Somewhere far away, the tolling of an abbey bell echoed across the village and to the forest beyond. Darkness became lighter as a mist swirled in the glades and curved around tree branches. The heavy silence before dawn.

Then a single songbird chirped, just once. Then another song bird chirped, and a crow cawed at the rising sun. The beams of light cut sharply through the heavy fog, and all the animals began to stir.

A doe and her fawn travelled gracefully through the trees, wary of human hunters. A badger shuffled through the bushes to his comfortable den. An eagle sat in one of the taller trees, eyes gazing at everything below. All was as every morning was, and yet somehow, the air felt different.

In the far away abbey, a child with hair so light that it was as snow raised her eyes and knew something wondrous was going to happen. Though she still had chores to do, she abandoned them without a second thought and snuck out of the abbey.

The morning air was still cool, though the day were certainly be a warm one. Unseen by any of her caretakers, the small girl clambered over the garden wall and began running to the forest beyond the village.

Deep in a thicket, a wonder was born. Though the mare was ordinary, once belonging to a lowly farmer, her offspring was as holy as the grove of oak trees beyond. White as snow, delicately made with bones so fine, yet already the creature gazed at the world it had come to save.

The child had never been in the woods before, yet her feet led her to the thicket as swiftly as though she herself had been born there. The forest had fallen silent once more, watching the intruder but letting her pass unharmed.

The mare was frightened at the sight of a human, but the newborn gazed at the child calmly through crystal blue eyes. The bedraggled girl gazed back with eyes of the same color, her mouth opened in awe.

The newborn then tried to stand, wobbly at first but then rising gracefully. The, in two steps, the dainty creature touched the child on her forehead with the mythical horn that made the creature so special. Instantly, there was a flash of light and the forest knew that something great had just begun.

And far away in a castle made of obsidian, an evil king awoke, sweating heavily and suddenly knew that his fate had been sealed.