#Lore24 – Entry #246 – Fantasy Month III #3 – The Unicorn that Went up in Flames
As Told by Teelsa “the Swift” Dawndancer
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, good man! I must say, though your accommodations are rather…spartan…I am nonetheless quite pleased that you’ve chosen to invite me into your humble establishment. When shall the performances begin? I would like some time to practice my craft, after all, though it seems the luggage boy has misplaced my instruments- Hmm? What? This isn’t an inn? Well, I am shocked! Absolutely shocked! I suppose it’s a good thing I didn’t complain about the quality of the meals, then, hmm? When is meal time, by the way? One’s stomach can only wait so long before it starts complaining, you know.
Oh, the Bronze Unicorn? My, what a sad, sad affair that was. Fine establishment, absolutely the best I’d ever performed at in Caerlon, and the best people! Oh, the patrons were marvelous! So willing to offer their coin for a song and dance, absolutely the best one could have ever asked for, really. And their chef, oh, an absolute master of his craft, I can assure you! Why, if I were to have stayed on there as the inn’s resident bard, I may well have been on the road to- My good man, would you stop interrupting me? I’m telling the story you asked for. Oh, very well…some cannot appreciate the art of the slow burn…um, well, perhaps that phrase is a bit inappropriate given the nature of what happened.
So, it went something like this; mind you, this is but my initial draft, so it is quite rough. Ahem…
“In the heart of Caerlon, where shadows blend and twine,
A warrior strode with purpose, her gaze a sharpened line.
She bested every challenge, with grace and steel so bright,
But as the darkness gathered, fate would test her might.
Hatae, the acrobat, danced in the fire’s glow,
A blur of shadowed motion, in rhythm’s ebb and flow.
But envy’s cruel embrace, in the hearts of men and drow,
Sent hunters to the Unicorn, to strike and lay them low.
Two forces dark converged, each unaware of kin,
One clad in night’s own veil, the other stained by sin.
Led by twins of fiendish blood, their eyes like burning coal,
They sought to claim the hero’s life and tear apart her soul.
But Eri stood unyielding, as chaos filled the air,
With Hatae at her side, they fought with strength and flair.
The flames consumed the inn, the Bronze Unicorn no more,
Yet from the ash, the heroes rose, with legends to explore.
The mazoku twins, in greed, sought to reap their deadly toll,
But in their grasping hunger, they lost all sense of control.
For heroes are not felled by those with hearts of blackened night,
They shine with ever burning fire and stand for what is right.”
Well, what did you think? You’re positively awe-struck, aren’t you? I know, it is a bit basic, but as I said, I’m still composing the ballad, so- What? What’s a drow? It’s an archaic name for a dark elf, of course. A bit too archaic, hmm? Criticism noted!
No, I assure you, good sir, that every word of my tale is true! There absolutely were two groups hunting my companions that night, and one of them was indeed led by a pair of twin mazoku! Well, not exactly twins, you see, for one had skin of crimson, the other azure, but they were identical otherwise. Quite the proficient spellcasters, I might add, and I do believe that it was the red one that used the fire spell that set the poor Unicorn alight. No, I did not get their names…it never came up in the course of our most chaotic flight from the inn; when one is being chased as we were, you don’t stop to ask who is doing the chasing! Though I do believe my companions know more than I about those hunters, perhaps you should ask them? It is not yet my story to tell, you see.
Well, yes, there was something curious about the twins…they each wore some rather peculiar jewelry; I do think they wore a set of Bands of Grounding, but curiously enough, those devices did nothing to hinder their spellcasting. Broken, perhaps, or unique?
My good man, I grow weary, and my throat is dry. What’s the house wine, and may I trouble you for some of it? Or ale? Or, gods forbid, water?”
*Full disclosure: I used ChatGPT to generate the song lyrics, because I don’t have a lyrical bone in my body and coming up with something that sounded decent would have taken far too long in the context of a daily lore entry like this.