Hamazasb is missing

The sun came up, heaved itself above the horizon and sent its rivers of light across the land, catching the tiled rooftops and golden cockerels standing as proud weather-vanes on the church spires, spread floods of gold across the marshes and pastures and over the hills and snow-capped mountains. The horses on the carousel waited, waited for Hamazasb to return, and gradually they began to share Kakhaberi’s fears that something bad had happened.

It sometimes happened that one of their number disappeared for a while but would return with smart new paint, or mended saddle, or even a fine collar like Bialias came back wearing.

The horses were uneasy, there was a space now between them, a gap in their ranks, empty except for a miasma of worry, worry for where Hamazasb was, and what had happened to him. The music started, the children came, but so too did black clouds, and soon the light had gone from the sky and the day was gloomy and dull.

Hamazasb was lost, he had flown further than the others thinking they were behind him, but turning and looking down he could see nothing to guide his way back. He circled round, calling for his friends, but the wind took his voice and tossed it among the clouds. There was the faintest gleam of gold in the east, night was fleeing and Hamazasb must find somewhere to rest. There was a sudden flare of light below and a below of men’s laughter, then the darkness returned; but in that brief flash Hamazasb had glimpsed the colours of the fairground. This was not where his carousel was, but maybe there were friends here, other horses, and he descended. There were strange shapes and figures, figures of horses and he delicately slipped between them as the sun tipped over the horizon.

Where was he? Not a carousel but a carnival wagon, and he was among figures of warriors and foreign and frightening horses, bigger and more fearsome looking even than  might Darkus, the biggest horse on the carousel. Hamazasb, stilled his fears and arched his neck, and waited among the strangers