To Train a Horse

The sun burned across the golden plains, its rays illuminating the grasses that flowed around, though they were of the same color. The wind buffeting against the feeble straws which had grown stronger over the years, though they still bent backwards against the force. The land flat and visible as far as the eye could see, and the field of gold extending out beyond what land there was, unto the ends of the earth. 

There, it was that the horses roamed. Yes, horses, the animal so overlooked by the world, and yet the one that would cause all others to bend to their knees in awe. Of course, for such a thing, the horse would need the proper rider. Nahk Guul was that rider.

Watching the horses run to and fro about the field, Nauk looked on, his eyes filled with pride and greed. His chain mail armor disposed to the side of him, for he no longer needed it in his life, and his short sword at his side, for every warrior, no matter how great the ambition, still needs a weapon, Nauk was ready. For what, he knew exactly, though the horses did not.

He watched as they ran, as their legs pounded the ground, the rhythm all too familiar to Nahk. He listened, he watched, and he paid very close attention. There was one that he needed to find. The fastest, of course. He was not interested in strength or durability; only speed. The speed to run his opponents down. To crush them, to destroy. If they could not hit him, then nothing else mattered. 

He watched as the horses ran in their groups, each one seeming to follow another; it was a wonderus sight. The way they moved, the animals were truly more than just animals. Yet, it seemed as the world had forgotten that. Filled with thieves and knights, no one remembered the true strength that lied within.The strength that no human would ever know on foot, but only know when the wind whipped through their hair, and their body was tossed if they would not hold on. The headstrong horses, all on the plain, galloping together. Their matted manes, their flashing eyes, and their tails flowing behind them. Pounding bareback, side by side they ran, like waves upon waves in the surging tide of the ocean. It was a sight indeed, and Nahk took it all in. 

The sight, however, was not enough for him. No, to watch the animals was entertaining, but Nahk did not search to be entertained, no. Nahk was looking to ride one of the animals, not to watch them. With such a beast, he would fulfill his destiny. The Dragon himself would not match up for the legacy that Nahk searched for. The world would watch as it bowed to him, and it would know; today was the day that the legacy of the Great Horse Rider began. Today, eighty years after the death of him, Nahk would find his place among the books of the south west, and into the rumors of the west. Nahk would not be stopped. Not now; it was too late to stop him then. No, he would not fail.

There it was, he knew, watching one horse break in front of the others. That one. That horse would be his.

(Not completed. To be continued.)

"THE BADGER MAN!” Shouts Nayr, with great enthusiasm. “You! The Snail Selves spoke of the Shelves and of YOU!”

“I have traveled across the great rivers of the world to get to you Badger Man! We will be great companions!”

“TOGETHER! WE WILL RULE THE WORLD!”

The mad lord Nayr, crouched down with his quarterstaff over his neck and under his arms. The table sized and now very frightened tortoise attempting to crawl away has been the latest focus of the very eccentric Nayr. 

“Come with me little large friend of the earth!” 
“THE DAWN AWAITS OUR LEFT SIDES!”

And the excited man leaves on top of the very large turtle pointing to the south with quarterstaff in hand, moving at a pace as slow as snow melting in the shade. 

Weeks go on, and traveling at the slow pace of a turtle back can be maddening, luckily for Nayr he need not worry of becoming more insane in his mind-brain than he already is. 

“Small Big Earth friend!” 
After weeks of silence and pointing, the tortoise had forgotten of Nayr’s presence on its back, and was very surprised when Nayr lifted the tortoise.
“I have traveled for weeks upon your back! and now it is turn for the table tortoise to be flopped!” 

And the deadly slow duo begin to travel further into the south, this time at a slightly quicker pace.


Months move on, and the contrasting, but very similar characters have grown a bond. The tortoise has been carried, and carried, eaten leaves, and watched as Nayr also attempted to eat leaves the same way. The two are of one mind, and it is unknown which mind; the Mads, or the insane mind to have bonded with the mad one. As the two travel on, the south, the great golden plains, grow ever closer in their Pale sky blue and earthen brown eyes.

He had seen the horse that was his. The fastest, and not the smallest. It was a good horse, and by looking at it, Nahk knew it was his. He watched it run, watched the group run together, and wished he was among them. It was his key to conquering the world. Bows and arrows were good weapons, and armor was a solid defense, but there was no speed against that which was impossible to hit. No, Nahk would rule some day.

Walking towards the running group of horses, Nahk knew that it was his fate. The Dragon himself was weak in comparison to the force that Nahk would have. The Eastern Serpent. The Eastern Horde. The Golden Horde. No, those names were good, but not good enough. He needed a better legend.

There seemed to be another in the presence of the Golden Horse; a name Nahk had just created for himself. This one screamed and shouted, and did nasty things. He seemed to be completely insane, not acknowledging Nahk at all, but standing there... With what seemed to be a turtle tucked under his arm, and not really doing very much. It was strange, but also disrespectful, and Nahk would not stand for that. 

Turning from the horses, he looked at this man, dressed in scholar's robes, and not posing a threat at all. He, Nahk resolved, would be the first to fall. 

"Man!" Nahk roared, walking towards the... insane thing. "I would have your head!"

Ripping his sword from where it lay at his side, the steel glinting in the light, the flash of the metal coming up. He ran quickly, no longer weighed down by the chain mail armor that he had once worn. As he charged looking at the man that he would kill, Nahk noticed something.

The man had a spear with him. It was only a staff, but in Nahk's eyes, that was a better spear than the short sword which he currently held. This realization caused him to slow in his charge, and lower the sword which he had been holding. He stopped, ten or so feet away from the man, and pointed at the staff in his hand.

"I would stay your head!" He shouted, emphasizing the importance of this decision. "But I would have your spear!" He shouted once again, pointing at the man's staff. It was vital that he received the staff. With it, his progression to the Golden Horse (like golden horde, but horse? get it?) would be one step closer. It was not a true spear or lance, but it would make due until he had one that would work. However, the man had to hand it over. If he did so, without quarel, Nahk would give him the sword, for he would no longer have a need for it. If he did not, however, then Nahk would likely be forced to resort to violence.

Nahk looked on in great triumph as this man before him surrendered his spear. Sort of spear. It had no point, but that did not matter, it was the idea that it was a spear, not that it did not actually have a point. The point would come later. 

"Man!" Nahk roared, though he was about a foot away. He greatfully grabbed the spear from Nyar. "You would have my sword!" He then said, ripping the sword and scabbard from his waist, destroying the belt in the process, but not noticing it. "And my armor, if you would!" He then pointed to the ground a few feet away where the chain mail lay. "I thank you for the spear!" He shouted again, and began to walk back to where his horse ran. It was not his horse yet, but in a way, it was. He would have that horse.

Then, however, as he was walking, Nahk thought of something. "You!" He said, whirling to face the strange man. "You would join me!" He yelled across the pitiful ten foot distance that Nahk had walked before deciding this. "You would join me to kill the world!"

Not waiting for a reply, Nahk turned again, back to where the horses ran. Then, as he walked towards the horses, thoughts flew threw his mind, for though while Nahk was not the best with words, nor the common tongue which seemed universal among humans, Nahk was quite intelligent. Very so, far more than his speech hinted at, but he was smart. Yes, he had just traded a short sword for a quarter staff, and many would think it was a foolish trade; trading a blunt stick for a long and well made piece of sharp metal. 

Nahk, however, knew that he had made a good deal, for the both of them. If the other man would fight on foot, he would find the sharp sword will aid him more than the stick ever would. For Nahk, however, a short sword would be dismal upon a horse. If it had been a long sword or even a hand and a half sword, that would be a different matter; however, that was a short sword that he had just given away. Take note at the word: short. Upon a horse, such a reach would be dismal. The staff, however, that was different. Even if he used it as a club as he rode by his opponents, the reach was what he needed, and the reach he had gotten. As for the armor; it was too heavy for the horse he had his eyes on, and would slow it, even just slightly. If Nahk cared for health, he would have kept the armor, however, Nahk only cared for speed, and it was speed that he would have.

Now, with his makeshift spear, Nahk only needed the horse, and it was now that he would have it. The lone horse, his horse, was making a round, and Nahk was right in its path. His time to take it was then, or never. If he failed in this attempt, Nahk knew that the horse would never come his way again. He had to break it then, right then. 

As it ran past, Nahk braced his body, feeling the true moment come to his life. He had turned down the mount which all were given when they turned fifteen just for this moment. He had rejected the tamed horse, because he wanted one as wild as himself, and if he succeeded here, then he would have that horse. 

It ran, just withing a few inches of Nahk, obviously not knowing he would endanger its freedom, and it was then that Nahk reached out, and hooked an arm around its neck, kicking up to jump with his own feet, allowing the velocity of the moving horse carry him upwards and finally, his arm acting as a hook to turn himself, Nahk landed on the back of the horse. This was obviously a surprise, as it began to turn and toss, trying to throw the thing that had landed on its back, but to no avail. Nahk's strong arms grasped around the arm of the horse, and he would sooner die than let go. 

It ran and thrashed, tossing, bucking, and rearing, trying to free itself of Nahk, but the man would not go. Instead, laughing wildly, Nahk reached for the horse's mane, grabbing it, and releasing the neck. He leaned back, tugging the hair harshly in the direction of the other man, and the horse obeyed out of pain. Then, Nahk looked on, his eyes filling with power as the horse followed his orders. He was aimed to collide with the mad man, but Nahk felt confident in his new found power.

In the seconds before the horse would run over Nyar, Nahk pulled sharply back on the mane of the horse, and the horse skidded to a stop, dust and dirt pulling up from the ground around, as they stopped only five feet away from the man man. The mad and the wild, Nahk smiled to himself. They would be an interesting pair.

"Would you join me?" Nahk asked, no longer shouting, but his voice filled with power, as he let go of the horse, and had one hand on the staff.

Nahk looked at the man before him and smiled. He was insane, yes, but that was good for the mission that had to be done. There was a task indeed, and it needed to be done.

However, there was one thing that had to be tested before he trust this one with such a task.

"I would spar you," Nahk said, dismounting from the horse which had only recently become a part of his kingdom to be. "I would test your strength before we go," he finished, drawing forth his quarter staff.

He needed to know if this man would put up a good enough fight for the mission.

(I apologize for the shortness.)

Nayr wondered, "Why did the thing fly? How did it fly? How did this little thing work?"
Of course the absolutely insane man was staring into a flower, of which had a beautiful butterfly inside of its wondrous petals. 

Startled by the rather loud man shouting about fighting the Butterfly gracefully took flight, flittering about as it blew in the wind, like an exquisite leaf. Nayr stood and watched as the butterfly flew far far away, and stared into the horizon.

"BADGER MAN! YOU HAVE RECOMEDBACK!" Nayr shouted as he turned around quickly.

A cloud of dust rose above the fallen Nayr, who had tripped on his own foot, and hit the ground hard, and another cloud rose after Nayr attempted to stand to quickly.

"AHA!" quickly reaching to grab the leg of Nahk, "I have you now!" 

"I WILL STAR WITH YOU! I do not know how to star! But I will try hard to be bright and twinkly!"

(Exiting to get things approved. Will make another topic to do the combat, but need things approved to move on for now.
Exit. 2047 words. Requesting 2,000 words towards charger, and 40 stats; 30 to patience, and 10 to memory.)

Approved.

I KING OF THE MAD PATIENT TURTLES HAVE SPOKEN 1101 WORDS AND REQUIRE ALL 22 POINTS TO BE COUNTED TOWARDS PATIENCE! And Maybe someday I will be able to spend 2000 points towards Zippy the patient turtle....

Approved, and maybe someday