It was a silent night, like everything was in a great deep sleep. The moon and the stars from heaven was hidden behind the massive clouds. Darkness descended. No crickets chirping, no frog croaking. It was dead silent.
A wisp, fuzzy, sparkling and blur-blue light appeared out of nowhere on to a stone pathway a few feet away from a not-very-visible gate of a double-story cottage-house.
Something was materializing on that spot, where the blue wisp of light appeared. From the ground, the wisp started swirling upwards, leaving first the feet in hard, black leather boots. Then came the calves, the thigh and up to the buttocks. After which the waist came. From the waist downwards, the parts were muscular yet slim at the same time. Then came the abdominals, the chest and shoulders, muscular – not those too bulky or whatever – and lean, totally proportional and well-balanced both upper and lower part of the body. In eyes of many, a very very well built body. It was clothed in a suit of tight tunic appareled for traveling, hugging it to reveal all the amount of muscle, protected and kept warm.
Lastly, before the wisp-ing light disappeared heaven-bound into the thin air, a head was left on the shoulders, in place of the wisp.
The head was covered with slightly long, milky, chocolate brown hair, touching the shoulders. The complexion was pure beauty, fair and glowing healthily, even in the dark. Thick and well-shaped eyebrows above the pair of liquid sapphire irises with dark eye lashes protecting the balls of white. A sharp yet not very pointy nose and thin lips. The whole thing added together portrayed an unusually amiable personality the stranger possesses, not something bad but something wonderfully beautiful, splendid.
He looked buffeted, must be because he had just arrived from somewhere happening, chaotic. Alas, who knows? Tangled on his facial expression was of fatigue, and of contend.
The stranger started towards the cottage-house. He mouthed something before and after entering the compound, repeating the same thing before entering the tiny building, not a glance anywhere else. Not even to the budding bushes along the path, not even at the huge white owl perched on one of the trees in the compound, starring curiously at this peculiar too good-looking young man. He went straight in to the house.
Inside, he carefully took off his long black cloak and hooked it on the stand beside the entrance.
A drastic change washed over his fatigued look to one that was of affection and pride as he turned towards the interior, the living room.
There, just beyond the tiny arch after the entrance, in the living room, laid two boys, soundly asleep by the almost burned-out fire, cuddling in the sofa.
Quietly, he strode over to them and with his strong and muscular arms, picked them up,ever so gently without ever so much of disturbing them and carried them up a flight of stairs to their bedroom.
“Daddy’s home.” He whispered into their ears, as he laid them on their beds, making sure they were well snuggled.
As quietly as he came in, silently he went away. He left for his study, just the opposite of the children’s bedroom. Also, opposite his.
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It was a long night but everything had gone well. He has finally managed to collect all the ingredients and materials. It took him long enough. All the hours spent reading out whereabouts of certain stuffs, researching recordings on ancient books, world maps, just to find out more about the secret of Mother nature herself. He is finally able to make It.
He had finally manage to procure a small tiny branch of Yggdrasil – a plant, a huge gigantic tree which holds the earth. The tree of power and wisdom which flows in its’ sap, from root to leaves.
According to Nightingle (the idiotic owner of a book he tracked down and found somewhere in a mouse-hole, who left the book in ruins. Not only did he dog-eared the pages, they where half-destroyed by woodlice, making it hard for him to read and decipher the recordings) , by using a small part of The Yggdrasil in anything that it was made into, the object would be bestowed with powers beyond anyone’s imagination. The knowledge and wisdom and powers from the ever so powerful tree made into a single human-made object. What glory it would give the bearer.
Already in his mind, he pictured a huge thick book, all prints in gold. Oh Yes! Finally! Finally, the book is finally going to be his. All just a second away, a click, a moment. He’s finally able to make it, The Family Book Of Shadows. That was how he had always imagined it to be. The power, knowledge and wisdom from the Yggdrasil as the core of the book, a very powerful central source of magic for the book. That was how he wanted his own book to be like. The best amongst the best.
The Book Of Shadows – A book recording of spells and enchantments, charms and jinxes, curses and potions, maps and atlas, information and knowledge, objects and rarity and wonders of the magical world.
Ancient wizarding families are known to have their own family Book Of Shadows, containing age-old powerful spells and sorceries. Though some prefer to keep it within the family while other boast it about. Other magical beings such as fairies, elves, globins, and other magical entities are also known to have their own version of the book but they usually prefer to keep it to themselves, guarding it, only amongst their own kind would they share it. It is also rumored that some vampire family especially those with huge covens have made their own Book Of Shadows, most probably with recording of their own history and magic of their own branch.
All the Books of Shadows in the world are one of a kind, similar it may be but no two are ever the same. Almost any sort of materials for a book can be made into a Book of Shadow, the usual sheets bind up in strings to treated leather with a normal spine. All in the hands of the maker. The makers’ creativity and innovativeness, and preference.
To the man in the room, the book was the start of his new family. An acknowledgement, a power, a status. The book is created in a way to suit it’s maker best. The size, the style of writing in it, the material it is made out of and the types of enchantment it holds. In some sense, unique. He had done a lot of research in making this book, his book The materials that the book be made of must suit his liking and also his family.
After many a sleepless night studying, he came to a decision. His book will be made of Rowan sheets, for it is known for it’s magical protection especially against fire and warding evil; interveined with sheets of Holly, a tree that is usually planted around homes to protect it from mischievousness of strangers, in this case to protect the text from falling into the wrong hands; bind in unicorn tail-string for it’s everlasting strength with a small branch of knowledge and wisdom as it’s core and finally, protected by diamond hard scales of the black dragon as the book’s cover.
He has also decided to use a complex branch of magic to double-bind this making. He has got readied come anti-rot potions, fire resistant draught and pest wards to threat the leaves of the book. He had also listed down the spells and enchantment that was going to be cast on to the book when it’s done. At the corner of the study, he had drawn some pentacles to seal everything into the Book of Shadows.
His Book of Shadows.
With this book, he will have all the magic he knew recorded and will have all those still out there in the pages of his book one day. Recording would not be difficult. Just a flick of a finger and everything would be scripted down. Getting hold of the knowledge was the troublesome part. But no matter. He will get it eventually.
With everything in place, he muttered a simple spell to bind the rowan sheet interveined with sheets of holly in unicorn tail, further inserting the tiny branch of carefully carved to fit perfectly of Yggdrasil as it’s core before finally having the dragon hide to serve as the cover, the protection.
All the listed charms were cast onto the book, which was then soak in mixtures of potions, a shinny book devoid of any writings, laid inside the pentacle. It’s pages were fluttering from the lingering enchantments, glowing softly and warmly as it was dried. It will never get wet, never.
A pair of hands came carefully through the smoke and took up the almost consummated book and laid it carefully on a desk. A mini cauldron of gold was bubbling close-by.
With a phoenix tail feather quilt, the man dipped the point of the quilt into the boiling liquid gold and started engraving carefully in capitals and cursive onto the black book on the table, four words before continuing with five words after a huge space and finally, embedding a new emblem of his family crest on the black dragon scale-cover.
