The Story of Yusuf

## The Young Prodigy

As a child, Yusuf was a splendid young man. He was interested in the world, and wanted to learn more about the history of his family, and the geography of the world. He excelled at mathematics, something that not many people knew about at the time. His teacher, Amunet Ibn Ahmad was the greatest mathematician of his time. He taught Yusuf's father, the then Sultan Ibrahim, but not even Ibrahim was comparable to the talent that Yusuf had in Mathematics. Complicated Algebra looked simple coming from him. Geometry was second nature. Even arithmetic was seemingly easy for him, regardless of the size of the numbers.

He was a Prodigy. As he grew up, he became a teacher himself, taking over Amunet's institution. He continued in his teacher's work, finalizing new formulae and discovering new mathematics, never before seen. He was shaping up to be one of the greatest Sultans to have existed, of course, after the great Sultan Yaqub. He was going to be the most intelligent Sultan, and one of the few Sultan's who was highly respected before his assumption to the Throne. Most times, people did not like change, but with Yusuf, they embraced it.

## Assumption to the Throne

Upon his father Sultan Ibrahim ibn Harun's death in 923, Yusuf assumed the throne left behind for him by his ancestors. Little did he know, that he would be the last Sultan from the First One's lineage to ever sit on the Solaris Throne ever again.

Much like he did with his teacher, Yusuf continued the work of his father. He once again funded the construction of the Palace, which was now in its 200th year under construction. He kept to his father's promise and allowed the renovation of the Mosque's dome to happen, which was slowly falling apart. One of his biggest, and only, contributions to the city of Solaris would be the planning of a new district next to the Mosque. It would be built on the foundations of Mathematics, and would use precise measurements for sizes, so as to create the perfect district. This would later be known as the Conspiracy District, as he would give out the houses to his fellow co-conspirators during 941, the year of the gold.

## Claiming all Gold

> "My right as Sultan of this great and beautiful land is to claim the Gold of my citizens. I have paid for the construction of the Palace, renovations to our holy Mosque, and even for the creation of the new Al-Riadiaat district. This has severely depleted the funds of the Sultan, and more are needed for the creation of new, beautiful things. It is my right as Sultan, a right given to me by my ancestor, the First One, Sultan Yaqub who once said, 'If it is not the people who will help the people, then one cannot rely on a single man to do so'. You, the people are being called upon to help yourselves improve your lives, by showing your allegiance to me, the Sultan. You are to deposit all of your Gold at your next prayer at the Mosque."
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This was in direct opposition to the Senate and its rules. The Senate was established in 811 by his grandfather, Sultan Harun. It was made to act as checks and balances for the Sultan, so he could not go out of his way to do something which is against the people. The Sultan did not care, and for the first 2 years after 941, did not call a single session of the Senate. Some Senators helped the Sultan get away with going in direct opposition to the Senate, and it was those Senators who got houses at the famous Al-Riadiaat district, which was dubbed the "Conspiracy Disctrict" by the people.

With no gold to their name, and no way to trade, people were unable to supply themselves with resources necessary to live. While some fishermen were happy sharing their catch with other people, it was not enough to feed the entirety of the population, nor was it enough to sustain themselves. And with no gold, foreign traders soon stopped sailing to the harbours of Solaris. The 10-year Famine began.

## 10-Year Famine

Many people died. All died of starvation. It was chaos.

Because the Sultan collected all the gold in one place, the harbours of Solaris got other kinds of ships sailing in. The kinds with pirates on them, ready to steal all of the gold for themselves. Solaris, unprepared and starving, was unable to defend itself. Eventually, the Sultan paid them off, but they wouldn't leave Solaris alone. He was forced to institute a Navy to be able to fight these pirate ships. Joining the Navy was the only way that you would be able to get paid, so all of the men, and even more children opted to join in and fight. After all, there was no other option. It was starve, or join the Navy.

## Abdication

After pressure from the new Head of the Senate, Khalfani, Yusuf got on a ship and sailed away. Many took this as his official abdication from the Throne, however, he never explicitly stated that he was abdicating. He left with his Co-Conspirators, and as much gold as he could fit into the ship without it sinking. There is a very real possibility that he could come back, though many would not approve. He was getting old, so he did not have much time left to come back, and without any sons to be heirs to the throne, this may have been the end of the lineage of the great Sultan Yaqub.