BEFORE YOU PROCEED, KNOW THAT THIS SECTION IS THE MOTHER OF ALL SPOILERS.

If you haven't read up to the epilogue and are not fond of spoilers, DO NOT CONTINUE. If you haven't read up to the epilogue and like spoilers, WHAT KIND OF ORGANISM ARE YOU?!

Now that we've cleared that up...

There are multiple scenarios throughout the story that are loosely based on events that happened in reality. For example, there have been plenty of people who have died at the hands of terrorists, however, I'm only including the real events that I've incorporated into the story. There are just too many tragedies and massacres happening daily and I cannot include them all. If you are curious to read further on the real events listed, I encourage you to do just that. Elaborating each event would be too verbose of me, so you'll learn better if you just search the keywords of whatever event you are curious about.

Before you read on, I'd like to bring something to your attention. Yes, Al-Tho'baan is a fictional parallel to what is known as "ISIS" (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or "ISIL" (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant). However, the nonsense that is "ISIS/ISIL" is far from being anywhere close to an "Islamic State" -with their un-Islamic tactics- so much that we should try to avoid the usage of that acronym as much as we can. Do not give them the impression that we acknowledge them as Islamic.

....unless if you actually do. In that case, it seems as though you have not learned anything from this story, and you may or may not need professional help...

Anyway, the proper alternative term would be "DAESH"/"DAIISH", which are the main initials of the Arabic-English transliteration of "ISIL": al-Dawlah al-Islamīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām (الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام‎)

The group abhors this term. Why, you may ask?

"Because it is similar to the Arabic word, Daes, or 'one who crushes something underfoot' and Dahes, which is translated as 'one who sows discord'."

As Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, had rightly put it: "Daesh hates being referred to by this term, and what they don't like has an instinctive appeal to me."

Ditto.

So here we go.

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1 | Goodbyes & Greetings - Hayat Ishfaq: Similar to Hayat, Kayla Mueller was an American human rights activist and humanitarian aid worker who was captured by Daesh in Syria for months and was eventually killed in February 2015.

3 | Pleasantries & Pain - School Massacre: This scene was the fictional representation of the slaughter of students and teachers in Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan on December 16, 2014 by the Taliban, and the slaughter of students and teachers on December 14, 2012 in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, USA.

4 | Afraid & Alliance - Forced Marriage & Beheadings: There are plenty of incidences where female captives (mostly from minority groups) were forced to marry terrorist militants, and there are innumerable accounts of decapitating children and adults.

5 | Confidant & Cruel - Forced Cannibalism: Daesh has been reported to have cooked a male and fed him to his unknowing mother when she had inquired of her son's whereabouts.

7 | Persistance & Prayers - Demolished Churches: A number of Christian religious sites have been destroyed all throughout Syria and Iraq. As with the Nazis when they identified all Jewish homes and businesses with the Star of David, extremists in the Middle East graffiti the Arabic letter ن on all Christian-affiliated buildings.

9 | Threats & Thoughtfulness - Zaakhir's Anger Regarding Children: In human trafficking and in the black market, individuals under the age of 18-20 are "expensive", and yes, virginity plays a huge factor in the amount.

10 | Shocked & Startled - The Idea of Shudun: Al-Khansaa is the name of an extremist all-female militant group with ties to their male extremist counterparts, namely Daesh. They are known for capturing females, selling them off as well as partaking in fights.

13 | Facts & Fury - Ahsan's Educational Background: More often than not, foreign citizens and those with college education have left everything, while denouncing their citizenships to Western countries, to join terrorist organizations.

15 | Horror & Horrified - Throwing Down Homosexuals & Tala's Story: Extremist groups have thrown down homosexuals off of tall buildings in reality, and then later stoned them as a "fulfillment of their punishment". Also, Tala's story is not unlike that of many women held hostage by terrorists.

18 | Risky & Ruins - Destroying Historical Sites: Extremist groups have mined historical landmarks with explosives and have destroyed relics/artifacts with various weapons, most recently in Palmyra, Syria and in Mosul/Ninevah, Iraq. Their reasoning behind such destruction is to cleanse the land of "idolatry".

20 | Gruesome & Gentle - Flogging: Receiving lashes, otherwise known as flogging or whipping, is an unfortunate, yet common form of punishment in some parts of the world, either by extremist groups or even by structured forms of governments.

22 | Jinn & Journey - Split Terrorist Groups: Long story short, Daesh began as Al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, but had formally split away from the latter in early 2014 due to issues between the two, including the intensity of violence as a grave matter.

23 | Ludicrous & Languish - Mother's Rejection: After word spread of the terrorist links of Mohammed Emwazi (infamously known as Jihadi John), a family member claimed that Emwazi's father said that he had severed ties with his son and compared him to a dog.

24 | Complaints & Confessions - The Fate of Du'aa: 14 year-old Abeer Qassim Hamza was raped and murdered by five American soldiers in March 2006. Initially, the soldiers claimed that the act had been done by Sunni insurgents, but the soldiers themselves were later proven guilty. Abeer's father, mother and younger sister were also killed that day.

27 | Uneasy & Unfaithful - Organ Black Market: The Iraqi ambassador to the UN, Mohamed Alhakim, confirmed that bodies have turned up in mass graves bearing surgical incisions and, after autopsies, missing organs as well. It is assumed that Daesh harvests human organs to fund their actions. Similar events have been reported in other places also.

28 | Outraged & Overwhelmed - Rafaa's Deception: This was not inspired by a news story to my knowledge, but one of my friends applied for an internship in a country in Southeast Asia, and the organization ended up scamming my friend, financially. I used that as a bit of inspiration for Rafaa's story.

31 | Fratricide & Familiarize - Murtaza's Reasoning & Recruiting Ghazi: Many people are known to have joined extremist groups solely to provide for their families. Often times, the families themselves do not know what their relatives have gotten themselves into. In the case of Ghazi, this is mirrored off of the recruiting camps that many extremist groups have for children (Al Farouq Camp in Raqqa, Syria). Typically, Daesh has been reported to have been paying the families of the children, and due to poverty and safety, the families generally accept. Needless to say, some children either stay with the group, successfully escape, or face painfully heavy consequences if caught trying to run off.

43 | Heartache & Hardship - Hayat Experiencing Survivor's Guilt: This is the case with many people who have survived tragic occurrences. They may feel unworthy in having another chance at life and feel that they do not deserve to live. They may wish that they could turn back time and help more people regain a chance to live. Such individuals may experience PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and depression, and have suicidal tendencies.

45 | Lonely & Lifeless - Suicide Attempt: No matter what background you're from, suicide has an inevitable stigma attached to it and more often than not, people do not bother trying to effectively help those with suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Telling someone to "try not to be sad" is like telling a cancer patient, "try not to have cancer". Sounds stupid, right? Also, telling someone to just have faith, to ignore negativity, and to downplay depression may work for you, but you have to understand that another person does not see life through your eyes simply because they are another person. What works for you may not work for everybody else - especially if you are dealing with an individual who is mentally struggling while you have never dealt with such a thing yourself. Those who are suicidal need real, professional help and therapy. If you have cancer, you will most likely not sit around, waiting for a cure to magically come - you would visit an oncologist and seek some sort of treatment. It is the same way with mental health, these people need immediate help, though due to the stigma, people are less likely to try to get help. I don't want to give false hope regarding this matter because we all know that some physical ailments have no definite cures, and likewise for mental illnesses. But you need to try. There is a huge chance that someone in your social circle is battling emotional and mental struggles even when they have a smile on their face - it could even be you. Please reach out and be an empathetic individual if you notice any off behavior in someone. Speak to a counselor - especially if you're in school/college/university. Academic institutions generally provide free counseling services. These people are trained to deal with these situations. Take advantage of these services. Physical and mental health correlate, and both revolve around the human body and mind. There is nothing to be ashamed about.

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Those are all the Real Events of Operation: Dard and Devotion! Hope you all learned something :)

As for the Epilogue, I am absolutely over the moon after reading everyone's wonderful comments!! :'D

Go check out the Q&A Session! :)