Part XI -- Wara Werecorn
Everyone was up early the next morning to break camp and prepare for the journey to Lake Eerie. While Vader and Metria dismantled the tents and Jenny and Chang cleaned up the camp, Luke took Sammy ahead to scout out a likely path. Normally travelers in Xanth used enchanted, protected paths for long journeys, but according to Metria the game required them to face Xanth's dangers.
Sammy meowed and pawed the ground. Sure enough, he'd found a trail, starting at the base of a palm tree and curving around the edge of a clear pool. Luke knelt near the shore of the pond. He was pretty thirsty, and a cool drink sounded excellent at the moment.
As he was about to lower his cupped hands into the water, Sammy hissed. His hand went to his blast-her as he looked up to discern the threat.
Something stood on the bank about four meters away, gazing at him with liquid brown eyes. Its body resembled the lower quarters of a centaur, only white as Hoth's glaciers with a silver tail. Where a humanoid body would begin on a centaur, however, was a strong neck and long muzzle with a soft nose and glistening silver mane to match its tail. Curious elven ears pricked forward, and an iridescent spiral horn twisted out from its brow.
His breath caught in his throat. The creature was strikingly beautiful. And as it hadn't attacked, snarled, or given any indication of nervousness or irritation, he assumed it was harmless.
The animal nickered softly, lowered its elegant head toward the pool, and took a long draught.
"Well," Luke noted, "if it's safe for you to drink, it's probably okay for me." He bent down to take a sip.
Sammy yowled.
"Oh, stop it," he told the cat. "It's not going to bite."
The creature watched him carefully, muzzle flecked with moisture. Somehow it seemed twice as beautiful as before. Luke sniffed -- the water smelled all right. No scent of decay or poison.
Sammy growled. Luke saw the animal was approaching, its cloven hooves stepping elegantly through the grass. He marveled at its grace, its color, its expressive eyes. Still watching it, he put his mouth to the pond's surface.
A strong black-gloved hand clamped onto his shoulder and jerked him upright.
"Hey!" he yelped, startled, wrenching free of Vader's grasp.
A wild shriek pierced the air as Metria popped into sight between him and the animal. She had assumed the form of a beast similar to the white one, only Metria was jet-black, built far more powerfully, and had a wicked-looking steel-colored horn. Both creatures reared on their hind legs and screamed, pawing the air, then lashed out with their forehooves, tore with their teeth, and slashed with their horns like lightsabers.
"Metria!" Luke cried. "No! Stop!" He ran forward to stop his Companion and found Vader and Chang gripping his arms, holding him back. Metria couldn't hurt this creature! It was a thing of surpassing loveliness, and it meant them no harm.
"Luke, stay back!" ordered Chang.
"Don't let her hurt it!" he shouted, fighting against the centaur.
"Breathe deeply!" Vader ordered.
"You almost took a drink from a love spring!" Jenny exclaimed. "Don't worry, you should recover in a minute or two. You only got a whiff of the vapor."
After a few deep breaths, Luke felt remarkably clear-headed. Had he really almost fallen in love with an animal? Disaster had been too close! He'd be sure to heed Sammy's warnings in the future.
"What is that?" he asked.
"A unicorn," Jenny replied. "They're quite rare, even in Xanth."
"Then call Metria off of this one," Chang advised.
The two unicorns were still fighting, biting and kicking. Luke drew his blast-her and set it to stun, but Vader was quicker. He thrust out with one hand, palm out, and the white unicorn fell to the ground, dazed but unhurt. Metria backed off and became human again.
"What did you do that for?" she demanded.
"Put some clothes on!" Vader shot back.
"I had it gripped!" she continued, a dress forming over her body.
"Had it what?" demanded Chang.
"Clasped, clutched, under control, satisfactory..."
"Handled," Luke replied.
"Whatever."
The unicorn lifted its head, moaned... and changed into a young woman.
Luke's jaw fell open. "Is she a demon?"
"No, a werecorn," Jenny replied.
"Werecorn?" Vader repeated. "A subspecies of unicorn?"
"Not really. Were-beasts are a kind of crossbreed that can switch from human form to animal at will. Werewolves are the most common, though there have also been werehorses and weredragons, among others. I've never heard of a werecorn before now."
The werecorn, now in human form, lay sobbing in the grass. She wore a long, white, robe-like dress similar to the one Leia had worn on the first Death Star, with a simple silver sash around the waist and a silver metal band around her brow. Her hair was silvery-white and fell almost to her knees, and her deep brown eyes overflowed with tears.
"This could be a problem," Metria noted. "You didn't drink from the spring, Skywriter, but she did."
She was in love with him? He wanted to kick himself. How could he let this happen? Now he was bound to break the poor girl's heart, for while she was by no means unattractive, he just didn't love her in return. And he was Mundanian -- more marks against him. Surely a werecorn wouldn't be welcome outside of Xanth, let alone in the ranks of the Rebellion -- and most certainly not in the Empire.
"Please stop crying," Jenny told the woman, going over to her and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What's your name?"
"W-Wara Werecorn," she replied, sitting up and wiping her eyes. She gazed plaintively at Vader. "Oh, why did you have to stop him from drinking?"
"You mean you planned this?" Vader snarled, advancing on her. Now it was Luke's turn to join Chang in restraining him.
"I had no choice!" she wailed. "It was the only way I could get my talent back..." She burst into tears again.
"Perhaps we should talk about this back at camp," Chang suggested gently.
"Camp's been taken down completely," Jenny replied. "We can talk about it on the way."
Wara managed to regain her composure enough to speak. "Where are you going?"
"Lake Eerie," Luke replied.
Her eyes went wide. "No, don't! An evil Magician lives there!"
Vader eyed her suspiciously. "How do you know this?"
"It -- it's a long story..." she began.
Jenny began humming, and as Wara told her tale to the others they were able to visualize the story.
Wara was the child of a human peasant woman named Ava and a unicorn stallion named Ulric. Like most of Xanth's crossbreeds, they had met at a love spring, and the result was a child with the ability to assume the form of either parent. This was quite the complication for both parents. Ava, whose talent was communicating with birds, had wanted to marry a handsome young human man, settle down, and have a family, and few men fancied a woman who already had a child, especially a crossbreed. Ulric, being a unicorn, normally only associated with maidens, so he had cut off all contact with Ava out of necessity after Wara was born. But he still loved the human woman and continued to pine for her.
Wara, meanwhile, felt lost. Life at her mother's village was hard, for she was constantly being teased by the other children for being a crossbreed even when she remained in human form. Among her father's kind, she had to remain in unicorn form to keep from shaming him in the eyes of his herd. An outcast in both worlds, she longed to find a place to truly call home.
One day Wara was washing the family laundry in a spring near their village. It was the only spring for miles, but most villagers had to buy their water from the untrustworthy loan sharks of the Region of Water, seeing as the spring was a bed spring. Any who drank from its water would immediately fall into a deep sleep. Wara's talent, however, was immunity to magic springs, so she didn't have to bargain with the loan sharks just to do the washing.
While at the spring, a strange being approached her. He looked like a centaur, except where an equine body should have been was a dragon body, complete with scales and wings and claws. But his human torso and face were dark and handsome, with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes.
"Good afternoon, young lady," he greeted. "Do you know where the nearest village is?"
"Just down the path," she replied innocently. "Turn left at the chest-nut tree and you'll be there. It's my home village."
"I see. What kind of village?"
"Human mostly. In fact, I'm the only non-human there."
"Oh? You look human to me."
"Actually, I'm a crossbreed." She assumed unicorn form to show him.
He smiled at that, obviously pleased. "A crossbreed like me, I see. Tell me -- is it lonely being the only crossbreed in your village?"
"Very much so. I just wish there was another of my kind."
"Funny you should say that, my dear. I am Magician Darius Dracotaur, leader of a crossbreed village in northern Xanth. Those beings who are unfortunate enough to be born to parents of different species can live in peace there. I don't think we have a werecorn yet, but perhaps you'd feel welcome among us."
So she packed her things, kissed Ava goodbye, said farewell to Ulric, and traveled with Darius to Lake Eerie and his crossbreed village.
At first she felt at home at the lake. It was a refuge for those not welcome among their parents' kinds, for many species didn't approve of crossbreeding. She had thought herself to be weird among humans, but her lineage was tame compared to the harpy-naga, the demon-centaur, the ogre-merman, and the goblin-werewolf, to name a very few. But no one at Lake Eerie treated anyone else differently simply because of their bloodlines. It was a seeming paradise.
But then she began hearing disturbing things from the others. They told of how Darius had done the unthinkable -- he had sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his powerful talent of altering others' talents. And rumor had it that he was amassing an army of crossbreeds to travel south and take Castle Roogna, the seat of power in Xanth.
His plot was terrifying in its simplicity -- he would alter the talents of all his crossbreed followers until they were Magician-class talents, then advance on Castle Roogna. Then he would alter the talents of the royal family, transforming them into minor talents. And as only a Magician could rule Xanth, the current King would be ousted, and he would rule Xanth.
Terrified, Wara tried to sneak out of the village, but Darius caught her. She told him that she wanted nothing to do with his plot and was going to warn King Dor of his intentions.
"My plan will go forward as planned," he replied confidently. "And you won't be messing it up, my young werecorn."
Stars danced around her head. She felt dizzy. He had just changed her talent!
"No!" she cried. "Change it back!"
"That I cannot do, child, unless you do something in return."
She had no desire to help him, but she really did want her talent back. "Anything."
"Find yourself a husband. Species doesn't matter, so long as he's not a werecorn. Then come back to Lake Eerie. Then, and only then, will I restore your talent."
"I've been waiting at this spring for days," Wara said sadly. "When I saw you approach, I knew you couldn't be a werecorn, so I tried to trick you into drinking so you could marry me. And I completely forgot that I was no longer immune to the effects of love springs!"
Luke felt more horrible than ever. "Even if I had taken a drink, things wouldn't have worked out. I'm Mundanian. I'm only staying in Xanth in order to play a game."
She looked about to cry again. "I can't marry a Mundanian! You can't stay in Xanth, and if I go to Mundania I'll just be a plain old horse!"
"Why does Darius want her to get married anyway?" Jenny wondered.
"Because then they'll be able to have a child," Chang replied logically. "A crossbreed child, perhaps a human with the ability to turn into a centaur, or some form not yet seen in Xanth. An addition to his army."
"All Xanth is in danger," Metria said gravely.
"It is clear now who the centaur of our attention is," Vader announced. "Darius. He cannot be allowed to go through with his plot. We must go to Lake Eerie and defeat him."
Wara looked dreamily at Luke. "I will go with you. I fight alongside you."
It was a ragtag army trekking north to Darius' stronghold, Luke thought. One elf girl. One magic cat. One insane demoness. One pariah centaur. One lovesick werecorn. One asthmatic Sith. And one Jedi apprentice. An unlikely party, to say the very least. But hopefully, Force-willing, they would find a way to thwart Darius and find answers to all their problems.
Everyone was up early the next morning to break camp and prepare for the journey to Lake Eerie. While Vader and Metria dismantled the tents and Jenny and Chang cleaned up the camp, Luke took Sammy ahead to scout out a likely path. Normally travelers in Xanth used enchanted, protected paths for long journeys, but according to Metria the game required them to face Xanth's dangers.
Sammy meowed and pawed the ground. Sure enough, he'd found a trail, starting at the base of a palm tree and curving around the edge of a clear pool. Luke knelt near the shore of the pond. He was pretty thirsty, and a cool drink sounded excellent at the moment.
As he was about to lower his cupped hands into the water, Sammy hissed. His hand went to his blast-her as he looked up to discern the threat.
Something stood on the bank about four meters away, gazing at him with liquid brown eyes. Its body resembled the lower quarters of a centaur, only white as Hoth's glaciers with a silver tail. Where a humanoid body would begin on a centaur, however, was a strong neck and long muzzle with a soft nose and glistening silver mane to match its tail. Curious elven ears pricked forward, and an iridescent spiral horn twisted out from its brow.
His breath caught in his throat. The creature was strikingly beautiful. And as it hadn't attacked, snarled, or given any indication of nervousness or irritation, he assumed it was harmless.
The animal nickered softly, lowered its elegant head toward the pool, and took a long draught.
"Well," Luke noted, "if it's safe for you to drink, it's probably okay for me." He bent down to take a sip.
Sammy yowled.
"Oh, stop it," he told the cat. "It's not going to bite."
The creature watched him carefully, muzzle flecked with moisture. Somehow it seemed twice as beautiful as before. Luke sniffed -- the water smelled all right. No scent of decay or poison.
Sammy growled. Luke saw the animal was approaching, its cloven hooves stepping elegantly through the grass. He marveled at its grace, its color, its expressive eyes. Still watching it, he put his mouth to the pond's surface.
A strong black-gloved hand clamped onto his shoulder and jerked him upright.
"Hey!" he yelped, startled, wrenching free of Vader's grasp.
A wild shriek pierced the air as Metria popped into sight between him and the animal. She had assumed the form of a beast similar to the white one, only Metria was jet-black, built far more powerfully, and had a wicked-looking steel-colored horn. Both creatures reared on their hind legs and screamed, pawing the air, then lashed out with their forehooves, tore with their teeth, and slashed with their horns like lightsabers.
"Metria!" Luke cried. "No! Stop!" He ran forward to stop his Companion and found Vader and Chang gripping his arms, holding him back. Metria couldn't hurt this creature! It was a thing of surpassing loveliness, and it meant them no harm.
"Luke, stay back!" ordered Chang.
"Don't let her hurt it!" he shouted, fighting against the centaur.
"Breathe deeply!" Vader ordered.
"You almost took a drink from a love spring!" Jenny exclaimed. "Don't worry, you should recover in a minute or two. You only got a whiff of the vapor."
After a few deep breaths, Luke felt remarkably clear-headed. Had he really almost fallen in love with an animal? Disaster had been too close! He'd be sure to heed Sammy's warnings in the future.
"What is that?" he asked.
"A unicorn," Jenny replied. "They're quite rare, even in Xanth."
"Then call Metria off of this one," Chang advised.
The two unicorns were still fighting, biting and kicking. Luke drew his blast-her and set it to stun, but Vader was quicker. He thrust out with one hand, palm out, and the white unicorn fell to the ground, dazed but unhurt. Metria backed off and became human again.
"What did you do that for?" she demanded.
"Put some clothes on!" Vader shot back.
"I had it gripped!" she continued, a dress forming over her body.
"Had it what?" demanded Chang.
"Clasped, clutched, under control, satisfactory..."
"Handled," Luke replied.
"Whatever."
The unicorn lifted its head, moaned... and changed into a young woman.
Luke's jaw fell open. "Is she a demon?"
"No, a werecorn," Jenny replied.
"Werecorn?" Vader repeated. "A subspecies of unicorn?"
"Not really. Were-beasts are a kind of crossbreed that can switch from human form to animal at will. Werewolves are the most common, though there have also been werehorses and weredragons, among others. I've never heard of a werecorn before now."
The werecorn, now in human form, lay sobbing in the grass. She wore a long, white, robe-like dress similar to the one Leia had worn on the first Death Star, with a simple silver sash around the waist and a silver metal band around her brow. Her hair was silvery-white and fell almost to her knees, and her deep brown eyes overflowed with tears.
"This could be a problem," Metria noted. "You didn't drink from the spring, Skywriter, but she did."
She was in love with him? He wanted to kick himself. How could he let this happen? Now he was bound to break the poor girl's heart, for while she was by no means unattractive, he just didn't love her in return. And he was Mundanian -- more marks against him. Surely a werecorn wouldn't be welcome outside of Xanth, let alone in the ranks of the Rebellion -- and most certainly not in the Empire.
"Please stop crying," Jenny told the woman, going over to her and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What's your name?"
"W-Wara Werecorn," she replied, sitting up and wiping her eyes. She gazed plaintively at Vader. "Oh, why did you have to stop him from drinking?"
"You mean you planned this?" Vader snarled, advancing on her. Now it was Luke's turn to join Chang in restraining him.
"I had no choice!" she wailed. "It was the only way I could get my talent back..." She burst into tears again.
"Perhaps we should talk about this back at camp," Chang suggested gently.
"Camp's been taken down completely," Jenny replied. "We can talk about it on the way."
Wara managed to regain her composure enough to speak. "Where are you going?"
"Lake Eerie," Luke replied.
Her eyes went wide. "No, don't! An evil Magician lives there!"
Vader eyed her suspiciously. "How do you know this?"
"It -- it's a long story..." she began.
Jenny began humming, and as Wara told her tale to the others they were able to visualize the story.
Wara was the child of a human peasant woman named Ava and a unicorn stallion named Ulric. Like most of Xanth's crossbreeds, they had met at a love spring, and the result was a child with the ability to assume the form of either parent. This was quite the complication for both parents. Ava, whose talent was communicating with birds, had wanted to marry a handsome young human man, settle down, and have a family, and few men fancied a woman who already had a child, especially a crossbreed. Ulric, being a unicorn, normally only associated with maidens, so he had cut off all contact with Ava out of necessity after Wara was born. But he still loved the human woman and continued to pine for her.
Wara, meanwhile, felt lost. Life at her mother's village was hard, for she was constantly being teased by the other children for being a crossbreed even when she remained in human form. Among her father's kind, she had to remain in unicorn form to keep from shaming him in the eyes of his herd. An outcast in both worlds, she longed to find a place to truly call home.
One day Wara was washing the family laundry in a spring near their village. It was the only spring for miles, but most villagers had to buy their water from the untrustworthy loan sharks of the Region of Water, seeing as the spring was a bed spring. Any who drank from its water would immediately fall into a deep sleep. Wara's talent, however, was immunity to magic springs, so she didn't have to bargain with the loan sharks just to do the washing.
While at the spring, a strange being approached her. He looked like a centaur, except where an equine body should have been was a dragon body, complete with scales and wings and claws. But his human torso and face were dark and handsome, with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes.
"Good afternoon, young lady," he greeted. "Do you know where the nearest village is?"
"Just down the path," she replied innocently. "Turn left at the chest-nut tree and you'll be there. It's my home village."
"I see. What kind of village?"
"Human mostly. In fact, I'm the only non-human there."
"Oh? You look human to me."
"Actually, I'm a crossbreed." She assumed unicorn form to show him.
He smiled at that, obviously pleased. "A crossbreed like me, I see. Tell me -- is it lonely being the only crossbreed in your village?"
"Very much so. I just wish there was another of my kind."
"Funny you should say that, my dear. I am Magician Darius Dracotaur, leader of a crossbreed village in northern Xanth. Those beings who are unfortunate enough to be born to parents of different species can live in peace there. I don't think we have a werecorn yet, but perhaps you'd feel welcome among us."
So she packed her things, kissed Ava goodbye, said farewell to Ulric, and traveled with Darius to Lake Eerie and his crossbreed village.
At first she felt at home at the lake. It was a refuge for those not welcome among their parents' kinds, for many species didn't approve of crossbreeding. She had thought herself to be weird among humans, but her lineage was tame compared to the harpy-naga, the demon-centaur, the ogre-merman, and the goblin-werewolf, to name a very few. But no one at Lake Eerie treated anyone else differently simply because of their bloodlines. It was a seeming paradise.
But then she began hearing disturbing things from the others. They told of how Darius had done the unthinkable -- he had sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his powerful talent of altering others' talents. And rumor had it that he was amassing an army of crossbreeds to travel south and take Castle Roogna, the seat of power in Xanth.
His plot was terrifying in its simplicity -- he would alter the talents of all his crossbreed followers until they were Magician-class talents, then advance on Castle Roogna. Then he would alter the talents of the royal family, transforming them into minor talents. And as only a Magician could rule Xanth, the current King would be ousted, and he would rule Xanth.
Terrified, Wara tried to sneak out of the village, but Darius caught her. She told him that she wanted nothing to do with his plot and was going to warn King Dor of his intentions.
"My plan will go forward as planned," he replied confidently. "And you won't be messing it up, my young werecorn."
Stars danced around her head. She felt dizzy. He had just changed her talent!
"No!" she cried. "Change it back!"
"That I cannot do, child, unless you do something in return."
She had no desire to help him, but she really did want her talent back. "Anything."
"Find yourself a husband. Species doesn't matter, so long as he's not a werecorn. Then come back to Lake Eerie. Then, and only then, will I restore your talent."
"I've been waiting at this spring for days," Wara said sadly. "When I saw you approach, I knew you couldn't be a werecorn, so I tried to trick you into drinking so you could marry me. And I completely forgot that I was no longer immune to the effects of love springs!"
Luke felt more horrible than ever. "Even if I had taken a drink, things wouldn't have worked out. I'm Mundanian. I'm only staying in Xanth in order to play a game."
She looked about to cry again. "I can't marry a Mundanian! You can't stay in Xanth, and if I go to Mundania I'll just be a plain old horse!"
"Why does Darius want her to get married anyway?" Jenny wondered.
"Because then they'll be able to have a child," Chang replied logically. "A crossbreed child, perhaps a human with the ability to turn into a centaur, or some form not yet seen in Xanth. An addition to his army."
"All Xanth is in danger," Metria said gravely.
"It is clear now who the centaur of our attention is," Vader announced. "Darius. He cannot be allowed to go through with his plot. We must go to Lake Eerie and defeat him."
Wara looked dreamily at Luke. "I will go with you. I fight alongside you."
It was a ragtag army trekking north to Darius' stronghold, Luke thought. One elf girl. One magic cat. One insane demoness. One pariah centaur. One lovesick werecorn. One asthmatic Sith. And one Jedi apprentice. An unlikely party, to say the very least. But hopefully, Force-willing, they would find a way to thwart Darius and find answers to all their problems.