Down With Lamps: Djinn Takeover

[Brooke.]

Chapters


Prologue, Part I: Jinni In A Lamp
Prologue, Part II: I Dream Of Freedom
Reproduction Day: One
Reproduction Day: Two
Reproduction Day: Three
Reproduction Day: Four
Reproduction Day: Five
Reproduction Day: Six
Reproduction Day: Seven
Reproduction Day: Eight
Reproduction Day: Nine
Reproduction Day: Ten
Reproduction Day: Eleven
Reproduction Day: Twelve
Reproduction Day: Thirteen
Reproduction Day: Fourteen
Epilogue, Part I: Honeycomb
Epilogue, Part II: Readers' Choice Good End - Gingerbread
Epilogue, Part III: Readers' Choice Good End - Love In The Time Of Djinns
Extra: What If?


Special thanks to Malley for allowing me to include the Sakuras (sorry Jinni ruined the book!) and Trip for her beautiful girls, Annette and Hannah.






Author's Ramblings

I started writing two different versions of this story ten years ago and I thought it would be perfect to portray it with this challenge. I never managed an ending because I'm not such a great writer, when I look back on everything I wrote while at school it makes me scream in horror and ask myself, "Why did you do that?"

The dialougue to me is a bit... off. I tried my best so if it sounds unnatural please let me know or you can just imagine it's the best thing you've ever read and admire the screenshots 

[Magpie2012]

Oooo please say Djinn as in Genies!?!? I LOVE a good Genie story!

Sent from my BlackBerry 9720 using Tapatalk

[Brooke.]

Prologue, Part I: Jinni In A Lamp

There were so few of us thousands of years ago and just two of us were witches. Me and Herit. The world was a small place back then, only one island of sand dunes, very few patches of grass and many silver ribbons of river to separate the different tribes.





Our hatred for each other had grown from childish fights to some serious battles - our elders had forbidden us  to continue in our magical battles but Herit and I found the tombs of former pharaohs were perfect for our skirmishes since everyone else was afraid to desecrate the memories of our ancestors.





For years I had been the most powerful of us, then Herit spun complicated runes I'd never seen performed before. Pink bolts of lightning struck me on the chest and there was a faint taste of rotten ibis eggs on my tongue.





"Herit? What did you do?" Slowly I could feel my body becoming weightless and a particular vein was throbbing against my forehead. I could see she was a little stunned herself at what she'd done, perhaps a small part of her felt remorse.





"Oh, Jinni, you'll find out soon enough." Herit smirked. I was mistaken, she wasn't the kind to regret any of her decisions.


The ceiling rushed upwards, that's the first thing I noticed, then my whole body twisted in on itself, squeezing my organs that I couldn't even breathe anymore. Before too long everything around me began to rise or I was shrinking and something gold cluttered around my feet. A small lamp that got bigger as I was forced through the spout.


Herit picked up the lamp as the last swirls of light danced and disappeared inside. "Darling, I am sorry to do this to you."


She rapidly drew runes of magic in the air, securing Jinni with her most powerful spell for good measure and added another rune to make sure the lamp and Jinni were never separated for too long.





Like all villains after her, Herit enjoyed a maniacal laugh as she stuffed the lamp inside a chest deep inside the pyramid of their former pharaoh. Now that his funeral preparations were complete no one was likely to disturb him in the afterlife to rescue Jinni and hadn't the elders warned them against such actions in the first place?





I awoke to darkness. The air was stuffy and I waited till my eyes adjusted before getting to my feet. Cold stone beneath me and mildewed walls all around. I vomited. Twice. I could no longer feel Heka or Shu's powers running through my veins. Hesitantly I rubbed my hands together and tried to conjure a basic wind spell. Failing that, I cried and banged my fists against the floor, scraping them in the process.





Years seemed to pass, or days. Although my old powers were gone I had gained a new one. When I wished to taste Mother's fresh bread one more time a bowl appeared before me, hunks of bread already dunked into leek and radish soup just the way I'd always eaten it.


Then I wished for light and it was as if Amun-Ra himself stood before me, splashing my prison with his glow.


Wishes?


"I wish for freedom!" My voice echoed all around, sounding so small like that of a frightened child. It had been many centuries since I was a child so I took a deep breath and proclaimed my wish again, calmly.


As you can guess, freedom was beyond my grasp. Wishes only worked for other things. And other Sims. An old man must have come across my lamp one day and thought himself so lucky to have found a golden lamp. As I burst through the spout I struck a dramatic pose and with subtle magic made the hairs on his arms stick out. It must have been too much of a shock for he died right away and the treacherous lamp pulled me in again.





"Your mother's a stuffed egret!" I swore. Cringeworthy, right? But back in those days it was one of the worst insults anyone could hurl and my own Mother would have smacked me senseless if I'd ever uttered those words within earshot.


The next time I was released I kindly asked my saviour to set me free and I'd make all her dreams come true. It didn't work. Some Sims just aren't that naive. The next one was, but the wish didn't seem to work. I got angry, roaring at the idiot boy that he had enough time to flash a rude gesture at me before fleeing.


I raged inside my prison for days afterwards.


Years passed. Fashions changed. Sims would stare in disbelief at my exposed chest and stomach so I decided to update my wardrobe. I travelled, or my lamp did, to other newfound countries. I wished to learn their languages and the myriad of new magic - boiling biological and botanical ingredients in cauldrons to make elixirs, strange wooden sticks that channelled a Sims magic, collecting a Sims hair or personal item for the creation of voodoo dolls and even chanting nonsense to make simple hexes work.


I practised religiously with every single spell and its associated curse, elixirs and even a good old fashioned sacrifice but as I had no idea where Herit was I couldn't make a voodoo doll. I had enquired after her to every Sim who released me. She'd either died - the old hag - or no longer went by her birth name.





Is it any wonder I gave up after centuries of trying? As time went on I'd sit in my rocking chair in front of a small fireplace waiting for the next fool and his or her desired wishes. My once empty room was filled with clutter - perfumes to keep the smell of mildew away, thin and colourful fabrics festooned the walls and puffy pillows were scattered across the floor. Who was I fooling? No one was ever likely to visit me.

[Magpie2012]

Oops sorry for stealing your second post's slot... My eagerness got away with me! Love your first chapter! And again: GENIES!!! :-D

Sent from my BlackBerry 9720 using Tapatalk

[Devin]

Your photo editing is superb. This looks like it's going to be interesting. I've wanted a Dynasty to start reading from the start, and you have both an interesting story and good graphics. I'm in!

[Malley]

Great start! Looking forward to more 

[KRae]

Great origin story. I'll be reading.

[Brooke.]

Oooo please say Djinn as in Genies!?!? I LOVE a good Genie story!

Oops sorry for stealing your second post's slot... My eagerness got away with me! Love your first chapter! And again: GENIES!!! :-D

Don't worry about it, I love eagerness Genies are my favourite Sims to play and I really wanted them for this challenge (which is why I left them out of my Life State, plus EA generated genies are just horrendous).

Your photo editing is superb. This looks like it's going to be interesting. I've wanted a Dynasty to start reading from the start, and you have both an interesting story and good graphics. I'm in!

Thank you for the complements! I use two different PS actions - one for 'past' screenshots and one for 'present' screenshots and a motherlode of poses.

Great start! Looking forward to more 

Thanks, Malley, I wrote what I could as I went this time so hopefully I can post one update a day.

Great origin story. I'll be reading.

Thank you, Krae! The origin was pretty easy to write - I've written this story for the last ten years of my life before I even played Sims or had a computer

[Brooke.]

Prologue, Part II: I Dream Of Freedom

Many nights I'd fall asleep crying. It had been over five thousand years and still I was no closer to leaving this wretched lamp. I'd had dreams where my life had played out differently. Maybe I'd have been married or had children at least, my Mother always did want nooboos to coo over. Would they have inherited the gifts Heka and Shu bestowed me with? Would Herit's offspring be the same and duel with my children in a never-ending family feud?


I heard a low chuckle.


Oh, honestly! Why did I have to be disrupted from my memories of home by another wish hungry Sim?





I got to my feet and stared in wide shock at my strange surrounding. "What in Sekhmet—" Here's what was wrong: every time I'm summoned I feel thousands of tiny hooks latch on to my flesh and forcefully drag me out of the lamp. This time I felt nothing and my body had already materialised outside before I had even opened my eyes.


"Hello,"


Sitting on what looked like a nooboo giant's hand was a young Sim. He smiled and gestured for me to sit. I could tell this man was no ordinary Sim. There was power, quite weak, emanating from him. I narrowed my eyes and took a good look around first -  the huge wall-to-ceiling windows overlooked a calm but empty sea with angry grey clouds hanging in the air and I deduced we were in some kind of a tower - later I learned it was called a 'high rise apartment'.


"Ready?"


I sat. "Hmm,"


We stared at each other for a moment, him smiling at me like a perverted Roman I'd once had the misfortune to meet.


"Herit Bastet,"


My ears pricked up.


"Her descendants live in Hidden Springs," he continued, noting my interest.


"How do you—"


One hand rose to stop me. You little—


"She's our mutual enemy. Like you I was once imprisoned in a lamp of my own, fortunately I was able to charm a young lady into freeing me. Still paying attention?"





He caught my eyes roaming. I couldn't see his lamp anywhere, mine was on a table set before me.


"Do you plan to be my knight in shining armour?"


"Of a sort, if you agree to a small arrangement,"


I scoffed."Go on," I said.


"There's a new trend going around, a challenge named the Domination Dynasty. It's pretty similar to the old days when you were around - kicking out the natives and replacing them with our brood. The keyword is 'our',"


I'll admit I was slow to comprehend his meaning, then the words sank in. Angered, I rose to my feet and had grabbed him by the neck before he had time to react. Digging my nails deep I bared my teeth, "I might be a djinni bound to serve you but that won't stop me from killing you,"


He only laughed and easily prised my hands apart, rubbing his neck where faint bruises would appear later, he continued, "It's only for a short while. When I've conquered Hidden Springs I'll give you her location, maybe even some of her beautiful green hair."





He went to stand by the large windows, placing one hand on the glass and turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder at me. "I'd have chosen Bridgeport but I'm afraid it's a little claustrophobic." We both shuddered at that word. Centuries inside a lamp does that to you.


"Supposing I agree to this... ugh... offer, how am I supposed to trust you, I know djinn are perfidious by nature, you're looking at the first of our kind." I wasn't always this way, circumstances had led me to shed my older, kinder self to become cunning in how I'd interpret my 'master's' wishes and many Sims had died by mistaking my sweet smile for trustworthiness.


There was a large trunk behind the chesterfield I'd been sitting in. The djinni bent down and raised the lid a tiny fraction, I noticed he wasn't using his powers, and pulled out a fossilised feather I recognised belonging to Amun-Ra.


"If I swear on this will you agree to... aid me?"


Now I'm sure you're pretty confused but in my days Amun-Ra was the most powerful deity around and we never broke promises made using his Feather. If he was risking being hunted by Ammit in all seven of his afterlives then I knew for certain he wouldn't back down. That also meant I couldn't do the same either.


It took a long time for me to think this over. He placed the old Feather back in its place and proceeded to cook his dinner, I refused food he offered me, and he was sleeping soundly as I continued to mull over what had occurred. Here was my chance to get my claws into Herit, she was still alive much to my shock and Isis knew how many children she'd spawned. Well, I don't blame her descendents as they'd done nothing to me but it was one step closer to her than I'd ever been before.





In the morning he found me in the same position he'd left me in. He laughed, which irritated me.


"So?" He asked.


We were drinking something called a carbonated soft drink. It popped on my tongue in an unpleasant way and I spat most of it back out. I cleaned up the puddle slowly forming around my feet and staining my dress, leaving the room sparkling.


"Alright."





He brought out the Feather again and held it out between us.


"I, Ifrit Geb, promise to tell you the exact location and provide you with the locks of Herit Bastet once we've completed our Domination."


He raised an eyebrow when I hesitated.


"I, Jinni Fable, promise to help with the said Domination in order to get my hands on that old wildcat, Herit Bastet."


Then together, "May Amun-Ra and Anubis judge us accordingly."


Ifrit locked the Feather back into the trunk and brought some coloured chalks out. I helped him clear some floor space, pushing the chesterfield against the wall until there was enough room for the djinni to draw a complicated looking pentacle, followed by a smaller one.


He asked me to step inside the larger one, explaining I'd have to be separated from my lamp for the duration of the Dynasty. Tentatively I did as I was told while Ifrit positioned my lamp in the smaller pentacle. He muttered strange words that weren't Simlish or any other language I knew of before releasing a little of his own djinni magic that touched the chalked lines which began to glow brighter and brighter...


Before departing Bridgeport Ifrit took me to a salon to modernise my appearance. I would have loved to explore the town that never slept, but the high rise buildings blocked out most of the sun to cast cold shadows down on those walking the streets and I shivered in fright at the claustrophobia creeping in.


"What do you think?"





He looked up briefly from his newspaper, "Too flashy. Downplay it a little, we're not supposed to draw attention,"


I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure there are supernatural Sims in Hidden Springs. Anyway," —turning back to the mirror to admire myself—"our pointy ears and floaty walk is bound to turn heads."


We spent much of the day picking out suitable outfits, sparkly leggings I couldn't resist and some very expensive dresses that made my jaw drop. Soon we'd packed what little we were allowed to take and boarded a slow train to Hidden Springs.

[Malley]

Ifrit is quite handsome. I like Jinni's new outift too. I'm looking forward to seeing what Infrit's beef is is Jinni's sister

[Brooke.]

Ifrit is quite handsome. I like Jinni's new outift too. I'm looking forward to seeing what Infrit's beef is is Jinni's sister

Ah, I thought I was being subtle about their relationship by giving them different surnames but I guess 'family feud' was the big give away. Ifrit grew on me, we had a lot of fun together which frustrated Jinni 

I love that outfit and hair style but have used it to death so I decided she had to have something different for each reproduction day.

[Malley]

Ah, I thought I was being subtle about their relationship by giving them different surnames but I guess 'family feud' was the big give away. Ifrit grew on me, we had a lot of fun together which frustrated Jinni 

I love that outfit and hair style but have used it to death so I decided she had to have something different for each reproduction day.

Nah, I think it's just because I write a lot so I pick up on little details like that 

[Brooke.]

Reproduction Day: One

Upon arriving in Hidden Springs we bought the cheapest house - we were poorer than the guttersnipes that trailed the bazaars of Baghdad - and found a small dog waiting for us by the post-box. Ifrit bent down to read the dog's collar - Anubis II.





"So the Big Man sent you, huh?"


I'm not fond of dogs, they bark and defecate wherever they please but I wasn't going to complain when a god had specifically sent us one of his own assistants. Besides, Ifrit had already informed me that modern day cats no longer hunt treasures, that was up to the dogs now.


Ifrit began to teach Anubis II to hunt while I went to check the inside of my new home.





It was horribly cramped so I knocked down the bathroom walls and replaced everything with the efficient All-In-One-Bathroom and also bought two easels, two single beds - no, I wasn't interested in sharing at that moment - and threw myself  onto the sofa. Well, it didn't smell of mildew and the land was large enough to have a garden plot later even with a house expansion - oh, how I cried in despair when Ifrit told me there would be more than one reproduction day and a whole army of children!


Ifrit and I began to work on our painting skill soon after Anubis II was a level three hunter. It was good to get him out of the house, his eternal need to play with his squeaky toy was driving me insane and even Ifrit was beginning to show his irritation.


We hardly talked in the first few days but gradually we learned tiny bits of each other's history - he was born during the last few years of the Ptolemaic dynasty, he had also been a witch and favoured fire like Herit.


My work would be interrupted by Anubis bringing me gems and metals that I had to get smelted or cut with a machine at the elixir store and by the time I got home Ifrit had already completed two or three paintings and got a promotion from work.





Painting was a calm skill to work towards but very dull. I found watching television relieved a lot of stress but the cable wasn't long enough to take outside as I was starting to get paranoid about the house walls closing in.

One morning I summoned a new recipe I'd learned from a cookery show - Vegetarian Chilli. My tongue was on fire, literally, and that caused our rug to burn and slowly make its way towards the television. Luckily we had a fire alarm, the local firemen were taking forever to reach us so I yelled at Ifrit, "Do something, fire demon!"


After he failed to use an extinguisher properly I snatched it off him and doused the fire myself, all the time swearing at him in old Babylonian - he wasn't ancient enough to know that language.





The bloody fireman arrived at last, breaking down our door for no reason. They took a quick look around and were satisfied no Sim had died and went off to wherever firemen go after failing to put out fires.


"You are the most useless fire demon to ever walk this Earth!"


"Hey, I'm not the one who started it,"


Anubis came between us and barked excitedly. I swear to Sekhmet I could hear a voice saying, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"


I kicked them both out of the house to tidy up and collect the mail we had been ignoring.






A week went by. In that time Ifrit and I had so many paintings in our inventory it was quite a task to sort through it all. He called a taxi to the consignment store and we made a nice profit from the first day's sale.





It was soon obvious were both were hoping to build a better home.





Good thing Anubis had collected space rocks - the most expensive being a Mesosiderite  that sold for §30k - and sought out Tiberium - each with the value of around §7k.





I knew what would have to happen soon enough but I kept putting it off and Ifrit hadn't made any romantic advances towards me - I'm not entirely old fashioned but I didn't have time to fall in love with the men of our tribe so this whole romance business was beyond me. I did spend my free time watching romantic comedies and foreign dramas and they involved a lot of heat of the moment kisses. Having done my research and spent plenty of time kissing my hand - he caught me once and I spontaneously shouted, "Happy Pretend-To-Be-A-Cat Day!"


So I invited Ifrit out. To the park across our house. Well, it was now or never. I pulled him towards me and planted my first kiss on him, embarrassed I drew away but Ifrit grabbed hold of me and responded with a much longer, passionate kiss.





I got down on one knee and summoned a ring from somewhere in the Simverse. "Marry me, you handsome djinn,"





His eyes almost popped out of his skull at the sight of the shiny ring and my beauty. Of course, he said yes, three times, and we went to our freshly renovated house for our private wedding.





Um... I will not tell you what happened that night.





Over the next few days I was craving crepes. We ate them for every meal and it was during one evening of enjoying The Great Simlish Bake Off that I felt Isis' protection - I was pregnant.


"Hey hey, sit down, I'm trying to watch this," Ifrit complained as I lovingly rubbed my belly.


"Oh shush, we have a bun of our own baking in here,"





A few days later I gave birth to twin girls - Lilith and Mara. We're djinn so it's only natural we'd name our children after famous and infamous demons.






Reproduction Day One:


Queen - Jinni Fable
Max Career: Painter
Skill Challenge 1: Brushmaster
Skill Challenge 2: Proficient Painter
Unique Best Friend: Blake Grayson
Unique LTR: No Bills Ever
5 Object Collection: 3 Butterflies


King - Ifrit Fable
Max Career: Painter
Skill Challenge 1: Brushmaster
Skill Challenge 2: Proficient Painter
Unique Best Friend: Nicholas Riverhawk
Unique LTR: Sauvé Seller
5 Object Collection: 2 Butterflies



Reproduction Day One Drones:


Name: Lilith Fable
Max Skill: Athletic
Career: Professional Sports
Property/Business: Llama Memorial Stadium
New Home: Country Dream Cottage, 13 Meadow Beach Dr


Name: Mara Fable
Max Skill: Alchemy
Career: Fortune Teller
Property/Business: Gypsy Wagon
New Home: Handcrafted Masterpiece, 9 Cottonwood Ct

[Malley]

I love the shot of Ifrit standing there with a fire in front of him, just kind of shrugging like it didn't bother him 

Congrats on completing your first reproduction day!  Lilith and Mara both turned out very lovely

[KRae]

Pretend-to-be-a-Cat Day should be declared an official holiday. Maybe not, in my household it would mean scratching the carpet and peeing on the bathroom floor.