The Unicorn Herd

And then time stood still and it was as if a veil had been removed from your eyes and you could see the land for what it was.

You stood upon a beach. It was dawn and a faint mist enveloped the Island, a grey stillness low upon the ground. It muffled sound, even that of the sea, and the wind was still. It was a peaceful place and you closed your eyes, feeling the cool droplets of water in the air upon your skin.

Your attention was drawn to the sound of the ocean, the surf gently lapping upon the shore. The movement of the water was rhythmic and comforting as the sun rose over the endless horizon of the sea, reflecting its bright splendour upon the sparkling waves. The sea appeared eternal, as if it had been doing just that since the birth of time. And so would it continue to do so long after you've left. This was a sacred place, an old place.

As the fog faded away beneath the rays of the sun, your eyes were drawn downwards, to the sand, soft and pale beneath your feet. Such fine sand you'd never encountered before, but then never had you been to a place so ancient that the sea has had time to grind the earth almost to dust. As the air warmed, the sand remained cool but you knew it would absorb the heat of the sun by the afternoon.

The wind began to blow, and a faint spray rose up off the crashing waves. You turn your face away as it sprinkles your skin, and now you face the forest. Though the Island is bordered by water, it's heart is lush and green. The strong scent of pine mixes with the salty air and you move towards the shelter of the trees. Soon you leave the sand and sea behind and you disappear into the forest.

Here it is once again quiet, just the quiet rustle of branches in the breeze. The ground is soft and springy, a thick layer of moss covering the ancient land. And you knew that this was a place of magic. Not the magic summoned by wizards, no. A different kind of magic, something older and more powerful. It wasn't that the land had magic, but rather, that it simply was magic. It saturated everything, from the ground upon which you walked, to the stones you avoided tripping over, to the trees towering majestically over your head. Here, the land was alive and aware, and you felt insignificant. And yet you also felt a part of it, alive in a way you'd never felt before, senses awakening that you didn't even know you had.

A clearing appears before you, a small stream running through it, shimmering with the diffuse sunlight streaming through the trees. Though the sun neared its zenith, the forest remained cool and damp. You pause a moment to marvel at how flowers could come in such varied colours, in hues no human eye had ever seen before. The quiet hum of insects buzzed in the air as they busied themselves gathering the sweet nectar. The sound seemed to lull you into a kind of hypnotic trance.

You kneel by the stream, glancing through its crystal waters to the smooth stones beneath. You reach down to take one, worn round over time, and study the glittering specks within it. But as it dried it turned to a simple brown, and you return it to its watery home. Some things must remain where they are, for if you take them away they will wither and die. Become nothing more than mundane rock.

Time passes strangely here, for already the shadows deepen as the sun lowers towards the horizon. Or perhaps time meant something else. That you could spend an hour staring at a pebble and not feel that time had been wasted. On the contrary, you would not have traded that moment (or was it truly an hour?) for anything.

You dip your hands into the water, wanting to taste the clearness that you could see. A shadow appears, reflected by the stream. Your raise your head and gasp....

The stallion leapt into the air, his delicate butterfly wings burning like fire in the filtered sunlight. And then he vanished, but not gone. You would never forget the sight of the that most magical of creatures, the unicorn.

Stats:
Name: Kissetraah'trriger [Spotted Tiger]
ID: 1061
Gender: Stallion
Parents: Wild
Birth Band: Wild
Band: Spirall'pieran
Offspring: Oiche'Xen
Note: Butterfly wings are a mutation result of the wind element. This doesn't mean that these unicorns have any wind elemental genes, but just that their mutation was caused by the wind element
November 2007

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