Unicorn Eternal

By J.D. Manders

After an absence of many long years, the mysterious Woodsman Ian returned to the Kingdom of Saydeus to announce that the unicorn was coming to bring goodness and hope. The unicorn appeared shortly afterwards to the amazement of all. Although some did not believe, many of the villagers sought him. To those who believed, the unicorn brought healing and joy, but he did not appear to those seeking him for selfish reasons. Yet when the unicorn began to regularly visit the king’s daughter, Bridget, in a meadow, the king grew jealous and sought to capture or kill the unicorn. Using all of the skills of his famed huntsman, Marduk, the king set a trap to finally destroy the unicorn once and for all and keep Bridget for himself. Set in the England of the Dark Ages, the Unicorn Eternal is an allegory of eternal hope and love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Renaissance Valley Publishing
• Release date: Mar 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9780998424941

J.D. Manders

J.D. Manders is a historian, children’s author, and motivational speaker. He wrote the fiction stories The Fairy Child and The Mermaid’s Quest for his children to help them cope with his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2012, he has spoken widely about his experiences and how to address family separations. He has been a member of the U.S. Army National Guard since 1988. He is happily married with two wonderful daughters.

Book preview

The Unicorn Eternal

By

J.D. Manders

Text copyright © 2017 by J.D. Manders

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Shady Glade Publishing.

Florence, Alabama

Visit our website at www.shadygladepublishing.com

First Paperback Edition: March 2017

First Ebook Edition: March 2017

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

Summary: A legendary unicorn meets a kind and beautiful princess. What will happen when her jealous father begins to interfere?

Manders, J. D.

ISBN- 978-0-9984249-3-4

{1. Fiction – Inspirational. 2. Fiction – Christian.}

Printed in the U.S.A.

Table of Contents

Introduction · ii

One

The Coming of the Woodsman

Two

The Unicorn Appears

Three

The People and the Unicorn

Four

The Hunt for the Unicorn

Five

An Encounter in the Woods

Six

Wicked Plans

Seven

The Death of the Unicorn

Eight

A Dirge Undone

Nine

The Witness

Ten

Escape

Introduction

The Unicorn Eternal is the first fictional story that I wrote some twenty-five years ago while I was still an undergraduate. I remember precisely the circumstances that led me to write it. My wife was taking an education class on children’s literature, and we had an extended discussion about children’s fiction and the use of allegory. Around the same time, I ran across a fourth-century quote from St. Ambrose of Milan about the symbolism of the unicorn, which medieval writers saw as a divine symbol of love, mystery, and goodness. It seemed a perfect vehicle to present the gospel in the form of a fantasy tale. The story came together in a matter of weeks, although I did little with it at the time. Originally, I had no thought of publishing it, for it remained in an unfinished state, although I agreed to allow my wife to show it around. As with many other stories I had written, I also later showed it to my daughters, who enjoyed it immensely. In light of my recent forays into children’s literature with the publication of The Fairy Child and The Mermaid’s Quest, I decided this was the appropriate time to share it with the public.

The legend of the unicorn originated, not with mythology, but with natural history. Greek naturalists believed that such a creature once existed, and the word appeared in some translations of the Bible to mean an untamable creature (e.g., Num. 23:22; Ps. 22:21, 29:6; Isa. 34:7). In the Middle Ages, the unicorn became a symbol of Christ, and most of the familiar elements of the legend followed – the love of the unicorn for a virgin representing the church, the death of the unicorn as the Passion, etc. Later authors, such as Charles Williams, introduced elements such as the unicorn wounding the girl in a way similar to the wounds of Christ. My version contains the more traditional elements, but I have also introduced other concepts, such as the role of the woodsman as precursor and the conflict with the king, who represents the world.

Given the original purpose and time when I wrote the first draft of the story, I have had to update and expand it considerably from its original form. At the advice of friends, I freshened up some of the more difficult parts of the manuscript to make them more child-friendly. Some names were too incomprehensible, and some terminology required definition. There were also places where events required fuller description or explanation, and there were sidelines in the story that needed completion, such as what happened to the woodsman and ladies-in-waiting. I have completed these updates over the past two years. The delay also allowed Lily, who provided illustrations for my other books, to develop new illustrations that greatly add to the quality of the final product. Even with these changes and additions, the story as it now stands is brief, making it ideal for younger readers.

On reviewing the story a generation after I wrote it, I am surprised at how it still speaks to me. Although simplistic and a trifle maudlin, the story presents an ideal of hope, love, and wonder set against a backdrop of the turmoil of the Middle Ages. My prayer is that the story speaks to young readers today as much as it has for me.

J.D. Manders

December 2016

"Who is the unicorn but the only begotten

Son of God?"

– St. Ambrose of Milan

1.

The Coming of the Woodsman

hen the world was neither as young as it was in the beginning nor as old as it is today, there was a time called the Dark Ages. People called it the Dark Ages because of the ignorance and hardships of the time, although it was not as dark as some people think. They remembered the learning of the Greeks and the wondrous streets and buildings of Rome. Compared to the civilization of the Greeks and Romans, the Dark Ages were dark indeed. Instead of happiness and knowledge, people were fearful and superstitious. Instead of living in beautiful villas and towns, they lived in dirty huts and damp castles. Instead of lamps and bright cities, their nights were dark and lit only by fire. It was a time of axe and sword, when one tribe invaded another, burning crops and libraries with equal vigor. Of course, some would say this is not really darker than today with all of the terrible wars and poverty. Yet, even in the darkest times, there is a light that shines. During the Dark Ages, this light came as the unicorn.

Many legends have come down to us about the unicorn. Medieval scientists and monks included the unicorn in the oldest catalogs of animals, and the most ancient texts mention him. Travelers and hermits since ancient times claimed to have seen the unicorn. They recorded their visions in dusty tomes kept in the libraries of Alexandria and Rome, most of them now lost or hidden. These ancient books described the unicorn as a white horse with a single horn and hair growing from his chin and around his hooves. He glowed with the light of the sun. According to these books, he wandered about the earth doing good works, touching the hearts of the people, and always searching for a companion. He traveled instantly and invisibly from place to place, as St. Phillip did when he preached to the eunuch. The unicorn simply disappeared, only to show up somewhere else. He moved to where he could do the most good. In all of these stories, the unicorn was a creature both of great magic and great compassion. The unicorn’s horn and hooves were magical, and his blood brought healing. So good was the unicorn that those who shed his blood were accursed.

There are some today who believe that there never was a unicorn, that he is a myth. Certainly, stories of the Leviathan or of giants are made-up, they argue, and the unicorn is just another fanciful story. Some try to explain the old accounts by saying that people saw only a white horse and became confused, or that maybe there was a goat that lost a horn or grew too large. Others believe that such a creature may have actually existed, but that he has long been extinct, his usefulness passed. They say that perhaps the unicorn was a mutation that could not survive or that he evolved into the goat or horse of today. Then there are the few who believe the unicorn is still alive today, that he is hiding in the woods somewhere, and that all one has to do is look with an open heart to find him.

The last time the unicorn appeared was in an obscure little kingdom tucked away in the mountains of Northumbria, often ignored and usually forgotten. No one had seen the unicorn for many years, and most paid no attention to the legends of the unicorn. Then one day the Woodsman Ian appeared. The woodsmen of the Dark Ages were mysterious figures. Some called them rangers for they ranged throughout the North and had no home. They lived in the forests away from cities like outlaws or hermits, but they often appeared to help the people as Robin Hood did. The woodsmen helped them care for sick animals or guided them through the wild when they got lost. The woodsmen were as wise as wizards but as good as the beasts they tended. They could live off the land and hide in the forest for months without being found. Some say they were students of the mysterious Druids who once lived in the Celtic lands and had learned to speak to animals, heal the sick, and even control the elements. Whether or not that was true, they traveled about all lands, bringing messages of hope to the poor yeomen who often befriended them. They had no roots or families to hold them, and, unlike the serfs or peasants, were free people, thus unrestricted in where they lived.

This day, Ian walked out the forest and onto the road that led to the village at the foot of the castle in the distance. The castle had many towers and high stone walls. It gave shelter to the peasants and villagers to protect them from bandits or from the destruction of war. These wars happened often as one lord fought another or when the Vikings, Scots, or other raiders came. When they came, the villagers took shelter in the castle, and the king would lower the gate and raise his drawbridge. The village was small, with only two or three dozen cottages and huts grouped under the castle wall and near the gate, through which villagers could run. Everything in the village was made of wood and straw, except for two buildings made of stone. On one side of the village stood a little chapel with a tall steeple and a bell. It was there that the people worshipped and met to pray about their suffering. On the other side stood the inn. They called it The Wild Boar because it had a wooden sign hanging from a post out front with a picture of a charging boar on it. The peasants often met there in the evenings to forget their toil for a few hours and warm themselves by a roaring fire. They would eat, drink, talk, and sometimes have a contest of throwing darts or knives. It was the only way they could relax since people lived only by firelight.

The Woodsman Ian struck quite a figure. He was dressed head to toe in forest green – quite a change from the dreary and dirty brown or gray clothes that most people wore then. His boots of soft leather were muddy and worn. Over his shoulder, he wore a long bow and a quiver of arrows next to a backpack that contained all he owned. In his belt were a hatchet