Sanura

Played by Melissa in Darkness Rising.

Background

Sanura means "kitten" in Egyptian, she is the daughter of Aziza and Abubakar. Abubakar is a commander in the Egyptian army and is a close confidant of King Abdullah of Osiris. Sanura's mother Aziza, has passed on all of her knowledge and skills of belly dancing to Sanura. When her mother was not teaching her belly dancing her brother was teaching her how to fight with a scimitar. Her father said she was a natural born swordsmen. She would practice for long hours and when her father's unit was not deployed the soldiers would offer her tips and teach her their tricks of the trade.

When she was 10 years old an old gypsy found her playing by herself. The old woman had a milky white eye, long gnarly fingers, she spoke in a rough tone and her speach was slurred. The old gypsy woman asked who her father was and Sanura told her that her father was the great commander Abubakar in King Abdullah's army. The old gypsy woman pause for a moment and then smiled a satisfying smile. She reached into a ragged old satchel and pulled out a piece of sweetened fruit and handed it to Sanura. The old gypsy woman told Sanura to give her regards to her father, Sanura turned to look behind her to see if her mother was visible and when she turned back to thank the old woman she was gone. That night Sanura came down with a wicked stomach ache. She came down with a fever, got the chills, moaned and rolled around clutching her stomach. Aziza fetched for a doctor after Sanura starting screaming in pain and passed out. The doctor explained to Aziza that there was nothing he could do, Sanura had been touched by black magic and all Aziza could do was wait and for Sanura to awaken to determine what kind of black magic had touched her.

Aziza slept by Sanura's side for 3 days until she was awoken one morning by Sanura's soft voice talking to a stray cat that was sitting on the window sill. Sanura seemed to be just as she was before the illness. The doctor returned and was surprised at the full recovery Sanura had made. He suggested that she stay in bed for a couple of weeks just in case. During that time, the stray cat became a playmate for Sanura. She named him Babu, she would talk to him for hours at a time, she shared her food with him, played with him and slept near her. At times, Aziza thought it seemed as though Sanura was carrying on a conversation with Babu, but knew that was silly.

When her father returns from his deployment, Sanura becomes more focused with her sword fighting training. A diplomat named Kamuzu, visits the house one day to speak with Abubakar, but instead finds Sanura relaxing with Babu in the sunshine. The two speak very briefly until her father arrives and shortly after Aziza, Abubakar, and Sanura are invited to a live in quarters provided by the King, a very high honor. The family moves, and Kamuzu takes it upon himself to make them welcome and to share them around and introduce them, show them the shortcuts, etc. He becomes a regular diner guest at their table and he and Abubakar become allies. When Sanura is 17 years old her father and brother are deployed to fight a clan uprising in the south. Before Abubakar leaves, Kamuzu assures him that he will watch over his wife and daughter until he returns. While Abubakar is gone, Kamuzu keeps his word, as he is over for dinner every night. Aziza becomes ill and grows weak until Kamuzu hires a woman to come and cook and clean for them. Her health continues to deteriorate and Kamuzu calls for the King's doctor to take a look at her, but says he is not sure what is wrong with her. A messenger arrives at the house with a message that Sanura's brother has been killed in the fighting. Aziza grows frail and becomes bedridden. While Aziza and Sanura are mourning a messenger arrives with the message that Abubakar has also been killed in the battle. Aziza dies in her sleep that night. Sanura finds her the next morning clutching a letter from her father that had arrived two days ago saying that he had been injured in the battle and was half way home for some R&R before returning to the fight. Kamuzu comes by and takes care of the funeral arrangements for Aziza, Abubakar and Sanura's brother.

Personality

Sanura possesses the following personality-defining traits: xxxxx.