Desert of the Invisible

Depending on who you ask, the desert is either a mystery or an opportunity. To Hamza, he believed in the former. He would rather enjoy the safety and comfort of home, yet he was finally of age and therefore needed to earn his manhood. But, can’t I earn it another way? he thought to himself with a sigh. He looked at his camel and stroked its face. “Do you think I can do this?” he asked. The camel grunted. “I don’t think so either”.

Jinn, ethereal magical beings hidden to the eye, are spread across the world. Some cause terror and some cause happiness, but most people will never meet one because they prefer to keep to themselves. However, some people strive to catch them. Mastering their powers can help in a variety of ways, including both economically and militarily. Hamza’s tribe is famous for this and this desert is home to many jinn, a thought that made his skin crawl.

“Have you ever seen a jinni?” Hamza asked his camel. The camel grunted. “I’ve had the displeasure of seeing many. My whole family have jinn and they’re all so monstrously large with horns, claws, fangs, and wings. I’ve never spoken to them and neither they to me, but I know they don’t like me. I swear they whisper the evilest things in my ears. I don’t know why they bother me so much. Unless”, he suddenly became quiet. The camel turned his head towards him. “My family told them to bother me”. He tightened his grip on the reins. “I’m the only person in my family, my tribe, who’s afraid of jinn and I’m made fun of because of it. I’ve got to try. No, I must show them that I’m as capable as the rest of them. I can do it!” his voice echoed across the sands.

The young adventurer stood atop a large sand dune and observed his surroundings. He was alone among the invisible within the barren desert. They’re all around us. He felt goosebumps on his skin. "I want to go home”, he whispered. The camel grunted. “I’ll complete my task, but I still don’t want to”. The sun terrorized his body. He reached for his water sack and took a sip, but it was empty. His throat was dry. “If only I didn’t need water like you”, he said to his camel. Off in the distance, he saw what appeared to be a palm tree. That better not be a mirage, he hoped as they moved in its direction.

Situated within a depression, the oasis was isolated from the greater desert with the giant palm tree as its only notable marker. Hamza was both surprised and ecstatic to find this place. Immediately, he dismounted and drank from the water. The camel drank alongside him. It was cool and refreshing. He began to refill his water sack until, suddenly, his ears perked up to an unknown sound. Quickly, he grabbed his dagger and glass bottle. There was nobody around him, but he did notice chirping birds flying overhead. He gave a sigh of relief, but he was still tense. Clenching the dagger, his mind worried about the non-jinn dangers of the desert. The human dangers. Bandits roam the sands and unlike jinn, they aren’t invisible and cause only terror. Sheathing the blade, his eyes examined the glass bottle. It had a brass seal. With a short magical phrase, a jinni would become trapped within and, being weak to brass, find it very difficult to escape. Although, this is only possible if there was enough emotion behind the words and a strong mental fortitude, of course. Once again, the young man became tense.

Returning his focus to the water, he noticed an object at the bottom. Grabbing the object, he began to sweat profusely. It was an old, corroded brass bottle with a brass seal. His mind was whirling. Only one thing could be within this bottle. “A jinni”, he said. “Or it could be a message”. The camel grunted and Hamza chuckled. Laughing off his anxiety can only last so long. He wondered about what type of jinni would be inside. About how large and strong it might be. For every story about someone becoming rich beyond belief, there were those that told of fearsome warriors who could fight a hundred men and stealthy phantoms who could destabilize entire kingdoms from within. There were cases of incurable illnesses and even possession.

Possession! Hamza felt his heart drop as he grew pale. Maybe I should put this bottle back. He took his hand off the seal. But, it could just be a lost message. Curiosity overtook him and he opened the bottle. He closed his eyes as he braced himself, but nothing happened. Upon opening his eyes, he was surprised to find a piece of paper inside the bottle. He unfolded it and read it aloud:

Here lies the jinni who weaponizes imagination. As horrible as he is terrible, he has been punished by binding by paper where a single tear inflicts pain upon him. Sealed within a bottle and cast across the sea of sand, if you found this bottle and are reading this paper, then tread carefully. Speak not his name or the punished shall be released. Sadiq Thay’a ibn al-Ghaib.

And so, without realizing what he had done, lightning split the earth and thunder quaked the ground. Smoke emerged from the bottle and took form in front of Hamza. Immediately, he leapt back and held his bottle, ready to say the capturing phrase. Once the formation was complete, he gazed upon the jinni and relaxed. The jinni looked like a boy with glowing skin.

Hamza was taken aback. “How old are you?” he asked. “You look like a child”.

Sadiq stretched his arms and legs. “I’m one hundred years old”, he responded, “and thank you for freeing me. I’ve been stuck in that bottle for the past fifty years”.

“Where are your horns, fangs, claws, wings, anything? You’re supposed to be horrible and terrible. You were bound to paper where tearing it hurts you. I’ve never even heard of that before. And bottled up and tossed into the center of the desert”.

“I’m still growing. One hundred years old is very young. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m ready to leave and find my people”, Sadiq said while walking away.

“Stop! Wait!”

“After being stuck for so long, I’m ready to move. Why must I wait”?

“You’re not going anywhere. I saved you, so I'm your master now”.

The jinni laughed. “I have no master and I’m certain you won’t be mine”.

Standing tall and taking a deep breath, the young man exclaimed, “Being of smokeless fire, enter the bottle at my command”!

Both beings were shocked because nothing happened. Sadiq laughed even harder and Hamza clenched his fist. He kicked the sand. “Get in the bottle, now, you monster”.

Sadiq stopped laughing. He glared at Hamza. “Don’t you dare order me around, you weakling, before I cast a spell on you”.

“If you're truly young, then I assume your magic is weak. I doubt you could hurt me. What is your ability anyway? What does ‘weaponizing imagination’ mean”?

“Illusions. That’s my power”, the jinni said with pride.

“Illusions? There are jinn that can channel volcanoes and oceans and you create illusions”! Hamza’s face fell to his palms. “What will my family think of me now?” he whispered to himself. “From being afraid of jinn to finding a jinni good for children’s games”.

“I’m sorry for being a burden to you, too, like everybody else!” Sadiq yelled as he sat down on the sand with his back to Hamza. "Why does nobody like me”?

Hamza sighed and walked towards the jinni. He sat down next to him. “I apologize for being so rude”.

“What do you want from me? Among my people, any human that frees a jinni must be granted a wish out of gratitude, although I’d rather not grant yours”.

“Let’s get to that later. I’d like to know why you were imprisoned. You must be pretty bad to receive such a punishment”.

Sadiq’s eyes brightened blindingly as he stared into the young man’s eyes. Hamza began to visualize everything and heard the jinni’s voice as narration.

“All newborns are expected to be powerful among my tribe. So, born with the power of illusions, my parents were ashamed. During the time in which my people were allying with a small human kingdom, I was gifted to their princess as a plaything. She loved my illusions until I accidentally crafted something that scared her. Then, I was punished for fifty years until this moment”.

The light diminished and Hamza saw the real world again. “Wow, you controlled my imagination. Impressive”. Sadiq grinned. “What did you craft for the princess”?

“She loved cats, so I created a lion. I guess she didn’t like big cats. Now that I think about it, she was only a toddler”.

Hamza chuckled while placing his hand on the jinni’s shoulder. “My tribesmen are famous for catching and mastering jinn. Since such an endeavor is difficult, a lot is expected of our newborns, too. Yet, I’m afraid of jinn and I’m looked down upon because of it. I’ve been sent here to find a jinn and claim my manhood, but no one thinks I can do it. I never thought I could either. In my eyes, jinn are monsters. But, you look different to my eyes”.

Sadiq averted his eyes. “It seems that we’re both failures to our tribes”.

“Indeed, but we can change that. If you come with me, my family might respect me. And, didn’t you say that you wanted to find your people? I’d be willing to help”.

Sadiq was shocked by Hamza’s kindness. He hadn’t experienced kindness in a long time. “What was your intention after ‘capturing’ me? To gift me someplace else, sell me, use me for battle”?

“Originally, yes. But now, you could be my…”

“What do we have here?” an unknown voice cackled.

High above them stood a bandit on top of a sand dune. From head to toe, he was covered in black robes. Only his eyes were visible.

Hamza was surprised to find himself alone. Sadiq was gone. While the bandit slid down the sand dune, Hamza held his dagger, but his hands were shaking. I never wanted to use this. The bandit cackled as he noticed Hamza’s unsteadiness. Then, he brandished his own long curved sword. Hamza struck first, but was easily disarmed. Swiftly, the bandit had him on the sand and tied his wrists with a rope.

The bandit rummaged through Hamza’s saddle bags on the camel, while he sat and watched by the palm tree. He spotted the open brass bottle in the sand. I actually found a jinni and then managed to anger him. And he noticed the shine of his dagger along the bandit’s belt. Then, I failed to defend myself from an attacker. Incredible. How pathetic could I be? Now, I’ll be going home with less than I left with, if I survive.

Grabbing the bags and throwing them on the ground in anger, the bandit grunted. “Nothing. No valuables. You’re worthless”, he said looking at Hamza. Then, he noticed the open brass bottle in the sand. He quickly picked it up. “You found a jinni”, he said slowly. “Where is it? Where did it go? In which direction”?

“I don’t know. It fled as soon as I opened the bottle”.

“Worthless”!

“You don’t have the means to capture it anyway”.

The bandit revealed glass bottles with brass seals around his belt. Some of which were cloudy. “Who said I couldn’t”?

A jinn bandit, dangerous to both humans and jinn. I hope that jinni is long gone.

As the bandit paced back and forth, thinking of what to do, Hamza felt the rope binding his wrists loosening. “Shh”, was whispered in his ear. “Distract him while I prepare to save you”, the familiar voice said.

“What are you doing? Forget about me and save yourself. This man could capture you and he won’t be as nice as me”.

“No, he won’t. Just distract him and run to the camel once you have a chance”, Sadiq said as he grabbed Hamza’s dagger from the bandit and tossed it at him.

Hamza rose to his feet and caught the blade. The bandit was shocked. “How did you do that? You must be a sorcerer. Well, I am, too” he said as he opened one of his bottles and smoke rose from it, darkening the sky. While it slowly took form due to its immense mass, Hamza took a big gulp and ran for his camel, but the bandit gave chase. Once he climbed on top of it and motioned for it to move, it didn’t follow his commands. Instead, it faced the bandit and, shocking the young man, transformed into a lion and roared. The volume reverberated throughout his body and the echo spread across the desert. The bandit stopped in his tracks and grew pale. Immediately, he turned around and hastily ran away.

The grand, cloud-like jinni nearly assumed its full shape in the sky. Horns, fangs, claws, and wings were visible. Lightning struck the earth and thunder quaked the ground. Yet, Hamza stood still astride his lion. I must show them what I’m capable of. He stood tall and took a deep breath. He held up his bottle and exclaimed, “Being of smokeless fire, enter the bottle at my command”! With those words, the grand jinni halted its formation and entered the bottle and Hamza closed it with the brass seal. The sky was sunny once again. I did it.

Hamza jumped off of the lion and stroked its mane. He watched as it transformed back into a camel. “Great job”, he said. The camel grunted in response.

Finally, Sadiq reappeared and both beings jumped in celebration.

“Your illusion was amazing!” Hamza said.

“Oh, it was easy, but you managed to capture such a massive jinni. That’s no easy feat”, Sadiq said.

“That was too simple for me. I need something harder”.

“It seems like we’re not so weak after all”.

“No, we’re not”, Hamza grinned. “Thank you for rescuing me. I really thought that you left. I may not be capable of much, but how can I repay you”?

Sadiq was shocked. No one ever offered to do anything for him before. He thought of what to say until, “You still have to make a wish, remember? Before we settle the matter of you being my master, of course”.

“I won’t be your master”.

“Are you letting me go free"?

“That’s for you to decide. I only wish for you to be my friend”.

Sadiq’s skin glowed brightly. “I’d like to be your friend, too”, he said smiling.

And so, the two friends journeyed home together. They spoke with glee and laughed all day and night. Depending on who you ask, the desert is either a mystery or an opportunity. To Hamza, he believed in the latter. Not for profit, fame, or glory, but for friendship.