Dark Seduction RPG - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

piosenniel · 06-19-2003, 02:28 PM

Ismat – leader of the Grey Parrot Clan

‘Duha! Wake up, little wife. I am going now’

The woman sat up on her mat, her face was drawn with worry and her eyes red from the tears that fled down her cheeks. ‘I am not asleep, Ismat. How could I be?’

The light from the small oil lamp that Ismat had lit threw sharp shadows on the walls of the tent. The tent was empty, except for them. The third mat, still laid out in hopes that Munir, their child, was a grim reminder of what must be done tonight. Duha put her hand on her husband’s arm, a pleading look in her eyes.

‘Is there no other way that what the Elders spoke of,’ she asked, her eyes wide with a mother’s fear. ‘He is our only child. How can they want to abandon them?’

Ismat leaned forward, taking his wife’s face in his hands. He kissed her lightly on the brow. ‘I will try as hard as I can to convince him to come home, Duha. But he is old enough now to make his own choices and to live with what he does choose. As for the others, I do not know what will happen. Jasara’s spirit has turned dark, and she holds great sway over them.’

Duha watched as he rose, tucking in his shirt as he did so. His thick ironwood stick was in his hand as he left the tent, closing the flap of it securely. She blew out the lamp, the smell of the smoky oil lingering in her nostrils until the night breezes pulled it up and out through the smoke hole at the tent’s crown.

*+*+*+*+*+*

He found them in a pack, like wild animals, huddled together in the open just beyond the edges of the camp. He had brought a hooded lantern with him, and now he opened its light full on them. They woke, their dark eyes glinting in the sudden light, silent, regarding him as a hunter would regard its prey.

Munir edged to the back of the group, his eyes not meeting those of his father, who sought him out with a smile. The other young ones closed in around Munir, shielding him.

Ismat stepped no closer to the group. His gaze now seeking Jasara’s as she stepped a little forward. His words to them were short – telling briefly what the Elders had decided. There would be a two day time period for the young ones to come back to their families and to the tribal ways. Then, the Elders would meet again, and those who had not come back would be set out on their own, cut off from the tribe in all ways.

‘You will be dead to us,’ he said. ‘Ghosts. The warriors will drive you from our camp and you cannot return.’ His eyes swept the ragged group in their thin clothes. The sound of hyenas came from a distance, their eerie laughter filling the silence between the man and the young ones, and fading as they ran after the promise of a kill.

‘You will be dead to us,’ he said again, his words hanging in the once again thick silence. ‘And we will mourn you.’

He shut the hood of the lantern abruptly, and turning quickly strode swiftly back to the tents of the tribe.

06-19-2003, 02:28 PM	#11
piosenniel Desultory Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Pickin' flowers with Bill the Cat..... Posts: 7,779	Ismat – leader of the Grey Parrot Clan ‘Duha! Wake up, little wife. I am going now’ The woman sat up on her mat, her face was drawn with worry and her eyes red from the tears that fled down her cheeks. ‘I am not asleep, Ismat. How could I be?’ The light from the small oil lamp that Ismat had lit threw sharp shadows on the walls of the tent. The tent was empty, except for them. The third mat, still laid out in hopes that Munir, their child, was a grim reminder of what must be done tonight. Duha put her hand on her husband’s arm, a pleading look in her eyes. ‘Is there no other way that what the Elders spoke of,’ she asked, her eyes wide with a mother’s fear. ‘He is our only child. How can they want to abandon them?’ Ismat leaned forward, taking his wife’s face in his hands. He kissed her lightly on the brow. ‘I will try as hard as I can to convince him to come home, Duha. But he is old enough now to make his own choices and to live with what he does choose. As for the others, I do not know what will happen. Jasara’s spirit has turned dark, and she holds great sway over them.’ Duha watched as he rose, tucking in his shirt as he did so. His thick ironwood stick was in his hand as he left the tent, closing the flap of it securely. She blew out the lamp, the smell of the smoky oil lingering in her nostrils until the night breezes pulled it up and out through the smoke hole at the tent’s crown. +++++ He found them in a pack, like wild animals, huddled together in the open just beyond the edges of the camp. He had brought a hooded lantern with him, and now he opened its light full on them. They woke, their dark eyes glinting in the sudden light, silent, regarding him as a hunter would regard its prey. Munir edged to the back of the group, his eyes not meeting those of his father, who sought him out with a smile. The other young ones closed in around Munir, shielding him. Ismat stepped no closer to the group. His gaze now seeking Jasara’s as she stepped a little forward. His words to them were short – telling briefly what the Elders had decided. There would be a two day time period for the young ones to come back to their families and to the tribal ways. Then, the Elders would meet again, and those who had not come back would be set out on their own, cut off from the tribe in all ways. ‘You will be dead to us,’ he said. ‘Ghosts. The warriors will drive you from our camp and you cannot return.’ His eyes swept the ragged group in their thin clothes. The sound of hyenas came from a distance, their eerie laughter filling the silence between the man and the young ones, and fading as they ran after the promise of a kill. ‘You will be dead to us,’ he said again, his words hanging in the once again thick silence. ‘And we will mourn you.’ He shut the hood of the lantern abruptly, and turning quickly strode swiftly back to the tents of the tribe. __________________ Eldest, that’s what I am . . . I knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless - before the Dark Lord came from Outside.