Legends Born: Tahir Edition (History's Shadow)

by K. Dzr

  Chapter Eight

  O R A D E N

  The rising sun ended his haunted night. Although Tahir hardly slept, he was glad to see morning. He eagerly packed his belongings and set out looking for Farid. He was fairly convinced that whatever spirits haunted him at night were gone during the day. Still, he wanted to find his friend and get as far away from the oasis as possible before dark. Tahir was cramming fruit in his pack when he heard stomping. He pulled out his knife and crept through the foliage. He peered around a stand of shrubs and saw the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

  It had the shape of a horse but was smaller. Its silky coat glistened black. Its mane and tail fell long and full, tufts of fur hung from its ankles to hide the tops of its cloven hooves. The most interesting part though, was the long, iridescent black horn protruding from its forehead. He watched in awe as the horned horse stood on its hind legs and jumped. The small horse was trying to reach the fruit, but it was just out of it’s reach. Then it turned and kicked the tree with its hind legs; despite it’s efforts, no fruit fell. Tahir could almost see the frustration on the animal’s face.

  “Wow, a horsy with a horn.”

  The creature startled. It froze and stared at Tahir, its ears and tail erect. Its muscles tensed, ready to bound away at the first indication of danger.

  “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.” Tahir slowly held his hands up and stepped away from the shrubbery. He smiled and gently placed his belongings on the ground, never taking his eyes away from the mysterious creature. He slowly approached the scarred ginger fruit tree.

  “Watch. I can help you, don’t run away.” Tahir hugged the tree and scooted up the trunk to the succulent fruit. The creature watched the boy from the ground.

  “Here’s some fruit for you.” Tahir said as he stuffed several pieces of fruit into his tunic. Within a few moments, he was sliding back down the tree with enough fruit for them both. As he dropped down onto the ground some of the fruit fell out of his shirt and rolled onto the sand.

  “Come on, I won’t hurt you.” Tahir extended the reddish-orange fruit outward. The creature nervously looked around before taking a couple of steps forward.

  “That’s it. Come on, get the fruit.”

  The colt hesitantly accepted the treat from the boy’s hand.

  “That’s it, you’re safe with me. I wouldn’t hurt you.” Tahir petted the animal as it ate. Its coat was smooth, like the finely-woven fabric his father sold to wealthy people in faraway lands. He smiled as he ran his fingers through its thick mane. It finished the fruit in his hand, ignoring the white nut in the center, then lowered his head to eat the pieces that had fallen. Tahir sat down on the ground next to him and together, they ate fruit for breakfast.

  “I’m on my way to England where I’m going to become a great warrior,” he explained. “It’s really far from here and it'll probably be dangerous, but I’m ready. My father said it was my destiny. He said I’d know when it was time. I didn’t really think I’d be leaving so soon, but…someone or something destroyed my village.”

  “Why would anyone do that?” the creature interrupted.

  “I don’t know. The man who saved me didn’t…Wait!” Tahir scrambled to his feet. “You can talk?”

  “Of course I can talk,” it answered.

  “Why didn’t you say something before?”

  “You never stopped talking long enough.”

  “Wow! A talking horse with a horn.”

  “I’m not a horse,” he said.

  “Oh, sorry. Well, what are you?”

  “I’m a unicorn,” it said, holding his head up proudly. “My name is Oraden. What’s yours?”

  “Tahir.”

  “Is that why you’re all by yourself, Tahir? No one else survived?”

  “Yeah. It’s just me,” Tahir said, trying to hide the sadness in his voice. “I don’t mind; it was time for me to start my journey anyway. I have everything I need.” he unsheathed the sword on his back.

  “Looks pretty impressive,” Oraden said, inspecting the shiny length of metal. “So what do warriors do?”

  “They fight bad people and go on adventures.” Tahir slashed his sword around to demonstrate how he would fight off adversaries. “They save fair maidens who are in danger. And they usually venture off by themselves into dangerous places because everyone else is scared to go.”

  “Wow!” Oraden’s eyes lit up. “You know, I’m kind of like a warrior, too.”

  “Really?” Tahir sheathed his sword.

  “Yeah. I don’t have one of those things,” he gestured towards the sword, “but I do have my horn and I fight with it. And I go on adventures all the time. I’m actually on an adventure right now. I don’t get along with the other unicorns so much, so I go on adventures by myself. Sometimes I am gone for days at a time. When I return, my mother is always so angry with me, but my father usually takes my side and calms her down. I guess she just worries about me.”

  “I used to do the same thing,” Tahir said. “I got along with the other children just fine though. Sometimes they’d even come with me. My mom would stuff my pack with food and blankets. But, I’ve never been this far from my village before.” Tahir’s expression turned sad. Oraden understood.

  “Come on, let’s play! I bet you can’t catch me!” the unicorn took off running.

  Tahir threw down his weapon and chased his new friend. For hours they raced, had jumping contests, and played hide-and-seek—which Oraden was extremely good at. Tahir wouldn’t have thought such a big creature would be able to hide so well. He stood scratching his head. He could hear Oraden moving, but when he followed the sound, nothing was there. As he pondered his friend’s extraordinary hiding capabilities, he heard a noise: the same suspicious noise that had been misleading him since they started the game. His eyes shifted toward the sound. The leaves rustled, he was certain of it. He tiptoed closer. Oraden had to be there; he could sense it. He squinted and looked closer.

  “Boo!” Oraden appeared right before him; his horn glowing blue. Tahir screamed and fell backwards. Oraden neighed with laughter.

  “How did you do that?” Tahir scrambled back to his feet. The unicorn shook his head, and his eyes narrowed into little slits as he laughed. The horn’s blue glow faded until it was pearly black again.

  “It’s part of my magic,” he explained, still laughing. “Unicorns can become invisible; that’s how we stay hidden so well.”

  “That’s amazing! I didn’t know unicorns had magic.”

  “You didn’t know what a unicorn was until a few hours ago,” Oraden laughed. They continued to play. Tahir’s problems all but forgotten, until the sun’s rays pierced through the palms in the west.

  “I should probably be going home now,” Oraden looked into the sky. “I need to be home by sunset or both my parents will be very angry.”

  “But, it’s still early,” Tahir said.

  “I’ve already been gone for a couple days. If I leave now I can still get be home before dark.”

  “Oh,” Tahir watched his toes dig into the sand. “I understand. I should probably get back to my journey, too.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Oraden said looking at the ground. “You still have to go to England, huh?”

  “Right.” Tahir scratched his arm. Oraden kicked the sand. They both stood in silence, reluctant to part ways.

  “Well, I guess I should go,” Tahir gathered his belongings. “It was nice meeting you.”

  “Do you want to come home with me?” Oraden blurted. “You could just stay for a little while and maybe rest before you go to England. I mean, if you want to.”

  “Where is your home?” Tahir’s face lit up.

  “It’s right on the other side of the river.”

  “Oh. It just so happens, I was headed that way.” Tahir smiled and slung his bow and pack over his shoulder. They capered side by side out of the oasis toward Oraden’s home.

  “Do you like to swim?” Oraden asked.
/>   “I don’t know how, why?”

  “You don’t know how? I didn’t know humans couldn’t swim?”

  “Well, some humans can swim,” Tahir explained. “I just don’t know how.”

  “Odd.”

  “It’s not that odd. What difference does it make anyway?”

  “Because we have to cross the river and swimming is the faster way to go.”

  “What’s the other way?”

  “We’ll have to walk along the shore for a while until we come to a waterfall. At the top, the river is narrow and shallow; we can walk across and only our hooves will get wet.”

  “I like that way better.”

  “There is one thing,” Oraden said. “When we get to Elysi you cannot tell my parents that I was on this side of the river.”

  “Why not?”

  “They think it is too dangerous.”

  “Why?” Tahir asked.

  “I don’t know. They’re probably afraid. I doubt they’ve ever even been across the river, so how could they know whats over here? I’ve been crossing the river for a long time now, and I haven’t seen anything dangerous.”

  “Why do you do it if you’re not supposed to?”

  “Adventure! The first time I came over here, I was so scared. I didn’t know what to expect. There could have been monsters for all I knew, but I had to find out. I remember standing on my side for the longest time, staring across, trying to see goblins or dragons or some other evil beings. When I finally decided to cross at the waterfall, I was so nervous I was shaking all over. When I reached the other side I didn’t know what to do. Then I got scared so I ran back to the other side.” Oraden laughed at himself.

  “You were afraid of nothing!” Tahir laughed.

  “It wasn’t ‘nothing’. All of my life I was told that it was dangerous for unicorns to be on the other side of the river. I think I was very brave.”

  “But you ran back.”

  “Yes, but I came over the next day and the next. Each time I stayed longer and explored farther. Now there’s no place I’m afraid to go.”

  “Wow, I guess you are like a warrior.”

  “That’s what I told you.” Oraden strutted with his head high.

  “Maybe we can be warriors together! Fight monsters and…”

  “Well, my parents might turn into monsters if I get home too late.” Oraden and Tahir laughed. “Come on Tahir, let’s run!” Oraden broke into a gallop without waiting for a reply.

  Tahir ran as fast as he could just to keep him in sight. The unicorn practically flew on his spindly legs; sand swirled in his wake.

  Oraden was so far ahead that Tahir could barely see him. Finally it appeared that Oraden had stopped running to allow him to catch up. Tahir slowed to a brisk walk, all the while marveling at the interesting turn his life had taken. He wondered what other creatures he might meet along the way. Genies? Giants? Dwarves? He hurried along, pondering these mysteries, until Oraden interrupted his thoughts.

  “Come on Tahir! What’s taking you so long?”

  “I’m coming! I can’t run as fast as you!” Tahir shouted back.

  Oraden stamped his feet and tossed his mane.

  Tahir cleared his mind and looked up at the sky. He didn’t know how far it was to Oraden’s home, but he knew there wasn’t much sunlight left. He’d have to try much harder if they were going to make it before dark.

  “I don’t think we are going to make it in time. Why can’t you go faster?”

  “Oraden, I’m just a human being. I only have two legs and you have four. That means you can run twice as fast as I can. Besides I’m carrying this heavy pack and my bow over my shoulder. Can’t we just walk fast for a while?”

  “It’s going to be dark soon,” Oraden whined, kicking sand. “My mother’s going to be so mad…”

  “I’m sorry Oraden. I'll try to walk faster.”

  Oraden shook his head.

  “You’re just too slow,” he sighed and thought for a moment. “All right, what if you climb on my back and I carry you? Maybe then I’ll get home before I’m too old to remember where I live.”

  “You can carry me?” Tahir was skeptical. Oraden was much smaller than any horse, donkey or camel he had ever ridden. Not only was he shorter, his head was only slightly above Tahir’s eye level, but he also appeared frail. His limbs were slender, his muscles not fully developed. He moved quickly enough and seemed sure-footed, but could he carry a passenger?

  “I’ve never carried anyone before, but I’ve seen horses do it.”

  “Yes, but you are a lot smaller than any animal I’ve ever ridden. And you’re still just a child.”

  “I’m as strong as any horse! Do you want to come or not?”

  “Of course I do!”

  “So get on and let’s go.” Oraden knelt so Tahir could climb onto his back. He straddled the unicorn and shifted his pack and secured the bow to his belt.

  “Am I too heavy?” he asked as he settled in.

  “Have you ever asked a horse if you were too heavy?” Oraden asked, struggling to his feet.

  “I would have if I thought he would answer.”

  They both laughed. Oraden took a few steps to adjust to the extra weight on his back.

  “You’re not too heavy. This is going to be fun.”

  “It feels kind of funny to me too. I never thought to care about how a camel feels having people ride on his back. We just did it, that’s all.”

  “Just pretend I’m a camel and hold on!” Oraden took off again, not quite as fast as his earlier speed, but faster than Tahir ever traveled. He clung to the colt’s mane and squeezed its sides with his legs as they floated across the sand dunes. Tahir could feel the power and grace in Oraden’s movements; he wasn’t the least bit afraid anymore.

  They sped along through the barren land toward a solitary tree. It was difficult to tell from the distance, but it looked like no other tree Tahir had ever seen. Such a tall tree, full of leaves, and far from any water source was just odd. Oraden galloped past the tree without slowing, seemingly uninterested.

  Tahir noticed the land becoming more fertile the farther northeast they traveled. Even along the river there was not as much vegetation as there was here. It was almost as though he had entered another oasis, but it was different. First there was a tree or shrub here or there. Then there was an unfamiliar flower and more trees and thorny plants. Soon, he found himself surrounded by foliage. He didn’t even see all the trees ahead; they just seemed to stumble into this paradise of sorts. Perhaps they were going too fast for him to notice.

  “Just across this river is my home, Tahir.” Oraden approached the river and trotted along the bank. He lowered his head to the clear water and gulped as much as he could.

  Tahir scanned the forest beyond the river. The river was narrow, but the trees were so dense he couldn’t see very far.

  Oraden cantered along the riverbank. Ahead, the water was shallow enough that he could run across. He went as fast as he could up the familiar hill. Fatigue seeped into his muscles, but he didn’t want Tahir to know. At the top of the hill, he paused to take another short drink.

  Tahir looked back toward the direction of his village one last time.

  My father used to tell me there are places in this world most people would never see. Forces most people would never understand. Things most people would never believe in. I never really understood what he meant, until today. I am not one of those people. Across this river is an entire world for me to see, an unknown number of things for me to understand, to believe in.

  He looked over the river.

  Once I cross this river, I’ll never come back.

  He tightened his grip on Oraden’s mane just as the unicorn splashed into the water.