Sterling is as flashy as his name suggests, a black sabino rabicano with a bald face, barred flanks, and four tall white stockings reaching past his knees. The black of him is true black, velvety and deep; his white points have a pearly-silver sheen, and it is for this that his mother named him. His bald markings are unusual, masking his whole face except for a dark muzzle. In dim light, the flecks about his knees and barrel seem almost to shift and glimmer, like distant whorls of stars.

His mane and tail are black save for the white slash of his forelock. His eyes are a pale, frosty blue, and his stare can be unnerving, though more often you'll catch him with a wink and a grin. He's built tall and lean, but with a sense of sturdiness about him, and there's an easy energy to his movements which gives the illusion of motion even when he's standing still.

It's hard not to have fun when Sterling is involved: he is invariably quick to laugh, or buy a round of drinks, or propose a spontaneous escapade. He never tires of novelty, which often leads him into dangerous or irresponsible circumstances. Before things fell apart for him in Austellus, he had a bit of a dashing reputation, and his friends and guardians were more or less exasperated but admiring. He's spent most of his life doing exactly as he pleases, and as much as his stint in Novus is intended to help him lie low and get respectable... well, old habits are hard to break.

For a horse with such a loud personality, Sterling can be surprisingly quiet. He is not one for small talk, preferring action over thought and word, and he can easily become restless if he's made to wait around without excitement. He is not spoiled, precisely, but he has long been accustomed to getting his way, and he can be rather proud. While he's generous with his friends and has little temper to speak of, he does have a hotly competitive streak, and he cannot for the life of him refuse a challenge. He is too easily seduced by the thrill of a risk and the fantasy of a windfall.

To his mind, Sterling is nothing more than an optimist at heart -- but in truth, he's in a certain amount of denial. Rather than square with his guilt and shortcomings, Sterling has convinced himself that Novus is merely the beginning of his wild and illustrious comeback story. Whether that will turn out to be true, only the gods can decide (and, perhaps, the luck of the draw).

Sterling was born to a wealthy merchant family on the continent of Austellus, and his early childhood was one of privilege and adventure. His grandsire had built the family fortune trading wines, perfumes, and spices from around the world, and Sterling often accompanied his mother and father in their business travels. When he wasn't crossing the seas by cargo ship or sightseeing with overland caravans, the young colt spent his time in the opulent capital, where he sat with the finest tutors money could buy.

The problem with never having to work for a thing in your life, of course, is that it's easy to get bored. Sterling was headstrong, clever, and restless, and it didn't take long for him to fall into trouble. Things started innocently enough -- a schoolyard skirmish here, a mischievous prank there -- but swiftly escalated into a risk-chasing need that he could scarcely control.

When Sterling sat down to play his first hand of cards, it was as if a firework had gone off in his chest. Everything about the table electrified him in a way he'd never felt before: the bright burst of adrenaline, the thrill of the stakes, the cunning charm required to bluff and feint and hoodwink his opponents. He was addicted to the game, to the call of chance, to the intoxicating pleasure of winning.

And then he lost. He lost big, wagering away an entire shipload of rare Ilati herbs and incense that his father had imported all the way from Novus, and the shock and scandal which followed were enough to drive his family from the highest circles of society. Guilt kept him from the tables -- for a month. Then his ego and his hunger for the game spurred him back to the gambling dens, where he was certain he could win back his family's fortune and good name.

Instead he lost again, even more spectacularly than before. Sterling knew that this time, the loss would bankrupt his father -- and break his mother's heart. Desperate, ashamed, and unable to bring his family even greater dishonor, he fled his debts for a new life half a world away.

Now, in Novus, he is doing his best to be an everyman. His inventory of talents tends more towards the extravagant than the practical, but he has set himself up as an unassuming tradesman of furniture, and the markets of Denocte seem as good a place as any to pass without notice and begin afresh. With a little patience and hard work, he just might be able to turn an honest profit and return to Austellus with his pride intact.

But the promise of the White Scarab calls, with its myriad temptations. Will he resist them? Reader, wish him luck.