Of Magic and Sand

Prologue

"Stories are not like the real world; they aren't held back by what we know is false or true. What's important is how a story makes you feel inside."

― Tahir Shah

        It all began on a dark, dark night. With a dark woman....and her dark plan. A horse skidded in the sand, allowing Kassim, a short stout man dressed in a dark tattered blue tunic to jump off. His fat fingers gripped the saddle as he lowered himself to the ground and then dusted the dry blood off of his pants. A tall figure watched him with narrowed eyes. He stared up at her, never before had he seen a woman of such grace a beauty. Of course, he had heard the rumors of such a fair creature who had claimed a spot amongst the viziers in the palace. And now that he was standing before her, Serpentress Savina was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was tall and lustrous, her long black hair gathered neatly in a single braid down her back. Her red velvet corset embraced her bosom, gold jewelry hung from her nose ears, and naval. Her skirt was black as the night, and littered with thousands of gold coins. The most striking thing about her was the snake tattoo that appeared to be slithering from her breasts, the snake wrapped around her neck and the head settled itself on her shoulder. Her large black eyes were rimmed in charcoal and her lips were the deepest shade of rose. On her shoulder sat a large red parrot with eyes that seemed to glint like jewels in soft starlight. She stroked it's head a few times with her right hand. In her left hand, she held a long golden staff shaped like a snake. It had red rubies for eyes and emeralds for scales. The staff itself was probably worth its weight ten times in gold and Kassim felt his fingers itching to get a hold of it.

"You're late, Kassim." The Serpentress said, her voice sounded like the chorus of a thousand angels singing and yet it was cold and sharp as a dagger.

"Apologies, Serpentress. But I had some trouble obtaining it. Had to slit a fair amount of throats in order to get it, but I have it either way."

He pulled out of his tunic the treasure that he brought for her; a large golden beetle. The woman held out a slender hand for it when Kassim pulled it back. "But first, my payment?"

The woman just gave him a smile and then the red parrot on her shoulder swooped down, snapping at his hand with its beak and grabbing at the beetle with its talons.

"Excellent work, Kassim. You had more worth than expected." She said, holding her hand out and catching the golden trinket as red parrot landed on her shoulder."More worth! " The bird repeated, shifting its wings.

The Serpentress smiled slightly, pulling another golden beetle identical to the one he had just given her from underneath a pocket underneath her bosom. As soon as the beetle halves were reunited, they flashed with a golden light, illuminating the figure's face. Kassim's horse suddenly reared up as the beetle flew into the air.

"Quickly, before we lose it in the dark!"

Kassim scrambled onto his horse and they followed the beetle out into the cold, dark desert. It was not until his heart stopped beating that Kassim realized that the Serpentress did not mount a horse. In the quiet distance, he watched as the beetles separated into two, and the two halves formed brightly glowing eyes. There was a low grumbling sound the sand began to shift around all around the two golden jewels.

A giant head of some unknown beast suddenly rose from the sand, giving a loud roar as it emerged. Kassim could only stare, the scream that had started in his throat froze and faded away.

Who disturbs my slumber?

A haunted, unearthly voice rose from the mouth of the cave

"Behold, The Cave of Wonders." The Serpentress said in a swift whisper. She had not fallen to the ground as Kassim had but remained standing, graceful, and poised on the sand dune. She turned to Kassim, and pointed with one long finger at the cave."

All the riches of the cave will belong to you after you retrieve the lamp for me."

"The lamp?" Kassim asked for this had not been part of their original deal.

"Yes. Descend the stairs, and on a rocky pedestal in the middle of the cave, you shall find a single golden oil lamp. Bring it to me."

"But why would you...."

"Remember, only bring me the lamp. The rest of the treasure in there is yours!" She repeated, and she gestured for him to approach the mouth of the cave. Kassim felt hesitant like something wasn't right. He approached the cave slowly, forcing himself to make a tiny step after tiny step.

He stopped at the mouth of the cave and peered inside. Carefully, very carefully he carefully touched one foot down. When nothing happened, let out a breath he wasn't aware that he was holding and followed with his other foot. He was able to descend upon the second step when a rumble erupted from the cave and the ground started shaking. Fear flowed through his veins as he tried to return to the starlit dessert but the sand was starting to fall from under his feet. He struggled fiercely against the flowing sand but he no longer had any power. There was a thundering roar and he was dragged under, choking on sand. He caught one last glimpse of the women in red, and of the inky night behind her before his world was driven into blackness. His lungs burned and he felt his body breaking under the pressure of the sand.

Bring me the diamond in the rough, the diamond in the rough, the diamond in the rough.

His last remaining thought was that he wanted it all to end soon.

The woman waited in silence for the sand to settle back into the ground. She gently brushed away the few specks that had landed on her dress.

"We must choose wisely next time," She finally said and she quickly bent down to pick up the two shimmering halves of the beetle. She put them in her bosom pocket and began, to walk away from the sand dune.

"After all, only this...' Diamond in the Rough' may enter the cave....perhaps we just need to search a little more...."

Little did the two know, this Diamond in the Rough was a bit closer than they thought.