The Ruby & Red Riders
The Riders are the official couriers on Q'uinar. The Ruby Riders are the riders for the Queen, who also handle messages on X'oan. Red Riders are the riders for each individual Lord and Lady on their specific island.
First, the Ruby Riders.
The Ruby Riders
The Ruby Riders are a select group, though anyone can choose to become a canidate. They are determined by the number of horses available to bond. Horses are born all over Q’uinar and sent to the stables, sentered outside of S’dan city. Horses with unusual talent and brains are sent. There they are tested and trained. Ruby Rider horses must be smart, and have personalities. No follow the leader horses are accepted. Horses bond with their riders at two years of age.
Horses names are all different, though usually reflect not their looks, but their personality.
Many a famous horse and rider team has stopped asassination plots, prevented wars, and helped
wars be won.
The Ruby Riders were created in a time when falcons were not trained or reliable enough to be
good couriers. It was during the First War that they were comissioned. At first there were
only three Riders, but their numbers expanded quickly to enable messages to be sent across the
battlefields. Dragons, Gryphons and Pegasi were certanly faster, but they were large targets,
and too valuble of fighters to be pulled out of the line of duty to deliver messages. The
couriers needed to be quick yet stealthy. Smart and able to avoid enemy caputre. Thus the Ruby
Riders were born.
Many waystations are built along the main roads between the cities on all the islands. These
stations are usually just a small cabin with a paddok and shelter attached to it. Inside there
is always food, replacement parts for uniforms and weapons, among other things. The doors are
locked, and only when a Rider is accepted into the ranks do they get the key. The keys are
blessed with a magical spell, allowing only the true weilder to use it. And the keys always
manage to find their way home, even if their keeper is dead.
Many many Riders have died in the line of duty, Ruby and Red alike. Their bodies, unless wanted
by the families, are enshrined in the Tomb of the Riders. This tomb is located just outside of
S’dan city, in the forest. It is only accessible by one path, and two huge wooden doors, carved
with the symbol of the running horse.
The Red Riders
The Red Riders are the courriers for the Lords and Ladies of the islands. They also bond with their horses the same way, though there is usually a smaller selection. They also wear red uniforms and also have a pin, though theirs is gold.
Red Riders are just about the same, though each island has their own Red Rider Center where the
canidates bond, and their own set of waystations. But they keys are the same. Any Rider is
welcomed no matter what island they are on. Their keys are universal. It is a close bond that
joins all the Riders, for often they are looked down upon by the population. Not many normal
people would welcome a Rider into their homes, for most of the time they carry messages of
sorrow for the populus. Sadly, many a Rider has been killed by peasants who did not like the
message they were carrying.
Still, the Riders press on.
Ruby Riders and Red Riders are differentiated with their pins. Both of them wear a uniform of a
white blouse, tan pants, black boots with a red vest and jacket, with their running horse pin
pinned to the lapell or the vest. Ruby Rider’s pins are silver, the color of the Queen. Red
Rider’s pins are gold.
Their horse’s tack is usually quality tanned leather, with red stones set into it. The saddle
is light, enabiling the horse to run quickly and maneuver well.
Often times a Ruby Rider will have to deliver a message that must go to the Lords and Ladies of
the other islands. In this case, the Rider and their steed will catch a ship and head to the
other islands. Depending on the message, sometimes the Ruby Rider will be met at the harbor by
a Red Rider, who will carry on the message. But, if the message is extremly important, the Ruby
Rider might have to get off the ship and ride it to the Lord themself. In cases like this,
usually one Ruby Rider is sent to each island. Though, some messages have been so important and
secret that only one Rider is dispached to deliver it to all the Lords. The current record for
a message getting to all the Lords by one rider is one month, two days, and was set during the
First War.
Captains of the Riders and the Infantry have simple gold braids that they wear on their right
shoulder. The Rider salute is a fist over the heart and a slight bow. More than an inclining
of the head, bend at the waist, but not very far. Simple.
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