The Lay of Al-Ahmar is a Quest Item obtained from House of Daena.
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According to the desert dwellers, the world was once ruled by a king named Al-Ahmar, a king of warriors, horticulturists, and sages. He controlled the winds whistling through the desert, the dunes turned bright silver by moonlight, and the one thousand and one Jinn who hid within the night and the calls of owls.
They say that Al-Ahmar was a son of the sky. That is why he was known as the king of the world and received the fervent faith of countless people from the three great tribes, and was even adored by the elusive Jinn. Whenever he looked up to the sky and recalled the boundless paradise high above, and the merciless reign of thousands of years past, Al-Ahmar could not help but lower his noble head and sigh helplessly.
In such moments, even the songs of the nightingale and the aroma of roses could not pull him from his sorrow.
The desert dwellers knew well that the ravings of nostalgia often presaged the arrival of calamity. But in that world where the wise enjoyed peace and happiness, and in the era where brave young men and women courted like lions and roses, no one foresaw the arrival of catastrophe.
But how should we blame the people and spirits of the past? Even one as wise as the greatest of sages, Hermanubis, could never have known that the valiant tribe that once could equal the dragons would be reduced to corpse-eating monsters a thousand years later, and that their sullied honor and bones would be buried for eternity beneath the gilded dunes. How could he have known that the tribe of the wise, known for generations of sages, would lose our texts and become wandering bards of the desert, mourning our emperor with songs that only the Jinn understand?
It is as the sages say: a mere thought can yet often bring forth calamity, if it is from the undisguised melancholy and madness of a king.
Thus did the three retainers of Al-Ahmar (may seven times seven curses fall upon them!) present their strategy to the king:
"Your Majesty, ruler of the world, lord of the four corners of the earth, king over Jinn and mortals alike."
The Goat King, the minister of all ministers, spoke flatteringly,
"I humbly beg your pardon if I overstep, but Your Majesty, I'm certain you are aware that indulging in dreams of old and sorrows of the past is no way to be for long. The endless power and wisdom of this land can build you a palace that surpasses the heavens, Your Majesty, and it shall bring your people a prosperous future."
"No," Al-Ahmar said with a frown, and the Goat King fell silent.
"Your Majesty, son of the sky, subjugator of gods, and greatest of all sages,"
The Ibis King, the scribe of all scribes, advised,
"The divine punishment of a thousand years past brought the downfall of wisdom and history. For a better future, Your Majesty, you should take control of the past. The present oases hold the wisdom of the 'present', but if we are to seize the 'past', we must act swiftly."
"No." Al-Ahmar struck the ground with his staff, and the Ibis King fell silent.
"Your Majesty, lord of dunes and oases, guide of the living and the dead, master of all elements."
The Crocodile King, the commander of commanders, spoke frankly,
"If we are to recall the lost lives and welcome lost opportunities and dreams back into the fold, then this is our final chance. The greater the authority, the greater the emptiness. The greater the wisdom, the greater the sorrow. Forget the delusions of the Void. Only resurrection and life eternal can fill the endless pit of regret."
Al-Ahmar fell silent.
"Fine."
The arbitrary king heeded his retainers' lies. Thus did Al-Ahmar use a hundred years and a hundred years further to build a huge maze for his kingdom, before trapping himself deep within it in search of forbidden knowledge and an elixir with which he might abandon his mortal form.
The subsequent events are knowledge that should not be revisited. They should be eternally forgotten by any rational history.
According to the legends of the desert dwellers, in just one night, the kingdom of wisdom and power was buried by the sands of retribution.
They say Al-Ahmar separated his mind from his flesh and bone, placing it within the corridors, stairways, doorways, and beams that crawled eternally into the depths.
It is said that Al-Ahmar's body gradually decayed on his throne while worms feasted on it, and that his soul merged into one with the wailing souls of the millions in his kingdom, doomed to wander, lost amidst the howling end, traveling along the dark and winding corridors, growing ever closer to the bottomless abyss...
Thus did the minds of millions merge into one, a lone soul that would eventually succumb to madness.
And so, Al-Ahmar's kingdom was built and destroyed by his own hand.
They say that when that night came, the desert quaked, and the walls of Al-Ahmar's royal city collapsed. One thousand and one pillars trembled before the gale, and the bulls and griffins that once stood proudly atop them, gazing down at the lifeless dunes, now reluctantly fell into its gilded embrace. Countless people, sage or fool, hero or coward — all of them vanished within the sandstorm that night.
The lucky survivors fell into eternal silence. It's said that they were made blind and mute as punishment for their sin of benefitting from forbidden knowledge.
The sages say that trying to keep knowledge for yourself is ignorance, and that the punishment for ignorance is ignorance itself.
As for the descendants of the ignorant who have lost their history, the Eremites say:
We have returned from the land of the lost,
The sky of the ages we have changed,
Fear shall not stop us,
No god shall we heed.
Across the ocean of sand akin to gravel,
To its end we shall sail.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | The Lay of Al-Ahmar | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 阿赫玛尔的故事 Āhèmǎ'ěr de Gùshì | The Story of Ahmar |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 阿赫瑪爾的故事 Āhèmǎ'ěr de Gùshì | |
| Japanese | アフマルの物語 Afumaru no Monogatari | The Tale of Ahmar |
| Korean | 아흐마르의 이야기 Aheumareu-ui Iyagi | The Story of Ahmar |
| Spanish | El cuento de al-Ahmar | The Tale of Al-Ahmar |
| French | L'histoire d'Al-Ahmar | The Story of Al-Ahmar |
| Russian | История аль- Istoriya al'-Akhmara | The History of Al-Ahmar |
| Thai | เรื่องราวของ Al-Ahmar Rueang-rao khong Al-Ahmar | |
| Vietnamese | Câu Chuyện Về Al-Ahmar | |
| German | Die Geschichte von Al-Ahmar | The Story of Al-Ahmar |
| Indonesian | Kisah Ayn Al-Ahmar | The Tale of Al-Ahmar |
| Portuguese | O Conto de Ayn Al-Ahmar | |
| Turkish | Al-Ahmar'ın Hikayesi | Al-Ahmar's Story |
| Italian | I racconti di Al-Ahmar |
