Shanari: Reprise 1409
by
Brennan Taylor

From the Sin-Albiaki, the Book of Hisinvol; author(s) unknown:

In those days the seeresses walked far, travelling on pilgrimage to the Lands of Sin-Alb, called by unbelievers the Shadowlands. A tribe of the people dwelt there, the sons of the ancient wanderer called Terebua, and these were the Terebuani.

The seeresses came to the Terebuani and told them the Word. The Terebuani were most blessed, for lived in the very shadow of He Who Dwells in the Sky. The Terebuani did not believe the word that they were told, for the wrath of Sin-Alb was terrible, and they lived in fear of it. These weak fools put forward tottering shamans and mystics, each claiming to protect his tribe. They warned of disaster from above, calling the home of Sin-Alb the 'cloud of death', not knowing the great power of Sin-Alb among his chosen. The Terebuani quailed in fear, and did not believe.

The vile heresy of the Jabuasi crossed the border to the lands of the Despot, and the Milakanuri too discarded the word. The Despot ejected the seeresses from the lands by the sea, and they left, vowing to return. Still, the Despot sent them from the borders without harm, fearing the wrath of the Alb-Sanouk, praised be his name.

Hisinvol, praised be his name, was angered by the defiance and heresy of the eastern tribes. He called upon the chief among the Alb-Shanari seeresses, and the women spoke with him for weeks in long consultations.

Emerging from his tent, Hisinvol, praised be his name, called upon the youth of the Shanari, saying, "The time to prove your mettle is come. The Bel'Adne to the north grow complacent, they no longer fear our power. Gather your catayarsh, sharpen your spears, and strike deep to the heart of the unbeliever. We shall raid upon the Bel'Adne, until again they fear the name Shanari!"

A great roar rose up among those assembled, and they cried out to the Alb-Sanouk, saying, "We who are loyal should have a name to distinguish us from the unbeliever. What name shall ring in the ears of our enemies and be carried far across the earth, to be whispered in fear by the many outlanders?"

Hisinvol, praised be his name, spake, calling them Sinari, the true followers of Alb-Sin, he who floats above. This name was repeated far and wide, and the weak eastern tribes who were not loyal to the Alb-Sanouk, and the kinsman of cursed Shamir, the heretic Jabuasi, trembled in fear when they heard tell of it.

The young warriors of the Sinari fell upon the Bel'Adne outposts like a desert storm, and drove the weak warriors of Bel'Adne before them, capturing many villages and women, and driving the soldiers from the city of Sarnabar. The elders of that town were brought to Hisinvol, praised be his name, and he told them of the great power of He Who Floats Above. The elders trembled in fear, and bowed down before Hisinvol, praised be his name, and dared not speak.

And Hisinvol renamed the city, calling it Kharouk i'Sin, the City of the All-Seeing Eye.