Alidus

Everyone has a story to tell.
This is the story of how Alidus became part of the herd on Unicorn Island. (©SunBlind)

The waves crashed upon the island's shore as the unicorns walked along the sandy beach, the wind sweeping their manes into fantastic shapes. Though the sun was shining, the ocean air was cool, almost to the point where the unicorns desired to return to the refuge of the forest. But they had come here for a reason; something within called to them, forcing them to remain. Strong magic was at work here but none could tell if it was for good or for ill. The unicorns maintained their vigil long into the night.

Slightly after midnight clouds appeared and blacked out the stars in the sky, the chill wind growing more intense, forced the unicorns to huddle together for warmth. The magic beckoned and the unicorns remained on the shore. Soon the rain began to fall, followed by bright flashes of lightning and great rumbles of thunder. Some of the unicorns became nervous, prancing around in the group, unable to stay still. The leader tried to calm them, to reassure them that nothing had happened yet, but to no avail. The young huddled near their mothers; the skittish jumped at every sound. And still nothing happened, even as the storm abated and the moon once again shone its light upon the wet unicorns, their coats glowing ghostly in the darkness.

And still the magic bound them to the beach. From time to time a unicorn would try to return to the safety of the woods but would soon return, unable to resist the call. The night passed slowly for the herd, as their tension increased with each passing hour, each minute. What magic could call them here like this, could it do them harm? Fear started to spread through their numbers, the darkness seeming to close in on them. What was out there that they could not see? Why were they here?

Finally dawn came with little relief. Even the oldest, most wise unicorns were nervous as to what the light would show to them. Such events have brought them to the beach before, but never had they waited so long, never had they stood through the darkest hours of the night. They sent some of the braver members of the herd to search the beach in the morning sun.

The dawn came warm and clear, not a cloud in the sky. There was still a cool breeze coming off from the water but it was not as icy as it was before. Soon a young filly came galloping up the herd, and in her excitement could not get her words across to the other members. They could see that she was not afraid, therefore whatever had happened during the night had been for the good. The unicorns gathered up the other searchers and followed the filly to her discovery.

There, in a soft pile of sand, the light glinted off of something shiny. As the unicorns neared it they could make out the colours of pink and blue. The elders looked happily at each other, now knowing what was there and allowed those who had never seen one before to get a closer look. For in the sand was an egg, a unicorn egg. An object that was worthy of the great magic that drew the unicorns to this special place, and just as rare.

The unicorns carefully carried the egg between them to the quiet glade in the forest. There it was laid in the warm sun to be watched until it hatched. Though one unicorn, the young filly, was given the honour of caring for the egg, the others spent much time there in the hopes of being present when it hatched. But for the others, it was in vain. The filly was alone when she thought she saw the egg move, but shook her head to dispel the hope. As she looked more closely, there was no denying that the egg was rocking, that the young unicorn inside was trying to break free. Within moments a crack appeared in the shell, then it broke completely in half. The young filly could do nothing for several minutes as she watched the young hatchling take its first look around the glade. Then she nuzzled it gently and used her own body to warm and dry his wet coat. Soon, the others arrived after the elders sensed the hatching of the newborn. They marveled at the little creature as he closed his eyes to rest.

The filly was then given the honour of naming the pure white colt, as she had been the one to witness his birth. "Alidus," she announced after little thought. The little one looked up as if he already knew his name. Alidus was not alone to be born during this time. In another faraway herd another egg hatched and this time a filly by the name of Nimue had her first view of the world. Soon the two had met and wasn't long before the elders could chuckle amongst themselves as the future of those two seemed to have been determined. One day the filly came up to the glade to check on the hatchling and found Alidus staring dreamily at a large red rose. She questioned him as to its origins. He said nothing but the blush that turned his pure white coat a rosy pink from his tail to his horn, said much.

Soon Alidus and Nimue were often together, as the herds sometimes met through a portal in their respective lands. They laughed and played, chased butterflies and created mischief as youngsters often do. They had many adventures exploring the forests and the shores of the island. They'd race across the sand so fast that the chaser would more often than not crash headlong into the chasee, sending both of them tumbling into the surf to come out looking miserable for their dousing but none the worse for the wear.

The years passed quickly and uneventfully on the peaceful island. Little changes in such a magical place as one where unicorns dwell. During this time Alidus grew to be a fine young colt, but sometimes he would wander off to be on his own, and this worried some of the herd members. At times he seemed to follow insects and other small animals around the woods, almost spending more time with them than the other unicorns. The filly decided that she would discover what bothered her young charge, just as she had discovered his egg the morning after the storm.

One day she followed him into the deeper part of the forest that the unicorns tended to avoid. There were few dangers on the island but one could easily get lost or injured in this part of the woods so no one entered unless they had to. She could not fathom what Alidus could possible want to do here, but refrained from rushing ahead and asking. Though she could see no particular path, Alidus seemed sure of his way and never faltered in his course. For a brief moment fear clutched the filly's heart as she lost sight of the colt and realized that she would not be able to find her way out without his help, but soon a clearing opened up before her and a wondrous sight met her eyes.

Various animals of all kinds surrounded Alidus. Unicorns were known for their gentleness, the filly knew, but the young colt seemed to be talking with the animals, or at least trying to. He was obviously having some difficulty getting his point across to them, especially when trying to explain abstract ideas. The animals seemed frustrated, though just as determined as he was to make themselves understood. And the filly did understand. She remained hidden in the brush until Alidus got up to leave. Once again she shadowed him back to the glade and from there hurried to find the elders.

The elders were very excited to hear this news for it had been a while since the herd could claim to have one who could speak with the animals. A rare talent indeed, and a very useful one at that. They often did not know what was happening in the world outside their island. They had isolated themselves here as Nimue's herd had isolated themselves. They feared man and his disbelief, but they feared his greed even more. Hundreds had been hunted in the past for the powers of their horn, the men not knowing that the magic died with the unicorn. So they had fled, to protect what little remained of the magic on this planet. Now, unicorns with abilities such as the colt's were rarer than ever and they took pride in his accomplishments, though said nothing to him, as it was obvious he had not wanted them to know just yet.

A greater joy was felt when they had word from the other herd, that Nimue too was blessed with great power. One who could read dreams is always greatly respected by the unicorns though neither Nimue nor Alidus thought themselves special. Their union was greatly anticipated, as few unicorns had been born over the years and the two herds had great need to renew their alliance.

More years passed and Alidus grew into a strong young stallion. He and Nimue are now rarely apart, but regardless, Alidus has a little butterfly watch over his love when he cannot. He listens carefully to the songs of the birds and the buzz of the insects to hear about the return of his mate and rushes off the greet her, to fill his eyes with the sight of her pure white form, to fill his nostrils with the scent of her mane.

As the sun set on another perfect day on Unicorn Island, two white forms could be seen on the shore watching waves crash upon the beach. The sky streaked with red and violet, the few passing clouds turned pink with the rays of the setting sun, warmed the two hearts of the gentle unicorns. The filly leaned against her loving mate as the sun dipped below the horizon and they headed back to the comfort of the forest in the remaining light of the summer sun.

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