Look At A Book: The Horse Who Fell In Scorland

As it’s release day for The Horse Who Fell In Scorland, it seems only appropriate for me to return to my ‘Look At A Book’ posts for this new arrival! If you missed it last week, here’s the link to my post with the first chapter of the book, which you can read for free. You can also read the entire eBook for free on Smashwords or buy the paperback on Amazon – links are on this page!

The Horse Who Fell In ScorlandThe Essentials

A horse-focused fantasy novella.

Genre: Fantasy

Age Range: Adult

Length: Novella

Main Character: Duke, he/him (third-person POV)

Themes: War, Monarchy, Hierarchy, Purpose, Loyalty

Excerpt

Fortunately for Duke, the end was near. The sounds of a small civilisation waking up and heading to work were carrying over to the war party on the salty breeze, and the shapes that had once lurked on the horizon began to expand into the primarily wooden buildings that formed Longharbour. It was a small town, nestled into the coast so closely that the air was thick with the scent of the sea, although the waters themselves were hidden behind houses and places of business.

The path beneath Duke’s hooves soon became solid, causing his thudding hoofsteps to become clips and clops. That sound was then echoed by the rest of the war party, much to Duke’s dismay, as the noisy crowd officially arrived in Longharbour. People poked their heads out of the windows of single-storey houses, unlike the towering structures in Greater Ardenic, and children raced alongside the horse carrying their monarch, shouting and whooping in glee at the sight. The King raised a single hand, keeping Duke’s reins tightly held in his other fist, and began to wave.

‘People of Longharbour! Loyal citizens of Ardenic! Today, this town cements its legacy into our kingdom’s history! From your shores, we shall descend onto the Scorish brutes who have terrorised you and your families, and put an end to the princeling’s senseless violence!’

It was unclear whether anyone heard all—or any—of the King’s words, but they cheered and clapped as he continued to walk Duke down Longharbour’s main road. Before long, Duke noticed spires peeking out from atop the buildings, moving gently up and down, until they finally came upon the shore.

He had never seen the sea before. Had he not been so exhausted from the long march, then Duke might’ve started at the strangeness of the waves that lapped against a wooden coast, or the huge man-made creations upon them, which had been tied to posts like cattle waiting to be shown at an auction. However, in his current state, Duke merely gave the scene a brief snort before returning his focus to wondering when his torment would finally come to an end.

The road split into two before the wooden coast: one way turned directly left, and the other right. The King turned Duke to the left, giving him a brief second to glimpse the crowd behind him. The lords and their horses were still right behind the monarch, the men’s capes now visibly bright red in the mid-morning daylight, and behind them was a train of wagons, interlocked with row upon row of Guards. Despite his best efforts, Duke did not spot Edmar before the King pulled his head away again, but he held onto the hope that the Master was somewhere behind them, or had taken passage in one of the creaking wagons.

With a grunt, the King loosened his grip on Duke’s reins as they arrived at a large building right next to the water and the wooden walkways that extended out into the sea. Tossing his head, Duke was ready to buck in excitement as he felt the King swing down from his back and shout a command behind him. A small crowd of non-armoured citizens had gathered around the procession, being warned back by the Guards as the lords also dismounted. Duke relished the sudden freedom he’d been granted, turning his head this way and that to observe all of the excitement, and not even minding the loud chatter and clanking that rang throughout the street.

Lord Maghen’s horse was still being held firmly by its owner, but Duke offered it a friendly whinny and received a pleasant reply. If the horse was feeling the same strains that Duke was, then it showed no signs of it; it stood in the street just as patiently and calmly as if it was briefly resting in a paddock, or waiting for its daily feed in a stall.

‘Edmar!’ the King cried out, as the Master appeared from within the war party, sprinting up to the monarch. ‘The harbour master was told to prepare stalls for the horses. Take Duke and Lord Maghen’s horse—ah, what did you end up calling it, Maghen?’

‘Iron, sire. She is as strong as iron, so it felt appropriate.’

‘…Iron.’ The King looked Lord Maghen up and down for a moment, then shrugged. ‘It’s certainly an interesting name, that’s for sure. Well, Edmar, take Duke and Iron to the stables and get them fed. We’re leaving as soon as I track down that harbour master and get all of these men on the ships.’

‘We also need to determine our exact route to Scorland, sire,’ Lord Maghen said.

‘Our route is across the damned ocean, Maghen. It has been determined for as long as these lands have been in existence for!’

‘My apologies, sire, I only meant that it is customary to stop at Farstone prior to arriving at Kriksea—’

‘And why would we be arriving at a busy Scorish trading port, Maghen? Do you want to throw the entire damned army into the princeling’s hands?’

The Background

I had been thinking about the concept for The Horse Who Fell In Scorland for a while before actually starting it, and I came up with a couple of beginnings and approaches before settling on the one that became this novella. Originally, I wanted this to be my third-year fiction project for the Creative Writing side of my degree, but I ended up going with a different idea for that, so The Horse Who Fell In Scorland fell into the background for a little while. However, I really wanted to tell Duke’s story, as I’d used his character for a short story a while ago and had been developing him both on and off the page ever since, so I finally sat down and got out a first draft. After a lot of time and effort, this novella is the finished result!

Is It Right For You?

While it might not be quite as dark in some places as Cicerone, my other fantasy novella, this is definitely still an adult-orientated book. It would probably also help if you like horses, because you’ll be following Duke’s perspective throughout most of the novella, with only slight blips here and there for the purposes of the narrative. This isn’t a fantasy book with magic, either; it’s more of a medieval alternate-world deal instead, focusing on the frosty relations between two close-by countries: Ardenic and Scorland.

You can check out the eBook for free and let me know what you think!

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