A History of the Busogan People- Part I
*The series, of course, is written with the consent of Timuria*
Setting is Goynuk, Timuria
*The series, of course, is written with the consent of Timuria*
Setting is Goynuk, Timuria
Ayatollah Kizil Busoga was walking around Goynuk, here in his country of Timuria. He was, formally, as an Ayatollah, the leader of the Twelver Shias in the city of Goynuk. A city that, functionally, was their own city-state. Probably, at this point, the only Shia city in TImuria. And functionally, at this point, with the death of Enes Ozek last night in the battle, he was the new leader of Goynuk. This people had just been through some trauma. As one of the fewest Shia communities within the country, the ongoing wars between the various claimants of the true caliphates had been very traumatic for them. They were the common group of people to be picked on- the group that nobody really liked that much, the group that everybody felt were heretics.
Ayatollah Busoga was talking a walk around this part of Goynuk. He looked around, and saw the trauma. Some more Sunni invaders had come in, from the north, and had wreaked havoc on the community. The Shia men had risen to the challenge, once again, and thrown off the hordes, but when the Ayatollah was walking around, the next day, to survey the devastation, he knew that this type of life was not sustainable. He had no idea how many people had died- but he walked around the city, he knew that it was a hefty number. The smell was overwhelming- dead bodies did not do well in the summer heat, and Timuria was no exception to this rule. HE saw bodies all over the place, he saw women crying, he saw the tears flowing, from his people.
He knew that the Sunnis would be back- they were too ambitious, and there was so much hatred, so much distrust, between this little Shia Sunni state, and the much more massive Sunni communities elsewhere in the country, for Goynuk to ever live in peace. HE was well versed in the history of Goynuk. A long-time Shia outpost, they had been battling off Sunni advances for years, and for a while, they had established a feared reputation as warriors. But more recently, Goynuk’s battle quality had been going down, and invasions were coming more frequent. The battle that ended yesterday had last three days, and Sunnis were there only 6 months prior.
“Ayatollah!” A woman called towards him. He turned, and saw. His own sister was standing behind him. He looked into her arms, and he was heartbroken. “My son- my only son!” She yelled, and she began crying. The Ayatollah looked away. The situation had become more and more desperate for this city. They were under siege, as the territory around the city walls, where they had to grow food and such, was getting smaller. Communities, jockeying with each other for control of the vast land of Timuria, were stopping to trade with this Shia outpost. They had to send younger and younger boys away. His sister had lost her husband only 6 months ago in the last battles- and now her son, just 17 years of age, had lost his own life. He saw the gaping wound from a spear on his nephew’s chest.
“My sister,” The Ayatollah said. “I am so sorry. My heart goes out to you. Your husband six months ago, and now, your son. The Almighty Allah will look kindly upon your soul- he absolutely must after what you have suffered.”
“My brother,” She replied. “What am I to do? My husband, my own son- they have been killed. When will these people stop? When will we be allowed to live?”
“Soon, very soon.” Said the Ayatollah. “They won’t be back for a long time- they’ve been shown twice, in the same year, that Goynuk will survive. We have the resilience- do not fret. The deaths of our sons will not be in vain.”
*Setting goes to the Mosque on the Friday following the battle, where the Ayatollah is delivering a sermon*
“My brothers, my sisters, fear not!” Said The Ayatollah. He was at the very beginning of this speech. It was very emotional. Over 1,000 had died In the hands of the last battle. And a message had been left- convert to the true faith of Allah, or face extinction. That has been the message for the last hundred years. And they’ve fought them off, again and again. But this? This seemed to shake the people of Goynuk quite vigorously.
“Allah will look kindly upon the souls of those who died last week, to keep alive, as far as we are aware, the last vestiges of his true faith alive in Timuria, and quite possibly, beyond.” He continued. “Look at what we’ve done- we’ve survived in this land, as a people, for generations. Allah has always told us that we will be tested. But look what he says in the holy book. Remember what the Lord told his faithful servant, Muhammad. ‘Verily, We shall put you to test with some fear, and hunger, and with some loss of wealth, lives, and offspring. And (O Muhammad) convey good tidings to those who are patient, who say, when inflicted by hardship, "Verily we are of God and verily to Him shall we return;" upon them is the blessings of Allah and His mercy.’(2:155).
God has told us that he will put us to the test. And yet, God wants us to stay in our homes. He would not have delivered up from the wrath of our enemies last week, or for the many years that he has done so, if it were not for his Almighty Grace, his Almighty love. We must keep up the faith. Many of us- heck, almost all of us, have lost loved ones here at the last battle. It was bloody. But we must remember not just those who died, but why they died, and why we have lived. Those who died for us to live out the faith, to ensure that God’s will is done. Remember- we keep the faith, we can stay here, and eventually, join our fallen brothers in paradise.”
He looked around, at the end of his sermon. Not much reaction from the people present- and he was fairly surprised about that. Usually, of course, he was able to get people to rally behind a common vision. He was able to uplift them. But something was different about this one. Everyone was far more downtrodden than usual. The spirit seemed to be zapped out of them. He was left there, after the service, wondering what he needed to do to get his people to rally again…
