Chapter 19: JOURNEY OF UNDERSTANDING

On Rum Island, the dawn of a new day came, and Lyra was waking up from her slumber. She blinked away the crustiness that the sandman had left behind. She felt a body lying next to her, and she opened her eyes in a rush. When she realized who it was, she calmed herself down. Lyra had almost forgotten about the unicorn.

Iah has been awake for a while and noticed that she was also. “How are you this fine morning?”

Lyra had gotten onto her feet and was stretching out her muscles. “As fine as I could be…” She felt her head was still in a fog and whispered, “I wish for coffee.”

Iah groaned as he had gotten upon his four feet from lying upon the earth for many hours that he had done. “It's time for us to get to head back to your little village that you have helped build.” The unicorn seemed to have not heard her. “We shall meet up with the Druid.”

“Carriage,” wondered Lyra. “Why do you need to see him?”

“You’re going to go back to your husband, Lyra,” stated the majestic creature. She saw that he was just as beautiful in the daylight hours. “All couples end up fighting with one another. But it takes a wiser person to forgive the other and move on with life together.”

The young woman knew that the mystical creature was telling the truth. Even the Bible stated his wisdom to be true. It was the only way to get into Heaven. Lyra closed her eyes for a moment and nodded her head, causing her hair to move in waves.

“Come on.” She looked and saw Iah wave his head, trying to get her to come closer. “Get onto my back, and we shall be going.”

Lyra with her eyes opened wide, ‘I haven't been on a horse since I was eight, let alone, a unicorn. Do I even remember how?’ Her feet moved on their own accord, making their way towards Iah. ‘What side did I use to climb on?’

When Lyra had reached Iah’s left shoulder, she remembered that she was on the right side that she needed to be on. Facing his rib cage, she reached up with her left hand and grabbed a hold of a bit of the main on his lower neck while having her right hand placed flat on his lower back, hoping that she was doing it right. Iah seemed to have sensed her uneasiness because he knelt down with his front legs, allowing her to have an easier climb.

With a big sigh, Lyra pushed herself up off the ground and swung her right leg over his back and placed it on the other side of his body. She did not care that she was wearing a dress; she was going to ride upon Iah with a leg on each side of him.

Once Lyra was settled enough, she leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck just before he climbed out of a kneeling position and started head towards the small village on the Island.

While Lyra was still lying on the unicorn’s back, her mind wandered towards Carriage, Celeste, Hahn, and Hai. By the mere thought of their names, she wanted to know if any of them have been worried about her.

Lyra’s mind had found herself back to her current issue. Noticing that Iah was not going any farther than a gentle walk. She pushed herself up to a sitting position and glanced around. Seeing many things that she had missed from the night before.

She saw creatures that she thought that would only exist in books of legend and myths, or even works of fiction. Birds that flew across the sky with flames trailing behind, like brush strokes upon a canvas. A man headed lion talking to a half man/horse.

The more creatures that Lyra had seen, the more she was losing the names that humans had labeled them. It was one of the most breathtaking moments. That she ever experienced, in her short-lived life.

‘I usually have my head in books, school, or the job I'm working. Never would I have dreamt that I would see such things.’

Iah turned his head towards the left so he was able to see over his shoulder. He noticed that Lyra was seeing the others upon the Island. She was surprised to hear a growl from the peaceful creature of legend. “Don't tell other humans or anyone that you know about the people that you've seen here or acknowledge their existence.”

Lyra closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears that were welding up. “You don't have to tell me, Iah." She thought about all the paintings of the great hunts: humans hunting down the mystic creatures. “I know what would happen if I talked.” She opened her eyes to show him deep sorrow.

“I'm not planning on telling the world about what I know.” She turned away from him to look around. “They deserve to live their lives in peace, not to live life to be hunted down just because they are different. They don't deserve to be tested, not while I'm in this era.”

The unicorn let out a sorrowful sigh. “I should have been wiser.” He turned his head forward. “I knew that you came from another time, a time that none of us have survived from the hunt of man.” Iah stomped his hooves into the groaned as he growled out, “I'm sorry if I had hurt your feelings, Lyra. Again, I am sorry.”

“I know,” stated Lyra while enjoying the landscape. “You were just protecting them. I would have done the same if I were the protector, Iah.” She saw that many of the creatures were watching them, leery when some noticed that there was a human among them, sitting on the back of a unicorn.

She raised her hands up, hoping they knew the peaceful gesture. “You are safe. I won't tell anyone about any of you or what I have seen.”

“What about the Druid?” asked a faraway voice loud enough to be heard. “The one that you are on your way to see?”

“Not even him,” stated the young woman, placing her hands on her lap.

The woods seemed less tense, and a feeling of happiness rushed towards Lyra. It was then that she realized that it was a living source of magic. The whole Island felt the electricity, a live wire of energy. She wondered why it had taken her up to that moment to notice since her stay upon the Island. It seemed to Lyra that it was telling her a secret and bidding her welcome, to the Secret Forest.

Iah stopped his movement. It seemed that he noticed a difference within her. “Milady, what is wrong?”

“I'm sensing magic, something that I haven't experienced since I was eight or nine.” This caused Iah to turn his head towards her. Seeing the question in his eyes, Lyra asked one of her own before he uttered one word. “How can I feel it, like a living water’s wave?”

He turned away, stomping his hoof into the earth. Lyra knew enough about horses to know to get off and climbed off his back. Walking away from him, enough to where they could see each other, she saw that made the right call. He seemed agitated with his stomps becoming more profound.

‘Is he really thinking about charging after me?’ Then, a thought popped into her head. ‘Do unicorns, spear women? I thought that they protected women.’ This caused her heart to beat faster and her breathing to become erratic from the ugly picture that she was seeing in her head. ‘Please, God. HELP.’

After a few minutes passed, Iah had not even moved one inch from where he stood except for him stomping his hooves into the forest floor. Lyra could not help but finding the nearest rock and sit upon it. Her feet were getting tired from standing in one spot, too long. She had enough of that at her job when she was back in her own time.

“I should start talking, shouldn’t I?”

Iah did not look too happy about talking or about what he needed to say to her. So she just waited until he was ready to speak any further. She saw him walking in front of her, starting from her left to her right. Lyra knew that this was something that she really needed to pay attention to.

“First thing I must do is to wave my horn over you.” Lyra gave him a questioning look and tilted her head to the side. “Right, you don’t know what I’m doing that for?” She shook her head in the negative. “My horn has magical abilities. While I can do many things, I’m just simply using it upon you to see if I can see if you have the essence with you.”

Lyra became worried, not just from the look that she was giving Iah but also her sitting posture, which looked like it was not comfortable. “In what way will this affect me?” Iah saw her logical brain kicking in when she had asked her question.

“It won’t hurt, I will assure you that. All it will do is made your skin glow.”

Her eyes lit up with wonder. “To what color?”

The unicorn chuckled; he could get used to her sense of wonder, striving to know the secrets within the world. “You’re going to have to see. Each color means something for different things.” He took a breath to see if she would do anything else, but all she did was sit before him, waiting. “Alright, just sit still and close your eyes. Some colors could hurt your young eyes.”

Lyra sighed in frustration. She really wanted to know what her essence color was and what it meant. She was going to have to trust Iah even more. She gave a sad looking nod before closing her eyes. Lyra wanted to know what was going on.

She heard him whisper in another language; it was something that she had never heard before. “Díghlasáil an anam istigh.” A very bright glow followed soon after; she was glad that she had listened to him and closed her eyes. She thought that the sun had turned on its brightness for the day a moment later. “Folaigh.”

“You may open your eyes, child.” Lyra opened her eyes, but what she saw was something that nearly caused her to be afraid. The look within Iah’s eyes was enough to cause her to fear of what he has to say. “First off, I wish I had known sooner when I first met you.”

Lyra did not like what she had heard and gave a glare. “What?” It nearly sounded like a growl rather than just a simple question.

“Your essence is something that I was not expecting. Only a select few within the whole aspects of all things living have it.” He looked at her in wonder and fear, the sort of mixture that never really went well together. “You are truly a remarkable human, Lyra.”

Lyra sat back away from him, wrapping her arms around herself, nearly scared of what she would find. “Why won’t you TELL ME, then?”

Iah closed his eyes. He looked really troubled on what to say, causing her to look around and see the others look at her with the same sense of wonder, not more so. She even saw a few jaws had dropped from what they had seen. Lyra turned back towards the unicorn with her head down.

“I guess I should make my way back to the other humans and leave all of you alone.” She got up and started walking towards the place she believed was the small village. “I know when I’m not wanted.”

After she had taken a few steps away, Iah spoke up. “Lyra, stop. I’m sorry. This is hard to say.” She stopped and turned around. “You are not just Thor’s daughter through the ages, Lyra.” After a paus, Iah went on to say, “You are his only Earthly daughter.”

“What?”

“Your skin glowed in a golden white light, something that only unicorns are able to do since we were the very first creatures that your God had made. Then it was the angels, who also have it. What most people upon the Earth don’t know is that all the cultural Gods are really angels with many names.”

Lyra stood wobbly upon her two feet. She nearly fell if it were not for Iah, who ran up beside her. She did not know what to say. She always knew that there was something more to the Gods and Goddesses than the myths and legends had talked about. But she really did think that they were mislabeled angels.

“So,” Lyra gasped out but mostly in wonder, “I’m half angel?”

“Get back upon my back, child.” Once Lyra found herself upon the back of the unicorn, Iah went on to say, “You are not an angel, Lyra. Angels are made, not born. You are all human but with gifts that come along with being an angel’s daughter.”

Lyra nodded, her logical brain coming back. “That makes sense. So what are my gifts?”

“You’re going to have to figure that one out. Everyone is different, just like the humans upon the Earth.” Iah had started to walk again. She could hear his hair swishing with each movement that he made, nearly causing her to fall asleep.

Swish…Swish…

The woods seemed to be at peace. It made her believe that it was one of the rare places that she had ever run into, while being in 836 AD. To find a sense of calm, clarity, and safe. Another time that she had felt safe was when she was around Varg Drake. A pang of despair was felt from her heart, which ran down to her toes.

Lyra still had no clue about the knowledge of the status of their marriage. She knew that during this age, there were no divorces; only to live out their lives. She then signed in a realization that most men would go off to war and to never come back.

“What’s wrong, milady?”

Lyra closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears. “I just seem to be thinking of sadder thoughts.” She took a deep breath and shook her head to clear most thoughts. “And I don't mean to.”

“And what kind of thoughts would those be?”

Lyra knew that Iah was trying to be gentle with his question. Even the sound of his voice indicated that. She could not help it the tears that were leaking out of the corner of her eyes. She was so tired of being strong. Lyra had hoped that when she had gotten married, she did not have to act strong again. Lyra was sadly mistaken.

“I still don't know…about my standing relationship…with Varg.” She knew that was not making sense, but who would when they were upset? She took a breath and tried again. “I don't know if he would want me as a wife—once I get there, I mean.” She had just stopped her tears, but she still sounded as lost as before. “Even my dream seemed to be off…”

“What about it?”

Lyra huffed in frustration, wanting to be heard. “There is this creature…” Lyra never had tried so hard to remember her dream before. “In a place that I know as Loch Ness, a serpent type creature with a long neck and four legs that turned into flippers and a long leather like whip of a tail at its end.”

She closed her eyes, wishing for the image to become clear within her inner mind. “It almost kidnapped me once, back before I came to your Island.” Her heart had felt like it had launched itself into her throat. “It tried to take me away from Varg and the Viking village that happened to be settled next to that loch.”

Lyra took a moment to collect herself before going any further. “I never believed that I could be afraid of anything.” She took in a shuddering breath. “I guess I was wrong.”

Iah seemed too annoyed at her undisclosed explanation. Lyra could tell from the stressed muscles near her legs, on his ribs, even if his voice were nothing to go by. “What happened in your dream? If you're willing to tell me that is.”

The surrounding forest seemed to grow darker as they were moving away from the magical essence of the woods. Making their way towards the outermost of the woodland border. As Iah kept on walking, the closer they were to the shoreline. Getting that much closer to Lyra’s traveling companions. The leaves from the nearby trees seemed to have gotten darker. Darker from the moisture that they were getting closer to.

“It's hard to explain, Iah,” she spoke with irritation in her voice, telling the unicorn that he needed to let her go at her own pace. “I dreamt about the ordeal again.” She started with a tone of loftiness. “But I wasn't there this time, during the late-night hours. Not the early evening that I remembered.”

Iah nearly stopped in his tracks from listening to her story. He did not want to reach the other humans before told him her dream.

“Thor was standing by the shoreline, thinking—of what, I wouldn't know.” Lyra sounded lost within her words, trying to find the right words to use. “Then, the same creature came popping out of the loch. That was when Thor had found out that the serpent was Loki’s son.”

Iah stopped his walking. He turned his head towards her. He saw what she had fought so hard to prevent. Her tears were falling down her face, just like the sky had done when raining, for her tears were big as droplets of rain.

“Loki,” she choked out, “wanted me dead, but the loch creature had other plans.” Lyra brought up one of her arms, using her sleeve to wipe her eyes and nose with. “He was going to kidnap me and protect me from his own father.” Her voice cracked. She wiped her eyes some more.

Once she seemed to be more collected than before, she growled out, “I don't really see how he can do that and then wanting to fight with Thor. Then, Varg came. He found out what was going on and used his Wolf-Dragon skills on the water creature. It looked like he would have killed him, but I woke up before seeing the blood.”

Iah had been paying attention to what Lyra had been telling him. He also heard the tone of her voice. It was a tone of doubt. He wondered what else she could be thinking about.

Then, a thought hit him. She had never seen a sight of blood before, at least not from a violent attempt upon someone's life. Iah then realized that he needed to get a hold of her to let her know that Varg was not truly someone to fear.

“Tell me, Milady.” Iah tried to get through her head that he wanted her to talk to him. “What is causing your sorrow?”

The unicorn felt her hands shaking as she tried to lace her fingers within his mane. “Would Varg truly kill someone?” Her voice was shaky. “From what I have seen in my dream, I just don't understand how it can make its way into my head.” Lyra sounded very doubtful. “Or was it because I’m still trying to see a sign that Varg still wants me in his life.” Lyra became out winded from her explanation. She nearly sounded like she was fishing for understanding. “I know I'm a Christian, and he's a Barbarian.” She raised her hands and placed them on her upper arms, looking like she was hugging herself. “And we never see things eye to eye, but wasn't I sent here for a reason?”

Iah knew from the details of her dream that he had seen the same vision as she had seen. He also knew what had been going on and why it had happened the way it did. He wondered if Lyra had found a way to get into his vision and was able to only view it as a simple dream. It was something that had never happened before.

Iah had helped other maidens before and yet, none were able to see his visions while they slept next to him. This caused the unicorn to worry. Was Lyra much more than a simple human woman?

“Tell me, Milady. Do you know much of your family lines?”

Lyra had her eyes upon the surrounding area, seeing that the dense forest was thinning out, which let Lyra know that they were nearing the mini village. She breathed in a bit of air into her nose. Salty.

“My mother’s family consists of Cherokee Shamans, Scottish, Irish, German, French, and Dutch.”

Iah had on back to his walking. She talked more while they were moving. “What else can you tell me about the Scottish and Irish people?”

“No one told me much of anything.” She sounded nearly detached from her words to her emotions. It was causing Iah to want to get Lyra to wake up. “I had done some research. I was able to find out that they were mainly Celtics and very few being Druids. They were close to the Native American Shamans.”

After a moment of a pause from her talking, she went on to say, “I had wondered that the reason I knew so many things was because of what's learned in my blood.”

Iah nearly stumbled and tripped from the words that were uttered from her lips. Lyra had fallen forward towards his neck, but she was able to wrap her arms around him, holding onto him. He was able to find his footing again.

‘Druid and Shaman, no wonder she was able to see my vision. I wouldn't be able to stop her from seeing more, not while I sleep next to her.’

This caused a problem for the unicorn. He hoped from that moment on that he would be sleeping far enough away from her. He could sense her abilities. He also knew that they would cause a problem if he does not distance himself during the nighttime hours. Otherwise, she would see much more than she had ever wanted to dream about.

Iah knew his visions well. He had to develop a hard stomach for most that he had seen. It was the main reasons that unicorns have been known to be detached from their feelings. They found the unable to care attitude to help cope with the visions. ‘I don't want this for Lyra. Time to take her back to the humans, hopefully not leading myself to my death.’