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| Kezia al Asiya, Old Man of the Mountain |
| Kezia is a very small yet powerful young woman. She stands but four feet, six inches tall and weighs a mere ninty-six pounds. Her eyes are pitch black. Her hair is as black as her eyes, with one noticable exception ... a snow-white streak which starts in the very front of her head, and goes slightly back and to the left. She wears her hair pulled back into a ponytail, except for the white streak which is braided back so that it falls behind her left ear. Burn scars can occasionally be seen on her arms and legs. Red henna tattoos cover her neck, arms and hands. Her skin has darkened over the years to be a deep brown, and is beginning to turn ebony in color. Kezia's earliest memories are living in a tent city at the base of a great mountain. She worked from an early age as a servant to a man and his young wife. Annually, those who lived on the mountain would come down the mountian, bringing food and supplies to those living in the tent city. One man who walk among them was a tall and powerful man, and Kezia watched his every move. He was quiet, and spoke only to one of his comrades. He would whisper and point at the different people in the city and the next night, they would be taken away and begin trainings, just to retun years later to help bring supplies down the mountain. When she was ten years old, the man Kezia served was chosen as one of those to leave the tent city. The night his young wife gave birth to their only child he was taken away, the young wife died in childbirth and Kezia was left to her own devices. Known throughout the tent city, she was given the opportunity to begin training as a priestess. She began her work and for the next seven years learned to read and write her native language, Hebrew, along with Arabic, English and Latin. Then, like clockwork, the men and supplies came down off the mountain. Kezia again sat and watched the men. And this night, the tall, powerful man was watching her. He wispered to his second in command, and they just nodded at each other. Kezia trembled inside. Very few women were ever taken from the tent city and now they were looking at her. She retreated into her tent for prayer and study, not knowing if it was to be the next night that they would come for her. She fell asleep at her studies. Just before dawn, the sound of hoofbeats and the cries of women and children cut through the night air. This was not the men coming down from the mountain coming into the tent city. These men came from the city to the south. They carried torches and screamed at those in the encampment. The cries of women dying, men gurgling as their throats were slit, and the screams of children as they were burned alive in the tents filled Kezia's ears. She grabed a pack, and all the books she could carry, and tried to escape. The flames on her tent were already begining to rise. She fled into the night and looked up the mountain, seeing only a soft flicker of firelight coming from the very top. She ran to the south for what seemed like hours. Exhausted, she fell into a revine and passed out. She awoke two days later, her legs, arms and neck stung. Kezia pulled back her skirt and found burn marks on her legs. Likewise, she found them on her arms and neck. Again she passed out. As the sun was setting she regained consciousness and found a man standing over her. He quickly calmed her fears and introduced himself as Rhael al Kadaam. He offered her a place to stay for the night and food to fill her empty stomach. There was something familiar about this man, but she did not know where she had seen him before, but something told her to trust him. Kezia went with Rhael. He gave her a room in his house for her own use. She had time for study and prayer again, and a wave of peace was again flowing over her. For two years Kezia traveled the world with Rhael. He showed her his dealings and where to find the best goods for the lowest prices. How to haggle and whom to avoid. Then, one night, when they returned from their travels, Rhael came to her as she was at her studies. Kezia turned to him and her eyes opened wide as she saw fangs protruding from under his lip. At first she pushed back, but then something overcame her. He opened his arms wide and she ran into them. Brushing her hair aside, he sank his fangs into her neck and drained her, almost to the brink of death. Then, sliting his own wrist, he placed it to her lips and she began to drink. Slowly at first, then deeper and deeper with each draw. Satisfied she had enough, he pushed her back and revealed to her who she was meant to be. Rhael was the man she saw on the mountain, and Kharma was his second in command. They wanted to bring her into the mountain and begin her training, but the Hunter's came into the tent city before they were able to bring her and the others up the mountain. He then revealed to her that she had been the only one to make it out of the tent city alive, and many of his fellow clanmates had been slaughtered as well. That Haqim had sealed up the mountain to protect the treasures that lay within and then moved it. How he could move a mountain was beyond her, but after all that she had seen, she didn't question its possibility. The next day Rhael introduced Kezia to Kharma and the three of them set out to bring the Children of Haqim back into prominance. The books Kezia took as she fled that night were to be the beginnings of a new library. During their travels they came upon the new site of Alamut, their ancient home, and they began to rebuild, with Rhael sitting as Eldest, Kharma as Caliph, and Kezia as Vizier. For many years the clan grew and prospered and then Kezia found a note in the Council Chamber. Rhael had left Alamut and had left her in the seat of Eldest. She sat for many years awaiting her Sire's return, and when he did, he remembered nothing of his time on the Mountain. Strangest of all he was human again. Kharma embraced him and brought him back to Alamut, where the three reigned over the Children of Haqim, Rhael as the Amr, Kharma as the Vizier, and many changes to the Caliph. Time changes many things. Many Children have left the mountain and others have returned. But no matter the time spent away, all the Children may find a Haven in the hallowed halls of Alamut. |
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