A/N: Hey again to everyone. Thanks to Black-as-Knight14 for reviewing Chapter 4. By the way, I love reviews. They are the highlight of my life. (You all say: What life?) I'm trying out italics here, so bear with me: Tomorrow is Dublin's birthday! Okay, so let's see if this works. Yeah, I do need a life....
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Disclaimer: I don't own Unicorns of Balinor. But I own the plot, Thianc, Ce'Branthi, and Ru Krion . So there.
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After all the formalities were finished and their respects paid to the foal, the rest of the Celestial herd broke up, wandering this way and that trying to find the best grazing area. Soon after the birth, Atalanta and Numinor stood alone on the hilltop with baby Thianc.
Already showing his curious nature, Thianc stretched his tiny neck out as far as it would reach and sniffed the ground around him. Moving his head slowly in a circle, he took in the sweet scent of the valley's grass and the dusty scent of the dirt, until his nose hit something hard and solid. He nudged it with his nose, but the solid thing wouldn't move. The foal gave a small squeal of frustration and, suddenly uninterested in the strange object, squirmed to get away from it.
Atalanta smiled at her baby's antics and moved her hoof, the offensible object. The Dreamspeaker gazed down at Thianc, who looked up for the first time. He looked upon his parents with a look of initial shock, which was soon replaced with one of studying. He studied the features of the grown unicorns intently, which allowed them to study him as well. To Atalanta, he seemed perfectly normal, except for his clear green eyes. What a peculiar color, she thought.
Numinor was studying Thianc as well. To the stallion, the feeling that all was not right with his foal still lingered. There was something strange about him, something that seemed out of place. The more the golden unicorn thought about it, the more evident it became to him that something was not right. He gazed harshly at the foal, critiquing everything about him. Thianc seemed the perfect son, until he turned to gaze directly at his father.
His eyes! Numinor gasped in shock. Such a deep emerald green... There was no chance that the son of the Golden One would be any color other than a rich, brilliant gold. It had been that way since the beginning of time, and would be that way until the line of Solaris, the father of the Celestial Unicorns, was broken.
But maybe his line was already broken, Numinor thought. For if Thianc wasn't his son, then that meant that Atalanta... The Golden One pushed all thought of that out of his mind immediately. He knew that the Dreamspeaker was loyal to him and him alone.
"Atalanta," Numinor started, but then stopped. Quickly revising his question, he coughed slightly and continued. "Shouldn't Thianc begin walking soon? We can't stand on this hilltop forever."
The Dreamspeaker sensed his indecision, but decided not to mention it. "Yes, Numinor. He will stand when he is ready. Not before."
As if on cue, the foal bent his long legs and began struggling to stand. After a few moments and some helpful nudges from his mother, Thianc was standing uncertainly on top of the hill. He wobbled once, but soon regained his balance and gazed proudly up at his parents. Atalanta gave him a warm smile; Numinor's was colder.
"Little Thianc," Atalanta said to her son. "Welcome to your Celestial Valley."
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Far away in his castle, Enita the Shifter observed this with growing excitement. Numinor was realizing the truth faster than he had anticipated.
"Too bad Thianc isn't of the blood of Numinor. It would make him so much more valuable..." the Shifter muttered to himself.
At that moment, the great stone door of his chamber scraped open, admitting two shifty characters inside. They limped over to where their master was and stood for some time, waiting for some recognition. After a moment, Entia sighed and said in a dull tone, "You're late."
The two glanced nervously at each other; being late was never a good thing. "Well, uh, you see master..." the first one began.
"I am not interested in your excuses, Ce'Branthi. Just tell me what information you gathered," he demanded.
Ce'Branthi gulped. He resembled a starved monkey, with long bony limbs and a short stature. His dark, leathery skin was drawn tightly over his face, making his large lamp-like eyes seem to bulge out of his face. He wrung his large hands nervously. "Well, you see my lord, I didn't..."
He stopped suddenly, trembling slightly as he felt his hands being wrenched behind him and his feet kicked out from underneath him. As he lay captive on the cold stone floor of the chamber, he saw Entia lower his index finger before the darkness covered his sight.
The Shifter did not turn to watch the unconsious Ce'Branthi being dragged out; he did not listen to the footsteps of the guardsmen as they carried him to the dungeon. It had happened too many times previous to this to have any impact on the evil being. Instead, he turned in his chair to address the one who had accompanied Ce'Branthi into the chamber. "I trust that you had better luck, Ru Krion?"
The tall figure in the corner nodded slowly. The Shifter was one of the few beings alive who had the privilege of knowing its name, and one of the fewer number who had seen it out of the shadow. To most, it was known as "The Shadow". All who lived feared it and its curse, for once it started hunting you it didn't stop until you were caught. It was the most efficient hunter alive; there wasn't anyone it couldn't catch.
"Excellent." Entia grinned broadly. "So tell me: where is he?"
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That night, Numinor slept fitfully. He was plagued by dreams filled with a strange green unicorn. He was obviously a Celestial, but the Golden One didn't recognize him as a member of the current herd. Numinor was alarmed to see that his horn was sharpened in the fashion of the Shadow Unicorns; this certainly wasn't any Celestial that he knew.
The green stallion slowly turned his head, and Numinor dreaded seeing his face. But the Golden One couldn't look away, and then the stallion's gaze was upon him. He seemed like an ordinary unicorn, though his face was twisted in hatred. But as the golden stallion looked closer, he was met with a surprise. This strange unicorn had the same deep emerald eyes as Thianc!
Suddenly, Numinor awoke, gasping for breath. He gazed over to where Atalanta and the foal were sleeping, and a strange feeling of hatred began to well up inside of him. As he thought about it, he began to realize the truth behind the heir of the Celestial Valley. And it wasn't at all what he had thought before.
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Okay, before I leave, I just have to say that the part with Entia in it is what I think Entia would be like. I didn't really get a good sense of what he was like from the books, so this is totally based on my impression of him. If it's wrong, I'm really sorry, but it's the best I could do. Thanks, and please review!!
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