#the janissary tree

[thelibraryofchaos]

Kitty's Reading Round-Up (April/May/June 2023)

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Date Finished: April 14th 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5 stars)

Notes/Review: Cried my eyes out. Now one of my favourite books of all time

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I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Date Finished: April 16th 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Notes/Review: I listened to this on audio and, yet again, loved it. Casey McQuiston does a really great job with the side characters, which is what got me through the last 25% or so of the book, where the plot was falling a bit flat. I really enjoyed the friendship between Chloe, Smith and Rory along with the other host of side characters which brought False Beach to life. But... the initial plot, the search for Shara, was only interesting to me because of how Chloe interacted with the side characters. Because it so happens that Shara Wheeler (at least to me) was the least interesting part of this book, i didn't care about the cards, or her dad, or how this rich girl was struggling with her sexuality or whatever. maybe because I'm from England, where we don't have religious schools that extreme, but it seemed so exaggerated that i couldn't connect to Shara on any level and just wanted to listen/read about Chloe and her friends. Sorry. (also, the way the narrator pronounced Birmingham every time made me wince lmao)

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The Tempest by William Shakespeare

Date Finished: April 28th 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

Notes/Review: The play itself is kinda convoluted but I was interested in Caliban's characters so...

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Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Date Finished: May 24th 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Notes/Review:

fun, cute and endearing. i enjoyed the experimental style and the conclusion to the story, although there were some aspects i didn't quite understand - even though she knew what he was doing, why would Oscar's mum let him walk around new york/skip school for hours at a time?

other than that, i liked Oscar even if i felt he was older than he actually was at times. i liked the mystery with the 'renter' and had a good time with this book.

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Idol by Louise O'Neil

Date Finished: June 10th 2023

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Notes/Review:

his was a fun, quick read with some interesting moral complexity. i liked the ambiguous ending, we still don't know the full truth - or if there even is one, which i think is interesting.

i wouldn't call this a scathing criticism of society, but it didn't have to be. there was enough there to make it an exciting read without it trying too hard.

i didn't like Sam, but i don't think you were meant to - or, she was meant to be flawed and unreliable.

most unrealistic part was that she seemed to only get one hate comment or smth before everything started.

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The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin

Date Finished: June 13th 2023 (DNF'ed pg 237)

Rating: 🌟🌟

Notes/Review:

ik i dnf'ed this and then gave it 2 stars, but this book just wasn't for me. i borrowed it from the library for a creative writing project - i was writing a historical fiction piece, and i wanted to see the different way people implemented their research/wrote about the time period etc.

i started this book in December, finished my project in April, it is now June, and I struggled.

the mystery did not compel me at all, the characters were boring and the writing was flat. i just did not care about anything that was happening. the fact that there are like seven books in this series surprises me.

similarly, i read through some other reviews and a lot of them were suggesting that the historical information was incorrect as well, so...

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[i-cant-sing]

Time Traveller au part 8

Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here. Part 5 is here. Part 6 is here. Part 7 is here. Time Traveller au masterlist is here. Check out my MASTERLIST for more!

Part 9 is here!

Everything around you warped as you jumped off the cliff. You closed your eyes as you heard Baldwin scream your name in agony, the air whipped around you and you hoped that you returned to your house, hopefully with a soft landing.

You fell onto the hard ground on your arm, breaking it. You screamed before biting your lip to hold it as you realised that you had landed... in a forest.

You pulled out your time machine and read the time and place.

1530. Ottoman empire.

Oh hell no-

You tried to change the time to return to your present world, but the dial buttons were broken and you couldnt do anything but hope it'll work again and return you back to your time.

Blinking away the tears, you clutched your arm and struggled to stand up, groaning in pain. The fall had knocked the air out of you, and made your entire body ache as you staggered towards a tree for support.

This has to be- Baldwin must've cursed me for leaving him.

Fixing your gown, you removed your wedding veil to make a hijab and used the length of it to cover your body like a chaddar. Clutching your broken arm, you began walking. Where? You dont know, but you need to get out of the forest first as you didnt pay much attention to "Man V/S Wild" because the first episode you watched started off with Bear Grylls drinking his own piss and you didnt think you'd ever be in a situation where you would need that kind of skills.

"And I wont." You huffed, walking. Besides, the wild isnt the only thing you need to survive. You're a lone woman in a forest where good samaritans arent the only ones to cross it. And you dont think you have a fighting chance against strangers with a broken limb.

The sun was starting set by the time you made it out of the forest and you saw a small cottage. If it wasnt for the old woman tending to her chickens outside, you wouldnt have approached her. But alas, thirst and exhaustion overtook stranger-danger and you walked upto her.

"W... water?" You croaked in Turkish, sweat dripping down your face as you clutched your arm. Yes, you learnt the language as a child when there was no cable and the only place you and your brother could watch TV was at your Turkish neighbours house. Granted, all they ever played was soap dramas, but hey- your family was poor and you had to make do.

The old lady's eyes widened at your state and she rushed inside to get water. By the time she came out with her husband, you had passed out.

-

When you came to, you were lying in bed while the couple fretted over you. It turned out that the old man used to be a physician, so he popped your broken arm back in place and immobilised it expertly so that it allows for optimal healing of the bone. The old lady made you some food and thats when they asked what happened.

"I fell from a tree." You took a bite of the warm meal. "I was hiding there from some slave owners. I lost my parents a few days ago and when they found out that I was alone... they wanted to take me and sell me to the palace." Lying isnt that hard for you when you have so many true events to back you up.

The old couple pitied you and offered you their home. "You could stay here for as long as you'd like. We dont mind. In fact, we'd enjoy the company." You smiled gratefully. As days passed, you began helping them around the house with chores. They were lonely and they enjoyed having you around. You found out that they used to have a daughter but she was one day taken by the Janissaries (members of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops) to make her part of the harem and they never got to see her again.

It had been a month since you'd been living here. Your machine hadnt worked again and you didnt have the tools at hand to start working on it. You did accompany the old man to the town when he'd go get groceries, but you didnt risk finding a scholar or craftman to help you. No, the moment your eyes landed on the Topkapi palace at the other side of town, you had turned on your heel and already started making your way back to the cottage. As tempting as it was to see just how the sultans were, you were not going to try your luck by being trapped in that castle that had weird politics. Everyone was everyone's enemy- the heirs, the wives, the concubines, the eunuchs- everyone.

You and the old man had just returned from the town and you were trying to calm him down. Apparently, he got into a heated argument with the shopkeeper who was quite influential and lent people money, but he asked for high interest rates on return.

"I'll help you. Maybe I can find some work-" you offered but the old man absolutely refused. He didnt want you to leaving the cottage, especially not alone to go work with these scummy people he did not trust.

You smiled sadly. Perhaps you reminded him of his daughter.

"He's always been like this, but when Ayla was taken, he started loathing the sultan. How can you just break a family like that?" The old lady said as she stirred the pot. You hummed as you set the table, when the old man suddenly burst through the door, looking alarmed.

"Dear? Whats wrong?" The old lady walked up to him. He was looking at you.

"Janissaries- they're here." He said with dread. "The merchant- he must've sent them here! Quick, hide Y/n!" The old lady nodded in agreement as they began pushing you. The old man lifted up a wooden panel from the floor, revealing a small compartment.

"Hide in there and dont make a sound!" They said as they covered the space back with the wooden panel. You held your breath as you peeked through the slits in between the panels.

Just a few moments later, 5 men in red uniforms and swords resting on their sides, brazenly walked in.

Janissaries.

"Where's the girl?" One of them asked as the others looked around.

"What girl?" The old man asked as he pulled his wife closer to him.

"Dont pretend you dont know. We saw you walking in the market with a girl. Where's she?"

"She left. Her parents took her back. What do you want from her?" The old man replied.

The Janissaries kept looking around, going through rooms to find you.

"You havent paid your loan back. We're just here to take her while you make arrangements for your loan."

"I told you she's gone. And I told the merchant I already paid off his loan. With interest."

"Yes, but the interest increased last week. You didnt pay that."

"What does it concern you? You work for the sultan, not the merchant!"

"The merchant is friends with me, a Janissarie. If he's bothered, then I'm bothered. And if I'm bothered, then so is the sultan. Now, hurry up and tell me where she is."

"She's gone-" the old man was cut off by a punch.

You gasped, but quickly covered your mouth as the Janissarie's head snapped in your direction. He couldnt see you, but you could see him.

The old lady was crying now as she tended to her husband on the ground. The Janissaire looked back at her.

"If you dont tell me where she is right now, you will become a widow." He threatened her.

The old lady couldnt say anything as she kept on crying, but she made the mistake of looking at the wooden panel you were hiding under. That was enough of for the armed men to figure out.

They pulled the panel away and there you were, looking up at them with fear. They didnt have to communicate as they pulled you out and threw you over his shoulder, making their way out to their horses.

The old couple begged them to not take you away, but despite your best efforts to break free, you never stood a chance.

"Let me go-" You were silenced with a hard slap. The Janissarie looked at you.

"I will only say this once. I am taking you to the palace. If you make a single sound, I will slit your throat right then and there. If you run, I will behave very badly with you. Nod if you understand."

-

Some time later, you had been dragged into the Topkapi Palace. The guards talked amongst themselves about you, as if you're deaf.

"We should just sell her to the slave traders." One said.

"Or we could give her to the merchant and he can pay us more than the slave traders." Another said.

"We'll see who will pay the higher price for her. After she spends the night with me." Your eyes almost popped out of your socket.

The creep laughed as he yanked you close by the wrist. "Maybe I'll keep you permanently, tied to my bed-"

Allah, now would be a great time for the time machine to work. I dont care if I disappear before their eyes, I cant stay here-

"Well well well, what do we have here?" The Janissaries all straightened up at the new voice. "Bothering another woman of the harem? After you were almost beheaded the last time you stared at one with your pig ugly eyes?"

"Baris Agha, she is not part of the harem-"

"She became property of the sultan the moment you brought her in the palace." The man snapped at them as he stepped in front of you. Judging from his clothes and his effeminate mannerisms, you figured he was a eunuch. "Lets take a look, hm?" He gripped your chin roughly and tilted your face from side to side, a grimace appearing on his face.

"Not pretty enough to be a concubine. Tch. Maid it is."

Bitch.

"Baris Agha, you cant just take her from us-"

"Need I remind you of the woman from the sultan's war winnings you lot lost because you were drunk? I see, I should go and remind sultan of that." At that, the Janissaries scowled but kept quiet.

"Now stop standing there like buffoons. Go to your posts. And you-" Baris Agha gave you a pointed look. "You dont look from around here, but I'm going to assume that since you havent screamed or tried to run off, you understand what I'm saying, hm?" You gave a nod. Baris Agha rolled his eyes before turning on his heel, beckoning you to follow him with his index finger. "Hurry along. We have to train you for the feast tonight. A few servants died of smallpox, so we're a little short staffed."

You were lead to a hamam (a common bath area). Baris Agha was talking to the old lady standing outside. "She is the new maid. Have her prepared for tonight, hm?" He told the lady who ushered you in.

Baris Agha waited outside the hamam as he heard you shriek and yell, but he was unfazed. Everytime a new girl is brought here, she has to go through the same thing. A hot ,steaming bath, an invasive medical check up, a little degradation, nothing out of the norm. It is necessary to do this because if you are to serve the royal family, it wont bode well for you to be carrying any diseases or... any pride.

-

"You're lucky I'm short on servants or else I would've thrown you into the sea because I would never wish anyone to see the gait of a cow." He scolded you during your "maid training".

You bit your lip to stop the curses from slipping. You cant risk pissing off anyone here until you can find a way out, or your machine works. You've read details about the life in Ottoman empire, and sure majority of them were muslims, but they still had egos as large as Mount Everest.

"Baris Agha! Baris Agha!' A servant came running upto him. "A fight broke out in the harem! The concubines- ah! Its a mess!" He flailed his hands around in exasperation.

Baris's eyes widened before scowling. "I'll kill them all today! I swear! These women are more trouble than they're worth for!" He grumbled before looking at you.

"Keep moping, I'll come back. Dont do anything stupid or I will make you dig your grave!" He threatened before leaving with the servant.

As soon as he was out of sight, you considered running. But you dont know your way around this maze of a palace, and you dont wish to run into Baris Agha when you're trying to find your way out of these hallways. You need to be careful and find a way out. So, you slowly made your way towards the other end of the corridor while mopping (as an excuse when Baris returns and asks where'd you go) and peeked around the corners. When you found no one, you slowly walked down one end of the hall where you saw a door at the end while the right side of the hall overlooked the palace grounds and the other side of the hall had no doors but had these wooden windows that were shut so you couldnt see through them. You reached the door and opened it slowly, expecting another hallway, but instead you were in a room. Not exactly a bedroom, since you didnt spot a bed, but perhaps a sitting room? Or maybe a study room, judging from the desk in the corner. In the center of the room, there was a huge pile covered by a purple silk cloth. This couldnt possibly be a storage room, right? You walked upto the pile and pulled the cloth off it, revealing an amalgam of... fine things. There were fancy vases, some antiques, swords and a few paintings.

The paintings were stacked one upon the other, and you took a look at the first one- it was Arabic calligraphy. The background was beige with the calligraphy in beautiful black ink. And you recognised the words written. Its Ayat ul Kursi, from Surah Baqrah in Quran. The words were written so elegantly, however as you read the verse, you spotted an error. It was a minor one, but there was a dot missing from one of the letters and now it would be misspelled and the words wont make sense.

You could just walk away. You should walk away. Find a way out. This is not your mess. And this should not bother you.

"If you see something wrong, then you should do everything in your abilities to correct it. Don't be selfish, Y/n." Your brother's voice rung in your ears.

With a sigh, you walked towards the desk and picked up the the quill pen dipped in ink.

I'm only doing this because this painting may one day be passed onto the future generations. Cant have them making the same mistakes. You walked back to the painting. This is the word of Allah. I cant just ignore the mistake.

You placed the 3 foot canvas on the desk and carefully placed the dot to correct the mistake. You held your breath the entire time to prevent your hand from shaking. When you were done, you breathed and backed away.

"What are you doing?" You froze. This- this is not Baris Agha's voice. No, it- it held too much authority.

"I asked you- what are you doing?!" The voice boomed.

"I- I-"

"Turn around." You slowly did and you looked at the man in dark robes in front of you. He was neither a servant, nor a Janissaries. You looked at the fury in his grey eyes, and then your eyes travelled upto his head.

You dropped into a bow, head low.

"I- I apologise, sultan!" Of fucking course! Why wouldnt a sultan- THE SULTAN SULEIMAN, be the one to catch you in the act.

This is it. This is the day I die. He will have my head cut off-

"I asked you, what are you doing?" He asked again. "Who are you?"

"I- I was... I was fixing an error, your majesty." You gulped, head still down. "I am- I am a new servant, sultan. I- I did not know this was your room- I was- I got lost-"

"What mistake?" He cut you off. "Rise. And show me the mistake."

You slowly rose up, though you kept your eyes casted down. You turned back to the painting as he walked up next to you, and you raised your shaking hand to point the area where the ink was still wet.

"The... the dot was missing from this letter. It was spelling mistake. I... I couldnt just leave it... in good conscience." You explained in a small voice.

There was complete silence for the next few minutes. Is this the part where you should start begging him to spare your life? Or should you keep your mouth shut and hope he gives you a less painful punishment?

"Bring the next painting." He commanded without taking his eyes off the current one. You picked up the next canvas and it also had Arabic calligraphy. With his permission, you placed it on the desk as well.

"Well?" He looked at you and you stared back at his grey eyes in confusion. "Check for errors."

You looked back at the painting, another Quranic verse from Surah Rahman. And you spotted the error right away. Again a small mistake, but still if the diacritical marks are not present, then the pronunciation will be wrong.

"Here. And here as well." You pointed out with your finger. He nodded at you to fix it. This time it was much harder for you to stop your hand from shaking, but fortunately, you did.

"Now recite it." You looked at him in surprise. Recite it? You cant stop your hand from shaking with him looking at you and he expects you to recite it out loud in front of him?!

What kind of test is this? And if I mess up, will he have me killed? Oh God, he's going to kill me.

Closing your eyes to stop the tears from spilling, you began to recite Surah Rahman.

Just pretend he's not here, pretend your brother is in front of you and you're reciting Quran to him like you did as kids. Its normal, its just you and Qasim. You and your brother.

You opened your eyes when you were finished. Suleiman was looking at you... shocked.

"That was... my goodness. That was mesmerising." The sultan praised you once he overcame his shock. "And you recited it all from memory. Are you a hafidha?" (someone who has memorised the Quran)

You nodded. The sultan looked even more surprise. He's never heard of women memorising the Quran in his lifetime, and you? You look so young, just in your 20s. Did you really learn the Quran with such perfect recitation?

"How? Who was your teacher?"

"My brother." Which was true. Qasim, your older brother memorised the Quran when he was very young. Your parents sent him to the local mosque to learn and since he was blessed with eidetic memory, things werent hard for him.

You, on the other hand, were not blessed with photographic memory. You werent gifted like Qasim, and since he's always been the shining star, the all rounder, he was your competitor by nature. So while your parents didnt send you to the local mosque to memorise Quran because you're "too young", you made Qasim teach it to you.

He was more than happy to. Qasim, just like his name, was always the "generous one". The one who shares. He's the older brother, the provider. You're the younger sister, the competitive brat. Together, you two made a great duo. Qasim's recitation was far better than yours. His voice brought comfort to the soul.

Once you were able to memorise Quran, you and Qasim would often participate in those Islamic trivia and competitions which would often have some cash prize at the end. And since money was tight at home, you'd both participate and win many such prizes.

"And where's your brother?" "Dead. My family is dead." Well its not like he can go and confirm your story. "I was brought here by the Janisarries. They planned to sell me to slave traders. Then Baris Agha came and made me a servant, saying I belong to the sultan now. He gave me a mop and I was cleaning and then I found my way here..." You explained your situation further, hoping he'd take pity and let you go.

"What's your name?" The sultan asked very calmly.

"... Y/n."

"Y/n." He tested the name. "How would you like a job?"

"I- I'm not a good servant, ask Baris Agha. He'll testify-"

"Not as a maid. As a... teacher."

"Teacher?"

"Mhm. Quran teacher. Teach my daughter Mihirmah how to recite, if not memorise it as well as you, hm?"

"I-" you paused. You need to word this out carefully. "I'm honoured that you considered me for this position, your majesty, but surely, there might be someone else more suitable for this job."

He shook his head. "They're all men. I think if my daughter could have you as a role model, she might be inspired to learn."

"I... I have to go home-"

"Home? To who? You have no family." Of course, your lie backfires.

Seeing your hesitance, he sighs. "Look, you're not a slave here, Y/n. No Muslim in my empire is, so I wont force you to stay here but I think it would be safer for you. A young girl in her prime, living alone in this harsh world- you know just as well of the dangers. Today my Janissaries brought you here, and I will deal with them. But tomorrow, someone else might take advantage of the fact that you have no one to rely on."

You remained silent. He was... right. But-

"If you were to stay here and be Mihirmah's teacher, then I give you my word- no harm shall befall you. You will be under my protection."

Your time machine hasnt shown any signs of working yet, and you dont think you can stay hidden in this empire and avoid people for long, so-

"I accept."

Suleiman smiled. "Good. I think the ink is dry now. Place them back with the pile." You picked up the canvases and brought them back to his collection. As you were placing them down, you noticed the canvas on the bottom, the one you never picked up.

Your face paled.

-

"Sultana, please focus-" you were trying to get the young princess's attention, which you now realise was a feat in itself and exactly why Sultan Suleiman asked you to teach her.

"No." Mihirmah said. You took a deep breath. She has no interest in reading the Quran, how are you supposed to make her learn a few verses?

She was the Sultan's only daughter, so she was spoiled to the core. Just 19 years old, with high cheek bones, blemish free skin, her ash brown hair that shone, she was the epitome of beauty and the apple of her father's eye. You'd just love to yank her by the hair or smack her with a ruler to make her focus but you also would like to get out of here alive.

"You shouldn't use violence when it comes to Islam. It'll only drive the believers away." You heard Qasim's voice in the back of your head. "I never had to discipline you with hand to make you memorise. If I can teach you, then so can you." He had a warm smile on his face.

But I'm not you, Qasim. I dont have the patience of a saint.

"Alright, sultana." You closed the Quran with a sigh and clasped your hands. "What do you want to do?"

Mihirmah grinned, feeling victorious over you giving up so quickly. "I want you to tell my father that I gave my best in trying to learn this but you dont have the time or skill to teach me. Tell him that you think it might be best for me to take break from learning Quran so that I can regain my focus." She said as she crossed her arms over chest.

"No."

Her smile faltered. "No?"

"No." You confirmed, staring at her dead serious. "I do have the time and skill to teach you the Quran. Why should I lie about myself for your incompetency?"

Her eyes widened before narrowing. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Who do you think you're talking to?" You asked, collecting your things. "I am not your slave or servant to order around. Your father, the sultan, hired me for a job. I'm the teacher, you're the student and at this moment, I have authority over you."

You stood up and looked down at her with no expression. "I was told the young princess was fearless and as strong as her brothers. I now see they were wrong. If you dont wish to learn, then have the guts to tell your father."

As you turned around to leave, you were immediately thrown against the wall, making you bang your head against it. Enough. You're done playing nice.

Sorry Qasim, but some people need violence-

You were turned around and slammed against the wall. You were about to yell at her when you felt something sharp press against your throat.

Mihirmah's eyes were full of fury. "You do not get to talk to me that way-!" "Is that an Omani khanjar?" You looked at her silver dagger.

Mihirmah's rage was replaced by surprise. "You... you know about it?"

You scoffed, insulted. "I'd be a fool not to notice it."

She titled her head at you, an amusing glint in her eyes.

-

"Oh my- you even have the pugio! How did you get it?" You were in complete awe at Mihirmah's large collection of daggers and swords.

Mihirmah beamed. "My brother got it for me on his recent conquest. He got so much stuff in the war prize for dad, but they let me pick first. Mustafa had brought dad some antiques, gems, paintings-" your heart sank at her words.

So that painting... it was from the spoils of war?

The painting that you saw earlier when you were putting back the canvases- it was a portrait. Of you. The same portrait that Baldwin had commissioned for you. The painting that survived over 400 years, except for the lower part of your face that was smudged and faded.

Suleiman looked over your shoulder as you stared at the portrait. "Mustafa found this in a church during the war. The locals claimed that the portrait belonged to some king who lost the love of his life. Hm. Seems like he missed her too much." He explained, tracing his fingers over the smudged area of the painting, and you wondered what Baldwin had done to make the area so faded.

You were glad that you had drawn your chaddar over your head and kept your face down or else you're almost certain the sultan would've recognised the resemblance between you and the portrait. After you'd left him, you immediately decided to wear a niqaab and cover your face to prevent anyone from recognising you as the muse from the painting.

"Y/n." You were snapped out of your thoughts. Mihirmah raised a brow at you. "So... how do you know about the daggers? You dont look like... well, you know."

Should you even be surprised at how condescending she is? Mihirmah may be the sultan's only daughter, but you were also the only daughter AND the youngest child of your family.

You can be just as bitchy.

"What? Just because I'm not a princess, I cant know about daggers?" You scoffed, looking back at her collection on the table.

Mihirmah's lips quirked. "Well, how do you know then?"

My cousin took me to the forensic musuem at his medical college and I was so mesmerised by all the murder weapons there, including the daggers, that I spent an embarrassing amount of time researching about each type of blade which was interesting for me because I am a historian.

"My dad was a blacksmith." He was not. Your father was a pharmacist. "I used to watch him make different types of blades and swords. Travellers would often stop by and let him sharpen their blades, and thats how I know about different kinds of blades."

She nodded, satisfied with your explanation. "You know your blades... but do you know how to fight with them?"

"No, sultana. I am just a lowly peasant who does not have to face the troubles of warding off potential suitors and princes like you." Your voice dripped with sarcasm.

When she didnt reply, you looked up at her and saw the evil glint in her eyes.

"What?"

Her smile widened. "I have a proposal that would benefit the both of us."

You stared at her in confusion for a few moments before understanding what she meant.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No-"

-

You were flipped onto the carpeted ground with Mihirma pinning your arms with her knees, pressing the dagger against your neck.

"Anddddd you're dead." She smiled victoriously above you before getting off you and helping you up. You coughed to catch your breath and scowled at her. "I should tell the sultan about how you beat up your teacher."

Mihirmah chuckled. "I am not beating you up. I am teaching you how to fight, and dad would approve that I teach a young women how to defend herself." "But I dont want to learn how to fight." "And I dont want to learn Quran. But if I have to do that, then you can at least do this so that you know just how difficult it is for me to learn the verses."

You adjusted your veil and glared at her. "Cant you find someone else to be your sparring buddy?"

"No. I like you. You dont seem to be too afraid of me and you stand your ground." She admitted before looking at you fussing over your niqaab. "You know you can take that off around me? People dont burst into my room without knocking, so feel free to take that off."

You contemplate for a moment. It is a little hot in here, and you're sweating like a pig after that knock down.

You remove your veil, but keep the scarf over your head and take a seat. You felt her eyes on you, but you didnt look at her as you opened the Quran.

"What are you staring at?"

Mihirmah sat down beside you as you finally looked at the gleam in her eyes. "What?" You asked again.

"Nothing. I just thought you'd be... prettier."

You couldn't help the sound of disbelief that left from your lips.

This cun-

"Well, I'm so sorry sultana that you had to witness the ugliness of my face with your precious eyes that are only worthy of seeing pretty things. My sultana, just say the word and I'd sew pearls into my skin for your pleasure, or I could always just-" you pick up your veil to cover your face again, but Mihirmah's hand caught your wrist and she was giggling.

"You're easy to tick off." She chuckled. "I was only kidding. You look... alright."

You feigned a smile. "Well, how will I ever repay that priceless compliment?" You rolled your eyes as she laughed again.

"Now that we're done with your entertainment, lets start our lesson for today."

-

Its been a week since you arrived in Topkapi palace. You had been given a room in the harem with the concubines because- well they didnt have quarters for religion teachers, so here you were.

The room was small but adequate for you. Nothing fancy but you're grateful for that. Dont want these concubines seeing you as a threat or something.

You groaned as the servant kneaded your shoulders. You were currently getting a massage from a girl you had befriended. Your muscles were sore from the all the times Mihirmah had flipped you over or slammed you against the wall. You were sure you were gonna have numerous bruises by the time she memorised one surah.

Your deep tissue massage was interrupted by Baris Agha bursting through your door. He shot you a glare before pushing the girl away from you.

"If your majesty is done with her rub down, would you care to grace us with your mighty presence?" He mocked. You opened your eyes and sighed.

"Hello to you too, Baris Agha." You sat up. "What do you want?"

"The sultana has demanded your presence."

"I already gave the sultana her lesson today." You mumbled before going to lie back down but Baris Agha grabbed your shoulder painfully to haul you up.

"That was Mihirmah sultana. Your presence is required by her mother, Hurrem sultana!" He gritted out.

Hurrem sultana? "Why?" You asked, fixing your niqaab over your face.

"Why? Why? Who do you think you're to be asking questions? Make haste!" He yelled at you before pushing you out of the room.

You followed behind him as he told you how to courtesy in front of her and not to do this or that, but you were focused on why you'd been called by the sultana? And that too, at dinner time? Wouldnt she be busy with her family?

Finally, you reached her chambers. Baris Agha entered first and you followed closely behind him, falling into a deep courtesy right after him.

"My Sultana, this is Hatun (lady) Y/n, Mihirmah's sultana's teacher." Baris Agha introduced you.

"Rise." You heard her say and you dared to peek at her and your breath was caught.

If Mihirmah was the epitome of beauty, then Hurrem sultana was something entirely out of this world. Red hair that sat in a intricate bun atop with a crown, milky white skin that had no marks, and those radiant green eyes that shone just as bright as the iconic emerald ring on her finger.

If you didnt know the dates, you wouldnt have guessed her to be a day over 40. But she was well in her 50s, and Allah... were you envious of Turkish beauty.

Truly, this was not a place for an insecure person to be around. You probably did stick out like a sore thumb among the bewitching beauties.

Baris Agha elbowed you to make you avert your gaze, and thats when you spotted Mihirmah sitting beside her looking sheepish.

"So, you've been the one who Mihirmah has been spending so much time with?" She looked at you pointedly.

So much time?

You looked at Mihirmah who was avoiding your gaze. You looked back at the sultana. "Well? Tell me how much my daughter has learned?"

How much? She hasnt been able to memorise a single surah.

You cleared your throat and spoke carefully. "Sultana, its a gradual process-"

"Surely, she must've memorised something? After all, thats why she's been refusing to spend time embroidering or looking at her proposals."

"Mom-" Mihirmah tried but was silenced by a look from her mother.

Hurrem looked back at you. "So, Hatun Y/n, do you have something to say? Or has my daughter been lying to me about spending time with you?"

You looked at Mihirmah who was looking at you with pleading eyes and you connected the dots. Mihirmah has lied to her mother about spending her time with you, and now wants you to lie for her as well.

If you do, Mihirmah might be safe but you risk getting caught. If you dont lie, Mihirmah gets in trouble, but so will you. And not just at Mihirmah's hands, because she will hurt you for snitching, but you suspect that she will twist more lies and lead you into more trouble with both her mother and father.

What to do?

"Mihirmah sultana is... a good student. The best one I've had so far." Well, you werent lying. She was your first student so technically she had no competition. "Everyone has a different pace of learning, my sultana. But its not about how fast you learn, its how much you learn. I'd prefer to take years to learn the surahs over not understanding the meaning behind them, the lessons hidden in them."

Yes, this is a safe answer. "Mihirmah sultana has shown great interest in reading the Quran. She listens very attentively to the translations." After bribing her with duels.

"I have no doubt that she will one day be a good Quran student. As long as she never stops reading it, maintains her connection with the Holy Book and Allah. The process of learning never ends."

Hurrem's calculated eyes read you. She gave a single nod. "Very well, Hatun Y/n. If you say so." Ah finally. Disaster avoided, and now Mihirmah owes me for lying-

"Mihirmah, you will recite the surah Hatun Y/n taught you tomorrow at dinner. Your father and I will be very pleased with your progress." Hurrem stated, making both your and Mihirmah's eyes widen because her mother knows her daughter well. She knows Mihirmah is not prepared and challenged her like this so that she can get rid of you as well, allowing the queen to focus on finding a suitable proposal for her daughter.

"Mother-"

"Mihirmah, go and sleep now. I dont think you need to prepare anymore for tomorrow, as you have told me just how great of teacher Hatun Y/n is." Hurrem smiled cunningly. Of course, she'd lay traps for her own daughter if it meant she could prove a point.

You and Mihirmah left the sultana's chambers together before walking to the princess's chambers.

"Thank you, Y/n for saving me!" Mihirmah said as soon as you two entered her room. She turned around to look at you, only to find you out on her balcony.

"Y/n? What are you doing there?" She walked up behind you.

You looked over your shoulder. "Hm? Oh, I'm just thinking if I should jump to my death from here or ask Baris Agha to get me poison. What do you suggest?"

"Y/n!" She pulled you away from the balcony. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? Whats wrong with you?!" You yanked your arm out of her grip. "Why did you lie to Hurrem sultana that you've been spending day and night studying with me when you damn well know that you have the attention span of a fish?!"

Mihirmah pouted. "Well, I had to come up with an excuse as to why I didnt want to do needle work or look at suitors... how was I supposed to know she'd bring you in for questioning?"

Narrowing your eyes at her, you gritted out. "You should've just told her that you'd rather spend the time beating up servants and throwing knives at pillows for target practise!"

She crossed her arms and huffed. "What, are you mad at me?"

You chuckled humourlessly. "Oh no. No no- how dare I? Why would I be mad at you for being the reason your parents will send me to the gallows? Or would they rather chop off my head?"

She shook her head. "No, I wont.... I wont let them do that." Mihirmah sighed. "I'll tell them the truth tomorrow, come clean."

"Oh great. So then you'll be safe from trouble but I'll still be dead because I LIED to the sultana! Thanks a lot!" You exclaimed.

"Well, then what do you suggest we do?!" Mihirmah was getting short tempered now.

You dragged your hands over your cheeks before heaving a sigh. "The only thing we can do. Make you memorise a surah." You held up a hand before Mihirmah could speak. "I'm not kidding. And... I have a plan. Just... you'll need to stay awake the entire night."

-

"Mihirmah- Mihirmah, wake up." You nudge the sleeping princess, awake. Its been 7 hours into your all nighter and Mihirmah's been asleep for 2 of them. You heard her groan from her position, head resting on the table.

"Mihirmah!" You called her harshly, shaking her shoulder. She smacked your hand away and continued to rest.

Thats it, I'm going to yank your hair-

The door opened making you turn. A young man was standing there, his eyes landing on Mihirmah and then at you.

"Mihirmah?" He called her name gently, but the girl who you'd been expecting to be dead asleep suddenly jumped up at his voice.

"Mehmed?!" Her eyes sparkled before getting up and jumping into his arms, just as you turned your head away and picked up your veil to wear.

Sehzade (prince) Mehmed, second son of Sultan Suleiman, first son of Hurrem. The 24 year old prince hugged his sister and spun her around, the two siblings laughing. Though you already know of his fate- the prince will die young. He will not inherit the throne.

"When did you come back from Manisa?!" Mihirmah asked him.

He pecked her forehead. "Just now. I made my way straight here and I was expecting you to be asleep, but.... what exactly is it that you're doing?" Mehmed asked, and Mihirmah followed his gaze to you.

"Ah. This is Y/n, she's my Quran teacher. I have to memorise a surah and recite it at dinner." She explained.

He raised a brow. "Since when did you have such an interest? Let me guess- father?" She scrunched her nose and nodded. "Forget about that, tell me about your adventures! Come on-" You cleared your throat loudly, making both siblings look at you.

"What?" Mihirmah asked.

"Sultana, we still have to prepare for tonight." You said as gently as you could without popping a vessel in your head.

Mihirmah waved you off. "No need! I've already memorised the surah! I'm all prepared-"

"Sultana." You cut her off. "Memorising is one thing... reciting it properly is another. Your parents will be expecting perfection which-with all due respect, you are nowhere near it."

There was deafening silence in the room as you and Mihirmah stared each other down, neither woman backing away.

"Y/n, I said I'm done for tonight. That means, I. Am. Done." Mihirmah emphasised.

"I'm the teacher and I took responsibility over this matter in front of the Sultan and Sultana. I decide when you. Are. Done." You replied back in the same tone, hands folded in front of you.

I am not letting a spoiled brat ruin my life.

Mehmed looked at the two of you, confusion clouding his mind. Mihirmah doesnt let anyone talk to her this way and get away with it. Usually by now, you wouldve been thrown into the dungeons for torture. He knows his sister and her crazy tendencies, so he doesnt understand why she's putting up with this.

There is something deeper going on here.

"Both of you, stand down." You both broke off the intense stare off and looked at Mehmed. Clasping Mihirmah's hand, he pulled her to the ottomans and sat down beside her, gesturing you to sit down on the floor pillow.

"Now, tell me what is going on?"

After explaining the mess Mihirmah had dragged you two in, Mehmed hummed.

"Mihirmah." He looked at his sister. "It doesnt matter if Y/n told the truth or the lie to mom, she'd be in trouble either way. But there is only one way you wont be in trouble, and that is to pass this test. Prove mom wrong. You can do it- hey, look at me." He cupped Mihirmah's cheeks. "I know you can do it. And to show you my support, I will stay by your side the entire time. Now, lets practice, hm?"

-

You and Mehmed left Mihirmah's room at 8 in the morning, letting her to catch some shut eye.

You mutely yawned under your niqaab, though your back wasnt as silent when you cracked it. You heard Mehmed chuckle behind you, and you quickly composed yourself.

"My sister wore you out, huh?" He had a tired smile on his lips, eyes drooping but still a glint of amusement.

"Of course not, sehzade." You noticed the small cut on the outer end of his left brow. He had ash brown hair, similar to Mihirmah's. If you didnt know better, you'd think the two were twins with how much they resembled. Thick lips, strong nose, high cheek bones.

"You shouldn't lie to a prince, you know?" He rubbed his eyes. "Mihirmah... she is a little-" Annoying? Bitchy? Selfish? "-headstrong, but she's always been this way. Dont take it to heart. She is a good person, you just need to be patient with her."

You stayed quiet as he spoke. What could you really say? Ah no, your sister is actually just a spoiled brat and needs a kicking down?

"Mihirmah likes you, Y/n. It is a lot to ask but... I would appreciate it if you would continue to have her back."

"As you wish, sehzade."

Mehmet gave you one last smile before leaving. "Get some sleep, Y/n."

You turned around and started making your way back towards the harem to your chambers, your mind occupied by the thoughts of the painting Baldwin had made.

I need to destroy it. You decided. If it has survived 400 years, it might survive another 400, and I dont want to take the risk of it appearing in a museum one day.

You're walking down the hall, trying to remember which room it was you had found the paintings in when suddenly you're yanked to a corner.

"hey-!"You're silenced by a hand covering your mouth. A woman was holding you.

"Shh. Its fine. I just want to talk." She pulled her hand away, making you take a huge gulp of air. "What? You cant say hello like a normal person?" You spat at her. She narrowed her eyes at you. "Watch your tone. I'm Gul, the sultana's lady-in-waiting." Or just personal servant. You thought. Wait, sultana?

"Hurrem sultana-" "No, Mahidevran sultana, the first wife of Sultan Suleiman and the one you should always obey and respect. Now come along, she wishes to talk to you." She began pulling you down the corridor.

"Talk to me about what?" She didnt answer you.

Mahidevran sultana, the first wife of the sultan who eventually fells out of his favour when Hurrem arrives. She was able to give birth to one son- sehzade Mustafa, the eldest heir of the sultan, who will also not inherit the throne and will be executed on the orders of his father.

You can only guess how protective Mahidevran would be of both her son and the throne, seeing as she only has one child compared to Hurrem sultana's five, four of which are male heirs. And she has every reason to be threatened too because Hurrem has done what has never been done before.

Hurrem sultana was a non muslim woman captured from Crimea, sold as a slave in Constantinople, became a concubine in the harem and slowly rose to the ranks to be Suleiman's favourite, and later, become his legal wife. She bore majority of his sons, and broke the traditional rule of. "one imperial concubine - one son", was beaten up by Mahidevran which angered Suleiman, earned the title of Haseki Sultana (which means "favourite") and it shocked everyone because never before was a slave elevated to the level of becoming the legal wife of the sultan.

Hurrem sultana was force to be reckoned with. And as history shows, Hurrem would be the victorious one.

Finally reaching the sultana's chambers, you were pushed in by Gul. You immeadiately fell into a courtesy, not wanting to anger the sultana.

"So... who exactly are you?" You looked up, brows knitting in confusion at her question. Mahidevran was sitting on her ottoman, her face expressionless as she stared you down. She was beautiful, her features sharp and slim, collar bones prominent along with her long neck, she looked like a supermodel. But... Hurrem was prettier.

"I- I'm Y/n." You answered her, but she didnt look satisfied. "What is your relation with Hurrem? Are you sleeping with her son, Mehmed?"

"I- I beg your pardon?" You stammered. She stood up and strode to you, making you back up.

"Do not lie to me, girl. My servants saw you entering Hurrem's chambers yesterday, and leaving with Mehmed today."

"Its not what it looks like, sultana." You shook your head. "I am not a concubine and I am not sleeping with anyone! Sultan Suleiman hired me to teach Mihirmah sultana Quran."

"That doesnt explain why you were with Hurrem or Mehmed."

"Hurrem sultana wanted to know how far her daughter has progressed in her lessons and asked Mihirmah to recite a surah at dinner to prove that she's been studying. Sehzade Mehmed and I were with Mihirmah sultana all night helping her prepare for tonight." You explained the situation and Mahidevran stared at you with no expression. For a moment, you thought she didnt believe you but then her lips quirked up.

"Dinner, you say?" You gave a hesitant nod. "Very well, off you go."

As soon as you were out of the room, you leaned against the wall and placed a hand over your chest, feeling your rapidly beating heart. Mahidevran may not be as pretty as Hurrem, but she was definitely scarier. You really did think she was going to torture you.

Weakly, you began walking again. You want to go back to your room and sleep off the headache that was forming, but you still have the stupid portrait to destroy.

Where the hell was that stupid room?

After an hour or so of roaming around and avoiding Baris Agha because you dont have it in you to put up with insults, you finally found the room. You softly knocked on the door first, checking if the sultan or someone else was in the room. When no one answered, you slowly opened the door and looked around. No one was there.

You walked inside and spotted the pile still there, and when you removed the silk off it, everything was still there- untouched, including your portrait.

"What are you doing?"

Second time. You've been caught in here for the second time.

Baldwin has to have cast a curse on you. There is no other explanation for such badluck.

You turned around, praying it was Baris Agha or anyone else, just not the sultan.

As soon as you spotted the royal turban, you could hear Baldwin laughing in the back of your head.

You bowed. "Sehazade- I-"

He looked older than Mehmed, so your best guess was that this was Mustafa.

"I asked, what you were doing with my war loot?" So, it is Mustafa. Mihirmah did say he went on a conquest recently.

"I was-" you cleared your throat. "I was merely admiring the calligraphy."

He tilted his head to look behind you. "There's no calligraphy on the portrait."

"I was admiring... the portrait."

"Were you planning on stealing it?"

"What? No." You peered at him through your niqaab. "It would not be the brightest idea to steal a large canvas and walk through the palace that is littered with guards."

He hummed. "You could go out the window."

"And ruin the painting or risk breaking my legs?"

"Huh. So what do you think would be the best way to steal this painting?" What kind of trick question is this?

"Not that I am stealing it, but if I were to- I'd most likely remove it from the canvas and roll it up, tuck it under my dress or hide it somewhere else and then leave with it. Or maybe pass it to another person, to make myself less suspicious."

"For someone who claims they're not stealing it, that does sound like you put a lot of thought in it." Mustafa admitted.

You frowned. "I was just pointing out the obvious. As I said, I am not a thief!"

"Then who are you?"

"I'm Y/n, Mihirmah sultana's Quran teacher-" He chuckled. "Sure, that's believable."

"Its true."

"You expect me to believe Mihirmah, my little sister who would much rather spend her days skinning someone, is learning Quran?" He smiled, making dimples appear on his cheeks.

"Its not by choice. Sultan Suleiman hired me." He stopped smiling.

"The Sultan... hired you?" Mustafa asked. What- why would his father hire you? You're just a young girl, almost the same age as Mihirmah.

"You can ask him if you dont believe me." You were tired of being insulted. What, does he think you're not smart enough to teach someone? Or just plain ole ugly?

"I-"

"Y/n! Ugh! There you are!" Baris Agha voice cut through, and as soon as he spotted Mustafa, he bowed, but you saw the momentary glance of confusion of why you were with him.

"Sehzade." Baris greeted him. Mustafa acknowledged him with a single nod. "Please excuse me, but I must take Hatun Y/n. Mihirmah sultana has demanded her presence."

Mustafa nodded again, letting Baris Agha drag you out by the arm. He looked at you trying to free your arm from his painful grip while Baris chewed your ear out. Mustafa shook his head before turning around to look at the portrait you were "admiring".

It is... something.

-

By dinner time, your head was pounding to the point you thought someone was hammering a nail in your head. Instead of spending the rest of the day catching some sleep, Mihirmah had demanded you help her dress "modestly" for her Quran recitation tonight. She wanted a look that really captured her "angelic and spirutal" personality.

You were sure your eyes were blood shot, from the lack of sleep. You didnt eat anything since yesterday, because you were almost constantly with royalty and God forbid you ate with them. No, they're "superior" and you dont deserve to eat or take care of yourself unless they allow you to.

"How do I look?" Mihirmah asked you. You were standing outside the royal dining room, where she would first go and have dinner with her family before showing what she's learnt so far.

"Like you just returned from Hajj pilgrimage." You rolled your eyes. She shot you a glare. "You look fine, Mihirmah. Just... stay calm and remember what I've taught you. You got this." She nodded before entering the room where her family awaited her.

You leaned against the wall and sighed, about to close your eyes to take a power nap when Baris Agha nudged you.

"Wake up! Sultana and sehzade are here." He whispered harshly, just as you spotted Mahidevran and Mustafa walking down the hall. You and Baris bowed with the guards.

"Sultana. Sehzade." Baris greeted them sweetly. "The dining hall is currently occupied. Sultan Suleiman is having dinner with his family."

"And what are we, Baris?" Mahidevran snapped, making Baris's courteous smile falter. "I am his first wife, Mustafa- his first son. We have more right to be here than Hurrem and her kids."

"Sultana-" Baris tried to persuade her but she beat him to it by walking past and knocking on the door.

"Enter!" Suleiman called from inside. The servants opened the door, allowing Mahidevran and Mustafa inside.

They bowed to Suleiman. "I hope we're not interrupting, sultan. We just heard that our dear Mihirmah would be reading Quran today and I just couldnt stop myself from coming. I just want to witness our little Mihirmah becoming so connected with her religion, perhaps even inspire me." She smiled widely, placing a hand on Mustafa's back. "I brought her elder brother to show our support. May we join you, sultan?"

Suleiman stared at them before nodding. "Of course, Mahidevran. We're all family here."

Mahidevran couldnt help the smirk that formed on her lips as she saw the pissed off look on Hurrem's face and the alarmed one Mihirmah's. While Hurrem did hope to teach a lesson to her daughter to not lie to her, she wouldnt want to do it by embarrassing her in front of Mahidevran.

The doors closed and their dinner began. You leaned against the wall again to rest your eyes but of course, Baris Agha had to mutter incoherently about the whole situation.

"Allah! Allah! What are we going to do? This might as well be the start of another war inside! Hurrem sultana and Mahidevran sultana head-to-head again-" He elbowed you hard, making you yelp. "Did you tell Mahidevran to come here?! I swear, I will yank your tongue out and strangle you with it."

"Baris Agha, at this rate, I'll be the one to strangle you if you touch me one more time." You threatened, shoving him away roughly.

"You little-" The doors opened again, a servant walked out.

"Hatun Y/n. Sultan has summoned you."

You walked inside, courtesying to the royal family.

Suleiman had this gentle look in his eyes. "Ah. This is Y/n, the teacher I hired for Mihirmah." He introduced you to his family, unbeknownst to him they'd already met you. He looked at you. "I wanted you to be here as Mihirmah recited for us."

"I'm honoured, sultan." You said softly, eyes to the ground as Mihirmah stood up and walked to the center of the room.

Suleiman gave her a nod to start.

Mihirmah took a deep breath in, closed her eyes and started reciting.

إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ "

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ

"إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ

15 seconds. Thats all it took for Mihirmah to recite the shortest surah in the Quran, with almost perfect qirat. The surah that usually took 10 minutes for children to learn, took Mihirmah all night to memorise with near-perfect pronunciation. Sure, this was not what anyone was expecting, especially not Hurrem when she challenged you and Mihirmah, but the deal was to recite a surah from Quran, by memory. It just so happened to be the shortest one, the easiest one. You won fair and square.

"MashAllah, Mihirmah. That was beautiful. I am so proud of you." Suleiman beamed, his eyes shining with pride. Mihirmah grinned, running to kiss her father's cheeks.

"Yes, Mihirmah. That was... nice." Hurrem feigned a smile, just happy that she wasnt embarrassed in front of Mahidevran.

"Thank you, mom. I guess I just had a really good teacher." Mihirmah shot you a grateful look, making everyone in the room look at you. Your face flushed, and you were grateful for the niqaab to hide your face.

"Oh- um, you're just a keen learner, sultana." You said softly.

Mahidevran lips quirked up, and Hurrem saw the evil glint in her eyes. "Oh Mihirmah, you read so wonderfully. Your voice- ah! It just moved me. Please, Mihirmah- would you be kind enough to recite for me again? I'm sure your father would love to hear you as well."

Mihirmah's brows furrowed slightly. "I- of course, sultana." She closed her eyes and was about to recite the same surah again when Mahidevran's voice stopped her.

"Oh no, Mihirmah. I was hoping to hear something else."

Mihirmah's face fell. "But this is what I've memorised-"

"That's quiet alright, sweetie. You can always read it from the Quran. This isnt a test!" She chuckled. "I'm sure your teacher has taught you the basics! Here, I even brought the Quran with me." She handed Mihirmah the Holy book.

So this is how she planned to embarrass Mihirmah. She knew the young girl was neither interested nor good at learning Quran, so now when Mihirmah would stammer upon her words, then Suleiman and Hurrem will be ashamed that their Muslim daughter, at the age of 19, cannot even recite properly. Hopefully, this might even cause the couple to fight and Mihirmah to fall from the graces of her father's eyes.

Nervously, Mihirmah slowly opened the book, turning to the first page. She cleared her throat, as it'd help.

It didnt.

Mihirmah stammered and stumbled over her words many times, to the point that the first surah that should've taken less than a minute to recite, ended up taking way longer than anyone would like to admit.

As Mihirmah finished reading, you could see the tears welling up in her eyes and redness in her cheeks. She was utterly embarrassed, she felt she had let her parents down.

"Oh Mihirmah~" Mahidevran cooed. "That was.... not good at all, darling."

"I-" Mihirmah tried to muster up an excuse but the sultana did not care.

"I mean- you were just a disaster! Stuttering and making so many mistakes, and that too with the book open!"

"Mahidevran, enough." Hurrem warned.

Mahidevran narrowed her eyes at her. "What? Oh Hurrem, I am not trying to embarrass Mihirmah! In fact, I think she's not at fault. Well, not completely. I suppose she just doesnt have a good teacher."

Everyone was now looking at you.

Is this how everything ends up becoming your fault and you're the one who gets punished?

Fuck. This.

"Excuse me?" You couldnt help the irritation seep in your voice.

Mahidevran raised a brow at you. "Am I wrong? You were supposed to be the one responsible for teaching our princess Quran. And yet, she just made a fool out of herself. You tried to fool us by making Mihirmah learn the shortest surah, but look at her now- barely able to read from the book!"

Your eyes widened. Is she for real?

"I think you're wrong, sultana." Everyone looked at you as you stated boldly. "Yes, Mihirmah sultana did stammer and made mistakes as she read but I think thats much more valuable." You sighed. "Mihirmah sultana had to make twice the effort to read the Quran than one usually would, but she will also get twice the reward from Allah for her efforts. She knew she wont read well, she knows she's just a beginner at this stage, but she didnt let it stop her. And Allah will reward her for that, He knows what was in her heart, her intentions, despite what anyone has to say about her skills."

"And as for "trying to fool" anyone here- "You looked her dead in the eye. "I find that accusation insulting to the very core. You say that I made Mihirmah sultana memorise the shortest surah in the Quran. I did. Surah Kawthar is indeed the shortest surah, but does that mean it is less important? Not worthy to be read, or be in the Holy Book altogether?"

Mahidevran was frowning as you looked at her. "Do you claim to know better than Allah as to what should or shouldn't be in His divine book? Surah Kawthar may be the shortest surah in the Quran but it is one that I find deep comfort in. As the surah translates-

Indeed, We have granted you ˹O Prophet˺ abundant goodness.

So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺

Only the one who hates you is truly cut off ˹from any goodness˺.

And what does this tell us? The background of these verses is that when our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) lost his son, his enemies, the non believers would make fun of him that "Islam will end now because Muhammad had no male heir to continue to grow the religion, to spread the word of Allah." But Allah wouldn't abandon his beloved prophet, even when he was depressed.

This Surah was sent down when the nonbelievers of Makkah taunted the Holy Prophet (PBUH) because he had lost all his male issues, and called him 'abtar' or insulted him for some other reason. The present Surah gives an answer to the taunts of the nonbelievers, and maintains that there is no justification for calling the Holy Prophet (PBUH) an 'abtar' only because he had no male child alive, not only because his lineal offspring will remain till the Day of Judgment, though from his daughters, but he was destined to be the spiritual father of a multitude of sons in all ages to the end of time, sons who were to be far more faithful, obedient and loving than the sons of any father, and they will outnumber the followers of all the Prophets that came before him. The Surah has also highlights the great honor and respect given to him by Allah.

I also like to think that the reason why this Surah was included in the Quran was so that Muslims in general would also be comforted by the word of Allah. That all the Muslims, even if they were not from Prophet Muhammad's direct lineage, we are his ummah and so we will also enjoy the river Kawthar.

Kawthar refers to a river in paradise, which translates "a river that contains abundant goodness" and we will enjoy the greatest honour and respect, as our Prophet Muhammad's ummah."

You took a deep breath. "So, Mahidevran sultana... do you still accuse me of fooling anyone?"

The room was dead silent. You may have indirectly insulted Mahidevran and broken so many rules, but everything you said was true. It was clear. You were smart and educated, Suleiman had no doubt about it when he first met you. And now, he was only more reassured of his decision to make you Mihirmah's teacher.

"Very well said, Y/n." Suleiman broke the silence. Standing up, he walked over to Mihirmah, holding her shoulder and pressing a kiss to her forehead, comforting his daughter.

"I am very proud of you, Mihirmah. I can see the hardwork you did." He hugged her again, pressing another kiss to her forehead as she sniffled softly. "I knew you'd do well, so I brought a gift for you."

Mihirmah watched as a servant brought a wooden box lined with velvet and gems. Opening it, she gasped softly.

It was a gold bracelet with rubies and emeralds, lined in an intricate pattern.

Hurrem smiled as Suleiman put the bracelet around his daughter's wrist, before bringing her hand to his lips and pecking it.

He was a proud father.

"And Y/n-" You stiffened. Suleiman turned towards you, his body towering over you. "You did a fine job at not only teaching Mihirmah, but also helping us understand the significance of Surah Kawther."

A servant brought box, similar to Mihirmah's. Opening it, you saw a bracelet, identical to Mihirmah's.

"This is for you." Suleiman smiled as he placed the bracelet around your trembling hand.

"I- sultan-" you tried to return it but Suleiman silenced you.

"I crafted this with my own hands. It'll be rude of you to refuse." Your eyes widened at his serious tone and you immediately bowed your head.

"T-thank you, sultan." He hummed, returning to his seat while Mihirmah hugged you, giggling.

Dinner continued on as Mihirmah and her siblings began chattering once you left, but something had disturbed both Hurrem and Mahidevran.

-

"What happened inside? Catfight?" Baris Agha, the gossiper asked as you stumbled out of the room. His eyes fell on the bracelet and he snatched your hand. "Allah! Allah! Did you steal this?! I will have you-"

"Sultan Suleiman gifted it to me." Baris dropped your hand.

"S-sultan? Sultan's gift?" He whispered to himself in disbelief, but you were already walking away. You were tired, your headache had now turned into a migraine and your energy levels had dropped. All you wanted was to curl up in bed and at this point, you dont care if you wake up or not.

But sleep is for the fortunate ones. For you, Baris Agha was written.

"Y/n! You- stop! Listen!" He ran up behind you, pulling your shoulder to make you stop. "You- Sultan Suleiman gifted you the bracelet?! Do you know what this means?"

You heaved a sigh, your vision getting blurry. "Baris, just- just shut up. I need to... sleep." You turned around and started walking, not realising just how blurry your vision was, or how you were leaning against the wall for support.

All you saw was blurry figure standing in front of you, before you lost your footing. The figure caught you, and you heard Baris yell your name before losing consciousness.

-

Hurrem was in Suleiman's chambers. She was going to spend the night here, it seemed. Suleiman had summoned her himself tonight.

Suleiman walked inside, and when he spotted his wife, he smiled. Hurrem returned the smile, walking upto him and kissing him.

"Suleiman..." She whispered against his lips. "You summoned me?"

"I did." He lead her to the bed, sitting down. "What do you think of Y/n?"

She tilted her head. Y/n? "I suppose she is a good teacher. Smart. Well educated, at least religion wise."

He let out a hum. "What else?"

"What else, Suleiman? I dont know her." Suleiman chuckled, making her even more confused. Why are you being brought up right now?

"Well, try getting to know her better." "Why?"

Suleiman shrugged. "You'll know in due time."

Hurrem couldnt put her mind at peace the rest of the night. Why was Suleiman curious about you? He couldnt possibly want you- no. No. She saw him with you. He practically looked at you the same way he looked at Mihirmah. Thats why he gave you both the same bracelets-

Oh no.

-

You woke up when you felt something cool on your forehead. Opening your eyes, a wet rag blocked your vision. You pushed the rag away, accidentally touching the hand that was holding the rag there.

A man was sitting on your bedside. He had honey-coloured eyes, short, well kept dark brown hair and tanned skin.

"You can let go of my hand, Hatun Y/n." He grinned.

Your face turned red as you dropped his hand. "I- sorry."

"No worries. You're just disoriented from earlier. Exhaustion, the physicians say." He chuckled, standing up and you noticed Baris standing in the corner now. "You will need to get used to working long hours, especially now." Baris raised his brows at you as he said that, making the man laugh again.

"I will take my leave now. Take care, Hatun Y/n. And let me know if she needs anything, Baris."

"Of course, Ibrahim pasha." He bid farewell to the vizir.

The man said before leaving. Baris immediately rushed to you, grinning from ear to ear.

"What?"

"Who would've guessed- the preacher to be the tempteress?"

"Excuse me?" You glared at him. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Baris waved you off. "Well, be flattered! I mean- you're going to be married to a sehzade soon-"

"Woah woah! What are you talking about?"

Baris stared at you. "Oh, you really dont know, do you?" You looked even more puzzled. Baris grabbed your wrist, showing you the bracelet. "This is made by sultan Suleiman. The sultan only gives handmade gifts to family and close relatives. And since I've been here since the sultan married the first sultana, I know you're not his secret love child, which means..." he waited for you to catch on, but giving up when you took too long.

"Y/n, if you're not related to him blood, then you will become related to him by becoming a part of his family. Which will be by you becoming his daughter-in-law!" He exclaimed.

Your face paled. No, no!

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies, darling." Baris tapped your chin. "And I suggest you hide your bracelet for a while. Dont want the concubines to get jealous, hm?"

So?? Thoughts??? Who do you think will be the yanderes? What do you think will happen next???

PART 9 is here!

[the-anastasia]

Dark Rise Summary

Leaving this here for anyone else about to read the second book and who remembers f-all from the first one. (And since I couldn’t find a good one online.) Spoilers ahead, obvs:

Will came to London to find out who killed his mom. It was Simon’s dad, Edmund, the Earl of Sinclair. He worked on Simon’s ship and tried to subterfuge it. His mom’s old servant finds him and gives him a medallion. He was caught by Simon’s men and shackled down in one of Simon’s ships. All Simon’s men got a brand on their arm, a letter S. Tom was there that day to get the brand and his sister Violet followed him. Stewards attack the ship trying to get one of their own back from Simon - Marcus. They fight. Justice fights Tom and when they fight in the ship a crate opens and it’s the corrupted blade and it starts destroying the ship and it can kill people with a touch but Will manages to sheathe it and tells to Violet to get everyone out and she does but then comes back to help Will. Since Justice found them there on the ship he assumes they were both Simon’s prisoners and takes them to an inn and tells them the ancient history. Violet tries to go back to her family but overhears her dad saying he only kept her alive cause she and Tom are both lions and Tom needs to kill another lion to get his full powers so she sashays away. Justice takes Violet and Will to the hall of Stewards (formerly the hall of kings). He thinks Will is the blood of the lady cause of the medallion. The lady is who killed the dark king in the past. They train in the hall of stewards and the elder steward tries to get Will to reach the light inside him and bring a dead hawthorn tree back to life but he can’t. Elder Steward tells Will the dark king will be reborn and Simon is trying to bring him back. The first step is to unleash a shadow.

One night Will and Violet hear some Stewards returning from patrol and sneak out to eavesdrop. Justice and others heard where Marcus might be and went out to get him but it was a trap. James was there. In old world he was servant of light but turned and started serving the dark king. He’s called the betrayer and he is a reborn so he can use magic and almost killed them all. Will thinks they want Marcus back so desperately cause he knows how to summon a shadow. Violet says she could find out how to get him back.

They sneak out back to London and she goes to back to her family and overhears where James will be alone and when. Will goes to secretly meet Simon’s fiancée Katherine and they develop a thing. When they return to the hall they are taken and shackled. Apparently Cyprian never trusted Violet, an outsider, so he followed her. They tell her they know she’s a lion and lions fought for the dark king so she must be bad. They try to tell them they know how to get to Marcus but no one trusts them. Then surprisingly Cyprian comes to free them and sneak them out. Marcus was his brother (The high janisarry adopted them both after “losing his son”). Cyprian says if there’s even a small chance they’re telling the truth and they could get Marcus he’ll risk it.

They corner James at Robert Drakes Ivory shop. Devon the last unicorn works there. He hides his identity. They capture James and slam some anti magic shackles on him and bring him back to the hall. The stewards have a severed unicorn’s horn (Devon’s) and it compels someone to tell the truth but you gotta stab them. Will takes it and with a slow, homoerotic precision stabs James in the shoulder. They learn that the High Janissary is his real dad. He was kicked out as a child when they found out who he was. Scared and alone he found the only person willing to take him in, Simon’s dad. They learn where Marcus is being held. That Simon is looking for a powerful artifact and that a man named Gauthier had come to England with it. But then James also tells them all the truth about the cup of the Stewards. The cup is what the novitiates drink from to get their steward strength. But it’s cursed and eventually turns them into shadow. Four kings of the Hall were offered great power in exchange for a price by the dark king. 3 of them agreed and drank from the Cup. Those who drank gained extraordinary physical abilities for a time. But when their time was done they turned into shadow kings controlled by the dark king. Chaos in the hall ensues. Everyone realizes the stewards are desperate to get Marcus back cause he about to be shadow boy. They plan a full frontal assault to get him back.

Will tells Cyprian and Violet there might be another way. They sneak out and Will goes to meet up with Katherine. They kiss and a Hawthorne tree in the garden by her house blooms. Katherine freaks out and asks Will “what are you”. Her lady’s maid came out looking for her but before they parted Will tells Katherine Simon is not a good man and if you ever feel in danger come to the marsh (where the hall is) and you’ll be safe. Failing to get any useful information from Katherine the three return but Marcus had already turned and came into the hall and killed everyone. Elder Steward managed to fight him and kill him cause she was almost shadow herself at that point before dying herself. The only survivors were her two janissaries, Grace and Sarah. Janissaries fail the test and so don’t drink from the cups. They become knowledge keepers, scholars, artisans, etc.

They go to find Gauthier and James is already there. A novitiane (Emery) had freed him after they left cause he had the feels for James. They overpower and shackle him again. Apparently the mighty artifact Gauthier has is a collar that controls James. Ones its on it can never be removed. The Dark King used it to control James then had him executed so he can be reborn with him. The executioner kept the collar and it was passed down through generations to Gauthier. It’s dark power ending their family line to one sad old man hanging on to the collar. Will decides to free James and gives him the collar.

Katherine and her little sister Elizabeth do come to the hall after she overhears Simon talking about killing people. She says Simon said he needs the blood of the lady to release the shadow kings from a stone they’re trapped in and that will make the dark king return. Will realizes Simon can use the blood of his mother where she was killed so he sneaks out and goes to the place. He kills Simon’s remnants and then Simon (but not before he managed to release the shadow kings). Simon tried to kill Will with the corrupted blade but of course it didn’t work on Will cause surprise surprise he’s actually the dark king reborn. Turns out his mom had tried to kill him. Katherine and Elizabeth were her daughters who she gave away to protect them. Devon appears there and tells him he knew who he is all along and calls him my king for some reason (even though the dark king slaughtered the unicorns who were fighting with the stewards). Devon also kills his boss and friend Robert after Robert steals his horn back and gives it to him saying he knew all along. Frankly, Devon just doesn’t make any sense. Katherine apparently followed Will and overheard everything. Will tells her she’s the one who made the tree bloom and she’s the blood of the lady. They can hear two shadow kings coming for her. Will commands them back to the stone. Katherine is scared of Will. She picks up the sword to fight him but the corrupted blade kills her.

Back in the hall Elithabeth stumbles and touches the dead tree and it comes to light and they realize she’s the blood of the lady. The third shadow king is there and breaks through the hall wards. Violet tells them all to run and stays to fight the king. She defeats him with a lions shield that was hanging in the hall as a relic of the old world.

Will goes to an inn to write a letter to Katherine’s aunt and uncle who were taking care of her. James shows up there. He doesn’t know who Will actually is and tells him he’s there to follow Will. Will says “Of course you are.”

Characters:

Will Kempen - the dark king (Sacrean) reborn. Dark king gave the order to kill all his servants so they be reborn with him.

The Lady - her and dark king loved each other and she killed him.

Eleanor Kempen - Will’s mom. The Lady’s descendant. Sister Mary was killed by Simon. Also mom to Katherine and Elizabeth.

Mathew - servant who worked for Will’s mother. Gave him her medallion.

Violet - Will’s friend. Half Indian on mother’s side. Half brother Tom. Super strength. Father kept her alive so Tom could kill one like him in order to come into his power.

Simon/Lord Crenshaw - Descendent of dark king who wants to bring him back. Coat of arms: three black hounds.

Tom - Simon’s lion. Super strength. Violet’s bro.

Stewards - keepers of the last flame. And of the knowledge of the old world. Fighters for the light. Wear white.

Janissaries - those who don’t wanna be stewards or fail the tests. Wear blue.

Novitiates - training to become stewards. Wear grey.

Marcus - Steward. caught by Simon. Cyprian’s brother. Turned to shadow.

Cyprian - the book’s Draco Malfoy. Novitiate.

High janissary Jannick - Cyprian’s and Marcus’ adopted father. Biological dad to James.

Justice - Steward. Was sheildmate to Marcus.

Elder steward / Euphemia - the wisest and most powerful Stewards.

Grace and Sarah - Elder Steward’s janissaries. Grace is more put together.

Leda - Steward captain

Katherine Kent - Simon’s fiancée.

Elizabeth Kent - 10yo. Katherine’s sister.

James St. Clair - Dark kings sexy boy toy. The Betrayer reborn. Used to be on side of light before the king slapped a collar on him and used it to control him and possibly also took him to bed.

Remnants - have part of ancient dark kings inner guard’s armor. The book’s Nazgûl. All living things wither at their touch.

Valdithar - Will’s brave horsie

Devon - unicorn. Clerk of ivory merchant Robert Drake. Sometimes a runner for Simon.

Gauthier - descendant to Rathorn, who executed the betrayer.

Objects:

Magic Mirror - in which Will looks into the past and sees the lady. He finds this mirror in a warehouse by the docks. It’s never mentioned again.

Medallion - inscribed “I cannot return when I’m called to fight so I will have a child” AKA the hawthorn’s flower, The lady’s medallion. Will’s mom had it. It got passed on to him.

The corrupted blade - used to be sword of the champion, Ekthalion. Corrupted by one drop of blood of dark king. Legend has it a champion can restore it.

The final flame - atop the hall

Shield of rassalon - shield of the first lion

The hawthorn tree - The tree stone in the hall of Stewart’s used to be tree of light. The lady’s touch will bring it back to life and make it shine

Cup of the stewards - they drink from it to get strength but eventually it turns them dark. “calico del re”. That’s why they’re in pairs and have shield mates. To watch for change and kill the other when the time comes.

The shadow stone - 3/4 kings made bargain with the dark king. They got power but upon their death turned into creatures of shadow. Are trapped in the stone. Will commands two back into the stone after they’re released. One is killed by Violet.

Gold collar with rubies - controls James. Never opens once it’s on.

Quotes: “Kindness is never a mistake, somewhere in the heart it is always remembered.” Pg104 (nothing to do with the summary I just like it.)

[teratocrat]

A single yellow dwarf, unremarkable, of about 1.0218 solar masses. And in its corona, dancing aurora-dragons, ribbons and feathers of nine-colored light, singing and reciting poetry to each other and hitching freezing rides on the asteroids and comets that swing close enough to the star to leap out onto.

One small, dense planet, frosted over with incandescent stormclouds that snow lead flakes onto the slopes of volcanoes whose calderas are choked with galena coral reefs, the bones of colonies of radiation-tolerant extremophilic microorganisms, and where sulfur-swamps coat the lazy tideless beaches of the planet's only ocean, stirred and tilled by people like lanky bundles of black ironstraw, who heap their storehouses high with xanthous dried fusegrass.

One larger, much cooler planet, the calcite gleam of its moon hidden from the surface much of the time by cloudcover. warm, shallow, mildly acidic seas of lavender mucous, tentative marshes of weeping fuschia ferns, translucent lapine blobs with probing antennae that could be eyes or ears or questing tongues, and in the middle of the deepest ocean, a massive gelatinous thing, a superorganism like a rose with its stem plunging down into the volcanic baths of an oceanic rift, a mind from whom all other minds on this planet came and to which they occasionally return, eager to share their stories.

One rocky planet, bitterly cold and with the merest wisps of atmosphere clinging to it. Lifeless, all its water burned off it by baleful solar glare, the vast horizon-spanning saltpan seafloors bone-bare under the violet sky, and its moon hanging above like a clenched fist of black basalt.

An asteroid belt, scattered diamond motes of ice and stone and clay and metals, with three dwarf planets in its embrace, and the largest of them bearing a banner of silver and midnight, a unicorn guarding some alien tree.

A planet one might almost mistake for Earth, for all its snake-necked tortoise-camels and gold-feathered tigermen, for all its gleaming pentagonal ziggurats of diamond and steel, its three space elevators anchored in the emerald forests that girdle the equator, the capital of an interplanetary empire founded at the mouth of an immense river lazily piling hundreds of tons of silt a year into delta marshes, its vast ports berthing wide, flat-bottomed barges hauling iron and salt and sand and cinnabar, barrels of fish and wine and oil and perfumes, tigerman janissaries and scholars and poets and wizards, all tallied and accounted for in the lightning thoughts of supercomputers domesticated by bureaucracy. spaceplanes like silver songbirds or leaping fish ferrying the nobility (who disdain regular shuttle flights from the tips of the space elevators as base transportation for commoners) from the surface of the planet to its moon above, or to any number of gleaming stations in high orbit.

A gas giant, pale as pearl streaked with delicate pink and green pastels, skirted by dozens of captured child-moons, many of them bearing the same unicorn banner, some of them mined for this or that rare earth element, cities buried under the shielding crust of a scant handful, and two of them habitiformed enough to support imperial hunting grounds - managed grasslands or forests full of imported game - and hunting lodges of squat domes and towering spires, mirrored labyrinthine greenhouse-gardens and treasure-vaults of platinum jewelry set with nebula-gems snatched from their condensation-nests in the gas giant's depths.

Another gas giant, the blues and purples of a ripe plum blushing from clouds of midnight-black marbled with gold, icy rings slicing through swirling lunar orbits, merchants and mercenaries and privateers gliding from port to port in their sapphire-hulled ships, out where the empire scrabbles to find purchase. hollowed-out asteroids house cylindrical farms or monasteries of fatalistic leonine faiths or the huddled bodies of wound-down murine clockwork eunuchs, commissioned to advise and amuse some tiger-empress whose phoenix standard had long since faded into obscurity by the time the founder of the unicorn-banner dynasty first rallied soldiers to his cause.

An Earth-sized ball of grey-green ice, glassy smooth surfaces broken up by cryovolcanoes pumping volatiles up from a sooty core to rain down again in miserable pattering drizzles of methane through ammonia blizzards.

An ice giant, the immense azure sphere its inward neighbor might have been were it not for the vagaries of fate as involved in early star system formation, accompanied by seventeen bitterly cold moons whose tides have woven something enormous and ponderous of thought out of the inner sea of supercritical fluids.

a dozen or more dwarf planets of packed stone and ice, swinging through the outer black clouds on vastly elliptical orbits, witnesses to tumbling nickel-iron visitors and alien probes relaying streams of blurry photography and other observations back to some unknown homeworld as they fall endlessly through interstellar space.

[the-fatty-frontier]

Ignatius getting tied up by a bunch of hot girls and being force fed

“N-Now now, I’m sure we can talk about this!” Ignatius stammered as he was pushed onto his already large rear and onto the warehouse floor, his cheeks glowing a bright red as he felt his arms tied down to his sides. He really should have known better than to taunt some Arcadian janissaries, but sometimes that darn ego of his pops up for disastrous results. It had initially started as a simple argument, with one of them joking about his figure, and with him responding that at least he could get plenty of eyes on him. Though, in hindsight perhaps he could have chosen his words better.

Not like he had much time to think now, as a hose was suddenly pushed into his mouth. “M-Mm?!” He blushed and let out a confused moan, following the hose to its source: a canister full of some sort of dark liquid, and just like clockwork, the thick fluid flooded the hose and began to pour into his mouth. Chocolate, they were stuffing him full of chocolate!

“Mm!!” Ignatius moaned more and tried to get loose, gulping down heaping mouthfuls of the stuff, each one adding more and more to his blubbery figure, his already astonishing rear pushing out more along with his hips, his thighs getting as thick as tree trunks. That didn’t even account for his belly, looking more like an overfilled, extra large beanbag chair as it grew more and more and more. Who knows just how big he’ll get, but it certainly isn’t stopping anytime soon~

[vermakesthings]

Druid's

I will refer to "nature" as the living aspects of nature, even though nature also refers to things like thunderstorms, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Druid's are another race just like the Werebeasts that were used as janissaries and revolted. Druids were typical humans, taken by the god who enslaved them and changed to be more in tune with nature. They can eat any biological matter and gain nutrients from it, it is common to spot them casually taking a bite out of a tree branch. They do not get sick from any sort of infection, or parasite. They are about three times as strong as a mortal when surrounded by living nature, so trees, beasts, etc. When in a less natural environment- a human village, for example- they are much less strong than a human, and if they spend a few days there they will be put into a coma. They won't die from this alone, though if not returned to nature and consciousness or fed they will end up dying of thirst. Druid's are incredibly weakened in underground locations. Entering a cave is likely to put them in a coma within hours, and during that time they will be hardly capable of walking on their own. When in an unnatural environment, the nonliving aspects of nature, notably weather and such, will increase their longevity to a degree. If the village they are in has a continuous thunderstorm, they will probably last a few weeks without a coma. They have an innate connection with animals, and can understand their behavior/body language instinctually as well as more easily tame them. This does not extend to actual control over the animal. They can also tell plants where to grow, and for the cost of much stamina may force plants to grow much faster, as well as in ways that are unnatural, shaping them.

They look mostly like regular humans, but on closer inspection you will notice differences. They're hair looks kind of like plantgrowth, with some of it actually forming leaves if grown long. This hair color can be changed at will, to literarily any color.

The child of a druid will always be a druid entirely, even if the other parent was a normal human. Druid's are not immortal, but they do live at least four times as long as the average human lifespan, so roughly 300 years. Oftentimes more than that, often less. No one knows what happens if a druid has a child with a werebeast, as it has not yet happened, nor has their ever been a vampiric druid to test that result.

In modern times, they have their own community within a forest near Demtuny. They do not build homes in most cases, as they are quite comfortable in storms, and in the environments they choose they do not have to fear temperatures. The more they sleep within the branches of trees and the grass of the earth, the more comfortable they are; building a home both A: requires space taken from the environment, as well as resources and B: separates them from natural life. Now when they do decide to build an enclosure, they do so in a way that does not have those two problems, by growing trees and plants in such a way that the entire house is built with nothing but still living plants. This takes several days, even with their power to speed growth.

The reasons for these curses and benefits: the god who enslaved them was one of nature. He was loath to use humans for his war, and his plan if he did win the war with the other gods was to wipe out all humanity, but in the end was forced to or else lose to the might of the other god's janissaries. He did however change them more to his liking. Some of these changes were for his own reasons, such as the hair style, but some were for war. He tried to make the changing color to the entire body for camouflage but he did not have enough power for that for so many people, not after the effects he'd already given them, and so it only affected the hair. The 3x strength is obvious why, but at the time he did this it affected them anywhere, not just in nature. It was only when they rebelled that he attempted to revoke their strength and curse them with weakness, but they were so attuned with the natural world through their long servitude towards him and through the other blessings which he did not have the power yet to revoke, so he was only able to curse them with weakness in an unnatural environment.

They are peaceful with Demtuny, though they do have rules: they do allow the people of the town to enter the forest with limitations, that being that their main village's borders are to be respected, and they are to fell no plant within their forest, only taking already dead things as must, unless the Druid's give explicit permission. The other forests the druids have no claim over, and do not object in any way to their treatment, though they do offer advice often.

With Reliqonous they are not peaceful. They have carefully made sure Relqonous is not aware of them, and even after Demtuny was discovered neither did Demtuny reveal their secret nor did they help to defend Demtuny from Reliqonous' force. They do all they can to prevent notice. If someone from Reliqonous enters their forest, they are unlikely to ever leave again, barring should they move into Demtuny, due to their friendship with the druid's and their policies of keeping the Druid's secret.

[cowperviolet]

"The two gateways of the Sahaflar Çarşısı are called the Gate of the Engravers and the Gate of the Spoon-Makers, named after two of the guilds who long ago had their headquarters here. The Gate of the Spoon-Makers gives on to that corner of the outer courtyard opposite the northern gate of the mosque, a felicitous cloister shaded by the last of the giant çınars still standing in the square. An outdoor teahouse occupies much of this part of the courtyard, with its kitchen and samovar housed in a wooden shack built right round the great tree itself. Tradition has it that this teahouse was once a hang-out for the Janissaries, whose main barracks stood near Beyazıt Square until their destruction in 1826."

- John Freely, Stamboul Sketches

Catch me plotting with the Janissaries at a tea shop near the Gate of the Spoon-Makers 🥄

[imadudeenaugustsarvahusayn]

69) Cumhuriyetimizin 100. Yılı Kutlu Olsun.

29/10/1923-2023. 🇹🇷.

Happy 100th Anniversary of the Republic, Türkiye.

Selamat Hari Jadi Republik ke-100, Türkiye.

Indonesia is in 2045🇮🇩. 17/8/1945. 7964 days more. On 21 years upcoming.

P.S.: Please tell AOE 2 Developer to fix Turks tech tree. It's so nerfed imho 😆. I mean it. If Persian get Savar, at least give Janissary hat or more, it's very gold demanding and it's just feel not ehm 🤏. If AOE 3 it's okay soo many unique units.

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (455): Thu 15th Jun 2023

Another day in the garden reading books in my Edgar Challenge. I had hoped that I would get two fantastic books in a row but sadly The Janissary Tree was nowhere near as enjoyable as the previous book in the challenge Citizen Vince. I didn’t have a clue what the fuck it was about. All I know is that it's set in the Middle East but I couldn't follow the plot at all. Normally whenever I have a shit meal I have something nice immediately afterwards to make up for it and part of me thinks that I should read a good book in order to make up for this shit one. I was so bored by this book I can't even be bothered to go to the other open tab on my computer screen which will take me to the Wikipedia article reminding me of who the author of The Janissary Tree is so that I can write it in this blog entry. Normally I would be annoyed at having spent all day reading a dud but as I’ve said in previous blog entries: at this stage in my challenge to read all the Edgar Award winning novels I’m just as happy to finish reading a shit book as a good one as it means I’m a step closer to finishing. Also at the very least I’ve managed to get through three books in as many days which is something I never thought I'd be able to do because of my lack of attention span and my previous belief that books are for cunts. Next up is Down Under by John Hart and hopefully I'll be able to follow that the fuck is going on in this one. I have to say that the last few days have been incredibly relaxing. All the way through the Autumn and Winter months I was trying to convince myself to just endure it because in the Summer I'll be rewarded with days like the last three days where I've sat in the garden in the sun with not a care in the world. These last few days have been great but not quite reward enough for lying under two blankets shivering my nuts off for nearly half a year so I'm definitely going to start going on little holidays to somewhere hot during the winter months so I don't have to wait quite so long for days like today. Oh, also I won a fiver on a scratch card too...still not reward enough for the freezing bollocks though.

[pubmusiclife]

Yedi Kuleh Kapusu

The next gate is  Yedi Kuleh Kapusu (Gate of the Seven Towers), the first public gate; a Byzantine Eagle carved on the inside is still visible. The tower to the right of this gate bears a Turkish inscription, and the date 1168 of the Hegira. The two medallions, of which traces are still visible, seem to have once been ornamented with carvings.

Yedi Kuleh (The Seven Towers) is the Byzantine citadel, variously styled Cyclobion or Strongylon, from its circular form, Pentapyrgion, from its five towers, and subsequently Heptapyrgion, on the increase of the number of towers to seven. The present towers were built on the site of the old ones by Sultan Muhammad II., and were used as a treasury. The wooden roofs were subsequently removed, owing to the frequent outbreaks of fire. Of the seven towers four are now left standing, the other three having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1758.

Treacherous intrigues of Sultan

The citadel served as a place of detention for state prisoners, many of whom were quietly strangled within its walls ; amongst others, Sultan Osman II., who, at the age of eighteen, fell a victim to the treacherous intrigues of Sultan Mustapha and the discontent of the mutinous Janissaries. In the Seven Towers it was also customary for the Turks, while hostilities lasted, to imprison the ambassadors of foreign countries with which the Porte was at war. The last ambassador thus detained was the French ambassador in 1798, who was kept imprisoned for three years. Since that date the pressure brought to bear upon the Porte by the French general Sebastiani, and the British ambassador Mr. Charles Arbuthnot, caused the Turks to give up this custom. Several Latin and French mural inscriptions on the left of the entrance to the dungeon have recently been effaced by some Turks.

This tower, which is at the E.S.E. corner of the citadel, contains a solid marble staircase leading to the top, and commands a splendid view of the Marmora shores, of Stambul and the outlying suburbs as far as San Stefano, and of the coast and mountains of Asia Minor and the Islands. The carving over the partly walled – up gate opposite the entrance leading to the Golden Gate represents the Labarum, the standard of the Byzantine Emperors. A flight of steps in a dark passage on the left of this gate leads to the dungeons to which obnoxious sultans were once consigned.

Only one of the two dungeons has two windows, and these too high and too small to have been any consolation to the unfortunate inmate, whose captivity, however, was in most cases terminated at an early stage by the bowstring. Visitors to this part of the citadel should provide themselves with a lantern, which is to be obtained from the doorkeeper. Several crosses are still to be seen carved over the gate opposite the Golden Gate. One of the graves under the laurel and pomegranate trees in the garden is that of Ahmed Kiupruli Pasha, who was hanged on his return from the taking of Candia after a twenty-four years’ siege. The Seven Towers and the adjoining land are now in charge of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Admission tc the citadel piastres (5d.) per person.

[hairfashionstyle]

Yedi Kuleh Kapusu

The next gate is  Yedi Kuleh Kapusu (Gate of the Seven Towers), the first public gate; a Byzantine Eagle carved on the inside is still visible. The tower to the right of this gate bears a Turkish inscription, and the date 1168 of the Hegira. The two medallions, of which traces are still visible, seem to have once been ornamented with carvings.

Yedi Kuleh (The Seven Towers) is the Byzantine citadel, variously styled Cyclobion or Strongylon, from its circular form, Pentapyrgion, from its five towers, and subsequently Heptapyrgion, on the increase of the number of towers to seven. The present towers were built on the site of the old ones by Sultan Muhammad II., and were used as a treasury. The wooden roofs were subsequently removed, owing to the frequent outbreaks of fire. Of the seven towers four are now left standing, the other three having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1758.

Treacherous intrigues of Sultan

The citadel served as a place of detention for state prisoners, many of whom were quietly strangled within its walls ; amongst others, Sultan Osman II., who, at the age of eighteen, fell a victim to the treacherous intrigues of Sultan Mustapha and the discontent of the mutinous Janissaries. In the Seven Towers it was also customary for the Turks, while hostilities lasted, to imprison the ambassadors of foreign countries with which the Porte was at war. The last ambassador thus detained was the French ambassador in 1798, who was kept imprisoned for three years. Since that date the pressure brought to bear upon the Porte by the French general Sebastiani, and the British ambassador Mr. Charles Arbuthnot, caused the Turks to give up this custom. Several Latin and French mural inscriptions on the left of the entrance to the dungeon have recently been effaced by some Turks.

This tower, which is at the E.S.E. corner of the citadel, contains a solid marble staircase leading to the top, and commands a splendid view of the Marmora shores, of Stambul and the outlying suburbs as far as San Stefano, and of the coast and mountains of Asia Minor and the Islands. The carving over the partly walled – up gate opposite the entrance leading to the Golden Gate represents the Labarum, the standard of the Byzantine Emperors. A flight of steps in a dark passage on the left of this gate leads to the dungeons to which obnoxious sultans were once consigned.

Only one of the two dungeons has two windows, and these too high and too small to have been any consolation to the unfortunate inmate, whose captivity, however, was in most cases terminated at an early stage by the bowstring. Visitors to this part of the citadel should provide themselves with a lantern, which is to be obtained from the doorkeeper. Several crosses are still to be seen carved over the gate opposite the Golden Gate. One of the graves under the laurel and pomegranate trees in the garden is that of Ahmed Kiupruli Pasha, who was hanged on his return from the taking of Candia after a twenty-four years’ siege. The Seven Towers and the adjoining land are now in charge of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Admission tc the citadel piastres (5d.) per person.

[lifestylebiljina]

Yedi Kuleh Kapusu

The next gate is  Yedi Kuleh Kapusu (Gate of the Seven Towers), the first public gate; a Byzantine Eagle carved on the inside is still visible. The tower to the right of this gate bears a Turkish inscription, and the date 1168 of the Hegira. The two medallions, of which traces are still visible, seem to have once been ornamented with carvings.

Yedi Kuleh (The Seven Towers) is the Byzantine citadel, variously styled Cyclobion or Strongylon, from its circular form, Pentapyrgion, from its five towers, and subsequently Heptapyrgion, on the increase of the number of towers to seven. The present towers were built on the site of the old ones by Sultan Muhammad II., and were used as a treasury. The wooden roofs were subsequently removed, owing to the frequent outbreaks of fire. Of the seven towers four are now left standing, the other three having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1758.

Treacherous intrigues of Sultan

The citadel served as a place of detention for state prisoners, many of whom were quietly strangled within its walls ; amongst others, Sultan Osman II., who, at the age of eighteen, fell a victim to the treacherous intrigues of Sultan Mustapha and the discontent of the mutinous Janissaries. In the Seven Towers it was also customary for the Turks, while hostilities lasted, to imprison the ambassadors of foreign countries with which the Porte was at war. The last ambassador thus detained was the French ambassador in 1798, who was kept imprisoned for three years. Since that date the pressure brought to bear upon the Porte by the French general Sebastiani, and the British ambassador Mr. Charles Arbuthnot, caused the Turks to give up this custom. Several Latin and French mural inscriptions on the left of the entrance to the dungeon have recently been effaced by some Turks.

This tower, which is at the E.S.E. corner of the citadel, contains a solid marble staircase leading to the top, and commands a splendid view of the Marmora shores, of Stambul and the outlying suburbs as far as San Stefano, and of the coast and mountains of Asia Minor and the Islands. The carving over the partly walled – up gate opposite the entrance leading to the Golden Gate represents the Labarum, the standard of the Byzantine Emperors. A flight of steps in a dark passage on the left of this gate leads to the dungeons to which obnoxious sultans were once consigned.

Only one of the two dungeons has two windows, and these too high and too small to have been any consolation to the unfortunate inmate, whose captivity, however, was in most cases terminated at an early stage by the bowstring. Visitors to this part of the citadel should provide themselves with a lantern, which is to be obtained from the doorkeeper. Several crosses are still to be seen carved over the gate opposite the Golden Gate. One of the graves under the laurel and pomegranate trees in the garden is that of Ahmed Kiupruli Pasha, who was hanged on his return from the taking of Candia after a twenty-four years’ siege. The Seven Towers and the adjoining land are now in charge of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Admission tc the citadel piastres (5d.) per person.

[healthboys]

Yedi Kuleh Kapusu

The next gate is  Yedi Kuleh Kapusu (Gate of the Seven Towers), the first public gate; a Byzantine Eagle carved on the inside is still visible. The tower to the right of this gate bears a Turkish inscription, and the date 1168 of the Hegira. The two medallions, of which traces are still visible, seem to have once been ornamented with carvings.

Yedi Kuleh (The Seven Towers) is the Byzantine citadel, variously styled Cyclobion or Strongylon, from its circular form, Pentapyrgion, from its five towers, and subsequently Heptapyrgion, on the increase of the number of towers to seven. The present towers were built on the site of the old ones by Sultan Muhammad II., and were used as a treasury. The wooden roofs were subsequently removed, owing to the frequent outbreaks of fire. Of the seven towers four are now left standing, the other three having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1758.

Treacherous intrigues of Sultan

The citadel served as a place of detention for state prisoners, many of whom were quietly strangled within its walls ; amongst others, Sultan Osman II., who, at the age of eighteen, fell a victim to the treacherous intrigues of Sultan Mustapha and the discontent of the mutinous Janissaries. In the Seven Towers it was also customary for the Turks, while hostilities lasted, to imprison the ambassadors of foreign countries with which the Porte was at war. The last ambassador thus detained was the French ambassador in 1798, who was kept imprisoned for three years. Since that date the pressure brought to bear upon the Porte by the French general Sebastiani, and the British ambassador Mr. Charles Arbuthnot, caused the Turks to give up this custom. Several Latin and French mural inscriptions on the left of the entrance to the dungeon have recently been effaced by some Turks.

This tower, which is at the E.S.E. corner of the citadel, contains a solid marble staircase leading to the top, and commands a splendid view of the Marmora shores, of Stambul and the outlying suburbs as far as San Stefano, and of the coast and mountains of Asia Minor and the Islands. The carving over the partly walled – up gate opposite the entrance leading to the Golden Gate represents the Labarum, the standard of the Byzantine Emperors. A flight of steps in a dark passage on the left of this gate leads to the dungeons to which obnoxious sultans were once consigned.

Only one of the two dungeons has two windows, and these too high and too small to have been any consolation to the unfortunate inmate, whose captivity, however, was in most cases terminated at an early stage by the bowstring. Visitors to this part of the citadel should provide themselves with a lantern, which is to be obtained from the doorkeeper. Several crosses are still to be seen carved over the gate opposite the Golden Gate. One of the graves under the laurel and pomegranate trees in the garden is that of Ahmed Kiupruli Pasha, who was hanged on his return from the taking of Candia after a twenty-four years’ siege. The Seven Towers and the adjoining land are now in charge of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Admission tc the citadel piastres (5d.) per person.

[nightbulgaria]

Yedi Kuleh Kapusu

The next gate is  Yedi Kuleh Kapusu (Gate of the Seven Towers), the first public gate; a Byzantine Eagle carved on the inside is still visible. The tower to the right of this gate bears a Turkish inscription, and the date 1168 of the Hegira. The two medallions, of which traces are still visible, seem to have once been ornamented with carvings.

Yedi Kuleh (The Seven Towers) is the Byzantine citadel, variously styled Cyclobion or Strongylon, from its circular form, Pentapyrgion, from its five towers, and subsequently Heptapyrgion, on the increase of the number of towers to seven. The present towers were built on the site of the old ones by Sultan Muhammad II., and were used as a treasury. The wooden roofs were subsequently removed, owing to the frequent outbreaks of fire. Of the seven towers four are now left standing, the other three having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1758.

Treacherous intrigues of Sultan

The citadel served as a place of detention for state prisoners, many of whom were quietly strangled within its walls ; amongst others, Sultan Osman II., who, at the age of eighteen, fell a victim to the treacherous intrigues of Sultan Mustapha and the discontent of the mutinous Janissaries. In the Seven Towers it was also customary for the Turks, while hostilities lasted, to imprison the ambassadors of foreign countries with which the Porte was at war. The last ambassador thus detained was the French ambassador in 1798, who was kept imprisoned for three years. Since that date the pressure brought to bear upon the Porte by the French general Sebastiani, and the British ambassador Mr. Charles Arbuthnot, caused the Turks to give up this custom. Several Latin and French mural inscriptions on the left of the entrance to the dungeon have recently been effaced by some Turks.

This tower, which is at the E.S.E. corner of the citadel, contains a solid marble staircase leading to the top, and commands a splendid view of the Marmora shores, of Stambul and the outlying suburbs as far as San Stefano, and of the coast and mountains of Asia Minor and the Islands. The carving over the partly walled – up gate opposite the entrance leading to the Golden Gate represents the Labarum, the standard of the Byzantine Emperors. A flight of steps in a dark passage on the left of this gate leads to the dungeons to which obnoxious sultans were once consigned.

Only one of the two dungeons has two windows, and these too high and too small to have been any consolation to the unfortunate inmate, whose captivity, however, was in most cases terminated at an early stage by the bowstring. Visitors to this part of the citadel should provide themselves with a lantern, which is to be obtained from the doorkeeper. Several crosses are still to be seen carved over the gate opposite the Golden Gate. One of the graves under the laurel and pomegranate trees in the garden is that of Ahmed Kiupruli Pasha, who was hanged on his return from the taking of Candia after a twenty-four years’ siege. The Seven Towers and the adjoining land are now in charge of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Admission tc the citadel piastres (5d.) per person.

[lifestylethesaurus]

Yedi Kuleh Kapusu

The next gate is  Yedi Kuleh Kapusu (Gate of the Seven Towers), the first public gate; a Byzantine Eagle carved on the inside is still visible. The tower to the right of this gate bears a Turkish inscription, and the date 1168 of the Hegira. The two medallions, of which traces are still visible, seem to have once been ornamented with carvings.

Yedi Kuleh (The Seven Towers) is the Byzantine citadel, variously styled Cyclobion or Strongylon, from its circular form, Pentapyrgion, from its five towers, and subsequently Heptapyrgion, on the increase of the number of towers to seven. The present towers were built on the site of the old ones by Sultan Muhammad II., and were used as a treasury. The wooden roofs were subsequently removed, owing to the frequent outbreaks of fire. Of the seven towers four are now left standing, the other three having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1758.

Treacherous intrigues of Sultan

The citadel served as a place of detention for state prisoners, many of whom were quietly strangled within its walls ; amongst others, Sultan Osman II., who, at the age of eighteen, fell a victim to the treacherous intrigues of Sultan Mustapha and the discontent of the mutinous Janissaries. In the Seven Towers it was also customary for the Turks, while hostilities lasted, to imprison the ambassadors of foreign countries with which the Porte was at war. The last ambassador thus detained was the French ambassador in 1798, who was kept imprisoned for three years. Since that date the pressure brought to bear upon the Porte by the French general Sebastiani, and the British ambassador Mr. Charles Arbuthnot, caused the Turks to give up this custom. Several Latin and French mural inscriptions on the left of the entrance to the dungeon have recently been effaced by some Turks.

This tower, which is at the E.S.E. corner of the citadel, contains a solid marble staircase leading to the top, and commands a splendid view of the Marmora shores, of Stambul and the outlying suburbs as far as San Stefano, and of the coast and mountains of Asia Minor and the Islands. The carving over the partly walled – up gate opposite the entrance leading to the Golden Gate represents the Labarum, the standard of the Byzantine Emperors. A flight of steps in a dark passage on the left of this gate leads to the dungeons to which obnoxious sultans were once consigned.

Only one of the two dungeons has two windows, and these too high and too small to have been any consolation to the unfortunate inmate, whose captivity, however, was in most cases terminated at an early stage by the bowstring. Visitors to this part of the citadel should provide themselves with a lantern, which is to be obtained from the doorkeeper. Several crosses are still to be seen carved over the gate opposite the Golden Gate. One of the graves under the laurel and pomegranate trees in the garden is that of Ahmed Kiupruli Pasha, who was hanged on his return from the taking of Candia after a twenty-four years’ siege. The Seven Towers and the adjoining land are now in charge of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Admission tc the citadel piastres (5d.) per person.

[lifestylechangebg]

Yedi Kuleh Kapusu

The next gate is  Yedi Kuleh Kapusu (Gate of the Seven Towers), the first public gate; a Byzantine Eagle carved on the inside is still visible. The tower to the right of this gate bears a Turkish inscription, and the date 1168 of the Hegira. The two medallions, of which traces are still visible, seem to have once been ornamented with carvings.

Yedi Kuleh (The Seven Towers) is the Byzantine citadel, variously styled Cyclobion or Strongylon, from its circular form, Pentapyrgion, from its five towers, and subsequently Heptapyrgion, on the increase of the number of towers to seven. The present towers were built on the site of the old ones by Sultan Muhammad II., and were used as a treasury. The wooden roofs were subsequently removed, owing to the frequent outbreaks of fire. Of the seven towers four are now left standing, the other three having been destroyed by an earthquake in 1758.

Treacherous intrigues of Sultan

The citadel served as a place of detention for state prisoners, many of whom were quietly strangled within its walls ; amongst others, Sultan Osman II., who, at the age of eighteen, fell a victim to the treacherous intrigues of Sultan Mustapha and the discontent of the mutinous Janissaries. In the Seven Towers it was also customary for the Turks, while hostilities lasted, to imprison the ambassadors of foreign countries with which the Porte was at war. The last ambassador thus detained was the French ambassador in 1798, who was kept imprisoned for three years. Since that date the pressure brought to bear upon the Porte by the French general Sebastiani, and the British ambassador Mr. Charles Arbuthnot, caused the Turks to give up this custom. Several Latin and French mural inscriptions on the left of the entrance to the dungeon have recently been effaced by some Turks.

This tower, which is at the E.S.E. corner of the citadel, contains a solid marble staircase leading to the top, and commands a splendid view of the Marmora shores, of Stambul and the outlying suburbs as far as San Stefano, and of the coast and mountains of Asia Minor and the Islands. The carving over the partly walled – up gate opposite the entrance leading to the Golden Gate represents the Labarum, the standard of the Byzantine Emperors. A flight of steps in a dark passage on the left of this gate leads to the dungeons to which obnoxious sultans were once consigned.

Only one of the two dungeons has two windows, and these too high and too small to have been any consolation to the unfortunate inmate, whose captivity, however, was in most cases terminated at an early stage by the bowstring. Visitors to this part of the citadel should provide themselves with a lantern, which is to be obtained from the doorkeeper. Several crosses are still to be seen carved over the gate opposite the Golden Gate. One of the graves under the laurel and pomegranate trees in the garden is that of Ahmed Kiupruli Pasha, who was hanged on his return from the taking of Candia after a twenty-four years’ siege. The Seven Towers and the adjoining land are now in charge of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. Admission tc the citadel piastres (5d.) per person.