Dastan 001 - Blog Posts
the wings of zahra sand had long spread as the dancer flew her way around dorne perfecting and teaching her craft. since the woman left the tor, it wasn't long she stayed in one particular place. even her house of birth, salt shore, did not see her for periods longer than she could help it. the stars and scenery was everchanging around her, and she felt happier for it, for the most part. feet found it's next stop within the halls of godsgrace, a place that subtly connected her to someone she was far more intertwined with than anyone knew, but she had found her own relationships within those that lived in these halls, particularly the other children of house allyrion.
dastan had become a familiar face she enjoyed seeing during her time in the keep, and mayya was a young woman's who's talent grew everytime zahra returned to these walls. the dancer had attended his wedding, of course, and unfortunately admist the turmoil and subsequent trip to volantis with his new bride, it seemed long that she had last seen him. once she set eyes upon her old friend, she could sense the happiness that emitted from him, and it was met with her own bright smile.
"dastan!" she exclaimed, embracing the lord before her, before releasing and looking to the lady at his side. she was a pretty woman, and zahra offered a nod and smile to her. "it is good to see you again, my lady." she stated. "how was volantis?" zahra asked the pair now. "my father has spoken so much of it, i should hope one day i get to witness it's beauty myself."
Closed starter for @dancingshores Setting: 140 AC. Dastan Allyrion and his wife, Sofina Merryweather, return to Godsgrace after a few months spent in his mother's homeland of Volantis following their wedding.
Tensions had been running high after the union of his house to the House Merryweather of the Reach. It had been a measure of safety to remain abroad for a time, to let the fire that had been lit on the day of his wedding celebration be put out. Constant letters to his lord father kept the Lord of Godsgrace informed on how matters developed, and plans were outlined to invest not only in repairs for areas that were damaged by the rioters but to improve upon what had been there before. Those letters tethered him home in the distance, yet his heart missed it. Volantis wasn't foreign to him, not with the travels he'd done since his youth to know that part of his mother's family. They were most welcoming, and in them, Dastan saw so much of his mother's controlled fire, her spirit, and determined nature.
It was a blessing to be home, one he felt deeply in his chest when the carriage crossed the gates into the fortified castle of Godsgrace. Dastan was quick to go hand in hand with his wife to his mother and father, to see his sisters, upon their return. Blessed be the gods that guarded them as they sailed back, and allowed him to embrace his family once more. It was a pleasant surprise to find an old family friend in their midst. With how much his mother revered Zahra's skill and Mayya's continuous learning of the artistry the dancer could teach, it wasn't rare to find the desert dancer as a guest of House Allyrion.
“Zahra, mera dost,” My friend, the lord greeted her with a smile as he went over to hug her. Dastan, who was so often invaded by the sorrow in his blood, had found in recent months that smiling came easier to him, not a pretense to be amenable and polite, but a true drive that bloomed from the heart. The gods had blessed him. They truly had set him on a path he didn't believe he deserved, yet one that continued to fill him with unexpected happiness.
The lord had been teaching his wife a few words from the Dornish tongue, as she'd asked him so much about his family and seemed eager to learn anything Dastan was willing to share. Yet, out of respect for Sofina, he went on in the common tongue so she would understand everything being said. “Do you remember Zahra, my love? I introduced you to so many people at our wedding, but she's the one who's taught my sister everything she knows,” he said, in reference to Mayya's talent as a dancer. “She's Dorne's most revered dancer”. Anyone who stated otherwise was in denial of a simple truth.
