Gabbar
stallion . arabian . bay . 14.3hh . 6
Gabbar’s muscles tighten the moment the pretty chestnut admits she has met one of the mares he seeks. El Halin. The High Seer, the estimable sister to his mother’s current Consort, the first seer in a century to wear the mark of the Walking Mare on both her shoulders. She is here. Gabbar exhales a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. His journey to these Isles has not been in vain.
The mare continues, and Gabbar’s curved ears remain trained on her as she speaks of a ‘Teke, one Maslakhat. The stallion’s name is unfamiliar to him, and he can only guess at the reasons why El Halin would keep company with such a horse. Perhaps Valve has heard of the ‘Teke. Until he has a chance to speak with the slender black mare, however, he will not dwell on the possibilities, and Gabbar puts his speculations aside for later consideration. He is curious about the Arabian’s side-long glare for Valve, but he assumes she must view the Arabian and Akhak-Teke alliance as fondly as Iftikhar does.
His eyes meet hers briefly as she returns her attention to him. Out of respect for her higher rank as a mare of the herd —this thought gives him pause as he realizes he has essentially made the Arabian mare a captive in the territory he won from the other breeders, a most egregious error on his part and dangerously close to blasphemy— his gaze returns to the sand beyond her shoulder. She has more to say and so he listens, and the information she relays to Gabbar brings his eyes back to her dished face out of shock.
Another seer? It could not be one of their own: El Halin was the only seer who left on that journey so long ago, with Iftikhar on her tail soon after. The ‘Tekes had not reported any of their own heading for these mystical Isles, although it is possible they lied. Assuming the ‘Tekes were honest about their involvement in El Halin’s personal quest, however, that leaves one option: the Blind Seer spoken of in an old prophecy was not truly dead, and El Halin’s interpretation —the one that prompted her to abandon the Arabian herd in the midst of a war they were losing— was correct. The Blind Seer lived still, and El Halin’s presence here is justified.
Gabbar is at a loss. He has been sent by Iftikhar’s Consort, Rakkas, to bring the High Seer and his mother home to help win the war, but El Halin and Iftikhar both left because they believed killing the Blind Seer would grant them the favor of the Gods, thus allowing the Purebreds to overwhelm and exterminate the impure vermin who infested their desert once and for all. He processes all of this in silence for a moment, his gaze distant, and after a few slow, contemplative breaths the bay stallion gives his dished head a small shake and focuses his eyes on the mare’s face once more.
“Bayan, you have done me a great honor in sharing this information with me. If ever you need a favor you have only to ask and I will be at your service.” He drops his eyes back to the sand and lowers his nose until it hangs past his knees. When he speaks, his deep voice is raised so that she needn’t strain to hear him. “I must beg your pardon again, for it has just occurred to me that I have kept you here in this territory perhaps against your will, and it is not proper for a breeder to hold such power over a mare. In the heat of the battle and my self-absorption in the task I have been given, I have forgotten my place.”
Gabbar lifts his head to meet her eyes again for another brief moment. “And still I fear I must continue this transgression. Please, tell me of this horse you know who carries the seer’s title. Then I will take myself away from your presence to avoid giving greater offense, Bayan, unless you wish otherwise.”
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