It was commonplace for the Forty to venture into town - usually to make mischief, but sometimes for merrymaking. While the Forty were unforgiving to those of wealth and nobility, the Forty certainly enriched local populations with music, dancing, and... lovemaking.

Dordaneh was the daughter of a blacksmith and a baker. During the annual Festival of the Sun, people of all kinds filtered into the city to join in the celebration. Amidst the evening feast and dancing, Dordaneh locked eyes with a handsome stranger. The stranger wore many usual garments of a Zedouin traveler, light neutral-colored textiles to shield one's self from both the sun and the sand. Despite these -typical- adornments, the stranger wore a subtle peridot earring in one ear and an amethyst in the other. Matching the shades of this headwear, he wore inner garments within his robes of vibrant green and purple craftsmanship. Beyond the strong chin and irresistible smile, Dordaneh recognized the man as no pauper.

The two joined in dance, locked in step with the tambourine players and the melodic strums of the company's mandolins. Eventually, the two slipped away to enjoy each other's company more...

Dordaneh hoped to wed the stranger, and perhaps even join his adventures outside the city walls. To her great disappointment, the morning after their meeting, the stranger silently escaped before dawn without so much as a word or even sharing his name.

Dordaneh made best efforts to identify the stranger, and locate him if possible. She subtly questioned the other citizens present at the festival. Such investigations ran dry... Leaving her with little lead beyond a few grains of sand in the wind. As one last effort, Dordaneh visited the local temple hoping that the clergyman might share a glimpse of prophetic insight. Sadly, the visit yielded no information about the stranger whatsoever. Dordaneh instead learned that she was pregnant with a child...

While the winds often whistled through the cracks of Dordaneh's abode, they fell silent the night Marjana was born. The sky was clear -- the stars shone brighter than they had for as long as Dordaneh could remember...

As Marjana was raised, she took great pride in her family, but faced great disdain from her community for her filial circumstances. She knew little of her father, but grew to loath him nonetheless. Overcoming the mistreatment forthcoming from local plebians, she learned the trades of her family members with great ease. Her grandfather imparted her with blacksmithing prowess - skills he had hoped to pass on to Dordaneh's husband but was not afforded such an opportunity. After assisting him in crafting swords, daggers, and armors for sale to the city guards, Marjana and her grandfather would practice sparring every night. Outside of the blacksmith shop, Marjana was also regularly summoned to assist her grandmother in the bakery. Marjana's grandmother reminded her every morning and every evening of the power of the elements. The winds, waters, and the sands are unforgiving, but reward those who respect their power. Lastly, through Dordaneh herself, Marjana mastered the art of dance and the rhythms of the world. Rain, wind, and sand - all have their own rhythm.

Given Marjana's prodigious nature, she grew bored of her life in Ankrahmun. Seeking challenge and fulfillment, she yearned to find her father or learn of his fate. Meanwhile, the Festival of the Sun approached once again. Dordaneh greatly feared that Marjana might fall to similar temptations. To preempt such a situation, Dordaneh spoke with another family whom she greatly respected. Dordaneh arranged for Marjana to meet - and hopefully marry - a strapping young male. Marjana was dismayed by this news and sought not to settle for a life of boredom and mediocrity. She quickly packed a travel bag of a few days' food and drink and snuck out of Ankrahmun -- to brave the desert alone. While she knew not where she was headed, she sought adventure and freedom. As night fell, she assembled a fire for warmth. Lighting the initial kindling proved difficult as the winds blew stronger and more haphazardly than within the city walls. Marjana nonetheless managed to prepare a warm fire near which she then fell into a deep sleep... 

Marjana was approached by a strange deity. While she had not before ventured out into the world, she quickly recognized the djinn from legends she had heard throughout her youth. The djinn addressed her quickly and offered her a... bargain.

"Marjana, I understand you seek to find your father. I can help you with this task -- but you must first assist me with me with something of great import... If you choose to accept, I am afraid you will be bound to complete my mission... Your life essence will be pledged to me until your task is complete."

Hesitating not, Marjana quickly affirmed there was no price too great for such mystical assistance.

"Well then, I appreciate your enthusiasm. To explain -- I have been robbed of something... very dear to me. For this larceny, the thief must pay the iron price. Take this dagger which I have imbued with special magic.

Toss the dagger in the air and let it fall to the sand. When it lands, it will point you towards the thief... Your task is to find and slay him. Once you have avenged my loss, I will provide you with what you seek."

A strange whistling noise grew louder and louder as the djinn apparated into the distance. Marjana awoke to such sounds - finding herself resting amidst the sands of the Kha'labal. Her fire had burned down to mere coals and the djinn's visit seemed no more than a fantasy. Marjana rolled over to rearrange herself and return to sleep but instead felt something strikingly cold and metallic against her forearm. She recoiled in shock and examined the object in the dim light of the coals. Before her was the same sleek dagger with a cobra shaped hilt that the djinn had offered in her dream sequence. As she held the dagger, the sound of the desert winds warped into the unmistakable hissing sound of a serpent. 

After weeks of slowly tracking the thief using the djinn's magical dagger, Marjana found herself on the edge of a large bedouin encampment. Around late evening - many tents had been assembled and the travelers appeared to be setting up fires to cook the day's supper. The scent of stew was thick in the air. Marjana sensed that the object of her quest was near and twirled the dagger into the air as she had many times before. As it fell to the sand, the dagger pointed her unambiguously toward a single tent on the east side of the camp. Marjana quickly began to stride toward the tent, hoping her appearance would go unnoticed.

Despite her best attempts at stealth, her movement met the gaze of a young bedouin girl who quickly demanded her attention. The young girl approached, handed Marjana a tambourine and insisted on Marjana playing the instrument while the girl danced. Having little choice, Marjana humored the girl's recital for a few moments. At the first opportunity, Marjana slipped off but could not subtly discard the tambourine and instead held its bells tight in silence.

Marjana proceeded onward and drew closer to her destination -- a tent which appeared rounded in shape and cloaked in a thick canvas of a dark blue hew. Two heavy curtains overhung the entrance to the structure. As Marjana drew closer to the tent entrance, the tambourine bells slipped from her clutch and rattled loudly, betraying her otherwise stealthy advance. She cursed under her breath at such misfortune, but could not bring herself to discard the instrument. As dusk had quickly approached, Marjana could see the unmistakable glow of fire escaping from the confines of the tent. Without hesitation, she ducked her head through the opening curtains and entered the tent.

Upon entry, three older gentlemen chuckled in surprise and greeted her. Marjana froze for a moment, not quite sure how to proceed, or which of the three men might be the object of her mission.

"Well girl, don't be shy!" cheered the three of them, gesturing at the tambourine in her hand. "Lady Adelaide has not disappointed us yet!"

Marjana was repulsed but did not flinch. Now understanding the crude expectations of these men, she proceeded deeper into the tent. Holding the tambourine in her left and rhythmically striking it with her right, she waltzed forward. The first dance that came to mind was one she first learned from her mother - the dance of the sun.

Marjana's footwork was precise and impeccable - left, right, twirl, and back - each movement in unison with her tambourine. She fluttered herself to the midpoint of the tent - facing each of the three men in separate corners. Marjana clutched the djinn's dagger behind her back in her right hand and the tambourine in her left. In one motion, she raised the tambourine high above her head -- jingling it vigorously, while simultaneously tossing the dagger into the air so that it would land in the sand before their very feet. The men cheered at what they expected to be the finale of her performance.

Marjana looked down at the sandy floor of the tent - the dagger pointed squarely toward one of the three - perhaps the youngest and most handsome who seemed strangely familiar. Marjana knew what she must do. She adjusted her footing so as to clutch the cobra-shaped hilt of the dagger between her toes. Concealed behind her back and garb, she raised the dagger with her foot to her hand. Marjana then extended the tambourine out towards her target's chin, jingling it rhythmically she tipped his chin upward with the wood band of the instrument. In one swift pirouette, she then twirled around replacing her tambourine bearing hand with the other - and driving the djinn's dagger deep into the neck of her target.

Blood spurted outward, splashing across Marjana's face as the other two men recoiled in horror. Marjana ignored them as her attention was instead instantly occupied by a vision of the djinn she had previously dreamt.

The djinn spoke --- "... you have avenged my dishonor and slain the leader of the Forty. For this I am most grateful and will of course fulfill my end of our bargain. To find your father... look no further than the blood you have spilt in this very tent." Marjana stared in dismay as she realized the djinn's deceit.

The remaining men looked on, aghast at their fallen leader. In obedience to some ancient tradition of their own, they quickly knelt before Marjana and pledged their eternal service...