Darayavahoush e-Afshin

### Relatives

Artash (father), mother, Tamima (younger sister), several uncles, aunties, and cousins

### Affiliations

Khayzur, Nahri, Manizheh e-Nahid, Irtimiz, the Daeva tribe

### Enemies

Zaydi al Qahtani, King Ghassan, Alizayd, the Geziri tribe

### Weapon of Choice

Daeva bow, magic, scourge, literally any weapon within range

## Behind the Scenes

### Appears in

* The City of Brass
* The Kingdom of Copper
* The Empire of Gold

Dara is an ancient djinn warrior who whisks Nahri away from Cairo and into the magical world of djinn. He led a rebellion against Zaydi al Qahtani 1400 years ago before being enslaved by the ifrit.

## Characteristics

### Appearance

Dara is of the Daeva tribe, with gleaming light brown skin; ears twisting into elongated points; black curly hair down to the top of his shoulders; a sharply handsome face; long eyelashes; and heavy eyebrows. Before he was enslaved he had black eyes and possibly a scar across his face, but afterwards his eyes were turned a brilliant emerald green and magically handsome features.

On his left temple he has a black Afshin tattoo: a stylized Shedu wing with a scythe-ended arrow crossing over it. On his left arm are the tattoos of the ifrit slave record of killed human masters; a series of slender black ladder-like rungs that spiral in his palm like a snail and then up and around his arm and over his back; Dara stopped counting them after around 800.

Since Dara was an ifrit slave, the body he has in The City of Brass is a conjured body, meaning it's not actually alive. He doesn't bleed and his organs are an illusion, but his skin is scalding hot. He smells of burnt citrus. He is not much taller than Nahri, and is bulky with broad shoulders, well-defined muscles, and moves with a deadly grace. He wears the emerald slave ring on the middle finger of his left hand: if separated from it, his body will turn to ash.

Dara speaks Divasti and Djinnistani with a heavy, cultured accent, along with several other unnamed languages.

* **Relic:** Dara's relic is a brass amulet, that currently resides in a palm-sized copper box in the Nahid crypt deep under the Daevabad palace. It being there suggests that Zaydi al Qahtani or his men may have betrayed Dara to the ifrit in order to remove him from the war.

* **Weapons:** When Nahri first summoned Dara in Cairo, he carried a curved scimitar, two daggers, an enormous mace, an ax, a quiver of arrows, and a silver Daeva bow. As the story progressed, Dara trimed his weapons down to the silver bow and quiver, and his daggers. He gave one dagger to Nahri for protection; a fine dagger with a hilt set with a swirling pattern of lapis and carnelians.

### Abilities

**As a Warrior:** Dara is an extremely skilled fighter. As an Afshin he was trained in the Daeva bow, but he is deadly with every weapon, even ones that he has not used before, like the zulfiqar.

**As an ifrit slave:** Dara had unlimited magical powers, able to grant the wishes of all who commanded him. His presence in The City of Brass is curious because he was not reunited with his Relic so he technically was not freed from servitude. Yet he is able to call upon his unbelievable powers at will (sort of), able to do magic unlike other djinn, and be commanded by the intent of Nahri.
Examples of his unbelievable magic include:

* Creating a sandstorm to blast away the ghouls in Cairo's El Arafa cemetery.

### Outfits

#### In The City of Brass

* When Nahri first summoned Dara, he wore a midnight blue robe that smoked; a flat gray cap with white embroidery; a turban; a sleeveless tunic the color of unripe olives; bone-colored pants; a wide black belt; and boots.
* When Dara left Nahri in Daevabad to chase the ifrit, he wore a long pine green coat that set off his bright eyes; new boots, and a saddlebag.

## Quotes

#### From The City of Brass

* "Suleiman's eye! I will *kill* whoever called me here!"
* [Nahri] "And how do you expect to be greeted in Daevabad? You mentioned being locked up in a dungeon."

[Dara] "Then how fortunate I travel with Cairo's premier picker of locks. Try to keep up. It seems I cannot afford to lose you now."
* "I'm coming back, Nahri. You're my Banu Nahida. This is my city. Nothing will keep me from either of you."

#### From The Empire of Gold

* "He was a weapon again and he acted accordingly, not hearing their screams, their gurgles, their dying cries for their mothers. It was a relief, who he was meant to be."

## Image Gallery

Promotional poster for The City of Brass, featuring Ali, Nahri, and Dara. (2018)The Empire of Gold (Fairyloot edition) dust jacket art featuring Dara in an oasis. (2020)The City of Brass (FaeCrate edition) dustjacket art featuring Nahri, Dara, and Khayzur facing off against the ifrit and marid. (2020)The Kingdom of Copper (FaeCrate edition) dustjacket art featuring Nahri and Ali along with Manizheh and her army. (Dara is the prominent shadow) (2020)The Empire of Gold (FaeCrate edition) dustjacket art featuring Nahri, Mishmish, Ali, and Dara. (2020)The character card for Dara from the FaeCrate Empire of Gold Hangover Kit (2020)Print of Nahri and Dara as Hades and Persephone from the FaeCrate March 2020 "Make a Wish" box.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The City of Brass, ch. 3, pg. 40
2. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 28, pg. 486
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The City of Brass, ch.18 pg.330
4. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 5, pg. 92
5. ↑ The City of Brass, ch.20 pg.366
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The City of Brass, ch. 3, pg. 50
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The City of Brass, ch. 2, pg. 28
8. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 7, pg. 138
9. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 3, pg. 44
10. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 27, pg. 483
11. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 3, pg. 43, 51
12. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 14, pg. 251-252
13. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 2, pg. 36-37
14. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 5, pg. 90-91
15. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 16, pg. 295
16. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 9, pg. 164
17. ↑ The City of Brass, ch. 16, pg. 298
18. ↑ The Empire of Gold, ch. 13, pg. 187