Born the youngest of seven sons to a Qadiran merchant prince, Faruq was given the name of Bahij ibn Ahmad. With the influence of his father behind him, Bahij was free to indulge in an extravagant lifestyle. He enjoyed harems, horse races, falconry, and fine food and drink; all the while training in the traditional Kelesh knightly martial arts: scimitar, shield, bow, and horse.
Bahij was a brash and arrogant youth, empowered by his status and skill at arms. Despite his arrogant personality however, he maintained a lofty position within the court of his father. Bahij cared little for the plots and intrigue of courtly life; he lacked the wit and base cunning for such games. Instead, he set his sights on a beautiful woman, a favorite concubine of another noble. Believing himself invincible, he pursued the woman, eventually winning her heart. When their dalliances were discovered, the noble demanded satisfaction from Bahij privately, for he did not wish to anger the young knight's father. Bahij readily agreed to a duel to take place that evening.
The two met and fought, trading blows. Bahij realized that he was the superior swordsman and began to toy with his opponent. Bahij decided to try a complicated maneuver, one that was intended to disarm his adversary and deliver a superficial cut to the neck. If he left a scar, it would serve to dishonor this current rival and warn off any in the future. Unfortunately for Bahij, he was not as talented as he believed himself to be. He telegraphed the attack and invited a counter-strike from the other noble, cutting into his side. Despite the counterattack, Bahij's blade still connected, but without the intended effect. Cleaving through flesh and collarbone, Bahij cut down his enemy. He had killed another noble in an unsanctioned duel to first blood. He was a murderer. Stunned, the knight ran from the scene, gathered some of his possessions, and escaped into the deserts of Qadira.
Desperate to lose any pursuit, Bahij managed to quickly lose himself in the trackless sands of the Qadiran desert. For several days, he wandered hopelessly for some sign of civilization, finding none. Delirious from heat and dehydration, Bahij dropped to his knees and resigned himself to death. When he looked back up, however, an oasis that he had not seen before appeared in the distance. A desperate need to survive kicked in and he rose, stumbling to the isolated paradise. Upon arrival, he collapsed into the water, drinking in great gulps. Fighting back his urge to heave the water back up, Bahij crawled into the shade of a palm tree and passed out.
He was awoken by a brilliant light. Shielding his eyes, Bahij saw an unbelievable sight: a massive, burning wheel slowly turning before him. It called out to him, its voice booming in his head. It revealed itself to be Brylla, a herald of the Dawnflower, Sarenrae. Bahij ibn Ahmad was a corrupt man without a saving grace who had died in the desert for a terrible crime, it explained. Who was this man before it? Sarenrae sought to give him another chance at life: to be a weapon of righteousness, a source of good in the world. All he had to do was devote his life to the Dawnflower.
"Where must I begin?"t he man once called Bahij asked. Suddenly his mind was filled with images: a foreign desert, a town, an elf with a ruby eye. These things were burned into his memory. Sarengave. Voush. Yalandere. Aridia. Aridia. ARIDIA.
Then with a blinding flash, the wheel was gone. The man called Bahij stood and looked around. He felt fresh. Renewed. He had a new purpose: to do the work of the Dawnflower. He adopted the name Faruq al-Rashid, which means "Rightly Guided Warrior" in the Kelesh tongue, and set off in the direction of Sarengave.
