‘The Legend of the Great Horse’ trilogy – Page 5 – THE LEGEND OF THE GREAT HORSE trilogy

The War Horses

Horn answered horn throughout the camps. A rippling change went through the horse nation. The few not yet mounted swung aboard. Meagan’s group moved out. The camp leaders rode ahead, each holding a blazing torch. – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)

Hast thou given the horse strength?
Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper?
The glory of his nostrils is terrible.
He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength.
He goeth on to meet the armed men.
He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted;
neither turneth he back from the sword.
The quiver rattleth against him,
the glittering spear and the shield.
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage…

– Holy Bible, Job 39:19-24

MEAGAN SENSED EXCITEMENT in the camp. An undercurrent ran through the people and the horses pranced nervously. Throwing her saddle pad over Targa, she saw something had been added: an odd-looking pole now hung from a loop of leather on her saddle. Then she saw the sharp point and realized she had been given a spear.

Leaders rode through the lines of horses, each with a string of knives hanging from one arm. Meagan took one and examined it, confused. The others were sliding theirs into belt pouches. It seemed a dangerous place to carry a knife, but she did the same.

Horn answered horn throughout the camps. A rippling change went through the horse nation. The few not yet mounted swung aboard. Meagan’s group moved out. The camp leaders rode ahead, each holding a blazing torch.

The pitch of the horns was changing, signaling back and forth down the black mass of horsemen covering the plain. The tight lines of the nomads were dissolving into chaos, melting and running in streaks. Horses were breaking from easy canters into full gallops. When the call reached Meagan’s group, Targa sprang forward, her legs stretching in exhilaration of the run…

Eclipsed by Shadow (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards including the Eric Hoffer Award for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.

« “The Poet Gladiator” || “The devils ride a tainted bayard!” »

The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy is an adventure through history … each section is about a different time period. The above excerpt is from “Home,” the 1st section of Eclipsed by Shadow, set in modern-day California.

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» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

» Read the 1st Chapter online.

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A Poet Gladiator

Horace rubbed his face and looked at the morning sky. His profile was clean and unblemished. With quiet conviction he recited, “And yet more bright shines out the Julian star, as moon outglows each lesser light…” – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)

“The driver listens to no one. Fame has deafened his ears.” Horace stepped into the early morning sun. His marred face was ugly in the naked light and Meagan fought her urge to step back. He led her a short distance away from the gates and lowered his voice. “If you are planning to escape you will have no interference from me.”

“I am not, Horace, I promise. I just want to help the horses.” She saw his quizzical look and corrected herself. “Help the Emperor, I mean.”

“Good. Helping the Emperor cannot be wrong. It can even bring you freedom.” Puffed from sleep, the man’s pale gaze was unnerving. “You are different than other women, Meagan. I want to ask…” His voice became carefully impassive. “What will you do if you receive freedom? Will you go home?”

“I don’t know.” Quick tears formed which she wiped away. “Sometimes I don’t think so.”

Horace rubbed his face and looked at the morning sky. His profile was clean and unblemished. With quiet conviction he recited, “And yet more bright shines out the Julian star, as moon outglows each lesser light…”

“That is nice, Horace. What is a Julian star?”

“The moon at its fullest. Or, one who outshines.”

“Where did you learn it?”

“My mother. She believed in education.”

“My parents did, too.” She hurried to change the subject from home. “How old are you, if you don’t mind?”

“An old man. I have twenty years.”

“That isn’t old, Horace. You be anything.”

“And I would be, now. ‘A good scare is worth more than good advice.’”

She nodded. “I understand that. I really do.”

“That quote was the real Horace,” he said softly. “Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the favorite poet of Emperor Augustus. I was named after him. Rome wants another Horace, my mother used to say.”

“Your mother sounds very sweet. I think it’s nice to be named after a poet.”

“Thank you. I didn’t used to be so courteous about it. ‘Adversity draws out talent,’ my mother said to me, over and over. I found my own favorite lines. ‘Seize the day!’ I told her when I left for the legions. Wasn’t I a bright boy?” He gave a dry laugh. “Father approved of the legions. Men of honor find their reward, father said. Homer was his man.” He lifted his face again to the sky. “‘A vase is begun—why, as the wheel goes round, does it turn out a pitcher?’”

« “The Arena” || “War Horses” »

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» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

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The Arena

There was everywhere and nowhere to run. People scattered before the galloping horses and their bristling chariots of bronze. Meagan leapt out of the path of an oncoming team. Hooves pounded across her footprints. – Eclipsed by Shadow (excerpt)

This excerpt is from Eclipsed by Shadow, Book #1 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an adventure through history―on horseback.

The scene is set in ancient Rome (100 AD): Meagan is trapped with prisoners in the Coliseum…

The peculiar vices of this city, it seems to me, are conceived almost in the mother’s womb … a passion for gladiators and horses.

—Cornelius Tacitus (c. 55 – 120) Roman historian

THE WOODEN DOORS groaned back together behind them. Points of spears filled the narrowing gap as it closed.

New gates opened, tall iron-banded doors that swept outward. The cheering was too loud for any other sound to be heard, but Meagan felt a familiar rumbling. Her stomach chilled to icy jelly as horses thundered from the gates in teamed pairs.

The dazed woman looked up to the sky, thin arms outstretched. Meagan saw a chariot bearing down on her, and she screamed into the crowd’s roar as the woman went under hooves and iron-sheathed wheels.

There was everywhere and nowhere to run. People scattered before the galloping horses and their bristling chariots of bronze. Meagan leapt out of the path of an oncoming team. Hooves pounded across her footprints.

Others tried to climb the smooth mortar walls, but spectators beat them back. A chariot rode along the inside wall, sparks and masonry flying where its spiked wheel made contact. One man climbed high enough to clutch the arm of a spectator—the crowd tossed both over the wall. A woman from the stands threw herself onto the netting, writhing in the passion of bloodlust.

Meagan saw a chariot fishtail, throwing plumes of sand as it straightened towards her. She turned and ran blindly, hearing the thundering gallop grow distinct from the crowd’s noise as the chariot gained.

« “The Scythian Tomb” || “The Poet Gladiator” »

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» See All Excerpts from The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy.

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The Scythian Tomb

Meagan expected the horses to whirl away, erupting in stampede. She scrambled to avoid being trampled and was stopped by a wall of packed earth. But no horse wheeled and ran, no horse gave alarm. All stood in rigid silence, immobile, and she did the same. – Eclipsed by Shadow excerpt

This excerpt is from Eclipsed by Shadow, Book #1 of The Legend of the Great Horse trilogy, an adventure through history―on horseback.

The scene is set in 700 BC: Meagan flees a chariot-led attack and finds refuge …

Wherever man has left his footprint in the long ascent from barbarism, we will find the hoof print of the horse beside it.

—John Trotwood Moore (1852-1929)

Meagan expected the horses to whirl away, erupting in stampede. She scrambled to avoid being trampled and was stopped by a wall of packed earth. But no horse wheeled and ran, no horse gave alarm. All stood in rigid silence, immobile, and she did the same.

Shadows from smoking torches shifted as she stared through the gloom. Each horse’s tail was tightly wrapped and each mane was pulled short. Crude, stirrup-less saddles made of stuffed pillows were held in place by a girth, breast collar and crupper. The horses’ heads were topped with headdresses made of leather or fur, spouting feathers and links of gold. The effect was garish and otherworldly.

All the animals obediently faced the same direction. Very well behaved, she thought, impressed with the horsemanship. In the middle of the dim room, two horses flanked a kind of carriage, harnessed with roughly cut straps across their narrow chests. Only a few horses had riders; these sat mounted, staring ahead … but no one acknowledged her.

Meagan looked carefully around her. The walls enclosed a space the size of small warehouse. A rank, sickly sweet smell permeated the air. Wisps of smoke from the torches rose and disappeared into the round shaft above.

Uneven light and moving shadows made it hard to see clearly. Meagan moved towards one of the horses. She reached out and stroked its hindquarters as she tried to study the carriage more closely. Though it was in the darkest part of the room, she could see two wheels and a light cab, like a trotter’s buggy. The cart was made of wood and the sides were mounted with gold decorations of griffins, eagles and predator cats.

It could almost be the inside of a kind of a tomb, Meagan thought. She swallowed, thinking it seemed recently finished, if so. The torches had not even gone out…