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Nice! I recall in some myths that unicorns were not nice, pure creatures as common in Western European belief. These things were mean. I am happy to see that someone else other myself and my friend willing to take a different view.
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Exactly--I recall that as well. My story's unicorns are, for the most part, peaceful, even the stallions (sometimes called stags by the human-types) are mostly tolerant of other male unicorns. My unicorns are not pure creatures, as there are some who abuse their powers (as the main enemy in the story...he's basically like Sauron with a horn [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img].) Though they enjoy flitting among the trees like 'normal' unicorns (and wood-Elves...); they are savage if threatened or intruded upon. They're hard beasts to kill. They're rarely vicious to their own kind, even during the rutting season (although my unicorns mate at any time of the year, but more conspiciously and famously at Solstices); the fights are elaborate and rarely result in injury to either stallion.
But they're not afraid to kill if they need to. In the story, many a poacher and pegasus and unala (a sabre-toothed tiger-like beast) were gored to death or beaten into the ground by the hoofs, and if in extreme danger the unicorns will use their magic. Their magic is more of Gandalf and Saruman's type of magic (and always was, long before I read Tolkien!), not the kind that makes flowers spring from the ground wherever they walk. They're not magicians! But the unicorns in my story are a warrior race, not calm beasts that lay their heads in the laps of virgins. Young unicorns are more like the Western European vision of unicorns, and the threat of virgins is widely known to them. Adults aren't affected by virgins, not because they're less pure, so to speak, than their youth; they just know how to control their emotions and aren't subject to the manipulations of a dewy young maiden.
My unicorns are, in a sense, pure creatures, but they're not supposed to reflect the virtues of human-types as the Western European unicorns were supposed to. I mean, to one another and other good beasts they are honest, and loyal to their race and their ancestors, and compassionate for the most part unless roused (which doesn't take much to do) and on rare occasions can bond for life with a human-type and be as faithful and savage as a well-trained dog. But if they are forcefully taken from their homeland, the young who haven't much skill in their own magic will pine to the brink of death; the adults will brutally fight or kill their captors in order to escape.
Tales and myths say that cutting off a unicorn's horn causes it to die immediately (remembers the movie
Legend and shudders). In my story, unicorn horns cannot regenerate like a stag's antler. It's more like they bleed to death like an elephant whose tusks have been ripped out by poachers (or something like that!). And plenty of their life-force is in their horns, but not all their magic is. Much of their magic comes from all over their bodies, but it is in the horn where it's mostly concentrated. They suffer greatly when their horns are removed. Although this is hard to do, because the horns are incredibly strong--in other words, one can't simply snap it off, fragile as it looks.
OK, this post was way too long than I intended it to be...LOL...hope I haven't been just rambling! Glad to find someone else who shares my views about unicorns not being pure, submissive creatures@!