Unicorn

A **unicorn** is a mutated horse with a horn at the middle of its forehead.

## Characteristics

The earliest unicorns were horses that developed a horn-like appendage that their descendants used to scare predators or duel against other males.

Unicorns are more intelligent than ordinary horses.

Unicorns who breed with ordinary horses will produce normal horses that are a little more intelligent than one of their parents.

## Uses

While most unicorns are wild animals, the handful that were tamed are mostly used for experimental purposes, and less often as pets. Many unicorns were also hunted and harvested in some parts of the world (such as Vozolaz) for their meat and horns.

## Culture

In Ardesch and Palguenia, the unicorn is associated with magic, purity, and femininity. The moon goddess Sornares rides on a unicorn, so the animal is sacred to her. This results in other countries having unicorns as decorations and toys for younger girls.

The unicorn is the national animal of the Tornarin Empire: for being a symbol of their enemies, it is considered a "traitorous" animal to the Vozonids, and therefore they are to be hunted until none remain.

Unicorns are popular animals to the Heronoi, who see them as a superior version of the horse; whereas Arnadjanai abuse and torture unicorns as fancy creatures and playthings.

Something that amuses many people on Jerde is the fact that unicorns love to eat rubbish. Because some unicorns are smart enough to enjoy eating human food, wild unicorns are attracted to rubbish dumps and bins, to search for delicious food that is better than grass.

## Notable unicorns

* Dok Saau, a male unicorn who lives in a farm at Siangwaan
* Pjalariz, a fictional female unicorn who loves board games and books
* Miss Greenhorn, a female unicorn with a mane of leaves and a horn of jade. She is the mascot of Teraxyl, a famous cafe chain in the Collectionverse.
	+ Because Teraxyl and Frystle's are rivals, she is sometimes depicted fighting against Flyover Boy, Frystle's mascot. Other fans -- with a streak of mischief and romance in their eyes -- instead have the two equines fall in love because they are female and male.
* Oakenfield, a male unicorn with a mane of autumn leaves. He is Miss Greenhorn's twin brother, and another mascot of Teraxyl.
* Three male unicorns that were used by Enedris and his aliens as their pack horses.
	+ One of them was named Alekanja, and was Azdortil's steed. Azdortil loved him so much because he was basically a cute horse.
	+ The second was Klōdanjo or Diplanjol, and he was Enedris' and Plarest's pack-horse.
	+ The third was Jathadol, a pack-horse for Zerondo and Thinagijo.
* Dwexinoth, the black unicorn who was the steed of Taral Tamandar, the first emperor of the Tornarin Empire.

## Trivia

* In 2015, the author wrote a story about a unicorn that was inspired by an IGCSE assignment. It was one of the earliest ideas that formed the Rabydosverse.
* Komata's favourite animal is the unicorn. Although this is normally a part of her culture as a Heronoi, she is obsessed with unicorns.
* There are three words in Chinese commonly-used as the translation for "unicorn": 獨角馬 (du jiao ma), 獨角獸 (du jiao shou), and 麒麟 (qi lin). The Qilin is a completely different animal.
	+ Dok Saau's name was derived from the Cantonese word for "unicorn": 獨(角)獸 (duk6 (gok3) sau3).
	+ The Siangwaanian word for "unicorn" is "da-kiao nue", which literally means "horse with one horn".

## See also

* Keilin, an animal often confused with the unicorn.