Location: Tâ Hâ City Hall
(Border between West District and Central City)

Council Meeting

It was the time between the maghrib and Isha prayers. Several men in white garbs and long beards were gathered in a majestic building with ornate designs and carvings. This grand building and hall was at the border between the West district and Central City.

Many of them were well past their prime years, and the signs of aging was clearly visible on them.

After discussing several issues pertaining to each of the other districts, the presiding grand elder of the meeting veered the attention of the gathering to the South.

"Hajj Ya'qûb, your report on the South district.."A completely white-haired man with the bearing of a sage asked, turning to one of the youngest men present, who also had the title of Hajj to himself. This white-haired man wore a white garb which had crests in the form of ornate designs of an archaic tree, reaching into a starry sky.

Although the younger man could be considered among the junior generation in the gathering, his few white strands amongst lush black beard, eyes which shone like stars, and the air of forbearance about him deemed him fit to be present there in the gathering of the elderly generation.

Hajj Ya'qûb who had the air of forbearance and wisdom about him held open a fine scroll from which he read.

"In our last sitting, the house contemplated on the issue of the Nine Flowers Heaven guild.

The issue of tracking down their hideout in the South was brought up, and suggestions were made as to how the operation was to be carried out.

Brother Arman Shah came up with the idea that, the younger brother of Sora, the one time 'White Hare of the South' - Usagi•, first be located.

His movements would most likely lead to the yakuza• group.

[[Usagi means 'Hare', part of the Japanese zodiac.

Yakuza - a powerful Japanese criminal organization. In this story, it's a guild of assassins]

However, due to the meagre information possessed by the House on the Asian brothers, to the extent we didn't even know their appearance till Sora showed up in 'Inabah, the task was seen as a near impossibility.

The house settled on the decision to keep on prying among the community of the Asian minority, as well as to seek the aid of our plant in the Jade Dragon.

Although the same plan had been in enactment for two years, there had been no results then, and nothing new has popped up now.

Our supplant failed to gain any new information on the guild. For the two years after Sora disappeared, Nine Flowers Heaven has seemingly gone into a hibernation. No signs of their movements has been noticed.

It seems their last target, which also ended in a failure was Ukashah bin Sulaymân. Their last assassin sent on that mission was Sora, who goes by the alias,'Thunder Dragon Shin'."

At this, a pleasant-looking man, who was clean-shaven and wore glasses, among the youngest in the house, gave a cold harrumph.

"I told you bunch of old fogeys!

When I implored the house to act quickly and apprehend the hoodlum for questioning.

But nooo.., you all senile fogeys wouldn't listen.

You'd rather heed Ya'qûb's and the Scholar's words, though you knew very well they were just trying to protect the goddamn demon child, if we even should call him that!

Now behold! Two years pass since we've been so close to apprehending them, and yet here we're, still fumbling on the same situation. I only wonder what new excuse we as the Council of Tâ Hâ would have for the Capital when the King requests our findings.

After all, Nine Flowers Heaven has been a malignance for him for so long."

The man had yet to complete his angry rant when another elder cut in coldly. He was obviously among the younger ones in the group,

"Nine Flowers Heaven has been the scourge of Qalb-ul-Ard since it was founded over a hundred years ago. It's not only the Monarchy's problem.

If King Dhul Qarnayn thinks he can solve within a day what his father and grandfather couldn't, Hmph! Then he must be in for a massive disappointment!"

"Third Elder Salmân! Watch your words!

This might be a meeting of Tâ Hâ's Council, but we all know we're not alone in privacy here."One elder said, looking sideways at Arman Shah with distrust.

One could tell these two elders were from the same tribe. Their garbs bore the same crest of a clamshell in a lake. This was the Banu Salâma tribe.

"Hah! I've been serving the North district for over a decade now, and even lost my frail wife to this Island's poor weather, and yet, you guys can't seem to trust me."

"Frail wife?"The third elder Salmân voiced in surprise.

"Respect the dead."Hajj Ya'qûb said solemnly, before what was a harmless statement could generate into a fresh bout of angry exchanges.

"Elder Arman Shah, no one says they don't trust you. Only, we must still maintain a sense of propriety once we're talking about the Monarchy." The first elder who addressed Hajj Ya'qûb and was the presiding grand elder spoke calmly.

At his words, Arman Shah visibly calmed down. But one could still feel the tension in the room.

"Ahah! Least I forget"The grand elder continued, an amusement in his eyes which made his already pleasant face more radiant,"This year's Grand Qur'an Ramadan Competition is coming up. What does the house have to say on the preparation of the various districts and schools to participate?"

"Presenting to Presiding elder,"An aged and lanky man in a white garb which had ornate designs of a white pearl upon a majestic mountain spoke,

"Al Ahad Foundation of the West district has united all its halaqât as per the direction of the Chief principal of the school.

Once talents are gathered from all the West district's halaqât and united under the face of the school, competitions can be held within, to find the perfect group to represent us in this year's GQRC.

Chief principal came to this conclusion after sitting with the other elders of Banu Al Haris. And so the decision had been immediately put into effect with the intention of later informing the House."

An elder with a lilac crescents' crest gave a cold snort,"What's the use of informing the house once you've already put it into effect.

Apparently the Al Haris tribe don't think it proper to first inform the Presiding Grand elder from the Al Ilyâsin tribe before putting such important decisions into action.

Looks like they belittle the authority of the Presiding Grand elder. Could be that it's because he's not from your clan?"

"Second elder of Banu Al Haris, don't forget it's yet to be the turn of your Grand elder to take charge of the House as the Presiding elder."An Ilyâsin elder spoke in all solemnity, earning a satisfied smirk from the Al Hilâli elder who just spoke.

"Until then, all decisions must be referred to the Al Ilyâsin Grand elder!"

"I'm sincerely sorry for this oversight. I hope the Grand elder and all august audience would forgive me."The lanky man said, and yet anyone could see he was anything but sincere.

There was a condescending look to his face as he looked at the Al Hilâli elder who just spoke.

The Presiding Grand elder nodded, and looked over at Arman Shah graciously,"And the North?"

Arman Shah gave a soft scoff, arms folded in a dignified manner,"The North is already unified. All halaqât formed originate from the school itself.

As for finding eligible candidates for GQRC, United Ummah Institute always makes sure to produce the best."

"No wonder why we haven't won it since you arrived over a decade ago."The third elder from the Banu Salâma tribe laughed.

Arman Shah gave an enigmatic smile,"Then I guess this year, you'll surely be satisfied to eat your own words, Elder Salmân."

"Ohoo.. United Ummah has obtained a secret trump card"The Grand elder responded in overt interest,

"That leaves Iqra Complex of the East district.."

At this, a prime-aged scholar came forth, stroking his beard in a sage-like manner. It seemed as if there were no problem that would be left unsolved if presented to him.

"East district's three 'Kings' Halaqât have scheduled a Musâbaqah date among themselves, to be held before Iqra Complex reopens. Whoever wins the Qur'an competition would represent the school at the Interschool level."

"What about the other halaqât? I'm sure East district is made of more than the three 'Kings' Halaqât."The Grand elder asked.

"We need talents from everywhere. You can't just constrict the rules of those who're eligible candidates for the competition.."

"Exactly. But Grand elder should know that the preliminary competitions are already underway, and all indicators are pointing to the three 'Kings' who've not yet been defeated.

Latest by the end of the month, we'll hold the final round to determine the overall qualifying halaqah to represent Iqra Complex."

"Great, Sheikh Sâmuddîn. But I wonder why the halaqât of the East district cannot come together as one, just as the West and North have done.."The Grand elder questioned the scholar, a thoughtful look on his face.

"The situation in the East is unlike the West and North. The halaqât of the East.. - cannot be unified!"

At this statement of his, there was no further questioning. Everyone seemed to understand the situation.

The Grand elder sighed.

"Tâ Hâ has been craving the Honour of winning for so long. Since the GQRC began O so many years ago, when Qalb-ul-Ard first was founded, each provincial city has at least, once possessed the honour of being titled 'Qur'an City'.

Except, Tâ Hâ has only won it once, and that was in the first tournament when it first began.

Since then, the other cities took turns in claiming the title for the past hundred years.

In the end, our glory of being the first City to win a hundred years ago, has rather become a source of mockery and shame for us in front of the other cities.

So much so that, the past two Rulers and even the present one thought it amusing to make a deal thus,

If Tâ Hâ wins the title again, they may have anything they ask for, - even the position of Secondary Capital City."A light shone in his eyes at this, and yet a palpable sorrow was visible on his face..

"Hah! What a joke! Grand Elder of the Ilyâsin tribe must not have forgotten, but the title of Secondary Capital City has always belonged to Tâ Hâ from as far back as the founding of the Kingdom.

We only had the title wrongly removed by the immediate past King in order to play the suitable bait for us.

In his eyes, Tâ Hâ was just the lowly Island city."Elder Salmân spoke with embers in his eyes.

"Hmph! You can't blame him. The scandal with his son was linked to this City after all.."The lanky elder of Al Haris added mockingly.

"Second Elder of Al Haris tribe, Watch your tongue! Perhaps if you're tired of using it, I should probably hasten its fate before your words reach the King's ears.."Arman Shah spoke coldly.

"What other proof do we need of this imposter!"The Elder Salmân retorted, before the attacked elder could even reply. He had a derisive smile on his face.

It seemed he wouldn't spare any chance to defame the Principal of United Ummah Institute.

Arman Shah gave a cold snort. Flicking his sleeve, he turned away.

The Grand Elder of Al Ilyâsin tribe gave an amused smile. He had wanted to turn the discussion in a direction where they'll all unite and put their minds together, but it seemed no matter where he turned, these two would always have a bone of contention to pick with each other. They were literally always up the other's throat.

"Uh-umm"Hajj Ya'qûb cleared his throat, receiving everyone's attention.

"I think this would be the best time and location to announce the revival of 'Inabah, The Halaqah of the South district.."He hadn't finished his statement, and yet an elder almost choked on his spittle.

All eyes were opened in overt shock as if someone just announced a dead person had come back to life in their midst. Veins were literally pulsing on the surface of skins, and some mouths were even opened in gape.

"I - Inabah?!!!!"

"You can't be serious.."

"No way."

"Pfft.. He's joking right. I clearly didn't hear him say 'Inabah, did you?"One elder turned to another, an uncertain mockery on his face.

"Yep! You heard him right."The elder closeby said humourlessly, shock equally on his face. At this, the previous elder's smile faltered.

One could clearly see that the house was now divided into three groups; those who were pleasantly surprised to hear this good news, those who felt a calamity had just been announced, and the others who fell into neither group - they neither were happy or repulsed by the news, Arman Shah fell into this later group.

As for those who were unhappy, majority of them came from the four major tribes; Banu Ilyâsin, Banu Haris, Banu Hilâl, and Banu Salâma.

The happy group surprisingly included the Grand Elder of Al Ilyâsin, though he was the only one from his tribe to feel that way.

One could see that majority of this group made up the affiliated tribes. It seemed South district's Halaqah was a source of pride and strength for them against the overbearing four tribes. It was the only thing they could use to lock horns with the four tribes as equals, or perhaps even claim precedence over them.

"Al.. - Al Iskandarī - h-he really couldn't be back right?"One elder stammered.

"Yh, that's an impossibility..-"

The elder held his mouth reflexively as he realized the denotation of what he just said. He turned to look at the Eastern Waterfall scholar who had just spoken for the East, his eyes held a question to them. But the scholar was just as confused as him.

No.. The boys never mentioned anything about Al Iskandarī..

"And why could that be so?"Hajj Ya'qûb asked that elder, a cold light in his eyes.

"We-Wel-l- We all know he's left to never return!"The elder stammered, finally shouting his answer back in anger, as if that was of itself enough an explanation.

Hajj Ya'qûb scoffed.

"Indeed, Sheikh Al Iskandarī is not present..

But his pupils have decided to revive the halaqah on their own."