Chapter 1- Just Artemis (Revised)

And there they stood, man and horse, silhouetted against the rising sun. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair, throwing his raven locks carelessly aside revealing his handsome features. Sunlight cascaded into the valley, its refreshing golden glow pooling in the holes and flowing over the soft hills, illuminating all the imperfections of the earth below.  A small town was situated at the far end of the valley, but the life- giving light of sun had not yet revived its inhabitants from their periodic slumber. His horse, a proud stallion, as black as his owner’s hair, whinnied his soft approval of the valley below. And with that, he had surveyed the land, the man reined him in and urged him to begin the steep descent.

As they made their way down the virtually untouched cliff- face, weaving in between stray boulders, the man realised how tedious a job it must be to navigate these cliffs on a regular basis as either gypsies or simple tradesmen. He could imagine the caravans swaying precariously as they made their way through the obstacles, the horses buckling under their heavy loads and the men shouting encouragement until hey reached the relief of the slope. He himself knew how hard it was to calm his own horse whenever there was a slight sign of danger or unease. He looked above him and spied an eagle, lazily rising and falling with the air thermals above, beady eyes fixed unblinkingly on the green fields below where its prey resided. He marvelled at its concentration, unwavering, though it was jostled about by the unpredictable currents of the air. He wished he could concentrate like that, fully on the present moment, but his mind often wandered and was impossible to harness constructively. Even now his thoughts swirled, jumbled in his head. All of a sudden, he was jolted unceremoniously out of his thought induced stupor and was rather startled to find himself in an open field in the valley.

From above on the precipice, the valley had looked picturesque, like an oil painting, but from here he could not help but feel he was trapped, with the foreboding rock faces glaring down upon him, watching his every move. His horse nickered gently, and tentatively stepped into the full brilliance of the sun.

“Thanks Rainshine,” he murmured gruffly, stroking the soft black coat of his horse’s neck affectionately.

He shook the long curtains of hair from his eyes so that he could see in the glare of the sun. Locals who where working the surrounding fields were staring avidly at the stranger in their midst as he rode slowly down the trail that led into the village. Obviously in the time it had taken to descend the mountain, the locals had woken up and started their work for the day. The man had an exuding persona of mystery and awe and the locals were slightly intrigued yet intimidated by this quality. The fields shrank away as sparse housing fought for dominance of the road edge. The trail also became a wider but still meagre road. As he neared the edge of the village the ‘road’ became congested with horses and carts who bore the items bound for today’s trade. Upon entering the town, people bustled around and jostled and Rainshine forward. Traders hoping to make a quick sale pestered wandering citizens with their best offers and items; none however daring to disturb or bother the lone traveller who seemed to be stranded on his horse among the seas of people- the other horses had long since dissipated, a wise decision it appeared by their owners. Just a little further into the mass of people, he gave up, dismounted, and continued forward at an only slightly better pace. A boy who the stranger had noticed eyeing him for awhile finally approached him.

“ Please sir,” he said in a meek voice, “ My name is Thomas, son of Joshua. What kind of horse is that?”

“How does it concern you? It is a large and confusing task dabbling in the species of an animal of which there are infinite varieties and variations, especially in a noble breed such as the horse.”

“I…I am training to become a doctor, to help animals. And as there are many varieties of horse around these parts, it is fitting to learn their varieties. I have rather a considerable amount of experience but I have never seen such a magnificent specimen as your horse. By the way, what’s your name?”

“I know not of my horse’s origin. But I have heard of these so called ‘animal doctors’. Veterinarians, are they not?”
The boy nodded quickly.

“As for the name of my horse, his name is Rainshine. And I am Artemis, just Artemis.”

And with that Artemis mounted his horse and began the way to the other side of the city, not looking back and so not seeing the boy still staring contentedly after him.

“I hope we meet again, Just Artemis,” murmured Thomas, quietly under his breath.