The Nightengale - And the Magical Prophecy

Prologue

The night was cold and frosty. The snow laid as thick quilts over the trees branches and deep footprints were made as the man hurried through the forest. White steam made its way from his mouth and tiny icicles had started to appear in his long grey beard. The moon stood high in the sky. The old man stopped to look up. His robes felt heavy around him. This wasn't supposed to happen. He needed to stop what he once had started. There wasn't much time left before the moon stood highest in the sky. He took a deep breath and continued.

The old man finally reached the glade. The night was so still the air didn't move. He was surrounded by huge stones that were standing in a circle around him. Each stone was engraved with strange symbols. The ancient circle of life, it was called. Where it all had started. The place where they both had come to search for the same thing. The same object with the power to do exactly what they both wanted. The old man exhaled.

"You're late", said a rough voice suddenly behind him. The old man didn't turn around. He stood still in his place, calmly looking forward. He fixed his gaze at an owl sitting on its branch some trees away. He knew the person standing behind him very well.

"I thought you were willing to help us. We need more men like you", the other man paused and a smirk was slowly creeping upon his face, "we need more wizards with your great mind to succeed Alecto."

"We can't keep doing this Dario", Alecto responded, his old voice still clear in the silent night. "A prophecy has been made about the child. It's not up to us to change its destiny. We both know that." 

The silence lingered in the air for a while before Dario responded.

"You're too good for your own best, you know. This is our chance. Don't just throw it away. This could be what we have been waiting for for so long! This can be what all our work has been about!"

Alecto could hint at the anger in his old friend's voice. The need for approval. He shook his head. Dario was just too naive to understand. He had always been the outcast and a tiny taste of power was all he needed. All he needed for his mind to crave more. For some reason, Alecto had always known that it would come to this in the end. Even if they had been like close brothers, it was something that had torn them apart. Nowadays they were different like the night and day, the moon and sun. It was time to move on.

 "I'm sorry", said Alecto, slowly reaching for his wand inside his sleeve. "I can't keep doing this."

It all happened in one single moment. Flashes of light filled the sky and they both stood facing each other, wands up. Darios eyes were wide open. He had protected himself from Alecto's spell with a shield charm.

"I knew it", he said," I knew you would betray us."

"Dario please." Alecto could hear the plead in his voice. He didn't want to see his friend like this. He didn't want to see the betrayal in his eyes. And then, Alecto suddenly notices the little black stone in Dario's left hand. He was squeezing it hard.

"No", Alecto said in a whisper," no you wouldn't." An unsure feeling spread in his body. His limbs had gotten stiff.

"Too late brother", Dario's voice was much stronger and secure now. "It's already done."

One after one, people in black robes started to apparate in thin air around him. His grip around his wand tightened. The air slowly thickened. Alecto could feel the magical energy in it increasing. 

Very soon around a dozen men were standing around him. All with their wands pointing directly at him.

"It's over Alecto", Dario said. 

The darkness swept around him like a coat. Not even the moonlight seemed to have the power to lighten him up. Darios dark short hair stood like little pointy tags on his head. He had dark marks under his eyes and his whitened moustache looked like it hadn't been cut in a while. Alecto thought he reminded him of one really old hedgehog which had been cursed while he went to school as a young boy. He nearly smiled from the memory. They had been two of the most troublesome kids in their year. But they had had a lot of fun. They had been inseparable, just like brothers. 

The darkness had the power to drain people from the light. That Alecto knew. But he needed to listen to the prophecy. He needed to show the baby the right way. To guide it and show it the light before the darkness would swallow it. Even if it meant standing up to his much old friend.

He glanced a last time at Dario. This was not the time to give up. He had to try. Even if their past would catch up with him. This wasn't the time to be stuck in old habits. He had to think about the future.

"No it's not over", Alecto responded, "It has just started."

Then he disapparated. Leaving the spot where he just had been standing empty. Dario's scream echoed through the forest. It was so hollow and fearful that every crow in the forest lifted and flew into the black night. They all cawed perplexed and disappeared on the horizon. The night fell silent once more. But this time the air in the world had changed. A new life had come to. It tingled with hope and light. It meant the start of something new. Something bigger than any man would ever have the power to foresee.