The night was dark and cold, but the man wrapped in a dark black robe refused to be held inside. He walked along the rocks of the shore, never ceasing to be awed by the ocean's wonder as the chilled seawater crashed against the nearby cliffs. For a moment, the figure entertained the idea of returning to his quarters and start work on a painting of the ocean, but he quickly brushed it aside. He was there for an urgent matter for which there could be no dely.

So there he waited.

Before long, three more figures wrapped in identical robes joined him on the shore. The man smiled as he recognized their faces in the darkness.

"Donato." He greeted one of the figures warmly. "Donato. E 'stato untempo. It's been a long time."

"Not long enough, apparently." The Italian sculptor smiled. "You still greeted me in Italian, Raffaello. What if someone had heard?"

"There's no one around for miles, Donato." Said the third figure, one who Raffaello knew to be Michelangelo. "Lighten up, will you?"

Donato glared at the painter. "We don't have time for 'lightening up', Michelangelo. We must speak in the language of England and we must finish it tonight."

"Then there is no time to waste chatting." The fourth figure walked up to the other three and lowered the hood from his robe. His eyes were shady and kept darting to the sea and back as if he was frightened something was going to emerge from the dark waves. Raffaello assumed he had not slept at all for the last couple nights nor could he be blamed. The recent events had shattered all four of them.

Raffaello put his hand on his shoulder. "Do not despair, Leonardo. Everything will be va bene, alright, by morning."

Leonardo smiled at his friend's slipped use of Italian. It was their native language after all, and Raffaello couldn't be expected to reframe his tongue from years of speaking. Raffaello was an architect, and even to a writer such as Leonardo, the switch was hard to get accustomed to.

"Friends," Donato said urgently, staring up at the stars. "The hour is at hand."

The four each placed one hand into their circle. Leonardo took a breath. "State name and mission."

Donato went first. "I am Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, but I am known by all as Donatello. I give with this name the ability to think reason and construct creations that lead to the stars."

"I am Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni." Michelangelo said. "I give with this name the ability to create joy and resourcefulness so that the road foreword may never stand in the way."

"I am Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci. I give this name with the insightfulness to lead the way and the ability to draw upon the talents and strengths of others when weakness comes."

Raffaello closed his eyes. This was it. "I am Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, but I am more commonly known as Raphael. With this name I give the power to overcome obstacles, even the ones inside one's self. I give the ability to see through blindness and vanquish evil and anger forever."

"This we give to the quattro, the four." The artists spoke. "The four that shall come after us, that shall reign forever in the world of humanity. Let them with our names come together, not as friends, but as fratelli, as brothers."