Book of the Hafiz

Chapter I – Kaileb comes to the children of Ismaïl
(1)Thus came to the people of the tribe of Ismaïl the prophet named Kaileb. (2)He said onto the children of Ismaïl, “Behold, you wretched folk. (3)You were once a proud people. (4)Your ancestors had won a thousand victories, and had captured ten thousand wives from the neighboring tribes. (5)But the fathers of your fathers had become complacent, and allowed themselves to be chased from the fertile lands, to wander these Empty Quarters. (6)Your fathers had allowed strangers to come to your midst, and the savage forest people to come and take your wives instead. (7)And you, pitiful children, lost the skill of building in brick and tilting the soil along the river banks.

(8)Instead, you allowed yourselves to be chased around by the savages and men in gold and steel, to rove around with your cattle and to hunt for the most meager herds of gazelle or wild goat.” (9)And the people of the tribe of Ismaïl grumbled and objected, and they threatened to revoke the hospitality that a stranger deserved according to the ancient customs.

(10)Then Adras, the chieftain came forth, trying to still the rumor amongst his people. (11)“You speak the truth, stranger,” he spoke to Kaileb. (12)“Our ancestors lived in halls of marble and gold and drank of the nectar and ate of the grapes. (13)But the halls are long gone. (14)The other tribes have disappeared. (15)Our neighbors learned the ways of steel and of bow. (16)And the men in gold and steel have built marble halls of their own, while hiding behind walls of stone and of shields. (17)The savage hunters chase away our people from the edges of the forest and capture our cattle and wives when we stay in one place for too long. (18)And finally, the goddess Ai'dun, mother of life and fertility has left our midst, allowing her cousins to scourge the fields and turn the waters bitter. (19)We can only survive, lest the age of the people of Ismaïl is ending.” (20)The prophet Kaileb looked upon the chieftain Adras and his men, and he had never seen a more sorry sight. (21)He spat on the ground before the chieftain, for he knew that they had lost hope.

(22)Suddenly, Sora, the wife of Adras came forth from the group. (23)She was a seeress of great renown, and stories of her visions had reached Kaileb before he had set forth to the children of Ismaïl. (24)For it was the lack of heed the sons of Ismaïl had given to the messages of the seeresses that had brought them to such great despair. (25)Sora knelt before Kaileb, but he told her to stand. (26)“Stand tall, daughter of Ismaïl, for you are more worthy than your brothers,” he declared. (27)“Nisr, the spirit of eagles told me of your arrival, great Kaileb. (28)She said you know the thoughts of the gods, and the path they desire us to take. (29)Is it true that we have strayed from the path. (30)Have the gods given up on the children of Ismaïl?” (31)The prophet Kaileb smiled. (32)“The wishes and will of the gods are unfathomable, my dear sister.(33)Your fathers and their fathers have led their children astray. (34)But the gods are sad, their hearts heavy and hollow like a mother who had to leave her weakest son to the lions. (35)In her heart, she would wish her son would gain the strength to fight the lions and run to join up with the tribe. (36)And so too do the gods hope that strength will come to the children of Ismaïl, and that they will fight to find their true path.” (37)Then the prophet Kaileb reached out to Sora and when he placed his hand on her heart, she could see all that he had seen. (38)“I believe,” the seeress cried as she knelt before him again. (39)And he allowed her, because she knelt not before him, but before the gods. (40)“I believe that the gods want us to return to the righteous path! (41)I believe that the time of the children of Ismaïl is not at an end, but that only at the beginning! (42)I believe that the gods have not abandoned us, but that they await their strengthened children, to lead them to a new age of nectar and grapes!”

(43)And the prophet Kaileb looked onto the chieftain Adras and reached out his hand. (44)But the chieftain backed away. (45)Once more did the prophet reach out, but Adras once again denied him access to his heart and readied his blade. (46)Then Sora arose, filled with righteous fury, and she stabbed her husband in the chest. (47)Twice more did she stab, as Adras succumbed to his weakness. (48)The knife was left in his heart, for it was soiled by unworthy blood. (49)And the sons of Ismaïl mourned the death of the chieftain, but Sora and the daughters of Ismaïl cheered, for they had been freed from the bonds that had cursed their blood. (50)The prophet Kaileb mourned the death of Adras, for they had been brothers in blood before.

(51)Then the prophet Kaileb took the seeress Sora as his wife, as well as the daughters of her blood, and they removed the corruptions of Ismaïls blood in one glorious battle. (52)And the children of Ismaïl named Kaileb as the Hafiz, for he was now their guardian. (53)And he led his new children to the Valley of Winds and named it Haram. (54)Thus began the reign of the Hafiz, also named Kaileb, on the fourth new moon in the year of the scorpion.

Chapter II - The sons and daughters of Ismaïl are taught the ways of sword and dagger
(1)Thus the Hafiz, also named Kaileb, guided the children of Ismaïl to the Valley of Winds. (2)They bore no arms, for they had buried their arms in the ground after they had been tainted by the blood of the traitors at the Battle of Red Sands. (3)The Hafiz said onto the sons of Ismaïl: “Each of you should return to the Red Sands after the birth of your first son. (4)Dig up only one weapon from the sands, and wrap it in white cloth. (5)Lay it next to his crib, and gift it to him when he becomes a man. (6)Only then may the weapon be used again, by one of pure blood.” (7)And then he said onto the sons of Ismaïl: “Let those weapons never leave the side of your sons. (8)Let your sons gift it to their sons when they come to age, and their sons to theirs.” (9)And then he said onto the daughters of Ismaïl: “Let no daughter ever be without a dagger to defend herself and defend the honor of her blood. (10)For even your husbands and brothers and sons may dishonor your blood. (11)Let those who die by the dagger lie on the sands and let them be prey for the scavenging birds and beasts, for only through the stomach of the vulture or the hyena may those reach the afterlife.”

(12)Soon after the Battle of the Red Sands, the first wife of the Hafiz, the seeress Sora experienced her red moon. (13)One night she left her tent and wandered into the desert. (14)On a large flat rock before one of the cliffs she found an enormous scorpion. (15)Unafraid, she approached the scorpion, who sat quietly. (16)For in her heart, the seeress knew the scorpion was was in fact Damis, the goddess of the night. (17)Damis called the seeress closer, and held her hands with its claws. (18)Then the goddess revealed herself before Sora in all her glory, a shape with the deepest shade of black. (19)“Behold, foremost daughter of Ismaïl, the might that lies in the darkness, in what cannot be seen. (20)It is best to strike from the void, before one needs to defend. (21)Teach your daughters that the path of the scorpion will allow them to defend their blood against the most powerful adversaries, as the scorpion's sting can bring the mightiest lion to its knees. (22)Honor me by this and I will forever guide the daughters of Ismaïl through the darkness.” (23)As Damis' form disappeared, the seeress Sora saw the scorpion had died. (24)Following the guidance of the goddess of the night, the seeress took her dagger and cut out the creature's poison sac. (25)She brought the poison and the words of darkness to the Hafiz. (27)“The first godly truth has been revealed,” He declared. (28)“For now, while our brothers are warriors at day, our sisters will be warriors at night. (29)And the children of Ismaïl will be feared by their neighbors once more, for mortal will cross them and live.” (30)And it was thus that Damis became the first god to return to the blood of Ismaïl, and the first year of the new age was known as the year of the scorpion.

Chapter III - The children of Ismaïl are brought to the Valley of Winds
(1)On the forty-seventh day after the Battle of the Red Sands, a pair of eagles appeared above the camp of the children of Ismaïl. (2)The sons and daughters of Ismaïl cheered and the children laughed, and the seeress Sora prepared a sacrificial fire to honor Nisr, the spirit of eagles, and his guardian Issar, the goddess of the skies, for it was clear that this was a sign that they were approaching the Valley of Winds, which was sacred to her. (3)Then the Hafiz came forth. (4)He pointed his staff to the air and the eagles screamed and then disappeared in the distance. (5)“We must be careful,” the Hafiz proclaimed, “For we are getting close to the most sacred of valleys, the Valley of Winds, sanctuary of the Sisters of Life, Issar and Ai'dun. (6)We must be careful because the gods are unfavorable to mortals, especially so close to their home. (7)And we must convince the Sisters of Life to let the Sister of Death to enter their midst. (8)As Damis, lady guardian of the night is also known as the mistress of death. (9)And we must honor her in our new home, as she watches over the daughters of Ismaïl. (10)We must appeal to the ancient ways and traditions that the gods are sure to remember, which precede the age of strife and competition in the heavens. (11)For in the ages of our ancestors, the gods were once one family, one house, the House of the Heavens, where all were brothers and sisters, also those who were not born from Haila, the Earthmother. (12)If we appeal to their ancient nature, the Sisters of Life and Death should reform the House of the Heavens, and make it a place for the other gods to return.”

(13)And on the fiftieth day after the Battle of the Red Sands, the children of Ismaïl finally laid eyes onto the Valley of the Winds. (14)And the sons and daughters of Ismaïl were in wonder, for they saw no difference from any other valley in the Empty Quarter. (15)But the Hafiz knew, and Sora, the seeress, saw as well. (16)And they gathered the children of Ismaïl, and told them to prepare a great feast and prepare many sacrificial fires. (17)The Hafiz told the sons of Ismaïl to hunt with their best bows and bring back the finest gazelles and the strongest wild goats. (18)And he told the daughters of Ismaïl to slaughter the fattest cows and mend the clothes of their children.

(19)Then Sora and the Hafiz traveled into the Valley of Winds alone. (20)All seemed quiet, as if the Sisters of Life laid in wait, preparing to spring a trap or maybe just curiously observing the strangers entering their land. (21)Sora, the seeress, could feel calm anticipation in the air. And she said onto the Hafiz 'I think the Sisters of Life know who we are and who we brought. (22)They are willing to listen if we speak the right words.” (23)And the Hafiz nodded, as he felt this too. (24)And the presence of the Sisters of Life led them to the middle of the Valley of Winds. (25)In the middle, a large round well stood, akin to the water wells that had once been blessed by Ai'dun, and had once allowed cattle to graze across the Empty Quarter. (26)And surrounding the well stood strange constructions of hard sand, which they knew were brick, for their ancestors had once built in brick. (27)And then came forth from these brick dwellings the most miserable wretches. (28)The Brickdwellers said that they had once served the Sisters of Life, but they had lost their way and the Sisters of Life had forsaken them. (29)The springs of Ai'din had dried up for them and their crops had died as the waters turned brackish. (30)The Hafiz said “bring me to the sacred rock of Ai'din”, and they brought him. (31)Then he brought his staff to the rock and he could feel the love of the goddess. (32)He pleaded with the goddess Ai'dun to bless her sacred valley once more. (33)And the goddess said onto him “Kaileb, Hafiz of the Children of Ismaïl, please bring all my children together. (34)Unite the blood of Ismaïl with the Brickdwellers and with the other lost tribes of your ancestors. (35)Do this, and I will protect you and bless you with abundance.” (36)And the Hafiz agreed and then the sweetest, most pure water began to pour from the rock to fill the lake beds of the Valley of Winds. (37)The brackish waters passed and the crops of the Brickdwellers sprang to life. (38)And the Hafiz adopted the Brickdwellers into the blood of Ismaïl and they tough his children the art of building in brick and stone, and how to tilt the land and grow the grain and dry rice along the fertile lakes of the Valley of Winds.