Chapter 14: Terror in the Night
The festival was to be held within one week. Preparations were made precisely to the king‘s orders: all the buildings in the capital city were to be decorated with green tassels, and the stadium would be affixed with the national flag spanning the entire structure.
Inside, workers were putting together a stage for the king to present the treasure to the public, and around the stage would be Aznar‘s soldiers holding torches. Aznar also made the preparations for every Shavronite to attend; they were to stand in front of the stage during the presentation.
The king had his royal weavers to design elaborate garbs. Every soldier, servant, scribe, musician, and chief was to be decked out in silk, nothing less would be tolerated. During the week, Yohan, with his father, decided to take a trip to see his friend Maligo; but upon reaching the gate of the slum, he found that he could not enter.
"What do you mean I can‘t see him? I could before."
"By the king‘s orders: no Tajirian is to see any Shavronite in the slums." said the soldier.
"Why?" asked Brin.
"I am not the one to hold the answer. I only do what I am told. Now go away."
Time went by quickly; the buildings were decorated, the stadium was prepared, the clothes woven, and the time had come for the Shavronites to leave their homes. A full moon sat in the sky and the tigers filled the stadium in droves. Aznar was standing on stage watching the crowd. He was wearing a green, silk cloak. It was embroidered with his family‘s crest. He stood proudly in his dainty clothes, marching back and forth like a victorious commander from battle. After Aznar saw fit that it was time to begin, he held up his hands and the crowd grew silent.
"How truly great I am," Aznar thought to himself, "Generations shall adore me, no king will be able to match my accomplishment, no not one."
Aznar‘s soldiers quickly came forward and took their places around the stage.
"Bring in the Shavronites!" Aznar commanded.
The Shavronites were led in being pushed and sometimes cuffed to keep them in line. There were well over five hundred Shavronites that were crowded into the small arena, the spacing was tight. Everything was ready; everything was set. Aznar cleared his throat to speak. Five orators were positioned throughout the stadium to repeat the king‘s words to the crowd.
"The time has come, my fellow tigers and small cats, to rise beyond a mundane existence," said the king, " I have traveled into the jungle and faced great danger, and yet there was a deep loss for all that traveled with me. Let us not dwell on sorrow, but let us focus on the victory that is at hand. We all know the legend of the great unicorn, Dranus!"
The crowd went into a mighty cheer. Aznar revelled in it for a few moments, and then he quieted the crowd.
"We believe in him and his great power. We worship him. He will grant us what we want. Tonight, my fellow citizens, the unicorn will come to us and I have the key that will do it."
The crowd went into another stir of joyous fervor as a young tiger, with perfect precision, walked on stage with a silver box; the young tiger took his place by Aznar. The crowd began to clap. The sound rose to a deafening beat. Aznar held his hands up again to silence the group.
"Now I present the key to all our desires, "Aznar said opening the box, "I present to you the silver horn!"
Aznar lifted the horn high into the air. Although most of the crowd was unable to see it distinctly, the shine that came from the horn was blinding when they looked at it directly. The crowd cheered and shouted praises to the king. Aznar waited and absorbed every syllable to feed his ego. When the cheering died down, he spoke.
"It was once said that to see the unicorn one must be present during a full moon and blow into the horn. So now I call to us Dranus, come to us!"
It was silent; no one moved or spoke. Aznar placed the horn to his lips and blew into it. It produced a high pitched sound that mimicked a flute. After he was done, hemoved his eyes back and forth searching for any signs. He blew again into the horn once more and the same stillness returned. Aznar tried once more, this time with the crowds help, the chanting went on; the Shavronites were very unnerved.
"They're crazy," replied one of them.
"The Holy One‘s wrath will be upon us, we‘re done for," replied another.
The crowd slowly returned to peace, yet nothing changed. Suddenly the great chanting that desired the presence of the unicorn was now turning into laughter. Aznar watched as his glorious moment was melting away like salt in the rain. The tigers booed and pointed at the king‘s embarrassment. Aznar‘s mind was searching for a scapegoat and the Shavronites were the perfect candidates. The tiger king sent a chilling roar throughout the stadium; the crowd grew silent.
"There‘s only reason why the unicorn has not beckoned to our call," he said, " The Shavronites have lied to us. It‘s their history that we were following. They made fools of us all by telling us that this horn would bring the great unicorn to us!"
All eyes were directed on the group that was below. Mothers clinched their children, and fathers stood boldly, ready to fight to the death if necessary.
"If I cannot bring the unicorn to you," he said to the crowd with murder in his eyes, "then I shall give you blood! My soldiers kill all the Shavronites. Do it now!"
At that moment, unheard to anyone, the Holy One spoke from heaven to initiate the exodus that the Shavronites had been praying for:
“Go forth dragon and have your fill. Touch not the Shavronites. And spare no Tajirian, except the kitten and his family. They have found favor with me.”
Aznar troops pulled their swords from the sheaths. Terror filled the stadium as the Shavronites sought a way of escape. The blades were raised and just before the first blow was given, a sharp and powerful chill filled the stadium. Frost appeared on the creature‘s fur and whiskers; the stadium was frozen. The heat of the summer disappeared as this strange winter had arrived. The tigers and Shavronites held themselves tightly as the air reached freezing point. Aznar dropped to his knees in pain.
"W--W-What is this?" Aznar said as his teeth chattered.
The tiger king turned around and before his eyes was a white cloud. The cloud was shapeless at first, but slowly a head was formed, then the head rested on a neck. The neck was connected to a large torso; and on that torso, wings were formed, and finally the legs and tail appeared: Dranus had appeared.
"You have come!" Aznar said raising the horn in the air. "The unicorn is here!" Dranus stood like a titan against the tiger. His skin was ivory white, his hoofs was gold and he looked very heavenly to Aznar and the tigers, but of course Dranus always chose this form to deceive any if not all. Dranus directed his attention at the Shavronites. The look gave the Shavronites.
"Get out." he said coldly.
The Shavronites slowly left the stadium without any problems. All the tigers were mesmerized by the beauty of the beast. Dranus snorted and the cold mist descended on Aznar, forcing him to leave the stage. The unicorn grinned, as he scanned the entire stadium. A long black tongue came from his mouth to wet his lips for eating.
"I--I command you," said Aznar stuttering, "To bless our desires and answer my call as king of Tajir. My father and grandfather----"
"Oh," said Dranus taking a thundering step forward, "I know both of them very well." Aznar produced a half smile that.
"Bless me---bless my desires---I command you by the silver horn." Dranus made no facial expressions, and spoke.
"There are only three things I do: I kill, I steal, and I destroy!"
The unicorn transformed into a thick black cloud in the image of a dragon. Aznar cowered as he fell to the ground. Dranus opened his mouth and devoured Aznar and the silver horn. During this time, Brin and his family were having dinner; and hearing the screams of terror, they went out to see what the commotion was all about. The tigers ran in the streets for their lives as Dranus pursued eating any tiger in his way. From one town to the other Dranus went devour any and all tigers. Brin pushed his family back inside the house. Suddenly the black cloud rested on Yohan‘s home. Out of the window an eye formed as it scanned the cats that were there. The family held each other closely.
"Do not fret, God has spared you," said Dranus. " For without Him your very lives would be mine.
A scream came from afar and caught the unicorn's attention. "Now if you excuse me, I have some more eating to do."
The eye disappeared into the cloud and it left the home rattling the entire structure. Dranus continued his onslaught until every Tajirian was gone. The next morning, the black cloud was nowhere in sight as the Shavronites walked the streets; and upon seeing that all the tigers were gone, the Shavronites celebrated, praising God. Some of the Shavronites went to Aznar‘s palace and took many of the jewels, furniture, rugs, and other delicacies that suited them. All the sacred treasures fo Shavron were recovered from the palace. Yohan and his family watched from the window as the Shavronites danced and sang in good cheer.
"We should all stay here until its safe to leave," said Brin. " Who knows what the Shavronites will do to us."
Suddenly there was a knocking at the door.
"Don‘t answer it."
"Hello, hello, is anyone there? It‘s me, Maligo."
Before his father could say another word, Yohan ran up to the door and opened it. Maligo was with his mother. The two youngsters celebrated their reunion.
"Hurry up, Maligo," said Lena
"What‘s going on?" replied Yohan.
"We‘re leaving soon," said Maligo. " My mom and I are going back to rebuild Shavron."
"But the tigers laid waste to it over a hundred years ago," said Brin. " How will you start again?"
"What happened last night was obvious to every Shavronite," said Lena.
" When Dranus appeared he did not come by the tiger‘s call. It was the Holy One‘s doing. But why are you here, every Tajirian is gone?"
"It‘s seems that your God had mercy on us," said Brin, " and I‘m glad he did."
It was time to say goodbye. The kangaroo and the kitten, that had no prejudice bone in their bodies, had to separate.
"Well, I guess I won‘t be seeing you again." said Yohan.
"Looks that way." sa