A Despot's Redemption

A fierce gust of wind sent clouds of dust hurtling east.

On a nearby dune perched a man on horseback , clad in armor and a blueish head cloth that shielded his head from the scorching sun.

He glanced over his shoulder to the rest of his army stationed beside the nearby dunes. They were ready for their attack on the town. Before long, a young woman of dark complexion rode towards him, her black hair tied into a bun. The lady grinned as she nudged him by the shoulder.

"So this is where our campaign ends, Shammil. At the town of Alumina." 

"Indeed Dalia, after all these years of strife , our kingdom will finally be reunited. Have you thought of a strategy on how we'll capture this town?"

Shammil motioned his finger towards the town in the horizon. The town was surrounded by walls, sandbags and turrets with soldiers patrolling the roofs for any imminent attacks.

"Our spies reported that our enemies possess weapons powerful enough to rip through our tehranamite armour. If we want to avoid this we will need to find a way to obscure their vision. Fortunately for us, the wind is on our side. A dust storm is coming in this direction and if we are lucky, it might obscure us enough in order to take the town.

"But we don't know how long it will last."

"That is true. Which is why I had all the armour plates painted to match the desert. Including yours. We've also got explosives that we acquired from the nearby towns

"I regret not making you the commander cousin>"

"I'm just a strategist. But I can"t lift their spirits up like you do. You're the face of this campaign and as long as you're the leader they will follow you to every battle."

Shammil sighed as he dashed off towards his camp. His heart raced in his chest as he prepared to deliver the speech to his men. He discussed the death of the great conqueror Sammayad to the fragmentation to his empire, to the death of his mother and finally them arriving here to finish her promise of uniting the kingdom.

Shammil's army readied themselves for the attack as they loaded their firearms. Dalia reached out for the bag slung across her shoulder and retrieved the horn.

The horn's colour resembled pure marble with golden patterns etched onto its surface. She took a deep sigh as she held it to her lips and blew into it.

Shammil grinned. That was their signal. He proceeded to wrap a cloth around his face as the imminent dust storm hurtled towards them. 

With a swift motion, he raised his gun to the air and descended down the steep slope. Adrenaline coursed through him as his army rode towards their target. Before long, an array of bullets came their way. Men dropped from their horses as the bullets ripped through their tehranamite armour.

He glanced over his shoulder and ordered his troops to split up. "Get the explosives, now!" shouted Dalia

"Yes maam." said one of her squad members as he retrieved a hand grenade from his belt.

He then proceeded to toss it towards the nearby sandbag.

A ball of fire erupted from behind the compound, sending sandbags hurling across the town. 

 Dalia reached out from her bag and took out what appeared to be a small pistol.

She raised it above her head and pulled the trigger, sending the projectile upwards before exploding in a flash of red light that illuminated the street.

Shammil glanced up at the sky and saw the signal. He motioned to his army to ride to the source while tossing explosives towards the enemy's defences. Smoke filled the air mingled with the scent of blood as they rushed through the town.

A few hours later

"Do not worry my brothers. We are almost at the palace."

Shammil gazed upwards at the golden building that towered over the rest of the town. He gIn that palace was the last ruler who opposed him.

He glanced to the nearby houses, treading with caution as they evaded the turrets perched on the windowsills.

"Hold your fire!" shouted a voice from the tower. "Shammil , I know you have come for me and I wish to surrender."

"Will you offer your territory to Shammil in exchange?" asked Dalia

"Yes I will, just don't kill me."

"Very well." said Shammil "Come out and show yourself!"

The sultan Hasha heeded his command and descended down the tower. Shammil tightly clutched the reins of his horse as he readied himself for a potential attack.

Without warning, the palace front door swung open. Shammil sighed and eased his grip. 

 It was just the sultan and his bodyguards.

 The sultan stood before them, adorned in purple garments that glittered in the sunlight along with a white turban with a golden strap wrapped around his head.

"Now drop your weapons!" said Dalia

The bodyguards raised their machine guns and aimed at them. But before they could pull the trigger a round of bullets rained down on them from the nearby buildings.

Cold sweat dripped down the sultan's brow. Shammil had his forces stationed the whole time.

The sultan raised his hands up for everyone to see.Shammil motioned his hands for his army to go in to capture him. Hasha's heart raced as Shammil's troops circled around him and locked him in a nearby house.

He could feel the sun beating down on his neck as they marched towards the custody room with rotten fruit being tossed towards him.

Shammil raised his fist to the air, signalling to his troops of their victory.

He then ordered for everyone to be served food by the citizens and not to harm them in any way.

"Dalia, make sure the army enjoys their time while I'm gone." said Shammil as he hopped onto his horse

"And where will you be going?"

"I have reunited an entire kingdom after 20 years of division. I need some time for myself after this achievement."

Shammil smiled back at Dalia before setting off for the nearby dunes. The cold evening breeze filled him with comfort.

He remembered back in his childhood years when he would race with his mother across the desert and back to the village. He imagined her perching on the blood red sun sinking towards the horizon, smiling at him for reuniting the fragmented empire.

He was ready to go back until a swirl of blue light appeared below him.

Shammil disembarked from his horse and lay on his belly to avoid being spotted.

"So ,this is the Shai Continent." said Daniel "I thought you said we would be sent to the town."

"Not exactly, the orb teleports us near to the person we are searching for. In this case it's Shammil." answered Chloe

"So he must be nearby." said Ferric

Shammil slowly crawled away from the dune and went towards his horse.

"I can see a lifeform perching on the dune above us. That must be him." 

"Don't worry." said Chloe "We're only here to talk."

He listened to their request and showed himself to them.

"And what do you want me to assist you with?"

Ferric knelt to the ground.

"The Lumean ruler has declared war on the Pangean nations and might attack you next. We came to request for an alliance between you and Alaric. Do you accept it?"

"I will think about it. I'll let you stay as guests for today and make up my mind tomorrow."