Have you ever wondered why horses appear on fantasy worlds throughout the galaxy? I mean real horsey equines, not alien analogues or robots or hornless unicorns. Here we have Jo Clayton's "Aleytys," riding through the desert on a horse with no name, trying to escape from her captors. The double star, red giant and white dwarf, burns down on her. She's pregnant, unaccompanied, and nearly naked, but hey, that's no problem. The super-powers given to her by the magic Diadem on her head will save her. I suppose if humanoid folks who look just like us can appear everywhere there's a suitable planet, then so can horses. I worked this one up from a smaller drawing in a sketchbook. Aleytys went through many misadventures before her author died. Maybe without an author to put her through trials and travails, Aleytys could retire from the adventurous life and open a bed-and-breakfast with a horse barn and riding center.
Aleytys is acrylic on illustration board, 6" x 11", July 1981.
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