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withtimeHer name is Princess Shirin of Persia and what she wants more than anything is to make her father, King Shah Raman, proud. She wants to honor the memory of her mother, Queen Mehri, who fell in battle. And she wants to remind her older brother, Malik, that she is every bit as capable as he to be a ruler in her own right.
At her father's side, she and Persia's army invade, sack India, and kill the Maharajah with the help of the Maharajah's traitorous Vizier. They take women, children, cattle, and the Maharajah's own son, Prince Fahr, as prize. When her father's men break down the door of the Maharajah's palace, Shirin is the first to rush inside, fighting guards and civilians alike to get into the heart of the palace.
She breaks into the Maharajah's treasury, and there she discovers a wondrously large hourglass with the most beautiful sands enclosed within. She knows it is the famed Sands of Time, said to possess the very fabric of Time itself. She also finds an ornately designed dagger, the Dagger of Time, so odd yet lovely, and when she holds it in her hand, she feels an unbelievable power coursing through her body. THis she takes, knowing such a beautiful, and famous dagger, would make her father proud to have as a trophy of war.
And this, she presents to her father, who decides that it should belong to Shirin, as she has made her country proud as a warrior among the forces. The Vizier protests this decision, citing that Shah Raman had promised the Vizier his pick of the treasures in the Maharajah's vault, but Shah Raman is adamant. The Vizier next asks for the hourglass, but Shah Raman says "no". It will be a marvelous gift to the Sultan of Azad who has given Shah Raman's kingdom precious metals for years -- the same metals used to sack India.
Persia's army raids the palace and leaves with their slaves, their cattle, and the Maharajah's treasures, including that wondrous hourglass. They journey to Azad, where King Shah Raman and Princess Shirin are warmly received by Shah Raman's good friend, the Sultan of Azad. A great banquet is thrown, where to the Sultan, Shah Raman gifts the hourglass, the slaves, and as a great gift of friendship, he makes the Prince of India kneel before the Sultan.
The Sultan is delighted, and most awed by the gifts, but is most delighted by the beautiful hourglass. He spies an odd key hole on the latch of the hourglass and eagerly asks to open the case to see the beautiful sands inside. The Vizier, still angry for being denied the dagger, announces to the party that Persia's Princess holds the latch's key -- the dagger. Urged by the Sultan's eagerness and her father's encouragement, Shirin approaches the hourglass and sheathes her prized dagger into its latch and turns it. She barely hears the plaintive cry of Prince Fahr begging her to stop, before Shirin pulls back the dagger, the latch drops, the hourglass's door opens, and the Sands are unleashed.
The Sands destroy the kingdom of Azad, ripping mortality and soul from the people and rob everything of life. Shirin watches, helpless, horrified, as the Sands attack her father and turn him into a skeletal monster, and for the first time, Shirin is scared. Everyone else follows suit, and there's a terrible howl as every living being in Azad is warped by the Sands. When the howling stops, everything is destroyed, monsters from the Sands are attacking, and Shirin can only draw her sword, her dagger, and fight for her life...
At her father's side, she and Persia's army invade, sack India, and kill the Maharajah with the help of the Maharajah's traitorous Vizier. They take women, children, cattle, and the Maharajah's own son, Prince Fahr, as prize. When her father's men break down the door of the Maharajah's palace, Shirin is the first to rush inside, fighting guards and civilians alike to get into the heart of the palace.
She breaks into the Maharajah's treasury, and there she discovers a wondrously large hourglass with the most beautiful sands enclosed within. She knows it is the famed Sands of Time, said to possess the very fabric of Time itself. She also finds an ornately designed dagger, the Dagger of Time, so odd yet lovely, and when she holds it in her hand, she feels an unbelievable power coursing through her body. THis she takes, knowing such a beautiful, and famous dagger, would make her father proud to have as a trophy of war.
And this, she presents to her father, who decides that it should belong to Shirin, as she has made her country proud as a warrior among the forces. The Vizier protests this decision, citing that Shah Raman had promised the Vizier his pick of the treasures in the Maharajah's vault, but Shah Raman is adamant. The Vizier next asks for the hourglass, but Shah Raman says "no". It will be a marvelous gift to the Sultan of Azad who has given Shah Raman's kingdom precious metals for years -- the same metals used to sack India.
Persia's army raids the palace and leaves with their slaves, their cattle, and the Maharajah's treasures, including that wondrous hourglass. They journey to Azad, where King Shah Raman and Princess Shirin are warmly received by Shah Raman's good friend, the Sultan of Azad. A great banquet is thrown, where to the Sultan, Shah Raman gifts the hourglass, the slaves, and as a great gift of friendship, he makes the Prince of India kneel before the Sultan.
The Sultan is delighted, and most awed by the gifts, but is most delighted by the beautiful hourglass. He spies an odd key hole on the latch of the hourglass and eagerly asks to open the case to see the beautiful sands inside. The Vizier, still angry for being denied the dagger, announces to the party that Persia's Princess holds the latch's key -- the dagger. Urged by the Sultan's eagerness and her father's encouragement, Shirin approaches the hourglass and sheathes her prized dagger into its latch and turns it. She barely hears the plaintive cry of Prince Fahr begging her to stop, before Shirin pulls back the dagger, the latch drops, the hourglass's door opens, and the Sands are unleashed.
The Sands destroy the kingdom of Azad, ripping mortality and soul from the people and rob everything of life. Shirin watches, helpless, horrified, as the Sands attack her father and turn him into a skeletal monster, and for the first time, Shirin is scared. Everyone else follows suit, and there's a terrible howl as every living being in Azad is warped by the Sands. When the howling stops, everything is destroyed, monsters from the Sands are attacking, and Shirin can only draw her sword, her dagger, and fight for her life...
