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Tristan spent the following days at the Dannaran stables with other workers, taming the seven young half-breeds selected for the clan. William dealt with paperwork and finances, rarely appearing in sight. The adviser was more concerned about how poor their treasury would become after such a wasteful purchase of expensive horses.

Tristan stood in the center of a small round pen made of rough, gnarled logs. The lord watched the stallion prancing around him with a smile. Against the background of the evening sky, the gray-silver skin of the horse seemed to radiate a radiance. Tantario named this young half-breed Marble - a suitable name, given that the horse's skin had a light, pearlescent pink sheen. Tristan involuntarily remembered the leader of the herd. The young man thought that young Marble could well be a descendant of that proud, handsome man. At one and a half years old, he looked almost fully formed, and only his fluffy mane and tail gave him away as a foal. From his mother he