The day was quiet, giving way to a night that was anything but. Sleep evaded the golden bay stallion as the cackling of predators in the distance roused the beating of his heart within his narrow chest. With his ears flicking to further hone in on their location, he collected himself into a hurried gallop as his nose searched out the scent of the jackals which he found twisted together with that of another—a mare, unfamiliar and yet no doubt entrapped in perilous circumstances.

Maslakhat crested the top of a large dune where he sighted them; the mare glittered like gold in the moonlight, both by proxy of her stunning pearly cream coat and the assortment of sparkling trinkets that clinked and clattered, adorning her slender frame as she danced and shrieked her battle cries at the hungry animals as they encircled her. Despite this highly unusual display, Maslakhat did not hesitate. He lunged forth, his ears pinned tightly to his head as he squealed his own indignant cry to drive the jackals back, nearly at the same moment the mare tumbled into a gully, only to regain purchase quickly enough to land a footfall upon a particularly brazen one who leapt at her opportunistically.

He roared a throaty squeal as he stamped his forelegs at the lingering animals, tossing his head and lashing his dark tail, charging at them as they scattered, abandoning their conquest. Snorting as he looked after them, ensuring they had truly gone, he at last returned his attention to the sparkling mare.

“Kahretsin ... İyi misin?”, he asked, his amber eyes searching her for injury, but finding none, and also rather distracted by all of the regalia of metal and fabric that decorated her frame.

“Benim adım Maslakhat,” he continued, after a brief pause to ensure she was indeed uninjured from the scuffle. “Nereden geldin?


MASLAKHAT

ateş düştüğü yeri yakar