Wrihon Knights: Raya’s Champions [Hear His Word, Sing His Song]
an excerpt

Wrihon Knights: Raya’s Champions
[Hear His Word, Sing His Song]
From Part 1: The Voice [Chapter 1: Whispers]
Rajab, 2nd son of Muharram, King of Ahe and grandson of the legendary Muhammad the Wise, woke to the sound of bells and song. Opening his heavy eyelids, he realized that there would be service today, the bells and choir were from the Temple of Syena, also known as the House of the Word; the massive marble building that he and the rest of the royal family resided in, along with hundreds of other Rayariyaana from all castes and ranks. Rajab gazed round his room drowsily. There weren’t many items here, as he had recently acquired a bedroom of his own. “Ah yes,” he thought, “I’m officially a man now. Now that the coming of age ceremonies have wrapped up, I can finally do whatever I want!”
With gusto, the prince opened his blue-gray curtains to welcome the desert morning’s steadily burning sun. But the unlucky young man’s glee was short-lived: the swift winds outside his window carried in enough sand to irritate Rajab’s half-opened eyes.
He winced and grumbled, “By the fire of Shams, why would anyone want to live on a pile of sand?”
After fussing with the sands, the prince began to dress. High-ranking Braham such as he would often wear white in public, accented with color during service or festival times. Rajab did not mind this tradition, but never gave much effort in presentation. He slipped on his favorite pair of pants, made from Auroch hide dyed white. There were holes everywhere, especially in the knees. Next came the belt, polished white leather with a buckle of rare white gold. Then Rajab tossed on a simple white smock to go under his open robe. He heard his mother shout from the hall in passing, “Don’t forget your gold beards, boys! Today is a city gathering!”
Rajab knew two things about city gatherings. There is an offering of Palm Wine and Samosa to Raya, Shams and the city’s favorite Garuda, Syena. In addition to the sermon, his father makes a pep talk to the crowd of citizens, and then informs them of upcoming events. Occasionally, the King’s right-hand man, the Grand Sage, continued the rites with a chant or allegory. “This would be perfectly fine,” Rajab, strapping on his ornamental beard, thought, “if the two hour parade didn’t take place outside in the roasting heat of the courtyard.”