???????

The search...
(©SunBlind - August 2006)

A sweet music filled the air and the Winged Ones glanced about for its source. They had never heard music such as this, so gentle, so beautiful. But there was nothing to account for it, no magic harp nor enchanted flute. Simply a small black stallion with the delicate wings of a golden buttefly.

A young foal approached the stranger, and the stallion smiled at the youngling. The foal smiled back, then raced to hide behind his mother. The stallion chuckled at the antics of the youth, remembering for a time those days that he had spent hiding behind his dam's comforting body.

SunBlind had named the stallion ?????? Now it was a strange story as to how SunBlind came to invite ????? to live in her Realm. It was no easy matter.

About a month ago, SunBlind had been summoned by Silvanon, the Keeper of the Realm of the Silver Unicorn. There was to be a contest, a search that would cover one end of Allonia to the other. The goal of the search was to find the lost creatures in the land.

SunBlind agreed, though she knew that Allonia was a large Realm and finding anything there would be near to impossible. That and the fact that Silvanon was notoriously good at hiding things, she didn't expect to find much, but she decided to try anyway.

It turned out that there were many creatures to find.

She found a few mercreatures in the oceans, and brought a couple home with her as she found she could not convince them to stop following her. She also came across several brightly coloured fish that had the same tendency to follow wherever she went, whether it be ocean, river or sea. Even a couple hippocampi swam close to see who had come to participate in the search.

On land, SunBlind found a trio of baby dragons who looked at her with large, sad eyes, wanting to be brought home, and large felines that the Realm Keeper approached warily, in case they should be hungry. But it wasn't Silvanon's intention that any searcher should be devoured, and the big cats were friendly and bumped their heads on SunBlind's body.

There were also unicorns. One was pure silvery white, while another black with white socks. The second black unicorn had a brightly coloured mane like a rainbow, and another's coat was white and red.

And she found stranger things yet, like oranges and bananas and apples, even a few things she didn't quite know what they were. She had a growing collection of creatures and stuff, but the secret entry to discover the grand prize remained elusive.

Through marshes, SunBlind waded. Up mountains and through forest, across fields and even to a frozen land where penguins played, SunBlind searched for the hidden portals that would take her to the grand prize. She looked behind every tree and under every rock, knowing full well that the portal could be right in front of her and she wouldn't even know it unless she touched it.

But night was short and SunBlind, a vampiric dragon, could not venture by the day. Just as she believed that she would leave without the grand prize, she noticed something golden in the shadows. Just a little speck of glittering yellow, but her night sensitive eyes saw the movement. It was ?????. SunBlind offered a home with the Winged Ones, and ?????? agreed to come.

SunBlind never did find the grand prize at the end of the search, but as far as she was concerned, she found something better. And every step through the mucky swamp that threatened to trap her, for every step across the froze wasteland that threatened to slip her, and for every strange thing that she thought wanted to eat her, it was worth it. Because then the music started. ??????'s music.

And that was how she came to call him Rhapsody.

And that was how ???? came to share his music with the other Winged Ones.

Statistics:
Name: ??????? (Rhapsody)
ID: 1169
Gender: Stallion
Parents: Wild
Class: Tunai
Glory: Eilli Havala
Charity: None
August 2006