Chapter 129 Versions of Magic
A banquet hall in Colinas Gemelas castle.
The captain and the lovers sat at a marble table. The only servant present was Patricia. The lady held his large hand with both hands, as if she feared losing him.
Marisela: If you had not arrived today, I do not know.
Sigard: If it were necessary, we would capture the ports from them. Meeresgott granted us favorable winds. And an idiot who thinks he can fly.
Heinrich smiled: Luckily, he did not kill me before I jumped.
Sigard: I would be happy to tell this story to your nephew.
Heinrich: I do not know if he is safe.
Marisela: The rider told me that Vulfhelm is safe on the Isla Real with the queen. They escaped with the Pegasi. Valero has the castle, but there is an army in the forest, including the Unicorns.
Heinrich: With her army and the army aboard the fleet, we have a chance.
Sigard: Yes, I need to prepare some things for our troops. My Lady, would you allow your maid to help me?
Marisela: Of course.
The two were about to leave when the man grabbed the captain by the arm.
Heinrich: You remember everything we talked about, right?
Sigard smiled: Yes, I think with the help of this beauty we can finish everything quickly.
Heinrich: Thank you, my old friend.
When they were left alone, Marisela kissed him with great passion.
The woman: Dearest, I need to tell you something important.
The man laughed: You are afraid. That is unusual.
Marisela: This is a serious matter. I am…
The man raised her hand and kissed it: Nothing matters to me except being with you.
She began to cry softly: I am pregnant.
He held her face with his large hands: I hope she has your eyes.
She jumped from her chair and sat on his lap, hugging him tightly. The man held her in his arms for several minutes while she cried tears of joy.
Heinrich: I suppose honor dictates that we should get married.
Marisela smiled: Honor?
Heinrich: Honor and more love than the sea has water.
In the Greenwood.
Esteban: Tell me again.
Rodrigo: We found a wild unicorn, and he fought against Azure Death and won because he magically moved from one place to another.
Esteban: And how much wine have you drunk?
The captain: Count, follow me.
The man walked away and the other followed him to the clearing. The war Unicorn stood beside a smaller but beautiful Unicorn. The priest was on all fours, performing strange movements.
The Count: He is...
The captain interrupted: He is incredible. Emiliano, what have you learned?
The man looked up and smiled: There are hundreds of wild unicorns. I think Azure Death remembers something about magic. He was young when he was captured. Young unicorns cannot do it. Magic comes with adulthood.
Rodrigo: I think the domesticated Unicorns never learned.
The priest: They learn from their parents.
Esteban: I still cannot believe it. But if they learn to move by magic, what good will that do us? Will they be able to carry a rider?
Emiliano: Silvestre wrote a ritual that, according to him, would unite a rider and a unicorn. He called it, a leap through reality.
Esteban: Did it work?
Emiliano: He was never able to try. The king sent him back to the castle to teach other priests about Unicorns. He founded the cult.
Rodrigo: Some consider him mad because his last books were about the language of animals and a strange form of magic.
Emiliano: He was not mad. I understand the language, or at least part of it. I want to perform the ritual.
The count thought for a few moments: Well, if you have the courage, you can try.
Rodrigo: Watch this, Count.
The captain walked past the large Unicorn and, with each step of his left foot, dragged it along the ground: Azure Death, follow me.
The Unicorn shook his mane from side to side and moved his horn, tracing a long line from the sky to the ground. He followed the man until they reached the edge of the clearing.
Rodrigo: The move he made, that is my name, Long Mane.
The man unbuckled his belt and removed the dagger from his head, then placed it at his waist. He drew the dagger and approached the Unicorn. Carefully, he placed his hand on the horn and guided it towards its forehead. He touched the ground four times with his left foot and pressed his forehead against the horn until a little blood began to ooze from his forehead and drip onto the horn.
He stepped back slightly and placed the dagger in front of his forehead at an angle similar to that of a unicorn horn. He held it with both hands and waited. Hoof Click tilted his head and pressed it against the dagger until the blade was covered in blood. The priest ran the blade across his forehead to mix the blood and did the same with the cut on the head of the unicorn. He cleaned and sheathed his blade.
The unicorn approached and nuzzled the side of the man with his head and neck. He did the same on the other side. The priest leaned forward to do the same to the animal. The unicorn turned sideways to present his body to the man. With a deep breath, the priest climbed on and grabbed a handful of his mane.
Emiliano: Excuse me if I am naked after the jump. Silvestre was not sure if clothes would move with the rider.
The man stroked the neck of the animal and prepared himself for what was about to happen.
Hoof Click gave a small, sudden leap and began to run swiftly. As he galloped, his horn seemed blurred, as if seen through water. The unicorn and the man completely disappeared and then reappeared in a straight line in the same direction, and he continued running as if nothing had happened.
Esteban: Green Father!
Rodrigo: Emiliano! You are a god!
Azure Death let out a loud sound and struck the ground forcefully with two hooves. The wild unicorn stopped, and the man let out a faint groan of pain.
The priest jumped to the ground: I felt as if I have been struck in the chest. But it was very exciting. I saw the world completely still for less than a second, and then everything went back to normal and we continued moving forward.
Esteban: Do you think we can do it with the others?
Rodrigo: We can try.
The captain removed his leather and steel glove and offered it to the smaller man.
Rodrigo: Emiliano, put this on your hand and punch me in the face as hard as you can. I deserve it.
Emiliano: Captain, I do not want to punch you. I think we are starting to become friends today.
Rodrigo grabbed the priest by the shoulders: If any man disrespects you as I have done, tell me, and he will never behave that way again.
Emiliano smiled: Thank you, my friend.