Similar to chiroquine and pegasi, unicorns are also magifauna. They live off of magical plants and live in herds for protection. Despite depictions in modern mundane media, unicorns and their cousins the kirin are more closely related to goats and other bovidae – morphologically at least.

From what we have observed, their herds are led by the largest and oldest member of the group. With their minimal sexual dimorphism, it can be difficult to tell, but it does seem like they follow both males and females – so long as they are the oldest able member. Even those with broken horns have been observed to lead.

Just finished page 5 of the Nevermore Lore Grimoire!

These pages include two of the local nature spirits, particularly the feminine Huldra and the masculine Nokken.

The Huldra are known to the students as kind and accepting in most circumstances. Students are warned however, to always respect a Huldra's space and personal wishes so they are not punished beyond their means. Huldra are deeply connected to the natural world, their backs often resembling the bark of the trees they are related to, with animalistic features.

"-...Of one thing we can confirm. The Queen is more that 7343 years old. Seven thousand three hundred and forty three years old is the most common age attributed to her (on this particular year of writing) and that number is more than sufficient to drive into the minds of the peasantry her importance and divinity.

However, that isn't her real age. It cannot be. That number is most closely associated with the year. It is currently the year 7343AC, Age Approxia. For yes, Our Dear Queen is so constant and steady that you can measure units of time in direct regards to her Coronation Ceremony. She was crowned Ruler of Borossa 7343 years ago.

The more astute among you might have already caught onto where I am going with this line of thinking. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘦𝘥. Surely she must have been a child once? Or perhaps at least younger?

She ages slowly if at all. This is known. For the oldest statues depicting her victory over Eldernwrn (2000AC, end of Age of Conquest) are uncannily similar to her current appearance. How many year would have needed to pass for her to have grown from a child into a grown woman?

Some of the earliest, unconfirmed and possibly mythologized, reports we have of her are her first arrival to the continent itself. Some 1500 years before her Coronation where it is said a simple family found her washed a shore amid a broken boat still cradling her faithful wolf companion. And yet here she was only ever described as "adolescent". We have no other indication of how old she appeared to be or even was in reality. Although taking into consideration her slowed aging it's possible she was already very old indeed.

Unfortunately at this time we do not have the resources, the information or personnel to launch into a more in-depth analysis of the age of our beloved Queen. Perhaps, such questions could be levied upon the Queen herself... Were she not so dreadful busy within the winding corridors of the Balehome Castle...-"

Sorry for the month long break everyone! I was moving out of my old apartment and then everyone started having birthdays for some reason…

Anyways, these pages are a bit bare bones, just a small look into our Narrator’s living quarters since, like me, Vika was stuck not working and not fully relaxing:

“Summer classes ended last week, and with the studios and lecture halls closing, and students heading home for the break, the library hasn’t seen as much use as before. With my work done for the summer, I’ve been nesting away in my private quarters above the library. I’ve been tense though, there’s something on the horizon, like a fated storm. It’s been making my feathers ruffle more than usual.

The Kikimora have visited a couple times to check in on me. Helpful mouse-like spirits that help keep living areas clean and organized if paid appropriately. Of course, that payment usually comes in the form of snacks and flowers, but who am I to judge what another magical creature enjoys?

The outer edges of campus are not the only spaces affected by the concentrated magisphere. In fact, the layout of Nevermore Academy is rarely the same year to year, due to the "migration" of its various buildings. For this reason, most lecture halls and discussion rooms are not themed to their specific classes - sometimes it is easier to simply reassign subjects that to ask students and staff to trek across campus.

One group of buildings that at least remain together as they migrate are the Church and Religious Studies hall. I believe it is due to the faith many students have in their gods that keep these buildings from moving separate from each other. While the physical sciences are not always so intermingled with each other, faith and belief are so intertwined that it ties the physical buildings together.

Another section of the Academy that rarely moves is Olde Campus. Though now it is little more than the foundation of the original castle the school was founded in, it is still the cornerstone of the school. Though most of the bricks and wood that made up the old keep have since been repurposed into other structures, some of the original wall still stands and is to this day protected and used in protection rituals. It is no question that if the wall were to fall that it would foretell great misfortune for Nevermore Academy. I hope that day never comes.

The professor in charge of the Greenhouse, Mx Cerka, was kind enough to allow me to sit in on one of the Summer classes. They explained to the students that like any magic, flora (or botany) magic relied heavily on intent and belief. Such that if your intent is not in line with the purpose of the spell, it will not work to its fullest potential.

However, like any other magic, when rituals are used they must be followed lest it break and possibly have unforeseen consequences. For example, one student tried summoning a dryad pixie and instead summoned a djinn pixie because they used the fire activation instead of the plant one.

Mx Cerka also explained to the class that magic was more easily malleable here on Campus due to its being built on both a Well and a tangled knot of Ley Lines. This I knew well, having written my graduating thesis on Nevermore’s odd assortment of magispherical oddities - and was excited to hear about what such young students were learning.

The normally parallel and perpendicular Ley Lines curve inward towards the school in the immediate area, causing the temporal-spacial deformation in the surrounding areas. And being built on such a large Well of Magic gives the area a strong outpouring of mana, so that people are able to use it more freely than they would elsewhere.

On the way back to campus my path passed by the Greenhouse and its connected Fields, so I decided to stop by and check on the progress of any summer students. The Greenhouse is much bigger than I remember, and its Fields are far more colorful. ... It is a shame I did not bring colored inks with me on my tour of the Wilds around Campus. The blue grass under the orange sky was quite gorgeous today.

Ah, but within the Greenhouse was a different story. Potted plants took up every available shelf near the outer wall, with the undersides of tables stuffed full of tools and protective equipment. I even noticed a few self-effective magic stabilizers to ensure any flora summoned is benign.

There were not many students in the Greenhouse today, but one young human man caught my attention. He had a small fairy on his shoulder, a pixie I believe. She (it?) was nibbling on a piece of chocolate covered fruit and whispering in his ear. He seemed to be following instructions as he worked over a bowl of succulent sprouts.

After a week of searching, I finally found one of the herds of Kirin that wander the grounds of Nevermore Academy. These elusive creatures have been likened to Unicorns due to their general appearance - equine shape with a singular horn - however they are not closely related.

Somewhat more similar to the Cervidae family of deer and such, the Kirin are able to channel their magic through an antler that sheds annually. Despite going without this focus for part of the year, it seems as though the *strength* their magic is not affected, but rather their area of affect is.

From what I have seen, Kirin use their magic offensively and defensively. They will strike out at foreign Kirin if they get too close with forceful rears as though the offender was mere feet away to be gouged by the single antler on its head. Defensively, I have seen shields appear over their flanks and their children when predators attack.

Antlers however, are not the only thing these magifauna shed. Their backs and haunches are covered in fine protective scales, and these are constantly being shed as new ones grow in. Along their spines are slender quills that rise and fall. I do not know the reason behind them, but they are magical nonetheless.