Chapter 2

Dueling Unicorns

Novembre 29-30, 5599

 

That evening inside Eryndaile Castle’s study, Theleisium, the white mage, and Kouhgar Fremmon, the only prince of Devinshyre, were relaxing on a couple of plush chairs after a long day. The mage held an old parchment he and Kouhgar had found at the home of Lobest Greanist, the previous king’s hired scribe. This scroll was not one that Lobest has transcribed, but one that was thousands of years old. This scroll had been enchanted by the monks at St. Randall’s Sanctuary around the time that Brother Aramis has his vision of the savior. Luckily for Theleisium, he could read the charmed writing and understand what the map was all about. He had already relayed that information to Alizabet with a byrdcall.

 As the mage perused the parchment, he noticed what appeared to be a name written in the lower left corner. The writing was smudged and hard to read, but he concentrated on figuring out what it said. After a bit of time, his eyebrows rose up his forehead in amazement as he finally made out the name. It was an elven name, a name that he hadn’t heard of in a long time. In fact, seeing the name reminded him that he hadn’t seen his old friend in decades. It was the name of another white mage.

“I wonder what Threstel is up to these days?” he said aloud to himself. “I’ll bet he’s up to no good, if I know him, which I do.” He winked at the 16-year old human sitting across from him.

Prince Kouhgar thought he was talking to him. “Oh, you know this person, this Threstel, I think you said?”

“Yes, we met many, many years ago; centuries ago, actually. I consider him to be one of my closest friends. But, we’ve lost touch recently, as I was pretty busy trying to bring the Aramis Prophecy to life. I haven’t heard from him in over fifty years. I’ll bet he’s spending all his time in the Great Elven Reading Room, just studying away.” He pointed at the elven mage’s name on the parchment. “I guess I’m going to have to pay him a visit to understand why his name is here.”

“Are you going to Ellÿssiúm, then?” Kouhgar asked, a slight rise in his voice indicating that he would find such a trip very exciting.

“I guess I’m going to have to. I don’t really want to, but I need to know why his name in on this parchment. Maybe he knows something about this missing pieces of the Amber Armor.”

The young prince sighed. “I wish I could go with you.” Kouhgar shuffled his toes on the rock floor, his head hanging down. “Father never lets me go anywhere. ‘It’s for your own safety,’ he always says. ‘Someday, you will be king.’ Geez, what’s a guy to do? This place feels like a prison sometimes. I just want a little adventure, a little fun. I would like to see the world before I’m trapped by the throne.”

Theleisium looked over the young prince. Kouhgar had a lot of knowledge in his head that he could use. Plus, he had shown some interest in the magical arts. Maybe I can convince the good King Prestius to let his son go with me if I promise to keep him safe.

“Let me see what I can do.”

“About what?” King Prestius Fremmon inquired as he walking into the study and closed the double doors behind him. He made his way over to the wet bar and poured himself a drink. He turned, took a sip of the rich warm brown liquid, and sighed. He approached the white mage and his son and sat down on one of the two open couches in the middle of the room. Placing the crystal glass on the coffy table in front of him, he looked at Theleisium and raised an eyebrow.

“About what?” he repeated.

Theleisium thought for a couple of seconds before he answered. “May I tell you about our day first?”

“Of course,” the king said, motioning the white mage to continue.

“Earlier today, your son and I tracked down the whereabouts of Lobest Greanist, the scribe that transcribed the byrdcall messages from Silvilus Thlem. Unfortunately, he wasn’t healthy enough to talk with us, but his daughter, Staisee Blackwyll, was and she told us all about him. She also mentioned that she had copies of every byrdcall that you have, except, she had an extra one that was not in your collection.”

“Really?” The king leaned forward on the couch, his hands resting on his knees. “What did it say?”

“It was bad, father, really bad,” the young prince interrupted, excited to tell the king something new. “The transcription told us how Silvius had found a mysterious crate of scrolls. He didn’t say where he found them or who created them. That would have been nice to know. Anyway, Silvius started reading them and he found that they all contained spells. He said that he was excited to discover them, so he started working on memorizing them. But, they weren’t white magic scrolls, father.”

“They weren’t?”

“No, they were black magic scrolls. And this scroll that Lobest had transcribed had one for the spells written on it.”

“That isn’t good.”

“No,” Theleisium jumped in, “it isn’t. Staisee was lucky that we discovered what the scroll was. It could have tainted her, her husband, her children, her father, or even her house. Who knows how much damage that scroll could have caused? All it would have taken was one person reading the entire spell. So, deciding not to take any chances with it, I destroyed the scroll.”

“That was probably for the best.”

“Yes, it sure was. I knew that these types of spells were out there, but I’ve been fortunate enough to never run into one. I wish I’d never seen it. I’m glad it’s gone.

“Me too. Oh, and father, there was another scroll,” Kouhgar said zealously, cutting in again.

The king frowned. “He transcribed two scrolls that were didn’t have here?”

Theleisium shook his head. “No, this one was much, much older. Staisee didn’t know where it came from. She thought it was one of his, but it wasn’t. It must have come from Brother Aramis, but I have no idea how Lobest got his hands on it.”

“Well, what was on it?” the king asked, very interested. “I hope it wasn’t more black magic.”

“I couldn’t read it at all,” Kouhgar stated. “The letters didn’t even look like letters. But Theleisium could.”

The white mage shrugged. “I’ve had some experience with these types of scrolls.”

“And?”

“Father,” Kouhgar spoke up excitedly, “it had the location of the Amber Helm!”

“That’s excellent news,” the king said smiling, slapping his knee and he leaning back as he reached for his glass. “Where is this helm supposed to be?”

“Mt Fourtooth, uh, I mean, Mt. Forsaken. The scroll was old enough that the mountain was still called by its original name.”

“Interesting. That’s a dead mountain.” Prestius took a sip of the drink and returned it to the coffy table. “No one knows what happened to the Blackbeard Dwarves that build that place. All those cities underneath that mountain. All empty now. And no clue as to what happened to them. And entire race of people, poof, just gone. It’s such a shame. I’ve always wondered what happened to them. As a child, I dreamed about exploring those dark cities and finding a hint as to the fate of the dwarves. They couldn’t have all died, as not a single body has ever been discovered. So, what happened to them? That’s the question. What really happened to them? I wish I knew.” He was silent for a moment, muttering to himself about the missing Blackbeard Dwarves.

Neither Theleisium or Kouhgar wanted to interrupt the king’s ponderings.

“Blackbeard Dwarves,” Prestius murmured, over and over again. He slowly reached for his glass, quickly raised it to his lips, and drained it in one big gulp. The king slammed the glass down on his knee and said forcefully, “Blackbeard Dwarves! I wish they were still here. They would be great allies if the blorcs ever attacked again.”

“I agree,” Theleisium said, nodding.

“Do . . . do you think that an attack is going to happen soon, father?” Kouhgar asked, a bit of fear in his voice. Nervously, he pushed his big glasses up his nose while he started at the king.

“I don’t know,” Prestius sighed. “I hope not.”

“If we find all six pieces of the Amber Armor set, we can help with that. I know Maidawn and Shorn are ready to lend you aid.”

“You only have two so far?”

“That I know of,” the mage agreed. “Maidawn has the swords and Shorn has the chainmail. When I left them, we were headed to Kexy Island to look for the ring.”

“I wonder if they found it?” Prestius put the empty glass down on the coffy table, absently running his finger around the rim.

“I doubt it. If Alizabet had found it, she would have sent me a message.”

“Mm,” the king hummed, in thought. “That’s too bad.”

Kouhgar leaned toward Theleisium and whispered, “Are you going to tell him about the name?”

“In a moment.”

King Prestius Fremmon had always had excellent hearing. His eyes returned to the white mage. “What name?”

“You should have seen this scroll, father. It was so old, not that I could read it. But Theleisium said that there was a name in one of the corners. The name belongs to an elf mage named Threstel.”

 “Never heard of him.”

“I know him.” Theleisium looked at the young prince, who returned his gaze.  The mage looked back the king. “In the morning, I will be heading out on Moonglow to Ellÿssiúm. If you wouldn’t mind, I could use your son’s help. He has been invaluable to me so far.”

King Prestius looked at Kouhgar in disbelief, who was fidgeting on his chair, his eyes cast upon the floor.

“My son?”

Theleisium smiled, and pointed at the young man. “I think a little safe adventure to the home of the elves would be good for him.”

Prestius thought about what his friend had just said about his son. The king knew that Kouhgar needed to get out there and see all of Chelt before he became king, but the time had never seemed right to make the journey. Now, with the protection of a white mage by his side, it seems that right time might be now. “Would you like to go with Theleisium, my boy?”

Kouhgar lifted his eyes, hope shining in them. “Oh, yes, father, I certainly would.”

“You would keep him safe?” the king asked the mage.

“As safe as I can.”

“Hmm,” was all the king said.

“We’ll have two unicorns with us. Nothing else can match their speed.”

“That’s true.”

“Please, father. I want to go. I feel that I need to go. I must help someway with this mission Theleisium and the others are on. If the human race is in danger of being wiped out, and this is how I can help, I don’t see how you can refuse this. I need to do this, for all out sakes.”

Deep inside, the king was proud of Kouhgar. He had never spoken like this, always seeming to act so meek, never forceful. He nodded at his son. “All right, then. You can go. But I don’t want you to taking any unnecessary chances with your life. You have to return to Devinshyre safely. You are the future king.”

“I know, father. I promise not to take any chances with my life. That’s my vow to you.” Prince Kouhgar stood and walked up his father. The young man knelt in front of him and reached for his father’s hand. He kissed the family ring on his father’s right hand.

King Prestius smiled and then he ruffled his son’s hair with his free hand. “You have my permission to go, then.”

“Oh, thank you father!” Kouhgar jumped to his feet, raised a fist into the air, and shouted, “Yeah!”

King Prestius stood up and faced his son, and found himself enclosed in a warm, but strong, bear hug. He wrapped his arms around his son and hugged him back, something that he rarely did anymore. It felt nice and he made a vow to himself to do it more often.

 

The next morning, as Kouhgar hurried down the stairs from his room to the grand hall. He took his backsack off his shoulder and rested it on the large oval table that sat in the middle of the open room. He anxiously looked at the two front doors, knowing his adventure would start once he and Theleisium stepped outside.

“All packed and ready to go?” his father asked.

“I certainly am,” Kouhgar replied, nearly shaking with excitement. “I have food, clothes, a couple of books, water, an assortment of small weapons, a blanket, and a bedroll.”

“I guess I should have asked this yesterday,” the mage stated, “but, do you know how to ride?”

“A horse? Yes, I‘ve had my own horse since I was five. I ride a couple of days a week out in the countryside north of the city.”

“You do?”

“Well, it’s not like I’m alone or anything. There are usually several guards with me also on horseback.”

“I see.” Theleisium hadn’t ridden a horse in centuries and wondered how the young man would deal with riding a unicorn for the first time. That is, if the unicorn let him. “A horse, huh?”

“Uh, yes, why? What else would we be riding?”

“Why don’t you head through those doors and find out?”

With a slightly confused look on his face, Kouhgar swung his backsack onto his left shoulder and walked up tothe double doors. He turned the knob, pulled the right door open, and stepped outside. He froze in his tracks.

Moonglow stood there staring at him. Beside the all-white unicorn was the most beautiful creature Kouhgar had ever seen. The other unicorn was dark red in color with startling blue eyes. Her twisted horn was dark yellow and speckled with red sparkles. Reddawn’s black mane hung down over her neck and shoulders. Her long tail waved slightly in the morning breeze.

The prince’s backsack slipped off of his shoulder and fell to the ground with a thump. He just stood there, in awe.

Reddawn nickered at him, as if she were laughing.

A unicorn? I’m going to ride a unicorn? Kouhgar thought. No way!

Theleisium came up behind the prince and laid a hand on his shoulder. “What do you think? Are you up to the challenge?”

Kouhgar just nodded, lost in the moment.

“Now, we aren’t in the clear yet. Reddawn, that’s the unicorn’s name, has to accept you. If she doesn’t, there’s no way she will let you on her back. You need to slowly approach her. If she accepts you, you’ll know it.”

Kouhgar gulped nervously. He nodded, but didn’t take a step forward, frozen in awe.

Theleisium gave him a little shove.

The prince took a halting step forward, and then another, slowly making his way toward the two unicorns. He stopped about three feet away from Reddawn. He could hear the unicorn breathing now and  he could smell her scent. She smelled a bit like one of the spices that the cooks uses when making a cake. What is that spice, he thought. Was it cinnamon? No, that’s not it. Oh, it’s nutmeg. She smells like nutmeg!

Pushing that thought away, he looked at Reddawn, who waited for him to make the first move. Kouhgar knew what to do if he met a new horse for the first time, so he slowly lifted his arm, moving his hand close to the unicorn’s nose.

Reddawn watched the human approach him and lift his arm. She lowered her head and sniffed the human’s hand a couple of times. After a moment, she took a step forward leaned her head down so that her head touched his. Are you a good person? she thought inside the prince’s head.

Kouhgar jumped, but didn’t break contact with Reddawn. I try to be.

I didn’t smell any deceit in you. Or did I? Explain this to me.

Deceit? Me? Kouhgar thought about this for a moment. Do you mean my Basecamp. My secret hideout?

Possibly.

Kouhgar stood up a little taller and straightened his shoulders. I never lie, but you are right. I never told my father about my secret hideaway. I’ll tell you what. I’ll make a promise to you. I’ll tell his all about it when I return. I’ll even show him my Basecamp.

That sounds fair. Reddawn threw back her head and blew a musical tune through her horn. I accept you, Prince Kouhgar Fremmon. You may ride on me. Reddawn broke contact with the prince and stepped back.

For some reason, Prince Kouhgar bowed to the unicorn.

Reddawn nicked at him again. Then she winked at the young man.

Theleisium and Prestius approached Kouhgar from behind. Prestius handed him his heavy backpack. Kouhgar slipped both arms through the straps and took a step back. The backsack was heavy.

“Let me help you with that,” Theleisium stated, bringing forth his wand. Take that off and put it on the ground.

Kouhgar slid the backsack off and did what the mage asked.

Theleisium removed his wand from his sleeve and pointed it at Kouhgar’s backsack. “Săöfj dæfd åsrýf,” he said, the wand making a zapping sound.

The backpack started to grow smaller. Eventually, it grew small enough that it would be able to fit in the palm of Kouhgar’s hand.

“You can pick it now. It’s done shrinking,” Theleisium indicated.

“Wow,” Kouhgar said as he reached down and picked up the ultra-tiny backsack. He tossed it straight up into the air and then caught it.

“Oh, I’d still be careful with that if I were you.”

“Why is that?”

“Don’t you have food in there? Everything is still affected by the laws of physics. If you smash the tiny backsack against a rock, it will still damage everything inside the backsack. Just because its smaller and lighter now, doesn’t mean that the objects inside are invulnerable to damage. Making the backsack smaller is helpful while we ride the unicorns. This way you won’t get thrown off the unicorn because of the added weight to you back. Now, you can just put it in a pocket and forget about it.”

“I understand,” Kouhgar said as he slid his backsack into his leather jacket pocket. He snapped the opened closed with a snap fastener. He looked up and smiled at the mage.

“Perfect,” Theleisium uttered.

“I have duties to attend to,” King Prestius stated out of the blue. “Kouhgar, I look forward to your return. Stay safe out there. Danger could lurk around every corner.”

“I will remain alert, father.”

Prestius approached his son and laid a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Until we meet again.”

“Soon, I hope,” his son replied.

Prestius turned on his heal and indicated to the guards that they should follow him. In a couple of moments, the castle front doors closed, leaving the mage and prince standing beside the two unicorns.

“I guess we should leave now?” Kouhgar asked, understanding that his father was not one prone to public displays of affection. After all, he was the King of Devinshyre.

“To do that, we need to mount our friends here. Unlike a horse, which is not the smartest of animals, a unicorn is as smart, or maybe even smarter, that a human.” Theleisium winked at Moonglow, who agreed with the mage by nodding couple of times and played a soft tune with his horn. “Just approach Reddawn and lay a hand on her shoulder. She’ll know what you want to do.”

“Oh, okay. I can do that.” Kouhgar did just that and Reddawn bent his left front leg and held the bottom half parallel to the ground, forming a step for Kouhgar to use.

“Use her front hoof as a step. You can take a handful of her mane to steady yourself. Pulling on her hair won’t hurt her.”

In a moment, Kouhgar sat astride Reddawn, a broad smile on his lips.

“See? Easy, huh?”

“Oh, yes, it sure was.” He leaned forward and patted the right side of unicorn’s neck.

Reddawn nicked back to him, prancing around a bit, getting used to her new rider.

Theleisium took the time to explain a few things to the prince on some of the things he would experience while riding a unicorn. They were things like their rate of travel, the wind created, and the magical safety bubble that emanates from their horn as they pick up speed.

“Well, this should be an interesting journey. I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Let’s get to it.”

Theleisium mounted Moonglow and noticed Kouhgar leaning forward whispering into Reddawn’s ears.

Reddawn let out a noise that sounded somewhere between a laugh and a whinny. She turned her head so that she could see Kouhgar with one of her blue eyes and Theleisium swore that he saw the unicorn smile at the young prince.

Moonglow has never smiled at me, he thought.

Both unicorns sounded off and headed out of the castle. It was a long run to Ellÿssiúm and they were antsy to get start the journey.