Post by The Smith on Apr 20, 2008 20:51:05 GMT -5
Upon reaching the Dun Fort, Aerie was housed in the castle near Aranya's rooms. Catelyn and Daeron Blackwood were pleased to see their father's cousin, and Selyse Royce asked Aerie eagerly to bring her daughters over to play with them. Aranya promised the children that she would take them with her when she visited Greycopse to see Anarchy's offspring.
Sunspear, Wenhaver and Black Snow were led into the stables, which smelled pleasantly of horse and hay and leather. While they were unsaddled, Aranya showed Aerie the three stallions that Captain Snow had thrown.
The three stallions were housed side by side, but only two were in their stalls, watching the approaching women with pricked ears and inquisitive eyes. The first stall contained a bay stallion with a coat like burnished copper, shining fiery orange-red as the sunlight slanted in through the window. The other was grey as winter, sleek and muscular. Both of them towered at seventeen hands, with clean long legs and compact, tapering muscling.
"This one is Bonfire," Aranya said, scratching the copper bay under the chin. The copper stallion blew into her hand, shifting the weight of his giant body as he leaned forward to sniff and nibble up Aranya's arm.
The grey horse gave a low whinny and tossed his head as Aerie came to inspect him. "And that one is Winterfrost," Aranya said. "Sometimes I think I got the names wrong. Bonfire is the gentler of the two, while Winterfrost carries Snow's temper."
Aerie looked over Winterfrost briefly before passing him up—she had never particularly found Skag’s temper his strongest attribute. She admired Bonfire for a far longer while, marveling over his bold coloring (so much like Anarchy’s) and solid frame. “I like Bonfire,” she nodded decisively as Aranya led her out to meet the final candidate. Aerie, however, already felt she had found the one.
They walked out, past the fields where other horses were grazing, to a paddock where a groom was riding a burly black stallion, whose muscles rippled like liquid steel under his silken coat. The groom's hand went to the thick, muscular neck as the stallion sidestepped. The groom spoke to him, and the heavy ears swept back, listening, and the restlessness left the black horse's body.
As Aranya and Aerie came up, the horse looked around first, and then the groom.
"Morning, Lady Royce," the groom called. He bowed his head to Aerie. "My lady."
"I wanted to show Shadowsmith to Lady Falgrave," Aranya said, as they came up to the fence and climbed over. "Is he better?"
"Feels good as new, my lady, and as cocksure as any colt. I reckon he's fine now."
"He went lame soon after we arrived," Aranya explained, as the groom dismounted and led the snorting black destrier over. "He's the youngest, only four, while Bonfire is seven and Winterfrost is five. He's high strung, but not as dangerous as Winterfrost, nor as unpredictable as Black Snow."
Shadowsmith snorted, raising his head and flaring his nostrils, as the groom mounted back up on Aranya's signal. She held the stallion's bridle, stroking the satiny neck.
It was Shadowsmith’s temperament that first appealed to Aerie—it was spirited yet not psychotic, a difference she found vitally important. It also helped that the animal was beautiful, though rather thicker than Aerie would have preferred. If bred to a lighter mare, though, his offspring would be divine.
Aranya opened the paddock gate, and the two women followed on foot as the groom took Shadowsmith down the wide field at a slow trot. As they entered, two mares in the field looked up, and a yearling colt with a bright chestnut coat reared and whinnied a challenge. Shadowsmith ignored the colt and pranced, pulling a little, as he moved inside the gate. It was a wide open space of green, smelling of new rain, and was much better to stretch out than in the paddock.
Then the groom drummed his heels against the destrier's sides, and the black horse shot forward, his hooves sticking a little in the wet mud. Shadowsmith's strides came fast and short as he tried to control the momentum of his heavy body. The groom gave him rein, and the stallion's strides began to lengthen and come more smoothly, his body stretching and leveling out as he gathered speed and momentum. He crossed the wide field to the other end in under a minute, gathered himself, and leaped the fence at the far end, and the groom turned him to send him back around. Shadowsmith turned sharply, agile and sensitive, and came hurtling back over the fence, never losing a second, and tore up the wet earth in a fresh onslaught of speed and power. The groom's face was barely visible behind that craned neck and heavy, flowing black mane, but he remained in control as he reined in the charger, slowing to a fast canter, then to a trot, and finally to a halt, right before Aranya and Aerie.
Aerie smiled, swiveling her head towards Aranya. “He,” she said firmly, “is a keeper.”
///
The ride to Greycopse was a merry one. Aerie and Aranya rode at the head on Sunspear and Shadowsmith, the stallions arching their necks proudly as they led the company. Selyse, Catelyn and Daeron rode behind the women, eager and excited. Selyse rode a light bay palfrey, and Catelyn a mincing grey filly. Daeron had been allowed to ride Black Snow. The headstrong black mare would be traded at Greycopse, but Aranya had measured and judged the boy’s riding ability and allowed him to handle the mare and ride her to Greycopse. Daeron had been delighted. Although it had been tricky to control Black Snow and gain her trust, the boy somehow managed it. Aranya’s honor guard rode with them as well. They brought along a band of mares from Duskendale – honey-colored and grey and chestnut and black, all trotting along lightly with the honor guard and their grooms.
The weather was beautiful when they arrived at the Greycopse on a sunny afternoon. After seeing the children into the castle, where they met Aerie’s children, Aranya and Aerie went to see the horses.
Aerie had never really believed in stabling horses. This philosophy made it a bit difficult for her and Aranya to navigate the large pastures in which her horses were kept, the tall grass twisting about their limbs and slowing their already sluggish progress. A herd of sleek mares grazed nearby, their ears swiveling towards the approaching women with unconcern. The groom who had accompanied them went to fetch the herd with a nod from Aerie. Aerie rested her hand on the closest, a lovely creature of dappled rose grey.
“This is Ambrose,” she explained, rubbing the mare’s head affectionately. “The chestnut making a fool of herself over there is Autumn, and the nippy bay is Dawn.” Aerie introduced the band of bright-eyed mares, so that Aranya could make her decisions as Aerie had at Dun Fort. Aranya had brought with her the striking black stallion that had caught Aerie’s eye, as well as a handful of mares. Now it was Aerie’s turn to add her stock into this project. The mares of Greycopse were leggy and well-built, neither sleek nor stocky in their build, with fine delicate heads and alert, large eyes. “Come, let me show you my other boy. He’s unusual, like Sunspear.”
Aranya rubbed Ambrose’s neck, admiring the tints of pink in the mare’s grey coat. Rose gray was the loveliest shade of grey in a horse. She inspected Dawn and Autumn, laughing at the chestnut’s spirited behavior and watching Autumn’s springy action as she frolicked. A good jumper, Aranya could tell. Dawn was too similar to Black Snow’s temperament to add a great deal of variety, but Autumn drew Aranya’s eye again and again with her playful attitude and springing step. She decided on Ambrose and Autumn, as well as several other mares.
"All right," Aranya said, turning back around, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Let's go see your other boy, then."
Aerie led Aranya into a stately stable, moving past the contrite grooms and slinking cats to a large stall that adjoined a sprawling pasture. Its occupant thrust his brown head over the gate eagerly, blowing warm air all his mistress’s hands. “This is Avarice.” The stallion contemplated Aranya with a wild eye, his creamy forelock tumbling about his face to accentuate his spirited manner. He was a burnished chocolate palomino, his dark coat dappled with golden and his hair the color of milk. He snorted a trembling greeting, rising a few centimeters on his haunches to display powerful muscles knotting beneath his glossy coat. “I’ve held on tightly to these two, Sunspear and Avarice. I have other horses with their mind and ability, but their coloring is remarkable, isn’t it? I’ve been hoping they can pass it on.”
“Their coloring is certainly very unusual,” Aranya said, letting Avarice sniff her before stroking him. “You must have found Anarchy some extraordinary broodmares. Let’s hope it does pass on; it would give our horses a distinctive look.” She inspected Avarice, noting the similar conformation to Sunspear’s. “I’ll take Sunspear, but if we breed Black Snow and Avarice, we might get some fine foals indeed.”
They then drew up a breed standard for the horses they planned to breed:
1. 16-17 hands (depending on whether the horse was a courser or destrier)
2. Long clean legs (speed)
3. Short back (jumping)
3. Deep, wide chest (power)
4. Medium-length, arched neck
5. Long, sloping shoulder
6. Slightly convex, medium-length head
7. Large eyes
8. Thick, long manes and tails
9. Acceptable colors: black, all shades of bay (blood and copper bay most prized), chestnut, grey, buckskin and chocolate palomino.
They decided that at Duskendale, the breeding program would be started by breeding Sunspear to Wenhaver, and at Greycopse by breeding Avarice to Black Snow.
“What shall we call them?” Aranya asked. “It should be something distinctive, and something that reflects both of us. Greydale? Duskcopse?” Aerie snorted. “Duskgrave?” Aranya tried, feeling that they all sounded flat.
“Blackdusk,” Aerie said, her eyes glinting.
Aranya began to laugh. “It’s perfect,” she said with a smirk. “Blackdusks. They could only be Blackdusks.”
Result:
Aranya and Aerie gain Beginner at Breeding
Sunspear, Wenhaver and Black Snow were led into the stables, which smelled pleasantly of horse and hay and leather. While they were unsaddled, Aranya showed Aerie the three stallions that Captain Snow had thrown.
The three stallions were housed side by side, but only two were in their stalls, watching the approaching women with pricked ears and inquisitive eyes. The first stall contained a bay stallion with a coat like burnished copper, shining fiery orange-red as the sunlight slanted in through the window. The other was grey as winter, sleek and muscular. Both of them towered at seventeen hands, with clean long legs and compact, tapering muscling.
"This one is Bonfire," Aranya said, scratching the copper bay under the chin. The copper stallion blew into her hand, shifting the weight of his giant body as he leaned forward to sniff and nibble up Aranya's arm.
The grey horse gave a low whinny and tossed his head as Aerie came to inspect him. "And that one is Winterfrost," Aranya said. "Sometimes I think I got the names wrong. Bonfire is the gentler of the two, while Winterfrost carries Snow's temper."
Aerie looked over Winterfrost briefly before passing him up—she had never particularly found Skag’s temper his strongest attribute. She admired Bonfire for a far longer while, marveling over his bold coloring (so much like Anarchy’s) and solid frame. “I like Bonfire,” she nodded decisively as Aranya led her out to meet the final candidate. Aerie, however, already felt she had found the one.
They walked out, past the fields where other horses were grazing, to a paddock where a groom was riding a burly black stallion, whose muscles rippled like liquid steel under his silken coat. The groom's hand went to the thick, muscular neck as the stallion sidestepped. The groom spoke to him, and the heavy ears swept back, listening, and the restlessness left the black horse's body.
As Aranya and Aerie came up, the horse looked around first, and then the groom.
"Morning, Lady Royce," the groom called. He bowed his head to Aerie. "My lady."
"I wanted to show Shadowsmith to Lady Falgrave," Aranya said, as they came up to the fence and climbed over. "Is he better?"
"Feels good as new, my lady, and as cocksure as any colt. I reckon he's fine now."
"He went lame soon after we arrived," Aranya explained, as the groom dismounted and led the snorting black destrier over. "He's the youngest, only four, while Bonfire is seven and Winterfrost is five. He's high strung, but not as dangerous as Winterfrost, nor as unpredictable as Black Snow."
Shadowsmith snorted, raising his head and flaring his nostrils, as the groom mounted back up on Aranya's signal. She held the stallion's bridle, stroking the satiny neck.
It was Shadowsmith’s temperament that first appealed to Aerie—it was spirited yet not psychotic, a difference she found vitally important. It also helped that the animal was beautiful, though rather thicker than Aerie would have preferred. If bred to a lighter mare, though, his offspring would be divine.
Aranya opened the paddock gate, and the two women followed on foot as the groom took Shadowsmith down the wide field at a slow trot. As they entered, two mares in the field looked up, and a yearling colt with a bright chestnut coat reared and whinnied a challenge. Shadowsmith ignored the colt and pranced, pulling a little, as he moved inside the gate. It was a wide open space of green, smelling of new rain, and was much better to stretch out than in the paddock.
Then the groom drummed his heels against the destrier's sides, and the black horse shot forward, his hooves sticking a little in the wet mud. Shadowsmith's strides came fast and short as he tried to control the momentum of his heavy body. The groom gave him rein, and the stallion's strides began to lengthen and come more smoothly, his body stretching and leveling out as he gathered speed and momentum. He crossed the wide field to the other end in under a minute, gathered himself, and leaped the fence at the far end, and the groom turned him to send him back around. Shadowsmith turned sharply, agile and sensitive, and came hurtling back over the fence, never losing a second, and tore up the wet earth in a fresh onslaught of speed and power. The groom's face was barely visible behind that craned neck and heavy, flowing black mane, but he remained in control as he reined in the charger, slowing to a fast canter, then to a trot, and finally to a halt, right before Aranya and Aerie.
Aerie smiled, swiveling her head towards Aranya. “He,” she said firmly, “is a keeper.”
///
The ride to Greycopse was a merry one. Aerie and Aranya rode at the head on Sunspear and Shadowsmith, the stallions arching their necks proudly as they led the company. Selyse, Catelyn and Daeron rode behind the women, eager and excited. Selyse rode a light bay palfrey, and Catelyn a mincing grey filly. Daeron had been allowed to ride Black Snow. The headstrong black mare would be traded at Greycopse, but Aranya had measured and judged the boy’s riding ability and allowed him to handle the mare and ride her to Greycopse. Daeron had been delighted. Although it had been tricky to control Black Snow and gain her trust, the boy somehow managed it. Aranya’s honor guard rode with them as well. They brought along a band of mares from Duskendale – honey-colored and grey and chestnut and black, all trotting along lightly with the honor guard and their grooms.
The weather was beautiful when they arrived at the Greycopse on a sunny afternoon. After seeing the children into the castle, where they met Aerie’s children, Aranya and Aerie went to see the horses.
Aerie had never really believed in stabling horses. This philosophy made it a bit difficult for her and Aranya to navigate the large pastures in which her horses were kept, the tall grass twisting about their limbs and slowing their already sluggish progress. A herd of sleek mares grazed nearby, their ears swiveling towards the approaching women with unconcern. The groom who had accompanied them went to fetch the herd with a nod from Aerie. Aerie rested her hand on the closest, a lovely creature of dappled rose grey.
“This is Ambrose,” she explained, rubbing the mare’s head affectionately. “The chestnut making a fool of herself over there is Autumn, and the nippy bay is Dawn.” Aerie introduced the band of bright-eyed mares, so that Aranya could make her decisions as Aerie had at Dun Fort. Aranya had brought with her the striking black stallion that had caught Aerie’s eye, as well as a handful of mares. Now it was Aerie’s turn to add her stock into this project. The mares of Greycopse were leggy and well-built, neither sleek nor stocky in their build, with fine delicate heads and alert, large eyes. “Come, let me show you my other boy. He’s unusual, like Sunspear.”
Aranya rubbed Ambrose’s neck, admiring the tints of pink in the mare’s grey coat. Rose gray was the loveliest shade of grey in a horse. She inspected Dawn and Autumn, laughing at the chestnut’s spirited behavior and watching Autumn’s springy action as she frolicked. A good jumper, Aranya could tell. Dawn was too similar to Black Snow’s temperament to add a great deal of variety, but Autumn drew Aranya’s eye again and again with her playful attitude and springing step. She decided on Ambrose and Autumn, as well as several other mares.
"All right," Aranya said, turning back around, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Let's go see your other boy, then."
Aerie led Aranya into a stately stable, moving past the contrite grooms and slinking cats to a large stall that adjoined a sprawling pasture. Its occupant thrust his brown head over the gate eagerly, blowing warm air all his mistress’s hands. “This is Avarice.” The stallion contemplated Aranya with a wild eye, his creamy forelock tumbling about his face to accentuate his spirited manner. He was a burnished chocolate palomino, his dark coat dappled with golden and his hair the color of milk. He snorted a trembling greeting, rising a few centimeters on his haunches to display powerful muscles knotting beneath his glossy coat. “I’ve held on tightly to these two, Sunspear and Avarice. I have other horses with their mind and ability, but their coloring is remarkable, isn’t it? I’ve been hoping they can pass it on.”
“Their coloring is certainly very unusual,” Aranya said, letting Avarice sniff her before stroking him. “You must have found Anarchy some extraordinary broodmares. Let’s hope it does pass on; it would give our horses a distinctive look.” She inspected Avarice, noting the similar conformation to Sunspear’s. “I’ll take Sunspear, but if we breed Black Snow and Avarice, we might get some fine foals indeed.”
They then drew up a breed standard for the horses they planned to breed:
1. 16-17 hands (depending on whether the horse was a courser or destrier)
2. Long clean legs (speed)
3. Short back (jumping)
3. Deep, wide chest (power)
4. Medium-length, arched neck
5. Long, sloping shoulder
6. Slightly convex, medium-length head
7. Large eyes
8. Thick, long manes and tails
9. Acceptable colors: black, all shades of bay (blood and copper bay most prized), chestnut, grey, buckskin and chocolate palomino.
They decided that at Duskendale, the breeding program would be started by breeding Sunspear to Wenhaver, and at Greycopse by breeding Avarice to Black Snow.
“What shall we call them?” Aranya asked. “It should be something distinctive, and something that reflects both of us. Greydale? Duskcopse?” Aerie snorted. “Duskgrave?” Aranya tried, feeling that they all sounded flat.
“Blackdusk,” Aerie said, her eyes glinting.
Aranya began to laugh. “It’s perfect,” she said with a smirk. “Blackdusks. They could only be Blackdusks.”
Result:
Aranya and Aerie gain Beginner at Breeding