Legends Born: Tahir Edition (History's Shadow)

by K. Dzr

  * * * * *

  Back in Elysi, Lugg, Caan and Roddy searched the meadow for Diamond.

  “Diamond! Diamond!” they shouted, as Roddy galloped through the grass.

  “Quiet down! Some may be sleeping. What is it, Roddy?”

  “Oraden was hurt and he needs you!” Roddy panted. “Come, this way!”

  “Calm down. My word. What has he gotten himself into now? Tell him to come here and let me look at him.”

  “No, I don’t think he can. We were attacked by hyenas and…”

  “Hyenas! Oraden? When? How? Oh, fairies! Where is he?”

  “This way.” Roddy turned to lead her back.

  “Ramah!” Diamond neighed. The stag was nibbling on fruit near the river when he heard his mates’ desperate call. He galloped quickly to her side.

  “Good fairies! What is it?”

  “Oraden is in trouble! Come! Roddy, lead the way!” she ordered.

  Roddy, Diamond and Ramah galloped through the woods. At full speed it only took the unicorns a few minutes to reach the small campsite. By the time they reached Oraden, all the injured, hyena included; whom they called ‘Belly’ because that’s where they’d all likely end up, Bennie joked, were well taken care of, cleaned and comfortable. Roddy let the sprites down and gratefully accepted some water from one of the pails the gnomes brought over.

  “Oraden! Are you alright?” Diamond cried.

  After having some time to rest and drink, Oraden was much improved; the safflower dressing the sprites put on him dulled the pain quite a bit. Hearing the sprites tell of his bravery made him feel a lot better, too. He would have been proud of himself was it not for the fact that he was in big trouble with his parents.

  “Yes, Mother, I’m fine.”

  She circled him inspecting his injuries while shaking her head. Yes, he would be fine. The sprites and gnomes had done an excellent job. Oraden looked up at his father, not sure what to expect.

  “What about you, Tahir?” Diamond asked as she moved to inspect her other son.

  Tahir sat up when he saw Diamond and Ramah approach.

  “Yes, I’m okay too.”

  Relieved that they were both okay, her worry quickly became anger.

  “Why were you playing outside of Elysi?” she demanded. “I told you it was dangerous!”

  “At the very least, if you insist upon playing in dangerous places, why would you not pay attention to your surroundings?” Ramah asked. “Oraden, you have the power to frighten most animals away! You know that!”

  “We didn’t see them coming,” Oraden confessed.

  Roddy meant to stay as inconspicuous as possible.

  “How is that possible?” Diamond was shocked.

  Oraden stared at the ground.

  “Tahir?”

  He too stared at the ground, ashamed to reveal that they’d been fighting.

  Diamond knew by their silence they were doing something they shouldn’t have been, something far worse than just leaving Elysi.

  “Roddy! Get over here!” Ramah called angrily. “How did hyenas manage to sneak up on two unicorns, a boy, and a herd of sprites and gnomes? I don’t see how that is possible! Have you no senses?”

  “Well…I, um,” Roddy stammered. Tahir and Oraden glared at her, hoping she wouldn’t tell. But Ramah knew he could scare Roddy into talking, even if he couldn’t with his own son.

  “Roddy!” He demanded. “What happened? Why couldn’t you sense danger approaching? It is a basic skill all animals possess, even humans. I’m beginning to think something may be wrong with you all!”

  Roddy looked from Tahir to Oraden to Diamond and Ramah. Ramah stepped toward Roddy, wearing the angriest scowl he owned. As afraid as Roddy was to get Oraden and Tahir mad at her, she was even more afraid to have Ramah mad at her.

  “We were all too busy trying to break up the fight that…”

  “Fight?” Diamond interrupted. She stared at Tahir and Oraden in disbelief. “You two were fighting?”

  “Did hyenas even attack?” Ramah accused. “Or did you do this to each other?”

  “No! Hyenas did attack us.” Oraden answered.

  “We wouldn’t lie!” Tahir added.

  “Fairies forgive them! Tahir, how could you? Over the years I have treated you as if you were one of my own. I would do anything for you. And for what? You run my baby away from home every chance you get. You keep him in trouble. And the danger! Oh yes, I heard about that lion thing that chased you two!”

  Tahir was shocked. He glanced at Oraden who looked equally shocked.

  “Are you trying to kill him? Or yourself? Why would you hurt him? Why would you hurt him?” she cried.

  “You see the boy is also injured. It was a fight; both are equally at fault. You cannot blame one and not the other.” Ramah stared down at them both for a moment. “You two have a lot of explaining to do.”

  They both hung their heads low.

  “Roddy! You were here. What happened?”

  Tahir looked at Oraden allowing his eyes to ask, what should we tell them?

  “Father, I don’t even remember how it started.” Oraden blurted. “We were just talking and then I think I said something and Tahir got angry, and then I got angry and I think that’s what started it.”

  “What? You have said nothing! ‘None of my business’? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” He seemed to calm down. He remembered being a colt and getting into plenty of stupid fights with his friends, too. “Well, I guess I can respect that.”

  “What? They have no business that is none of our business. Their business is our business and they have no business fighting like that!” Diamond interjected. “They are friends! They could have really hurt each other.”

  “But no one really got hurt when we were fighting. Well, except for Sudlin.” Tahir tried to explain. Ramah’s eyes lit up when he heard Sudlin’s name. Oraden shot him an angry look. Tahir instantly regretted what he said. How could he make such a stupid slip?

  “Sudlin? Isn’t he the sprite?”

  “Yes, but…” Tahir tried to explain.

  “You were fighting with a sprite? That is ridiculous! If you want to kill each other that’s one thing, but to fight a sprite?”

  “But Father we weren’t…” Oraden tried to explain, but Ramah wasn’t listening. He was livid. He didn’t mind Oraden fighting his equals so much, but he would not tolerate a bully.

  “Roddy! How is the poor creature now?” Diamond asked.

  “He’s got a few broken ribs, maybe, and a head injury. He’s right over there.” Roddy gestured to where Sudlin lay wrapped in blankets.

  “It’s okay Diamond, I’ll be fine,” Sudlin said.

  “No, Sudlin, it’s not okay. Any one of you could have been seriously injured, or worse. I am so disappointed in you two. ”

  “You two should be ashamed of yourselves! Oraden, I know you know better. You have been told not to fight your entire life. As for you, Tahir I would think between your parents and our teachings, you should know better too. And picking on someone smaller than you! I, I don’t know what to think anymore. And the lies, Oraden! You promised us you would stay out of the desert. We warned you over and over; there are dangers far worse than hyenas out here. Dangers that you should pray you never find!”

  “We’re sorry, Ramah. We didn’t mean to hurt Sudlin.” Tahir once again tried to explain.

  “It’s true,” Roddy interrupted. “They weren’t fighting Sudlin, they were fighting each other and Sudlin tried to stop them. I don’t think they even saw him.”

  “If you two weren’t fighting, he wouldn’t have been hurt and you probably could have prevented the hyenas from attacking you. Now I understand; causing all that commotion, I don’t see how you could’ve seen a Dracara approaching!”

  Ramah was at his wit’s end. His nostrils flared and his horn glowed as Oraden’s did when he was angry. Diamond took a deep breath to calm herself. Oraden and Tahir remained silent. Ramah wou
ld never get them to talk, so she stepped between her husband and the two injured youths. She gave him a look he’d know meant to stand down. She knew he thought she was too gentle, that they needed a scolding. His lip curled and he frowned, but the red glow from his horn faded; she gently nudged him away with her snout. He snorted and stomped his feet. He’d fought hordes of trolls, jackals, other unicorns and hyenas. He crossed a desert battling fatigue, hunger and thirst. The only person or thing he’d never dare fight was Diamond; that was a battle he knew he could never win. He stomped away with a swish of his tail, but not so far as to not hear what was being said.

  “Tahir,” Diamond said, in a sweet, motherly voice. She knelt down between her two boys, gently nuzzling their faces. “What is really troubling you and Oraden? It must have been something major for the two of you to fight like this. We just want to help, that’s all.”

  Tahir sighed.

  “I guess I’ve been kind of tense lately because I realized that if I am going to be a warrior, I’m going to have to leave for England very soon and I’m not quite ready to leave my friends and family just yet.”

  “Is that all?” Diamond asked.

  “And I haven’t figured out my magic yet. I’d hate to leave without knowing what kind of magic I have. It’s just so frustrating. When I first learned that I have magic I was so excited. Oraden and the sprites have been trying to help me figure out what it is, and I still don’t know.”

  “Tahir, I’ve explained before. The magic will show itself when the time is right. Is it possible it may have already revealed itself and you missed it?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Hmm. Alright, Oraden. What about you? What has been troubling you lately?”

  “Well, I know Tahir’s been thinking about England and I realized today that as much as I have explored around here, its nothing compared to what else is out there. I learned that there’s so much out there that I want to see and do. I don’t think that means there’s something wrong with me does it?”

  “No, baby of course not. You’re just more adventurous than the rest of us. Maybe we are the ones who aren’t normal.”

  “Mother, I want to go to England with Tahir.”

  “What?” Tahir jerked his head to face his friend. “You never told me you wanted to go to England with me.”

  “You never asked me. You talk about going all the time and you know how much I like to explore. I just thought maybe you didn’t want me along.”

  “I’d love for you to come with me! I just thought you wouldn’t want to leave your family. I don’t know if we’ll ever come back.”

  “I know, but I still want to go!”

  “Wait a minute; no one is going anywhere just yet.” Ramah said with annoyance in his voice. “You two obviously aren’t mature enough to play in Elysi without getting into trouble. Putting yourselves and others in danger!”

  “But, Ramah,” said a small voice.

  “You should be ashamed!” Ramah continued.

  “Excuse me, Ramah?”

  Ramah looked around to see where the tiny voice came from.

  “Hello, Ramah. I’m Meelix. We’ve been listening to everything you said, and I understand that you are upset, but Oraden and Tahir take good care of us.”

  “Yes,” Figg agreed. “And they put us in no danger that we wouldn’t already get into by ourselves.”

  “I can’t count how many times Tahir and Oraden have saved us. Even today, they rescued each other from the hyenas, and protected all of us.”

  “Oraden saved me, too.” Roddy added.

  “Yes, Oraden and Tahir aren’t bad,” Caan said.

  “They help us with our chores, so we get finished with our work super fast, too,” Lugg chimed in.

  “They do increase productivity,” Triah agreed.

  The sprites retold the story of how bravely they fought the hyenas, enriching the story by acting out their favorite parts. They even began telling stories of other adventures they went on over the years. Diamond and Ramah listened intently, almost forgetting how angry they were. They often knew very little of their son’s adventures. They always thought him a loner, perhaps even socially inept; they worried about him finding a mate or one day being rejected by the herd. They had no idea he had so many friends.

  One by one the sprites fell asleep listening to the stories by the campfire. Oraden and Tahir tried to stay awake to hear the tales of their adventures, but the sky was so dark, the day seemed like two. Oraden rested his head against his mother, listening to her heartbeat; his eyelids heavy. Despite his desire to stay awake, sleep consumed him.

  Roddy made her bed close to Diamond. Although she was afraid to be outside of the safety of Elysi, she felt much safer with Ramah standing guard. She too, quickly fell asleep.

  Ramah stood over his family and friends. He paced the campsite, keeping the fire going by occasionally kicking more twigs into the blaze. He hoped no danger would come. He had his fair share of fights with hyenas, wolves, unicorns and ogres alike. More than most, actually. Oraden and he were not unalike. Now Ramah was getting old and losing some of his speed. He was still just as strong, and just as mean, but he couldn’t run as fast as he once could and he tired more quickly.

  As the younglings easily found sleep, Diamond remained awake. There were many things she did not understand. How was it that Tahir could speak to the mers? What gave Oraden such a thirst for adventure and danger? Now this talk of England again. She always knew of Tahir’s plan, but hoped he would forget about it or at least not want to drag Oraden along. Still, she always knew she would not be able to keep Oraden in Elysi forever. His curiosity and thrill-seeking nature just could not be contained. She left the sleeping children to speak with Ramah.

  “Ramah,” she whispered. He heard her footsteps before her soft neigh. He motioned with his head for her to follow him; they strolled a short distance away from the sleeping group. Diamond looked back at her children. Lit by the warm glow of the fire, she could easily see their bruises and wounds. Just as easily, she could see the pride and contentment on their faces. She could only imagine what was racing through their heads as they dreamed.

  “I know what’s keeping you from sleeping, Diamond,” he said.

  “Ramah, we knew when we took Tahir in that he had it in his mind to go to England. This comes as no surprise. He’s talked about it a lot over the years. And you can’t tell me you didn’t see this coming. Oraden was exploring and going on adventures long before he met Tahir. Now, we can’t keep Tahir here forever. Nor do I believe we can keep Oraden here forever. We may be able to keep him from going to England, but it’s only a matter of time before he leaves us for his own adventure. Once Tahir leaves, what would keep him here? At least together they can look out for each other.”

  “Look at them Diamond! Do you call that looking after each other? They could’ve gotten someone killed! What will happen when there are no sprites to tend to their wounds?”

  “I believe they learned their lesson. Besides, I saw that look of pride in your eye as the sprites told us how they fought the hyenas and escaped the lion. Not only did they save themselves, they protected Roddy and the sprites and gnomes as well.”

  “They barely escaped the teeth of a scrawny pack of hyenas. You know just as well as I do the true dangers that lie beyond our oasis, or have you already forgotten?”

  “Of course I haven’t forgotten, don’t be foolish! I have however, gone on a few adventures of my own.”

  “What?”

  “I wanted to see for myself, if all humans were evil, or if it were only a few. I have seen humans lovingly petting and caring for their animals. They are fed, played with and groomed. Some even seemed to be loved; perhaps they are slaves, but it is a symbiotic relationship. Like most creatures, I think perhaps some humans are bad and others are good.”

  “Even if there are some good humans as you say, does that mean we should ignore the danger the bad ones pose?” Ramah shook his he
ad. “I am not so easy to forgive, Diamond, and I am shocked you would be. You know there is much at stake, more than us just losing a child. We cannot afford to send Oraden off, unprotected with the hope that he will only encounter the nice humans. Quite frankly, I am not convinced there are so many of them!”

  “What about Tahir? Can you truly tell me you see nothing in him?”

  “What is there to see? He is a human with a sad past. One who was lucky enough to be welcomed here. That’s all. Left with his own kind, he would be just like the rest of them.”

  “No.” She looked over at the sleeping human. “There is more, much more. He has magic, powerful magic I suspect. There are forces at play here that are far more powerful than we know. Tahir was brought here for reasons I will not pretend to know. Use your magic, and truly see. Look past your bias and anger and the danger and fear. See with the magic you were given and tell me you believe Oraden was meant to stay in Elysi. That these two weren’t brought together for a bigger purpose, that every bone in his body, every step that he takes isn’t pulling Oraden toward some journey we could only imagine. He is the Black Unicorn; he is called to a destiny bigger than grazing in a meadow. I don’t know what he is called for, but what if there is too much at stake to keep him hidden here?”

  Ramah closed his eyes. He tried to see what Diamond saw. Perhaps his purpose wasn’t to protect his son and keep him hidden from an evil world. Perhaps, it was to prepare him to face it.