� 2001-2006 by Shiloh
�
(Since this is a long entry and a rewrite here and there of part of the background notes I'd once written for my fantasy novel {yet to be written to completion and published}, I've divided it into two parts. That way it's easier for everyone to chew. Or take in.)
(Started on 04-27-04)
I re-registered at eHarlequin.com a few days ago when searching for any good or excellent Native American romances. (That movie really had me craving them ever since I saw it. And since I registered, I'm now getting the newsletter. And in the newsletter they offer writing tips or exercises for the hopeful, unpublished writers. The exercise in this issue is to write a backstory for a secondary character. I was going to do this exercise, but it started morphing--I love this word--into something bigger and I found part of the background I'd once typed for the unicorn fantasy I'd like to turn into a novel, maybe a series. So that's what you're going to get tonight.
An exerpt from The Unicorn Nation: An Historic of Unitarre, as put down by the Elven scholar, Ansen Cree in the year A.W. 1150:
"In the beginning Covano was a peaceful world, green and wonderful and filled with magic and innocence. The Faerie Mists surrounded it even then and the Faeries, considering themselves superior beings to all other races, took upon themselves the duty of being Guardians to Covano. They delighted in their roles as oracles for the different races and protected the forests and their creatures.
"Covano was the home of many races: Humans, Elves, Sprites, Trolls, Canines, Felines, Gnomes, Dwarves and Goblins on land and the Merr Folk in the Blue Waters. Occasionally small wars broke out, but the Faeries quickly saw them settled. As for the Canines and Felines, nothing could be done to cease their constant warring.
"This peace lasted nearly 500 years. All but the two Warring Races grew and progressed to a higher level of civilization. Magic became less important as Covano entered an Age of Technology. Oracles were no longer heeded or sought out. The Faeries retreated to the forests or back to their homeland beyond the Mists, no longer the worshipped beings they'd once been.
"Though now prosperous more than ever, the races could not continue their control over the progress or the technology invented. Over time both ignited the flames of greed, and greed bred the madness of racism.
"The lands of Covano were torn apart by the terrible devastation of the Great War.
"The once beautiful, mostly serene world was now a colossal battlefield. The ground was stained and the rivers seemed to run red with blood. Battle cries and the booming reports of guns and other artillery echoed for miles. Smoke from fires and explosives created a constant, heavy gray haze that hung low on the horizon. Forests and valleys were raped, cities plundered and fields razed. There was no safe place, not even for the innocent. Sacred shrines and temples were desecrated or destroyed in one battle or another.
"The Great War continued for many years. Generation after generation grew up knowing only sorrow, death, loss, heartache and pain. The races were mere remnants of what they had once been in the Technological Times; some were now, sadly, extinct.
"The Faeries watched in sorrow and disgust as their world slid headlong towards destruction. There was little they could do, for their magic was greatly diminished as there were very few who still believed in magic.
"Those who lived among the wild animals refused to return home to their native land without leaving what protection they could for the creatures. With grim determination and a slim hope of salvation, these Faeries created four horse-like creatures with horns spiraling upwards from their foreheads. These were Unicorns: the Forest Guardians.
"Each was given a name, White Starr, Blue Heart, Golden Knight and Onyx. Each was created with the knowledge of their duties. To carry them out the unicorns needed magic, magic that would withstand the unbelief in Covano.
"Beyond the Faerie Mists, found only in the Faeries' homeland, there is a sapphire-hued crytalline rock which holds pure magic. This power has never needed innocence or belief to work, but instead has drawn on the ancient powers of the Elements for its source. Its shape is the 10-point star, which gives the stone its name: the Starran.
"The Faeries mined and crushed a portion of the rock into fine powder, using it in the creation of the unicorns' horns. This gave the unicorns magic of course, but each time they cast a spell they depleted their store of magic a little more as they had only particles of the starran to use. To give them a constant source a medallion was made from the rock, which is now kept in Unitarre's national treasury. It hangs around the neck of a statue of White Starr, believed to be the first unicorn created. As long as the amulet stays in the possession of the Forest Guardians and their people its magic will be theirs.
"For a decade rumors (sparked by brief sightings and encounters) circulated about these guardians of the forests. From these rumors differing attitudes developed, ones of reverance, awe, fear, fascination, unbelief, even trophies to be won."
Legend:
A.W. = After [the Great] War
B.W. = Before [the Great] War
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