Chapter Two: The Igdrasil
This Chapter is dedicated to Talkofthetowneva4. This is only appropriate, seeing as how I essentially nicked this entire chapter from her. So for a probably better written version, go read her story, The Test of Time. I could not have written the Chronicles without first reading her story.
In the beginning of time, when the Supreme Ruler first started fighting the Dark One, the Igdrasil, the three original beings of the world, came forth. One was Diablo, the doer who cared only for power. Another was Sirani, the dreamer who could spend days dreaming about beings that did not exist. The last and the youngest of the three was known only as Mare. The Mare was pure, taking the shape now known as a unicorn. It was she who was the favorite of the Supreme Ruler.
The three Igdrasil lived in a Valley, nestled in between the mountains. The Valley was a special place, protected from the harsh worlds surrounding it and acting as a gateway to the stars. The Igdrasil lived alongside each other in a cave, content in their ways, glad to be with each other. Anything that they needed was provided for them by the Valley.
The Igdrasil were immortal, and so passed many centuries in their cave in the Valley. Diablo was concerned with doing great things; Sirani could spend days in her dreams; and the Mare just was. They all were happy, living in a place that was paradise. Until one day, when Diablo vanished.
He just disappeared, and left no clue as to where he had gone. Sirani and the Mare were worried, and spent days combing the Valley and the surrounding mountains. But it was all in vain, and Diablo was never found. The Mare and Sirani eventually returned to their cave, saddened by the loss of their friend, but unable to do anything else. Centuries passed without Diablo, and, eventually, Diablo passed out of all mind and thought. Sirani and the Mare continued living in the cave as if nothing had happened.
One evening, when Sirani and the Mare were coming into the cave, they stopped dead in their tracks. Diablo had returned. Next to the Igdrasil, was a being that looked almost identical to Diablo: it had the same lanky build and the same hairless body. It was called man, and had the same lust for gold and power that Diablo had. Sirani and the Mare could not believe their eyes. Diablo saw the looks of surprise on his friend's faces and began to explain.
Diablo had gone to the Supreme Ruler to ask for others of his kind, so that Diablo could rule over beings that were similar to him. The Supreme Ruler, disliking Diablo's power hungry nature, denied his request, and so the Igdrasil sought out the Dark One. The Dark One, always looking for servants and ways to combat the Supreme Ruler, granted Diablo's wish and created an entire world full of man. Diablo then invited Sirani and the Mare to come with him to the Dark One, for the god would grant their wished as well. Sirani and the Mare refused, and Diablo could not get them to reconsider. The former Igdrasil and his Man departed from the Valley.
After Diablo had gone, Sirani and the Mare conferred with each other. Sirani then departed to go to the Supreme Ruler to have her dreams become real. The Supreme Ruler granted Sirani's wish and her creations populated the world of man in order to fight his evil. Neither Sirani nor Diablo ever returned to the Valley.
So the Mare, the last of the Igdrasil, lived alone in the Valley. The Supreme Ruler grew concerned for his favorite being. She, the one that he loved above all others was alone, and had never asked for any of her dreams to come true. The Supreme Ruler went to the Mare and asked what her heart desired. He went away with out any great revelation, and the Mare was left alone. Still fearing for the Mare's well being, the Supreme Ruler surprised the Mare with six spectacular Stallions, all brothers, each representing a different color and element.
The eldest was Solaris, the Golden and the Stallion of Stars and the Heavens. Hephaestus, the bronze and silver Stallion of Metal was the second oldest, followed by Mulciber, the red Stallion of Fire. There was also the brown Stallion of Earth, Terrenus. The youngest were the twins, Aeoleus, the blue-white Wind, and Orcinus, the blue-black Water. In turn, they all bred with the Mare, to create a magnificent herd. But each element lived in its own separate section of the Valley, and they were fiercely territorial. But, as white will never change the painter's color, every unicorn in the element's herds was the same color and had the small build as the founding Stallion to whose herd they belonged. Eventually, the Stallions stopped breeding with the Mare, and instead only breed with the mares in their herds. Still, only the pure colors existed.
One night the Mare had a dream. She dreamed of the sun shining down upon a giant rainbow. But, the Mare realized, the Rainbow was comprised solely of unicorns. Upon waking, the Mare knew what she had to do.
She spent the next few years hard at work, creating chance meetings and causing romances to blossom. Stallions from the Sun herd meet with mares from the Water herd, and a Metal colt snuck into the woods to play with the Wind filly who had become his best friend. The next spring, the normal colts and fillies were born, but there were also some greens and teals and purples mixed in with the herds.
And the Mare continued her work.
At first the mixed colored unicorns were abused and a kicked out of the herds. But soon there became many different colored unicorns, as the purples mated with teals, and the oranges bred with the greens. As the number of the different colored unicorns grew, they eventually became accepted into the other herds. And one day, the Mare led the separate herds into the main valley, and they became the rainbow herd that she had dreamed would rule the valley.
The Mare retreated to the cave that she had once lived in, and Solaris took over leading the herd. The Herd got its name from him, and the Valley got its name from the herd. The Celestial Valley to this day is populated only by the unicorns of that name. Though they are immune to disease and long lived, the Unicorns do eventually die to prevent the Celestial Herd from growing too large for the Valley. The only way for them to lose this half immortality is to venture into the Mortal Realms and be slain or live out a normal aged life in the Mortal lands.