by Setlu Vairst
***
As Shane continued the climb up towards Essilon, he felt that Flack had also detected the movements of great shadows moving quickly amongst the rocks ahead of them. He was about to mention this to Flack when, suddenly, in a cloud of rock dust, a huge beast landed before them. Shane was startled but tried to stand calm, seeing that Flack had come to a complete halt beside him.
The huge head of the beast seemed to hang in the air before them, surrounded by a huge cloud of dust and then, as the dust slowly settled, exposing the huge frame that supported such a huge head, Shane gasped, “A tiger!” His mind held tales of these beasts, told to him by his parents, many tales of how feared they were by humans and how hated by the humans. The stories had not, however, prepared him for the strength that could be seen to flow from every muscle within this creature’s body.
Slowly, all the shadows became real around him as both himself and Flack found themselves surrounded by a mass of tigers, lions, cougars, cheetahs and many more large beasts that Shane could not identify.
All of the great beasts were glaring back at him, creating a painful silence. This was not the way Shane had expected Essilon to be. ‘More welcoming, friendlier, but not this way!’
Huge tails slowly crept from side to side behind the great beasts and huge lungs could be heard to draw in huge gasps of air. Then the one in front, the tiger whom had first startled him, spoke. “You have brought the humans. You...” and then there came an agonizing pause from the tiger before he finished with, “have led them here.”
Glancing toward Flack, Shane saw that Flack looked under no worry though he felt very weak. Then a huge lion, his paw outstretched and pointing towards Shane, said. “He has the smell of many humans on him.”
And, in the silence which followed, Shane began to shake his head disbelievingly.
‘It should not be like this,’ he thought.
The silent mass of powerful killers waited for a reply but Shane could not find an answer that he believed would convince them for he knew that the humans had crossed the sands behind them.
The largest tiger moved forward, slowly forcing Flack to step back. The tiger’s hot breath burnt heavy in Shane’s face.
From far behind came the shouting of the humans.
“You led the humans to us now, and at a time when we are not ready. We still await the Chosen One who will lead us into battle... and you!” The tiger’s voice became deeper and more powerful, “You have led them straight to us.”
Shane felt as though the huge beast was preparing to rip off his head with one mighty sweep of his paw.
“And you bring…” said the beast, indicating Flack, “a crippled and bloody unicorn.”
Shane looked at Flack, for the first time noticing the blood that was dried hard upon his sides and realising that the tightness of the passages had caused much pain and harm to the unicorn.
The leader of cats moved forward, thrusting his great head toward Flack and then began slowly walking along the length of Flack, inhaling the smell of the unicorn and its blood.
Through all of this Flack remained completely still, never flinching, and Shane could only admire the unicorns strength in the face of their worrying situation.
The tiger completed a full circle of Flack, pushing Shane out of the way as though he were nothing, before stopping and once again facing Flack. Its breathing was deeper and becoming more rapid.
“You, cripple, and what good do you think you will be in the great battle?” roared the big cat. “Or do you not intend to fight? Was your job just to lead the humans to us?”
There was menace in that voice and Shane trembled in fear, wishing that he had never journeyed to this place. The hot breath of the tiger was gushing into the air ahead of it and Shane could feel some of it though he knew that the main barrage of heated air was being directly pushed toward Flack. Slowly, the tiger was getting ever closer to the unicorn, lowering its back and slowly getting itself into a crouching position.
Shane noticed that the other large cats were moving even closer and was sure that the leader was about to pounce upon Flack when, suddenly, Flack threw his head and forelegs high into the air. A booming voice, of unknown language, echoed from his lips and then his forelegs came crashing down to collide, like thunder, with the ground underfoot. He reigned up once again, this time holding his balance for three, maybe four times, longer. Looming high above the lead tiger, Shane saw that Flack’s face was not even turned to look down upon the beast before him.
The tiger quickly moved backwards, in case the hooves came crashing down upon him, continuing to growl low and deep as it continued to back away from the unicorn.
Shane was shocked by this sight. ‘How can the crippled unicorn hope to make a stand against this tiger? And yet, he is!’
The full circle of wild cats slowly and uneasily began to back away. Not leaving the area, merely moving out of the way of any immediate danger from the hooves of the rearing unicorn.
Allowing his forelegs to come crashing once more to the ground, there then came another booming crash of thunder echoing around the mountain peaks.
The lead tiger began to speak once again, his yellow eyes focused on the unicorn. His tone had changed as if he realised that he had upset the two travellers.
Turning his gaze away from Flack as he realised that he had not been listening to the words of the large cat, Shane heard, “It had not been our intention, but all the beasts are beginning to panic because the Chosen One has not appeared and now it looks as though no Chosen One is going to appear and lead the beasts against the humans in the final battle.”
Flack did not reply to the words of the cat and Shane moved himself closer to the unicorn so that he was almost completely beneath the huge bulk of the unicorn. His mind pondered the fact that, ‘Flack seems much larger than yesterday.’ It was confusing to him but his thoughts quickly returned to the wild cats that surrounded them and the tension that was still evident in the air.
Shane realised that Flack must have been staring hard at the lead tiger as, slowly, after a jostling of bodies a gap appeared within their muscle bound ranks.
Flack slowly began walking forward, walking a path right through the middle of the group of big cats. Still cringing, Shane skulked along beneath and slightly to the side of Flack, concentrating on his position and making sure that he was not caught a blow by one of the unicorn’s hooves. He walked slowly, ever fearing a charge by the great tiger who, even now, was regarding him with deep, yellow, hate-filled eyes.
‘Or is it fear?’ Shane asked himself.
Suddenly, the great cats turned and ran, dispersing themselves amongst the rock and crags and, as the great beasts slowly became part of the rocks and crag’s once again, Shane visibly relaxed though ever deep within him was the fear of what to expect when they came upon the rest of the beasts.
A huge shadow glided past them, moulding itself upon each stone and rock as it flew by. Glancing skyward, Shane saw a huge bird was soaring through the air and he wondered if it was the great eagle that they had encountered when they had left the dark cave in the mountainside.
There was a silence between himself and Flack as they continued climbing the rocky slope, and Shane was relieved that the going was not too strenuous as they made their way along a winding, partly worn path which, they knew, would be leading them into the heart of Essilon itself.
Shane caught glimpses of the shapes of other large beasts moving sleekly in and out of the dull, red crags of which the whole mountainside seemed to be covered.
The angle of their climb increased and, looking ahead, Shane could only see the side of the mountain seeming to stretch on forever. Still silent, the two continued clambering up the slope that led between two of the great peaks, ignoring the times when their footing would slip and send a small collection of rocks rolling and tumbling back down the mountainside, their clattering sounding loud in the still air around him. Upward they struggled and, as Shane glimpsed at Flack,
he could see that the unicorn was in pain. ‘Obviously, it is not only my paws that are being hurt by the sharpness of the rocks.’
The sound of the falling rocks behind them was now a steady clatter, as though they were part of a tumbling stream, and Shane began to wonder if they had taken the wrong path. ‘At least it will be difficult for the humans to follow us up here. The mountain would surely slow them down even more than us and so that will give us a chance to continue evading them. But what shall we do if this path leads nowhere? What if we were sent the wrong way because the humans appear to be deliberately following us?’
Ahead, Shane saw the rising climb seemed to roll out of sight and, for a moment, he had hopes that there was a ledge of some sort a little was ahead of them. ‘It could be a place where we can rest for a little while, lick our wounds, and prepare to continue this painful climb.’
Glancing behind him, Shane was amazed at how high they had climbed and knew that he was so high up the rock face that it would be almost impossible to see the shapes of any single humans moving about below. His eyes searched for he signs of any of the big cats but he could see nothing; only rocks and the occasional shadows made by the larger of the rocks.
Turning forward once again, he saw that Flack had moved a few body lengths ahead of him and so, trying to increase his speed, he added many rocks to the ones already falling in the clattering stream behind him. For a moment, he saw Flack seeming to struggle, as if it was too difficult for him to get a grip on the rocks and then, suddenly, Flack’s body moved out of sight.
‘It must be a ledge,’ thought Shane, as he slipped a little on the loose rocks and had to dig in deep with his paws in order to stop himself sliding any further backwards. Once his body was still and seeming to hold firm, he leapt forward, ignoring the pains in his legs and racing upwards, jumping a little at the moment he felt the loose stones trying trick him into sliding backwards or even falling back down the mountainside.
Suddenly, the ground rolled away from him and believing he had reached the ledge, and seeing Flack’s form through the dust around him, he used his last remaining reserves of energy to force a frantic run over the edge, determined not to stop until he was standing safely beside the unicorn.
Feeling level and steady ground beneath his feet, Shane came to a halt, closing his eyes as much as his mouth to prevent the swirling dust from penetrating into places that would do him no good. His muscles shook as his body remained at rest for what seemed like a lifetime and he bathed in the bliss of none movement and then, opening his eyes, he was greeted by a scene that he had not been expecting to see.
Ahead of him lay trees and plants, as well as many gloriously coloured flowers. It was certainly not a sight that Shane had expected to see in this barren place of rocks, boulders, and stones. Flack was standing still, staring ahead at the lush vegetation; a green heaven that had remained out of sight until they had been able to climb over the edge of the mountainside. It was impossible to see from the area below and he knew that the humans would never know of its existence unless they climbed the very path that he and Flack had taken to reach here.
Seeing a movement out of the corner of his eye, Shane turned his head to see the eyes of the unicorn looking down at him. Flack nodded his head gently and then, turning forward, he began to walk slowly across the stony ground, heading toward the inviting vegetation.
With aching and resisting legs, Shane too began walking forward, his eyes looking upwards and to the sides, seeing the mountainside continuing to climb on either side of the expanse of the vegetation and, in the distance, he could see where the mountain met again, creating a tunnel that he believed would lead them through to the plane of Essilon itself.
Knowing that they were so close to their destination, Shane felt he could allow himself to release his lasts reserves of energy. ‘Our journey is all but done and there is food in plenty before us.’
With their pace increasing over the more level terrain, Shane allowed his tongue to hang in the air, now free from the dust it gave him a much needed chance to cool down. Beside him, he saw that Flack was walking slightly awkwardly, as if his left foreleg was painful when he placed it upon the ground to take his weight. He said nothing and then, facing forward once again, he felt slightly annoyed that he did not seem much closer to their new source of food. He continued his journey toward the vegetation and, after a little, they came, ever increasingly, upon what appeared to be small plants and bushes. At first, it started with clumps of a long, yellow grass grasping some form of existence from the barren stony mountainside and slowly there became an abundance of trees, along with the odd berry-bearing bush.
Soon, they were amid a miniature green and fertile forest of small bushes, with the occasional tall tree standing guard over the precious vegetation.
Seeing that Flack would occasionally stop and grab a handful of the tall yellow grass, Shane found himself doing the same, finding that the grass was pleasant to taste and seemingly full of moisture. Knowing that the water content would do him good, he snatched up as much as possible as the two continued winding their way in silence. Soon the sun was obscured by the rook of the mountain pass above them and although the trees grew lesser in this part of the small forested area, many of the bushes and grass seemed to thrive.
Stopping beside Flack, he watched the unicorn eating giant mushrooms and, seeing that Flack appeared to be enjoying them immensely, he too began to eat at a clump that were close to him. He was surprised by the taste and of how pleasant the strange food seemed and, as he continued to eat, he sensed that his body was making much use of this strange food. He could feel energy flowing back into his body that he had literally had to drag up the mountainside.
Turning to look behind him, he could see the path that they had taken and that the path appeared to be lined with plenty of food and vegetation. Sniffing at the ground, he could detect the passage of many beasts along this same path and he realised that though the ground did not appear to be worn there did appear to be a singular path that wound its way through the green and plants.
Facing his left he was able to discern a faint glow and could see that it appeared to be coming from the sides of the huge tunnel that they were in. ‘I wonder what is causing the blue glow. Is it what helps the plants to thrive in this area?’ And then, realising that although they were beneath a section of mountain and that there still appeared to be plenty of light around them, he looked overhead, seeing the same strange blue glow up above the branches of the trees nearby. ‘It almost looks like sky,’ he thought.
Turning around to face Flack, he saw that the unicorn was looking over head also, obviously following his own eyes. Turning toward the right, the unicorn began to walk through the thicker vegetation, moving around the larger bushes as he walked directly toward the blue glowing side of the mountain tunnel. Grabbing at a last mouthful of mushrooms, Shane loped off behind the unicorn and not in the slightest annoyed that they were delaying their entrance onto the plane of Essilon itself. ‘Judging by the reaction of the big cats it may be slightly uncomfortable to meet other beasts. Especially if they have been told that the humans appeared to have followed us across the desert and into the mountain passageway that leads through to Essilon.’
Eventually, Flack came to a halt before the mountainside, his head slightly angled as he studied the strange rock surface and then, as Shane came to rest beside him, he looked on in wonderment as the unicorn turned his head and struck out at an outcropping of rock with his tongue.
‘Is there nothing that the unicorn will not try to eat?’ he asked himself.
As if reading his mind, Flack turned and looked down at Shane for a moment and, when Shane turned away to eat at a clump of tall grass in front of him, he saw that the unicorn returned its attention to the blue strangeness that covered the rock face.
Reluctant to try to lick the rock face, Shane laid down, his mouth working away to try to dislodge a large grass stem that appeared to be trapped between some of hi
s teeth. Becoming frustrated that his forepaws could not get a grip on the grass stem he was relieved when his tongue actually got into a position whereby he could push the grass stem free from the teeth that had trapped it.
Laying there, enjoying the warmth that was not the colossal heat of the sun that he had spent his time in as he climbed the mountainside, Shane decided that he was happy to remain where they were for a little while and allow the unicorn to finish whatever it was that he was trying to achieve.
Closing his eyes, he began to think of his brothers and sisters and of how he should be able to find them in Essilon. ‘I wonder how many beasts are here? How easy will it be to be able to find my family?’ A new impetus rose inside him and he now felt a renewed want to move onto the plane of Essilon and try to find his brothers and sisters. Getting to his feet, he stood there staring at the unicorn as it continued to lick the rock face and only now noticing that there was a large area that no longer held the blue glow. ‘I presume it must be a source of food,’ he thought, and then began wondering, ‘but how are we to know that it is not poisonous to us? I think I will make do with the grass and mushrooms that I have found so far.’
After a few moments, the unicorn stopped feeding from the rock face and turned to look down at Shane. Seeing that he had the unicorn’s attention for a moment, he turned and began trotting back towards the path that they had been previously following. Without looking back, he knew that the unicorn was following him by the sound of him moving through the large clumps of bushes that he himself chose to go around.
Once back upon the path, Shane turned right and began moving along the path, his body wanting to run to sooner meet his family and yet his body too scared to increase speed because he was unsure of the reception that could be awaiting them.
Flack appeared to his right, matching his speed and, saying nothing, Shane continued following the path, seeing a light ahead of them that he felt sure was the light of the sun upon the plane of Essilon. After a little while he realised that he had picked up his speed in order to match that of the unicorn. Flack had increased his pace, seeming to become more forceful and more deliberate in his determination to reach the beasts of Essilon.
Shane’s efforts to keep up with Flack - for he feared more to be left behind, alone with the great cats that were out there somewhere, than to meet the beasts of Essilon - became a burden to him. Within him, his every step became a palpitation of maddening heartbeats. He was very nervous and very scared and, for some reason unknown to him, the excitement of being reunited with his family seemed to fade from him.
Their trek wore on, until Flack slowed his pace down a little and, inwardly, Shane was very grateful. For a little while, Shane had been aware that the light had diminished a lot and what he had thought to be the possible light coming from the plane of Essilon now appeared to be a small circular concentration of light that was at ground level somewhere ahead of them. There remained just enough light around him for him to be able to follow the winding path of bushes and tall grass that appeared to line the path that they followed; in fact it was the bushes and tall grass that made then follow what appeared to be a path. ‘I wonder what may be out there beyond the path. Is there something that could be harmful to us and that is why we try to follow this path?’
The silhouettes of the grass and bushes seemed eerie, particularly as they appeared to be surrounded by a faint blue glow that stood out against the darkness beyond. For a moment, Shane recalled the strange dream that he had had when he had left Flack when he had believed the unicorn to be dead and now here, in this place, he almost had a sense of being in the same place. Adjusting his gait a little, he edged closer toward the side of the unicorn, careful not to move too close in case they should collide.
The trees abruptly stopped and then, ahead of them, there came into view a seemingly impassable wall with one circular blue glowing shape set at ground level. Shane recognised it at once as one of the portals that had allowed the humans and beasts to access this strange new land. ‘I wonder if it is a way to get out of this land.’ And then, realising that the old world had been destroyed by flood, he thought, ‘To try to go back through would surely result in death.’
There were scant details available of the huge wall ahead of them but Shane felt that it was made from the natural formation of a very smooth and steep cliff face. Still, they kept their journey heading toward it and, gradually, a darker orifice began to appear, just to the right of the glowing blue circle.
Advancing nearer, it soon became evident that it was a tunnel and that it must be the way through to the very heart of Essilon. Coming to a halt before the dark opening, Shane studied the pulsating blue portal, wondering, ‘Are we being offered a chance to return to the old world.’
The sound of Flack suddenly moving forward took Shane’s attention and he watched the outline of the unicorn move into the dark opening, being almost instantly swallowed up by the blackness. Running to his right, Shane entered the darkness, worried that he may lose the unicorn and in that dark passage he heard the sound of the unicorn’s hooves echoing from the walls around him. Flack’s outline was clearly visible once he was in the tunnel and then, as he saw this, he became aware of another sound. It was faint at first but grew in intensity. ‘It sounds like the muted buzzing of thousands of bees.’
The sounds always appeared to come from high above him and he thought back to the bee that he had recently encountered.
“Nice bees,” he whispered.
He had expected to hear Flack respond to his statement but the unicorn did not. ‘Flack must be absorbed in his own thoughts too much to hear me.’
Occasionally Flack would stop and one occasion Shane bumped into a rear leg of the unicorn. Flack did not acknowledge this and simply started walking again though his bearing seemed to have changed. Shane realised that the tunnel was not straight and did in fact wind its way through the mountain. ‘I wish the sounds of the bees would go away; they make me nervous.’ And then, as an afterthought, ‘I hope that we are not to spend an eternity in here like the passage from the desert.’
Within the shadow of the great hole in the mountain, Shane could feel a chill over run his body and he mused on how very different his arrival in this place had been from the picture that he had painted in his head only days before. He had expected some kind of welcoming, a greeting, a meeting of brothers, but none of this had happened. The air seemed to be tense, full of danger and misery and not at all as he had expected.
Flack had moved a little ahead whilst Shane had been musing and when Shane looked up the trail ahead of him he was able to see the shape of Flack silhouetted against the bright sunshine which illuminated the exit of the passage.
‘At last,’ thought Shane, increasing his speed, elated to be out of the dark tunnel.
Racing out into glorious sunlight, and not at all concerned about the heat of the sun, Shane was momentarily blinded though he became aware of the deep rumble of a thousand mixtures of various animals tongues and dialects. His throat was dry as he stepped forward to stand beside the giant shape of Flack and, as he did so, the scene which he then did gaze upon made him feel very, very small indeed.
22 - Numbers IV - Thousands Hold Court
Far below, upon a huge grass plane, there roamed more beasts than Shane could have ever believed existed. Large, small, bright coloured, black and brown, their colours were as a giant mass that crept slowly across the grassland.
Before them lay a path which would take them down through the bush laden side of mountain and out amongst the mass of beast flesh. Flack lurched forward and quickly began to make his way down to the magnificent armada of animals below. With a little hesitation, Shane started off, following behind Flack who, in front of him, was producing a small cloud of dust. As the two neared the level of the great plane, the noise that they heard coming from the beasts grew into a deep pulsating, rumbling whisper. Still, the two advanced down the dusty path that wove between the scan
t growing bushes.
Now the armada of flesh slowly became individual shapes and sizes, and still the two maintained their course toward the heavy flesh of the beasts.
Soon Shane was standing beside Flack at the edge of enormous gathering and he could hear a noise as of distant thunder rolling over the great congregation. Immediately before them, there now stood a mass of muscle in the form of a huge Buffalo. The beasts nearby became quiet as, slowly, they parted. A small baby Buffalo was left standing in the gap. It howled as it became aware that it was left alone and then, suddenly, it bolted off to one side to rub up against an adult Buffalo, its mother.
Flack and Shane began to walk between them as their ranks continued opening to allow them passage through. ‘But passage through to where, or what?’ was the only thought that raced through Shane’s mind. As before, Flack led the way, his proud head held up as if not even seeing the beasts surrounding him.
Shane gazed upon Flack and, trying to gain strength from his mighty stance, he too held his head up and slowly moved forward, but he could not help but see the eyes of all the beasts as he moved past them. Deer, Cows, other Dogs, Giraffes, Badgers, and even Ducks returned his gaze so strongly that it was not long before he gave up his pretence of strength and bolted forward to cringe beside the powerful body of Flack. Still the ranks of the animals continued opening in front of their advance and Shane wished that the beasts would look away but they would not, and so Shane kept his gaze upon the floor and his tail, tight between his legs.
His body felt tired and weary by the time Flack suddenly stopped and as Shane felt the sudden cease in forward movement of Flack’s body, he stopped also. His eyes slowly ascended to gaze forward and his jaw dropped as he saw the sight that had caused Flack to halt. He gazed from that scene to Flack himself. Flack was unperturbed, collected, and quiet.
However, Shane was not feeling so confident and he squeezed himself up close to Flack, pressing his body against the unicorn’s left foreleg. ‘Though, what safety Flack could offer against this hoard of anger bearing flesh I do not even want to try to think about.’
A voice boomed out, causing Shane to cringe even more, and he knew that it could only have come from the great beast that he had quickly gazed upon a moment before. Flack remained standing silent and rigid beside him, his muscles not even flinching in the face of the great booming voice that had addressed them. The voice had come from the jaws of a lioness, a huge, desert brown, muscle-bound beast.
“It is you who have brought the humans upon us!” the voice roared out, the words carrying far and wide, echoing between the bodies of the amassed beasts, crawling over their backs, bouncing upon the ground beneath them and then in a final pitch, screaming high into the air so that any bird in flight would hear only too clear the words which were being spoken below.
Shane was cowering low to the ground, lower than he would have ever thought possible, when Flack stepped toward the great lioness who, laying down on a huge rock, was slightly above Flacks own eye-level and was in a good position to lunge toward Flack if she so chose to.
“It was not our intention to bring the humans,” retorted Flack, without a hint of fear or hesitation in his voice. “They must have been ready and prepared to cross the desert, it is just by accident that we were slightly ahead of them.”
There followed a short silence, whereby all of the tiny movements of the surrounding beasts clashed together to give the sound of a distant thunder which was creeping slowly, yet violently toward them.
The huge lioness spoke again. “Why did you bring the humans? Why did you let them follow you? Why? When the Chosen One had not yet arrived to lead us into victory, did you allow them to find their way toward Essilon?” Her mighty voice boomed and, once again, the surrounding beasts jostled and whispered as they sought their own answer to these questions. There was a slow birth to the beginnings of anger contained within the bristling remarks of the many-fold beasts.
“We did not know that the Chosen One had not arrived,” stated Flack, slowly and deliberately. “We did not know that there were humans behind us. In fact, I do not think that they were following us, we just happened to get here a little ahead of them. I have told you that already.”
The huge lioness glowered at Flack and Shane could feel a malevolence emanating from those eyes. He hated those eyes.
There then came a muttering within the crowd that Shane, recognizing some of the words being spoken, showed him that many of the voices of beasts were beginning to wonder if they had not doubted too harshly over Flack and Shane. ‘But the lioness is not going to allow this release of anger to dwindle. I feel that the Lioness is using this event to take the beast’s thoughts away from the concern of the ‘Chosen One’ not yet appearing.’
“The fact remains,” her great voice boomed once again, throwing within her voice the voices of blame, accusation, and guilt. “The fact remains that you did lead them here. You did bring them when the Chosen One had not yet arrived. You clearly did not try to disguise the fact that you were coming towards these mountains. You did lead them here! You were watched from the skies. You did not try to lead the humans in another direction!”
The voices of the crowded beasts around them began to mumble. The beast’s voices became song bursts of violent thoughts not even trying to reason. Then, at a point where the crowd was charged with anger, the lioness finished off with her final words. “Perhaps,” she said, “Perhaps you are in league with the human ones?”
She smiled a satisfied smile at the faces of beasts that were closest to her, beginning to drive home the same thoughts into each of their heads and Shane knew that these thoughts were about Flack and himself and would do them no good, what-so-ever.
The flesh and muscle of the beasts was so close, jostling around both himself and Flack that Shane felt that surely they were to be crushed, crushed until their breaths were a memory and no longer a burden.
“We did not bring the humans!” Flacks voice carried loud and far and had the effect of momentarily ceasing the angered voices which surrounded Shane and himself, and then, as Shane stared up at the unicorn, he heard Flack say, “We came to fight alongside you. To help you free our world of the human ones.”
The crowd had become very quiet, with no gentle stamping of hooves, sniffing of noses or rustling of feathers to be heard. Indeed, it seemed to Shane as though all of the beasts were holding their very breaths.
The rumble of anger had gone from the beasts around them and Shane felt as though Flack had saved the day and his tired, tensed muscles began to relax, to feel free from constraints, and he, himself, began to feel hopeful. But these feeling were suddenly brought back to bear upon his mind when a voice from somewhere slightly behind him and to his to his left called out.
“How shall a nervous dog and a crippled unicorn help us this day?” shouted the voice.
Immediately, the rumblings in the beasts began once again and Shane knew that more wood had been thrown upon a fire that had begun to burn out. The seed of damage had been firmly planted now. Shane knew that there could be no chance of the beasts listening for the truth in their story. He felt doomed and the crowd added to his doom by chorusing the words spoken by the unknown beast from behind them.
‘But why is it like this?’ Shane asked himself. ‘Surely, all beasts are here to do battle with the humans if they should come, and they have. I had believed that the beasts would be united, needing each other for the battle to come.’
“Do not fear them, Shane,” said Flack, his voice smooth and clear and understanding. “They act this way for they are scared. The Chosen One has not appeared and the humans are drawing nearer. Fear not, my friend, be brave...”
Shane drew some strength from these words, even when the cries of “throw them back to the humans,” began to echo around them, growing into a huge crescendo, which vibrated all around the plane.
Slowly, the huge lioness drew herself up to a standing position on her rock, her huge body archin
g upwards, deliberately, into the sky as if it were to become a mountain itself.
‘She is trying to be the strong one for the beasts in this time of worry. She is sacrificing me and the unicorn, making us take the blame because the Chosen One has not yet appeared. She is trying to make it look as though we have brought the humans to Essilon before their time and that, given time, the Chosen One would have appeared for them.’ Shane felt sick throughout his whole body. All his hopes for reaching Essilon and finding his family, of finding a sanctuary and finding strength, were now all dissolving around him. ‘This is not fair! Why should we be given the blame for something that is not our fault?’
The crowd had grown quiet around him. Silent mouths and panting tongues waited on the words which the lioness was about to speak.
“Who shall throw them back to the humans?” boomed the great voice, though not a single voice replied.
The silence grew to a deafening pounding of heartbeats and anticipation while the sun seemed to glare down harsher upon the scene as the land and air became so very, very much hotter. The great Lioness turned her head toward the two beasts, leaning down and staring straight into the eyes of Flack, saying, “Be gone, for we do not wish for traitors in the midst of this proud armada.”
The words bit deeply and hurtfully into Shane and he wondered what was going through Flack’s mind. Then, studying Flack, Shane felt as though Flack was larger and bigger than the great Lioness even though his horn only came up to a point slightly short of the Lioness’s huge jaw because she was standing upon a large rock.
There was tension in the air as Flack continued to stare back into the hate-filled gaze of the Lioness. The tension began creeping through the ranks of beasts and Shane found his heart was racing as he was now expecting the huge lioness to leap from the rock and tear into the unicorn beside him. And then, suddenly, the complete silence was noisily interrupted as a male lion came charging through the ranks of beasts, racing down the path that had been cleared for himself and the unicorn.
In a split second, he was before the great lioness and standing beside Shane and Flack. Panting heavily, the lion began to speak, saying, “Your Majesty, the humans are gathering beyond the mountain of holes and I fear that they are preparing to attack.”
There was a pause as the Lion glanced toward Flack and then toward Shane, who stood beside him, before he continued with, “I fear it shall be this coming morning when they choose to attack. They already have small groups searching the tunnels trying to find which passages lead completely through the mountain.”
“Is anything being done?” questioned the great lioness.
“The bees and wasps have been entering the tunnels to cause as much disruption as possible but now the humans are covering themselves with some kind of oil which greatly reduces the effectiveness of their stings,” replied the lion.
“Do what you can,” said the lioness, looking not at the lion but at Flack and Shane, by way of dismissal.
Turning around slowly, Flack began to walk back along the path between the masses of scared beast’s bodies. Ahead of them the lion that had reported to the Lioness was loping away quite quickly. Obviously tired from his race to get here, he could not manage a full run as he returned to his place on the mountain.
Continuing to walk beside the unicorn, Shane held his head up, determined not to be seen to be cowering anymore. Having seen how Flack had stood brave in the face of the Lioness, and the rising hostility of the beasts around him, Shane was angry with their treatment upon their arrival at Essilon and he was resolute that the beasts around him would not seem him cowering as he made his way from the plane of Essilon. ‘My head is up but my but my heart very low. I only hope that none of my family have not bore witness to this.’
The crowd of beasts had become very quiet as Flack and Shane had made their way out from amidst the huge gathering. The beasts that could see them directly stood silent and stared at the two retreating figures, their eyes tinged in a mixture of anger, sadness and fear. Reaching the edge of the armada of beasts, Shane came to a halt as he saw Flack stop his walking. Standing in the rays of the blazing sun, Flack had halted to listen to the murmur of voices which were colouring the air behind him. Realising this, Shane began to listen to the faint murmurings behind them also.
“It is not real anger,” said Flack. “Merely anger brought about by their fears. They all fear the much organised humans and who could blame them? If only the Chosen One, our Chosen One, would appear then, perhaps, they would have a chance against the humans but now... now, they are too afraid to fight. Tomorrow will be a day of much ...”
Suddenly letting out a huge gasp, Flack took Shane’s attention as his forelegs buckled beneath him and he sank slowly to the ground, rolling over and onto his side. His back legs kicked vainly in the air, trying to find purchase with the ground and right his pain-wracked body. It was obvious that there was much pain in Flack, for huge balls of tears slowly appeared in the unicorn’s eyes and then burst to run coursing down his face. But there came no more sounds from him as his legs shook with violent spasms as he forced himself agonisingly, painfully, to stand once again on all four legs.
Shane could only stare, watching the swollen veins and the rapidly twitching nerves that came from pure conscious, agonising effort. Flack stood before him, swaying shakily. The event had obviously been witnessed by a number of the beasts behind them but none chose to come with either care or with assistance.
“Are you unwell?” said Shane, feeling as though he was asking a useless, pointless question. He was facing Flack, crouched down, with his head turned upward toward the unicorn.
“Come, we must find a place of rest,” replied Flack, beginning to walk forward, his legs struggling not to buckle and cause him to fall again. Slowly, and painfully, they walked back along the path that took them away from the mass of beasts.
Flack’s pace was very slow and Shane could see that his face betrayed that he was concentrating hard on ignoring blinding, searing pains that would not go away. The most severe of pains would cause blinding flashes in his eyes and Shane could see that it was difficult for him not to stop walking. Shane could see that Flack was determined to keep move moving, and so he was putting up with the pains, ‘Probably wishing that each one could be the last,’ thought Shane.
Walking slowly beside the unicorn, Shane could feel behind him a mutual pity coming from a number of the beasts who had witnessed the stumble, the pain, and the agony which Flack had gone through, and was clearly still going through. Slowly, the two continued moving forward. Forward, and away from those who should be friends, but instead were one unit of fear and terror, and misdirected hatred.
Tortuously, they climbed their way back up to the ridge, through the shaded passage and back amongst the bushes and plants. At times, Shane wanted to speak but decided to remain silent as it looked as though the unicorn was putting all of his energies into getting to a place of rest.
Walking along the path that had lead to the tunnel onto the Essilon plane, Shane could see that Flack appeared to be concentrating on looking at the flowers and plants, as if trying to take his mind from the pains that seared through him, trying to forget that he just wanted to lie down and remain where he was, forever.
‘I wonder if the substance that Flack had eaten from the rock face is in fact a poison. Something that is designed to cause problems for the humans… and now, because Flack had eaten it he is falling ill.’
They wound their way through the vegetation and slowly back down into the huge gully where the lions, tigers, leopards, and other big cats waited nervously in anticipation of the coming invasion of the humans. In silence, Shane followed Flack’s lead as he turned to the left and proceeded moving along the gully; away from the cave that could at any time spill forth a disgusting stream of murderous humans. There was hope that in moving in this direction they may be able to hide from the humans for a while but, Shane knew, ‘It could only be for a little while for, eventually
, the humans would search us out… and then they would surely kill us.’
Shane tried to forget these thoughts and began concentrating on finding a safe haven for the two of them, a place where they could hide a while. His eyes scanned the extent of the gully ahead of him, watching it curve slowly away to the left, and he paid particular attention to the lower sides of mountain pass wall on either side of them, looking for anywhere that they may be able to reach where there may be a cave or a ledge, anywhere that could hide them from the eyes of the evil humans.
Shane could see that the rocky ground was more painful for Flack to walk upon than the grass and vegetation had been. With only the occasional gasp escaping his mouth he continued his painful trek leaving Shane thinking that, ‘Just for a little while, it would be good if the hot sun would be hidden behind a cloud, giving us both some release from heat, particularly Flack.’
As they continued walking, Flack led the two of them toward the rising mountain side and sought progress amongst the craggy rocks and boulders. At first Shane was puzzled by this because these rocks were larger and he thought it would make things worse for his friend but then he realised that, occasionally, they would be covered in shade and the release of the heat from their skins obviously made it worthwhile for the unicorn.
Many times Flack had to stop for it seemed that all his energies had deserted him but he tried to do this when they stood within the shade of a large rock or overhang. Shane knew that the unicorn could not carry on much further and then, looking behind him, he thought, ‘We have not moved far down the gully. If the humans came through now they would undoubtedly still be able to see us.’
“Rain!” Flack suddenly exclaimed, causing Shane to jump nervously and, as he looked overhead at the clear blue blinding sky, he said, “There are no clouds in the sky.”
It was obvious that Flack was now in pain and now, the more that Shane studied him, with his face taut, his eyes wide, he began to feel as though the unicorn was becoming delirious.
‘Perhaps the blue substance is really a poison after all,’ he thought. ‘And why should rain be of concern to him? Not a moment ago I was wishing for cover from the sun, as I am sure he was, so why should rain cause him concern? Is he imagining images that I cannot see?’
“Father, I am tired. I want to lie down. I do not care about the rain,” whispered Flack, his face held rigidly pointed forward. “Mother, please tell father to rest here. The rains will stop soon…”
Shane listened hard, wanting to hear any other words that may come for the unicorn but then, one of Flack’s hooves slipped from the edge of the rock that it was resting upon and Shane could see a shockwave of pain shooting through the unicorn’s body, bringing his eyes back to the present.
Looking away, Shane surveyed the rising mountainside beside him, looking for hope, looking for a cave to hide within, looking for a sign of the ‘Chosen One;’ but he saw only rock, and more rock upon even more rising rock.
Flack began moving forward again, and Shane could see the new shockwaves of pain written in the unicorn’s face as he moved each leg in turn. It was obvious that the rough ground was now sending more and more pain through Flacks continuously pain-ridden body. Shane believed that unconsciousness would soon rob the unicorn of his pains, though he was still fighting hard to keep moving forward, suffering his pains.
Shane watched in pity as the unicorn slowly moved forward, little by little, ‘But making progress to where?’ he thought.
“There!” Shane suddenly called out, seeing a dark opening a little way ahead of them. “It may be a place to rest,” he shouted out, racing ahead of the unicorn, eager to go and see if they had at last found some kind of shelter from the sun and the evil intent of the humans.
‘A cave would provide safety for a while. Safety from the prying sunlight and the prying eyes of the great beasts, the tigers, lions, leopards, who would be waiting in the gully; the first line of defence against the humans and the first to surely die.’
Running toward what appeared to be an opening, he thought about how none of the great cats had dared challenge the two as they had made their way through the gully. Instead, they had all looked on in silence, watching the painful progress of the crippled unicorn. They were probably wondering, ‘Would the unicorn die before they did themselves when they took to battle with the first of the humans who came through the mountain passage?’ Shane began wondering if it was respect for Flack’s courage or for pity because Flack was deformed. He decided it could only be pity, for these beasts would not have witnessed Flacks fall and his courageous battle against the pain as he sought and was able to stand and to walk away, with no cries or moans of agonising pain.
A shadow that had lain ahead of him now looked more than a shadow. Increasing his speed, though it hurt going over such rough terrain, Shane raced toward it and found it to be an entrance to somewhere. ‘Whether it is a cave or a passage that might lead us to the humans I do not know.’
“Wait here,” he called back to Flack, “Let me check this out.” And with that, he vanished inside the darkness.
Moving deeper into the darkness, Shane found that enough daylight leaked inside the opening to show him that this was indeed a cave and was somewhere they could rest for a while, out of sight of beasts, humans, and the sun. Turning around, Shane raced back outside, turned his head to the right and called out to the unicorn. “It is a cave. It is not very big, but it is somewhere in which we can hide from the sun and rest for a little while.”
Flack had been standing still when Shane left the cave and now, with the information he had given to the unicorn, he watched Flack beginning to hobble slowly forward, each pain-filled step bringing him a little closer to the place where he could rest and seek freedom from his pains.
Shane could see the pain of every step causing Flack’s face to contort in spasms as he placed each hoof upon the ground. The pains were now so strong that there was no longer any way the unicorn could ignore them. Moving to the unicorn’s side, Shane walked with him toward the cave entrance, hoping that by being there he was helping the agonised beast. ‘Though I doubt he even knows I am here,’ thought Shane.
Shane continued walking slowly beside him, still hoping that he was assisting Flack by just by being there. The final few steps were taken and the two were moving into the coolness of the cave. It was not large and the light from the entrance lit up the extremities of the walls. There were no passages linked to this cave and, for that, Shane was grateful. ‘Here he can rest safely for a while.’
Shane wondered how safe they would be here. ‘The entrance is large and I am sure that the humans would find it if they searched around the mountainside gully enough.’
He was brought from his thoughts as Flack collapsed upon the cave floor and immediately fell into a deep, pain filled sleep. For a moment, Shane regarded the fallen body of the unicorn before he too fell down upon the ground; tired, hungry, and very nervous about what the future would bring. Shane lay there with his head on the floor between outstretched paws and he wondered what tomorrow would really bring.
“Tomorrow,” he said aloud. “And then what?”
Wondering what would be the outcome of the battle between the beasts and the humans, Shane grew fearful as he realised that he and the unicorn were now outcasts. ‘We belong to neither side. Does that mean we would have to fight both humans and beasts for our survival?’ Sighing, Shane tried to imagine other beasts attacking him and Flack but, try as he did, he could not get himself to believe that that would even happen. ‘But I am sure that we will fight with the humans.’
Hunger began to eat at his insides, but he dare not go outside. He had felt so sated earlier that he found it difficult to believe that he was hungry again so soon. He would not leave the cave, or the unicorn, for right now he just wanted to feel safe, to have no worries and to be able to relax away from the threat of the impending battle. Shane became fearful of what tomorrow would bring and then, as if to hurt him more, the sun
suddenly began to wane and the light within the cave began to dim.
Shane stared at the outline of the unicorn until the sun had set so much that Flacks outline was no longer visible. Lying in the darkness, he could only hear the occasion laboured breath of the unicorn.
He shivered as the cold began to claw at him and so he moved closer to the bulk of Flack and curled himself up beside him, seeking warmth and comfort and then, he too, retired to dreams. ‘Tomorrow would come soon enough,’ was his last waking thought.
REVELATIONS
23 - Revelations I - Revelation I
Shane was awakened from his drowsiness many times by the kicks, the spasms, the wild thrashes, and the moans emanating from Flack. Staring silently at the spasms that seemed to suggest that Flack’s body was in a burning agony that would not let him enjoy a peaceful, restful sleep, Shane found that he could not attempt to guess as to the nature of the dreams that must be racing through Flack’s haunted mind.