The Memorial

by Artemor the Wise

The Memorial is an annual 3,000 mile race into the Khard desert of Southrun which has been held for nearly 200 years. It is sponsored by the Sultan of Byza and held to commemorate the giving of the Law Which Cannot Change. It occurs during the first week of the third moon of Winter, without fail.

This is a great time to be traveling abroad in Southrun. For the Southruner, who is normally given to hospitality and kindness to strangers, is even more effusive in his courtesies. There is feasting and merriment for the week leading up to the race. Many subsidiary contests are held in anticipation of the event and more than one merchant has won or lost a fortune wagering at those events alone.

As for the race itself, the rules are simplistic. A rider and his horse must enter the Khard from the coastal city of Byza and retrieve a rare flower said to grow only at that expanses Southern end. Both the rider and his horse must return with the flower to be considered a winner. Neither must necessarily be alive.

In 5801, Ibn Farzad won the race though he had died somewhere in the sandy wastes. He apparently had the foresight to lash himself to his exceptional steed, which carried him faithfully for the last leg of his journey. The Prize Flower was found crushed against his breast. For its faithfulness, the Steed, Azalti, was knighted after the manner of that people and turned out to stud, becoming the Sire of a great line.

Legends also tell of one rider whose name is lost to the shifting sands of antiquity who returned with the Prize Flower and only his horse's head. He was declared the winner.