{"id":5746,"date":"2015-07-29T16:11:38","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T20:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thegreathorse.com\/?p=5746"},"modified":"2017-06-01T12:56:37","modified_gmt":"2017-06-01T16:56:37","slug":"book-excerpt-8-the-devils-ride-a-tainted-bayard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/2015\/07\/book-excerpt-8-the-devils-ride-a-tainted-bayard\/","title":{"rendered":"“The devils ride a tainted bayard!”"},"content":{"rendered":"
The following is an excerpt from \u201cEclipsed by Shadow\u201d<\/a>: Meagan and her Mongolian warpony Targa are captive in a medieval town (1240 AD in modern-day Russia) she was trying to warn of impending attack by the army of Genghis Khan (called \u2018Tatars\u2019 by Europeans).
\n\"Moko<\/a>
\n*The odd language is Old English: ‘ferly’ means ‘strange’ and \u2018Bayard\u2019 is medieval slang for horse \u2026 Bayard <\/em>was a bay horse in medieval French poetry who could magically adjust its size to carry multiple riders.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n

Panic began pooling in Meagan\u2019s chest. If these people were not going to surrender, she had to escape. A thought came to her \u2026 if she could only get close enough to Targa. \u201cI don\u2019t know about the Tatar men<\/em>,\u201d she answered innocently. \u201cBut their horses have a weak spot. I could show you. Take me to any horse with a bridle on it, say … oh, the pony I was riding would be perfect. For a demonstration, I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, the devils ride a tainted bayard! Oh, ho!<\/em> \u2018Tis ferly never to have heard so.\u201d The man reached for his goblet. \u201cTell on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meagan breathed easier, pleased with herself. She would only need a head start. \u201cIt is a place on their horses\u2019 neck. If an arrow hits it, the horse\u2014I mean bayard<\/em>\u2014dies instantly. I can show you. It would be better to do it outside the city, really. We will need some room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNay, the courtyard below will serve. And we shall use your own Tatar bayard.\u201d Juices ran into the man\u2019s beard as he chewed his food. \u201cMy archers will aim where you show us and we shall see how it dies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meagan choked on her drink.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is this? I think you be glad to see the foul animal die!\u201d The man leaned closer. \u201cIf<\/em> you be a Tatar prisoner, as so you say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, of <\/m>course<\/em> I am,\u201d she sputtered, red-faced. \u201cI … I was just disappointed the animal is still alive. The sooner she is eaten by crows, the sooner I can forget everything.\u201d She smiled weakly.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter this,\u201d the man grunted, and motioned to a guard. \u201cFind the alien\u2019s bayard. To-luggid hither to the courtyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

A horn sounded from below. It was taken up in quadrants all around the city, until the rooftop platform was surrounded by a chorus of trumpeting. The Englishman rushed to the railing and began shouting orders.<\/p>\n

Meagan followed the confusion to the platform\u2019s edge. Knights were pouring out of the city gates below; already the fields were filled with their color. In the distance, on the edge of the horizon, a black flood could be seen flowing through the trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey take not our answer.\u201d The Englishman gazed in satisfaction. \u201cThey shall see our manner of surrender.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Eclipsed by Shadow<\/strong><\/em> (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards<\/a> including the Eric Hoffer Award<\/em> for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award<\/em> for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.<\/p>\n

« \u201cThe War Horses<\/a>\u201d || \u201cKnights need horse!<\/a>\u201d »<\/div>\n
The Legend of the Great Horse<\/strong> trilogy is an adventure through history … each section is about a different time period. The above excerpt is from \u201cHome<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d the 1st section of Eclipsed by Shadow<\/em><\/strong>, set in modern-day California.\n<\/div>\n

Eclipsed by Shadow<\/strong><\/em> (Book #1 of the trilogy) won national awards<\/a> including the Eric Hoffer Award<\/em> for best Young Adult Fiction, and the Mom’s Choice Award<\/em> for best family-friendly Young Adult Fantasy.<\/p>\n

\n

__________<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00bb See All Excerpts<\/strong><\/a> from The Legend of the Great Horse<\/strong> trilogy.<\/p>\n

\u00bb Read the 1st Chapter online<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00bb See the Media Kit<\/strong><\/a> for more information about the trilogy.<\/p>\n

\"\" Check out the trilogy’s page on Facebook!<\/strong><\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Panic began pooling in Meagan\u2019s chest. If these people were not going to surrender, she had to escape. A thought came to her \u2026 if she could only get close enough to Targa. \u201cI don\u2019t know about the Tatar men<\/em>,\u201d she answered innocently. \u201cBut their horses have a weak spot. I could show you. Take me to any horse with a bridle on it, say … oh, the pony I was riding would be perfect. For a demonstration, I mean.\u201d —excerpted from Eclipsed by Shadow<\/b> (Book #1 of ‘The Legend of the Great Horse<\/em>’ trilogy (p. 201)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[118,242,70,165,229,227,243,244,396,127],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5746"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5746"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5746\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15103,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5746\/revisions\/15103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegreathorse.com\/book-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}