The Story of Tali
"And you!" said King Tanaka. "You will be exiled to the Sathar Desert." the King said with a smirk.
Tali's heart sank into her stomach. The Sathar Desert was they driest place of the known world. The ocean had never been out of her sight and the thought of it made her sick.
"Please!" she begged. "I have done very little harm to anyone besides the incident with Jara."
"You will leave this instant!" the King screamed.
The guards took her. Her grandfather, the King, kept his smug gaze on her as they escorted her out of the hall. Her grandfather had always disliked her. Her happy clumsy personality conflicted with his harsh stern ways. She regretted the incident with her cousin Jara. "I would not be in this mess if it were not for that wretched girl." She thought to herself.
Tali had always been jealous of her cousins relationship with her brother, Kaloo. From a young age the two had always gotten along and excluded Tali from activities. As a young teen Tali attended Jara's birthday party where she performed her sabotage. As Jara was blowing out her candles, Tali drew the water from the barrels and splashed it down on Jara's head. Despite her bubbly personality, Tali had never handled jealously well. She was banned from using her manipulation of water from then on.
After the birthday incident, her water powers grew weak from lack of use. She began practicing in secret by the great fountains at night. In the vast desert Tali would have no moisture nor water sources to manipulate. She believed her evil grandfather had banished her to the desert in the hopes of destroying her water abilities.
That night she was placed in a locked carriage used for prisoners. The two guards, leading the carriage, headed east towards the Sathar Desert. The trip would be five full grueling days. On the second day they let her out of the carriage to get some fresh air. Tali immediately recognized the young guard that opened the door. It was one of her friends she had known in school.
"Tali?" The young guard said.
"Is that you Bathar?" Tali responded.
"They had not told me who we were escorting, why we taking you to such a horrid place?" The young guard asked.
"My grandfathers orders." Tali responded.
"No talking! Back in the carriage!" The guard captain yelled.
Bathar led Tali back into the carriage slipping her an extra slice of bread. It was three more days of traveling until the reached her final destination. Bathar unlocked the back of the carriage and let Tali out. The sun blinded her eyes and the dry hot air burned her skin. Her shackles were removed and she was given a small knife, canteen, and a loaf of old bread. The guards and the carriage turned around and headed back towards Tali's home. She opened the canteen. No water, of course. Inside there was a small rolled up note.
"Head south by east for one day."
The message had been from Bathar. She set off towards the hills in the distance as the sun began to set. She decided to take shelter under a small overhanging rock for the night. She had only been asleep for a few hours before the sun began to shine bright, waking her up. The sky around her was pitch black but a bright star, that she thought was the sun, was shining from the hills. It shown with as much power as the sun. No longer tired, Tali set off towards the mysterious star.
Authors Note
Tali's character is based off of the kindness, selflessness, and loyalty similar to Sita. Sita was the daughter of King Janaka. This gave me the idea to have her grandfather be King Tanaka. Just as Rama was accompanied by Sita and Lakshmana, I wanted her to have some help along the way. This is where Bathar came into the picture. Even though he was not a permanent companion, he helped Tali along the way. The bright jewel towards the end of the story draws inspiration from the Syamantaka Jewel found in the stories of Krishna.
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