Read Online Sands (Sharani Series Book 1) by Kevin L. Nielsen - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kevin L. Nielsen
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wet. Where she was going, it didn’t matter if she had on the finest robes or if she wore loops of gold in her ears. Eyes narrowed in determination, she strode through the grass and entered the camp of the Frierd clan. Though there was a water oath in place, it didn’t stop the politics or the jockeying for power or influence of trade among the various clans. And it also didn’t stop the jostling for the best encampments within the Oasis. The Frierd had been encroaching upon the Sidena borders, using the well maintained by the Sidena to water their sheep. It was a grievous insult. Were one to drink from the water sullied by the sheep of another clan, they themselves would be counted no more worthy than cattle to be driven and branded by another’s mark. It was an emasculating maneuver perpetrated by Frierd’s Warlord, Alarian, in response to some imagined slight. Marvi’s husband, Jenthro, had rushed to defend their honor, thinking with his sword more than his brain.
Foolish man, she thought, tossing her head with an exasperated flick, he’s going to get himself killed one of these days, and I’ll be damned to the seven hells before I step in to protect him.
She reluctantly dismissed the thought. She knew her present duty to the Sidena, if not her husband. Do what he would, Marvi would step in to make up for all of Jenthro’s lapses. And, sometimes, protect him from himself, as she was doing now. If she’d left it in his hands, they would have been in battle now, not just against the Frierd clan, but also likely against the Mornal and Olarin clans. The Frierd, Mornal, and Olarin had fierce trade alliances, such that many of their families were intermarried one with another. The bonds of blood ran deep, more deeply than Jenthro realized or even cared to acknowledge. That was a failing of men. They never understood the power of blood except to shed it. Idiots!
As the Matron of the Sidena, she had the power to speak for the clan, though that power was seldom, if ever, used. The Frierd would not stand in her way, though. She adjusted her robe against the stifling humidity, held her head high, and strode through the center of the Frierd camp as if she were their matron.
The Frierd camp was arrayed like most of the others, a half circle of tents nestled up against the protective cliffs and encircling the shallow market where others came to trade or else survey the wares they had brought to the Oasis. Or that was what it normally looked like. This year the market was just a barren stretch of grass, slightly flattened by countless trampling feet. Like the Sidena, there hadn’t been time for the Frierd to bring much other than their own selves to the Oasis with them. Damn the genesauri!
The Frierd people themselves were arrayed in small groups around a central fire pit. Many were chatting among themselves or else attending to one of the score of little tasks that occupied both men and women when they camped. They looked mostly the same as the Sidena except that the men sported detailed tattoos around their eyes and down the sides of their cheeks. Also, they were devoid of topknot, instead leaving their hair long like a woman’s, though the women in the clan tied their hair back in thick braids that hung down their backs. Some of the wealthier women of a higher rank, as evidenced by the color of their shufari , even had small stones or colorful bits of yarn interwoven with the strands of their hair. It was an opulent display of their wealth, and they did it because they knew that Marvi was coming.
The fire pit sat in the center of the clustered groups. Stones had been placed around the pit to reflect the heat properly. It was such a strange thing—an open fire. Fires were such a rarity out on the sands due to a lack of fuel that Marvi still marveled at how common they were in the Oasis.
The Frierd parted around her, leaving a clear path to where Alarian waited, arms folded across his chest. Even with her torn robes
Foolish man, she thought, tossing her head with an exasperated flick, he’s going to get himself killed one of these days, and I’ll be damned to the seven hells before I step in to protect him.
She reluctantly dismissed the thought. She knew her present duty to the Sidena, if not her husband. Do what he would, Marvi would step in to make up for all of Jenthro’s lapses. And, sometimes, protect him from himself, as she was doing now. If she’d left it in his hands, they would have been in battle now, not just against the Frierd clan, but also likely against the Mornal and Olarin clans. The Frierd, Mornal, and Olarin had fierce trade alliances, such that many of their families were intermarried one with another. The bonds of blood ran deep, more deeply than Jenthro realized or even cared to acknowledge. That was a failing of men. They never understood the power of blood except to shed it. Idiots!
As the Matron of the Sidena, she had the power to speak for the clan, though that power was seldom, if ever, used. The Frierd would not stand in her way, though. She adjusted her robe against the stifling humidity, held her head high, and strode through the center of the Frierd camp as if she were their matron.
The Frierd camp was arrayed like most of the others, a half circle of tents nestled up against the protective cliffs and encircling the shallow market where others came to trade or else survey the wares they had brought to the Oasis. Or that was what it normally looked like. This year the market was just a barren stretch of grass, slightly flattened by countless trampling feet. Like the Sidena, there hadn’t been time for the Frierd to bring much other than their own selves to the Oasis with them. Damn the genesauri!
The Frierd people themselves were arrayed in small groups around a central fire pit. Many were chatting among themselves or else attending to one of the score of little tasks that occupied both men and women when they camped. They looked mostly the same as the Sidena except that the men sported detailed tattoos around their eyes and down the sides of their cheeks. Also, they were devoid of topknot, instead leaving their hair long like a woman’s, though the women in the clan tied their hair back in thick braids that hung down their backs. Some of the wealthier women of a higher rank, as evidenced by the color of their shufari , even had small stones or colorful bits of yarn interwoven with the strands of their hair. It was an opulent display of their wealth, and they did it because they knew that Marvi was coming.
The fire pit sat in the center of the clustered groups. Stones had been placed around the pit to reflect the heat properly. It was such a strange thing—an open fire. Fires were such a rarity out on the sands due to a lack of fuel that Marvi still marveled at how common they were in the Oasis.
The Frierd parted around her, leaving a clear path to where Alarian waited, arms folded across his chest. Even with her torn robes
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