Fiona Lane

Scatterstones Fiona Lane

The har is the horse; the horse is the har...

Hanu is a har of the Gimrah tribe, who live in the isolated steppelands of Jaddayoth, where the most magnificent horses are bred within the settlements known as estembles.

Hanu, a low-ranking eskev who helps care for the horses of Scatterstones, feels like an outsider within his tribe. Socially awkward and a loner, he feels more affinity with the animals he lives among than other hara. When the dark colt Tezuk is born, himself an outsider among his herd, Hanu forges a strong bond with the foal; he feels they are similar. But Tezuk is wild, seemingly untameable and even to the eskev who raises and cares for him, remains a mystery - almost as if he's not a horse at all.

Tragedy strikes Scatterstones unexpectedly, and Hanu becomes aware of a nebulous threat hanging over the estemble. All is not as it seems, but nohar appears to share his uncertainty and suspicions. The nature of the threat reveals itself during the annual Cuttingtide Fair, where Hanu's hara have travelled to sell horses. Amid the carnival atmosphere, Hanu learns that something is terrifyingly wrong. But who will believe him?

Eventually he realises it is up to him - and to Tezuk - to unite and become more than what they are. They must struggle to overcome their failings and their mistrust of others, and fight an unimaginable horror to save their tribe and their land.