Destiny -- Episode #308

EXTENDED SYNOPSIS:

At the local country fair, the young and beautiful Niva (Adele Schober) performs daring stunts on her steed, Simtar. Her sister, Pola (Andrea McEwan), coaxes contributions from the crowds. Among the fair-goers are Dar (Daniel Goddard) and Tao (Jackson Raine), as well as King Zad's Captain Knight, Bolak (Capkin Van Alphen), and his men. Dar tries to escape without being seen by the knights, but he and Tao are stopped by Olana (Dawn Klingburg), a withered old crone who makes an eerie prediction that Dar will die in Xinca by his own sword.

Bolak's sights are set on Niva's steed, which he steals as breeding stock for Zad's (Steven Grives) new warhorses. Dar rushes to Niva's aid, but Simtar is already in the clutches of Bolak. Dar decides it is best to take Niva, Pola and the rest of the circus troupe back to Arakann where they'll be safe until they can devise a plan to get Simtar back.

At the palace, Zad is thrilled with the magnificent steed before him, but enraged at the knights for repeatedly letting the BeastMaster slip through their fingers. Zad's Knight, Slythius (Ivar Kants), predicts that a natural king will ride this noble horse to victory, but it's evident to him that Simtar does not like Zad.

Back in Arakann, Tao worries about Olana's prediction that Dar will die in Xinca by his own sword. But when a determined Niva suddenly runs away from camp, vowing to travel through the gates of hell to get her horse back, Dar has no choice but to travel to Xinca to help her. Their efforts to retrieve Simtar are thwarted by a contingency of guards surrounding the corral, and by Zad, who tries unsuccessfully to bond with the rearing and snorting horse.

Meanwhile, more unsettling words from Olana suggest that the incident with the horse is related to Dar's quest. In fact, Dar has already discovered that Simtar is his brother, a truth that was revealed when eye contact with the horse caused the rune on Dar's hand to glow. By now, however, Zad has become so exasperated with the defiant horse that he orders his archer to kill it.

Niva stalls the execution by promising to train Simtar for Zad, while Dar concocts a way to free the horse by switching him with another. Deceiving Zad into thinking they're coming to perform for him, the circus troupe hitches the new horse to a covered wagon and smuggles him through the gates of Xinca.

Later, while the troupe distracts Zad with a puppet show, the switch is made. Niva presents the "new" horse to Zad, who proudly shows off the animal. Slythius, however, recognizes the horse to be a fake and scoffs at Zad for being tricked. In a fit of rage, Zad sends his knights after Simtar, but his attention is diverted by Dar who taunts him from a wall across the courtyard. Before Zad's eyes, one of his knights sneaks up behind Dar and pulls a sword from his pack. Dar turns and, as Olana predicted, the Knight plunges the sword into Dar's chest. Like the ruse with the horse, the "knight" turns out to be Dar in disguise, and the "dead BeastMaster," a circus tumbler.

The clever distraction allows Niva to ride Simtar safely back to Arakann where she must say goodbye to her beloved animal. That night, Dar leads Simtar to safety in the Crystal Ark where the white tiger and the wolf are already waiting.