Heart of Darkness

Chapter 1 (Alternate)

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Lyonesse

Chrysalis nosed the cooled ashes that were the remnants of her village. Her silvery-white mane blew in the wind, over the remains of the fallen defenders that lie in the streets, weapons clutched in their hands. The unnatural silence is broken by the sound of hoof beats. Moving away from the ashes, Chrysalis turned to her instructor, Corsyth. He walked over and puts his hand on her white muzzle as silver tears fell freely, hitting the ground sprouting little silver starbells. The delicate star-shaped flowers stood out in the bleak landscape around them.

"Why did this happen? Who would do this to us, Corsyth, We're not a violent people," Chrysalis looked back to the dead mournfully. "What will we do now?"

"We will send them to the Endless Fields, of course. They deserve that much. We will gather the dead in one spot and line them up accordingly. Then I want you to take enough hair from each to make their death bracelets. We will bury the horns from the unicorn-born by Crystal Lake." Corsyth held her until her tears stopped. He wiped the wetness from her lovely face and touched her silver horn soothingly. "Come, there is work to be done, My Lady."

He watched as she slowly transforms. Her horn gradually lessened until there is nothing but a blue star-burst on her forehead. Her mane and tail become one silver flowing cascade. The rest of the unicorn fades until there is only a maiden standing there, dressed in the robes of an acolyte of the Holy Sect.

Together, they work in tandem. He moved the bodies of the dead, and she gathered the hair samples for the bracelets. Silently, each sample is neatly tied off and marked with a name and set in her basket. As she works, she noticed the dead were from the Warrior Sect. Another thing she noticed was there were few women and no children. She was so intent on her observations, she didn't hear Corsyth approach her again. Chrysalis looked up and noticed the sun is ready to rest, and there is work still to do.

"My Lady, we need to rest and gather our strength for the days to come. I have found some survivors, they rest in the temple." Corsyth held his hand out to help her stand. Chrysalis gathered her basket of sorrow and together the pair moved toward the temple. Children herald their approach, running out and embracing Chrysalis. The women refrain from running out, but their proud smiles are as rejoicing as the children's.

Corsyth watches as the remnants of the community embrace their only remaining priestess. Chrysalis was the youngest among their acolytes, and it was a miracle she was not in the village when this crime happened. The smell of a well prepared meal reminds his stomach that he has not eaten all day. He watched Chrysalis as she helped organize the children and set the placings for the meal to come at the large circular marble tables that were divided into segments to allow easy movement.

Chrysalis felt some sense of normalcy return when she began to divide the children among the tables. The other women came out with the meal and began filling plates. The sound of more hoof beats make the children's eyes light up excitedly, but none move from the table. Finally, Corsyth and five from the Warrior Sect filed into the room. The five warriors are as relieved and pleased to see Chrysalis as the others were. They stop and make their offering before sitting at the table. Then they all turned to look at Chrysalis expectantly.

A red flush burns its way up her cheeks as she stood to give the meal blessing. She is relieved that her voice remained steady, and that it did not break between words. Corsyth's smile is the only approval she needed to see as her people sit down to eat as they would have any night in their homes. Chrysalis admires the children for their happiness. She watched as they laugh and joke with the adults around them.

"Corsyth, where are the others? The dead are only composed of warriors." Her words cut through the dining hall like a knife. Everyone looked from her to Corsyth, waiting for an answer. Corsyth finished his meal and wiped his mouth before he spoke.

"My only guess is that they have been taken captive. The warrior scouts found a trail that leads out of here. None were in mortal guise, all were unicorn." He said quietly, without looking up from his meal.

"Who took them? When will we try to find them?" Chrysalis could not help but ask these questions like a fly pesters a horse.

"It is my belief that the Dark Men took them." Corsyth replies as murmurs of fear ripple around the room. "Too long have we been complacent, too long have we shunned the help of outsiders. The Dark Men found this weakness and exploited it. I am not sure if it was one or more. In the morning, I am moving all of the survivors to the Ancient Grove. It is safe there, not even the Dark Men's power can reach there."

Chrysalis nods. The grove is safe. Its magics have persisted through time from when Unicorns learned the two legged shape. She looked at the few warriors left. They would be needed to escort this group to the grove.

"Who will go after the others then?" Chrysalis mused aloud. The warriors look to Corsyth eagerly, each wanted the honor of such a quest.

"You will, Chrysalis." Corsyth says as the roar of arguments came from the women and warriors.

"She is the only priestess left, she cannot risk herself!" Charvis argues, his nostrils flared in protest.

"She is an acolyte, not yet a priestess. She needs to be the one. She alone has the strongest ties to the herd. She will be able to use that to orient herself when all other ways fail. She has to go," Corsyth stated simply. The logic of his words silence the room at once. Everyone knows that the acolytes from birth are anointed so they felt the movements of all in the herd.

"Honored Corsyth, even so, you cannot send her alone. She has no warrior skills. What if she needs to fight?" Charvis added. Risking the priestess was bad enough, but without a protector, Charvis knew that Chrysalis would be vulnerable.

"What would you have me do Charvis? Our warriors are the only escort for us to the Grove." Corsyth replies, as he set down his silverware to address the warrior. He rubbed at his temples and wished the decisions being made weren't so hard.

"I would like to send Gairvin, elder. He needs to journey for his Mark of the Warrior. He cannot do that as an escort."

"Gairvin is a suitable option. I cannot keep a warrior from his path," Corsyth replied, allowing the Warrior Sect some allowance of protection for their only remaining priestess. "It is settled then. Chrysalis and Gairvin will go forth from Echealon and find the herd. When the herd is found, you return to us so that proper warriors can go forth to rescue the herd."

When the meal ended, Chrysalis leaves the temple, noting that the women have taken her bundles of hair and were weaving the bracelets of remembrance. They looked up at her sorrowfully as they do their work. She knew they didn't want her to go, they want her to travel to safety with them. Suddenly, she can't be around this sadness any longer, she needed to run, to feel the wind in her face, to hear the animals speak. She quickly changed to a unicorn, the form to which she was born and ran to the far end of the village boundary, where the lake starts. She stared into the lake, paralyzed by the fear of leaving her home, even for the cause of finding the others. She stared at her reflection in the water, wondering what other races would make of her. Wondering if they were like all the tales that she used to hear. Chrysalis settled down by the lake letting the sound of the lake lull her to sleep.

"Wake up, child. It is time to prepare the burial ceremony." Corsyth nudged her gently. Chrysalis' eyes fluttered open, and she climbed to her feet, shaking out her mane. It catches the sunlight and shimmers in silvery ripples as she follows Corsyth.

The others are assembled at the far end of the lake where the crystals were the largest. Corsyth had coached her on what to say by the time they were within hearing distance of the others. Chrysalis performed the ceremony as she had seen her mother do in times past, when an elder passedon. One by one, the horns of the slain are buried, and the bracelets of the others are held and sung out so the dead could run forever in the Endless Fields.

When the ceremony ends, Corsyth brought some things forward and handed them to Chrysalis. "The things in these packs should help you to reach the first settlement. Remember to follow the trail I marked for Gairvin. Use your elven guise when others are nearby. I wish you luck and will pray for your return with news of the others. Take care, child. May the First Mother watch over you and guide your path."

Chrysalis stands patiently while Corsyth fastens the pack to her. Gairvin trots up, his pack already fastened, his golden mane rippling in the wind. He looks nervous and excited, and Chrysalis can't help but feel some excitement herself. Corsyth finishes the straps and he places a hand on her downy white muzzle.

"Remember your horn is a versatile tool. A weapon to be used when you cannot get away. I wish I did not have to send you, Chrysalis. You have so much to learn. I did pack lessons for you to practice with. Your power will come when it comes, journey or no, and you have to be prepared," Corsyth turned to Gairvin, who pawed the ground with impatience to be gone.

"This is a test for you, Gairvin. Protect her while you can. There will be a time when she must go on alone, and you must come back to us. Do not foolishly rush into combat when another option is available. This isn't about glory, not this time, young one," Corsyth said patting the young stallion gently on the back before standing back.

"Go now, both of you. Pray that our families return safely." Corsyth said as Chrysalis and Gairvin moved into a trot. "Return to us, please," he said when they are out of sight.

Chrysalis trotted in silence after they left Corsyth on the field. He had shown her the trail a long time ago, when she was first anointed. "This trail leads to other races, do not follow this trail ever," she remembered him saying. Chrysalis now looked at the same trail as it stretched before her and Gairvin. Gairvin is still anxious, pawed the ground, waiting for her to move.

"This is the trail Gairvin. It will lead us to the settlement. Corsyth told me that our natural powers are what caused us to flee from others. We were used, exploited, hunted, even killed for what we were born with. It was so long ago, before you or I were ever foaled. That is why we came here to Echealon, to live apart," Chrysalis looked back toward home. "Now we have to go back to them, and hope we can find clues to help the ones we lost."

"If they are so evil, why are we supposed to seek their help?" Gairvin asked looking twice at the dirt road that spawned demons in his mind.

"Not all are evil. It is their faces we need to read, their actions we need to judge," Chrysalis responded, hoping her own words were true.

"The sun is rising higher; we should start this journey," Gairvin said, waiting for her to give the signal.

Chrysalis looked back once more, then turned to the road, trotting at first, then moving into a gallop. Gairvin rears once and follows her, trusting in her meager knowledge to lead them both to the lost ones.