Dunes:

Umara:
"I am already old and advanced in years, Umara," my father whispered vehemently, "I had no sons and unfortunately we have only a few of our tribe left. Not even with those who have been released do we reach a respectable number. We are barely a thousand.
Father had come to Tarmen hoping to find me. Returning from his pilgrimage, he found our camp burned to the ground and found my mother and sisters dead.
Although I suspected it, deep down in my heart I had hoped that they had survived, that they had escaped, but they had not. Once again, I shed tears of pain at the reality of their deaths, a year after what happened.
I had heard that a nomad was the wife of the Emperor and that this woman was capable of great wonders. Since I didn't find you among the victims of the massacre, I thought that perhaps you had escaped and arrived here. I have been in the city for a week, trying to verify if the Moon was you or not, I even asked for an audience in the Palace, but they granted it to me within a month.
My cheeks are dyed red.
“Truth is…mother sold me to a slave trader, and he brought me here.´´
Father contorts his face in a grimace of horror. Now that I am closer to him I am able to see more clearly the deep lines that the suffering and the long journey have created in his face.
"You must have suffered unspeakably."
“Perhaps, but it seems like thousands of years have passed since then.
"Ember was never able to appreciate you, my daughter," he whispers, placing his hand on mine, referring to mother. "She always preferred Ursu and Mira because of how beautiful they were considered. They were my daughters, but I must admit that they were foolish and vain. You, on the contrary...´´
"I've always been a witch," I reply, smiling weakly.
´´Yes. Since you were born you were different. You did not give so much importance to hairstyles and ointments, the decorations on the dresses did not matter to you … but, you were always capable of extraordinary things. I remember the times you survived scorpion stings, and what about snakes?´´
His gaze sweeps over my face, like he's seeing me for the first time.
“Perhaps it was the will of the gods. Perhaps, if you were not a magical creature, you would have perished along with so many of our brothers and sisters.
“I know, father…and believe me, I don't hold a grudge against mother. Everything that happened is nothing more than the designs of fate.
000
"Are you happy?" he asks me while devouring a bunch of dates. I have accompanied him to the inn where he stays, and together we have taken the midday meal, courtesy of the innkeeper; who has refused to collect food. The guard who accompanies me remains silent and firm at the door of the inn.
I am?
It was, before this morning. Before checking with my own eyes that Alessios is a filthy infidel and that he will never stop lying to me.
"As much as one wife in five could be."
Father frowns.
“There's a caravan leaving for the north tomorrow. I was thinking of postponing my return to the enclave but the massive freeing of slaves belonging to all the tribes has created many conflicts. You can come back with me, if you wish, daughter.
Could I? Could I really get on a camel and head back to the desert without looking back?
“You are my only living daughter, Umara. You know our family tradition. If you were happy in your marriage, I would resign myself to handing over the mantle of shaman to someone else who showed aptitude, but there is simply no such person. Our tribe is dying, and our laws prohibit us from joining with the other nomads, if we do not take action, the Sindus will disappear as the Hijeh and the Dreac did.
I see him sigh sadly.
“Our way of life is in danger. It is true that the Emperor has sworn peace with our kind and the joy for the new laws has not yet waned in our hearts but...
“The time has come to stop being nomads, Father. I think that settling the tribes, the five survivors of the massacre, in the Orenheb Oasis would be the best.
Father pales.
"And sully our sacred land in this way?!" he bellows inflamed.
"Otherwise we will perish." There will not be a Sindu left who continues our traditions and worships our God. I don't think we should go to the extreme of negotiating marriages with the other tribes, but as the crisis passes, it's important that our people feel safe. The desert is our home, but the high dunes do not compare to the green palm trees and the white sand can never compete with the crystal clear waters.
Father meditate on my words for a moment and the light of understanding shines in his eyes.
´´You are more knowledgeable than I thought, my daughter.- he whispers looking at me with great pride.- in a few minutes you have found a solution to problems that among all the elderly we have not been able to solve in a year.´´
"It is not because there is greater wisdom in me than in you, but because I am willing to consider solutions that the elders would never think of."
"And that's precisely why we need you." The elderly are blinded by custom and tradition, it is good that we keep our roots but tradition could drown us and cause our disappearance. A fresh vision, a young but strong voice is certainly what we need to move forward.
"Would they be willing to listen to me, Father?" If I return to the desert, if I return to the tribe, my marriage to the Emperor would be null and void. Would the elders really listen to me? Or would they put my status as a woman and single against me like daggers?
´´No. They will not listen to Umara, my daughter, but to Cimbel, the great liberator of the nomads, the woman who defeated the seer, yes, they will.´´
The rest of the afternoon, returning to the Palace, Umara had a lot to think about. If she stayed in Tarmen, her life would go on as before, with uncertainty and hatred growing inside her, poisoning her every time she discovered Alessios in the arms of another and knowing that he was incapable of being faithful to her.
Umara paced back and forth inside the Imperial quarters, biting her nails nervously.
In a burst of courage, he left the room, heading towards the dungeons.
There was something that was still not entirely clear, and before making a decision he needed to know the whole truth.
"I've come to see Lady Cassandra," she explained to the guards guarding the traitor, who immediately took her to the cell.