Midwestern Amezi

Amezi is a land of the desert tribes. Its land is harsh and difficult to live off. The rocky desert gives very few shrubs for any sort of animal to live off except small ones, and farming the dry earth is out of the question. However, there are numerous oasis' scattered about the land where only the toughest greens grow and spread. In these spots, tribesmen and animals all stop to rest and find nourishment.

The hundred tribes that roam the lands of this desert continent are not all friendly towards each other. Different religious beliefs, styles of fighting, the technological progress of that tribe are all factors that cause rifts between the tribes and make them jealous, hostile towards each other. However, an ancient magic dwells beneath the dusty surface that sustains the tribes people and also gives the chief of each tribe the ability to sense the presence of another tribe, or intruders in the land. The tribe then has the choice to chase the other and confront them, or to turn away and avoid confrontation. Many times, the tribes choose to confront, and it ends up with deaths on both sides, with one tribe coming out as the victor.

The tribe that won the battle for domination takes over the enemy tribe, forcing them to change all of their ways or executing them all, either way ending that tribe's individuality. The most popular decision is execution and abduction of the tribe's women and children.

In one such tribal confrontation, a conflict arose and fell, the hammer annihilating nearly every warrior from one side. The technological difference between the tribes spanned too wide, but as a result of the battle, the victory-holding tribe lost their chief. One warrior from the other tribe claimed the chief's life still lives, and sits on his knees in front of the eldest daughter of the chief, Scarlet Rider.

Scarlet is a beautiful young girl with long, blood-red hair and eyes. She wears a cloak and travel dress to match her dominant colors, accentuated by black gloves and black boots. A black ribbon is tied into her hair, keeping her hair out of her face. Just like the color she was named for, she gives the killer of her father the fiercest of her glares as she points a small pistol colored red at the man's forehead.

"In the name of my father, I smite the killer of my father, and so regain the rights of chief of his tribe," Scarlet announced, stating the tradition that would earn her the rights and abilities of chief. For it is the chief that controls the tribe, and an enemy cannot control his master's army. Now, only one thing is left to do. Scarlet pulls the trigger to her gun, firing a shot point-blank into the warrior's head, killing him instantly.

Immediately, Scarlet felt an immense magic stir from the ground and envelop her in an invisible blanket, crushing her body from the outside. Just as quickly as the feeling came, it disappeared back into the earth, and Scarlet found an awareness that she never before knew. Her instincts told her everything. How close the next oasis was. Where all the closest tribes were, and how large they were. The paths they should take to confront or avoid these tribes also became clear to her. This was the power of a chief.

A hand on Scarlet's shoulder awoke her from her inward meditation. There was still work to be done here. One member of the enemy tribe still lived, his hands tied behind his back and his eyes blindfolded and his mouth gagged. He was an outcast from his own tribe, they were not the ones who bound his hands, but they were the ones who blindfolded and gagged him. No one knew what kind of talent he had, and no one wanted to take any risks. It was very likely that the man never saw Scarlet, as a chief's daughters were never allowed to fight in a tribal war.

"Prisoner of your own tribe," Scarlet spoke, her voice and aura high and commanding, placing herself above the man in every way. She gazed at him not with anger, though, but pity. "You have a choice to make here. Your tribe has been dissolved and your chief has been killed just as the rest of your clansmen. But even if your tribe held you as a prisoner, that will not be the case with us. You will adopt our religion, our technology, and take orders from myself, the chief of this tribe. Or," Scarlet readied her pistol again, placing the very tip up against his forehead, her finger already on the trigger, "I will simply kill you here." Scarlet nodded to a tribesman, who reluctantly removed the gag from the man.

"Your answer, prisoner of the dead tribe."

He was supposed to be executed at noon today. The infamous scoundrel Malcolm Fate, the Joker of Cards. Apprehended for trickery, illegal gambling, and a few murders here and there. He had managed to keep himself under the radar for the most part, always suddenly having a stroke of luck whenever he needed it. But eventually his luck ran out and his past caught up to him. He had thought that his life would have ended today, even with this war between his tribe and an obviously much more powerful one. Even if his tribe lost he had no doubt that the chief of the other tribe would put him to death as well.

It was past noon, and he was still breathing. Albeit with a gag in his mouth and his vision impaired by a blindfold. As the tribe's chief explained his situation Malcolm knew Lady Luck was still on his side. When his gag was removed Malcolm spat onto the ground the saliva that had welled up in his mouth due to the gag. "They say that fortune favors the bold not the cowardly. But that kind of boldness and pride also gets you killed." Malcolm started, "Livin' or dyin'. The answer's obvious ain't it?"

A fair answer, Scarlet thought. No one in Amezi, despite the harshness of the continent, wished for death rather than life. Well, there may be a few, but most believed that accepting death is accepting fate's unfair rules. Still, it was good to hear that she wouldn't have to end another life. Scarlet never agreed with her late father's lust for bloodshed and war. She much preferred to avoid conflict whenever possible, but did not shy from it. She inherited Amezi's most desired blood magic, a talent used for war and only war.

Scarlet spun her gun in her hand and shoved it back into it's holster. The other tribesmen probably wouldn't like her doing this, but it was uncalled for there to be a female chief in the first place. As the only heir, it was her inheritance that made her the chief. "Then you will live," Scarlet said, moving closer to the strange-speaking man. She grabbed the blindfold and pulled it off, finally allowing the man to see. "Get up, we have some traveling to do."

When the chief announced his fate Malcolm knew that Lady Luck had not abandoned him in his time of need. She had only been teasing him with his capture. She was a tricky dame but nevertheless a loyal one. As his blindfold was lifted another tribesman undid the ropes that bound his arms together behind his back. Malcolm stood up and opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the light. Once adjusted Malcolms attention focused on the female in front of him, evidently the chief of the new tribe. And what a striking beauty she was. "I've gotta say, yer a sight for sore eyes. Bein' freed by such a good lookin' dame. Guess Lady Luck is smilin' on me still." Malcolm said, "Name's Fate, Malcolm Fate. Yer name, Beautiful?"

"I'll advise you to watch your tongue, Malcom Fate." Scarlet said firmly, glaring at the newest recruit in her tribe. She almost expected some of the men to get riled up for how the man spoke to her. But they were still reeling from the shock of having a female chief. It would be awhile before anyone would come to her defense. Good, that gave her time to prove herself as a capable leader and prevented her from having to deal with men being all over her. Well, everyone besides this man, anyway. "Else I may have to cut it out." Scarlet finished, turning her back on the man.

Scarlet took a headcount of the tribesmen she was now the chief of. She knew everyone by face and by name, being the chief's daughter for over twenty years allowed her to learn this much. They lost quite a few members in the battle, with thirty-two warriors out of the forty-five left. Well, thirty-three warriors, if she could count on this Malcom Fate to be true to his word.

"I assume you have a weapon that you are comfortable with, Malcom Fate?" Scarlet asked rhetorically, looking around at their surroundings. The horses and other cattle they owned had skittered off on their own during the fight, and the other tribe's cattle were mingled in as well. "We need to do a round up. Reign those cattle in, men!" Scarlet barked orders at her tribe. It took a few seconds to realize Scarlet was their chief before begrudgingly going off on their jobs. Scarlet noticed, and it irked her.

Scarlet turned to Malcom again, for the final round this time. "My name is Scarlet Rider. You will take orders from me, and only me. No one but the chief is a greater man than the next. If anyone tries to give you an order, you have permission to bust their ass. Even if you were from another tribe, an outsider, all of us were at one point. These men have trouble understanding that at some times, among other things."

Malcolm chuckled and made no attempt to hide his grin. Here this girl was, the chief of this new tribe he was now part of. A female chief, that was certainly a new one. And she seemed to be a very confident and dignified individual too, with the way she spoke to the rest of the tribe as well as the threat she gave. Most other men would take the hint and back off after that threat, but Malcolm was infamous for pushing his luck as far as it could go.

"'Course I do." Malcolm replied to Scarlet's question and patted his breast pocket, where his deck of cards were located. Though he had no intention of showing them to her. His weapon of choice was rather unorthodox and at first glance it may appear rather pathetic. So it would be wise to save revealing it for a later time as the last thing he needed was to be ridiculed by his new tribe's chief. "Heh, so I only take orders from you huh?" Malcolm responded, his glowing eyes carefully studying her, "Sounds good to me."

Malcolm took a look around, noticing that all the other tribesmen had gone off on the task assigned to them by the chief. Which meant the two of them were alone. "So you got us alone together huh?" Malcolm chuckled, knowing he was really pushing it. But with Lady Luck on his side he could afford to try his luck a bit more. "So what's that devious little mind of yours got planned for us, eh Beautiful?"

Scarlet should have known that wouldn't be enough to stop his advances. He was lucky, for sure. Poised for execution, then being saved by an enemy tribe and inducted into their ranks. On top of that, the new chief vibe still hasn't set in, especially the fact that she was female. A female chief. If only her father could see what trouble he caused by dying. But mourning for the dead was pointless. Already the earth was beginning to devour the bodies of the decimated tribe. The hot sun baking the hard desert rock only sped the process along.

"'We'?" Scarlet raised a dark red eyebrow at Malcom, almost confused by his question. "'We' are hunting down those two," she said, pointing in the distance towards two horses that stopped quite a distance away, after having been frightened from the battle. They were settled at a small oasis with very little brown shrubs growing. "Raimen and Alice are their names, and they need to be fetched and treated if injured. If you will assist me, it would be greatly appreciated."

Regardless of whether Malcom decided to follow or not, Scarlet had a duty to fetch the horses. It was the job of the chieftain to handle the more important animals of the stock, and with these being the only horses in the tribe, it was not difficult to rein them in. However, there were two of them, and only one of Scarlet. Before, she would help her father rein them in, but with him dead, the only person Scarlet could trust was herself. She was supposed to keep a close eye on Malcom, so having him come along would be useful to her. Maybe he could help by being a distraction for the horses.

Malcolm chuckled from the chief's reaction, or rather lack of one. It looked like he could push his luck a bit further before she would actually back up the threat of cutting off his tongue. Not that Malcolm planned on actually losing his tongue anyway, he was known to be a very elusive man if he wished to be. He had to considering the number of enemies he had made over the past several years of his life. Fortunately for him most of those enemies were all killed in the war against this tribe, obviously another gift from Lady Luck.

Malcolm followed Scarlet as she went off toward two horses. They seemed to be fairly tame, seeing how they were peacefully resting at the oasis. And since there were only two of them rounding them up shouldn't be that difficult. "Sure thing Beautiful." Malcolm responded, "Just give me some rope and twenty minutes and I'll be sure to come back with those horses in tow."