With the wind rushing through the air as the ginormous bird of prey’s wings beat gales around her, Jang-mii almost didn’t hear the pounding of hoof beats until the magnificent white stallion charged past her, its coat glimmering in the sunlight. A spiral horn, nearly a foot-and-a-half long that tapered to a fearsome point, extended from the middle of the horse’s forehead and shone like iridescent mother-of-pearl. A unicorn! Jang-mii gaped in awe as the beautiful beast paraded in front of her, snorting, stamping, and brandishing its horn threateningly. The roc screeched in response, but ceased its advance to slam into the ground and flutter its wings tauntingly at the unicorn, gauging whether to attempt to consume the legendary horse creature, or return to its lair.

The unicorn did not wait for the gigantic bird to make up its mind; rather, with a startling roar, it lowered its head and charged the bird, its horn cleaving the air as it rocketed towards the bird’s feathered chest. The bird shrieked angrily, beating its wings in a desperate attempt to lift off, but it was too slow. The sharp point of the iridescent horn bore into the bird’s torso, piercing it deeply. The stallion ripped away and charged a few more times, striking the bird repeatedly until the massive predator finally flapped out of range. It let out a final shriek before soaring away into the sky, giving up its prey instead for the sanctity and safety of its mountain home. The horn tossed its head, and red droplets of blood scattered like dewdrops over the grass; then, it looked right at Jang-mii, calmly swishing its tail as it plodded over to her.

Though she had heard the many tales of unicorns fancying maidens, the intense battle left the princess with some reservations. Hence, as the stallion approached her, she edged away reluctantly, unsure if the beast was her friend or foe.

Do not fear. I am not here to harm you, charmed a voice in her head, startling her so greatly that she ignored her doubts and froze stock-still. The voice was distinctly male, and that of what sounded to be a young male in his early twenties, yet there was no sound; every word bounced around in Jang-mii’s head. It is only telepathic speech. Don’t be alarmed, the horse chimed in her head, and there was a trace of amusement in his voice, as if he were making fun of her hesitance. Jang-mii pouted slightly, a bit ashamed of seeming like such a timid, helpless girl, but she could do nothing but allow the unicorn to trot closer.

“Thank you for saving me,” she told him kindly; regardless of the queer situation, it was still common manners to express her gratitude to her hooved savior. The horse snorted in response, lowering its massive head to sniff at the gaping gash in her shoulder. Because of the adrenaline racing through her veins during her desperate attempt to escape the bird of prey and her subsequent rescue, Jang-mii had quite forgotten about the wound, and as the horse’s snout brushed over the torn skin it began to burn terribly. She winced and raised a hand to apply pressure, grimacing as blood oozed between her fingers and ran down her arm. It’s much deeper than I thought, she frowned. This is a very nasty wound… If I don’t treat it immediately, I could very well die from blood loss.

Allow me, quipped the unicorn in her mind, and Jang-mii watched with wide eyes as he kneeled down on one knee to gently press the tip of his spiral-engraved horn to the wound. It glowed with a soft white light that immediately made the princess feel calm and at ease, almost sleepy, as if she were entranced. Instantly the blood began to dissolve away, melting back into her body as her skin knitted itself back together. As it zipped closed, the wound left not a trace behind, not even the slimmest line of a scar. When the unicorn raised its head and stepped away, the amazed girl ran her fingertips over the place the gash had been, feeling only silky-smooth skin.

“Amazing,” she breathed.

Why, thank you, chimed the unicorn, and if he were human, Jang-mii imagined he would be beaming with satisfaction. The princess brushed dirt and twigs from her dress before rising and sweeping away any lingering debris with her hands. Then, as in fashion, she curtsied the unicorn.

“My name is Jang-mii. It is a pleasure to meet you, and once more, I thank you for the great service you have done me,” she announced formally, dipping her head but maintaining eye contact with the noble beast, as was the proper thing to do. He dipped his head in response, but instead of a reply, Jang-mii was greeted with a flash of blinding light so intense that she raised her arms to shield her unprepared eyes. When the white rays faded away, she fluttered her eyelashes as her eyes accustomed and cast her gaze to where the unicorn had been; instead of the divine horse creature, however, there was a black-haired man with a self-satisfied smirk bowing in front of her, clad in clothes so white they seemed to glimmer with ephemeral light. In his hand, he held a bow made of silvery wood, with a quiver of arrows slung loosely onto his back. The quiver was ornately designed, dark grey leather ingrained with wispy silver designs that swirled in an intricate pattern. Like the bow, the arrows were made of an airy-looking silver wood. “You… Unicorns can transform into humans?” the princess stammered, staring stupidly at the young man.

“Impressive trick, no?” he smiled up at her, but she saw the edges of his smile tremble slightly, as if he were nervous. Perhaps he is showing off in the hopes I don’t notice his anxiety? How cute, she thought with a slight chuckle, and out of courtesy, decided not to comment on the fact. He straightened up, tossing his head to flick his bangs from his eyes. “My name is Lay. The pleasure is mine, My Lady,” he added, gently taking her hand to lightly kiss the top. His hand shuddered as he performed the motion. Poor thing, he’s so shy! she thought with a small smile.

“Lay,” she repeated with a nod. “I am honored.” Before I return to my castle, I’ll have met every kind of creature in this forest, she thought in bemusement. She gestured to the bow, curious as to its composition. “Pardon, but what is that wood? I’ve never seen the like before.” As if stunned by her inquiry, Lay jerked and glanced down at his longbow, then back at her.

“Ah. It’s a special kind of elm, My Lady, grown and cultivated by the unicorn herds in the east,” he answered bashfully. “There is no other wood as strong and light as stardust elm.”

“Why is it called stardust elm?” she asked with wide eyes, struggling to paint a picture of the legendary tree breed in her mind.

“It blooms, My Lady, and when it does, the flowers shower a fine pollen into the air, that shine with their own light. It makes it seem as if stardust is raining from the heavens. If you are wondering, the leaves are as black as the night,” he clarified for her.

“That sounds like the most beautiful tree,” Jang-mii whispered dreamily, imagining the sight. “I hope I would have the honor of seeing one someday,” she smiled, then frowned as she cast her gaze to the heavens. There was no sign of the dragon among the clouds, and she found that odd, assuming that the massive bird of prey would have sent him rocketing toward the meadow to chase it off.

“Looking for the dragon?” Lay chimed, pulling her away from the blue expanse above. “I am afraid he has flown a little too far to have noticed your plight, but he dispatched me to keep an eye on you. He mentioned that you had a knack for attracting trouble,” he mused, then paled, fearing he had said something wrong. “Th-that’s just what he said, I mean, I’m not trying to insult you…”

“No, no, it’s quite all right,” she laughed, but was slightly disappointed that the dragon was currently far off. “So, that means you are one of his informants, then?” she asked, and Lay nodded in affirmation. No wonder he flies off all the time. He must get news from all corners of the realm, she thought, glancing back to the tree that sat in the middle of the meadow, where the flower crown lay unfinished beneath the shredded branches of the mighty plant. The memory of her attack still too fresh, she shuddered and returned her attention to the princely boy. “Would you care to take a walk with me, Lay?”

“What?” he blurted, sent reeling by her unexpected request. His cheeks reddened, and he anxiously strummed his bowstring, dark eyes flitting this way and that. “Wh-why, of course, My Lady, if it pleases you…” he mumbled nervously. “There’s a path in the forest that we can take; it’s relatively safe…” He then awkwardly gestured toward a break in the bushes on the edge of the clearing, shifting his feet and looking intently at a particularly daisy in front of his feet. Chuckling again at his shy personality, she thanked him and strode through the gap and under the cover of the thickly crowded trees.

The forest was dense here, with the trees packed so tightly together that their branches formed a hopelessly tangled mess of branches far above her head, twisting and weaving in all directions. Leaves sprouted from the twigs in such concentration that most of the light was blotted out, leaving only small spears of light that struck the surface below and illuminated a circle or ground. The ground was soft and spongy beneath Jang-mii’s feet. Each footstep was cushioned by a moist, pliable layer of decaying twigs and leaves, so thick that her footfalls made not a sound as she plodded her way through the trail. On either side of the well-worn path, the layer of decay rose higher. The air smelled of decomposing leaves and earth and must, and made the atmosphere seem heavy; even so, the aroma was almost welcoming, as if she were being wrapped in a protective embrace by the forest itself.

Lay was not so comfortable in the thick woods. He kept mumbling under his breath, glancing up at the green blanket above them. Finally, Jang-mii’s curiosity got the better of her.

“Is something the matter, Lay?” she asked politely, and he twitched and looked away with a bashful look.

“It’s this forest, My Lady. Unicorns thrive under the light, especially starlight- in a place like this, how can you ever see the stars?” he frowned slightly, looking mournfully up at the interwoven canopy of leaves and branches. “It makes me feel… Caged.”

“If it bothers you so, we can return to the meadow,” she offered, and he shook his head vehemently.

“No, My Lady, you enjoy it so. I’ll be all right,” he insisted with an uneasy smile. Despite his obvious discomfort, Jang-mii knew better than to push the issue further, and so she returned to the forest.

Due to the densely packed canopy above, there was little vegetation on the forest floor, only small ferns and mid-sized shrubs populating the ground level. However, colonies of fungi were abundant, ranging from round-topped toadstools to fuzzy molds crawling along the bark of the trees. Lichens and mosses hung from the branches in thick drapes, their curling fronds wiry like the beards of men. The hung so low in some places that the princess had to push them aside like a curtain, and each time she did, her hand came away glistening with water. It was obvious that there was considerable rain in the area, for on the rocks and even some of the trees, green algae patches blossomed and coated their surfaces in a moist, slimy film. It was amazing to Jang-mii how the wilds were considered one place, yet there were so many different habitats in each.

Naturally, due to its uniqueness, the wet, gloomy woods gave rise to its own assortment of inhabitants. Jang-mii saw a fox scuttle from one of the bushes, its reddish fur flashing in a patch of sunlight as it scurried by with a rabbit clamped in its jaw. Squirrels scrabbled through the underbrush in their search for their winter stores, their bushy tails endlessly twitching; as Jang-mii and Lay came up the path, they sprang onto the trees and raced up the bark to disappear into the broad leaves. A colony of mice scurried around their rocky den, squeaking as their tails disappeared into the crag in the rocky construction. Birdsong echoed in the air above their heads, a cacophony of a mixture of songbirds each attempting to be the loudest and most melodic. The constant tap-tap-tap of a woodpecker boring into a tree resounded in the trees to Jang-mii’s right, followed by the screech of a hawk. Along the path, the occasional scores on the bark indicated where a buck had passed through and marked its territory. Jang-mii drank in all the sights she could, for the dragon never took her to the same place, and she was determined to commit every experience to memory so she could savor it forever. I’ll never find such majesty in the palace gardens. “You… really enjoy nature, don’t you, My Lady?” Lay suddenly asked. Jang-mii glanced over her shoulder, smiling gently.

“Why, yes, I do,” she answered honestly. She had always had a mild appreciation, hence the palace gardens being her favorite place; the wilds, however, were an entirely new level, and she just couldn’t help but marvel of the splendor of the natural environment, largely untouched by man. “It’s just amazing, all the richness, the colorfulness, the peacefulness…”

“Yes, it is quite peaceful out here in the wilds,” Lay murmured, but Jang-mii detected a hint of bitterness in his tone. She raised her eyebrows at him, and he coughed uncomfortably and rapidly changed the subject.

“So, how much do you know of dragons, My Lady?” he spluttered. Caught off-guard by the question, Jang-mii abandoned her suspicion for the opportunity to learn more about her kidnapper and guardian.

“Not much, actually. Can they transform into humans as well, as humans do?” she asked curiously.

“Yes and no. Elder dragons can, those that have lived an age or so, but younger dragons cannot. Unicorns are able to do it from birth,” he responded. Jang-mii wondered the age of her dragon, and figured he must be quite young, as if he had had the opportunity to turn into a human, by now he would have done so to alleviate their communication barrier. “Aside from werewolves and beings that are cursed by a timed transformations spell, only unicorns and dragons can turn into humans. The former two have no choice on when they turn into humans and beasts, however,” he clarified. A timed transformation spell… she thought with a frown. That must be a nasty curse.

“Can dragons perform magic, as the tales say?” she asked.

“It is rumored that dragons are the original source of magic, and taught the first wizards,” he answered with a light smirk. “However, that is myth, and to my knowledge, dragons are not capable of magic, though I suppose you could call their ability to breath fire ‘magical.’”

“Can unicorns do magic? More than healing magic, I mean?” she frowned, taking Lay’s hand as he guided her over a particularly large log.

“In the same sense, no. Wound-healing is a property of the unicorn horn,” he answered as he tapped his forehead. “It has purifying properties; in a sense, it returns something to its purest state. It is magic and yet it is not.” The pair of answers left the princess quite befuddled, and Lay frowned as he attempted to explain it in a way the girl could make sense of it. “It is more likely that mages developed their magic by observing creatures like dragons and unicorns. Therefore, it is not ‘magic,’” he explained.

“Oh! I see,” she nodded in understanding. As she opened to ask another question, she because coughing uncontrollably as she was greeted with a mouthful of ash. With watering eyes, she held her hand to and looked around. As she had been too busy discussing the properties of mythical creatures with Lay, she had ceased to notice the change in landscape- the air was thick with lingering wisps of smoke, and ash danced in the air, making the air sticky and rancid. Tendrils of fire still bloomed in some places, and smoldering embers glowed red-hot in the ground. “What happened here? A forest fire?” she whispered.

“My Lady, you are not safe here. We should return to the meadow immediately,” Lay cried, grabbing her arm. His eyes were wide, and he looked afraid, but not for Jang-mii’s safety- more for himself. Growing suspicious, Jang-mii jerked her arm away and began plodding through the ashen earth, sending gray clouds puffing into the air with each step. Lay continued to protest, but she marched onward, through charred skeletons of fallen trees and the scarred sentinels that remained standing. The light was more abundant here, as the canopy had been burned and torn away, revealing a sky thick with smoke. It wasn’t long until the mighty carcasses of cattle, charred and rotting away, began dotting the landscape, alongside smaller corpses that looked eerily like human beings. Bile began to rise in the princess’ throat, and Lay’s protest began growing shriller and more panicked, but nonetheless, she charged on. She pressed past the remains of fenced-in fields pasts, collapsed farmsteads, past overturned wagons, past mercilessly slain livestock, until her feet hit soot-covered stone.

“A village,” she breathed. Really, what she saw was what remained of the establishment- just the burned shell of a stone administrative buildings surrounded by charred remains of wood-and-straw constructions. The concentration of corpses was thickest here, burned abominations of men and women and children, with a few dogs and cats and horses scattered amongst them. The sight was sickening to behold, but Jang-mii was more shocked by the sight at the center of town.

On the stone steps of the administrative building, his sword in his lap, Kris was sitting with his head bowed.

What is he doing here? Did… Did the dragon… Or did he…? Both possibilities were exceedingly painful, but they were painful nonetheless. Her voice trembling as much as her body, Jang-mii timidly called out his name.

“Kris…?”