Wil Ogden - The Nightstone

“This marks the spot where Prince Kehet of the Unicorns both exited and entered this world.”

Silon changed back into his human form. Charles had expected him to be naked but he had all the clothing he’d been wearing prior to taking Unicorn form. Charles followed, also changing to his human form. Chelle did the same.

Silon ran his fingers along the symbols on the stone. “I carved this stone a little less than a thousand years ago. I was part of the Vulak hunting party where you were last seen. Our camp was setup here, though the river was a little shallower than.”

“You knew I’d be back?” Charles asked.

“No, you told me you entered the world at that stone,” Silon said. “That’s what we had come here to do, to see where you’d come from. And to hunt Begli, they were rampant in this area back then, pressing south from the mountains. This was still part of the Abvi kingdom of Grenlith back then. Relarch was a much smaller nation a thousand years ago.

“I wasn’t born yet,” Chelle said. “I’m only three hundred years old. Relarch hasn’t changed in my lifetime.”

“How old do Unicorns get,” Charles asked. Before anyone could speak, he knew the answer; it somehow appeared in his mind. “Thousands of years,” Charles said. “There’s really no upper limit.”

“That’s it,” Silon said. “There are only a couple thousand of us, maybe ten. No one really knows. We’re terribly secretive; more so while you were gone.”

“So, what do I do?” Charles said. “If I am Kehet, what can I do? What do I need to do?”

“I don’t know everything, you’re not one to brag of your abilities,” Silon said. “Like all Unicorns you can heal with the touch of your horn, only a virgin may ride you, and you can sense when someone else is a Unicorn. And what did you mean by ‘if’? What is there to leave any question in your mind?”

“I have a ring to change me and Kehet is a god,” Charles said.

“I know nothing of the ring, but you are a god. You are Kehet,” Silon said. “I ran with you off and on for three thousand years. I never saw you do anything omnipotent. I’ve seen other gods create things from nothing and such, but not you. I know you’re a god; the other gods talk to you like you are one of them. I just think you’re a little different.”

“Probably because he’s a Unicorn,” Chelle said. When they looked at her she explained, “Unicorns are magical creatures, but we cannot possess magical ability. There are no Unicorn mages or Tempests or Sorcerers. It probably has something to do with that.”

“As good a theory as any.” Silon shrugged. “So, Your Majesty, can you really question who you are?”

Charles thought about it. The thoughts seemed ridiculous. But it felt true. The evidence was hard to argue with. I am Kehet, he thought. He’d always thought it as a question before that, this time it was a statement.

Kehet took his Unicorn form and led Silon and Chelle back to the camp of the Wandering Rose.

They’d passed through three villages along the Abvian Highway without stopping. When they’d stopped the carriage at a one inn town called Whisperwillow, Sheillene seemed particularly happy and at the same time particularly sad. Pantros was the first out of the carriage, hopping to the ground, thankful to have the chance to stretch his legs. He helped his sister and Sheillene step down.

“This is your home, isn’t it?” Tara said to the huntress as they walked from the carriage to the inn.

“I am Sheillene of Whisperwillow,” Sheillene said. “But it’s been many decades since I lived here.”

“Do I get to meet your family?” Tara asked.

“Not today,” Sheillene said. “My mother lives with my sister in a cottage far to the north. We’re not really part of the town, but this is the closest town to our home. That’s probably why I’m not as happy as I could be for visiting home, I won’t actually have time to visit my home. Still, it will be nice to see a few friends in town and play for familiar faces, even if we are only staying long enough for a meal.”

“We’re staying the night,” David said, catching up to them. “The drivers say there aren’t enough horses here to trade for.”

“The inn is nice enough,” Sheillene said. “No running water, but clean. Faren, the proprietor is fair and offers food for both human and Abvi tastes. Don’t drink the local wine he offers though, it’s usually the vintages that weren’t good enough to transport and sell. Speaking of Faren…” Sheillene gestured to an Abvian man coming out the inn’s doors.

“Sheillene?” The man asked. “What are you doing in a Relarchian Prince’s Carriage? Did you finally find a wealthy patron to keep you?”

“Hush, Faren,” Sheillene said. “You know I live for the travel. The prince isn’t even with us; he just lent us the carriage. Our driver tells us you’re short on horses, but do you think you could spare one for a night?”

“I could,” Faren said, “But you won’t be needing it. Your mother and sister are heading to Melnith, as most people are. It seems there have been sightings of Vulak raiding parties, and not just a few. There’s so many that the King has called for Veterans to rejoin the army until the Vulak are gone from our lands. Mostly they’ve been to the southeast and northwest. Your family farm should be safe, but why risk it. Behind the city walls is the safest place to be.

“But you’re still here and still peddling bad wine on travelers,” Sheillene said.

“Business is good when people are moving,” Faren said. “I’ll head to either Melnith or Fork if the Vulak are within ten leagues. I’m keeping my fastest horses at the ready.”

“I’d thought the Abvi were not bothered by the Vulak. I thought they were only a human problem, aren’t they afraid of the Abvi,” Pantros said.

“The Vulak are a perpetual threat to everyone,” Sheillene said. “No nation has completely cleansed their lands of the vile race. They hide in the lands too remote and too inhospitable by Human or Abvi standards. There are millions of them north of the mountains, in the plains and tundra. They breed twice as fast as humans and they celebrate war.”

“But you’re encounters with Vulak are all in Relarch,” Pantros said. “Usually southern Relarch.”

“Personally, yes. That’s where I spend most of my winters and winter is when the Vulak need to raid for food. But there are constant battles along the northern borders of all the civilized kingdoms from Enlith to Valencia. Given the choice, a Vulak would rather raid the Abvi lands than the Human lands. Abvi ears are trophies and humans, in all honesty, are better at war than the Abvi who generally value their own lives too much to takes risks in battle. Abvi will give ground until they have a clear advantage. Humans will hold difficult ground out of sheer stubbornness, and somehow, that seems to work for them.”

Pantros rested his hand on the bell of his sword. It was a reminder of why the Abvi were less willing to engage in combat without a strong advantage.

Sheillene then lowered her voice a little, as if she were telling a secret. “I’m probably the only Abvi that will admit that when it comes to war, humans are better at it. Vulak know this. Even the Abvi know this. So when humans started becoming a significant population in Teminev, the Abvi were willing to cede the territories with the longest flatland boundary to the Vulak lands. Relarch’s northern borders are mostly flat plains dotted with forts.” The nation of Melnith has a northern border of the Starshone River and the Whitecap mountains. We still get Vulak raids from the north, but not as often as Relarch.”