When I arrive at the grove the next night, there's no Big Bird. But there is a book, titled The Darod Dynasty. with a plain strip of paper apparently serving as a bookmark. I flip it open to the marked page and there's a note there in small, dainty handwriting.
Winchester,
My mother is not long for this world. Obviously, I must spend as much time as I can with her before she passes. Read however much you want to - I only ask that you stop at the end of a ruler's reign. I will send word to you when I'm ready to see you again.
-Achara
I'm sad to hear about her mother. And wow, Big Bird just gave me her actual name. That's not the professional one she gave me earlier this... week? It hasn't even been a full week since I've known her. It feels longer. Now it feels like I do have to miss my flight home. I mean, I can't just leave when my friend is in so vulnerable a state. Is she my friend? I don't know. I'd like to think so... I mean, we've spent the past couple nights together and she hasn't charged me because it's during her off time.
Kenny would probably say I'm being an idiot about all this and that she's probably playing the long-range game to get at my money. "That's the thing about girls in this country, man. They love us for our money. Just remember that, and whatever you do, don't fall in love."
Not that it will happen, of course. Even the prettiest girls here don't compare to the Mocha Girl. And yes, it's still silent on that end. I'm beginning to think it always will be. Not that I'm worthy of her anyway. Not that I'm worthy of anyone.
To distract myself from those thoughts, I start reading.
"A popular saying during this time period stated that 'No one sails the Southern Gulf without Yemen knowing.' As you can see from the above map, that was certainly the case at the start of Ughaz Darood's reign. As for the king himself, although numerous stories have surfaced in the centuries since about his mental instability, his illness appears not to have impacted his ability as a ruler.
Certainly his lunacy can be traced back to his time in prison, a period of some months from which he never fully recovered. To his dying day, he hated darkness and small spaces, and insisted on light everywhere he went - even when he was sleeping.
The distribution of inheritances left Darood in a weakened position, and poor execution of a military campaign caused Yemen to lose the province of Narghaz to the Yufirid Emirate.
Stunned by the loss, Darood postponed plans to reform the native Somali religion in favor of establishing a Holy Order - The Guardians of the Sky - who were immediately granted land and later given an additional citadel base in Dathina to grow their numbers from approximately 1,000 soldiers to 1,500. As the patrons of this new order, the Darod dynasty benefitted greatly from being able to freely summon them in campaigns against the Islamic rulers in the rest of the Middle East.
That included the Yufirid Emirate. On the death of Emir Ibrahim, the Ughaz quickly attacked while the heir was still a minor, aiming to retake the lost territory. He succeeded - aided in no small part by the distraction of vassals rising up against the Yufirid ruling dynasty.
But before Darood could contemplate other actions, the old cult of the Headless Prophet arose, attacking him just as they did 'lise. Only this time, the Ughaz's head was taken."
I stop when I see that Ughaz Mansur's section starts next. What a disappointing, short reign for Darood. Sure, he conquered Wabar, got back the land he lost, completed the conquest of Mogadishu, and created a Holy Order, but it doesn't seem like he got a lot done in his 18 years of ruling. Though I have to admit, it's pretty funny that a lunatic got killed by a lunatic.