folklore zine wip

Takashi looked out of the small window of his workshop. Another hunting party was leaving the city, and this one was bigger than the last. After their success the night before he almost couldn’t blame them.

He turned away from the procession before the last of them trailed out of the square. Even after fitful sleep he could easily envision the bloodied arrow held by a triumphant hunter. The dried blood encrusted on the arrowhead and wooden shaft shone like burnished electrum even in the dimmest light, and he had seen smears of the same substance on the man’s hands as he showed off his trophy.

What else could it be but the blood of a unicorn?

Takashi put the thought of the hunting party out of his mind and turned his attention to his workbench. His latest work was held in place by clamps lined with calfskin; the compromise he had settled on since he could only work with one arm. The copper bit was almost completely covered in thinly hammered gold and he was about to put the finishing touches on it.

“This <i>will</i> be worth it,” he murmured. It would have been solid gold if he could have justified the price to himself, but work had been scarce even before he lost one of his arms. Hopefully the care he put into the process would make up for his lack of resources. Soon the faint pings of his hammer tapping on metal was the only sound in the small workshop.

The idea had come into his head as soon as he heard the rumors. A mythical beast had been spotted, by more than one reputable man. A white horse, with a spiral horn as long as a man’s arm sprouting from it’s forehead. Supposedly it’s hide shone an iridescent purple in the brief glimpses it had been seen in the sunlight.

Of course the first plan of action that had been decided on was to kill it.

Shaking his head, Takashi put his hammer down and opened the clamps to examine the bit. With just a little more work the gold plating would be seamless. He clamped it back down while trying to ignore the rest of the piece resting on a velvet cloth.

Legend told of magical horses being tamed with a golden bridle. If he could finish the piece, maybe there was a chance he could use it to catch the unicorn and lead it to safety. There was no way he could let a creature so beautiful and unique as that be killed just for sport.

A day later in the market, Takashi heard the news that he had been dreading. Another arrow had found its mark and this one left a trail of blood rather than a sanguineous bolt. As soon as a party could be arranged they would be heading out to finish the hunt.

Takashi feigned disinterest as he turned away from the gossip and returned to his workshop. He wrapped the finished bridle in the velvet as quickly and carefully as he could manage. The long, thin plates of gold, connected at the ends with fine wire loops, clinked softly as he packed them into a bag he slung over his shoulder. The only other thing he added was a set of reins; the leather was the closest color he could find to ‘gold’ on short notice.

Those were all the preparations he could afford to take.

The walk to the outskirts of the city didn’t take long. Before he knew it, he was passing the last of the homes and heading into small copses farmed for firewood that thickened into outright forest just a bit later.

The trail mentioned in the rumors was already guarded, but Takashi had no need to stick directly to the marked path. With just a little sneaking and a touch of luck he circled around the waiting villagers and in the direction of the shining blood.

The first few drops of silver-gold blood were easy to miss. A smear on a leaf. A damp patch of moss. When he got to the edge of a clearing, where an easy shot might have been made from the shadows, the amount of blood spilled became even greater.

Takashi had to fight down unexpected anger. That anyone would want to hurt a creature like this… He shook his head and continued tracking. He was close, he <i>knew</i> it. So focused on his own hunt, he nearly startled his ‘prey’ when he broke through the trees into a small hollow.

And there it was. The unicorn lay in the center of the glen with an arrow in its hindquarter. Even as it slowly turned its head towards him, eyes rolling in terror, Takashi could see blood pulsing from the wound.