Battle Of The Brothers

I woke up to find myself lying in the middle of a forest clearing. I slowly stood up and looked around the clearing. There didn't seem to be anyone or anything nearby. Just trees and moss covered rocks and stones. I then heard the whisper of rustling leaves from a bush. At first I thought it was just my imagination but it started to get louder and more persistent. I tried to look for the source of the rustling leaves though it stopped after another minute or so. I kept turning around on the spot and that's when I noticed the wolf looking at me from within a bush to my right. I wasn't scared or panicking. My heart wasn't pounding against my ribcage. I was quite calm which confused me. I always thought that if I came face to face with a wolf I would start to panic with my heart beating like a drum. But right now…nothing. No fear or anything. I kept my gaze on the wolf and noticed its features. Pale blue eyes, light grey fur with darker ears. I also noticed that it didn't come across as aggressive. It was calm and looked at me as if it was trying to tell me it didn't want to hurt me. That it was a friend. I then heard more rustling to my left.

I looked over and saw a pure white unicorn gleaming almost silver in the moonlight. The look of its horn sent a shiver down my spine even though I knew it meant no harm. I then hear the ruffle of wings as a brown barn owl landed in a tree behind me making me turn around. And so the animals kept coming. Wolves, bears, birds of nearly every kind, mice, horses, lions, tigers, three headed dogs (of which nearly made me fall to my knees in awe), a couple of chimera, a few Pterippi, elks, monkeys and so on. There was a huge range of animals, mythical creatures included. I really couldn't believe my eyes with what they were seeing. Slowly, less animals and mythical creatures were showing themselves and all of them were looking at me. I still felt calm and didn't have the urge to run though I probably wouldn't get far if I did run off. I then noticed that they all seemed to be waiting for something….some of them had started to look behind them before looking back at me.

I then heard the slow beating of wings…..a bird of some sort. The rhythmic beat of the wings was getting louder with each down stroke of the wings. Soon enough the bird of which was expected could be seen. But it wasn't any sort of 'normal' bird that I was expecting. At first it was just a soft red glow, no brighter than a star and as the bird came closer I then knew what it was. A phoenix. One bird that I had always loved and admired. The phoenix landed about 4 feet in front of me, tilted its head to one side before it started to glow softly with a white light. Within a few seconds or so the phoenix had gone and was replaced by an elderly man. I looked at him with astonishment. He had the patience to wait 'til some of my astonishment had gone away before he spoke.

"Tobias, it has been far too long since I saw you last. You look so much like your father. But to the more important things. It's almost your 16th birthday which is a more important day than you think. Your father is on his way to collect you and bring you to the village. Do not speak of this to your Uncle. Your Aunt you can trust but be sure that the two of you are alone if you decide to tell her."

"I don't understand…I don't even know you, let alone how you would know my father. I was told he died not long before my 1st birthday along with my mother…"

"That's what your Uncle told you in the hope that it would stop you from looking for him and finding out the truth of who you really are before you were ready. Your father is well and truly alive but your mother on the other hand...it's true that she's dead though she didn't die in whatever way Bartholomew had told you. She was attacked by a member of our ancient enemy. I can't say much more. Communicating with you in this way tires me quickly and drains me of my strength which I have little of already. So I must go. I shall see you soon, I hope."

"But, I don't understand….."

With that the dream-like vision ended with a blinding white flash. I sat up a little too quickly. I could feel cold sweat drip down my face. I was breathing heavily.

"He's alive..." I whispered to myself.

I lay back down and stared at the ceiling, my mind teeming with questions that would hopefully be answered. Subconsciously I conjured a ball of light only just noticeably brighter than the moonlight streaming in through the curtains. It hovered in the middle of the room before it slowly started to move around the room. My mind was like clockwork and showed no signs of stopping but I soon fell asleep and the conjured light disappeared from existence.