Chapter 8 True Form #2
“Just point like so,” Damien continued, moving his head so his horn was aimed towards the ground, “and let your magic go.” Black tendrils of shadow formed on the tip of his horn, wrapping themselves around each other until they were a ball of black magic that throbbed with power.
He released it, and the shadows shot towards the ground, extinguishing all of the glowing star-like flowers.
They crumpled into small pebbles on the grass.
It took Luna a moment to realize her mouth was hanging open and to close it. She shifted her body to tuck her legs underneath her, allowing her to lay in a more upright position, and with a deep breath, she tried to summon her power to the surface.
Nothing happened.
She cocked her head off to the side. He had made it seem so easy. Remembering she was a unicorn and had a horn, she tossed her head, swirling her horn much like a wizard would with a wand.
Again, nothing.
She groaned and tried again. This time, she pictured the light beneath her skin travelling to her horn.
She imagined the warmth of her power and sent that sensation to her horn.
Her horn heated, a small glow shining from its tip.
With her head pointed towards the ground, she did as Damien had instructed and let the magic go.
It was similar to the sensation of unclenching one’s fist. Even though it was difficult to summon her magic, using it was as natural as breathing.
It felt good to do what her body had been designed for.
She opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them.
A beautiful flower grew in the spot where she had pointed her horn.
The flower slowly uncurled its petals, revealing a small star twinkling inside.
It glowed just as bright as the sun and she was temporarily blinded by it.
It looked just like the other flowers that Damien had made rocks of.
“Well . . . that’s kind of cool,” she admitted.
She found herself wanting to make more of these starry flowers, but then immediately, she felt ashamed for wanting to do so.
What would her family think of her if they saw her now?
If they found out what she could do, and what she was, would they disown her?
She wasn’t about to find out. She had to stay focused.
She was going to transform back into a human and forget all about this horrible nightmare—about magic, about being a unicorn.
Feeling weak, she laid her head down on the soft grass.
Damien reached over and gently grabbed the flower between his teeth, tearing it from its stem.
Ever so gently, he placed it on her mane and smiled.
“Solar radiantias are used to illuminate dark areas, but it has some other purposes as well. Works much better than a torch, since only magic can extinguish it.”
As impressive as making flowers was, it didn’t seem very powerful—nothing like the destructive magic she had been told unicorns possessed. “I thought unicorns were these mighty beasts . . .” She scoffed, exhaling a breath of air, “And here I am, with the ability to make glow-in-the-dark flowers.”
“We are, but you won’t be for quite some time.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re about as threatening as a mouse.
” Damien chuckled. “As you develop your magic, you’ll become stronger and be able to do more.
” He paused, and then added, “If you want to transform, you have to push your magic to engulf your body, which means releasing your magic at the same time as holding it. Picture your human form, imagine what it feels like, and then you kind of just walk into it. If you are successful, you’ll release the same white flash you did when you initially transformed; over time, you’ll be able to control that as well. ”
It had taken a good amount of energy to make one solar radiantia. She couldn’t imagine the amount of power she would need to transform; it almost seemed pointless to try, but she had to. She owed it to herself.
She remembered—right before she had passed—that there had been a white-hot searing light exploding out of her.
Now, she searched inside of herself for that power and tried to draw it to the surface.
She envisioned the magic wrapping around her like a blanket, and then she tried to direct it to her horn.
Nothing happened. She didn’t feel the warmth, and the tip of her horn didn’t glow. Disappointed, she tried again.
And again.
Then again.
Nothing.
Why was controlling her magic so difficult compared to releasing it? She tried picturing her light, imagining the warmth of her power and how it would feel. After dozens of attempts, her horn finally throbbed slightly.
She focused on that sensation, trying to pull her magic from her core and send it to her horn, then pushing it outward through the rest of her body.
Her muscles quivered, shaking from the effort of holding and releasing her magic simultaneously.
Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and dripped down her nose.
Nothing happened. No light. Not even a glow—and definitely no transformation.
Just as she was about to give up, the tiniest amount of light emitted from the tip of her horn.
Unfortunately, it flickered out as fast as it had appeared.
At this point, her coat was damp with sweat, and her breathing was ragged.
Defeated, she let out a cry of frustration, throwing her head to the ground.
“That was a good start,” Damien said, tucking his legs to lower himself beside her.
“I need more than a good start. I can’t stay like this.” She picked her head off the ground, looking over her body, at her hooves. “I can’t believe I am a unicorn . . .” She sighed. If only this were all a dream. “I wonder why I transformed now after all of these years.”
“It is odd. Most unicorns transform when they are younglings. Something had to be preventing you from shifting until now.”
Luna replayed the events that happened before she transformed.
“My necklace!” She had initially blamed the terrible shape she’d been in on all the alcohol, but perhaps it was because she was no longer wearing her necklace.
It was the only thing that made sense, the only thing she’d noticed was any different.
“I’ve worn it my entire life. Do you think it kept my true identity hidden? ”
“It’s a possibility.”
The necklace was an heirloom that had been in her mother’s family for generations; someone, somehow, must have altered it to make it hinder Luna’s magic.
It had to be that, she thought to herself.
The alternative, that her mother had gifted her the necklace to inhibit her magic, was too horrible a thought to be true.
She looked around the open field to the forest surrounding them. “Where are we anyway?”
“Cumberland Forest.” He pointed his chin over his shoulder, gesturing to one side of the field. “The place I am staying at isn’t too far from here.”
Cumberland forest was on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Grythorn, easily a day’s ride away from the city center, or was that now a day’s walk? “How did we get here? It felt like squeezing through a . . . a stalk of wheat.”
“I teleported us here.” He spoke with such casualness, as if teleporting was a normal everyday mode of transport. Which, to him, it probably was.
Taken aback, she asked, “Unicorns can do that?”
“For someone so blindly fearful of unicorns, you really don’t know much about us.” He was right about that. She’d been taught unicorns were to be feared due to their destructive nature, and that they were most valuable dead. Damien only shook his head at her silence. “We aren’t that bad, you know.”
The fact that she was part of the ‘we’ made her cringe. Slightly embarrassed, she admitted, “I’m figuring that out.” It was the truth. How could she call unicorns vile beasts if she was one? Besides, Damien didn’t seem as heartless as she had been led to believe unicorns were.
There was approval in his gaze as he explained, “There’s a special species of flora which an ancient unicorn blessed.
It can pop up anywhere in the world, regardless of whether there are seeds for it or not.
Its root system is said to have a connection to the very heart of the earth.
The leaves from the plant contain the magic needed to teleport. ”
She recalled him tearing a leaf before she had been consumed by shadows and brought here. Teleportation. Tilting her head, she asked, “How does it work?”
“When a unicorn rips a leaf open from the plant, an aura is released that allows the wielder the ability to travel its root system. All you have to do is focus your magic and you will be teleported where you want to go. The only restriction I have come across is travelling between Eloria and Ghelvina. It seems that moving between the two realms has to be done on foot.” Damien’s eyes widened, and he abruptly rose to his feet.
“We could try a different way to get you transformed.”
She looked up, meeting his gaze. Trying not to sound too hopeful, she prompted him with a simple, “Oh?”
“There’s a herb that inhibits our magic: unicornbane.
If you touch it, or consume it, it will drain your power.
The process is quite painful and weakens most unicorns to the point of passing out.
Since you have no control over your powers, it might drain them enough to force your body back into its human form. I should warn you—”
“I don’t care. As long as it doesn’t kill me, I will do whatever it takes to not be like this.” She rolled her head, gesturing at herself.
His lips rumbled together, making a funny noise. “Glad you’re willing to do anything, because I don’t have any more of the teleportation leaves on me. We’ll have to walk to where I have the unicornbane dust stored.”
She looked down at her four legs and then back up at him. “You expect me to walk with these?”
A soft chuckle escaped him before he nodded his head.