Aztara, The Mastel Kingdom, tells the background story of the mastels before entering into a bonding relationship with the miners of Aztara. The setting for this book is two generations before the plague that killed all the Aztarian women during the time frame for Vol II Aztara, A Galactic Love Story.
Idyllic as it might seem, the mastels still are dependent upon the weather and growing cycles. The bond between the two animals seems destined to failure until Morsian, an inventor from the eastern factory villages, happens upon the mastels and griswells while on a long retreat from work.
Explore the early world of Aztara and enjoy the Mastel's unique story.
Why Carole Wrote Aztara: The Mastel Kingdom
Carole W. Carter has always been drawn to the people, animals, personalities, and relationships she encountered throughout her life. Years of moving across the country, observing people, working with children, and quietly developing stories gave her an almost endless collection of personalities and ideas to draw upon. Combined with a vivid imagination, those experiences became the foundation for the worlds and characters she creates.
Aztara: The Mastel Kingdom gave Carole the opportunity to travel backward in the history of Aztara and explore a world that existed generations before the events readers first encountered in the Aztarian Series.
At the heart of the story are the magnificent mastels, the cave-dwelling griswells, and a fragile relationship between two very different species. Through Morsian’s discovery of a remarkable symbiotic connection, Carole explores one of the themes that runs throughout her writing: how understanding, cooperation, courage, and unexpected relationships can change the course of an entire world.
The story also allowed her to reveal more of Aztara itself—its mountains and valleys, its creatures, its early history, and the events that helped shape the civilization readers would later come to know.
For Carole, The Mastel Kingdom is more than a story about fantastic creatures. It is a story about discovering that beings who appear very different may need one another in ways neither could have imagined—and about how one new idea can alter the future for generations.
Chapter One
The Aztarian mastel mare lay on the soft purple grass with the turquoise clouds moving gently in the breeze through the buttercream colored sky. Her ribs heaved with the strain of giving birth. The rhythm of contractions was evident with the undulating muscles of her abdomen as her body tried to push the foal out and into the world.
Standing guard was the stallion father. He was a strong, brilliant red mastel stallion with a flaming red mane and tail. The rest of the colorful herd grazed close-by, ready to form a protective ring if any threat appeared.
Geselle, a strawberry colored mastel with visible stripes on her coat and whirling green eyes that glittered in the fading light of the day lay exhausted. If she were not so preoccupied with giving birth, Geselle would have noticed the turquoise clouds gathering into a large dark mass in the distance. Her mate, Rydor, watched nervously and snorted from time to time. Rydor, torn between watching his mate straining to give birth, and keeping an eye on the advancing storm, finally trumpeted a warning to the herd to seek shelter.
Paws stomped, and claws tore at the grass. None of the other mares wanted to abandon Geselle as she lays helpless on the ground. A trechor could come upon her and kill her in her weakened state. Rydor noting the herd's confusion, took charge, and made the difficult decision.
With teeth snapping and paws giving warning strikes, the stallion ran circles around the herd until they were all facing in the direction of safety. Driving the pack forward, Rydor continued to bully the mares and their offspring until they all were racing away from the meadow where Geselle now lay alone and vulnerable.
The herd's safety was paramount, and Rydor knew he must protect the many and sacrifice the two, even though Geselle was his favorite, and she was giving birth to her first foal. Giving one glance back at the birthing mare, Rydor continued nipping to drive the other mares to a large cave nearby where they would be safe from the hideous, burning streaks of the red lightning bolts from the storm.
Geselle did not make a sound of protest. She knew, too, that Rydor must protect the herd at all costs. It was unfortunate that a storm approached at this time. There was no way Geselle could get to her feet as the front feet of her offspring made their appearance between her legs. Heaving and straining, Geselle pushed with all her might, and the foal's little head appeared for all the world to see. Continuing her efforts, Geselle flailed and kicked her legs as the contractions punished her body. She had no control over the spontaneous movements at this time. Wave after wave of muscular contractions continued as more and more of the tiny little body appeared. With one last muscle contraction, the foal plopped to lay on the purple grass beside his mother. Both lay on the grass, exhausted for many minutes.
Geselle struggled to get to her feet and sniffed the little colt. He was red as his father except with a gold mane and tail. He lay quietly for a few moments, exhausted from the demanding efforts his mother's body put upon him through to expel him into the world. The cord connecting their bodies remained attached. It would break naturally as Geselle moved around more.
Geselle nuzzled the little mastel and licked his little face and body. A deep rumbling purr emanated from Geselle's throat as she cuddled her newborn. The storm grew nearer, and Geselle knew the two would die here on her baby's birth day. It would be some time before her newborn son would be able to stand on his own four legs. Geselle would not abandon him to get to safety. Intuitively, she would stand guard and fight to the death to protect him from a predator. There was nothing; however, she could do to protect her colt from this approaching storm. Geselle, in her weakened state, believed the cave where the other mastels took shelter, was too far away.
Dropping to her knees and rolling onto her side, Geselle curled her body next to her little foal. She continued to nuzzle and lick his face while he searched for a nipple to suckle. Watching the sky turning darker as the storm approached, Geselle was resigned to her fate.
Trumpeting was heard as Rydor raced back to the place where he left his beloved mare. As he watched the sky, he saw the strikes of angry red lightning in the distance approaching fast. Time was not on his side.
Coming to a furious stop at Geselle's side, Rydor pawed at the mare to make her rise to her feet. Her resistance to leaving the foal made Rydor double his efforts. Grabbing the foal by his neck, Rydor gently lifted the newborn mastel in the air with his teeth. The foal dangled from the mouth of his father.
Geselle immediately got to her feet and protested. Rydor paid no attention and dragged the newborn in the direction he herded the other mastels. Geselle realized the stallion was trying to carry her baby to safety, and time was of the essence. Rapidly getting to her feet, she moved nervously beside her mate tearing the cord that attached the placenta to her foal. Mother and newborn were now separated into two individual entities.
Rydor moved more quickly, with the tiny hind legs of his son dragging lightly on the grass as the stallion increased his pace as fast as he could while carrying the foal gently between his teeth. Geselle followed dropping unexpectantly as her body gave way to strong contractions to expel the afterbirth.
Stopping suddenly, Rydor once again must decide whether to abandon his mate and take his offspring to safety or stay by her side. Geselle neighed her complaint that Rydor stopped his forward movement, and the stallion sadly carried the foal onward to safety. Geselle laid her head back onto the grass and allowed her body to proceed with the expulsion of the afterbirth.
