World: Alfheim
Diet: Leaves, flowers, occasional berries
Height: 4’0″ at the shoulders
Lifespan: 40 years
Habitat: Forest
Activity Cycle: Diurnal
To those outside of Alfheim, unicorns are often considered the very embodiment of the fae realms, representing nature at its most fickle. In particular, these outsiders are usually thinking of the sylvan, or “common” unicorn. These reclusive creatures live solitary lives in untamed woods, rarely seen even by the other beings who reside there. On the surface, they are preternaturally gentle creatures. An aura coming off of their horns drives insects away from the leaves they wish to eat so that they never harm an innocent being, and with their keen intelligence and ability to sense the emotions and intelligence of others, they avoid predators without violence. But under that gentle surface, unicorns are truly wild creatures who do not take kindly to those who approach their territory without the proper reverence.
Even in interactions with their own kind, unicorns can be shockingly violent. Males dispute territory by locking their forked horns together and shoving. Oftentimes, the horn of the loser ends up breaking, causing them to deform over time into a more vicious, bitter bicorn. Intruders of other species are even less kindly handled. With their ability to read intent, they usually avoid those simply passing through, but those actively seeking them will be put to the test. Beyond only approaching those with good intentions, they also have a strange rule that they will only allow a virgin to ride them. There is no known reason for this, and this tendency has never been worked around through any means.
The horn of a unicorn can nullify poison, and as such they often feed upon relentlessly toxic fruits. It is also particularly lethal to inherently poisonous beings such as basilisks.
