The Horse Lords

A Blessed Day

The sun rises gently over the mountains, searing the sands below with its blistering gaze. The desert winds blow gently across the dunes and flap the opening of a tent, enticing the occupants to come outside. Samira opens her eyes slowly and stretches to welcome the day. Her brother, Sorin, flings off his bedding and begins dressing quickly. Samira shakes her head at this minor sandstorm in the tent as it moves to join their parents for breakfast leaving his bedding all over. When things are peaceful again, Samira rolls up her bedroll and ties it. After braiding her hair and tying it off with a piece of leather she looks over her tunic to make sure it isn't frayed, then she joins the rest of the family for breakfast. Sorin was eating so fast, Samira could not tell if he was chewing his food or breathing it.

         "Sorin, are you going to breathe between bites or pray to the Sun Lord that you don't choke?" Samira teased as she sat down and observed her brother's eating habits.
         "Mfmfpff." Sorin looked up at his sister, both cheeks stuffed full of food. For him the day was going too slow. He resumes shoveling food into his mouth.
         "Here's your breakfast Samira." their mother says as she hands the bowl to Samira. "You and Sorin must be very excited for today."
         "The weather is steady, a good sign." their father adds.
         "I..mmpffdm..am...mpph..finished." Sorin said as he sets his bowl down and bolts for the tent flap. Outside, Sorin was joined by other boys as they raced for the east end of the village where the empty make-shift corral is.
         "Samira, you can have a bite to eat later if you wish to follow your brother." Her mother offers. Samira's heart lept at the idea, though she only shook her head.
         "I need to do my chores first. The corral is empty anway." Samira answers as she sets her empty bowl next to her mother.
         "Do as you must then. See you at midday" Her parents both chime in as Samira exits the tent.

Part of her longs to bolt east to the empty corral where the other children are gathering, but there are duties to attend to first. The corral will be there when she's finished, she thinks to herself. Whistling softly, her parents horses came trotting to her, tossing their heads high as the came. They were a lovely pair of matched greys. They had bounce in their step today, as if even the animals knew that today was special. The horses were never tied, but the two camels were. So Samira untied them from the post and led the six animals down to the watering hole. With the other children occupied at the other end of town, the hole wouldn't be so crowded. Leading them to the best spot, she let the animals drink deeply while she shimmied up a tree to pluck the round desert fruit. She bit into one, letting hte tangy sweet juice dribble down her chin before grabbing another and climbing down again. Dusting herself off, she grabs the ropes and whistles for the horses to take them all home. There were alot of children now gathered at the corral, sitting on the fences. Wistfully, she wished she had been rash, but to leave her chores incomplete now would be silly. Tying the camels back she got the buckets to bathe the horses. She was getting prepared to head back to the watering hole when her father found her and gently took the bucket from her.

         "Samira, go join the others. Your mother and I will bathe the horses today." he smiled. Not needing to be told twice, Samira hastened her steps east, her heart beating fast.
         "Samira! What in the sands took you so long? I saved you a spot on the fence!" Sorin waves to her from his spot on the post.
         "I had things to do Sorin. Chores don't finish themselves. The foals aren't here yet, so I haven't missed anything." Samira replies as she climbs onto the fence, but she was secretly glad that she was missed.
         "Samira, I am so happy you're here. I could scarcely sleep last night!" Cantara bubbles, her eyes alight with excitement.
         "Neither could Sorin. I thought he had scorpions in his bedroll." Samira giggles with her best friend.
         "Look! Sadir's coming!!" Kirel shouts as he practically falls off the fence. The kids let out a collective shout as the first foals come up over the hill.
         "There's the foals! There they are!" Halim burst a few moments later,and all of the children stared at the sand dunes, waiting for Sadir's black mare, Skiro. to come over the top.The elder scout did come over the crest of the hill after the foals, making sure they all were in the corral area, a big grin on his face.
         "There's twelve of them, and twelve of us." Samira said, mystified as the other riders came in behind to make sure there were no stragglers. Sadir was gathering the children close for his speech. Samira moves over to the edge of the group so she can hear better.
"Children of the Horse Lord, it is time for you now to set your feet on the path to seeking the Horse Lord himself. My Warriors and I have traveled several days into the desert, and we faced many trials to greet the Horse Lord and bargain for foals. There were many in his magnificent herd, and from among them he sent these. Each of you will select one of them to raise. Their lives are in your hands from this day forward." Sadir's deep voice was proud. The herd of foals strong. The children turned from him to look at the frolicking foals, each looking for the animal they wished to claim as their own. Then the arguing began.
         "I want the little white filly!" two girls exclaimed.
         "I want the colt!" all of the boys chimed in at once.
         "I want..." Raniyah started, before she was cut off by Sadir.
         "You all should get your chores done, then come back here and we'll decide who gets what foal." Sadir cut in, ending all arguments. The children stunned that work would be required on this day, turn and scatter to their tents to hurry through their chores. Samira is the only one left, watching the foals with a dreamy expression on her face. She didn't notice Sadir coming upon her until his shadow loomed over her.
         "Samira, you should be doing your chores. Off with you now." Sadir said gently. Samira turned to him and looked up.
         "Riama Sadir, I have already done my chores. Do I need to wait for the others before I can choose?" Samira asks as a smile forms on her face. Her preparations have paid off today, and she says a silent prayer to the sun god for her wisdom.
"No, you may go among them now. I should have known you'd be ready first." Sadir chuckles as he moves aside to let her choose.

Samira walked between the foals for awhile, weaving in and out. The foals were all alert, their ears pricked as she moved among them, trying to feel with her heart what she should choose. The colt noses her and she takes his ebony muzzle in her hands, but he just dind't feel "right". She pats him gently and moves on to a pair of white fillies that seemed to be identical except that the left one had blue eyes. She ran her hands over their manes and laughed as they kicked up their heels and ran. She moved past them all, the brown one, the black and white one, the bay, and the roan, the grey and the sorrel, the chestnut and the one that looked like someone threw a bucket of black paint over a white mare. None seemed to draw her attention solely, until she spied a leggy black filly in the back. She had a sliver of white in the shape of a crecent over her left eye. This is the one, Samira thought as she held her hand out. The black filly sniffed it and snorted as if to say: "You don't have anything for me?" Samira laughed and pulled out the extra desert fruit she had gathered and sliced off a piece and offered it. The filly took the piece happily and nickered softly at her girl. As the filly ate, Samira placed a hand upon her glossy black back, and walked over to Sadir, to her suprise, the filly followed her. He had been watching the entire time, making his own evaluations.
         "She is the one. She is so beautiful." Samira said, in awe of her little filly still.
         "She is a fine little filly. She'll be fast and graceful when she grows into those legs. What will you call her?" Sadir said, remembering the look of awe and amazement of when he had bonded to Skiro.
         "She told me her name is Moon's Shadow. I don't know how to explain it, I looked into her eyes and it is the only name I could think of. Can I take her to my tent now?" Samira ventured as Moon's Shadow nudged her elbow, hoping for more fruit.
         "She is your responsibility Samira. You are fully in charge of her life from this moment forward. Go with my blessings." He said, wathing the girl and her filly trot off and a cloud of sand dust coming his way that could only be the other children arriving. They stopped to gawk and stare at Samira and Moon's Shadow. Hands reached out to pet her from everywhere. Then they turned to Sadir, hungry eyes on the animals behind him. Sadir held his hands up and turned to help with the animals. When the last child left, Sadir felt the silky muzzle of Skiro, his mare. She nickered softly as he stroked her muzzle.
"Skiro, the foals are good this year." The mare tosses her head in agreement and nuzzled Sadir's arm.
         "Skiro, I am worried about Samira. She shows promise, but she is too much like her. I fear for what would happen if she possesses the same gifts." Sadir pats the mare's muzzle and together they walk toward the village and the celebration waiting within.









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