Empires of Faith

Chapter 4: Planning In The Peninsula

23 Jumada Al-Akhir, 1663

"Commander, sir," a timid man by the name of Zayd ibn Abdullah spoke as he entered the dimly lit tent. The dark sky behind him disappeared as the tent flaps drew closed. "I'm sorry to disturb you at this time but a few of the soldiers have located a nearby oasis and they are requesting permission to go and fill their canteens."

"Zayd," called the deep voice of a man sitting beside a dancing candlelight. "How many times must I tell you; you can still call me Zubayr."

"My apologies, sir- I mean, Zubayr."

"No need to apologize, Zayd. I may be the commander but there is no need for you to be so formal; we're still brothers, are we not?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. And as for the water, tell Abu Yusuf in the morning to take a small troop to further investigate this oasis before anyone else approaches it; we are near enemy territory and we cannot risk falling into a trap. It may be that perhaps there are enemies stationed nearby lying in wait, or perhaps the water itself is toxic to consume. Let Abu Yusuf and a small team of men go and properly analyze it all; then if he gives you the okay, bring as much water back as you can for the others."

"In Shaa Allah."

"And return here after you are done."

"Of course sir, thank you."

Zubayr looked up from the Quran he had previously been engaged in as Zayd opened the pale flap of the tent. He truly is a respectful and dedicated subordinate, Zubayr thought to himself. It's quite a shame that he is so overly formal; I'm certain he could have gone further in life if he would just put that aside and let himself grow. It's a wonder he managed to become a lieutenant with his subservience and lack of initiative. Then again, he's always been this way...

It was true enough; Zayd ibn Abdullah had always been the lesser half of his "blade-brother," Zubayr ibn Abdul-Hakim. Born the son of an army general, Zubayr had grown up in a military family. His father was constantly going away for military expeditions to defend against the invading Kwaadi army; and when one of the soldiers under his command died, Abdul-Hakim took in the soldier's family to live with his own.

Life after that was no simple matter, however. Living had already been difficult enough for a small family like Zubayr's; but when they had to take in Zayd's family as well, it was a near impossible struggle just to survive. Food had often been scarce at times, and at times the wages Zubayr's mother worked for were barely enough to feed one person, let alone a family. Still, they never complained. They accepted the Abdullah family like their own, and provided them the same comforts as themselves.

As a child, Zubayr had considered himself lucky. Most families didn't have as many kids as his did. He had two older sisters during is toddler years and eventually that expanded to having 3 younger "sisters" and a "brother" as well. Even though the family wasn't fully adopted into his own, Zubayr considered Zayd to be his blade-brother, as they grew up training for combat together. As children, the two would be out in the fields swinging around sticks pretending to be fighting in battle. And when Abdul-Hakim was home from the military, he would train them both for real combat.

In their teenage years, Zubayr and Zayd had sworn that they would help provide for their family. Until that point, the stress of providing had been mainly upon Zubayr's own mother. Zayd's mother had passed away and Abdul-Hakim's meager payments were hardly enough to support the many members of the household. And so it was that Zubayr and Zayd had to go out and seek any extra means of provision that they could. Hunting animals for food or slaughtering for payment, the two worked whatever they could, with Zayd always following in Zubayr's lead.