The Assassin Princess (The Legacy Novels Book 1) Read Online Free
Author: Blake Rivers
more than you could. I can tell you that this forest and valley, named Solancra, has been home to my kind for as long as anyone can tell. We have lived and bred here, and some of us have died here. I am the eldest of the herd, and so have been named chief, or leader, or any such word that means a similar thing—I am the one that oversees the herd—but it is at the death of a unicorn I should really start.”
Ami walked with him between the trees, turning here and there, following a path unknown to her. In her mind she was seeing pictures, as if half remembered dreams, slipping between his words.
“A group of five humans found their way into Solancra. They were injured, desperate, and starving, but in our wariness we kept our distance. We didn’t know where they’d come from and had never seen such creatures before, but we tracked them and kept a watch on them. Soon they found fruit on the trees and settled in the forest to rest.
“One of our kind was foolish though and thought himself brave. He approached them and greeted them, but did not see the hidden danger.
“Whether through fear or desperation we never knew, but as humans are wont to do, they killed what they didn’t understand. They killed the young unicorn. The herd came running and chased the humans from the forest, but it was too late for our brother. He was dead, his horn taken. Perhaps it was to be a weapon? Perhaps a trophy? Either way, they found instead something that was far more valuable, as they came to realise.”
Ami saw it in her mind, all of it, through hazy pictures of bright yellows and greens. Her heart sank at the image of the dead unicorn, the missing horn; they’d all mourned the loss.
“Yes, we were very sad. But it is here I must talk about our most precious attribute. The horn of a unicorn. It is our pride, our protection, our weapon, our defence, our source of all knowledge and sight. To take a unicorn’s horn is to take his heart, his soul, but more than this, it is to take his power. The horn retains this even when broken.
“As we mourned, we searched with our power, and found the humans to be alive and prospering. They’d found early on that with the stolen horn in hand, things they needed would come to them. They froze the dividing river between Solancra and Planrus, crossing it with ease, and called up new trees from the earth to grow and bear fruit for their journey; water sprang from the earth at the simplest of commands, and all because of the power within the horn, the magic as they saw it. It was seductive and soon began to corrupt.
“In time they founded a homestead upon the peak of a high mountain in the Edorus range, and with power unlimited, built their houses, birthed their young. Their homestead became a settlement which flourished. It is not in our nature to hurt or seek revenge, and they never returned to our forests.”
Ami saw the peak of a mountain, three people standing upon it. Rocks were shorn, stones were placed, houses made; children ran through cobbled streets. A castle tower stood proud over all, and the settlement became a town, spiralling down the mountainside.
Her eyes flickered between the trees, watching as shafts of light broke through the branches, her mind far, far away.
“We kept our gaze upon that mountain and watched with interest as the centuries passed. A civilisation had blossomed, a structure of rule appointed, and the land thrived.”
She saw the lord sitting upon his golden throne, his family around him. She saw the people paying tribute, working, providing for their families, and living.
The pictures faded and the forest lit through a break in the trees.
“Here we arrive at the river, and here you may eat and drink.” The unicorn led her under the low hanging branches and out into daylight.
*
The sound of the river burst through the silence, and Ami shaded her eyes from the glints of morning light thrown from the water as it flowed to the left, dropped, and
Ami walked with him between the trees, turning here and there, following a path unknown to her. In her mind she was seeing pictures, as if half remembered dreams, slipping between his words.
“A group of five humans found their way into Solancra. They were injured, desperate, and starving, but in our wariness we kept our distance. We didn’t know where they’d come from and had never seen such creatures before, but we tracked them and kept a watch on them. Soon they found fruit on the trees and settled in the forest to rest.
“One of our kind was foolish though and thought himself brave. He approached them and greeted them, but did not see the hidden danger.
“Whether through fear or desperation we never knew, but as humans are wont to do, they killed what they didn’t understand. They killed the young unicorn. The herd came running and chased the humans from the forest, but it was too late for our brother. He was dead, his horn taken. Perhaps it was to be a weapon? Perhaps a trophy? Either way, they found instead something that was far more valuable, as they came to realise.”
Ami saw it in her mind, all of it, through hazy pictures of bright yellows and greens. Her heart sank at the image of the dead unicorn, the missing horn; they’d all mourned the loss.
“Yes, we were very sad. But it is here I must talk about our most precious attribute. The horn of a unicorn. It is our pride, our protection, our weapon, our defence, our source of all knowledge and sight. To take a unicorn’s horn is to take his heart, his soul, but more than this, it is to take his power. The horn retains this even when broken.
“As we mourned, we searched with our power, and found the humans to be alive and prospering. They’d found early on that with the stolen horn in hand, things they needed would come to them. They froze the dividing river between Solancra and Planrus, crossing it with ease, and called up new trees from the earth to grow and bear fruit for their journey; water sprang from the earth at the simplest of commands, and all because of the power within the horn, the magic as they saw it. It was seductive and soon began to corrupt.
“In time they founded a homestead upon the peak of a high mountain in the Edorus range, and with power unlimited, built their houses, birthed their young. Their homestead became a settlement which flourished. It is not in our nature to hurt or seek revenge, and they never returned to our forests.”
Ami saw the peak of a mountain, three people standing upon it. Rocks were shorn, stones were placed, houses made; children ran through cobbled streets. A castle tower stood proud over all, and the settlement became a town, spiralling down the mountainside.
Her eyes flickered between the trees, watching as shafts of light broke through the branches, her mind far, far away.
“We kept our gaze upon that mountain and watched with interest as the centuries passed. A civilisation had blossomed, a structure of rule appointed, and the land thrived.”
She saw the lord sitting upon his golden throne, his family around him. She saw the people paying tribute, working, providing for their families, and living.
The pictures faded and the forest lit through a break in the trees.
“Here we arrive at the river, and here you may eat and drink.” The unicorn led her under the low hanging branches and out into daylight.
*
The sound of the river burst through the silence, and Ami shaded her eyes from the glints of morning light thrown from the water as it flowed to the left, dropped, and
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