The soldiers surged through the gates, their war cries echoing as they rode out on beasts that left Malik staring in wonder.
These creatures looked as though they had been forged from pure bullion and poured into the mold of a horse, but they were not the equines Malik knew. They were creatures birthed from myth. The thick hair covering their bodies shimmered with a brilliant, blinding gold, as if the sun itself had clothed them in its rays. Their manes and tails were not made of hair, but rather intertwined strands of gold leaf and vibrant, young wildflowers that danced in the breeze like a poem written in light. With every step their golden hooves took upon the sand, halos of soft illumination radiated outward, as if the earth itself were sanctifying their path.
Their faces resembled those of stags, adorned with two long, curved horns. The soldiers gripped these horns instead of reins, using them to steer the beasts left or right, and pulling them back to halt.
