Remari burst through the front door, his heart racing, and his eyes darting around the room in frantic haste. As his gaze locked with his sister's, her face mirroring his own dread, he knew that the grim vision from the academy's rooftop was now a haunting reality. Their mother lay dead, and their city was besieged. Fylara rushed across the room, her tears staining Remari's robe like ink on parchment.
"The Congregation," she choked out between sobs, her voice trembling with despair. "They've obliterated the capital and unleashed chaos upon Tireshk."
"And mother..." Remari's voice trailed off, a painful silence confirming his fears. Fylara didn't utter a word, her grief enveloping them both. With a tender touch, he guided her to their father, who sat by the auric communications receiver, his face a mask of detached composure. It was as though he were a spectator to his own life, like a body untouched by the pain of its wounds.
The memory of his mother's parting kiss, just a few days ago, flashed through Remari's mind. As the reality of her loss settled in, he instinctively pulled Fylara closer, her trembling form a reflection of his own sorrow. Their moment of shared grief was abruptly disrupted by an emergency alert from the ACR.
"A new update! An explosion has just rocked the Central Monetary Facility. I repeat, the Central Monetary Facility is in ruins. Reports of fires at the Capital Legislature, Judicial Department, and the Academy of Sorcerous Arts are pouring in. Local authorities advise immediate evacuation and shelter until Sentinel military units regain control. I repeat, seek safety immediately."
Remari's face paled as he realized he had left the academy just moments before. "We need to leave. Now!"
Fylara pulled away from their embrace, wiping her tear-streaked face. "I'll prepare the teleporter. We can stay with Aunt Edria until this nightmare subsides. Dad, I need your help with powering it." They hurried upstairs to their father's study, while Remari rushed to the auric transmitter to contact their aunt. But as he began to send the coded message, the front door of their home slammed open with a cacophonous crash.
Hooded figures swarmed into the room, wielding electrified crossbows that crackled with deadly intent. Six ominous silhouettes materialized before Remari heard a voice cut through the tension. The soldiers parted, allowing a slender, masked figure, presumably their leader, to saunter into the room. Her intricate golden mask marked her as an elite of The Congregation, and instead of a crossbow, she brandished a razor wire whip pulsing with electricity.
"Kneel, wretch," she hissed with a serpentine quality. Her demand was punctuated by a menacing crack of her whip.
Remari acted on instinct, his eyes flashing with violet energy as he called upon the memory needed to power his spell. "Thyraliel's Shroud!" He felt the familiar surge of power as the spell exacted its auric toll. Soldiers, including their whip-wielding captain, clutched their eyes with confusion, robbed of their sight.
"All of you are nothing but abominations. Men, attack! I don't care how; just strike him!" A crossbow bolt zipped past him, crackling with energy. Even though they were blinded, Remari knew it was only a matter of time before a stray bolt found its mark. His legs carried him out of the room and up the stairs to the study, the sounds of bolts being fired echoing behind him.
"They're here! The Congregation! We have to leave!" Remari's sudden appearance startled the pair working on the teleporter, but they continued their work. A shimmering blue aura enveloped the teleportation pad in the center of the room. Time was precious, and Remari scanned the room for anything to block the door, but found nothing. He had to help, and with no other option, he rushed to his family. His best chance would be to defend the room until the teleporter's aura connected to its sister machine at the academy in Lemua. Precious moments continued to tick away until the distinct sound of footsteps sounded behind the study door. Wood splinters exploded through the air when the soldiers kicked down the door with incredible force.
"Now that wasn't very nice." Her silky but twisted voice was riddled with arrogance. She was just toying with him. He didn't need to see through her mask to know a smirk was adorning her face. Electrified bolts flew through the air, now with the accuracy expected from marksmen. This time, he wasn't the target. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized that until it was too late. Several bolts lodged into his father's back sending his body into convulsions as it dropped to the floor. The teleporter pulsed with energy, sending a shockwave through the room. Fylara was always the better fighter but here he was, trying to defend her. And already failing miserably. Tears streamed down Fylara's face, but she remained resolute, focused on the device. With a flick of her free hand, a gust of wind propelled Remari onto the platform as it hummed to life. Bolts tracked toward him, inflicting shallow cuts as they struck. But that was all they needed. Electricity surged through his body as he crumpled onto the teleportation platform, resigned to his fate.
As the masked woman unleashed a triumphant laugh, another round of bolts flew through the air. This was it, he thought to himself. No matter how strong Fylara was, she wouldn't be able to fend off this continued onslaught. As the electrified projectiles zoomed through the air, Fylara had managed to deflect all but one. At the last second, and with a flash of indigo energy in her eyes, the last bolt's trajectory reflected off an invisible barrier and instead skewered itself deep into the captain's right thigh. She screamed out in pain as convulsions wracked her body.
Remari's body remained unresponsive, consumed by searing agony. The hum of energy pulsing from the device had reached a fever pitch by this point and another shockwave rippled through the space. That's two, he told himself, remembering the three energy waves that had marked the device's full power in the past. Fylara was close. He had to assist her, regardless of the cost. Closing his eyes, he fought to focus, but pain clouded his thoughts. Thankfully, the glancing blows of the crossbow bolts meant the spasms didn't have a constant source of energy and he could already start to feel their effects subsiding.
He watched in horror as another round of bolts left the soldiers' crossbows only to thankfully end up veering off course into the bookcases behind Fylara, glancing off the barrier of wind encircling the powerful sorcerous. One of the hooded figures sprinted toward his sister, following the electrified bolts with an almost inhuman speed. Remari could see the rest of the men resetting their weapons and he knew he had to act swiftly. A memory surged into his mind, one he had recalled countless times. Through a scream of pain, he uttered, "Solidify!" as he directed his spell to the soldiers in an attempt to render their auras completely rigid.
"Rem, no!" Fylara's cry pierced the air, momentarily distracting her and allowing the soldier to bury his knife into her abdomen. Remari's spell interacted with the platform's energy, creating a concussive blast that radiated outward from him. The pulse sent everyone crashing into the study's walls with thunderous cracks. The auric cost of his second spell surged back, searing through his arm like molten lava, leaving a smoking, fractal pattern behind. Before he could even scream, the implosive shockwave blinked Remari out of existence.
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