Famous Horses of the Mindsea Empire

The Torsa horses coveted by the empire's elite are the equine version of human mindseas. No more intelligent than ordinary horses, they have the ability to plunge at will into the deeper levels of reality, beyond space and time. Unnumbered and untracked by humans, they graze and breed on the Plains of Possibility. Sometimes they emerge into spacetime to bond with a rider. They can carry that man or woman safely across the time-lines.

When a Torsa horse unfolds into ordinary spacetime, it looks and behaves as horses of that world do, and is distinguishable only by its tusk-like canines. They usually protrude only on stallions.

Torsa horses appear with all the coat colors and patterns familiar from other breeds, except that there are no grays among them, perhaps because there is no time—or aging—in their realm.

Eternal Trat is the foundation sire of the empire's horses. In the traditional "Showing" that takes place on Highlalsday, the longest day of the year on the planet Lal, the emperor or empress rides him through the capital to prove that all is well with the empire.

Ahaha was designated as the imperial major's horse at the foundation of the empire, but she proved too wild to handle, and ran off into the Deep. From time to time she is rediscovered and put back to work, but this never lasts for long.

Fitting Neebreque was the horse of Imperial Major Riemis Ginarn Horl. She guided his ship across the galaxy when he was too busy to pilot it himself, and so helped him to keep his grip on the galaxy for several millennia.

Ruling Shor was the mare who carried the hero Brodan on his mission to free the empire from the mad experiemnts of the evil emperor Spacetime in Ashes.

Millennia later, she bonded with Brodan's distant cousin, the space-pilot Shell.

For millennia, Shadow was bonded with Ir Wirarn Oine, the wise and beneficent senior Sage of Mosalno.

Eventually, Shadow grew restless. When he left Ir to bond with an adventurous young woman named Fuerida, Ir lost his will to live and crystallized.

Glacial is partners with Detective Sunfox of the Galactic Investigative Force. Though he seems lazy and disinterested, he is a great help in the solution of tough cases.

Lightning and Stampeder of Whimsies were a silver smoky black stallion and mare.

Lightning was one of the original herd ridden by the imperial aristocracy. He bonded with his first rider in the First Millennium, and served faithfully through the empire's successive eras, sometimes carrying the same man or woman for thousands of years. Sons and daughters of Emperor Rathax were among his riders.

Lightning bonded with his last rider, Kahee, son of Empress Quazi, during the Seventy-seventh Millennium. After Kahee's death, he was never seen again.

Stampeder of Whimsies was a daughter of Lightning. She had only one rider—Emperor Quintillion, who was Kahee's last son. Unlike other emperors, Quintillion refused to ride the white stallion for the Showing, saying that he was not worthy. He only appeared with Stampeder of Whimsies, usually not riding, but walking beside her. On the few occasions when he did ride, he would do penance afterwards by carrying Stampeder of Whimsies on his back.

Null is famed as the stallion who brought mind-duels for the galactic throne into fashion when he carried Emperor Muevin to victory in the Forty-Ninth Millennium. He had bonded with his first rider towards the end of the Thirtieth Millennium, but he did not come into his own until Muevin rode him.

After Muevin, Null served other duellists. For several millennia, a woman named Batoli was his rider. But he loved those with imperial aspirations the best, and he helped two others to gain the throne. The second of these, Emperor Gaiko, was the last emperor of the Transaxial Meritocracy. After the end of that era, Null was seen no more.