Prophecy Spoiler Alert

Prophecies are a well-worn staple of speculative fiction, especially high fantasy. Often, it's the plot device that, directly or indirectly, yanks the protagonist out of their quiet existence as a peasant and sets them off on a quest to save the world. The immediate problem, of course, is that the prophecy in many epic adventures is an epic spoiler.

The problem is that if you establish in-universe that prophecies are reliably true, and then offer a specific prophecy about the main character or the outcome of the conflict, there's no room for the reader to be surprised. They might as well have skipped to the last chapter.

Luckily, there are two possible solutions, and both are equally good ways to add some suspense to a plot involving a prophecy. First, one can introduce a level of ambiguity into the prophecy itself.  It can be vague, or have an inherent double meaning in the language. Either way, if the prophecy can turn from a spoiler into a major twist ending.

The other option is to introduce an element of doubt as to whether or not prophecies are real. The characters might believe them to be true while the narrative subtly subverts this idea. Alternately, the characters may understand that prophecies sometimes don't come true.

Either of these options can allow you to introduce a prophecy into your story as a plot point without giving anything away. Played well, these two options can actually introduce additional suspense and conflict and keep your audience guessing to the end.