Never Touch

"In the first days of the creation of our great and magical universe, there was both a first and a last animal created. The order in which they were made and put on earth was to be remembered and used as a basis for the new world's heirarchy. First were created the magestic beasts we now call unicorns. Last were created the bitter and ever cruel lightless elves, more commonly known as dark elves for the color of their skin.

"The new heirarchy in the world of good and evil worked exceptionally well, until the lightless elves began calculating in their cruel minds a way to increase their status. Slowly, over thousands of centuries, the race of dark elves reached a fairly respectable stature, ironically enough. It was in their nature to be greedy though, and even with their ascension into higher stature, the lightless elves wanted for more. Power was very useful in this world where laws meant nothing unless caught, which usually meant the one who was caught was the one rolling inside a plump stomach that very night.

"After many, many more years, the lightless elves began conforming to a society. The entire world seemed to be doing the same, it seemed. The Gods bestowed upon the land a new race of creatures, gastly things, that looked like white goblins. These humans, as the Gods called them, soon became very intelligent, however small there numbers. The lightless elves became very wary of the threat to their own power by these new humans. More years passed, the lightless elves growing more and more secluded as the humans increased their domains and numbers. Soon, the entire world seemed to be ruled by the horrid creatures. Lightless elves were driven to the underworlds right along with the more menacing beasts of the time. Wood elves practically disappeared into forests no human even dared cast an eye toward. Faeries gathered in the mushroom circles, which the humans had convinced themselves were cursed, and talking beasts ceased to talk, finally losing the ability altogether.

"The world was changing aroung the lightless elves faster than they liked. By far, their place in what was once a beautiful world had dropped thanks to those humans. Within the darkness they so hated, the lightless elves used their cruel minds to yet again regain what they believed was their rightful place in the world. It took only a matter of months for them to realize that although the humans seemed to have control over their world, one beast was truly master of this realm, the unicorn. The lightless elves also realized that the only way to raise their stature over that of the humans was to rise above all others as well. Eventually, they conviced themselves that as the highest in heirarchy they would use their power to drive back the humans as the humans had driven all magical creatures back.

"The lightless elves were sadly mistaken. It was in their nature, their very blood, to balance out the purity in the world with the hate of their hearts. And so, in all their ignorance and self-denial, he lightless elves formed a plan to eliminate all unicorns. Scouts were sent out with this mission but never heard from again. Yet, because of the fastly decreasing population of the unicorns, no questions were raised.

"Before a decade had passed there remained only two unicorns, eternal partners. The lightless elves were consumed with greed. Their only reason for living, it seemed, was to wipe out the unicorns.

"And so came the day when the final scouts were dispatched on what was hoped to be the final mission. Two lightless elves made their way through the enchanted forest they knew the unicorns to inhabit. Stalking their prey with an evil gleam in their eyes, the two scouts came upon the pair of unicorns within an hour of entering the wood.

"Their brilliant white coats gleamed in the sunlight. One raised its head in seeming curiousity, but its eyes told a different story. In them was far too much purity... and knowledge. The scout elves approached them stealthily. In the minutes that followed, the unicorns remained sark still, even when the elves drew their daggers and were close enough to slit the beasts throats. Both scouts turned their wide eyed gazes to each other, and both looked back at the motionless animals with equal hesitation.

"Moment upon moment of still silence passed, the elves holding their daggers at ready, the unicorns only continuing to look at the two in turn. One lightless elf dared move in the stillness. He raised his armored arm and began stroking the animals sleek white neck. Immediately, its nostrils flared. Its partner, the larger male, reared and bolted away from the dagger at his neck. He flew to his mare's side, who had not moved from being stroked, although signs of her discomfort were well advertised. The lightless elf backed away just as the female's horn came in contact with the side of his cruel and confused pair of unicorns, the last living thanks to the greed of the lightless elves, galloped into the shadows of the wood, leaving one scout trampled and another to forever bear the mark of the unicorn's horn."

The withered dark elf continued rocking in his chair in slow rhythm. His red eyes glowed in the darkness he lad long since been exiled to. A small candle burned brightly to his side, making both his face and the face of a smaller dark elf, who sat on the stone ground afront of him, glow eerily. The old elf reached his hand up to trace the length of his old scar, running his finger from the side of his forehead to the tip of his jaw. He drew in a deep breath that seemed to rattle just as deeply in his chest. As the ancient one looked to the utter darkness around him pointedly while fingering the scar, he said with heavy importance, "The penalty of touching so pure a beast... is greater than one such elf once believed."

With that, the dark elf, the lightless ancient, wearily leaned over and blew out the candle at his side, darkness enclosing his race once more in their existence of shadowed exile.