When Silza arrived at the stables, two horses were waiting for her in the breezeway. Cross-ties held the horses in place so that Nyaphia could finish attaching her luggage and other requested items to the saddles.
One horse looked like a Palomino mare. She was tall and sturdy. Her coat was light gold, but her mane and her tail were white. The other horse was a Chestnut mare. Her coat was red and smooth. She had a red main to match.
The Nyaphia acknowledged her with a brief bow. Silza nodded her head in return. She walked up to the Chestnut mare and reached towards its forehead.
"Did you choose to come with me," she asked with a laugh. "What is her name?"
The Nyaphia tending to the horse was dressed in browns. Yanking the knot she was making taut, she replied, "Kias, Priestess."
"Kias," Silza echoed to the mare. "I think you have a joke in there." Kias lowered enough for Silza to stroke her forehead. Looking into her eyes, Silza whispered, "Elegistis, electi estis, sic est."
Silza released Kias and walked over to the other horse. "Ah, you and I must be sisters, no?" She asked with a chuckle. "Do they tease you for your hair like they do me?"
The Palomino pounded her heel against the ground as if in reply. Silza gently placed her hand on the mare's muzzle.
"And what is her name?"
The Nyaphia that was securing the saddle to this horse glanced over to the other girl who was tending to Kias. There was a moment of hesitation, then she replied, "Exul, Priestess."
The girl's cheeks began to flush with dots of red. Silza noticed the girl was wearing dark blue.
"A girl with such aspirations should hone her practice in presence and coolness," instructed Silza.
The girl seemed to grow paler as her cheeks brightened. "Yyyy yes, Priestess," she stuttered.
Silza waited for the Nyaphia to say more, but the girl returned her attention to the horse, looking afraid to meet Silza's gaze any longer.
Silza patted Exul's muzzle and grinned at the mare. "Sisters indeed."
She placed her forehead atop Exul's muzzle and whispered, "kindrid, elegi, elegisti. simul equitamus."
"They are ready, Priestess Silza," said the Nyaphia attending to Kias. "Should we make our way to the FoldingGate in the yard?"
Silza opened her eyes and gave Exul one last pat on the nose. "No, we can Fold from here. I'll ride Exul."
She walked around to the left of the horse. Lifting her foot into the stirrup, she pushed down to swing her other leg across the saddle. The Nyaphia handed her the reins as well as the lead to Kias. Silza secured the lead, then nudged Exul forward.
"Please open a folding to the base of Mount Sonsí. East to Allens Town," she said to the girls.
Suddenly, a sliver of light appeared before her. It ran down the air and stopped at the ground. The light expanded revealing a blinding terrain of windswept sand. However, the wind and sand stopped short at the entrance of the folding.
Silza lifted her veil across the lower part of her face and fastened it behind her ear. Through the folding, she could vaguely see three men on horseback. They looked to be surrounding a giant mass on the ground. The blowing sand distorted her view, but she could sense that one of those men was Galdon.
She nudged her horse through the folding. Looking back, she spoke to the girl in brown. "Nicely done."
Then the folding winked shut behind her.
***
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Voices of Legend: Ode to Logathara
FantasíaEmbark on a journey into the world of legends in "Ode to Logathara," book one in the Voices of Legend series. Unravel the clandestine struggles of a king fighting to cling to the throne, where the influence of gods casts a veil over the fate of mort...
