Nightingale (Bird Song book 1)

Prologue

The king of Thul was having a council meeting with his advisors and the members of the council when the great double doors to the council chamber were thrust open, and a messenger was led in. By his attire- green Palai with red stripes on the arm and a white sash along the waist, the king could tell he was a messenger from the house of Alana, the Oracle. When he was directly across from the king, the messenger knelt with one knee on the floor and his hands one on top the other on the other knee. He didn't bow his head but looked directly at the king. Messengers bow only to the king they serve, and those from the Alana bow to none.
"Greetings from the Irina, your Majesty "
"I accept the Irina's greetings, Onkai (Messenger) of the Alana, what brings you to Tul in such a hurry?" The king said
"A prophecy is on the way, your Majesty. The Irina has sent the Onkai to summon all the rulers of Calona."
This was news enough to stir unease in Calona, and it would spread like wildfire. The king thought for a while, and decided it had been long since he had gone outside of his kingdom anyway.
"Very well, Onkai. It has been long since a prophecy has arrived."
Sighing, the king rose and his guards followed. As he exited, the council chamber erupted in whispered conversation, many wondering if something is coming. Prophecies only come to warn and to prepare afterall. The Onkai left soon after, his next stop a secret mission for the Irina.
The council members were still discussing as they left the chamber in groups of twos and threes.
What happened in Thul had repeated all over the kingdom's of Calona. The news spread like wildfire, and the citizens waited with bated breath for their kings to return, in order to get word of the prophecy.Before the next blue moon, every mirror dimension would know of the prophecy and the once forgotten Calona would be the Centre of Attention. And before the next white moon, in every library of  Calona, it would be written in the books of prophecies.
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All the Kings of Calona were in the short and stuffy underground room of prophecy in the Alana, seated crosslegged around the current Irina, whose face was covered in shadows, within a cowl, even with the fire burning in front of her. No other source of light was allowed in this room.
"Welcome to the Alana, rulers of Calona. I will be straight to the point. The Oracle has spoken, and I, the Irina, have listened. Now it is your turn to listen."
With this, the Irina's face, which was previously in shadow became visible, and her eyes shone white, unseeing and illuminating the dark room. A voice that wasn't the Irina's voice spoke, and the voice resonated within the minds of the kings gathered.
The light in the Irina's eyes dimmed, and returned to shadow. The kings were left to decipher the meaning of the prophecy, and the world was left to wonder.

A/N- I wasn't among the kings gathered. Sorry. Here is a glossary of terms used in the Chapter

Alana:- Resident town of the Irina. It's residents bow to no king. A small community in the middle of Calona.

Calona:- A dimension consisting of a circular array of kingdoms, with Alana in the middle.

Irina:- Vessel of the Oracle.

Onkai:- A messenger. Each kingdom's messengers wear different colours of the Palai.

Palai:- A kind of robe worn by messengers. Colours tend to differ based on where they work for.

Thul:- One of the kingdoms surrounding Alana.

The Moon Cycle alternates between white and blue. On earth the moon gravitates from pinpoint to quarter, half etc. In Calona it's about the colour blue to white and vice versa. Hence a year is made of 6 blue months and 6 white months.