We Hunt the Flame

The map depicts the country of Arawiya, where the story takes place. Five caliphates—Alderamin, Sarasin, Demenhur, Zaram, and Pelusia—and the city of Sultan’s Keep surround an inland sea. At the center of the body of water, the Baransea, lies an island called Sharr. The map is framed with ornate Middle Eastern-style engravings that depict the Six Sisters of Old: Anadil, Abal, Alhena, Azraa, Afya, and Asma.

Zafira bint Iskandar is returning from a hunt in the Arz, a forest with a dark sentient presence. She lives in Demenhur, one of Arawiya’s five caliphates, which are ruled by Sultan Ghameq. The young woman is familiar with the dangers of the forest but is nonetheless relieved to be able to leave it unharmed, a feat that seemingly no one else has ever achieved. She’s been hunting in the Arz as a man known in her village as the Hunter because women aren’t allowed to hunt. Zafira goes to her white horse, Sukkar, with a dead deer, but is ambushed by two men from the caliphate of Sarasin. They tell her that the Sultan is looking for her. Afraid for her life, Zafira leads them to the Arz, where they get lost while she escapes and returns home. On the way, a strange woman in a silver cloak who knows her name and secret identity asks if she can “hear the roar of the lion” and “heed its call” (10). Zafira is left confused and unsettled by the encounter with the Silver Witch.

Nasir Ghameq, the crown prince of Arawiya, works as his father’s hashashin (assassin), earning him the nickname Prince of Death. The Sultan has recently killed the caliph of the Sarasin caliphate and taken over his army. Now, Nasir’s father has sent him on a mission in Sarasin, where the young man is looking for his mark. He walks through the streets and climbs on roofs on his way toward the city’s camel race. The people who notice Nasir immediately identify him and scurry away in fear, which he resents but understands. The young man describes himself as evil for carrying out the Sultan’s orders, and is seemingly resigned to working against his own conscience. After gathering information from a young boy he rewards with a small cake, Nasir finds his way to his target’s tent. The old man is a historian who was the Sarasin caliph’s advisor. He tells Nasir that his work will not die with him and gives a mysterious warning about the Sultan, who seemingly turned evil after the Sultana’s death. He adds that something “stirs in the shadows” and death will soon be “the least of [their] horrors” (20). Nasir is intrigued, but kills the man and leaves.

Zafira hurries back to her village in Demenhur, which is one of the most discriminatory caliphates against women. Demenhur men keep women in submission by blaming them for ills—a practice based on the superstition that the Six Sisters of Old rid Arawiya of magic, bringing shame and desolation to the nation. Zafira arrives home to meet her friend Deen, who tells her about his foreboding dreams of Sharr, an “island of evil” (25) which used to hold the Six Sisters and magic prisoners. Deen is worried for Zafira’s safety, but she appeases him. She then meets with her best friend Yasmine, Deen’s sister, who is getting married to her beloved Misk Khaldun. She insists that Zafira tell her about what happened to her earlier, but the latter evades her questions and only mentions the strange men who wanted to take her to the Sultan. She and Zafira have a disagreement because the former doesn’t understand why Zafira hides her identity as a huntress, while the latter is afraid of growing apart from her friend when she is married. Yasmine tells Zafira that she will find someone who loves her one day, but Zafira swears that she will not, for fear of ending up like her mother after her father died.

Nasir rides home to the Sultan’s Palace. He learns from General Altair al-Badawi, who hates him, that the two men sent to retrieve the Hunter failed. He then meets with his father, who asks him to bring a young boy kept in the dungeons. The Sultan then performs dum sihr (blood magic), which Nasir knows is forbidden and shouldn’t be possible since all magic disappeared, to light a fire. The fire enables him to communicate with Haytham, the Demenhur caliph’s advisor and the young boy’s father. The Sultan holds Haytham’s son hostage to convince him to help him assassinate his caliph. To do so, the Sultan plans to use toxic fumes from the Leil mines in Sarasin and the Sarasin army he illegally commandeers. The Sultan also mentions a quest which will begin two days from then. Although Nasir doesn’t know what this quest is, he is angered by his father’s plan and loathes himself for his powerlessness. It is also mentioned that the Sultan wears a medallion imbued with similar dark magic to the Arz’s.

Zafira is back in her own home, where she lives with her younger sister Lana and their mother, who has been bedridden since their father’s death and whom Lana takes care of. She notices a silver-and-red letter tucked in her satchel, which she presumes was left by the Silver Witch. The letter contains an invitation to the Sultan’s quest to retrieve a lost book, the lost Jawarat, from Sharr. The book is said to be able to restore magic to Arawiya. Later that day, Zafira sits and chats with Yasmine during the latter’s wedding. The feast has been mostly provided by the Hunter, who has been feeding the village. The wedding ceremony takes place, with Zafira and Deen watching while the za’eem (chief) gives a speech about the history of Arawiya and the need for “solidarity and love” (60). He mentions that the Six Sisters brought magic to Arawiya, bestowing different gifts to each of the caliphates before leaving with the magic—which Zafira doesn’t believe.

Nasir wakes up and finds that Altair has intruded his rooms. The general invites him to have a drink in a tavern to discuss the Sultan’s quest. Despite his reluctance, Nasir accepts because he wants information. The prince is surprised to learn that Altair only drinks qahwa (coffee) rather than alcohol. He learns that the Sultan is planning a quest to Sharr with the help of the Silver Witch. They want to retrieve something that can only be obtained by someone pure of heart, and Nasir’s role will be to kill this person, the Hunter, and bring back the object, because the Sultan doesn’t trust the Silver Witch.

Zafira wakes up Lana, reading the Silver Witch’s letter. She assuages her sister’s concerns and confesses that she wants to go. She fondly remembers her father’s love of stories and how much he taught her about the country’s history. When the girls’ mother starts stirring in her sleep, Zafira feels a stab of guilt because she’s been unable to see her since their father died. Five years ago, the girls’ father entered the Arz, looking for a cure for his sick family, and emerged months later with a fractured mind. He didn’t recognize Zafira and attacked her, so her mother killed him, leading her to lose her sanity. After her conversation with Lana, Zafira goes to the sooq (an open market) to think.

Nasir goes back to his chambers after the tavern and meets Kulsum, a young woman who was his mother’s servant and became his lover after the Sultana’s death. They passionately kiss before Nasir breaks off their embrace, wracked with guilt, and orders Kulsum to leave. She can’t protest because she doesn’t have a tongue, which was removed by the Sultan to punish Nasir for loving her.

On her way to the sooq, Zafira notices a shop that sells amulets to ward off ifrit, legendary creatures who can shapeshift into anyone. This prompts her to reminisce about the Six Sisters, who were si’lah, powerful beings. Four of Arawiya’s caliphates are inhabited by humans, and the fifth, Alderamin, by safin (human-like immortals with elongated ears). In the shop window, Zafira also notices a lion, which reminds her of the Lion of the Night. Half-ifrit and half-safin, the Lion of the Night searched for power through blood magic until the Six Sisters imprisoned him on Sharr. Years later, when the Sister who acted as the island’s warden called the others for help, they went to Sharr with all their magic and never returned. On the sooq’s roof, Zafira meets Deen, who wants to keep her company. He proposes marriage, because he learned about the Sultan’s invitation from Lana and wants to offer Zafira an alternative. Zafira gently refuses, arguing that she’s not ready, but says she’ll marry him after she returns from Sharr.

Back at the stables, Zafira and Deen are about to go their separate ways when the Silver Witch appears. To their dismay, she uses magic to immobilize their horses. She then convinces Zafira to accept the Sultan’s quest and offers evasive answers to the young woman’s questions. When Zafira asks what the Silver Witch has to gain, the latter tells her that she is seeking redemption from wronging someone she loved, then leaves.

Nasir is called to his father’s rooms, where the Sultan informs him of the quest. The Sultan tells him that he’ll need to retrieve the lost Jawarat once The Hunter finds it, then kill both the Hunter and Altair, who will go with him. He explains that the Hunter is a da’ira (someone with the magical ability to navigate anywhere). Nasir accepts his mission, knowing that the Sultan can hurt Kulsum if he refuses, and wanting more than anything to catch a glimpse of his father’s former love and approval of him.

When Lana tells Zafira that their mother is asking for her, the latter goes to see her for the first time in five years. She realizes she’s avoided her mother because of her own grief and apologizes for her selfish behavior. Her mother tells her that she loves her, then encourages her to go on the quest to bring back magic, and destroy the Arz that took her father’s life. Later, Deen invites Zafira on one last outing together. The young woman tastes ice cream for the first time and enjoys what might be her last happy memory.

Nasir goes to Altair’s chambers to wake him and let him know that they’ll be leaving together at dawn. As he leaves, he runs into Kulsum, who is about to enter Altair’s rooms.

Yasmine visits Zafira and makes her promise to come back alive. She and Lana try to change Zafira’s mind, but the latter is set on going on the quest.

Nasir and Altair reach the Arz, which has disappeared. They now have access to the sea behind it, where a ship is waiting for them. The Silver Witch appears and gives Nasir a compass “to help [him] find what [he desires] most” (123). She also warns him to quell his desire to succeed in the quest, before vanishing.

Zafira (as the Hunter), Lana, Yasmine, Yasmine’s husband Misk, and Deen reach the edge of the vanished Arz and the ship the Silver Witch left for Zafira. People gather as the Demenhur caliph arrives with his advisor, Haytham, and the rest of his company. The caliph greets Zafira, and the latter is afraid of revealing herself as a woman. He doesn’t force her to disclose her identity and asks if she accepts the quest, which she does.

To Zafira’s surprise, Deen volunteers to go on the quest with her, which the caliph agrees to. Haytham has a private word with Zafira and reveals that he knows she’s a woman, and that the caliph has a daughter who might succeed him, should the ruler be shown that women are as capable as men. Zafira then asks the caliph to take care of her and Deen’s families while they’re gone, and he assures her that he will. Finally, she and Deen board the ship, and she forgives him for putting his life in danger for her.

Nasir and Altair realize that the ship and crew sailing to Sharr are a magical illusion created by the Silver Witch. The former warns Altair that they might encounter dangerous sea creatures on the way, and the conversation then turns to Kulsum. Nasir claims he doesn’t care about her, but the general tells him that it was unwise to mention her association with him to the Silver Witch (as Nasir caught Kulsum about to enter Altair’s room).

As the illusionary ship leaves, Zafira takes off her hood to reveal her identity to the caliph. On the shore, the latter looks furious. Before the Arz reappears, Zafira swears to return victorious and put the rightful caliph on the throne.

Nasir reminisces about falling in love with Kulsum when she comforted him after his mother’s death by singing to him. When they were discovered by the Sultan, the latter’s tongue was cut off. Nasir is interrupted in his thoughts when Altair yells out a warning about a sea creature appearing.

Zafira ponders the Silver Witch’s true intentions and worries about her family’s safety without her. She fears that revealing herself to the caliph will cost her. Deen cheers her up and tells her not to blame herself, believing that she is “the Huntress who will change Arawiya” (156).

Nasir and Altair confront the legendary dandan, a blind sea serpent. It traps Nasir against a wall, but Altair defeats him when he remembers the monster is actually called a dendan, and can be maimed by the sound of singing. Once the creature is gone, they realize they have reached Sharr.