The Desert Moon Cycle [Shajah|Vavatine]

The blood of The World Prince ran deep in the red sands of this cursed country. An oasis of the Sun, Ra's sacred land became the Shadow of the evil eye itself. Everything had changed for the boy, the people who had shown him kindness had even became monsters.. Along with everyone else.

Survival became a way of life for him but he had the Bloodline of who would become the True World's King. Nothing was improbable for him. Life had just changed, he escaped the large cities of Heliohapt for sandy dunes on the outside of major populations.

People here were just different, they became something different. With their minds and bodies altered, they became depraved souls lusting for violence and sometimes flesh. The Prince wouldn't understand at his age, but it was classic Vampire shit.

Than the flick of long forked tongue near silently lapped beside Shah'Jahan. It was the iridescent serpent, Nagini cloaked in darkness.

"VI-PAH~" Shaja exclaimed with a long "I" sound. The large beautiful creature snuggled up to the boy. It was another of natures miracles, a snake showing affection. He had survived in these tunnels Nagini created. Eating food she caught and occasionally stealing-which of course is the most dangerous of his exploits. Nonetheless what he needs most is water, and that Nagini can't provide.

He put his hand on the snake and stood up in the tunnel. He knew it was time and he was ready. Even though the city has been overcome the same well provides water to the population. He had been a few times and his instincts as an Imuchakk were begging him to take a drink..

He worked his courage which was easier than he expected at this age, it was in his blood. He left the tunnel climbing up into the outside world. The heat of the sun motivated Shah'Jahan further.

[He]
321 words

Darkness. Death. Screams. There was no escape from this new hell brought upon the desert country by the Dark Hand and their Master. Creatures roamed the capitol, hungry for flesh and blood since the monstrous black-figure vanished and a man took power. A certain dark warrior with a black mask had been fighting since then, fighting against any that attacked while struggling under the toxins that were been released into the air. She had been with them, the Dark Hand, for as long as she could remember. She served them as a slave, as a warrior, a judge, and executioner, but now...

Slicing through the neck of one such creature, she sighed. Nothing had felt right for some time, the pieces didn’t fit. Part of her found some enjoyment in the suffering of people, but this was too much. And that man, the one who unleashed such calamity, seemed vaguely familiar to the point her head hurt. “Damn it all,” she muttered, flinging the blood off her greatsword with one hand.

“What now, Zaina?” the warrior asked herself as she looked up at the green sky. However, her sky-gazing came to a halt when a noise was heard to her right. Thinking there was danger, she brandished her sword. “Stay or else be slain like your brethren!” She lowered her sword upon seeing a little boy crawling out of a tunnel. How did he survive? Oddly enough, there was something recognizable about the child, but she didn’t feel like dwelling on it too much. Pity filled her heart at the thought that children such as this were living in tunnels, dead, or worse, transformed.

Zaina sunk her sword into the ground and kneeled. Her hair, normally braided into a bun, hung loosely at her shoulders due to her constant fighting. “Come here, little one,” she gestured with open arms. “Where are your parents?”

The young boys face wrinkled and he shook his head, "got none." He watched his feet and felt rather small again. He didn't know this lady but she was the first he had seen in a long time. Maybe she could help him.

The World Prince observed her more closely, trying to see if she was a threat. He noticed she had a sword and wore mostly black and just a bit of her seemed a bit irritated. Though she was pretty, and that made it hard to be scared.

What was more there was something slight about the woman's voice that sent tingles up his spine. It was a feeling of some place like home. It made him so interested in her like there was something right.

At his age he didn't understand what he felt but when he looked back at Vavatine he dropped his defences and began to cry. He wiped his face frantically and the light reflected off his tear soaked eyes. He was golden blessed with a complexion that resembled the blood of the earth; a gift from Jahangir.

Yet the gift of his eyes was given from another source. So as those heartfelt orbs stared into his creators he didn't need the memory of the first time he had stared into those eyes. His heart remembered for him, whose face he had seen before anyone elses.

"Do you have anything to eat?" Shah'Jahan asked Vavatine, taking back off from where they had left off. Fate had been answered.

---

259 wc

Zaina sighed. Was this another child abandoned by the greed of his parents? Or perhaps they were killed? There wasn’t any point in dwelling on it in the middle of this hellscape though. “I see,” she said, cocking her head to the side. She couldn’t take care of such a small child, not in this place. Could she?

The boy’s sobbing brought her back to reality. He couldn’t cry, or else they’d be found out by nearby monsters. Quickly, she picked him up in her arms and patted his head. “Shhh, it’s okay…” Zaina bit her lip. She was never good with kids, and the Dark Hand normally told her to kill them if need be. “I don’t know what’s wrong, but we can’t be too loud… Please, be a brave little boy, kay?” As if responding to the warrior’s concerns, she heard noises in the distance. “Here,” she said, giving him some crackers to eat. “Nibble on these; we can’t stay here. Are you ready?”

Zaina grabbed her sword as she cradled the young boy in her left arm. They needed to get out of there, find some shelter. But where? The danger zone was the entire capital, but maybe there was something on the outskirts? They weren’t too far. The question was whether or not they’d make it and if she could do it with the kid… She looked into his blue eyes, an odd coloring considering his skin tone. A halfling, maybe? His eyes reminded her of other Imuchakk slaves she had seen before the rebellion, but something about them…

Another screech. “Damn… no time…”

When she lifted him a joy he had not felt before, she was warm and strong and smelled good. His teary eyes looked into hers as she examined his own deeply. He blushed and threw his arms around her hiding his face in her neck. For the moment he felt safe and just shook his head gently from her questions.

Once she calmed down the young prince and retrieved him a snack his attention went back to the world outside of his mind. The sounds of screeching, claws and roars echoed in the distance. They made him shudder against his mother, would they be alright? Maybe he should have brought Nagini with him. He was scared, he was almost always scared but that is what kept him alive. He clutched his morning tightly trusting in her judgment . He had just met her but he had a feeling he could trust her.

"what's your name?"

---

414 wc

Zaina closed her eyes and breathed slowly, keeping her calm. “My name is Zaina,” she responded while she quickly looked around them. The creatures weren’t in sight, but they couldn’t stay. “One step… that’s all it takes,” she mumbled to herself. Looking at the child, she wondered if he really was alone. Surely he had someone looking after him, right? Why did she have to care anyway? It’s not like this kid was hers… But it’s not like she could ignore him now.

Looking down at the child, her mind began to swirl with vague thoughts and her heart ached. Not hers…? Then why did she feel like this kid was familiar? Zaina wanted to shrug it off, thinking he looked like a lot of children around the area, but those eyes… The more she tried to think about it, the more her head hurt to the point there was a constant ringing in her ears. The shrill sound in her ears hindered her from listening around her, and she was caught off guard with a strike to the back. Zaina flew forward, the attack causing her to lose her grip on the kid and her sword as she tumbled a few times before hitting some debris.

“Damn,” she muttered, wiping the blood from her lips. Her vision blurred through her mask. She made a stupid mistake of dawdling, let her mind wander. Rookie mistake. Zaina stood, dusting off the sand from her black armored gown. Her yellow eyes looked at her assailant, another of those fanged humanoid beasts with blood-red eyes. She smirked. “I should thank you for ridding me of that awful headache,” she said, “but that won’t save you from being sliced to ribbons.”

The dark warrior charged, grabbing her sword and slicing upward at the monster. She barely grazed its arm as it jerked back. Using her momentum, she spun, kicking sand into its eyes, and then stepped forward to slice the head clean off. “Stupid thing,” she growled, bringing her sword down to stab into the body. “All. Of. You. Should. Just. Die.” With each word, her sword hacked away at another piece of the corpse. She wanted to make sure they stayed dead. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your master follows you for fucking up my life.”

Their master… Doxrus, or even Requiem Jynx, a man who tried spin fancy lies when they first met, though if asked, Zaina wouldn’t remember what lies he said. They were responsible. She was just fine, serving under the Dark Hand, until they decided to summon their damn god, a god she didn’t care for so long as she got paid and was treated well. There were many times when slimeballs would try to use her for her body or try to abuse her, but they were always tortured along with their family. Never again would she allow that, and now that her life was so royally screwed in this new hell, she’d never let herself be a pawn for a shady organization.

Zaina stared at the mangled corpse before snapping her head back up and looking around, almost dazed. The kid… where’d he go? Did she scare him off? “Little boy?”

"Zaina" Shajah traced his time around the word. He was near 5 years old. He had an understanding of language and some manners because of his nanny. He was about to tell her, "my name is-"

Shaja  suddenly rolled out of Zaina's arms and tumbled across the sandstone pavement of the inner well. Even though he rolled and got banged up a bit that was nothing for a child of his unique heritage.

He stood up "Damn" he nodded, he knew that curse word. Zaina engaged with the enemy and The world prince observed her. The way she moved and the words she chose and how she said them. He was learning from her.

She was truly a dark swordsman chopping through her enemy with ease and leaving nothing but an inhuman corpse. Shaja jumped in celebration, mimicking her moves with his flute as a play sword. Zaina called for him and he ran back to his place with the woman and hugged her.

"You're so good!" Shaja exclaimed. His fear ignorantly left n, he felt secure in Zaina's care. The world prince let Zaina go. "My name is Shah'Jahan! " He smiled a wide and bright grin. His golden hued expression was just like his father's if not even sweeter and much more humble.

---

635

Zaina breathed a sigh of relief when seeing the child was unharmed for the most part and hadn’t ran off. He ran towards her, not away, and embraced the warrior in a hug. She was stunned, but patted his head nonetheless, feeling a bit awkward. “I’m really not,” she said. There were much better warriors out there and she barely had the skills to survive. If she didn’t get better, there’d be no telling how much longer she’d live.

“Anyway, we need to-” she stopped upon hearing the boy say his name. Her mouth dried up, and her heart ached. One of her hands fell to her stomach as she stared at the boy. Then, her head began to hurt again, more painful than before. Tears fell from her eyes, dripping down her face. “What…” Zaina wasn’t sure if she heard him correctly, and her conditioned brain was trying to rewrite over the memories trying to surface. “Shah’Jahan,” the name stuck in her throat before she managed to croak it out. Why… why did that name hurt so much? And yet why did it also warm her soul?

The warrior shook her head. No, there wasn’t time. They needed to leave. She picked up the child, her movements hesitant and shaky. Then, Zaina stumbled forward, pushing through as her body and head screamed in agony. She staggered, tears still streaming down her face. They’d travel for perhaps a few hours on foot until they reached safety, a house that probably lived a small little family of substantial wealth. However, they were probably already dead by now since she could sense death in the area, an aura she was all too familiar with by now thanks to the Dark Hand.

Once she shut the door and barricaded the windows, Zaina’s knees gave out from under her and her body fell. There was no prayer or chant to ward away the pain. None of the mantras she was told by those who controlled her would deal with this sort of reaction caused by the boy’s name. Fuzzy memories surfaced, but even though they were too vague to really understand, Zaina knew in her heart the memories were hers. Or… they used to be hers… Whoever they belonged to… she wasn’t that person anymore and could never be that person.

Zaina reached out to the boy and embraced him tightly, burying her face in his hair. Chills spread throughout her body despite her never having felt cold before. “Shaja,” she whimpered. “Why…”

Shaja enjoyed the feeling of the woman's hand palming his head and the warmth of an embrace. It didn't matter to him how she felt about her abilities, to him she was the coolest thing since he met Nagini. Yet then she reacted in pain almost as if the boy had hurt her. "Miss?",he said lightly but he was scooped just as soon into the woman's arms.

She started a pace through the city much quicker than he could have himself even as an Imuchakk child. He wrapped his arms around her and held tight as her storm clouded tears rained down on him from above. Shah'Jahan was confused, what could make her cry like that? She was such a strange lady, "maybe", he thought. "She's just as lonely as me".

He wiped the tears from her eyes with a tender hand as she carried him. Each step another tremor of earth quake like pulses ran through her body and Shah'Jahan with his small body tried to console her by nuzzling deeper into her grip. He had to think as they approached the shanty shelter, "will acting like her stuffed animal really help?", but it was a silly question to ask for him. Playing with his stuffed animal always made him feel better.

Though he wondered if Vavatine found him cute enough. "Probably not", he thought as she scrambled into the structure, placed him down and started barricading doors. luckily her son was smart, he assisted her the best he could moving anything rather it was small or large into Zaina's barricade. She did most of the heavy lifting but it was the thought that counts.

Shajah was so innocent, he knew the danger they were in but a bit of him was just as excited as scared. He still had his flute but there's was no telling how long it could take Nagini to hear it's sound and get to them but he knew the mother serpent was his greatest protection. She was the only thing that he knew would fight tooth and nail to the death for him, even though the other was right by his side.

Vavatine had collapsed on the ground from the stress of the run. He got it, when those things find humans they eat them limb by limb. He remembered her crying eyes, maybe she was scared too. She just seemed so strong to him. Yet unexpectedly that strong warrior wrapped her soft embrace around Shah'Jahan and it brought a beautiful smile to his face. His expression was golden and cinnabar, as beautiful as his parents could be proud of.
He reached for Vavatine hugging her tightly as she sobbed his name.

"I guess I am a pretty decent teddy" he thought

He had thought of her as so strong and stoic but there was a feeling so close between the mother and the first born that her very tears bled into him. He held her back tight and absolved all of her tears. He smiled as she whimpered and said his name.

"It's okay, I'm here with you. I won't leave you alone"

Zaina took a deep breath to relax her nerves. She stood, looking down at the child. “I suppose there’s no point in wearing this,” she said in a defeated voice, reaching for her obsidian mask, and pulling it from her face. Her eyes were golden now, but somewhere in them were light blue flecks that swirled in her irises. The warrior set her mask down on a nearby table and rested the sword against the wall. What was she going to do with this kid?

Taking a seat, she placed her feet on the table and crossed her arms, “Why are you in Heliohapt by yourself? You shouldn’t have come here, especially being so young.” A small voice in her head whispered, ‘You were supposed to stay…’ Now she had to deal with a kid and the Dark Hand. They both had to survive. This whole situation was just a big mess that Zaina couldn’t figure out. She scratched at her head. “You can’t stay with me all the time,” she said. “Especially when I’m fighting. There’s no guarantee I can protect you and certainly no guarantee I’ll be the victor.” Zaina sighed. “Besides, my hands are stained… I’m not some saint, some hero to look up to for admiration.”

If anything, protecting Shaja might cause her death. He was compromising her resolve, twisting her emotions, and giving her headaches, unlike anything she ever felt. She couldn’t focus, and it was having a rather negative effect in her psyche thanks to the twisted work of the Dark Hand. However, they were safe for now. What else was there to do?

For the first time in a long time Shah Jahan saw his mother's face unshielded. She was an ephemeral beauty, a straw like platinum blonde, and golden orbs that flickered with bright flakes like blue agate. She warmed him but the change in her stance and the simple cross off her arms as she sat to interrogate him made him anxious. She questioned him but she just didn't understand, he stared at the ground playing with his fingers as he answered her.

"I don't have miss Lena anymore.." he started to sobb as a hot memory surfaced into his mind. "Bad guys took her.."he didn't know how to put it in better words yet.

"Miss Lena says my parents are here, so I came to look for them." Shah'Jahan was only 5 years old but he had made it a long way through the guidance of fate. The thought of the journey at his ripe youth had burdened his soul, in some ways he was far older than he should be from that experience alone. He could survive as long as he had help and being cute was just as much his luck. That came in handy when he needed a favor or help.

“You can’t stay with me all the time,”

The sentence cut, it hurt every time he heard those words and even especially so now. He shuddered as a unfamiliar pain his heart brought his hands to his chest. "It'll be ok, it's fine. I'm not alone", he repeated in his mind. Though hot tears welled in his eyes and out of the blood of his father's pride he hid his face. He wanted to leave. He wanted to tell her thank you and find Nagini again. He thought she was like him for a minute, someone who was missing someone. Or someone who was alone. She said so many things he didn't understand after that, "who cares about that, Nagini will protect me she's like my mom" Shaja spit out the words with hurt. "Who is this lady making me think about this crap" he thought.

"I'll leave you I just want to find my mama anyway." Shah'Jahan got up, he was slightly working himself into a tantrum. "I'm not little like other kids!"

Miss Lena… A name Zaina should have known but it just didn’t click. She noticed how her words stabbed at his young heart, the pain beginning to mold into his young face, but she had to tell him the truth. Of course, she never really dealt with children before, and as such her words were causing Shaja to go into a tantrum. His words hurt her now, somewhere inside her heart she felt the pain. Once again, tears fell from her eyes and her throat began to dry out. “Damn it all,” she growled. “You can’t go out there!”

Zaina stood, only to stagger when Shaja said he wasn’t like other kids. Through her fresh tears, she smiled sadly. “I know,” she whispered, feeling the headache reappear. The headache got worse each second, but now it was making her angry. Or was it just everything that had happened? Her life in the Dark Hand was flipped upside down, and now she was so confused on what to do and where to go from here. “Damn it! I know you’re not like other kids, but I can’t…” Zaina raised her hands to her head. “I can’t lose you… Not now…” She might as well be dead again. Least now she had something to fight for, right? In the Dark Hand, she was… empty.

Her hands fell to her sides. Arguing and fighting wouldn't solve anything. They were both just exhausted. “It’s just been a long day,” she said softly. “We should get some rest; I’ll show you to your room.”

Shah'Jahan wiped the hot tears from his eyes, their was so much his young mind interpreted in her voice. Her pain left traces of scratch marks on his heart and the worry of her voice reminded him that the cared for him.

He started to settle himself sniffling up the wetness on his face. "why am I so upset?", He thought as he looked Zaina in the eye. He had to notice he was hurting her.

. “We should get some rest; I’ll show you to your room.”

Shahja shook his head and grabbed her hand as she let him through the dark abode. It was far from cozy but he supposed it was low key. It didn't seem like anyone would come here for any random reason.

"It's scary in here" Shahja muttered. "how can you live in here?" Like a child his tongue didn't know any mind he would ask anything openly.

Zaina raised a brow. “Someone lived here before, but thanks to the Dark Hand… not anymore…” The warrior looked around, not really seeing anything scary. She had to remember she was talking with a child though. “It’s not so bad; it’s just night… And the city is in ruin… But I guess I’ll clean it a little…”

The warrior tucked the child into the bed and brushed his hair softly. She didn’t know what she’d do for a child. How would she be able to take care of him? There’s nothing nearby in terms of a market. The Dark Hand was to blame for this situation. “Just… sleep. I’ll stay here until you fall asleep.”

WC: 2167

Shah'Jahan entered the room at the end of the corridor and he frowned at it. It wasn't a terrible room, it was large but unkempt. Dust lightly coveted the furnishings and wooden surfaces about the space. The walls were lined with shelves housing many foreign objects that bred mystery and a bit of fear into the World Prince. Everything was just so strange.

Ornaments and sculptures, exotic masks, aged art pieces they were all scattered about. The bed itself was even less inviting, a small thing with a wiry frame which would Creek as the boy attempted to plop atop the mattress. The green cover over it smelled of old house and mold the darkness of the space also made the room in it's vastness so much more vacant.

"I don't like it." Shahja thought but as a rarity he held the thought. He had just gotten the woman to stay with him. If he pushed his luck she might abandon him. He frowned at the thought and as Vavatines warm hand met his hair he reached out for her. He was such a baby .

With Vavatine it was just different, Shah'Jahan's thirst for attention and nurture were increased at the sight of her. If he want her son, he could have had a crush. He just enjoyed her too much everything about the lady was just so cool. He snuggled into her and tried to forget about the trouble of the day.

It wasn't that difficult, he only had so much of an attention span. He started to think of Nagini and Lena and all of the struggles that came before in the journey. Something about things felt so insignificant now, it was being what his young mind could understand. What was fate to a child?

He just worried about life in a way that no child should. He didn't want to be alone again, the darkness of a heart alone was too cruel for him. It was too sweet the feeling of Vavatine's skin, someone that safe. Someone that he felt would never hold a blade against him.

"Please don't leave me." He bit his tongue but he had the hopefullness of a child, if only he could ask-she might just stay. "We can stay together for a while right? It's ok if we're together even if it's only for a little while." Shah Jahan buried himself into the side of Vavatine.

"You're the bestest person I've met in a long while. You're strong and so pretty! I hope my mom is just like you."

Silent, the warrior just looked at the wall. She didn’t want to give the child too much hope. Deep down, Zaina thought she held those same hopeful wishes, but if she did, she knew better now. Hope seemed pointless now; she didn’t want to cling to it or wish it on others. Yet despite everything she’d gone through, she still believed in the guiding hand of fate: the mysterious power that guided the flow of the world, a concept unknown to her. For now.

Zaina hummed a little melody to help Shaja sleep. At least when he slumbered, she wouldn’t have to make empty promises. “For your sake, I hope she isn’t,” she admitted. Zaina couldn’t get through to this kid that she wasn’t a good person. She was broken and nothing could make her whole. Of course a child wouldn’t understand that so she wouldn’t force it. Soon enough, she’d fall asleep holding the child in her arms.


WC: 2326

Silent, the warrior just looked at the wall. She didn’t want to give the child too much hope. Deep down, Zaina thought she held those same hopeful wishes, but if she did, she knew better now. Hope seemed pointless now; she didn’t want to cling to it or wish it on others. Yet despite everything she’d gone through, she still believed in the guiding hand of fate: the mysterious power that guided the flow of the world, a concept unknown to her. For now.

Zaina hummed a little melody to help Shaja sleep. At least when he slumbered, she wouldn’t have to make empty promises. “For your sake, I hope she isn’t,” she admitted. Zaina couldn’t get through to this kid that she wasn’t a good person. She was broken and nothing could make her whole. Of course a child wouldn’t understand that so she wouldn’t force it. Soon enough, she’d fall asleep holding the child in her arms.


WC: 2326