Sharp-hoof shuddered a little as he watched warrior Blunt-horn
approach the unicorn chieftain. Even among unicorns, Blunt-horn had a brutal reputation.
Not quite brutal enough to exceed the chieftain’s own, perhaps, but still.
Sharp-hoof wasn’t sure he wanted to know why the warrior had called this
meeting. He wished he didn’t have to be here.
Blunt-horn approached the chieftain and bowed so low his
curved horn almost touched the ground. “Sir,” he said, “I request permission to
lead an army to engage the flarefoxes.”
The chieftain snorted and shook his massive head. “Even for
you, this is foolhardy, Blunt-horn. Absolutely not. You know I, as much as
anyone, itch to engage them. That their territory is so close to ours and yet
so untouchable haunts my dreams. But open desert simply is not conducive to our
fighting abilities. We rely too much on stealth. In the open we would be
slaughtered.”
Blunt-hoof’s mouth curved up into a sly grin. “What if I
told you I’ve mastered full-body shapeshifting? I could teach it to all your
warriors, provided their magic is strong enough. Just think of the
possibilities. To have the more delicate of our warriors trade their
unfortunately feeble frames for that of a beast far stronger. To have our most
cunning take on the forms of the foxes themselves and infiltrate their camp.
The flarefoxes need not ever elude you.”
The chieftain’s face changed to match Blunt-hoof’s own. “That
would make all the difference,” he said. Sharp-hoof shifted, uncomfortable at
the turn this conversation had taken. “You have a concern, Sharp-hoof?” said
the chieftain.
“Well . . . meaning no disrespect, Sir, but yes,” said the
younger unicorn. “What have we to gain by fighting the flarefoxes? Even if we
conquer them, what then? We aren’t built to last in the desert, so it would
purchase us no more land. It would give us nothing that we need. We’ve already
conquered so many others—we have miles upon miles of forest and all the riches
it has to offer. Even the phoenix pays us tribute. If we attack the foxes,
mightn’t we just be inviting unneeded trouble? Besides, flarefox territory is
all too near dragon territory. And that is
trouble we don’t need to invite.” He shuddered.
“And who’s to say we couldn’t take on even the dragons?”
said the chieftain. “We are warriors!” He stamped his hoof.
This from the unicorn
that moments ago thought we couldn’t even take out the flarefoxes,”
Sharp-hoof thought, but didn’t dare say anything else out loud. The chieftain continued
to address him.
“I will brook no arguments on this. Understand, young
nephew, that land is not the only thing to be gained from war. The flarefoxes
may have many reassures that may be of use to us. Perhaps some rare desert
plant that cures ills, or imbues power. Or perhaps nothing we can use directly,
but that could be traded for something else of value. We could even force the
foxes to labor and fight for us. You must think outside the box. Others will
always have something you don’t. Always. If you have an advantage, you attack.
That’s the only way to survive in this world. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.” Sharp-hoof took a step back and bowed.
“Now,” said the chieftain, “All warriors are to begin
training with Blunt-horn immediately. Those who master the art will be rewarded.
Anyone else who complains or rebels will be given much more reason to complain.
Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” said all the unicorns.
“Good. Get to work.”
