Mission: Tariqat al-Wird'
| Mission: Tariqat al-Wird' | |
| |
| Original title | Mission: Tariqat al-Wird' |
| Language | Common Tongue |
| Author(s) | Gustaaf Vermeylen |
| Genre | Historical narratives |
| Location(s) | Çakaristan |
| (main) characters | Amir Çakar |
| Timeframe | 1689 - 1691 AN |
Mission: Tariqat al-Wird' is a discovery expedition led by Amir Çakar on behalf of the Sultan of Çakaristan.
Beyond the Krasnarusyn border
Arriving in Lezije, Amir summoned his men. He said: 'We are about to explore this island further and claim it in the name of the Sultan'. An Arboric non-commissioned officer, a Çakari officer and a former Krasnarusyn officer stood around the table with Amir Çakar. "This island has been occupied by several nations over the last centuries, but only a few times in history as a whole under one flag. We are not going to manage that this time either, because a coastal strip around Ijubicastagrad is under a foreign flag," Amir began. The Arboric non-commissioned officer asked: "What do we call this island, then? Amir replied: "This island is internationally known as Kendall Isle" The Krasnarusyn officer said: "In the Krasnarusyn era it was called 'Elbijun', in the Common Language 'Albion'". "Another name is Jaris," said the Çakari officer. The Arboric non-commissioned officer said: "But what do we call this island? Amir said: "My mission includes planting the flag of the sultanate on the mountain of this island". "So this khanate is about the mountain on the side of the sultanate where the dawn begins," said the Arboric non-commissioned officer. The Çakari officer said: "Then this is the Khanate of dawn-lit mountain! Amir's eyes lit up and said: "That's what we call this country".
"Now that we've got this clear, let's go and explore this island," Amir said. The others agreed. The plan was developed further. The map on the table was provided with arrows, circles and lines. The Krasnarusyn officer went with a unit towards the former capital of Krasnarus. The Arboric non-commissioned officer got on a plane and flew to Hisn Mahmud. The Çakari officer went northeast with Amir. They went to the former Krasnarusyn border at a small bay.
Amir found an area in a dilapidated state. No one to be seen, dilapidated buildings and fallen trees on the roads. It took them days to reach their destination. The border stone was still standing proudly. But it marked a border between nothing and nothing. He crossed the border and had the camp set up. "This is a beautiful location for a new city," Amir said as he looked around. He saw a bay, a small river, a plateau above a cliff from which the bay could be overlooked and the lower plain with the small river. "There", be Amir, "that's where the command tent should be".
The Krasnarusyn officer arrived in Nuví Pelezu, the former capital of Krasnarus. The decay was clearly visible, but there were still people there. At the sight of the convoy with the Krasnarusyn officer, the population walked out and cheered. The convoy slowed down enormously due to the influx of people. The soldiers were happy, but also nervous because they could not control the situation properly. "Long live the Sultan!", the people shouted. The soldiers raised the flag of the Sultanate above the former parliament building of Nuví Pelezu. Immediately, the officer began to set up an administrative administration and provide first-aid transports.
The Arboric non-commissioned officer had arrived at Hisn Mahmud, home of the Arboric fleet under the command of Admiral Edward Krüger. An expedition fleet was assembled and began their part of the mission. The Admiral consulted with Agra about his concerns about the situation around Micobad. He actually wanted to send part of the fleet into the Antican Sea. But Agra rejected his proposal and was told that the situation was being monitored, but that there was no immediate threat at the moment. "The sovereignty of the Sultanate is not currently under threat', said the Grand Vizier. The Admiral was not yet reassured, but obeyed the Great Visor. The expedition fleet sailed in an easterly direction. "Be careful not to enter the territorial waters of Alduria-Wechua. That can only lead to conflict", the Admiral warned the non-commissioned officer.
Troubles at sea
The Krasnarusyn officer heard that a refugee camp had been set up on the other side of the strait. Šlovedks, in particular, had fled the disorder within the former borders of Krasnocoria, crossing in ramshackle boats in search of a safe refuge. The Krasnarusyn officer wanted to at least take a look. So he ordered some ships to proceed. When that was done, he went with a small armada of ships to the other side of the strait. What he had failed to do was to inform Amir Çakar about his trip to the mainland north of Kendall Isle.
The current was strong, but the advanced ships were much more stable than the rickety boats that his fellow citizens had used before. He approached the coast, but the rugged coastline with cliff cliffs made it difficult to land. The Krasnarusyn officer saw a stranded boat broken up on the rocks. He could not see whether the people on board had survived. The small armada sailed westwards to see if there was a place to land on the side of the Antican Sea. To his joy, life was seen on land, when the small armada was just around the corner and sailed in a more northerly direction. Much to the delight of the Krasnarusyn officer there was a sandy beach and he ordered to land there. On the steep hills above the bay he saw buildings, people walking and when those people saw that he was coming in peace, he was also welcomed.
After a short while the Krasnarusyn officer was received by a council of elderly people. He told about the creation of the sultanate, Amir's mission and the rosy future. The people became enthusiastic, but there were also those who doubted. He asked: "What do you call this place? One of the elders answered: "We call it Vathia here". "Beautiful name," he replied. That evening he was invited to stay and to return to Dasïl the next day. He agreed and the elderly gathered to join the sultanate. They wrote a letter to the Sultan to ask whether they could maintain a high degree of independence despite becoming part of the sultanate.
Amir himself was on a home-grown trip to historic New Nova. This was the easy part of the voyage of discovery. The area was fairly flat, open area. The intention is to go to the eastern bay of the island. Then to go to the former Rasal, while another part of his troops moved along the coast to the former Myvar, and then to follow the coast until Rasal. In this way, only the mountain on the island remains. Amir himself wants to climb it and plant the flag of the sultanate at the summit.
When Amir camped among the ruins of New Nova, he was told that the Krasnarusyn officer had sailed by ship to the mainland. That he had gone ashore and met his compatriots there. Amir was not happy about it. Yes, it was a good thing for those people that they had met their fellow countryman and perhaps it is also a good thing that she came under the inspiring leadership of the Sultan. But the crossing had not been discussed with him. He quickly contacted Agra to explain the situation. De Grand Vizier said that the Sultan welcomed the people of Vathia and asked Amir to be incorporated into the Kendall Isle as soon as possible.
Not much later, Amir was informed that the expedition fleet had come to justice in a storm just after they had passed Medž. The storm was so violent that the ships had to break their formation in order not to sail against each other. One of the ships was in trouble and struck by lightning. The steering systems ran out of control and the ship became adrift. When the storm subsided after hours, the expedition fleet was able to assemble again, except for the ship in trouble. Because there was no response to the communication, the expedition fleet started a search, sailing in a northeastern direction. They found the ship, stranded on the island of Jamira. The Arboric non-commissioned officer ordered them to check the area between Medž and Jamira, repair the damage and then continue their mission. Here, too, Amir was not very happy, they had sailed too far east, but the damage had already been done. He resigned himself to it.
Brother to brother
Amir was not at all reassured about the situation, he did not want to claim the Eastern Paribian Isles and Vathia. First consolidate Kendall Isle. That was his goal. That is how he understood his mission. He ordered his troops to first explore the coast and then he would focus his attention on climbing the mountain. The mountain of dawn-lit. He would first fly back to Agra, to speak to the sultan there. He wanted to clear up his story. The old airport of Rasal was cleared, so that a plane could land. The propellers didn't stand still yet, or Amir was already on board. So the engines were started again and the propellers accelerated again. He flew over the island, out of the window he saw the mountain. In front of him was a map, on which he drew the route to climb the mountain.
Hours later the plane arrived in Vudin to refuel. There Amir had a short meeting with local administrators to set up the administrative government of the khanate. When the plane was ready for departure, Amir went back on board and flew to Agra. On approaching the capital, Amir saw the major construction work. In a short time the city was built to make it a real capital. He saw the Red Fortress. What a majestic sight,' thought Amir. The plane landed at a military airport, Amir was driven to the Red Fortress by car. The distance was not very great, yet the ride lasted longer than he thought. The unfinished city was already busy, but work was still going on everywhere. A complete alphabet of traffic signs with diversion routes seemed to decorate the streetscape.
Arriving at the Red Fortress, the hustle and bustle of the city seemed to fade away as a peaceful atmosphere hung in the palace. Amir was received by the court steward, who escorted him through the corridors and to a courtyard garden that was on the other side of the entrance gate. On approaching the courtyard garden, the steward bowed and pointed Amir to continue. He did so and saw the sultanic couple sitting on a Babkhan carpet, while in front of them the Arboric coffee was steaming and delicacies from the whole sultanate were on display. As he approached Amir remained standing before he climbed the raised terrace. The sultan nodded and Amir climbed the steps. He bowed before the sultan and sultana, and after a gesture of the sultan he sat down.
The sultana broke too much silence and said: "What a nice surprise to see you here, Amir!” Amir replied: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am sorry to be here on business with the sultan." The sultana smiled and said, "Things don't go away, take some of the blessings". A cup of strong coffee, made from Arboric coffee beans, was poured for him. A bit nervous Amir looked at the sultan, who was enjoying a mango in a very relaxed way. After a moment of hesitation, Amir said: "The great Craitgod be praised for the happy state in which you are both sitting here". The sultana blushed a little and turned to her husband. He only said: "Thank you, my brother". The sultan saw his wife blushing and distracted Amir by asking: "You are going to climb the mountain on Kendall Isle yourself? "Yes," Amir said, "to plant the flag of the sultanate on the summit".
After a while, the Sultan took Amir for a walk through the corridors of the palace. The sultana said goodbye to Amir and greeted her husband. The corridors were empty, there was no staff to be seen. As if only a handful of people stayed in the Red Fortress. But this was only an illusion. Alone with his brother, Amir fell to his knees and took the hand of the sultan. "Forgive me, my sultan, forgive me that under my authority came more territory under the sultanate than my mission included. Please forgive me," Amir moaned. Akbar was surprised and listened quietly to his brother's moaning. "My brother", Akbar said as he encouraged Amir to stand up again, "You have done a great deed to the sultanate. Here in Agra they sing songs of praise for your deeds". Amir was astonished, he behaved decently and listened to the Sultan who told him that on the souk they were singing about him.
Cresent moon over dawn-lit mountain
For months Amir had been studying the mountain, the mountain on Kendall Isle. Now that the coast and lowlands around the mountain are under control, it was time to conquer the mountain itself. He had put together a team to climb the mountain with him. Provisions, tents and climbing equipment were carefully collected. On the journey to the foot of the mountain, Amir's heart started beating faster and faster. The last few kilometres were on unpaved roads, sometimes only some tracks in the landscape. A small plateau at 2200 metres was the end point of the motorised vehicles. The group continued on foot. The quiet climb ended at the first camp at 3200 meters.
The group was full of energy, because in the first camp there was dancing after dinner. After a night in tents, the group continued. The climb was a lot steeper. They zigzagged over the slope to find the most favourable route. Low clouds came out of the valley, so it became foggy. But the visibility remained good to continue. The second camp was at 4200 meters, after departure the group soon walked in snow. The wind was pinching cold, visibility was only 100 metres. The group continued and reached the mountain peak at 5137 metres. It didn't take long before the clouds cleared and a magnificent view was shown to the group.
Amir pulled out the Green Flag. A companion hit a flagpole in the snow at the highest point of the mountain top. Amir had to take off his gloves to tie the flag, his finger was already turning blue from the cold, but he persevered. He succeeded and quickly put his gloves back on. He then took a few steps back and saluted the flag. His men followed his example and saluted the flag. The men started to sing the national anthem and some got tears of pride and happiness. The Cresent flag on the highest mountain of the sultanate. "May the sultan reign forever," the men cheered.
