For the last 500 years the empire of Aishinda has stood, formidable and unchallenged, as it conquered its neighbors, befriended its enemies and made enemies of its friends.
17 year old Ziggy Aden loves her country and has always dreamed of becomin...
The horse turned his head towards the silly girl and gave her the full force of his equine gaze. Then he snorted in the disdainful way only horses can and resumed his mid-day meal of Jackalberry leaves.
"Rude," Ziggy sighed with exasperation. "And no help at all."
Ziggy finished her warm up and walked over to Wafiza. She leaned her forehead against the horse's neck and buried one hand in his mane while stroking his withers with the other. The closer Ziggy was to Wafiza the clearer she felt their connection.
"You were right to suggest we try and lose them before heading home, but I think your new plan to stand and fight is dum...uh... not well thought out," Ziggy said, choosing her words carefully as to not anger her faithful steed.
"I mean, I'm a Tador cadet. Not a fully vetted Tador of Aishindan Empire. Not yet, anyway. Don't you think we should try to make it back to the academy? Get some help from the sentinels?"
"And how do you propose we go about doing that?" the grey gelding asked, feigning nonchalance while snatching Jackalberry leaves from the low hanging branches.
The motion of the unnecessarily rough chomp reverberated through Wafiza's body, jostling Ziggy from her leaned position against the horse. As Ziggy caught herself from falling to the ground, an annoyed Wafiza shook his mane and found a new spot full of the feathery pink and orange leaves to wreak havoc on. Ah, Wafiza. What a joy. Who knew the sweet foundling Ziggy fell in love with all those years ago would turn in to such a grump?
Ziggy and Wafiza have a special bond that began the day Wafiza was born. Ziggy had been checking in with the stable master all day to see if her father's favorite mare, Nova, had foaled yet. The eager girl had been promised the next foal born to Nova, as a present for her sixth name day, and she wanted to be there when her most prized possession was born.
As it turned out Dunia, patron Goddess of Tajir, was smiling down on Ziggy. For just as the anxious young girl walked into the stable for the fourth time that day she heard the grunts of difficult labor coming from Nova's stall. Ziggy hurried over and "helped" the many years' experienced stable master turn the struggling foal's shoulders and pull it free from the laboring mare.
As Nova lay on her side, breathing heavily from her birthing efforts, the new colt rested on the fresh clean hay laid by the stable hands just that morning. Ziggy slowly lowered herself to the ground, laying flat on her stomach. She inch wormed her way to the panting animal, careful not to get too close or make any sudden movements as dam and foal were still bonding.
The newest Fulani horse to be added to the stables, with a chestnut coat and eyes like liquid amber, looked at Ziggy. They locked eyes. Instantly, a finger of electricity zapped the unsuspecting girl like the sting of a swamp eel.
Surprised and slightly irritated, That hurt!, Ziggy looked around the stall and outside the stable doors, but the night sky was clear except for the moon and stars. There were no storm clouds of any sort to be seen for miles and certainly no lightning.
"Where did that come from?", she wondered to herself.
Turning back to the colt, Ziggy saw a new awareness in his eyes she hadn't seen a moment ago. As she pondered this new development, the colts name bubbled up in Ziggy's mind. Wafiza, which means fresh air. Ziggy whispered softly, almost reverently, 'Wafiza" out loud and watched as her breath was swept up in a twirl of a breeze, swaying to and fro, before gently landing on her new friend's nose, making him sneeze.
From that day forward Wafiza and Ziggy were inseparable. He became her best friend and confidante, though she'd never tell that to any of her fellow academy cadets, for fear of being teased. Soon after Wafiza took her first shaky steps, the pair discovered they had the ability to speak without words. Not that they could read each other's minds, more like a conversation with their minds. One that either of them could tune in and out of at will. The pair also always know what the other is feeling, even from very far distances.
Like right now, Wafiza could "feel" that Ziggy was feeling very anxious and unprepared. Normally enthusiastic and ready for any action, no matter how small, Ziggy was being uncharacteristically cautious. She kept hinting that she and Wafiza should ride back home and let the academy sentinels or town guardsmen take care of the mysterious riders stalking her throughout the Indigo Plains.
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Ziggy was also saddle weary, fatigued and hungry. Her water skin was once again full, thanks to the river, but she'd eaten the last of her travel rations at breakfast yesterday morning. None of the Jackalberry fruit was ripe and she hadn't seen any fresh game trails in days. Not that she could really hunt. Only stopping for a couple of hours a day, just long enough to rest herself and Wafiza before moving again.
There was also that pesky little academy rule stating cadets were expressly forbidden from engaging in any combat outside of academy walls. Of course, every cadet was allowed to defend themselves if the situation warranted it, but they were not expected to uphold the honor of Aishinda as full Tadors were sworn to do. Wafiza, however, had a difference of opinion on the situation and he wasn't shy about expressing it.
"Should we ride up to the township gates, waiving our Idana colors above our heads like pennants of failure? Yelling and pleading with the sentinels to hurry and open the gates before the scary shadow riders get us?", Wafiza turned towards Ziggy, giving her his full attention.
"Stand before the council of masters, look them in their eyes and tell them we let three unknown horseman chase a future Tador of the Empire all over Dunia's Creation?"
Wafiza paused from his angry tirade to roll his eye at the skittish, two-legged filly. He was angry--his hunger completely forgotten. He'd been keeping these thoughts to himself since Ziggy first brought up going home and he wasn't going to stop until he'd said everything he was thinking.
"That doesn't sound like the actions of a true Tador. That sounds like the mewlings of a fraidy-kitten. Are you a fraidy-kitten, sister?", Wafiza asked. He wasn't really expecting an answer from Ziggy. He turned his back so he couldn't see her either.
Wafiza knew Ziggy wanted to go home because she was tired and she truly respected the Council of Masters, if not so much their rules. But Ziggy needed to learn a Tador is only as good as his or her reputation among other Tadors and those who employee them. If a Tador backs down from a challenge or shirks his or her duty, their reputation becomes almost irreparable. Wafiza didn't want that for him and his best friend and so he took it upon himself to try and convince Ziggy that engaging the enemy would be better for their image.
Ziggy took several steps back from Wafiza with a sigh and a look of irritation. She was trying very hard to keep a cool head and be understanding, but she was in no frame of mind to deal with one of Wafiza's moods. Her best friend had a tendency for theatrics and tantrums when he didn't get his own way.
"First, you are being quite dramatic. More so than usual and it's not getting us any closer to a decision," Ziggy stated to Wafiza's back side, "Second, it's too hot out here for all the extra huffing you're doing."
Wafiza stayed silent, swatting at flies with his tail.
"Third, we need to actually have an image", Ziggy snorted, guessing at the many times before discussed issue Wafiza was not talking about, "preferably one that isn't already tainted by centuries of previous Tador losers and screw-ups." Ziggy hated to admit it, but she was well on her way to becoming one of those "losers".
