A CHILDREN'S BOOK FOR ADULTS!
hidden in a secret pavilion... Psalms (Authorized King James Bible)
Except for the fact that amidst a herd of all white unicorns Naythorn was birthed with a black mane, his life in the unicorn hold of Wittanor would have been wonderful. Instead, he was daily treated as a misfit, teased, and bullied. Defending himself one day against a gang of bullying unicorns the young blackmane causes a commotion; for that he is told by his sire to go anywhere away from the unicorn hold. Seizing the opportunity, for the first time in his life Naythorn Blackmane finds himself running truly free. A dilemma is created when Naythorn comes upon vicious wolves attacking a half grown bear. Unicorns in the hold of Wittanor were instructed to never interfere in the lives of non-magical animals. The difficulty for Naythorn is that from personal experience he detests any kind of bullying behavior, and so decides to say yes to himself and no to the idea of unicorn herdness. The blackmane next rescues from the same pack of mean-looking wolves a wild boar and her piglets, a duck, and a goose.
Upon returning the next day to Wittanor Hold, Naythorn discovers that the white herd has...vanished! Far out at sea he glimpses unicorns being carried away upon large barges. He finds that only his old and feeble grandsire remained behind in order to tell Naythorn the reason the white herd had forever departed their hold. Having little to lose, the animal persons that the blackmane had before rescued come to cling to the blackmane. Unicorn magic is invoked to do something never before done, common animals are by the sparking of grandsire Cabalbard's horn given the gift of uniform animal speech. That done, Naythorn finds himself to be the leader of animal persons that are loyal and true to a black-maned unicorn intent on refinding his magical white herd. Stung by the unfair wresting of animals of prey from his pack of fierce wolves, Naythorn comes to be by Albarochk hated. The goodness of a magical blackmaned unicorn becomes a magnet for the evil intentions of a wolf leader.
Inside a crumbling pavilion hidden inside a hollow mountain, Naythorn rescues a horse filly badly outnumbered by Albarochk and his wolfpack, and in so doing is terribly bitten by two wolves. The healing blood of the wounded Naythorn produces a miracle. A horse filly begins to grow wings. Unfortunately the taste of unicorn blood transforms Albarochk into a fearsome monster, and makes a small yellow-hided lieutenant wolf to become extra devious. The animal band grows to include a bison, a cattle, two mountain sheep, two dogs, and two warrior blacksmiths. As the platoon of animal friends search for the vanished white herd, its members learn that in order to survive the attacks of Albarochk and his growing legion of wolves, they must themselves become a disciplined military company.
At the same time that Naythorn and his band have many adventures, the voyaging white herd of unicorns comes to face danger. Only the innocence and purity of a brave unicorn filly can withstand the colossus of the deep. The admiral and the two matriarchs of the white herd learn to rely on each other in unique ways that help a fleet of five barges to follow in the direction of the fixed star. The story of Naythorn, his band, Admiral Zoumar, and the magical white herd of unicorns is filled with adventures that inspire the growth of remarkable friendships and bring to triumph of the magical gifts of Love and Truth.
