Every Kulan knows the famed Dance of the Camel Bride. Both the story and the associated song have long since become ingrained in the local folklore. It has grown in popularity across Altimara, thanks in no small part to travelling Kulan merchants and curious Qiri’aran traders.

Tavern bars as far as Felidrun and Romontya can at least play the song, even if they don’t full understand the story behind it.

The song itself contains no words, but consists of a repeating tune that grows incrementally faster upon each refrain. Eventually, the tune is meant to grow into an almost impossible fast crescendo where it suddenly stops, a single note plays, and the refrain starts again, very slowly, and gathering speed once more to a final crashing stop.

The intended dance for this song is a flurry of whirling and spinning, until the dancer collapses from exhaustion or dizziness, much like the eponymous camel bride.

The song is played with at least two bagpipes, a hurdy gurdy and a drum.

The story itself is a much more fascinating tale. Below is an excerpt from Tumulgan’s Tales: A Collection of Folktales from Altimara, written by Tumulgan the Bard, circa 884 Ruin.

Many centuries ago, in the early centuries of the Age of Ruin, a woman lived in Kula. Though her name is lost to time, her story will forever live on.

She lived alone, for her parents had passed on, and she worked her craft in camel rearing. This woman raised some of the best camels in Altimara, and everyone from travelling merchants, to the Altimaran Camelry, and even Qiri’aran nomads would come to her for their camel needs.

In truth, she was a beauty, but she much preferred her camels to people. At first, every boy in Kula tried to win her heart, but each was sent off swiftly. The woman’s camels sent them running with what remained of their tails between their legs.

The woman had no time for men or marriage, for she was married only to her profession. After a year of trying to win her heart, the local Kulan boys came to respect the wishes, and instead banded together to protect her and her camels from outsiders who had not taken the hint.

In return the woman, who had slowly begun to grow wealthy off her camel trade, would put her money back into the village and its people, to help them in times of need, and ensure the townsfolk were cared for. While she preferred camels to people, she still could not bear to see her fellow Kulans suffer, and always did her best to help them in need.

As her skill grew, and she and her skills became known across many lands. Word of a beautiful maiden who could raise the best camels and chose to be married to her craft was whispered in every tavern, and people travelled far and wide to meet her. Many bought camels from her, while others merely wished to set eyes upon this fabled maiden. Some thought her odd, others admired her, but there were few that could not respect her and her craft.

But the greedy son of the Duke of Qintarth came from Ottogard to seek this beautiful woman out. He did not seek her out for her camels, for he had no need of a dirty, desert beast. He came instead, for her hand in marriage.

At first the local boys were able to stave off his advances. He would go to the woman’s ranch, and be driven off by the local people who defended her. Eventually, the duke’s son returned with his own private soldiers and forced the villagers to back down in the face of such might.

Each day for a week, the Duke’s son would march over to the Kulan woman’s camel ranch and make a play for her love, and each time she sent him home with nothing but a no and a sore groin.

As he soothed his injuries and his ego, the duke’s son came ot a realization: the woman cared about her fellow Kulans as much as she cared for her camels, and any injury to either would surely make her more pliable.

On the eighth day, the duke’s son returned once more, but this time with an ultimatum: marry him, or he harm the villagers.

But still the woman refused to marry him. She was married to her craft, and she would rather marry one of her camels than marry the duke’s son. She would not allow the man to bully her, or her friends, or her camels.

The duke’s son, offended, spat, and called her Camel Bride. If she would not marry him willingly, she would be married to him by force, and he would make good on his promise to harm the villagers.

The woman warned the duke’s son that if he returned, he would regret it.

He did not listen.

He returned again the next day with his mercenaries with several village children in chains. The children were beaten and bruised, and after much goading and taunting, the duke’s son killed the children, one by one, tossing their heads to the Camel Bride.

It was the last thing he did.

For the Camel Bride was secretly a powerful mage. She kept her powers hidden, but they aided her in raising some of the best camels in Enayra. Magic made all things stronger, as her mother had taught her.

The duke’s son died screaming, and his retinue could only watch in fear. Only one was left alive, and he was left to return to the duke the heart, hands and manhood of his son.

She then turned to the dead children, and wept. She called to the sky, to all creation, to beseech the Great Aspect and his familiar Aurum to revive these young innocents from their untimely demise. These children did not deserve their death, and had done nothing to deserve it.

The woman then began to dance, chanting to the sky and to creation as she spun. She spun and whirled, crying to the world, to whoever would listen. It was said she danced for a full day and full night, until her feet were cracked and bleeding, and she collapsed from exhaustion. When finally her skin touched the dust, Aurum arrived and granted her wish while she slept.

When she awoke, she rose to find that children alive and well, tending to her camels while the Camel Bride was being cared for by the village.

As for the duke’ son, the Camel Bride kept the man’s head. She dried it, pickled it, so that all his skin and flesh remained, and removed the crown of the skull so that she could use the man’s head as a pot for her desert verbena plants.

You see a messy scrawl written in the bottom pages of this book. It’s unknown who wrote this, but it’s clear it was written in a moment of passionate defence for the woman known as the Camel Bride.

“The Camel Bride was not a nameless woman. She lived, and this particular story happened in 205 Ruin, in what is now Kula. Her name was Tisay’lah Uluk’gan. She was the daughter of a Qiri’ar trader and a Kulan father who raised camels–their names are lost to time. She was not a mage, but a Qiri’aran blood witch.

Tisay’lah was raised by her parents until her thirteenth year. It was then that her mother disappeared into the wastes during her thirteenth year to return to Gishan’belor–as all Qiri’ar do each year at the onset of winter–to seek permission from the Great Mother to live her life with her husband and child, never having to return to the capital each year.

When her mother did not return by the summer of her fourteenth year, her father left Tisay’lah in charge of the camel ranch, and ventured to Gishan’belor to seek his wife and love.

Outsiders were not allowed to set foot within the ancient borders of the Qiri’ar, and even half-bloods required permission from the High Chief and Great Mother.

Tisay’lah knew in her heart she would likely never see either of her parents again. But she had been bequeathed from them two great gifts: the love and art of camel husbandry from her father, and blood magic and herbalism from her mother. She excelled at both, but kept her mother’s skill hidden. Stigma was against her there.

The town knew and liked Tisay’lah’s father, and so they helped care for her after her parents disappeared. In return she acted as their healer in times of need, doing what she could to help ease the suffering of the village folk. This part is true.

She loved them, and while they were wary of her, they did love her too.

Much of the rest of the story goes the same as above. She gained fame and fortune, refused to marry, and devoted herself to her craft. Her suitors in the village eventually became her friends and protectors, and she redistributed her fortune back into Kula.

Everyone is the same right up until the most famous part: her begging of the The Great Aspect and Aurum to bring the children back to life. Tisay’lah was an incredibly skilled blood witch, and did not need the Great Wyrm to save these children. She did so herself, using blood magic.

She revived the children, wiped their memories, and told them instead it was Aurum who saved them, so that they would not tell their parents and get her burned at the stake for blood magic. In truth, she had sacrificed three of her greatest camel studs for their blood price. The woman who had loved her camels more than all, even herself, had found something she had loved even more.

Tisay’lah then sent the children into a slumber for one day with her herbs, wounded her feet to corroborate her story, and proceeded to drug herself with her own herbs so the villagers found her unconscious when they came to look.

Until now, no one knew the truth story of Tisay’lah Uluk’gar. There was one child whose mind she could not truly wipe, for I too was a Qiri’ar blood witch in training (through my grandmother). I faked my ignorance, for her sake. The world is not kind to witches like us.

But she has passed on, and now it is safe. The truth must be told, for we of Kula loved her, and she truly loved us.