COMPLETE DUOLOGY - According to the prophecy, Phillip is an impetuous young wizard who is born to save the world from destruction. He is saved from death by the wizard Juan who cares for him. Warlock Klaus who helps the inquisitors to pursue the wit...
Juan was struggling to keep his eyelids open in order to be prepared for the unwanted visitor, but he was so worn out that he fell profoundly asleep. The Moon was full and the night silent. He had managed not only to save the child, but also to provide him a home where he would be educated and loved.
Suddenly, the wizard started to dream. He saw himself at King Albert's palace and couldn't understand why he had returned. He watched a young man in front of him engaged in a fight with a soldier. At a first glance, he didn't recognize the man but, scared, he identified the silver sword by the engravings on its handle: It was Night's Fury. At that point, he recognized its owner. It was a grown-up Philip training with the Royal Guard's captain the art of defending himself from cunning blows. Juan rejoiced at that scene and smiled at the boy, who glanced and waved at him.
Unexpectedly, something seemed wrong. Philip's face turned to a serious expression and blood dribbled down from his mouth. Juan looked down at the boy's chest and saw the Doppelgänger's claws piercing through it. The creature's head came to sight from behind the young man, and stared at the mage's eyes. He woke up terrified and elevated his back to a sitting position.
Promptly, Juan stared at the silver sword that was by his side, near the staff. He stood up, took the latter, and used it to reflect the moonlight coming in through the window. He looked for supernatural beings all around, unsuccessfully. He stepped outside the cabin and used again the beam of light the artifact emitted on the surroundings; there was nobody around.
"I have to take care of this sword with all my strength so I can give it to Philip when he becomes a young man."
Everything could be lost if the sword fell in the wrong hands. Despite the possibility of the evil warlock becoming an immortal in case he got hold of the book, the mage knew that the sword had the power to destroy any supernatural being once it was thrust right through the enemy's heart. For this reason, it would have to be given to the boy as soon as he got old enough to know how to handle it. The sword would always have the power to destroy Klaus.
Juan dug a hole beneath one of the forest's trees, and there he hid Night's Fury. As to the staff, he decided to keep it with him.
Far away from there, Klaus decided that the time to pursue his goals had come. He passed through the portal with the crow on his shoulder, and emerged on the other side, at the Dark Forest, near to the oak tree where the tragic conclave took place. The Doppelgänger came through immediately after. Klaus stopped for a moment, gazed at the Moon, and then smiled. He relived the deaths and the cries of those who were the victims of his deceit. He recalled all the power that he had gathered for himself right there.
The warlock named the creature Fratello, the word for "brother" in Italian, since he considered it a part of himself.
"Can you see it, Fratello? This is the place where we annihilated the world's greatest wizards. Their followers have no leadership now, which make it easier for us to eliminate them all. I'll be the greatest and most powerful warlock of this world."
The creature morphed into Klaus' twin form, and then spoke with a monstrous voice as it passed its fingers on its lips.
"I can still feel the taste of their blood in my mouth."
"Soon we'll have harvested all the power from the remaining witches and wizards to satiate our hunger. You'll feel the metallic flavor of their lives. Now it's time for us to act. Where the hell is that stupid mage? In my vision he was in a cave on the top of a nearby mountain. Let's camp here tonight and tomorrow morning we shall start our hunt. I want that book for myself. It'll be mine!"
His duplicate smiled showing its pointy teeth. It had already been in the cave, so it knew the way.
In the morning, the replicant left earlier, but failed to find Juan at the cave. It flew over the mountain searching for any signs of the adversary. The crow was also hovering through the skies in search for clues. Feeling their presence, Juan put on his shabby light grey tunic, grabbed the staff, and prepared himself for the worst. The confrontation would happen sooner rather than later, and he would prevent the book from being found as best he could. For this reason, he hid the book within the cabin's walls by casting a spell, while he was being observed by his animal friends. He decided he would not wait for Klaus' arrival. Instead, he would ambush both the wizard and his monster in the mountain. He cut the air with his finger and got into the portal that he had magically produced to cross to the other place. As he was continuously using the portals to transport himself, he had returned to mastering magic with expertise.
The creature crossed paths with the dark wolf that was heading to the cave to meet the mage. Dark Moon showed its angry fangs to the monster, which stared back at the beast, also showing its teeth, sharp as a saw. The wolf circled it and the creature exhibited its sharp-edged claws. Klaus was climbing up the mountain right behind them, for he wanted to search for the book inside the cave.
"Hold up, Fratello!" Klaus ordered when he noticed that they were both on the brink of a confrontation. "We don't want to fight against wolves. We have a different purpose. Why waste time?"
The wolf circled them, and was ready to call out for his pack when he noticed that the enemy was stepping back. The animal decided to step back as well, and wait for the mage Juan. As soon as the adversaries were gone, a pair of yellow eyes illuminated by the light of the Moon appeared from inside a bush. They belonged to a white wolf that apparently was acquainted to Dark Moon. They stared at each other and, suddenly, the beast with white fur morphed into a human being.
It had been the mage all along, disguised as an animal to get himself ready for the battle ahead.
He stretched his right arm, moved it in a circle in the middle of the air and pulled to him the powerful staff. They both left the place to hunt their prey. The encounter would happen soon.
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