Unicorns a brief history,
It is said that God created the unicorn first of all the animals, and was given reign over all other beasts, under man.
When Man brought the curse of God upon the earth, the unicorn became lost most of their knowledge of God who created them, also that they had responsibility to keep order of the lesser beasts. Still able to speak, but man had grown to hate what even reminded him that God existed. Save for the holy the ones who struggled in the world living as God set forth. The people who kept faith could still see the unicorn for what it once was; a Reminder that man can live with God. The ones that did not, the majority, took to the way of the world, where the fallen had set up their domain. The Fallen tried to corrupt all that God had made. It was cause of a Fallen's efforts that man despite his only commandment of not to partake of the knowledge forbidden, to fell from the grace of God.
The days before the fall of man were happy good plants grew everywhere wild and poison was unheard of.
After the fall of man the unfaithful hunted the unicorn till they were almost wiped from the earth. Seeing this God, intervened and only the truly pure of heart could even see the unicorn, this was a blessing and curse in one; as it stopped the hunts, but it also hid them from their Friends, the Holy. Sin had crept into the heart of all men and become a part of man till the end of time.
The unicorn now free form the hunts played and romped, the most beautiful of Gods Animals all but forgotten.
Generations later the unicorns would sit down for to tell tales of how once man God and unicorn lived in peace, the fall of man, coaxed by the fallen, of the hunts and Gods deliverance. The stories were old but never forgotten, though most now believed them to be nothing more than mere tales. Very few Men ever were able to see the unicorn anymore, though some very pure and faithful youth could still see them.
These faithful youth would play and make friends with the unicorn, but eventually sin would take the children from the unicorns. The children would remember the unicorn as one does an imaginary friend once grown. The families that were faithful had tales of their own of the unicorn back in Eden but man’s memories are not as good and they unicorn became something of a myth no one ever sure that a unicorn ever existed.
Thus Unicorn faded from the history of man,
God having seen that only a select few, one family in fact had not given over to their sins Thus he made a plan to wipe clean the slate and give man a chance to start over. God commanded the head of this faithful family to build a large boat of exacting specifications. Once the boat was nearing finished, God commanded that it be provisioned with all sorts of grains and food, and then told his man to gather all the animal of the earth that still existed, from the smallest to the greatest. He even reminded him of the unicorn and not to forget them.
This man set forth gathering Gods menagerie though search as he may he could not find any unicorn less of a group of 5. He searched as he could but still when the sky began to open up and water fell from the sky. He returned to put all the animals aboard the now seemingly small ship.
The Unicorn having lived for generations with no others to hunt them had become carefree living only to play and tell histories. When this man of God went about looking for the unicorn they watched but did not understand and played among the other animals being readied, but soon bored, there were other places to play, so left. When it began to rain, they took delight in this new wonder and ran and played as children oft do in the rain. When the waters began to rise they did even notice, save for one unicorn a fanciful young one who believed all the tales were true, who had spent most of her time contemplating the tales she had been told. She had asked questions and was told the answers as were part of the stories but no one could tell her the truth. She had learned to pray by watching the faithful family, though she never heard the voice of God, she did learn that sometimes her prayers were answered.
Watching the family in their joy matched the joy and play that unicorns had, but there was something there that she did not see in her own family, a presence, something almost understandable, but forever beyond her reach.
The holy unicorn had watched the family build this huge ship and wondered the purpose there were no seas anywhere near by, but as the waters began to rise the purpose did become clear as the water reached the place where the big boat sat. The divine, God had told this man and his family to build it against this flood, and by the looks of it this water would not recede for a long time. Then she realized as the boat was loaded the animals gathered were aboard, and the door secured her peoples were not included.
She lowered her head for she knew this meant the end of her beautiful race. Then she kneeled and began to pray, her tears mixing with the rain.
“Oh God, why were we not gathered by your man? Please save us, I know that in all our ability to remember we have forgotten who you are and we don't know you anymore, but please don't leave us to die”
She Prayed and cried, a sound never uttered by unicorn since the dawn of time. Over and over she pleaded “save us” as the waters rose and began to wrap around her. The waters rose until she had to stand to breath, then swim, still she prayed. Even as her strength gave and she slipped beneath the waves she prayed.
She awoke to find herself on a green meadow the grass inviting, she bent to eat, her hunger was greater than her fear, and the grass was more delicious than anything she had ever eaten, the grass was wet with dew, all was peaceful. As her hunger subsided so did her fear and sadness.
And she said to herself “it all must have been a dream, a real bad dream.”
“Sadly my dear unicorn it is not,” a strong voice from behind her said.
Turning to face the voice she beheld a Great lion. His mane shone like the sun itself. Instantly this unicorn, who had never felt fear save for once, fell to her knees trembling. This lion was not a creature set beneath her people as the stories told, he was more, beautiful and terrible at once. The lion approached the prostrate unicorn breathed in to her nose in the greeting of her people.
“Be still my child, I will not harm you”
She looked into his eyes and felt peace.
“I have herd your prayers my faithful one, I will grant you this you will be given a great appointment to guard these summer lands, but first I have a task to set before you, you are to leave this place to remind your family of the Truth and try to convince them to put their faith in me, those that choose will follow you back here to live.”
“But, how sir they all know the stories but they don't believe.”
“You will have to try. Now my dear go” he indicated a path and she solemnly obeyed.
As she set a hoof upon the path he said to her “I will be with you, my luv, have strength”
She raised her head and walked on.
“Please, stop playing and listen to me the waters are rising you will all drown if you do not heed, the tales are true, I've seen the summer lands” No one listened to her, with each one that laughed or turned from her, her strength shrank. Soon she was too was ready to believe that the lion was just a dream.
One night she slept and found herself in that beautiful glade with the lion standing before her, “have strength he said” and she awoke and refreshed she thought of the moots where the unicorns gathered to tell stories,
“I'll go there and tell my tale and beseech all to listen the story teller is always listened to, they'll have to listen to me”
“..... Then He said have strength.” as she finished her tale before the gathering all was quiet.
Then the elder said “a good tale my dear heart it is fresh and new thank you for giving us something we have been lacking for generations”
“...then you believe me if we are to survive you have to believe me”
“Yes dear I believe you story is one to be told from now on.”
“But it is not just a story it is real I saw him he breathed with me, he gave me strength and returned me her to save you.” she began to cry
“You are not well, Dear Heart” then the elder turned to the others some “Someone take and care for this young one see that she does not hurt herself”
“But, I am well I just weep for you I don't want to see you die”
An old mare approached her and steered her away from the gathering “come my darling, I’ll care for you and make you better you’ll be able to run and play again soon”
The waters continued to rise and she stopped eating and got weaker despite all the kind mares help. She prayed constantly till one day the mare did not come back.
“Oh God,” she prayed “please let them see, please”
She did even feel the water rise about her.
Again she awoke in that beautiful glade; she was lying next to something big and warm. Looking around she found the Lion snuggles to her.
“My Dear you have come home to me”
“But I failed. ...”
“None can enter my land save through faith, the animals know who I am. No my child you have not failed many unicorn did sink beneath the waves, but a hand full in the end sought me, but it was too late the water had risen to cover all the land of the earth”
She began to cry to mourn the loss of all her friends and family.
“Weep not, my Dear I did not allow them to die but I could not allow them to come here, I placed their hooves upon the earth dry, and I have removed the blessing I placed upon them long ago man can again see your kind but their appearance has changed their hooves are now clumsy and they have all shed their horns, they are now as common beasts, but they again know me. When the time has come they will be called here and face the judgment alongside man. You my dear Heart will stand at my side when I welcome the faithful home.”
The unicorn stayed with the lion though he would come and go she remained ever vigilant, and guarded the gates to the land against invasion of the fallen, and unfaithful.
Even thousands of years after the flood man still remembers the unicorn, though just in tales and rhyme, they point to the horses and say they look a lot like that, and when they do the horse briefly remembers too and of a poor unicorn that tried to save them. Someday they too will be with him.
