With the heat of summer fading and the turn of autumn quickly approaching, Maslakhat hardly had much time to himself these days. His collective of hot blooded compatriots had grown fastidiously over these last few months, and he was rather pleased that he successfully cultivated a home befitting of their heritage. The Dunes, once barren of any sort of souls deserving of its sands, had blossomed into a fertile crescent of sanctuary for their kind.

As it should be.

But his victories thus far did not mean that the golden bay Akhal-Teke had forgotten about one impending member of the herd—the girl Solomon should have sent in return for Illusion. Each morning he spent an hour or two observing the land and its inhabitants from his favorite vantage point—a tall dune that overlooked the ocean to the south and the oasis to the north. Some days he encountered new faces and others came and went without, but none of the strangers arrived under the precedent of coming from the Cove.

He mulled this over, weighing the possibility that the painted stallion did not intend to make good on his deal, and he considered the consequences that he should incur for such deceit. Maslakhat certainly had no qualms making an example out of anyone who saw fit to take advantage of his graciousness. After all, respect and fear were both earned through action.

But it seemed there would be no such action needed today, as a masculine call broke the plain of the arid land while the noontime sun blazed unapologetically above them all. The Akhal-Teke pursued the source at a brisk and forward trot, and as he drew closer he spotted the shape of the large stallion he knew to be Solomon and a smaller golden mare of similar stature to his own lithe build. With his long and narrow ears pricked forward, he snorted a brisk affirmation that he had indeed made good on their accord.

“Ah, Solomon,” he remarked, his amber eyes settling on the stallion first before they flicked to the golden girl, combing over her frame and then nodding his head to acknowledge his approval, respectfully. “It seems my patience has paid off. Welcome to the Dunes. I am Maslakhat."


MASLAKHAT

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