Rise!

The young man sighed as he looked at the stack of paperwork that had been placed on his desk. It was such a beautiful (if chilly) day outside, and as he ran his fingers through his messy black hair, he grinned. Surely his sister was out there, able to ignore the responsibilities he took on and actually have a good time. They both wanted to help the Magic Council and their father, just each in their own way. Even if the old man didn’t understand like Mordekai did. The young man couldn’t help but grin. Something about Charlotte’s carefree nature made it that much easier for him to do his own, less carefree duties. “Alright, as long as you’re out there having fun that’s the important part. We won’t both miss out.”

Mordekai moved over to his chair, sitting down slowly, sighing again. Sure, he could try to convince himself things like that… but it didn’t make the boring part of his job any less boring. At least he had some peace and quiet. Or so he thought.

As he picked up a pen to start filling out forms, what felt like an explosion rocked the halls of the Magic Council HQ. Kai’s chair fell backwards as he recoiled in surprise, but he rolled to his feet quickly, reaching out to grab his sword. “What the?!” Kai shot to his feet, feeling a slight stinging sensation in the back of his head. He must have banged it on the floor without realizing it when he’d fallen over. Oh well, no time to worry about that now.

Flying down the hallway, he was quickly joined by his two guards who usually stood outside his room, as well as several other soldiers that had been around. “What the heck is going on?” Mordekai demanded as people panicked, scrambling around and trying to figure out what had happened.

“I don’t know, sir! It sounded like an explosion!” one of the younger Paladins, a man named Aldor answered. Mordekai remembered initiating him into the Paladinhood earlier that month. He was a good kid.

“Right. Let’s go find out then!” he told them unceremoniously as they marched down the halls swiftly. Within a few minutes they had found the source of the sound. There had indeed been an explosion. The main entryway was smouldering from the heat, and people both injured and dead were strewn across the room. Mordekai took in the sight in horror.

“What the hell happened?!” he asked again as more soldiers showed up, followed shortly by his own father, Cornelius Argon - Grand Councilman and leader of the Magic Council. Mordekai gave him a short bow, one that was respectful but familiar. “Father, what is going on here?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, the rage on his face barely subdued. Despite his obvious anger, he remained calm, like the leader he was. Just then, both of them spotted the writing on the wall in the back of the room. The letters were written in what seemed to be blood: WE WILL RISE. The words were too neat not to have been written using magic of some kind. It was a message. The attack, as well as the words, were a message. But from who?

Cornelius’s brow furrowed, and he turned to walk outside as people rushed in to help the injured. “But the Magic Council does not suffer terrorists. We will find them, and we will destroy them.”