The Story so Far
The Song of the Shattered Sands is a vast and complex tale. I consider that a good thing, and if you’re reading this, you likely do too, but it can present a problem. It’s easy to forget what happened in the earlier volumes. I do my best to catch readers up with little reminders along the way, but even so, I recognize the need for a refresher.
It is with this in mind that I provide the following synopses.
As always, thank you for joining me in this grand tale. I hope you enjoy your return to the Great Shangazi.
—Bradley P. Beaulieu
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The Song of the Shattered Sands
The Song of the Shattered Sands is an epic fantasy series in the vein of One Thousand and One Nights. The story centers on Çeda, a young woman who lives in the slums of the great desert city of Sharakhai and fights in the pits for money. In the eyes of the city’s wealthy, she is nothing. She is one step above slavery, a fate that constantly nips at her heels. Through clues in a book left to her by her mother, Çeda realizes she is one of the thirteenth tribe, a legendary group of nomads who were nearly eradicated by the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai four hundred years before. In the decades that followed those dark days, Sharakhai became the single, unquestioned power in the desert. In more recent years, however, the city’s iron grip has weakened.
The asirim, strange and powerful creatures of the desert, once members of the thirteenth tribe, have always protected Sharakhai, but they have become fewer, their power enfeebled. Sensing weakness, the kingdoms bordering the Great Shangazi close in like jackals, hoping to snatch Sharakhai, a jewel they’ve long coveted. But it may be the wandering people of the desert, insulted by the very presence of Sharakhai, who prove more of a threat.
After a grand bargain with the gods of the desert, the thirteenth tribe were betrayed by the Twelve Kings of Sharakhai and transformed into the cursed creatures they are now. Fearing retribution, the Kings sent the asirim to hunt their own kinsmen, to kill every man, woman, and child who had blood of the thirteenth tribe running through their veins. The asirim wept, but they had no choice. They were bound as surely as the sun shines on the desert. Çeda’s book is one of the last remaining clues to their secret history.
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai
Çeda uncovers secret poems hidden in a book left to her by her mother. Through clues in the poems, she learns more about Beht Ihman, the fateful night when the people of the thirteenth tribe were enslaved and turned into the asirim. She also learns that she, herself, is a descendant of the thirteenth tribe, which gives her a clue to why her mother was in Sharakhai. She later discovers, to her shock and revulsion, that she may be the daughter of one of the Kings, and that this too was part of her mother’s plan.
Refusing to let the mystery go unresolved, Çeda goes into the desert to the blooming fields, where the adichara trees shelter the asirim when they sleep. The Kings are immune to the adichara’s poison, and their children are resistant. To all others the poison is deadly. To prove to herself once and for all that she is the daughter of one of the Kings, Çeda poisons herself and is later brought to the house of the Blade Maidens, where the warrior-daughters of the Kings live and train. There, with the help of an ally to the thirteenth tribe, Çeda survives and is allowed to train as a Blade Maiden.
As she recuperates, Çeda investigates the clues left in her mother’s book. Her mother died trying to unlock the secrets of a fabled poem that promises to show Çeda the keys to the Kings’ power and the ways they can be defeated.
Meanwhile, the Moonless Host, a resistance group made up of scarabs who hope to end the reign of the Twelve Kings, hatch a plan to break into the palace of King Külaşan, the Wandering King. Hidden in its depths is his son Hamzakiir, a blood mage and a man the Moonless Host hopes to use for their own purposes. It won’t be so simple, however. The Kings stand ready to stop them, and their resources are vast.
There are also Ramahd Amansir, a lord from the neighboring kingdom of Qaimir, and Princess Meryam, who travels with him. They have different plans for Hamzakiir. Ramahd came to Sharakhai in hopes of gaining revenge for the loss of his wife and child at the hands of Macide, the leader of the Moonless Host. He stumbles across Çeda in the fighting pits, and the two of them come to know one another.
They might even have become involved romantically, but Çeda has more to worry about than love, and Meryam has other plans for Ramahd. Meryam knows that allowing Hamzakiir to fall into the hands of the Moonless Host would be terrible for her cause, so she makes plans to steal Hamzakiir from under their very noses.
At the end of the book, Çeda manages to unlock the first of the poem’s riddles. Along with her best friend, Emre—who against Çeda’s wishes has joined the ranks of the Moonless Host—she infiltrates King Külaşan’s desert palace and kills him. Emre and the Moonless Host manage to raise Hamzakiir from his near-dead state and steal him away from the palace. Before they can reach safety, however, Meryam and Ramahd intercept them and take Hamzakiir.
Of Sand and Malice Made
Roughly five years before the events depicted in Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, Çeda is the youngest pit fighter in the history of Sharakhai. She’s made her name in the arena as the fearsome White Wolf. None but her closest friends and allies know her true identity, but that changes when she crosses the path of Hidi and Makuo, twin demigods who were summoned by a vengeful woman named Kesaea.
Kesaea wishes to bring about the downfall of her own sister, who has taken Kesaea’s place as the favored plaything of Rümayesh, one of the ehrekh, sadistic creatures forged aeons ago by Goezhen, the god of chaos. The ehrekh are desert dwellers, often hiding from the view of man, but Rümayesh lurks in the dark corners of Sharakhai, toying with and preying on humans. For centuries, Rümayesh has combed the populace of Sharakhai, looking for baubles among them, bright jewels that might interest her for a time. She chooses some few to stand by her side until she tires of them. Others she abducts to examine more closely, leaving them ruined, worn-out husks.
At Kesaea’s bidding, the twins manipulate Çeda into meeting Rümayesh in hopes that the ehrekh would become entranced with her and toss Ashwandi aside. To Çeda’s horror, it works.
Çeda tries to hide, but Rümayesh is not so easily deterred; the chase makes her covet the vibrant young pit fighter all the more. She uses her many resources to discover Çeda’s secret identity. She learns who Çeda holds dearest. And the more restless Rümayesh is, the more violent she becomes. But the danger grows infinitely worse when Rümayesh turns her attention to Çeda’s friends. Çeda is horrified that the people she loves have been placed in harm’s way. She’s seen firsthand the blood and suffering left in Rümayesh’s wake.
Çeda is captured but manages to escape, and in so doing delivers Rümayesh into the hands of Hidi and Makuo, who torture her endlessly. But the ehrekh is still able to reach out to Çeda, forcing her to experience the torture as well. Knowing that she can never be free unless she liberates Rümayesh from the godling twins, Çeda recruits one of her childhood friends, a gifted young thief named Brama, to aid her in her quest. With Brama’s help, Çeda steals into Rümayesh’s hidden desert fortress in hopes of freeing her through the use of a sacred ritual.