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Emerith followed the boy at a distance. She was certain that the poor creature did not know where he was going, except that he was headed in the same direction as the vile lizards had. But unlike a lizard, he could not fly, and the trek through the mountains could not be pleasant. She planned to save him from it.

Two of her kin walked at her sides, but spread out through the thin forest, and all three of them wearing an illusion that averted the eye of an observer. Any eye would be curious to see three unicorns following a boy, but unfortunately it was only the lightest of spells that they could spare to employ. They had not dared to get near at all when the star fallen had been strong, then using all their magic to hide. Now they were sure of the change in the boy and began weaving their spells in the air behind him.

The foundation strings they laid slowly and with minimal effort, careful to stay undetected. Emerith's kin spread out around the child and there was a sudden burst of energy as they wove the secondary strings in a great flurry, drawing the net around him. Although Emerith had not personally dealt with star fallen before, her kind had, and their blocking magic was perfectly suited for containing such a beast. It did mean, of course, that they also had to contain the host. Forcing such a being out of a host was another matter entirely, and furthermore it did not serve their current purpose.

With the invisible net pulled around Gale, the unicorns closing in became visible. Halt! the one behind him commanded. Gale could still move, but only very slowly, as most of the spell was dedicated to keeping his magic contained inside of him. Do not strain yourself, the female voice suggested. We are not your enemies.

The mental voice scoffed, making his ears tingle as they tried to figure out where the sound came from. We are older than dragons Emerith informed him as she circled to the front. Although the tree still dominated his view, he could see the unicorn out of the corner of his eye, to the left. She stood proud, with a wide stance and straight neck, like a domesticated horse might in order to win a prize. But unicorns didn't have to be taught how to be proud. It came with the package.

I am lady Emerith. My kin are Yond and Terce. I am speaking with the human, correct? What is your name? Are you physically well or were you injured in the fight? Her tone was that of a busy doctor trying to get the pleasantries out of the way and get down to business. She would wait for him to answer, then respond, We know about your starfallen, and we are here to help you both. With our help, you can rest assured that the starfallen will only come out on command, when expected. However, your starfallen is a sentient being that cannot be ignored. We will also give it what it wants.

You poor thing, she sympathized. I understand, however, the being inside of you is quite powerful, and sentient, and therefore cannot be destroyed. That was probably an exaggeration. You must learn to share your body with it until we find a way to give it its own body or send it back to where it came from. We can help you do that. You would no longer need to fight against it, because we would control when it comes out.

Gale was quite tightly bound, and the unicorns were not going to ease up as long as he fought this idea of theirs. They seemed to know more about his situation than he did, which had to be unusual for him.

A warmth entered the unicorn's thought speech as she walked slowly towards him. She lay her horn against his cheek. You will not regret your decision. We will take good care of you. Repeat after me.

Although the creatures already had him well bound, having Gale say these words would allow the spell to remain of its own accord. The unicorns would no longer have to supply power continuously, and Gale would be free to move around.

I, Gale, the rightful owner of this body, do agree to have any and all foreign entities within me bound at my discretion, so that only I, or one of my caretakers, can allow foreign wills to control my body or thoughts in any way.

As he finished repeating her, the physical spell lifted and he was again in control of his own limbs. The starfallen had not disappeared completely, but had been suppressed like a distant memory, and no longer posed an immediate threat. Now, you look a little worn, Emerith soothed. Let's get you taken care of, and then we can talk to the starfallen to let him know of the contract that he will be under.

The unicorn's eyes twinkled. We can talk of these serious matters later on. First we will take you home, where you can be fed and can rest. Then you can meet the Kokiri. After that, we will indeed have a task for you to help pay us back, but I believe that you will relish it.

With that mysterious message, Emerith ordered that Gale be blinded and ride her home. He was not blind-folded because, of course, the unicorns did not have opposable thumbs, so temporarily blinding him was arguably easier for them. Unfortunately they were not very good at making him comfortable, and did not think to infuse him with a tranquil feeling, or even to explain that the blinding would be temporary. They were not used to explaining themselves to humanoid creatures, and simply did what they wished most of the time.

Yet, she delivered as promised, and Gale ate with a few of the tiny people that the unicorns called the Kokiri (by then, having had his site restored), under the shadow of a tree-house built by and for the little people. Emerith dropped Gale off by herself, the other unicorns having gone separate ways before their arrival, and left him with the Kokiri at their dinner without introduction. Feed him, she said before trotting off.

The three woman had stood upon the unicorn's arrival, and now bowed, murmuring, "Yes, White One." As soon as her white flank was obscured by tree trunks, they turned curiously to him.

"Name?"
"Are you injured?"
"Loyalties?"
"Where do you come from?" they seemed to ask all at once.

Gale found that they stared at him as he ate. He did, after all, eat at least twice as much as they were accustomed to.

"You are from the tribes?" they laughed, "then you are like us, but without the trees. We're from here, of course! We've lived here under the protection of the White One for countless generations." The woman speaking put a purposeful emphasis on the term White One, expecting Gale to take up the term rather than calling the unicorn by her name. "The White One has many names, but only one that has eternal meaning."

Another of the women reassured him in a murmur that they would see to his ankle later, even if he was of the curiously large sort.

"All that matters is that you share our loyalty. We will work out a place for you to sleep and find a use for you here."

The women exchanged long looks before speaking. "We do not know what business the White One has brought you here on," they apologized, which meant that they didn't know if they were allowed to tell him. The dinner was over now, and they started to clean up as a further excuse not to answer more thoroughly. "You should rest now, and not worry about such things. We will prepare a nest for you and set a watch."

One of the women scrambled up a tree, where Gale could see hints of their dwellings. It was just that he wouldn't fit up there, and so they didn't know what to do with him except let him sleep on the more dangerous (to them) ground.

The other woman finished cleaning up the dinner, taking things away. The one who stayed with him crossed her hands in front of her belly. "Tomorrow you will meet more people, and perhaps your questions can be answered better then. We know many things, when we come together." She said it like a mantra, but with a bright smile.

The next morning he was awoken by a new set of little people, this time mostly men. It was hard to get an exact count as they darted around him, but there were at least ten in total.

One man dressed in light clothing and a short sword stood to salute him. "I am here to inform you of your duties. Today you head out with us, so make your breakfast quick. We will be heading into Feretris-- but have no fear, the white one will join us, and she always has a plan." He bowed then, scampering away to be replaced by those who brought Gale food.

"Your friends that you asked about earlier," a man informed him, although Gale had never met him before. "We have had some news of them. There was a boy named Tesunie, who has been returned to the plains. Others have also survived the raid."