The Last Days of Old Sharakhai: The Song of the Shattered Sands

By Bradley P. Beaulieu

The Last Days of Old Sharakhai is a Shattered Sands novella set near the end of A Desert Torn Asunder (Book 6 of The Song of the Shattered Sands) and answers the question: What happened to King Ihsan?

 

King Ihsan, once thought invincible, is now a fugitive in the city he once ruled. Struck by the black mould, a deadly wasting disease, Ihsan knows his days of ruling Sharakhai are coming to an end. His goals are simpler now. He's focused on his daughter Ransaneh and her prospects when he's gone, and that means forging a lasting peace in the desert.

 

When Ihsan's grandsons try to convince him to return Sharakhai to its former, authoritarian rule, he's left with a difficult choice. Siding with his grandsons and the city's old guard could easily rekindle hostilities and lead to a resumption of the devastating war with the desert tribes, while a refusal would instantly turn him and Ransaneh into targets for revenge.

 

With very few friends left, Ihsan allies himself with Shohreh, a legendary swordswoman who mere months ago would gladly have killed Ihsan with her bare hands. But Shohreh bore witness to the terrible war that just ended. The last thing she wants is a return of the bloodshed. What follows is a game of assassins, political intrigue, and desperate flights as Ihsan tries to stay ahead of his enemies and set Sharakhai on a path toward peace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bradley P. Beaulieu
• Release date: Mar 18, 2024
• ISBN: 9781939649430

Bradley P. Beaulieu

The author of Twelve Kings in Sharakhai, Bradley P. Beaulieu's novels have garnered many accolades and most-anticipated lists, including two Hotties – the Debut of the Year and Best New Voice – on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist, a Gemmell Morningstar Award nomination for The Winds of Khalakovo, and more. Brad's influences include J. R. R. Tolkien, George R. R. Martin, Robin Hobb, Guy Gavriel Kay, Glen Cook, and C. S. Friedman. He adores cooking, yoga, and currently lives in Racine, WI with his wife, kids, and a smattering of pets.

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 by Bradley P. Beaulieu

First published in The King Must Fall anthology © 2022 by Grimdark Magazine.

Cover art by Omar Samy © 2023

Cover design by Bradley P. Beaulieu

Author photo courtesy of Lawrie Photography

All rights reserved.

All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal, and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

First Edition: November 2023

ISBN: 978-1-93964-946-1 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 978-1-93964-945-4 (Paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-93964-943-0 (epub)

ISBN: 978-1-93964-944-7 (Kindle)

Please visit me at http://www.quillings.com

Also by Bradley P. Beaulieu

The Lays of Anuskaya

The Winds of Khalakovo

The Straits of Galahesh

The Flames of Shadam Khoreh

Short Story Collections

Lest Our Passage Be Forgotten & Other Stories

In the Stars I’ll Find You

Novellas

Strata (with Stephen Gaskell)

The Burning Light (with Rob Zeigler)

The Song of the Shattered Sands

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

With Blood Upon the Sand

A Veil of Spears

Beneath the Twisted Trees

When Jackals Storm the Walls

A Desert Torn Asunder

Of Sand and Malice Made

Shattered Sands Novellas

In the Village Where Brightwine Flows

The Doors at Dusk and Dawn

The Tattered Prince and the Demon Veiled

A Wasteland of My God’s Own Making

Praise for Twelve Kings in Sharakhai

Beaulieu has proved himself able to orchestrate massive storylines in his previous series, the Lays of Anuskaya trilogy. But Twelve Kings lays down even more potential. Fantasy and horror, catacombs and sarcophagi, resurrections and revelations: The book has them all, and Beaulieu wraps it up in a package that’s as graceful and contemplative as it is action-packed and pulse-pounding.

—NPR Books

Twelve Kings in Sharakhai is the gateway to what promises to be an intricate and exotic tale. The characters are well defined and have lives and histories that extend past the boundaries of the plot. The culture is well fleshed out and traditional gender roles are exploded. Çeda and Emre share a relationship seldom explored in fantasy, one that will be tried to the utmost as similar ideals provoke them to explore different paths. I expect that this universe will continue to expand in Beaulieu’s skillful prose. Wise readers will hop on this train now, as the journey promises to be breathtaking.

—Robin Hobb, author of The Assassin’s Apprentice

The protagonist, pit-fighter Çeda, is driven but not cold, and strong but not shallow. And the initial few scenes of violence and sex, while very engaging, soon give way to a much richer plot. Beaulieu is excellent at keeping a tight rein on the moment-to-moment action and building up the tension and layers of mysteries.

—SciFiNow (9 / 10 Rating)

I am impressed… An exceedingly inventive story in a lushly realized dark setting that is not your uncle’s Medieval Europe. I’ll be looking forward to the next installment.

—Glen Cook, author of The Black Company

This is an impressive performance.

—Publishers Weekly

Racine novelist delivers a compelling desert fantasy in ‘Twelve Kings’.

—The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Beaulieu’s intricate world-building and complex characters are quickly becoming the hallmarks of his writing, and if this opening volume is any indication, The Song of the Shattered Sands promises to be one of the next great fantasy epics.

—Jim Kellen, Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Buyer for Barnes & Noble

Bradley P. Beaulieu’s new fantasy epic is filled with memorable characters, enticing mysteries, and a world so rich in sensory detail that you can feel the desert breeze in your hair as you read. Çeda is hands-down one of the best heroines in the genre—strong, resourceful, and fiercely loyal to friends and family. Fantasy doesn’t get better than this!

—C. S. Friedman, author of The Coldfire Trilogy

The Last Days of Old Sharakhai

by Bradley P. Beaulieu

As the sun lowered in the west, an araba drawn by a pair of tall akhala horses bore Ihsan, the last of the Sharakhani Kings, toward his ancestral home along the slopes of Mount Tauriyat. The day was hot, the wind blustering. From Ihsan’s high vantage, Sharakhai was laid bare, a sprawl of mudbrick hovels, stone manors, and crisscrossing streets. Beyond the city lay the rolling dunes of the Great Shangazi.

A relative calm had come over Sharakhai. The war with Mirea and Malasan had finally ended, but the peace was tentative. There was the all-too-real possibility that hostilities would resume, which was precisely why Ihsan was headed to his palace to meet with two of his grandsons, Mehmed and Zevi, who held much sway with the city’s old guard.

A particularly strong gust of wind sent sand and dust billowing through the araba’s cabin. Ihsan turned away from it and drew the linen blanket over the face of his daughter Ransaneh, who lay swaddled in his lap. Ransaneh stirred, but the rumble of the wheels on the rutted road soon sent her back to the land of slumber.

A moment later, the araba dipped violently. My sincerest apologies, my Lord King. The driver, a middle-aged woman with a hunched back and an ever-present sneer, navigated the wagon over a series of deeper potholes. Those bloody northern jackals left everything in a shambles.

She was referring to Queen Alansal and her host of Mirean invaders, who’d occupied Sharakhai and the House of Kings for months. But the Mireans were hardly the only ones to blame for the years of neglect. With the build-up to the war, the battles in the heart of Sharakhai, and the conflict with the gods, the roads had been the last thing on everyone’s mind.

The driver glanced over her shoulder at Ransaneh. She’s precious, that daughter of yours.

You have my thanks.

Bet she’s proud, she said, steering them around a switchback, dealing with that foreign queen the way you did. Probably happy you’re going home, too.

I rather doubt she’s aware of any of that.

Oh, I don’t know. The driver snapped the reins, and the akhalas redoubled their efforts. I don’t think we give ‘em enough credit. Like my memma always said, the whelps know a lot more’n we think they do.

Annoyed by the woman’s chatter, Ihsan let the conversation drop. Soon, a curtain wall with a series of watch towers came into view. The imposing palace beyond had been Ihsan’s home for the past four centuries. He knew every room and every corner in the tall edifice intimately, yet it felt strange and foreign to him now. Long had he dreamed of becoming Sharakhai’s lone, remaining King, of ruling the city and the desert alone. He’d spent generations playing things just so to achieve it. And indeed, that dream was finally within his grasp. Other than Ihsan himself, the Sharakhani Kings were all dead, fallen to the blades of assassins, war, or, in the case of Husamettín, a duel to the death.

With little effort, he could consolidate his power, but he was faced with a simple yet very harsh truth: his rule wouldn’t last. It couldn’t. He’d been infected with the black mould, the very same disease that had struck Ransaneh’s mother, Queen Nayyan. Sitting in the araba’s cabin, he could feel the hard nodules inside his mouth, growing, multiplying. He didn’t know how much time he had left, but he was certain it would be less than he wanted. As was true of any man whose days were numbered, he’d adjusted his priorities accordingly. He needed to see