700 years ago-
Navarog lounged on the soft cushions adorning the chair and watched idly as the man who called himself 'The Sphinx' poured himself and the Demon Prince a goblet of wine. The man came over and offered the black dragon one goblet and he himself took a sip out of his own glass.
Navarog brought the goblet to his lips and took a sip, this wine was truly the best; what ship did this man have to raid to obtain it? Navarog grinned to himself and studied the human before him.
The Sphinx saw the powerful creature examine him closely, he smiled calmly, "This is wine made in Aquitaine, I find it to be very flavorful yet light, your thoughts?" He said politely, his Middle Eastern accent playing lightly into his French.
"Très délicieux." The Demon Prince sated coolly as he set his feet up on the table, "But I come here to talk business, not to discuss your taste in wine." He said, pouring the remaining contents out onto the stone floor of the room.
His host stayed calm, and merely waved his hand for his servants to clean it up. "Do continue."
Navarog smirked and lazily pointed in the direction of the preserve's borderline, "I currently am being followed." The Sphinx raised an eyebrow, and near twitching to give the signal for his guards at the edge of the room to attack.
"Not an attack." Navarog reassured him, "But a gift. My pursuer has something of great worth on his person; something worth your while to relive of him."
The Sphinx looked mildly interested, "And who might your pursuer be, Navarog Half-Demon."
"You know of me better than most." Navarog acknowledged, then paused looking over to the borderline, "My pursuer is a unicorn." Navarog stood and looked back to the Sphinx, "If you choose to kill him, I will not stop you. Do with him what you will, I care not."
"And what does he carry that is of value to me?" The man asked, turning to look at the Demon Prince who was already walking out the door,
"Unicorn horns are quite a useful tool for a wizard these days…" Navarog called without looking back.
The Sphinx sat down in the chair that the dragon had sat in just a moment before and calculated the odds, he at last stood up and he called two wraiths to his assistance, as well as someone else whose aid must be bought.
Bracken had spent nearly all day getting into the preserve, figuring that it would take him at least two weeks at least to get around to the other side and find Navarog's tracks again.
He stumbled through the burier and started out across the sand. He drank continuously from his water supply, it was already dwindling due to the weeks he had tracked the Demon Prince through the Ottoman Empire. A small cope of trees gave him shelter for a short rest; then he continued on, walking slowly in his tiring human body. His human form was weakening, he could feel it, but he had to continue on, even against his queens express wishes.
After much wandering and guessing, he found telltale signs of his nemesis. Large dragon tracks marked the ground of a clearing in a grotto. A small waterfall trickled down into the cave and pool below, giving the illusion of space, though there was none.
And then, for the first time in a year, he felt the chill of winter seep into his spine. He spun around and saw a wraith float out of the shadows behind him.
He pulled his second horn out to defend himself from the figure, but a second one came from the other side of the cave. Then his arms began to feel heavy, soon they became leaden at his sides, unable to move. He was beginning to feel drowsy, soon after he fell to his knees.
He managed to turn his head even though the wizard Mirav had a tight hold on Bracken with his spell. As the unicorn looked to his left he saw the Sphinx, the wizard, and Navarog.
"Navarog!" Bracken yelled, "I have come so close to avenging her death, I refuse to give up now!" He stood shakily and began to slowly stagger forward. The wraiths floated closer to him and passed through him, filling him with despair. Again, he fell to his knees, this time tears fell from his eyes as he screamed, "I will never forgive you for killing her! Adalyn-!" He choked, "Adalyn didn't deserve to die!"
Unimpressed by his emotional performance Navarog sighed, "We've been through that time and time again, will you ever stop going on about how much you loved her? Please kill him; I want to watch him die slowly."
The Sphinx merely signaled for the wraiths to take Bracken away, dragging him to the dungeon. "I think I will keep him in the prison… to rot or to live… is his choice."
Bracken's vision slowly blurred as he got farther and farther away from the grotto, but one thing burned into his memory like a brand of shame, that he had failed once again to kill Navarog.