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The Flight of the Unicorn

by: Amanda Drake

WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS FRIGHTENING SCENES. I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT NO ONE UNDER THE AGE OF 13 READ THIS STORY.


Notes:

I'm still in the process of putting the story together, in since right now, most of what I have is random scattered notes and character sketches, I'll put those here, and then delete them later once I've got the whole story written. I'll be writing the story, bit by bit in this thread.

I'm starting out with a character sketch of the main character:

She is a unicorn maiden, one of the last living members of a dying species. When in human form, she is a pale and luminous, shining with a subtle light. As a unicorn, she can heal with the touch of her horn, which can also slash through evil. She fights to protect the innocent and heal the wounded. As a unicorn, her weapon is her horn. As a woman, she is a skilled archer and martial artist and she sings with a voice that can harm the evil and heal the just.

She would always prefer not to fight, but knows the world is a dangerous place full of evil, and that the innocent must be protected. She would rather spend her time healing than fighting, but knows that she must do both. She roams the world, healing the wounded and fighting to protect them.

As a child, growing up with the few remaining members of her clan, she endured unspeakable horrors. An army of demons swept down upon her village and destroyed all in their path. A group of vicious demons surrounded her and ravaged her body, child though she was, then left her for dead.

Now, the scars left upon her have a strange healing power, when she touches the hearts of those who were also ravaged by demons, and her songs help to ease the pain of the broken.

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Now, here's a segment of the story which I have completed (though it still needs to be revised and elaborated upon.) More details are needed, such as specific names of loved ones she sees laying around her and more sensory details such as sounds and smells, etc. Without further ado, here it is:

Chapter 1

It was a fine summer evening. The moon reposed on a soft bed of clouds. Silver light filtered down through the trees around the lake, her lake. This place was her refuge. After the long, tedious days of sun-scorched heat, it was where she came to be alone and to think. Mother said that this lake was special, and when the time was right, the lake would show her something, a precious secret which all her people carried and hid from the rest of the world. "There will be a ceremony here by the lake at the very hour of the day you were born 8 years ago," mother had told her. "On that day, you must wait alone by the water's edge, and when the hour comes that the moon touches the peak of that hill to the east, we will join you there at the lake and when you look into the water, you will discover the secret."

Restless, she squirmed where she sat on her favorite rock near the edge of the clear, glassy pool. Many times, she had looked into the waters in the years gone by hoping to discover the secret, but the waters had not given up their secrets to her.

In the distance, a sound of crows and other raucous birds reached her ears ... She wondered what had startled them. She stirred restlessly, tugging at the blindfold that tradition demanded she wear until her family came to remove the blindfold at the right time, but remembering mother's warnings that the cloth band must not be removed by her, she stopped tugging at it and sat still. The noises of the crows and other birds grew louder and louder ... then, in the distance, she heard a familiar sound ... she had heard it once many years before ... and even then it had inspired a strange, instinctive terror in her ...

She tried to place the sound, it's meaning and source, as her mind travelled back over the years ... at last she remembered ...

That day too, had been one of the hot, sweltering days of summer ... several years ago ... She had been out playing in the meadows, picking flowers and berries, the day was drawing to a close and the twilight air descended over the earth, still and cool as the sun began to sink over the horizon. From the woods near her home, a peculiar sound had rung out - a steady, rythmic clattering racing down the hard packed earth of the road. The noise had been new to her, and she was a curious child ... she crept out to the bushes near the dirt road to try and ascertain the source of the strange sounds. Suddenly, round the bend in the road, a large white creature running at rapid pace came into view, on its back there sat a rough-looking man, who was swinging a long black snake like coil of something and striking the poor creature mercilessly. The white creature who carried the man on its back reared and snorted, pawing the air in a hopeless effort to remove the cruel man from its back. As the pair passed her hiding place by the side of the road, the white creature reared once more and then stood still, refusing to move.

Terror seized her ... that man looked dangerous, and if the strange creature and it's rider did not pass by soon, the man might find her and harm her! At that instant, her eyes met those of the large white creature. She felt a terrible shock, like a blow - those eyes ... there was intelligence in those eyes - this was no mere dumb beast! A strange horror shrouded her heart, as well as a feeling that she couldn't understand, as if this white creature and she had something in common, as if she and it were kindred. As she gazed into the creature's eyes, she noticed that it had a peculiar stump on its forehead - as if it had once had some sort of horn that had been sawn off. Looking at it filled her with dread ...

All of this had ellapsed in the space of a moment - this glimpse into the strange creatures eyes and the emotions she had experienced as a result, but, to her, it felt as if time had stopped and moved on around her and the white creature as they had gazed at one another. In the space of a breath, the moment was over, and the strange animal, suddenly raced off at lightning pace - almost as if it knew that its staying would have endangered her.

... hoarse cries jerked her out of her recollection of the past and of the first time she had heard the noise of the clattering feet. She shrank back behind her favorite boulder near the lake - she had no desire to meet strangers anymore. She recalled the day when a traveling jewel merchant had stopped in her village. She shuddered as she remembered him, the way he had looked at her - a peculiar hungry look. She hid behind her father, the village chieftan, who had come out to meet the stranger. The grubby, unshaven salesman continued to eye her, greedily taking in her silvery-white wavy hair, gray eyes, and slender childish body. His voice came out in a gruff, lustful, drawl: "That's quite a fine-looking girl, there. She would fetch quite a price in the town o'er yonder hill. I'll give you the largest ruby in my collection for her, if you agree to sell her to me." Her father had said not a word but flashed a sharp, menacing glance in the stranger's direction. Suddenly startled and fearful, the jewel merchant had cursed at the beasts of burden which drew his rickety old wagon and took off in a cloud of dust. Trembling, she clung to her father, he turned round and looked at her, speaking comforting words and gathering her close in a gentle, reassuring hug ... red eyes ... red ... her father's eyes were gray, she knew that. She blinked, and rubbed her own gray eyes, and when she opened them again, her father's eyes were gray once more. Reasoning with herself, she decided that what she had seen was a trick of the late afternoon light and nothing more.

Her mind returned once more to the present. The dreadful garbled, raucous shouts and clattering of heavy feet grew louder and louder. Frightened, she shrank down even further behind the boulder near the lake's edge. A sharp, gutteral voice shouted, "Spread out and search the wood, lads - we don't want to miss any of them. Tales speak of rituals and dances that happen in these woods under the light of the full moon. The village is a mere half a mile hence, but there may be some stragglers in the woods."

Loud feet crashed through the underbrush heading directly for her hiding place. She lay frozen in fear, unable to move. Suddenly, she felt rough, gnarled claws dig into the flesh in her arms, jerking her to her feet as she struggled and screamed in vain. Hoarse cries rang out through the woods, "Garmouth, we've caught something." More sounds of tramping feet. "What have we here." The rough claws half carried, half pulled her toward the lake. "Let's get a better look at her in the moonlight." The blindfold was ripped from her face. She kicked and screamed in terror. "We must look at her reflection in the lake to be sure," snarled the garbled voice. To her horror, she felt her body being swiveled around to face the lake. "Yes," growled the voice in satisfaction, "gaze into the water, lads. She is one of them." As this command was given, her own gaze fixed upon her reflection in the water.

She froze. A strange sight met her eyes. There before her, where her relflection should have been, was the flickering image of a white, 4 -legged creature - of the same kind that she had seen on the road many years ago. The only difference was that on her forehead, no stub of a horn existed, just a pointed bump, as of something from beneath forcing it's way up through the skin. Her mind reeled, unable, unwilling to take in the site before her. "This is not me!" she screamed, "What have you done to me! What evil curse have you placed upon me?!?" With renewed effort, she shrieked and tried to fight and pull away from the grasp of the demon-like creature that held her. "Shut the creature's mouth, Garmash, or she will warn the others of our approach. We'll bring her along with us to our culling grounds," growled the dark, leathery-skinned beast whose voice she recognized as belonging to the creature named Garmouth. Rough, hideous claws swung her body up onto the back of one of the tall creatures that the demon-beasts rode, and the one that rode the beast, grabbed her tightly, holding her against his chest. She kicked and clawed and struggled in vain - the demon's claws only clenched tighter around her rib cage, cutting off her breath.

At break-neck speed the animal which carried them roared down the hill and the swarm of demons into poured into the village. The men of her people rushed from their homes, and in the dim light of flickering torches and campfires, she beheld a strange and fearful sight. In the instant that the men rushed out into the moonlight, their forms changed into white 4-legged creatures with sharp, glowing horns. The white creatures fought valiantly, but the battle was over in minutes. Waves of demons continued to pour over the hill and into the valley where the village lay.

"Come on lads, into the houses - seize the women, they will bring a high price in the brothels. You can take whichever you please and do whatever you wish with them," roared Garmouth in a voice of thunder. Shrieks filled the air, as women were seized and rounded up. The cruel claws of the demons held them fast. Then, from everywhere came the sound of claws rending through cloth and screams, and hideous, gutteral laughter. The women were hurled roughly to the ground and their forms were obscured by the dark beasts who swarmed upon them in droves, like wolves upon a kill.

The beast who held her fast now swung her to the ground forcefully and leaped upon her, binding her fast with cords of rope. In vain she struggled, and shrieked, horror-stricken. Filthy, gnarled claws ripped through her clothes and skin, and she felt the heavy weight of the demon's body crushing her to the ground. "You are too young to sell on the market anyway," hissed the demon. "I need not take caution not to rip through your pretty skin. My 5 brothers will want a taste of you as well." Claws and other body parts ripped through her, tearing away her innocence, as she strained against the ropes, trying frantically to free herself. She pleaded to be freed and wept hysterically. The demon did not heed her cries and ravaged her body ferociously, child though she was. How long this nightmare lasted, she did not know - minutes seemed to stretch out into years. Many, many claws raked through her skin, the weight of many bodies crushed her to earth. Tears of blood poured down her face as she screamed in pain and terror. Darkness and blood surrounded her - fires burned the homes of her village to ashes, the air was filled with smoke, death, red fire, deep red blood, and the shrieks of violated women and girls. Darkness engulfed her, pain flooded through her. Tears and blood and death took possesion of her heart and mind, bound in unending screams of terror and pain. The sound of shrieks were carried farther and farther away as other women and girls were hurled upon the backs of horses, and borne away into the night.

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I'm not sure if I'm done with chapter 1 yet. I might add more to it later.

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Chaper 2

"Unicorn" - the word forced itself upon her mind ... as she lay contemplating the 4 legged bodies of the men and boys of her village. A wandering bard invited to partake of supper with her family had sung of white creatures with long silver horns. "Unicorns" he had called them. This was the secret, the secret of our people, she realized as her mind in a state of shock and detachment from the recent horrors made the connection with this disturbing truth.

She lay upon blood-stained earth, with grave injuries. Through a dim haze, she saw her people on the ground around her, dead and dying. Strangely, she felt very little concern for herself, but as she watched the others die, the blood of many unicorns spilled upon the ground, a feeling of deep rage was born within her and for an instant, her mild gray eyes flickered and turned burgundy – the color of the blood of these creatures around her, these ... unicorns. With a strange calmness, she realized: “I am going to die,” and it did not trouble or frighten her, but her wrath was stirred as she contemplated the scene before her. Her entire body paralyzed by the attacks, she could not so much as stir a muscle to aid those dying around her. As she lay there, near death, her only regret was that she could not save the lives of her people … Her gaze took in the fallen around her ... there lay her only sibling, her little brother ... in horror, she perceived that his clothes were torn too ... she choked back sobs ... Evidently, some of the demons preferred males ... She shrieked aloud in rage and wept ... his last moments must have been filled with such terror. ... Frantically, her eyes sought for her parents ... she dreaded lest her mother may have shared her fate, might have been violated too. With a strange sense of relief, she beheld the bodies of her parents near the charred remains of the bark hut that had been her family's home. Her father's arms were still around her mother protectively, even in death. The weapon wielded by a demon's hand had pierced them both simultaneously, thus sparing her mother from the horrible fate worse than death that her daughter had endured. Her grief overwhelmed her and she wept until her eyes could no longer produce tears. She felt an ominous weariness stealing over her ... Her eyes flickered burgundy in passionate anger and grief ... and then darkness engulfed her and she knew no more.

Light and heat … a burning, searing pain … through a red haze of burning and blood, she saw a figure in silhouette against the light of fire, looming, towering above her … a shriek split the heavy, hazy air … and dimly, she realized that death had not yet claimed her ... the sound was coming from her throat … it was a strange, eerie sound … something or someone seemed to be pulling at the ropes that bound her ... removing them? Weak from terror and loss of blood, she sank into unconsciousness again ...

Once again, flickering light awoke her ... Frightened, she tried to rise from the ground and run away, but all she was capable of was a weak kicking, flailing motion with her legs ... Something didn't feel right ... She opened her bruised and bloody eyes and beheld with shock the sight of her body ... "I have turned into a beast!" she shrieked, "What has happened to me!"

At the sound of her voice, a huddled, stooped figure in tattered clothes had approached her speaking softly, "Shh-shh, it's okay. You're safe here, child. You seem to have forgotten who and what you are, but there's time enough for remembering later on when you are well." For the first time, she noticed that she was laying on something soft and her torn body was covered in healing poultices and bandages and that the ropes which the demon had bound her with were gone. She tried to rise, then the images and memories of what had happened in her village flooded her mind, and she sank back upon the soft bed of cut grass and blankets which she had been laying on and wept long and hard. The old woman sat beside her and stroked her head and mane softly, not saying a word. The woman's head was bowed and her lips were moving silently. "A prayer?" she wondered.

As she contemplated the stranger's bowed head, she saw a star-shaped scar upon the woman's forehead. The sight of this scar filled her with inexplicable emotions of relief. What the scar meant, she did not know, but she sensed, instinctively that the it signified something ... something that made the woman trustworthy ...

Days passed. Gradually, her wounds began to heal. With chagrin and shame, she noticed that the scars left upon her body by the demons did not seem to be growing any fainter. ... "Will I forever be reminded of what happened that night?" she wondered.

One day as she lay on her soft bed of grass, she spoke to the woman, asking the question she had longed to ask since the day she had met her: "Can you tell me about the scar on your forehead?"

A pause ensued ... the woman gazed thoughtfully into the fire for a long while and then spoke at last ...

"This is the mark of my people - we all bear this mark upon our foreheads. Long ago, your race intermingled with humans ... many of your kind married humans. A new race was born from those unions ... I am one of such. The mark upon the foreheads of my people is the place where a horn would have emerged from our heads had we been born as unicorns. To this day, my race and yours share a deep bond of kinship. There are not many of us left these days, and those that still live are persecuted and shunned by most humans. I, myself have experienced this treatment ... the only way that I could be free of this persecution was to live far away from other humans. I live in the woods a few miles hence. There is connection between my race and the unicorns. When a unicorn is near, or is hurting and in trouble, we sense it deep within our hearts. On the night that your village was destroyed and your people killed, I awoke out of a deep slumber ... my heart was crying out within me ... and I knew ... I knew that somewhere my distant kindred were in great and terrible pain. I did not know where your village lay, but I followed a sort of instinct, the closer I got, the deeper the sorrow and pain grew within me, that is how I was able to find your village ..." the woman choked back a sob, and her eyes filled with tears that spilled down her cheeks. "Never have I beheld such a sight even in my most tragic nightmares ... 'My people, my people,' I cried aloud in anguish as I beheld the bodies of the slain. I ran with as much speed as this old, feeble body is capable of to the place where the unicorns lay. I checked everyone, all of them, for signs of life ... you were the only one left alive ... I know not where they had taken the rest of the women and girls, only one other female unicorn lay upon the ground in the village. When I saw you, my heart froze ... the state of your body ..." she wept softly, "no, if you don't remember, it is for the best ... "

"I remember what happened to me," she whispered through a throat tight with grief and rage, "Yes, I remember what they did to me ..."

"Child, in time your heart will heal just as your body has healed," the woman said, with a troubled look upon her face as she watched the emotions displayed upon my face. "You must not let hatred consume you - it will destroy you if you let it rule your heart."

She turned her face to the wall bitterly ... "I will hear no more of this," she said. "I must sleep now, I am weary - weary of life and of the scars and sorrows I bear."

"I will leave you to your rest, child, but remember, you must not let yourself give in to rage and despair," spoke the old woman softly as she departed.

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This is not the end of chapter 2, I think, I'm not sure yet ... but it's definitely far from being the end of the story. I'll keep adding short, one-sentence journals to let people know when I add to the story.

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