Private Deathless

[Marhukules]

Night had fallen over the Kaikias and the city was alive that evening. The many sandstone buildings had turned almost grey when the sun ducked behind the distant dunes. Standing tall above them all were the towers of the hanging palaces. Light had left the golden spires and domes as black as and shadow that stalked that night through the flying city. Priests and children and belly dancers tapped around tall fires with their bare feet as Susu shone in the sky, a moon blue in it's splendor that must have seemed so much closer to them than the rest of the world. The gods had smiled upon Miradj'Daah in that way, had they not? They were blessed to fly so close to the unknown and to look down upon a world that treated each other cruelly. Many tribes came together and shared loyalty the way mortals were commanded to share the air, the water, and the sands.

Marhukules sat before one such tall fire and his vision was dancing as water did as he consumed the contents of the green bottle that appeared small in his massive hands. He wore the skin of a leopard to keep himself warm as the ducking sun left a cool desert, though the fire before him had rendered it nearly useless. Priests and worshippers wore masks of yew and sang in ethereal mansabic tones. The fire turned blue and green and purple as they cast their dusts into plasma. The symbols on their masks represented the eight moons and the rings and the gods. They prayed that Susu would smile upon them and bring to their minds thoughts of ingenuity and bravery. That their children might want for nothing. That the desert might provide more for them tomorrow than it had for them yesterday. And they gave thanks for what they had.

They would do the same when any of the other heavenly bodies shone as bright as Susu did. For they all provided their own bounty.

Marhukules was never so certain that the gods believed in them as much as they people believed in the gods. If so, his own mother may not have died as heartbroken as she was. She may not have been so desperate. Sometimes if he drank enough, he was certain he could see her celebrating and dancing among the women that paid their tribute and worshipped Aja're's progeny. A delusion that took him away from his bloody reality if even just for a few hours. Until he awoke on the side of the street or in his own quarters in the Mansa's palace that he never quite got used to.

His dreadlocks hung low in front of his face as he turned to the figure that had come to stand next to him. His eyes did not linger long as soon his eyes were fixed again on the celebraation in front of him. Without a word, he offered them his bottle and continued to picture her... Or try to. It got harder and harder to do so these days.

"Enjoy tonight, friend," he said in a low boom. "For tomorrow we mmust return to our coil..."​

 

[Palesa Kamau]

Tonight was a night of celebration. The great blue moon hung in the evening sky and she would only grow brighter as the night grew longer. Palesa moved slowly through the streets of the floating city and up through the swaying bridges that connected to the hanging gardens. If asked, she would have sworn she could feel the steady hum of the magitek that kept the city afloat. She knew that wasn't the case and was likely just due to her days spent among the machines and crystals keeping everything running well. Caring for the city was her divine calling and she threw herself into the work.

Drawing near to one of the temples, the engineer wove her way through the crowd toward a spot where she might see better. The priests, dancers, and worshippers wearing wooden masks, painted with the moons, rings, and other symbols representative of the people's beliefs. Palesa stopped next to a very large man with a leopard skin slung across his shoulders. The stood in a companionable silence as they both observed the rituals. A hand entered her field of vision, bottle offered and she took it. "Thank you." She responded, taking a sip from the bottle before offering it back. The liquor burned down her throat to settle in her empty stomach pleasantly. She'd likely forgotten to eat again while focused on her work.

"May Susu bless you this night." Palesa spoke softly so as not to disturb the other worshipers. Her eyes looked over at him, there was something familiar about the man, but she couldn't quite place him. Perhaps he was some how connected to the Daa'ra?