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[Nauk]

Once upon a time a man traveled through the great desert in the east. His steps are heavy
with fatigue,  and his body crying out for water. He continues on his hopeless trudge,
hoping against all hope to finally meet themirage that wavers so cruelly before him, but forever
 out of his reach.

Faintly, he hears a sound, as of a weary breath. Before him, not more then 20
strides, is a pool. No mere mirage, but an oasis surrounded by green, growing plants. He
stops in awe, and gazes at this vision, but dares not to go nearer in case it is just another
vision.

As he stares, he once again hears the faint sound of exhaled breath. To his left, a short ways
away but closer to the water, is a horse lying on its side. It might have been a very fine
horse at one time, but now it is covered in dust and looking very close to death itself.

The man goes to the horse, and sees that it is still alive. If this is a dream,
it feels more real than the last several days of the journey has been. He rushes over
to the oasis, bends down to the water’s edge, and dips his hands into it. It is real!

The man takes the waterskin from his side, opens it and fills it with the water from the
pool. Then he rushes back to the horse, for it is clearly closer to death then he is, and
gently pores the water into the side of its mouth. Back and forth from horse to pool the man
goes for the rest of the morning, slowly bringing the horse back from the brink of death.

As the horse looks better, the man feels content that the horse will live and can get water
for itself. He turns to his own needs - drinks his fill from the pool, then washes the dust
from his face and lies down in the cool shadows to rest his weary body. The trials of the
journey and the work of saving the horse soon has him fast asleep.

Much later, when the man awakes, he looks around to see how the horse is doing. But the horse
is nowhere in sight - instead, to his surprise, he sees a woman bathing in the pool, her back
turned to him. Her long black tresses cascades down her slender back and floats in ribbons
across the surface of the water.

The man stares in wonder at the mysterious sight, but then he comes to his senses and turns
to face the other way. He calls out to the woman saying, “I am sorry to disturb you, but I
was sleeping and did not notice your arrival.”

From behind him the woman’s voice replies, “Your presence does not bother me; you may stay.
I simply ask that you avert your eyes until I have dressed once more.”

The man is well raised and sits down again with his back to the pool. Concerned for the
horse he has helped earlier he asks of the mysterious woman, “Did you see a horse when you
arrived? Do you know where it has gone to?”

The woman replies, “The horse never left, she is still here.”

The man is very puzzled by this answer, cause he cannot see the horse anywhere. He glances
around him trying to find the horse without turning toward the pool, but can only see plants
and sand. Still confused, the man calls out to the woman again asking, “I do not see it, is
it on the other side of the pool?”

The woman lets out a most amazing laugh, which almost sounds like a horse’s bray, then
answers, “No, the horse is in the pool bathing…but. Maybe you can not see it anymore
because she has shed her coat.”

The man is now very confused, but he is raised very well and know his manners, and therefore
waits until the woman calls out that she is dressed once more and that he can look around.

Turning, the man looks all around him, but is still unable to see the horse anywhere. The
woman is now standing on the far bank of the pool, combing her long and
beautiful hair with her fingers. She is wearing a long, flowing robe that looks to be
made from woven horsehair. It also happens to be the same light honey colour as
the coat of the horse...

The woman turns to face the man, and her beauty stuns him. She is the fairest woman the
man has ever seen, with eyes that shine like the stars, a mouth shaped like a rosebud,
skin like polished bronze, and long black hair falling to the waist of a form as slender
as a yearling. The man falls in love at the very sight of her, and cannot take his eyes
from her.

The woman smiles at the man saying, “I must thank you for your kindness, and in return I
shall reveal to you my name. I am Undara, horse-goddess of the desert winds. I am very
grateful for your generosity, for even though I would not have died, I would have remained
as I was for eternity had you not come along and helped me.”

The man is dumbstruck and unable to find his tongue. He stares in open-mouthed awe as the
woman transforms into the honey-colored horse in front of his very eyes, and then back to
her human shape once more. She laughs gently at his amazement.

Walking around the pool she comes to stand in front of him, and smiles. “In return for your
kindness, I will grant you a single wish. Ask for whatever your heart desires, and so long
as it is in my power to do so, I will grant it.”

Blushing beneath his sunburn the man blurts out, “My heart desires
but one thing - to spend the rest of my days with you, wherever you may go.”

The woman laughs at his frankness, and the man bites his tounge, wishing he had been
quiet. But she takes his hand and presses it to her heart. “I can see that you are a
kind man. I would gladly spend the rest of eternity with you, were that possible.”

The man and the goddess spent many happy days together, traveling across the desert. Sometimes
Undara would transform into her horseform, and together, they would race the wind. The man had
never been as happy in his whole life.

They had many children together, each one being half horse, half human. After many long
and prosperous years, the man came to the end of his life. When he died, Undara left
her children and went to live wild in the desert once more.



“The children of Undara and the man became the people of the Rak’Ejinn. Legends say that
Undara is still to be found somewhere out in the desert, and that the great sand storms
are caused by Undara as she races the wind across the dunes. Legends also say that if you
were ever to find a honey coloured horse running wild in the desert, and you where to
bring that horse some water, that it would transform into Undara and she would grant you
one wish…

“Now my story is done, and you know the history of our people. Remember the lessons it
has taught you well, for kindness has many rewards.”