is Ajee. Your name is Jafar is that correct?"

The boy finally spoke a little startled since the stranger knew his name. "Where am I?"

"Why my son you are in the city of "Zerzura, the Oasis of Little Birds."

The boy looked on in confusion. "Oasis?" he said stagnant.

Time passed before the woman brought the boy outside showing him the land called Zerzura. He couldn't believe his eyes for what he saw could only be crafted in a world of fiction. For when he exited the building, he found himself not outdoors but within a town settled in a cavern crafted on the sides of the rock walls. The buildings were constructed all around the cavern walls with people conversing in this lost and forgotten civilization.

An entire race of giant dark-skinned humans inhabited the buildings and streets. Some people growing up to 7 to 10 feet tall went about life like any other civilization. Only much taller.

In the center of town was a vast oasis the woman spoke of but despite being entombed in a mountain, plants still grew around the water. Light seemed to pervade from the water lighting the red rock up like the sky at dawn. The woman grabbed the boys hand and brought him back inside. "Tell me my son, the Rascar was the one who discovered you in the desert alone. He then brought you here so I could take care of you. Now can you tell me what happened? Why were you out in the desert by yourself?"

The boy finally managed to speak a whole sentence as everything became clearer to him. He explained that he was with his merchant Father who brought Jafar with him to do business in the Tribe of Red. But they were attacked by sand pirates. The group was merciless and killed everyone including Jafar's Father. But sparred him since he was a boy. Or maybe they wanted to spite him as he was abandoned in the desert to die alone. He's been wandering for two days until he was found. Jafar began to cry as he recalled the events.

The giant woman came closer rubbing his head and shushing him. "It's alright your safe now," she said in the tone of a Mother.

Ajee soothed him and watched over him for the next couple of days. She took the boy in as her own. Feeding him caring for him until he was well. She took the young Jafar out with him into town introducing him to the people. They walked down the streets as the residents took a glance at the outsider. The men wore gold tunics and purples straps while woman wore introverted outfits. The kids ran off to school in the morning. They were all 4-5 feet tall despite their age.

Hanging atop the cavern was a bat like bird with black spots on its white feathers.

Jafar walked under them noticing the birds flicker their wings from a distance. Ajee took Jafar to the Oasis in the middle of town. "This place is an Oasis. I only heard of such a place in story books," Jafar said witnessing his reflection in the clear water.

"Yes, this is the last one of its kind, shielded from the changing landscape under this mountain. Our people migrated here after our enemies ran us out of our homes hundreds of years ago. We thrived here ever since."

"Zerzura is supposed to be only a legend, nobody believes it exists," Jafar concluded.

"That's because we do not have contact with the outside world at all," Ajee explained standing over Jafar. He looked down into the bright water. Under its depths lay a source of light illuminating the cave.

Jafar lifted his head up to see a group of old men walking towards the pond on the other side of the pool. They all stood at the edge standing single file in two rows facing each other. The giants stood still as one man who was the tallest at 11 feet walked down the middle. He came towards the pond with a gold bowl placed in his hands. He knelt down and filled the cup with fresh water.

"Who's that?" Jafar asked pointing to the giant man.

"That is the Rascar. He's our leader and the one who saved you from death," Ajee answered. Jafar stared relentlessly at the sliver haired man until the Rascar caught notice of the boy. Their eyes locked for a few seconds staring across the water. Jafar felt a rush of courage making him run around the pond towards the sliver haired man. "Wait don't go child," Ajee pleaded. But he did not listen.

The silver haired man watched and waited as Jafar sprinted towards him. He came up to the tall man tired out from his sprint. Jafar fell to his knees and thanked the man for saving him. The sliver haired man knelt down to the boy and padded his head. Much to the surprise of everyone including Ajee who ran after him.

Jafar struggle to speak, "Um, please sir. I don't want to be a bother, but I'd like to go home to Agrabah."

The sliver haired one did not speak to the boy till he stood back up. The man reached out his long arm. "Come," he said bluntly to Jafar. The Rascar took Jafar away leaving Ajee behind. He led Jafar down the street letting the boy notice the abundance of gold everywhere. From clothes to tables. It seems they have more gold then they know what to do with. The sliver haired man leads him to a great temple North of the Oasis where he calls home. He brought Jafar to his study atop the temple revealing scrolls placed on numerous shelves. The man made his way to his chair behind a golden desk sitting down staring at the boy.

"I know you want to go home. But you cannot leave here just yet," he said in a raspy voice.

"What a-are you holding me prisoner, so I don't tell the world about you? Because I promise not to speak of it. My Mother is in Agrabah, and I just want to go home," Jafar stuttered nervously.

"I cannot, for the path to the outside world is closed. This place you stand in is magical. You saw it in the Oasis. The magic that gives this place life. You see the entrance to this city only opens once every 3 months exactly for about an hour. Our ancestors only discovered it by chance while fleeing our enemy. And we've lived in seclusion ever since. But as the Rascar when the 3-month time period comes I may leave my sanctuary and gain knowledge over the course of the three months. Then return and repeat the process the next time the gate opens."

"But that means I'm trapped," said the boy a little bothered. He sat down coming to terms with his situation. Jafar stared at the floor without blinking.

"I apologize. But you were on the brink of death, and you needed attention," the Rascar explained.

"What should I do?" the boy asked.

"The sliver haired man stroked his beard. "You would have to stay here until the gate of Zenzura opens once again."

The boy began to hide a smirk, "So, you mean I have to stay here for three months. Alright, I guess I don't have a choice anyway." He got up and looked around the giant man's study. He stared at the scrolls on the shelves and asked, "Can I read these?"

The sliver haired man nodded. He got up out of his chair and grabbed the scroll above the boy. The man's giant fingers grasped it before handing the boy the shining scroll. It seemed too heavy for Jafar dropping the paper the moment he took it. The shining scroll hit the ground and rolled open. Jafar saw the scrolls paper to have gold woven in the seams written with shinning neon black ink. He's never seen anything so beautiful.

"These scrolls are the most valuable treasures we have not for the material they were made with. But the knowledge documented on them. You may read as your heart contents. Knowledge from this world and many others are documented here. For everybody no matter race or height should be barred from knowledge," the sliver haired man spoke over the boy. He then headed to the exit leaving Jafar alone to his studies.

"Others?" Jafar pondered the Rascar's wording.

He passed it off thanking the old man and began reading. He was fascinated by the scripture as he fell in a deep trance from the writing. He'd read multiple scrolls with intense intrigue. When the day was over, and the Oasis goes dark. Ajee went to pick Jafar up and bring him home.

When the old woman walked in the boy had fallen asleep on top of countless scrolls he has read. She picked him up and brought him back to her house. Jafar's eyes squinted seeing the cavern as what should be described as night. The red rock turned grey with the light reseating from the pool. But there was still enough light shining out from the Oasis to make everything faintly visible. Ajee brought him inside her house and placed him in the bed he had awoken in this morning. She closed the door behind him letting the boy sleep as he dreamt of what he could do with the knowledge he obtained. He smiled dreaming that he'll bring what he learned to Agrabah having everyone astonished by his claims. He'll be heralded as a visionary and an innovator. The Sultan will favor him greatly and make Jafar his advisor. He will then allow him to marry his daughter and then Jafar the lonely merchant boy will ascend to become Sultan. But that was only just a dream. He drifted off to more wonderous thoughts and dreams.