A/N: Okay, here I am again. As I look and see that I've only posted one new chapter on this story all summer, I realize that it's unrealistic to say that this story will be updated at often as anyone would like. School is starting in less than two weeks, and this year is going to be the hardest yet. I will not abandon this story altogether, but it's progress will be slower than I had originally intended. I apologize to all of my wonderful readers and hope that you all will continue checking on this story, because there will be new chapters! I was at camp, and two weeks surrounded by horses and good friends gave me tons of ideas for this story, for which I am very grateful; I had the feeling that a writer's block was coming on (For any of you who have been reading this since I began writing it, you should remember the horrible WB I had around chapters 5 and 6. Not good!!). But now that's gone, and we can move onward! Today you'll get your first look at one of the Six in detail. Also, the Search will begin, as well as the meaning of the Prophecy revealed! So I guess I'll shut up now and let you read.
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Oops, almost forgot. Thanks to Rivendellgurl15, Soul Flyer, Kalyra Shadowdancer, Silver Spell, JAN, Lightfoot, Midnight WolfAngel, Rachel D. Valentine, Ilmare, and uniasus for reviewing!
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Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original Unicorns of Balinor characters or places, but I own everything else, which includes the Six, Keliandra, the plot, and anything else. The Prophecy belongs to Oracle, but I've temporarily stolen it.
* The First War *
The day was hot, and it seemed that night would never come to relieve the Celestial Valley of both the heat and the fighting. The air that had for hundreds of years been filled with nothing but quiet and the sounds of happiness now rang with cries of hatred and pain and the sounds of battle. The war had been going on for three months, and each day broke harder than the last. The strength of the Celestials, who were not used to fighting, was quickly draining, while that of the Shifter and his forces seemed to increase with each new day. Many Celestials were either exhausted or wounded, which placed more duty on the Six to fight and win.
This morning held a rare break in the fighting. Entia's army had jumped worlds again and gone to the Valley of Fear, which gave the Celestials a chance to regroup and plan their next attack. The unicorns gathered around Solaris, with the other Five stallions standing in a semi-circle behind him.
Looking around him, the oldest brother saw the distress on his herdmates' faces. "Do not distress, my friends," he called out to them. "Many of the wounded are ready to return to battle, and we are wounding more of the Shifter's legions every day. I feel that the tides are changing. Victory is near!"
"But how near?" a voice from within the herd called out. A small stallion emerged from the crowd of unicorns, his turquoise coat darkened to cobalt blue by sweat. Shy at first, he saw the hopelessness in the other unicorns' eyes and knew that they had the same concerns as he. "I mean no disrespect, Solaris, but I have a family! My mate already has a little one, and is expecting another very soon. How much longer must this fighting go on? Can we not just let the twilight harem leave?"
Anger and pride blazed in the Sun Stallion's eyes as he approached the outspoken unicorn. "Let the twilight harem leave? And accept defeat from the Shifter? Of course not!" Solaris shot a glare at the small stallion and then turned to face the rest of the herd. "I know that you are weary, but you must have hope! We all must have hope and believe that we can restore the twilight unicorns and drive Entia from our valley. With the strength of our herd, the Gods, and my brothers, we shall overcome this threat to our home!"
"Why fight for something that you do not believe in?"
A gasp rippled through the herd, and all eyes fixed on Solaris to see his reaction. The oldest of the Six clenched his teeth and turned to face his brother Hephaejin, the one who had spoken. The second-oldest of the Six stood with his brothers, a look of defiance on his face.
Seething, Solaris seemed ready to burst with rage, but wisely calmed before trusting himself to speak. The resulting tone was one of forced patience and tolerance. "By what do you mean, my brother?"
"You know exactly what I mean," Hephaejin responded coolly, undaunted by his brother's anger. "You neither liked nor respected the twilight unicorns, and you caused them the ultimate shame by not allowing them to take part in the Ceremony to Greet the Sun. Hatred has been brewing among them for quite some time; I have seen it, as have the other Four. It is only you who has failed to recognize their distress. Perhaps your exclusion of them is what led them to betray the Celestials to the Shifter?"
Solaris, though nervous that the truth had been hit so close to home, managed to scoff. Moving closer to Hephaejin, he hissed, "You try my patience, little brother. Soon you will cross the line, and then not even your observations and deductions will be able to save you."
At the end of the semi-circle of the Six, Arbremu, Stallion of Wood, sighed. Sensing another clash between Solaris and Hephaejin and not wanting to get in the middle, he stepped forward and bowed his horn to Solaris, requesting permission from his brother to speak. The Stallion of the Sun turned toward him and, after snorting at the interruption, nodded.
"Excuse my interruption, Solaris," Arbremu began, "but the Shifter has been gone for some time now. If there is no objection, I volunteer to stand watch for him and his army to make sure that we do not encounter another surprise attack."
The Stallion of the Sun looked down his nose at his brother, who stood 16 hands high to his 19. After giving him an odd look, as if trying to figure out why he should want to leave the meeting, Solaris gave a small shrug and replied, "That is a good idea, brother. Make haste to the hill by the Crystal Arch and keep watch for Entia's return. Report back with any news."
Relieved to be away from his brothers' argument, Arbremu bowed his horn once more in respect to Solaris, and then turned and cantered out of the gathering of unicorns toward the Crystal Arch.
* * * *
Despite the heat of the morning, the day was pleasant. A light breeze blew through Arbremu's green-and-brown mane and tail, which streamed behind him as he galloped through the fields of the Celestial Valley. Sunlight played on his deep green coat, a shade darker than the grass beneath him, and made it sparkle with the light of millions of emeralds. His polished tiger's-eye hooves flashed like beacons as he made his way up the hill to where he was to stand watch, and his rosewood horn stretched out before him, pointing the way. Below it, a beautiful tiger's eye jewel laid, the source of his power. In the center of the jewel, a rectangle of gold rested on top, symbolizing his relation to Solaris and his rank as one of the Six.
The Stallion of Wood reached the top of the hill and stopped, barely winded, to survey the valley below. There was no sign of the Shifter or his forces; the valley was calm. Arbremu could see the meeting of the Celestials, and as he looked closer, could also see that Solaris and Hephaejin had continued to bicker even after he had left.
Silently thanking himself for leaving when he did, the youngest of the Six turned toward the Crystal Arch. It was here that the Shifter seemed to enter the valley most frequently, so Arbremu planned to watch it the closest.
Minutes passed, and there was no sign of Entia's return. As Arbremu scanned the acres of grass below him, he tried to remember the valley as it had been before the arrival of the Shifter. In his mind, he saw peacefully grazing unicorns and foals pretending to battle against each other. Arbremu sighed. I hope that we all live to see that valley restored once more.
A movement caught the stallion's eye. Turning his head quickly, Arbremu spotted a strange shimmering in the air near the base of the Crystal Arch. Recognizing it as the sign that the enemy was returning, he turned and bolted down the hill toward the herd below.
Arbremu was halfway down the side of the slope when he realized that something was wrong. He could no longer feel the ground beneath his hooves; he seemed to be galloping on air. A strange mist swirled before his eyes, but before he could stop to see who or what was behind it, the Stallion of Wood was gone.
* The Celestial Valley *
Startled, Atalanta looked intently at the filly before her. "What do you mean, Keliandra?"
"I think I've solved it!" the young unicorn said again, eyes shining. "Well, at least one part of it."
"Well go on, then," the Dreamspeaker said eagerly.
Proud of her accomplishment, Keliandra turned to the older unicorn and pointed her nose to the last line. "See this? Shall rule all three worlds in one. That must mean the three races: animals, men, and unicorns." Atalanta looked thoughtfully at the verse, and the filly continued. "Also, A war yet to be won sounds like the First War. Since it represents the constant war between Good and Evil, it's never really been won, right?"
"Yes, yes, I suppose that sounds right." The Dreamspeaker was silent for a moment, taking in what had just been shown to her. "A soul lost in time…"
Not fully understanding what the purple mare meant, Keliandra turned her attention to the river beside them. Gazing into its depths, she followed the paths of the many fish over the smooth and polished stones. One stone in particular caught her eye. It seemed to be made of a different type of rock than the rest; it had a greenish tint and seemed to be faintly glowing. Also, some markings seemed to have been carved into it.
"Atalanta," Keliandra said. When she had the mare's attention, she turned to the river. "Look at that peculiar stone."
The unicorn peered into the water and tried to examine the stone through the distortion of the water. After a few moments she quietly said, "Help me get that out. I think it may be important."
Willing to help, Keliandra dove into the river and stuck her head under the water, searching for the stone. She emerged a few seconds later, soaking wet, the stone clamped firmly between her front teeth.
As the filly rolled through the meadows to dry, Atalanta placed the stone on the riverbank and studied it more closely. It seemed to glow even in the sun and had words etched into one side. As the Dreamspeaker read them, she realized that it was a riddle.
"Keliandra," she called. "Come here. I need your help again." The rosy filly returned from the fields, more dirty than dry, and together they read the poem.
The first stone of the path to the Sun,
Has come the last and left the firstEnding the generation of those that are Great.
Going away in the time of need,
Returning when the end is near,
Only to find that he is not the key.
Valiant and strong, he knows his place.
Enter Be Armur.
The two unicorns were silent for a long while after they finished reading the riddle. "What do you suppose it means?" Keliandra asked after the silence became unbearable.
Atalanta sighed. "It must have something to do with the Prophecy, but since we haven't solved that yet, I'm not quite sure what this riddle is saying that we should do." She paused to study the words once more, then continued. "It seems that it's telling us how to find something."
"Or someone," the filly said suddenly. The Dreamspeaker gave her an odd look, so she explained. "Well, it talks about it like it has feelings and can do things, like it's a living thing. Maybe this tells us how to find who the Prophecy is about!"
"No," Atalanta said in a low voice. "No, this riddle is not about him. The pieces do not fit."
Keliandra's eyes widened. "So you know who the Prophecy's about? Why don't you tell anyone; you've practically solved it!"
"You don't understand, Keliandra." The purple unicorn turned away from the filly and gazed into the sky, deep in remembrance. "The purpose of the Prophecy is not to tell us who the One is, but to tell us about him and how he can be brought back to the Celestial Valley. I know who the Prophecy speaks of, as does Numinor and every other unicorn who lived to see the day when it was written. No, solving the Old Mare's poem is far more difficult than guessing a name."
The rosy filly opened her mouth to ask the many questions that had flooded into her brain, but Atalanta cut her off. "You've been here too long, Keliandra; Rowenbe will be wondering what happened to you. Run along now, and we'll talk about this another time."
The Dreamspeaker turned and started to leave, and Keliandra called out, "Where are you going?"
Atalanta turned and gave her a small smile. "To see an old friend."
* * * *
The Dreamspeaker arrived at the foot of the Crystal Arch in record time. Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, the unicorn mare glanced around to ensure that there was no herdmate of hers who was close enough to overhear the conversation that she hoped to have.
When she had caught her breath, Atalanta stood proudly and called out to seemingly no one. "Old one, come to me. Please come to me." Then, she waited.
After what seemed like eons of waiting, Atalanta saw a large rock nearby begin to change. A head formed, followed by a neck, body, and legs; when the transformation was complete, an old, shaggy unicorn stood where the rock had been but moments before.
"You called on me, Atalanta?" asked the Old Mare. Even though she looked older than ancient, her voice was light and youthful.
"Old One," the Dreamspeaker began, "a filly and I have found a strange riddle carved on an equally strange river stone. The riddle is strange and seems to have something to do with the Prophecy, and the stone glows green, even in sunlight. Since you were present when the Prophecy was written, I had hoped that you would have some knowledge of the purpose of the riddle."
"And what if I did?" the old unicorn said quizzically.
"Will you help us decipher its meaning? If it does have something to do with the Prophecy, then it's only more important that we solve it as quickly as possible. The Shifter's forces are gathering and growing by the day. I do not think that the Celestials could face such an army with any hope of being victorious."
"I must be honest with you, Atalanta," the Old Mare said, her eyes seeming more tired than usual. "I do not know the meaning of the riddles, for they were formed without my knowledge by the One Who Rules long ago. But I do know that they pertain to the Prophecy, as you had guessed, probably more so than you had. But do not look to your son for answers; the poems do not regard him, that I am sure of. Look to the Prophecy for answers and find the Lost Ones."
This confused the Dreamspeaker. "The Lost Ones? What do you mean by that, Old One?"
But the Old Mare of the Mountain was already fading back into the boulder. "Find the Lost Ones," she repeated as her voice faded away. "When the Lost Ones of the past return…" And with that, a large rock was all that remained where the Old Mare had been standing. Atalanta was alone.
* * * *
Keliandra was less than pleased that Atalanta had cut their meeting short and made her way back to the other foals very slowly. She thought about the riddle the whole way across the valley, but nothing became of it. Feeling confused and hopeless, the rosy filly found Rowenbe and reluctantly trotted over to her.
"Did you have a nice run, Keliandra?" Rowenbe asked.
"Oh, yes," she replied quietly.
Concerned, the toffee-colored mare looked intently at Keliandra. Usually so happy and joyful, the filly's gloomy attitude worried her. "Is everything alright, my dear?"
"Yes," Keliandra said, then changed her mind. "No, everything's not alright. Rowenbe, can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, dear," the kindly unicorn said, eager to know what was on the filly's mind.
"Who are the Lost Ones?" she asked.
"The Lost Ones?" Rowenbe answered, a bit taken aback. She lowered her voice. "How do you know of the Six?"
"Um, the Dreamspeaker was telling me of a dream she had and she mentioned them and I didn't know who they were," Keliandra answered quickly, trying to mask the falseness in her voice.
"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt," the toffee-colored unicorn said to herself, then raised her voice slightly so that the filly could hear. "The Six, also referred to as 'The Lost Ones', were the six original Celestial stallions. Some say that they were the creatures of the Gods, and it is from them that we are all descended. Over the years their lines were crossed to create the rainbow of colors, but there are still some purebreds. I, for example, am a direct descendant of Arbremu, the Stallion of Wood." Seeing that Kelindra was still interested, Rowenbe continued.
"The Six lived in harmony with the Celestial Herd for many hundreds of years. But then, during the time of the Great Betrayal, the twilight harem split off from the Celestials and joined with the Shifter to become the Shadow unicorns. Solaris, the oldest Brother, wanted them back, so the First War was fought to try to retrieve them. The war was almost won when the Six began to disappear, one by one, until they were all gone, lost to the world. They were never found."
Keliandra took a few minutes to absorb the information then opened her mouth to ask a question, but Rowenbe cut her off, a strange look on her face. "No, no, I've already said too much. Young ones aren't supposed to know about the Six. Now, go run along and play." With that, the toffee-colored mare turned and quickly ran over to where a group of foals were playing, leaving the rose-colored filly to put the pieces together.
* * * *
Her talk with the Old Mare of the Mountain had left Atalanta feeling more confused and hopeless than before. She had no idea what the riddle or the Prophecy meant, and it seemed that time was running out before the inevitable meeting with the Shifter and Thianc.
She returned to the stream where the stones that had the two poems etched on them were. Determined to solve them as quickly as possible, the Dreamspeaker stared at the words so intently that she didn't even hear Keliandra approach.
"Atalanta! Atalanta!" she called out, running up beside her. "Atalanta, I know who the Lost Ones are!"
This got the unicorn's attention. Turning swiftly, she said, "Pray tell, Keliandra."
"They're the Six!"
The Dreamspeaker looked at her in confusion. "Who told you about the Six?"
"Rowenbe," the filly said. "I'll explain later."
Atalanta thought about it for a moment. "Yes, yes, I should have made that connection. Of course the Lost Ones would have been the Six."
"I just realized something," Keliandra said. "That has nothing to do with the riddle!"
"Oh, I think it has more to do with the riddle than we think." The Dreamspeaker motioned toward the green stone. "I think that solving the riddle will lead us to one of the Six."
"But Rowenbe said that no one knew where they were!" the filly exclaimed.
"Well, I think that we're on the road to finding one," Atalanta answered. "But the question is, which one?"
Both unicorns studied the riddle closely, searching for any clue that would tell them which stallion brother they were seeking. Keliandra looked back and tried to remember if Rowenbe had mentioned any names. Suddenly, one came to her. "Arbremu!"
"How did you get that name?" the Dreamspeaker asked her.
"Rowenbe mentioned it," the filly said, "and I think that's it. See where it says 'Enter Be Armur'? If you rearrange the letters it reads 'Enter Arbremu'!"
"That's incredible," Atalanta mused. "But I think you're right. It seems to say here that we're looking for the youngest Brother, which is Arbremu. Keliandra, I could never have gotten this far without you."
"We're not through yet," Keliandra said. "We still don't even know where to look for him."
The Dreamspeaker thought. "Well, his name was hidden in the poem; maybe his location is hidden there as well."
They studied the riddle again, but this time the answer was easier to extract. Less than a minute passed before Atalanta noticed something. "Look, 'The Grove'! The first letters of every line spell 'The Grove'!"
"That must be where Arbremu is!" Keliandra exclaimed, more excited than ever. "Come on, let's go!"
* * * *
Eager to see if their answer was right, both Celestials promptly turned and galloped toward The Grove, a small wooded area near the eastern edge of the valley. It didn't take long for them to get there, but once they did, they didn't know where to look.
"He could be anywhere," Atalanta said. "Let's split up; we can search faster that way." Keliandra nodded her agreement, and the two turned and entered The Grove in separate directions.
The filly was nearing the center of The Grove when she saw something in the trees. She caught a glimpse of a redwood horn and immediately thought of Rowenbe. "What is she doing in here?" Keliandra wondered to herself, then turned toward the horn and called out, "Rowenbe!"
"I have not seen your friend Rowenbe," someone said behind her. His voice was slightly baritone, and it had a lyrical expression to it, as if it was being accompanied by reeds or horns. "But perhaps I can help you look for her."
Startled by the voice that was obviously not Rowenbe's, Keliandra turned quickly to face the owner of the voice. In front of her was a handsome stallion, greener than the grass with a rosewood horn and hooves. "Hello," the unicorn said to the shocked filly. "My name is Arbremu."
* * * *
Atalanta approached the Watching Pool and prepared herself to make a visit. She splashed her hoof in the water and dipped her horn into the pool three times. "I call upon Thianc, my son."
The waters spun gently, and a vision appeared in its depths. The Fiery Fields came into focus first, followed by the surrounding landscape. But what Atalanta was concerned with was what was happening on the field itself. The Shadow unicorns were training, and Thianc was clearly visible against the sea of black bodies.
The Dreamspeaker felt both anger and sadness as she watched her son fighting and training under the Shifter's command, but now a new wave of hope overcame her. "Do not worry, my son," she said softly to the image of Thianc. "We have found the unicorn who will set you free. Keliandra is showing him around the valley now, but as soon as they're done I will begin my campaign to retrieve you from this fate that should not be yours. I am coming."
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Phew, was that long! That's the longest chapter I think I've ever written, but you all deserve it for putting up with my not-writing-ness for so long. It's over 4,000 words long, so this should keep you occupied. For all of you who are interested in possibly writing riddles for me: I made up the riddle for Arbremu, but that's basically the kind of stuff I'm gonna need. If you're interested, please please e-mail me! Thanks again for reading and waiting and all that good stuff. Here's another good thing: REVIEW!! Oh, and here's another: Read and review my other Unicorns of Balinor fic Follow. It's about Albright and Jenny and all the stuff that happens to them. I'll hopefully have it updated soon as well, so then you'll have two chapters to read. Sound good? Good!