There once was a Kingdom named Harinagar, full of lush fields, flowing rivers and happy little villages. Harinagar had only one city; the capitol – called Harishehr, and this city was unremarkable as cities go. It was neat, clean, with tiny houses a small market square, a few towers and a moderate castle. It was known to be the most calm and peaceful city in the world.
The Badshah was the ruler of all Harinagar, and was known to be a kind and jolly fellow. He would often ride out into the city, greeting all and sundry as he went. He knew all the townspeople by name, and often as he went by, he enquire as to the health of Ashraf, the baker’s children, or Hamza, the fishermen’s mother or Karima the seamstress’ villager relatives.
Harishehr did not have many distinctive qualities, however the ones it did have were treasured by the people, none more so than the Badshah. In pride of place of this list of distinctions was the Harishehr clock tower. The tower was long, thin, spiky, curling thing that had many words and symbols carved into its exterior, it served as headquarters for the nation’s wizards. The tower had been headquarters long before it acquired the clock. The clock was revered because this type of clock was the only one in existence. The clock not only showed the time, but also foretold the weather, and was known to be able to predict the future if used correctly.
For the last ten years of the Badshah’s reign, the clock had been used diligently to predict the weather. The Badshah then dispatched the news to the entire country, and the farmers, fishermen, and anyone who was affected by the weather, were well prepared. This led to better food production, and generally had improved the lot of the ordinary citizens.
As previously stated, the clock was a recent addition to the clock tower, having been gifted to the royal family fifteen years previously. It had been gifted to the current Badshah’s father, for helping a wood fairy; the fae had come out of their mountains and built it especially for the wise old king and his line.
The fae had taught only the Badshah’s most trusted wizards to wield its powers and had warned against getting mired in its predictions. The old Badshah had taken their words seriously and never allowed anyone to even so much as touch the device as long as he lived. After the succession passed to his son, the current Badshah, however, took a different view of it, he allowed the wizards to use the clock to divine the weather – however they were forbidden from going any further, never to ask it for the future. So far the Badshah’s gamble had paid off brilliantly, and he was determined to never allow any dangerous use of the clock.
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