This night in the Gloomy Dreamland, Russell had been experimenting with Polly's unicorn horn, trying to understand how to pierce the Quiet Dream and break into reality.
Eventually, he discovered that this miniature unicorn horn was not omnipotent.
It indeed could penetrate into reality, but it did not truly appear within reality. Instead, it moved along the boundary between dreams and reality. It could adhere to something that resembled amber, and then, like the miniature horn, move along the boundary.
However, it couldn't adhere to objects that lacked magic power, it could only stick to magical objects, and those needed to be inanimate, without consciousness.
Fantasy Beasts, Knights, Spirit Insects, and other sentient life forms were beyond the capabilities of Polly's miniature unicorn horn.
For example, the Black Oil Dragon Egg that Russell carried with him, though not yet matured and with a still young mind, could not be adhered to by the miniature horn.
