Chapter 18: Chapter Eighteen – The Sacred Mount

Neither Propitious or Solicitous had ever seen her father behave in such a way, and the alarm in his voice caused both to spring into action.

“It must be an awful thing indeed to make him act so!”

Without further questions, the Unicorn lowered his head and cried, “On my back!”

Though she had never ridden Solicitous before, her sudden fear caused her to leap upon him without hesitation. She grasped desperately at his neck as the Unicorn sprang forward with such thrust that she feared she would fall from him. Wind rushed over her face so that she could hardly breathe, and her reddish-golden locks were thrust backward by the continuous gust. In response, she hid her face in the soft white fur of his neck and squeezed her eyes shut hoping it would all be over soon.

Her father followed the swift Unicorn with long strides that enabled him to closely match the creature’s pace. Thus, within minutes, they were under the canopy of the forest that grew thickly around the base of the Sacred Mountain. However, they did not pause until they were much further up its slope.

With hurried gasps, the three travelers finally halted to catch their breath.

Having ridden upon the Unicorn’s back, Propitious recovered more quickly from their burst of activity even though she had been hanging on for dear life.

As soon as she dropped off his back, questions erupted from her mind. “What made the strange rumbling sound, and for what cause did we need to run? What…”

Her father interrupted her with a shake of his head. “I dare not take the time to explain now, for we must continue our journey until we have reached the summit.”

Propitious frowned but did not argue.

After less than an hour, they came to the end of the path that led up the mountain. Upon the summit of the Sacred Mount, they found a shallow valley, and there the trees opened to form a wide clearing. In the very midst of this meadow, a giant charred tree stood alone. Near its roots, there was also a large black stone, and something dark seemed to be standing upon it.

“This is the Sacred Glade,” the father of Propitious explained. “We will not enter until the morning light. Instead, we will make our camp here upon the edge of the meadow. However, before we sleep, let us see if any others have arrived.”

With that, her father put two of his fingers into his mouth and produced a collection of musical whistles. The sounds he made perfectly matched the rhythmic manner in which the Ancients spoke. He had called her and her siblings in this way many times, and so she easily understood his whistled words.

His message was simple: “I, Arduous, have come. Has anyone else arrived?”

“Well met, Arduous!” Came a whistle echoing across the Glade in answer to his own. “I, Sagacious, have also arrived.”

Yet another whistle sounded. “I am here too, Father!”

Arduous let out a sigh of relief and then whistled in answer. “I am glad you have made it safely, Venturous!”

Propitious smile and her eyes grew bright. “Venturous!” she echoed. She had not seen her eldest brother since her birthday.

Still other whistles continued to answer her father’s call, and before the wood grew silent once more, Propitious had counted more than seventy different whistlers.

After this, Propitious gazed out across the Sacred Glade, and so her keen glowing eyes studied the huge tree that stood in the midst of the clearing.

“Why is that lone tree black and leafless?” Propitious asked with a frown.

“You know this tale also. That is the Tree-Glimmering,” her father explained. “Do you not remember how your mother and I told you that the Dragon Illwind burned it with his fiery breath?”

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“So, that is the sacred tree?” she responded with a sad look. “But, is it completely dead?”

“Not entirely,” he replied as he settled down into a patch of soft grass. “Even now, it will give forth a single fruit if…” he left the sentence unfinished.

Not noticing, Propitious asked another question. “What is that thing standing upon that large black stone?”

Her father looked grave. “What you are seeing is the hilt of the sword Doom. Do you remember that story?”

“Oh yes!” Propitious nodded as her eyes turned a dark-blue color. “That was after Grandmother and Grandfather ate from the shadow-tree. The Prince of Life came to help them, but His sword sensed the shadows within them and leapt from its scabbard to slay them.”

“You have learned our history well,” Arduous said as he gazed at his daughter with an approving smile.

“I had good teachers,” Propitious replied with a grin as her eyes shifted to scarlet.

Her father’s eyes turned a yellowish-green hue. “So, you will also remember that the Prince caught Doom before it could hurt them, and after He called up that large rock, He stabbed the sword down into it.”

“Yes!” she answered quickly. “And, there it shall sleep until the promised one draws it from the stone and uses it to destroy the Tree of Deepshadows.”

“Right!” Arduous let out a musical chuckle as he settled down into a patch of soft moss. “You have a keen mind, my daughter.”

“But, how long until that day comes?” Propitious asked as she laid down near where the young Unicorn rested.

“No one knows,” her father answered with dark indigo eyes.

Propitious sighed with the same sad look. “May I ask you one last question, Father?”

“Of course,” he replied while folding his muscular arms behind his head.

“Why did we have to hurry up the mountainside, and what was that rumbling sound?” she quickly blurted. “You said you would explain later.”

“That was two questions.” He let out a small sad laugh. “Anyway, I was hoping to avoid that particular subject for a while longer.

“Please, Father.” She groaned as she laid her head down next to the velvety soft nose of Solicitous. In that moment, his sweet-smelling breath caressed her face.

Like all Unicorns, he had within his breath the Blessing of Peace, and so once she smelled the aroma, all her troubling thoughts faded from her mind.

Looking at his daughter, Arduous realized that she was quickly falling asleep, and so he answered in a somber whisper. “The rumbling sound that you heard was produced by the drums of our enemies.”

“Enemies?” she questioned within her mind as she drifted into slumber. She had never heard the word before and did not know its meaning. “What are enemies?” she thought as sleep took her.

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