Played by Matt Fitzgerald.
This page includes Ibrahim's Description, his Background, his sister Jaheira, his Spell Book, and his Creatures.
Click on the section titles to return to the top of the page.
|
|
Ibrahim is 6'3" tall, with a lean lithe build. He has jet black hair, cut back short, and eyes of a very bright, intense blue, set in a very handsome, almost girlishly beautiful face. His skin has a slight olive cast to it, and his features are distinctly Arabian. He has recently grown a short, neatly trimmed beard which makes him look considerably more butch than he did without it.
He favours a lightweight, comfortable robe for general wear and a pair of well worn riding boots. He wears several finely crafted rings, including one distinctive one upon his right hand, in the form of a stooping eagle with a small ruby clutched in its claws (this is his spell rack).
If he goes armed he will wear light armour of chain mail backed with leather (desert armour) and carry Chrysanthir, the Pattern Blade of his father, Eric. He has also been known to carry a Khopesh sword at his belt, the blade of which appears to be made of obsidian and has a lustrous blue black sheen to it.
His Trump pictures him so armed and attired holding a fine Arabian stallion in a desert scene. In the background an eagle, similar to the one on the ring that he wears, can be seen stooping from the sky.
He rides a fine thoroughbred Arabian stallion, Nasim, pure white in colour with a proud and intelligent gaze, and has a fierce and loyal desert eagle named Tora.
Ibrahim himself is courteous and honourable. He is a man of his word, and takes the bond of salt very seriously. He is perfectly at home in formal court settings, but prefers simplicity in his own quarters. He does not go out of his way to involve himself in politics, preferring to achieve results by effort and merit.
In terms of powers Ibrahim is known to be skilled in magic, both Sorcery and Empowerment.
The faint tinge of first dawn broke upon the lands of Keirei. Soon the small red sun's far brighter companion would rise and true day would begin, but for now only a soft red tinge lightened the gloom.
A wind blew over the sparse scrubland out into the great desert beyond, passing unheeded over the man who sat staring out into the emptiness.
Jamal waited, gathering his thoughts after his long night's vigil. He had had his time of mourning. Today at true dawn he would allow himself to ride free in the cleansing desert for an hour and then it would be done, he must return to the tribe and to his duty. He would put aside his grief at the death of his beloved Alia and the child she was carrying and move on; his people needed their leader and little Jaheira would need her father more than ever now that her mother was gone.
Daylight broke and flashed across the sand. Jamal rose and swiftly mounted his horse, urging him forward into a smooth distance eating canter. Soon man and horse were lost against the vastness of the desert around them, the dunes sweeping on northwards for league upon league to the Great Dust Sea. There the sands became so fine and dry that they no longer formed into dunes but lay flat and level for hundreds of leagues. There the great Sandships sailed upon the heart of the desert, driven by the winds and powerful magics to lands none of the tribe had ever seen, though many were the tales to be told of them. East and west lay the scrub and desert borderlands where the people and other tribes like them roamed, away to the south were the city states of the coastlands and beyond them the sea.
Lulled by the stallion's steady rhythm, gently warmed by the twin suns and immersed in the joy of the ride, Jamal almost missed the bundle. Only the long shadow it cast in the early light caught his eye. Curious he stopped and swung down to investigate. There, tightly wrapped in blankets, was a small child, a boy only a few days old. Wonderingly he picked up the child and held him gently in his arms. With tears welling in his eyes Jamal turned towards the newly risen suns and breathed a prayer of thanks to the desert spirits for the gift that they had given to him, before climbing carefully back into the saddle and riding for home.
Thus came Ibrahim Al Nasr to the lands of Keirei, to be raised as a son by Jamal after the death of his wife and unborn second child in a riding accident. A strong willed man, Jamal had found love late in life and did not marry again, despite the urgings of his tribe and, later, his children. He had seen his fortieth summer when Alia died, and had already led his tribe wisely for twelve of those years. All that he had left of his beloved wife was their daughter Jaheira, a little under a year old at the time, and he loved her very dearly.
Ibrahim was raised as one of the tribe, he could ride almost before he could walk, and was put to use tending the flocks at an early age like all other children. In time he was taught to hunt and also how to fight at need. Jaheira was his closest friend in all this time, being without a mother and with their father the chief they were often left to fend for themselves.
In time his speed and strength began to cause comment in the tribe, so Jamal took Ibrahim aside and explained how he had come to find him as a child, and that Ibrahim was a child of the desert spirits and must therefore prepare himself for a fate not as that of other men. To learn that his father was not his father, and that he might not even be human at all, greatly disturbed Ibrahim, but eventually he determined to learn all that he could about who he was and what he was and where he might fit into the land.
So, when he was about twelve years old, Ibrahim began to question the elders of the tribe about the tales that they knew, and about the desert spirits. What they were, and how men might treat with them. At length they taught him what they knew, and a little of how to feel the powers around him and begin to make use of them.
Then, as they will, troubled times began to come upon the lands. Nominally all of the lands, those of the tribes and the coastal cites, were subject to the Caliph of the city of Al Rashan, in reality the Caliphate had been too weak for too many years to exact anything more than token allegiance from its people. The Caliph was old, and barely ruled his own city let alone any other.
After preparing carefully for some years General Neechah, head of one of Al Rashan's richest families and commander of the Caliph's armies (such as they were) easily deposed the old man and exterminated him and his few immediate heirs, then installed himself as the new Caliph. A swift assassination installed one of his allies as the ruler of the state of Tuaresh, and between them they overran their mutual neighbour in Betar.
Intermittent skirmishing spread along the coastlands, with Al Rashan having the better of things. Although the other cities learned Betar's lesson, they each fought for their own lands alone, and Neechah showed himself to be a dangerously skilled foe.
Soon fighting spread to the nomadic tribes of the interior, raids occurred back and forth between tribes, and the various cities bid for their services.
Under Jamal's leadership the Al Nasr tried to remain uninvolved, but since his line were descended of old from a Prince of Al Rashan the Al Nasr were especial targets of Neechah's wrath, either through direct attacks (generally ineffective, since the city dwellers lacked real skill at desert warfare) or by encouraging raids by other tribes. Under Jamal's orders Ibrahim spent much time searching the high desert, looking for new oases where the tribe would be safer. Eventually he found such a refuge, but the tribe were caught in a heavy attack on their winter camp whilst preparing to move. Jamal and his bodyguards held off the attackers whilst the rest of the tribe fled, but were overwhelmed and slain.
Once safe in their desert refuge some were for choosing another to lead them, but most of the people continued to trust in the House of Jamal, and so, at the tender age of eighteen, Jaheira became chief of the Al Nasr and war leader of her people.
The wars continued for another five years. First the Al Nasr rested and tended their wounds. Then they began to raid back against the tribes who had attacked them. Their successes here allowed Ibrahim and Jaheira to assemble a coalition of tribes who had also suffered similar attacks and destroy those who had sided with Neechah. At length a mighty army of all the tribes descended from the desert to the coasts, defeated Neechah's armies and, with the help of the other city states, besieged and captured Al Rashan. Although he yearned for vengeance for his adopted father's death Ibrahim held himself back in the final assault, for Jaheira was Jamal's true daughter, and justice truly belonged to her. She duelled and killed Neechah in front of his own palace, his remaining troops surrendered to her personally and the rightful Calipha was enthroned by popular acclaim.
Although there was much work to do repairing the ravages of years of war, and cementing the newly won peace and Jaheira's reign, Ibrahim soon began to feel more and more out of place. He felt his own fame as a warrior was hurting Jaheira's rule, there had been some who had argued strongly for him to be given the crown despite his protestations. He also felt a strong urge to continue his interrupted quest to learn more of himself and his heritage, so he began to travel again, seeking out seers and sorcerers to learn their knowledge and even venturing out onto the Dust Sea learning to crew and steer the great Sandships which plied to the far side of the continent and the lands of the north. Later he dared the terrors of the seas to the south, always seeking knowledge of the land and its spirit.
Upon his return from this voyage he heard of a stranger unlike any other seen before. The man apparently had pale white skin, and was a sorcerer of some kind (although this was sagely rumoured of many who were no such thing). Being curious Ibrahim decided to seek him out.
After their meeting, and taking salt together, the stranger told a little of himself. His name, he said, was Prince Eric, and he came from the realm of Amber, which he spoke of with great love and told how it suffered strife and division in the absence of its true king. He was indeed a great sorcerer and more, and he might be willing to teach Ibrahim of these things over time.
Ibrahim and Eric journeyed together for several years. Eric instructed him in the full mastery of the arts of sorcery and explained the existence of other worlds, to which they later travelled. Their discussions as they travelled were wide and varied, only of his family would Eric never speak.
At last Eric asked for Ibrahim's assistance in the matter of his homeland. He feared for the realm if it was left leaderless any longer and he could delay his return no longer. Eric had raised an army, to defend Amber in case of need, and he wanted Ibrahim to lead and train it, and keep it safe in a secluded realm in case of need. If Ibrahim would agree to this then Eric promised to initiate him into the power over worlds that Eric himself wielded, The Pattern as he called it.
Ibrahim happily agreed to this, and kept Eric's army safe for many years.
Eric never returned, but eventually, in 72 PPF, Ibrahim was found by Benedict as Benedict journeyed through shadow to Amber with a relief army. He recruited Ibrahim and his army to fight a threat against Amber - a vast dragon from out of shadow.
Ibrahim fought hard and well in the war against the dragon and remained in Amber after the creatures eventual defeat. He did not claim any particular Amberites parentage, but his resemblance to Eric was apparent to the rest of the family. After walking the Pattern Ibrahim swore loyalty to Random, before heading off to explore shadow for several years.
While Ibrahim was away with Eric's army, Jaheira established herself firmly as Calipha and developed a reputation as a wise and just ruler (isn't Good Stuff sickening). Occasional raids and revolts were swiftly and decisively dealt with, often by Jaheira herself.
She married the young Lord of Betar and had a family, ageing at about a third of the rate of Shadow Earth folk, as is the norm in Keirei.
Times grew hard as Patternfall broke out. Crops worsened, great sandstorms swept out of the high desert and fell beasts roamed the lands. The people survived as best they could.
Then cames the great Shadow storm that accompanied Oberon's death. Some of its fringes passed through Keirei. The city of Betar aged ten thousand years in a single night, all of its citizens perishing in the process, including Jaheira's husband. Sand and eroded ruins are all that remain of Betar now. Jaheira's eldest son, Ahmud, was lost along with the trade fleet he was leading to the southern seas in a great typhoon, leaving his young daughter Nabila as heir to the Caliphate.
Eventually Ibrahim returned, and was distressed to see the signs of age beginning to take their toll on his beloved sister. He helped as much as he could with the rebuilding and recovery of Keirei, bringing aid from Amber and shadow, and helping with the rebuilding efforts. He offered to take Jaheira away with him to Amber, but she refused to depart until she had trained Nabila fully for the task ahead of her and was ready to hand over power to her.
Ibrahim visited regularly over the next several decades while Jaheira did this.
Eventually, when she was confident in Nabila's ability to build on what she has achieved, Jaheira abdicated and conferred the throne on her granddaughter. It was made clear by her that the House of Jamal enjoys the support and protection of The Desert Prince and that the nobility had better not forget it. Ibrahim remained diplomatically implacable throughout all this (Uncle Julian's tuition comes in handy...). Jaheira then journeyed into the high desert with Ibrahim and has never been seen in the lands of Keirei since then.
Ibrahim and Jaheira travelled to Amber, arriving perhaps a year, Amber time, after departing Keirei. This was in 98 PPF. She was introduced as his (non-Amberite) sister.
Having collected some appropriate stock out in Shadow, Jaheira turned her hand to breeding horses, at which she excels. She established a home for herself, a fairly sizeable ranch/farm, between Amber city and forest Ardenn and since then she has developed a formidable reputation as a horse breeder. There is some minor rivalry between Random and Julian over the use of her best horses for Amber's light cavalry and Julian's Arden rangers.
Since walking the Pattern, Ibrahim has also spent some time spent at Court, but not an excessive amount, time hunting and exploring in Arden, time investigating Amber and Exploring shadow, some time learning how to use magic in different shadows, and some time learning how the Army, Castle Guard and Arden Rangers are organised.
He has been appointed General of Amber's cavalry by King Random, a duty which he takes quite seriously and devotes half his time to. It is known that he is a sorcerer of some renown. He is also responsible for setting up the Royal Lifeguard. Even now he spends some considerable amount of time in shadow Keirei.
Ibrahim's adoptive sister, with whom he was raised.
Having collected some appropriate stock out in Shadow, Jaheira turned her hand to breeding horses, at which she excels. There is some minor rivalry between Random and Julian over the use of her best horses for Amber's light cavalry and Julian's Arden rangers. Jaheira has established a home for herself in a fairly sizeable ranch / farm between Amber city and forest Arden.
Description
A tall and graceful woman with a piercing gaze and an undoubted air of command about her. Jaheira appears to be between 40 and 50 years of age (although is actually much older, coming from a shadow where people age at about a third of the rate of shadow Earth folk), but is still strikingly beautiful, with long black hair and very dark brown eyes.
All of these were Empowered by Ibrahim himself.
Nasim is a fine thoroughbred Arabian stallion, pure white in colour with a proud and intelligent gaze. Ibrahim spends a lot of time riding and caring for him.
A Desert Eagle, raised from a hatchling by Ibrahim. Over the years, and by means of various spells, Ibrahim has established a telempathic link with Tora, which allows him to sense his feelings and see through Tora's eyes, as well as issue simple commands. The link fades the further away Tora flies, and does not work across shadow boundaries (nor equally well, or necessarily at all, in all shadows). It also does not work in Amber.
Go to the Altair, Beltaine, Damien, Owen, Phoenix, Tamarind or Tristan pages.
Or go back to The Last Enemy Page.
The picture of Ibrahim, above, is actually Oded Fehr playing Ardeth Bey in the movie 'The Mummy'. It is used here, without permission, for personal game use only and not for profit or commercial gain.
