Ravenloft: Prisoners of the Mist

Within the swirling Mist (IC) => Biographies => Topic started by: KovosDatch on November 06, 2022, 08:09:55 PM

Title: Neferet Sadek - The Sands of Time
Post by: KovosDatch on November 06, 2022, 08:09:55 PM
Quote
Glorious ancestors' past lost to sands of time,
the combined suffering of our souls intertwined.

Golden dunes of sands rolling ever far,
mired by the Walls of Ra like a scar.

Worship the gods and their blinding light,
while they turn their backs on our dark plight.

Outlander boots march through our lands seeking glory,
Respecting not our ways, our lore, and our stories.

Will the gods yet look?
Will the gods yet listen?
Title: Re: Neferet Sadek - The Sands of Time
Post by: KovosDatch on November 09, 2022, 06:44:36 PM
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776 - The late cool season
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Neferet tried her best to shut out the sounds of combat and anguish echoing across the sands of Har’Akir as darkness crept across the wastes. Iu-Amun, her father, insisted on taking the Sadeks’ only weapon, a scimitar of poor quality, and rushing out to protect Muhar and, more importantly, his millet fields. They lived in the outskirts of Muhar itself and Neferet hoped that would save them from the brunt of the invasion. Her dark eyes, wide and darting through the evening dusk, gazed about their sandstone home, ensuring the door was barred and all fires extinguished; a fire would only draw attention to their abode.

As night fell fully on the desert, the sounds of suffering and violence grew closer to Muhar. Guardsmen shouted commands over the ragtag militia as growls and roars resounded in turn. Neferet turned to her mother, Tiaa, and aided her to the back of their one-room home and clung to her for courage as they sat in the corner. The sounds of battle continued to press ever closer.

Suddenly, a dull thump and then a slight crack came from the palmwood door of their home as if something large was trying to force its way in. Neferet cast a worried look at her mother, who in turn mirrored a frightened expression of her own. In her mind, thin strands of hope still floated; perhaps the militia would save them or perhaps the door would hold. Her foolish expectations were quickly dashed, however, when another thunderous thump and a wood-splitting crack sounded from the door before it splintered revealing the shadowed image of a hulking humanoid.

A deep, gurgling laugh burbled up from the cracked lips of the giant figure as it stepped into the room. The troll, orange in hue and covered in boils, muttered some short utterance in its guttural language as it smiled wickedly down to the women. When it stepped forward, Neferet maneuvered herself in front of her sickly mother wishing to protect her. In a vain attempt, she held out her right hand to stop the troll and shield herself.

That was when "it" happened.

It first started as small static charges dancing between Neferet’s fingers, but as her fear grew, so did the electricity. Never experiencing the phenomenon, the electrical display on her hand fueled her terror like lantern oil on an open flame. The charges grew, slowly crawling up her arm and lashing from her fingers, like thin, miniature tentacles reaching through the air only to return to her hand. Her dark eyes darted around the room, looking for relief, escape, anything that would stop the world she found herself in. None were present and the realization of entrapment washed over her. Her mind became incapable of any reasoning as her horror mounted to a crescendo. A scream of fear and primordial power escaped her lips and rose above all the sounds of Muhar as a flash of crackling energy leapt forth from her heated hand and found itself in the troll’s chest.

Everything went black.
Title: Re: Neferet Sadek - The Sands of Time
Post by: KovosDatch on November 15, 2022, 07:26:24 PM
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777 - The wet season
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“What is this?!” Iu-Amun demanded.

“It is unbecoming to ask questions with pre-knowledge of the answer, father,” Neferet answered coolly.

In his clenched left hand was an ivory scroll tube, both tube and scroll yellowed with age, his right hand gesticulating frantically with passion and rage.

“Speak not to me like such again, Neferet. I am still your father and this is still my house!” The light of the solitary lantern danced upon his aging face. “You refused my wishes once before. You could have had a simple, fruitful life with the one you were betrothed to and–”

She cut his thought short, “Yes, and you would have been given a bountiful bride price. You cared little how I felt, asking me to marry that swine! You only desired your weal–”

Before she could finish her utterance, Iu-Amun’s right hand flew swift as a cobra strike, landing its backside across Neferet’s right cheek. Tiaa, who had been silently watching with tear-stained cheeks during their fight, as she always had, let forth a gasp and managed to wedge herself between the two.

“Enough!” The sickly woman cried out with a raspy cough. Her movements, labored, caused her to stumble. Iu-Amun, with a look of concern, quickly came to her side to assist her. Neferet also tried to aid her feeble mother, but Iu-Amun forced her back.

“Look at what you have done,” his voice, soft but accusatory, rose above the spasmodic coughs of Tiaa.

“It was you who struck me, father.”

“I–” Tiaa coughed. “I said enough!” Her mother choked out as her father helped Tiaa to her bedroll.

Iu-Amun rose after aiding his sick wife and stood pensively for a moment. “Yes, it has been enough.” He looked down at the ivory scroll tube in his hand, walked determinedly to the new palmwood door of their abode, yanked it open, and tossed the tube onto the dark sands outside. “Such has no place in my home.”

His gaze leveled at Neferet, “The choice is yours, dear daughter. You may continue on this path of yours, but know you are not welcome here if you do.”

“Iu-Amun!” Tiaa shot up from her reclining position to sit completely upright. “Do not–”

Iu-Amun’s hand rose in a motion to silence his wife. “The choice is yours to make, daughter.”

Neferet’s mouth hung agape. Time slowed until it stood still as she looked first to the door, then to her father, and finally to her infirmed mother. Her eyes, her entire face, tried to communicate something, anything to Tiaa. Was it a promise? A plea for help? A goodbye? She was not entirely sure herself, but whatever Tiaa saw, Neferet knew it meant a thousand words.

With tears flowing freely down her cheeks, she walked out the door and into her new life… ivory scroll tube in hand.
Title: Re: Neferet Sadek - The Sands of Time
Post by: KovosDatch on November 22, 2022, 08:12:25 PM
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753 - The harvest season
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Neferet toddled over to her father with a papyrus scroll half her size in tow. Her large, black eyes, almost oversized for her small head, looked up to Iu-Amin in adoration as a smile spread across her face.

“Tell me a story!” she chirped in a small voice, offering the scroll to her father.

Iu-Amun, who was balancing a ledger of favors and credit, both owed and earned, paid her no mind initially.

“Tell me a story, pleeease!” Neferet whined, still offering up the scroll.

He looked down from his table, smiling with pride to her, “A kind word will always open doors, my darling desert flower.” He reached down, picking up both Neferet and the scroll at once and placing them in his lap. She grinned from ear to ear as she nestled herself into place, putting the scroll overtop Iu-Amun’s ledger.

“Hmm, what story shall I recount?” He mused more to himself than asking her directly. He unfurled the scroll, looking at different passages before stopping on one in particular. Neferet, who was just learning to read, looked at the colorful hieroglyphs dancing across the papyrus in awe. Her father exclaimed, “Ah, yes! Let us read of the Prince and the Sphinx!”

“What is a ‘Spink?!’” She cut in louder than she intended.

“‘Sphinx,’” he corrected softly before telling the tale of the young man having a vision of a cat-like creature with a human head. The Sphinx promised the prince power, influence, and wealth if he continued to live with Ma’at in mind. The young man went on to live an upright life and became ruler of the land, leading his people into a time of peace and prosperity. “Following the laws of Ma’at brings joy and wealth to all, my love,” Iu-Aumn explained at the end.

The light danced in Neferet’s wide eyes and the enchantment of the tale sunk deep into her soul as she considered all that was recounted. “Is the s-phink-s,” her face winced and contorted as she sounded out the syllables, “is it real?!”

“I do not know, darling, but the power and promises of Ma’at certainly are,” he reassured her. “This much is certain.”

As Iu-Amun finished his story, Tiaa walked into their one-room abode and smiled at the pair. “I must travel to the market to purchase supplies. Would Neferet wish to go?”

“She should!” He stated as he set Neferet down. “Go on with your mother and enjoy,” he told her and gently patted her rear to urge her on.

She scampered over to Tiaa with another smile of pure adoration. “We will be back shortly,” her mother said to Iu-Amun as she took Neferet’s hand in her own.

As they left on their small adventure, Neferet heard her father roll up the papyrus scroll and sigh in contentment. She hoped he felt as refreshed and light hearted as her.
Title: Re: Neferet Sadek - The Sands of Time
Post by: KovosDatch on February 14, 2023, 10:46:19 PM
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777 - The warm season
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The bearded man in front of her wore local clothing and smelled of spice and perfume, but his skin tone announced his status as an outlander. He smiled at her with a gaze not unlike a jackal looking upon a lizard and his hands gestured with practiced, inauthentic sympathy. “Surely you must understand we cannot transport passengers for so little. Fair payment must be given for services rendered,” he said with a friendly, but influential tone.

Coin, Neferet thought. The only thing they ever cared for, the object of their desires. Coin. “There must be some sort of agreement we can reach, no? Some middle ground?” she asked with a face as stoic as a pharaoh's mask. She dared not show any emotion, for such things would ruin what little bargaining power she still held.

A predatory grin spread across his lips, “We do not normally haggle with giorgios, but for you, we may come to an understanding.” He moved his right hand smoothly up toward her chest as she shut her eyes and expected the worst.

She winced. A moment passed.

Instead, she felt the Vistani reach for the small golden chain around her neck. She opened her eyes slowly, almost unwilling to believe she avoided a much darker fate. “This is a beautiful trinket. Yes, this and the coin you presented earlier will secure you and your cat passage to Barovia.” He let his hand fall back to his side, his other in front of him with palm up awaiting payment.

Neferet swiftly grabbed at her jewelry defensively. Despite her best attempt to appear unfazed, instinct had gotten the better of her. The Vistani lifted his head back and stared down his nose with a smirk, clearly knowing he hit a nerve. It was a gift from her parents for completing her studies of geometry and advanced mathematical equations, and she had grown attached to the simple necklace.

“Please, this was a –”

The Vistani held up his upturned hand in a stopping motion. “The trinket and gold. That or you will have to find passage elsewhere,” he stated, the sly smile never leaving his lips. They both knew there was no other place she could go to safely traverse the mists.

She closed her eyes once more and clenched her jaw as she removed her necklace with slow, deliberate motions in an attempt to sway the man to take pity on her. Neferet knew it had failed, for when she opened her eyes, the man had his hand out to receive the payment. Defeated, she gave him all that was required.

“Very well, climb aboard. We will leave shortly,” he said, thumbing his new trinket.

She collected herself long enough to scoop up Snefru, her cat, and board the caravan. She knew it would be a long, tear-filled ride.
Title: Re: Neferet Sadek - The Sands of Time
Post by: KovosDatch on February 16, 2023, 12:21:25 AM
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776 - The harvest season
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Dust storms and devils alike danced a vile waltz in the distorted heat haze on the horizon. Neferet made a point to avoid them, scorpions, snakes, and anything else in the Amber Wastes that could kill her with ease. She darted from ruined pillar to ruined pillar, ensuring she was not seen. Gathering herbs and plants, weeds as she liked to call them, was a dangerous task, but the souls in Muhar would offer favorable trades for them. Cactus buds, in particular, were the most prized due to the difficulty obtaining them and the time spent on the de-thorning process.

She paused for a moment to take inventory of what she already harvested. Opening her satchel, she counted three cactus buds, four moonfriends, a handful of vines, and a fair number of grass-like stalks she could never remember the name of. A grin formed on her lips. Tiaa, her mother, who had yet to fall ill with her condition, would be able to fetch a high price for what Neferet had collected. Iu-Amun, Neferet’s father, would be proud of her and the cool season would be comfortable for them.

As she re-secured her pack, she heard a scuttling, shifting noise behind her. Neferet turned her head only to be greeted with the sight of a monstrous scorpion a few spans away. Hoping it had not seen her, she bounded over a pile of rubble and sped across the sands as quickly as her feet could carry here. The sandstone ruins and dunes alike nearly became a blur as she ran faster and faster–

Until her foot caught a half-buried brick.

Neferet toppled headfirst into the grainy, yellow ground below, tumbling where up was down and down up. Her surroundings became a kaleidoscope of blues and yellows until she skidded to a halt. Her entire body ached, her breathing labored, and her vision spun. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and waited either for her body to recover or succumb to the scorpion’s strike.

Moments passed as she lay there. Neferet kept a bruised, scuffed ear out for the tell-tale scuttle of the monster. Nothing. The only noise she heard above her own heartbeat was the crystalline sound of sand blowing in the wind. She finally worked up enough courage and energy to open her eyes and prop herself up on elbows rubbed raw from her episode. She was relieved to find no scorpion and equally relieved to see her satchel had been flung away as she tumbled. It hung, tangled in the branches of a shrub nearby. Neferet prayed the contents remained intact.

Unwilling to stand yet, she crawled over to the pack and opened it slowly. Neferet let out a weak sigh, seeing the cactus buds were bruised; damaged buds would still fetch a decent price, but nothing like pristine specimens. It may yet be a comfortable season.

As Neferet readied herself to stand, a slim, smooth object partially covered under the brush caught her attention. Reaching out, she pulled a yellowing ivory scroll tube from its hiding place. Turning the sun-warmed tube around in her hand, an inscription leapt out at her. Neferet read it aloud.

“Akil Sadek.”