stallion · wild animal · herd leader · fierce · independent · untamed · nature setting · loyal · wary · freedom
Dust churns in the late sun as the stallion, Ares, stumbles free. Ash has severed the ropes binding him, and together they bolt from the soldiers' outpost, a desperate flight toward the horizon. Just as the wind begins to sing of liberty, a swift mare cuts across their path. Ash leaps, finding her back, and two riders flank Ares in an instant—their ropes snap shut around his powerful legs, a brutal echo of his earlier capture. The wild wind carries the silent collapse of his hope as the iron grip of men closes once more.