Chuktik grabbed the reins and steadied the frantic pony.  With the compound all but destroyed, the explosions had stopped, leaving an eerie silence that not even the seabirds broke.  When the pony settled, he leapt to the animal’s back and kicked her sides hard with his bare heels.  One did not wear boots inside the training pen, and now there was no time to locate a pair.  Not that any are left unburnt.  Certainly not in his sleep chamber—he’d seen the dormitory destroyed mere moments after the tower fell.  And fell, and fell, and fell…

The pony, finally given leave to run from the noise and destruction, sprang for the opening in the pen.  Chuktik flattened against her back as she galloped through the gap and into the trees. ...

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