Tarek showed frustration at Kara's actions. He pursed his lips and looked down at her with a look that had little patience for the way she was going about things.<br/><br/>"Jamal is dead. He died in a civil war that is responsible for the state of things now." Tarek said, his voice a harsh, angry hiss. "His body was given over to the Eternal Flame, to return the holy power of the king to its source." The djinn said. "King Kaseem is linked to the Eternal Flame now, and its divine power fills him, making his every action and word divinely inspired and absolute. His word is law, life, and death." The man told her, showing the same that the women did when Kara proved obstinate in allowing them to perform their tasks.<br/><br/>"This gives me no pleasure, Princess Kara. I loved Jamal like a father and I do not wish to see you treated this way - but there is more at stake than your or my convenience. Janna is dying. The Eternal Flame that sustains this realm is - impossibly! - waning and some of the sages believe it may gutter out within a century, perhaps two." Tarek said to her, his features turning ashen with despair. "You are a direct descendant of the royal line. The realm and the people are your responsibility by birth. King Kaseem knows of a way to restore the Flame to its rightful state, and you have a role to play." Tarek said earnestly, his green eyes bright with emotion.<br/><br/>"I understand that you are young, but are you prepared to put aside your own desires and do what is best for others?" Tarek asked Kara pointedly. He looked down at the ring that remained on her finger. "Or are you set upon clinging to your own desires?"