The old blind poet, also known as the vassal kings' retainer or some combination thereof, was a historical figure in the Great Red Sand, Sumeru who lived during the warring city-states era after King Deshret's death several thousand years ago. He survived many characters of the time period, and lived to tell their tales (including in the descriptions of the Desert Pavilion Chronicle artifacts).
Story[]
The blind poet was a native of Tulaytullah, the city of sapphires, which in his youth had been the most powerful city-state in the desert.[1] He was of privileged status and well-educated, and he went on to serve in the court of Badanah as a loyal general who helped conquer numerous cities of the desert. The poet was present when Badanah's son Faramarz was born, and gave the prince his blessing; using his skills as a poet, he also wrote "hymns for [Badanah] and love poems for [Faramarz]." Even many years later, after Tulaytullah's decline, he still harbored faith in Faramarz. The poet also knew of Makhaira, a dancer and concubine of Badanah.[2][3]
The poet lived through the end of Badanah's reign, and the strife that followed. Makhaira harbored resentment against the court of Tulaytullah for destroying her homeland, and she managed to win Faramarz to her side, convincing him his father would cause Tulaytullah's destruction. The two conspired to assassinate Badanah and disguise his death as an accident, causing him to fall to his death from a hunting tower. Nominally, Faramarz inherited the throne with Makhaira as his queen regent. However, due to the new king's youth, Makhaira and the retainers (the poet being one of them) held the actual power over matters of state. What followed was a long, bloody stream of infighting as Badanah's brothers variously rose up to seize power, during which time the society of Tulaytullah crumbled into a state of slave-soldiers fighting on behalf of the royal city, and Faramarz was exiled and restored twice. No longer trusting Makhaira,[4] Faramarz poisoned her to death before another conspiracy between the slave-warriors and city-dwellers led to his third exile, this time for good.[5][6]
Sometime during this period, the poet was blinded, possibly by Faramarz himself,[1][7] and lost his status, becoming a mere wanderer. He remained knowledgeable about the history of the desert and the news of his kingdom's decline, seeking to preserve his people's stories.[2][8] He was left with no support but a single slave warrior, a young man named Xiphos who had become "apprenticed" to him.[2][3] Xiphos was a fallen noble from a conquered kingdom; he eventually revealed his story to his master, who realized that Xiphos possessed the Key of Khaj-Nisut, which legends held to be the key to the eternal paradise prophesied by King Deshret. The poet encouraged Xiphos to embark on a journey across the city-states in the desert and reach his destiny of reuniting the desert peoples.[3][Note 1] Before they parted ways, the poet told Xiphos all he knew about the history of their civilization, from the legend of Deshret creating the Eternal Oasis to the destruction of Gurabad, Deshret's death, and the beginning of the city-states.[9]
In the end, the poet grew weary of the constant bloodshed. In his wanderings, he learned of Xiphos' death, Faramarz's escape to the rainforest, and his homeland's demise, as well as the collapses of many other desert kingdoms. With these stories and more kept recorded in his memory, the poet — and other refugees from the desert, also wishing for better lives — decided to leave and travel east. The poet left a carving on an obelisk underneath the Mausoleum of King Deshret, voicing their intention to leave behind the rule of kings and create a new home on the edge of the desert, named Aaru in memory of Deshret's promised land, where they would preserve the embers of their civilization and quietly await King Deshret's return.[1][7] The poet himself would ultimately leave to continue traveling east, into the forest.[3][10] His fate afterwards is left unrecorded.
Notes[]
- ↑ Tulaytullah's Remembrance states that Xiphos was already the Blade of Tulaytullah before Makhaira was sent to become Badanah's concubine. This would seem to conflict with other sources, such as Makhaira Aquamarine, End of the Golden Realm, and Beacon of the Reed Sea, which suggest that the poet was blinded following Badanah's assassination, only after which he met Xiphos and encouraged him to fulfill his destiny, which led to Xiphos becoming the hero of Tulaytullah. It is possible Xiphos was already a hero of Tulaytullah but did not become widely known across the desert until the poet encouraged him.
Change History[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Weapon: Beacon of the Reed Sea
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Artifact, Desert Pavilion Chronicle: End of the Golden Realm
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Weapon: Key of Khaj-Nisut
- ↑ Artifact, Deepwood Memories: Lamp of the Lost
- ↑ Interactable, Vaguely-Readable Inscription, Khaj-Nisut
- ↑ Weapon: Tulaytullah's Remembrance
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Interactable: Vaguely-Readable Inscription, Mausoleum of King Deshret, Center
- ↑ Weapon: Makhaira Aquamarine
- ↑ Artifact Set: Desert Pavilion Chronicle
- ↑ Weapon: Wandering Evenstar