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Description
Horse: 1031 Balthazar
Show: Remuda Livery Invitational
Class: Racing

Story (1304 words)

“We have confirmed that your mare is excellent blood,” the queen said. She was standing next to Kassia dressed in fine-dyed wool and furs, her black boots crunching the frost-rimmed grass. Though dark circles under her eyes radiated fatigue, she was smiling at both Nog and little Madge who was nursing determinedly. “Her foal, of course, needs to go through some training before she can be awarded merit for herself, but her dam’s lineage grants her a significant boost in the studbook.”

“I had no idea Nog was so well-bred,” Kassia murmured. She was still staring down at the fine parchment paper decorated with a red ribbon and gold seal. All of Nog’s parentage had been written out in a delicate, spidery hand going back eleven generations. This was impressive by any standard, but especially so for Nordanners. She understood – mostly from vague references and the occasional odd story around the campfire – that the queen and the entire race of Nordanners didn’t belong to Aleria at all but had come from somewhere else. And, most surprisingly, the majority Nordanners weren’t registered in the studbook. There were herds of them roaming Aleria, living in complete freedom. Registered Nordanners numbered in the thousands, but there were presumably hundreds of thousands more… somewhere. To have a Nordanner with so many registered and well-bred horses in her pedigree was something of a great honor, even if she had had nothing to do with it.

“She is,” the queen smiled at her. “And she has the potential to improve upon what she already has. I hope to see more of her in the future.”

As the queen moved away to speak to another group of volunteers, Kassia felt rather than saw Balthazar appear from where he had been hiding behind the big tree. Poor thing, she thought. It had been almost a month, and he was still horribly embarrassed by what had happened to him. When the queen had ridden in on one of her fine generals along with a revenue of retainers on equally fine horses, the black stallion had high-tailed it around the tree and remained there the entire time the queen had stopped to talk to Kassia, examine Nog, and exclaimed over little Madge.

If the queen noticed, she hadn’t indicated it. Kassia found herself a little disappointed by this, but then, the horrible, horrible memories of that night had hardly faded from herself yet. For the queen, who had loved and cared for Balthazar as one of her generals, the situation must be so much worse. It was likely easier to put him from her mind, knowing that he was in good care and wanted for nothing, so she could focus her energies on the war.

Still, though… she turned and looked at him. Dejection was evident in every line of his body.

The next morning, Kassia rose early. Nog was dozing over a soundly sleeping Madge when she slipped under the rope fence. The beautiful mare opened her amber eyes and whickered softly, extending her soft nose to her owner, but she didn’t move away from her foal.

Balthazar was nowhere to be found.

A shot of panic made leant wings to Kassia’s feet – she leaped over the fence and started running. Where had he gone? Why had he gone? Was he alright? She ran past the other encampments, looking into each one to see if he were with the other Nordanners. Her first guess – the most logical and least frightening, anyway – was that a mare had gone into heat and the stallion had paid her a visit. That would be a wonderful thing to explain to the owners. Whoops! Guess I forgot to tie him last night. Oh, don’t worry about the ortho magic. I’m sure it won’t affect the foal.

He wasn’t with any of the mares. Drawing her cloak more tightly around her shoulders, Kassia scanned the huge meadow where the horses and riders trained during the day. Like many other autumn mornings, fragments of mist were drifting leisurely up towards the mountains from the river, and low, sodden clouds rolled from the north. The sun was just peeking through, and it colored the atmosphere pink and orange.

Something pushed her from behind. Stifling a scream, Kassia whirled around to find him standing behind her, purple smoke billowing from his eyes and hooves and mingling strangely with the golden morning mist. “You… you…” she gasped, but her words slipped away when the big stallion nosed her affectionately on the shoulder. He had never done that before. She twined her fingers into his disheveled forelock for a moment before releasing him to run her fingers down the length of his neck. His coat was moleskin soft just underneath the short, cropped mane that was the hallmark of all the Queen’s Generals. It had grown out over the past few weeks and would begin to fall over within the next few.

He nosed her again and pivoted around so that she was facing his broad back. A strange brightness lingered in his eye that was more than eagerness. If he could have spoken to her, Kassia was certain he would have. He pushed her insistently with his nose; Kassia realized that he wanted her to mount him. After the momentary shock of this realization, she grasped fistfuls of his mane and swung aboard. He was taller than Nog, but she managed to heave herself awkwardly into the correct position. No bridle or saddle, she remembered. It was just the two of them with no aids or tack between them to aid in communication. Even with Nog, she had always used some kind of bridle or halter.

The black stallion stood completely still while the girl adjusted into a comfortable position just behind his sloping withers. His head was up; his nostrils fluttered as he scented the wind. Gulping, Kassia closed her legs around his barrel and squeezed ever so slightly; he moved forward at a smooth, liquid walk. A few steps later, he threw his magnificent head back – the purple smoke billowed into Kassia’s face, washing a sweet scent over her that almost made her swoon – and whinnied loudly. Then next moment, he broke into furious action. Swinging towards the open forest, he burst into a rapid canter, his large ears swiveling back and forth.

When he finally broke into a gallop, Kassia slid forward, pressing her hands close to the sides of the stallion’s neck. He carried his head high even in a full gallop, but this didn’t affect inner workings of the giant muscles that Kassia could feel beneath her. His strides were efficient and effortless. How was such a big horse able to move so fast? And he was fast, terribly fast. In no time at all, they had reached the forest, and the stallion swung in a gentle arc to bring them around back to the row of tents and makeshift enclosures for the horses. Now Kassia brought herself low over his withers, drawing her legs up so that her center of gravity aligned with his. As one, they moved over the frost-crusted grass, through the fractured strands of mist, into long bands of shadows and out into the golden rays of morning sunlight. Behind them, a long line of purple smoke lingered and then chilled, covering the grass with an iridescent sheen. Balthazar called out to Nog, who answered him in her deeper, bell-toned voice, before wheeling about and galloping back into the open meadow. Kassia was almost crying now, and breathlessly laughing in relief and joy.

So absorbed was she in the glorious onslaught of the stallion’s strength and speed that she neglected to see the queen, standing next to one of her generals, watching them from across the encampment, tears winking like diamonds on her face.

Description
Horse: 1031 Balthazar
Show: Remuda Livery Invitational
Class: Racing

Story (1304 words)

“We have confirmed that your mare is excellent blood,” the queen said. She was standing next to Kassia dressed in fine-dyed wool and furs, her black boots crunching the frost-rimmed grass. Though dark circles under her eyes radiated fatigue, she was smiling at both Nog and little Madge who was nursing determinedly. “Her foal, of course, needs to go through some training before she can be awarded merit for herself, but her dam’s lineage grants her a significant boost in the studbook.”

“I had no idea Nog was so well-bred,” Kassia murmured. She was still staring down at the fine parchment paper decorated with a red ribbon and gold seal. All of Nog’s parentage had been written out in a delicate, spidery hand going back eleven generations. This was impressive by any standard, but especially so for Nordanners. She understood – mostly from vague references and the occasional odd story around the campfire – that the queen and the entire race of Nordanners didn’t belong to Aleria at all but had come from somewhere else. And, most surprisingly, the majority Nordanners weren’t registered in the studbook. There were herds of them roaming Aleria, living in complete freedom. Registered Nordanners numbered in the thousands, but there were presumably hundreds of thousands more… somewhere. To have a Nordanner with so many registered and well-bred horses in her pedigree was something of a great honor, even if she had had nothing to do with it.

“She is,” the queen smiled at her. “And she has the potential to improve upon what she already has. I hope to see more of her in the future.”

As the queen moved away to speak to another group of volunteers, Kassia felt rather than saw Balthazar appear from where he had been hiding behind the big tree. Poor thing, she thought. It had been almost a month, and he was still horribly embarrassed by what had happened to him. When the queen had ridden in on one of her fine generals along with a revenue of retainers on equally fine horses, the black stallion had high-tailed it around the tree and remained there the entire time the queen had stopped to talk to Kassia, examine Nog, and exclaimed over little Madge.

If the queen noticed, she hadn’t indicated it. Kassia found herself a little disappointed by this, but then, the horrible, horrible memories of that night had hardly faded from herself yet. For the queen, who had loved and cared for Balthazar as one of her generals, the situation must be so much worse. It was likely easier to put him from her mind, knowing that he was in good care and wanted for nothing, so she could focus her energies on the war.

Still, though… she turned and looked at him. Dejection was evident in every line of his body.

The next morning, Kassia rose early. Nog was dozing over a soundly sleeping Madge when she slipped under the rope fence. The beautiful mare opened her amber eyes and whickered softly, extending her soft nose to her owner, but she didn’t move away from her foal.

Balthazar was nowhere to be found.

A shot of panic made leant wings to Kassia’s feet – she leaped over the fence and started running. Where had he gone? Why had he gone? Was he alright? She ran past the other encampments, looking into each one to see if he were with the other Nordanners. Her first guess – the most logical and least frightening, anyway – was that a mare had gone into heat and the stallion had paid her a visit. That would be a wonderful thing to explain to the owners. Whoops! Guess I forgot to tie him last night. Oh, don’t worry about the ortho magic. I’m sure it won’t affect the foal.

He wasn’t with any of the mares. Drawing her cloak more tightly around her shoulders, Kassia scanned the huge meadow where the horses and riders trained during the day. Like many other autumn mornings, fragments of mist were drifting leisurely up towards the mountains from the river, and low, sodden clouds rolled from the north. The sun was just peeking through, and it colored the atmosphere pink and orange.

Something pushed her from behind. Stifling a scream, Kassia whirled around to find him standing behind her, purple smoke billowing from his eyes and hooves and mingling strangely with the golden morning mist. “You… you…” she gasped, but her words slipped away when the big stallion nosed her affectionately on the shoulder. He had never done that before. She twined her fingers into his disheveled forelock for a moment before releasing him to run her fingers down the length of his neck. His coat was moleskin soft just underneath the short, cropped mane that was the hallmark of all the Queen’s Generals. It had grown out over the past few weeks and would begin to fall over within the next few.

He nosed her again and pivoted around so that she was facing his broad back. A strange brightness lingered in his eye that was more than eagerness. If he could have spoken to her, Kassia was certain he would have. He pushed her insistently with his nose; Kassia realized that he wanted her to mount him. After the momentary shock of this realization, she grasped fistfuls of his mane and swung aboard. He was taller than Nog, but she managed to heave herself awkwardly into the correct position. No bridle or saddle, she remembered. It was just the two of them with no aids or tack between them to aid in communication. Even with Nog, she had always used some kind of bridle or halter.

The black stallion stood completely still while the girl adjusted into a comfortable position just behind his sloping withers. His head was up; his nostrils fluttered as he scented the wind. Gulping, Kassia closed her legs around his barrel and squeezed ever so slightly; he moved forward at a smooth, liquid walk. A few steps later, he threw his magnificent head back – the purple smoke billowed into Kassia’s face, washing a sweet scent over her that almost made her swoon – and whinnied loudly. Then next moment, he broke into furious action. Swinging towards the open forest, he burst into a rapid canter, his large ears swiveling back and forth.

When he finally broke into a gallop, Kassia slid forward, pressing her hands close to the sides of the stallion’s neck. He carried his head high even in a full gallop, but this didn’t affect inner workings of the giant muscles that Kassia could feel beneath her. His strides were efficient and effortless. How was such a big horse able to move so fast? And he was fast, terribly fast. In no time at all, they had reached the forest, and the stallion swung in a gentle arc to bring them around back to the row of tents and makeshift enclosures for the horses. Now Kassia brought herself low over his withers, drawing her legs up so that her center of gravity aligned with his. As one, they moved over the frost-crusted grass, through the fractured strands of mist, into long bands of shadows and out into the golden rays of morning sunlight. Behind them, a long line of purple smoke lingered and then chilled, covering the grass with an iridescent sheen. Balthazar called out to Nog, who answered him in her deeper, bell-toned voice, before wheeling about and galloping back into the open meadow. Kassia was almost crying now, and breathlessly laughing in relief and joy.

So absorbed was she in the glorious onslaught of the stallion’s strength and speed that she neglected to see the queen, standing next to one of her generals, watching them from across the encampment, tears winking like diamonds on her face.