Unicorns

Summary: The magical equines of legend are a bit more dangerous than most human myth have painted them out to be. Originally wild horses from Earth that caught the interest of the Faeries in the fae realm, they were lured into said realm across a thin barrier and subsequently mutated by the fae magic into what they are today. 

Diet: Unicorns are strictly carnivorous, opting to eat the flesh of humanoids or other animals on a regular basis. This is quite a mutation from their herbivorous counterparts, but their digestive systems and dentition (see notable features) have adapted to allow this. 

Horn & Hoof Variants: Very few unicorns actually have a pointed horn like in human myth. Rather, most unicorns have blade-like horns, flattened and effective for slicing rather than puncturing. Their hooves are sharpened and can be used as weapons providing more than just blunt trauma. 

Intelligence: The saturation of fae magic upon these creatures has increased their intelligence to a humanoid level. Unicorns can project their voices via telepathy into the minds of other creatures. Due to not having the ability to use tools, they do not build any civilization. Honestly, unicorns have no need to, as they primarily reside and hunt in the forests of the fae realm. Rarely do they cross the barrier to Earth, and when they do, they tend to leave no witnesses in their wake. This probably is why they’ve become creatures of legend in the mind of humans. 

Some unicorns prey upon only those that they feel are not ‘true of heart’, which…varies based on their own minds. There’s no real definition for this, and the innate ‘sense’ is in some unicorns, whereas it can be absent in others. 

Many unicorns work directly with faeries to help with their ‘stories’ and other such similar activities. 

Notable features: Unicorns have the build of a very large, muscular horse. Rather than flat teeth, however, they have jaws full of shark-like teeth accompanied by saber fangs. These fangs are used less for hunting and more for territorial disputes with other unicorns, however they can damage practically anyone they come into contact with that slights them should the unicorn wish it. In the center of their head, unicorns typically have a blade-like horn. 

Fur color variations go from dark blood red to black. On rare occasion is albinism seen in a unicorn, however when this occurs, the unicorn’s eyes are red rather than a jet black. Fae mutations render this state not impactful to their sight. Sometimes patterning such as darker spots or stripes can be seen on unicorns. 

Bony spines go down the back of a unicorn, leading to a whip-like tail with a barb at the end of it. All of the above make this nightmarish horse even more frightening.

Magical Proficiency: Like Faeries, unicorns use a lot of illusion magic. However, unlike faeries, they use it to lure in prey, typically by brightening the color of their fur. This is where the mythical color on unicorns came about in human myth. People who fall for this trick generally do not survive, hence the absence of nightmarish unicorns in human myth in the west (in most cases). Another phrase for the unicorn can be a “nightmare”, which would be more accurate in terms of human myth for these beasts. 

Territory disputes: Unicorns are pretty territorial and males tend to guard swaths of land in the fae realm that they dissuade other males from trying to obtain. Females herd together more, however act more like lionesses in that their herds can be rather aggressive to those outside of their territory. 

Unicorns and ogres sometimes clash, but this is rare. The diets of both species do not intersect, and neither have interest in eating the other. Sometimes they just fight for the sake of fighting, however. 

Common misconceptions: 

1. Unicorns don’t protect virgins, they really don’t care whether or not you’ve had intimate behavior. 

2. Unicorns also don’t protect “Fair maidens” unless a faerie thinks it’d be good in a story.

3. If full, a unicorn is generally not that aggressive, however it’s still a bad idea to intrude upon their territory unless they change their minds. 

4. Unicorns are most definitely not some pansy silly or pretty horse species.