"Why is water wet?" Asked the little figure, lying on her belly with one hand in the water. Enjoying the coolness of the water.
"Wet is the term given to the sensation of water on the skin. You see, that was the wrong question, try again." The bigger creature, reminding most of a large lizard, suddenly turned it's eyes in the direction of the watersprite, winked, and looked again at her young apprentice.
It was Prell, an old acquaintance, she stopped by now and again. The little creature wrinkled her forehead and the point of her tong appeared between her teeth. "Why...is the sensation of water on the skin different from the sensation of air on the skin?" Triumphantly she looked at Prell. The smaller creature looked like a strange monkey with green clothing and the watersprite knew she was a human. Smiling Prell answered: "Because water is a liquid and air is a mix of gasses." The blue little sprite lost interest and vanished under water, just as the girl turned on her back to look at Prell. "Which gasses are there in the air then?" Prell laughed and said: "Marjam, stop asking so many questions! My ears will fall of my head!"
Marjam giggled: "But you don't have ears!" "See what you've done."
The basilisk stood up and in the same fluid movement gathered her tail and draped it over her right arm. "Come on, it's getting late. Time to go to the nest."
"Can Felsa come, please?" A small begging squeak came from under the girl's hair.
Prell was already walking. "Ok, but don't make a habit out of it. He does have a home of his own to go to."
To Felsa she said: <Stay close this evening, she's lonely today, and something important is going to happen tonight> <I'll be her shadow>
Marjam listened intensive, while following Prell. "You were talking again like that, weren't you?" She looked from Prell to her shoulder were Felsa sat. He kittled her ear with his hairy fingers and told her he will stay with her tonight so she won't be so alone.
"Great! And, Prell, you're going to tell us about other places tonight,
right?" Together they climbed on the great trunk of a tree lying across
the
Long River to get to the other side. The river ran across the whole
island, from west to east, almost cutting it in two. But at most places
it was
shallow, so it wasn't a real barrier. The island was more divided by
the height difference between west and east, the west lay much higher than
the east, resulting in an cliff almost nothing could climb up or down.
The Long River becomes a beautiful waterfall when it reaches this natural
border. And at the bottom it dives in a big lake with a lot of small lakes
and ponds laying scattered around it when it continues it's way to the
sea at the east side of the island.
Prell looked at the small child and smiled. "I'll tell you about unicorns tonight." On and on their voyage went along the Long River and they came under the branches of a tree looking as old as the world, here a small path began, leading to the nest. As the wind ran through the leaves Prell looked up at the tree and Marjam frowned.
"Prell, did you plant this tree? He looks much older than you." Prell turned to Marjam with surprise in her eyes. "Who told you that?" The little girl pointed at the tree: "He greeted you as Livebringer just now. Is it true, did you plant him?"
Prell looked at the tree again lost in thought. It looked like an old man with a bent back, and you could still see the black top where it was hit by lightning years ago. "It's true, I planted him. It was the first thing I did when I came to Emerald."
Prell hesitates before continuing: "It's a very special tree." With that she started on the path in silence. She decided to tell Marjam why the tree was so special, soon. Not everyone could've understood the tree, she was just six, but apparently very special too.
Marjam stayed to look at the tree and balancing on his hind legs with the help of his long tail on her head, Felsa was also taking a good look at that tree.
"Did you know Prell was so old?" Marjam asked Felsa. He answered that
he knew Prell was very old but had never thought she was this old.
"Maybe..." But Marjam didn't finish her sentence and ran after Prell.
The nest is in a clearing in a dense part of the forest. A large tree,
not as old as the Old tree but bigger, stands in the middle of the clearing.
The
clearing was lighted by the fading sunlight and birds filled it with
their evening songs. Prell waited for Marjam and Felsa between the roots.
Basilisks are born from eggs; they lay their eggs in a nest hidden from
view or camouflaged but always in the divine realms. When they stay in
the mortal realm for a long time in one area, say more than a hundred years,
they make a nest. Not to lie eggs in, but to be their home.
Marjam thought of this as she sat down beside Prell on the soft feathers
that cover the nest.
She looked at Prell with expectation. Prell began in a soft voice:
"Today I'll tell you something that happened not so long ago. Even if it's a long time for humans most immortals remember it as if it happened last week.
Four hundred years ago human mages tried to banish all immortals from the mortal realm to the divine realm. They almost succeeded, only a few escaped their attempt. Those that did are angry with humans" "I'd be angry too if someone would try to banish me!" Marjam says, completely understanding.
"The mages wanted to make the mortal realm a safer place for humans," Prell continues, "but some immortals were never a threat for humans, unless they were up to no good.
Unicorns are peaceful creatures. Some protect a forest and every creature
in it from dangers all their lives. It is in their nature to love
innocence
and often they show themselves to human children.
But that was before the human mages banished them. I'm afraid even the
peaceful unicorns won't forget that so easily, even now that the barrier
between the realms is broken and they can return."
Felsa squeaks to agree but he also thinks it's foolish to be very angry with humans now, because the mages responsible died almost four hundred years ago.
"Tell me more about unicorns. What do they look like? Where do they live?" Marjams curiosity was often bigger then her common sense and Prell sometimes worried about that, but never for long, there were not many really dangerous things on this side of Emerald.
"Unicorns look like horses with a horn on their forehead, their colors
and marking vary greatly. They live in family herds; the number of unicorns
in one herd is between 3 and 20. Unicorns guard the forest and surrounding
grasslands, and every creature in it, that they live in. The leaders of
the herd are the oldest male and female, the lord and lady. They are the
parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and so on, of all the other
unicorns. When a unicorn is born, it gets a name from his or her mother,
their birthname. That name they keep until they are full-grown and all
their magic is developed, often healing or purifying magic, at the age
of 33, then the lady of the herd gives them a new name, their namedayname.
It is also the age at which they choose their path, stay with the herd
or find a place of their own."
Prell paused, to see if Marjam was still awake. She was and she was
still listening carefully to what she would say next. Felsa too seemed
to be
waiting. Prell decided she had told enough bare facts and said:
"I'll tell you about a unicorn called Benden that decided to leave the herd on a quest for silverthorn, a magical healing plant to save his love from a poison that was meant for him…"
Before Benden has convinced the golden she-dragon to take him to the
valley of Despair, where the silverthorn grows, Marjam had fallen asleep
in the soft nest of the basilisk.
Somewhere on the west side of Emerald a unicorn foal is born that night.
In it self nothing special or important, but in the sky one star was shining
more brightly then even the full moons.
The same star that had shone six years ago.
