The Dark Order 1.1: The Legend

Standing under an awning, amid a downpour, a hooded figure crashes into a stack of pallets and boxes, tumbling and rolling right back to their feet. They keep going.

This is 18-year-old Magnolia "Maggie" Barker, our five-foot-eight heroine who sports a Brown curly-haired afro. She has green eyes and is naturally athletic—a User of Blade Magic.

Though she's good-natured and naturally peaceful, she's had to learn how to protect herself due to her family history. She only wants to feel normal and hopes she'll be able to find normalcy in her post-high school years, but misfortune tends to follow her everywhere she goes.

She's a loner nowadays because everyone who associates with her gets either maimed or killed, which has forced her into hiding, along with the fact that she's on the run... Wanted for Mass Murder.

She has no time to waste as two shady figures—a White female and a Black male—pursue her. These are Holy Knights dispatched by the World Government's Sorcerer's Sovereign Authority.

Maggie's eye cut between what's ahead and a small circular box, emitting an orange aura, shaped as a compass pin. It's pointed WEST.

As she turns around a building corner, she collides with a brute, White male. He snatches her aggressively as he lifts her off her feet. He clenches her as he pries the box from her hand and crushes it before hurling her into the street.

Tumbling across the brick-laid road, he pushes her, and in an instant, she rolls back to her feet with a crescent dagger in hand. Her eyes burn orange as she slashes the blade across her body like a sword.

An orange mana blade rips through reality itself...

The shockwave pushes the rain away, drying the area for a second...

The blade cuts through various structures, stopping the man in his tracks. Maggie stares at him, trembling. When the rain starts to fall again...

HIS UPPER BODY SEPARATES AT THE WAIST

Without a second to lose, she is back on her feet, having to quickly deflect a hail of magical bursts from the other two knights. Swinging her dagger, she hurls mana blades at her enemies that grow with distance.

Quick thinking, she cuts a doorway into existence and rushes through before it closes. As the two hunters come over, all that's left is a spell circle burned into the road. Ignoring the dead man, the female knight picks up the broken box...

As the box is cloaked in a yellow mana, it reconstructs before it is vacuumed into it, and a yellow compass pin appears. Points WEST.

.

..

...

....

Right now, in GODRICK SQUARE, a small, artsy town in the southern portion of the Northern Realm. The wheels of change are about to start churning.

In the living room of a tacky, shotgun-style apartment. It's completely old-fashioned, featuring horrible fucking wallpaper -- A mismatch between polka-dots and flowers, dusty family photos that line the walls, along with numerous medals and awards.

Sprawled out on the couch is a scraggly, salt-and-pepper-haired White male, wearing denim jeans, an open, plaid button-up, a white t-shirt, and an old-school brown leather jacket.

He's practically dead to the world, barely holding onto an empty bottle of Bourbon, his preference. This is Alexis Jubilee, thirty-five, a once renowned and respected Mage Bishop, now a grieving alcoholic, barely finding work as a hired retainer. There's a beaded bracelet resting on his stomach.

TWO PAPER NOTES GUST INTO THE APARTMENT FROM UNDER THE FRONT DOOR

He begins to come back to life, still groggy.

"Leon... Do you mind getting that?" He's only met with silence. "Leon?"

Finally, he groans into a seated position, the bracelet falling onto the floor. He picks it up and rubs on it before putting it on. His focus turns to his coffee table, which is covered in news articles and case files. Looking over at the door, a chameleon's on top of the notes.

"You could have acknowledged me, at least." He climbs to his feet, moving over to the door. Leon ends up on his shoulder as he looks over the first note:

Goddamn you, Alexis! You forgot again! Some father you are... You're worthless. Don't even bother showing up.

His head drops, "Fuck." He whispers to himself.

He moves into the kitchen, where he opens a new bottle of bourbon, making and downing a double shot before he makes another. He moves into his "office", which looks worse than the living room.

His office space can be considered an overly obsessed man's dungeon with more news articles, photos, classified documents, and evidence. There are stacks and stacks spread out all over the room.

He places his new bottle beside an empty one and sits at the desk. He skims through the LEIGH HAROLD, the only printing press featuring magic and non-magic news and circulating through Valon delivered daily.

His focus locks on an article about the burning of an orphanage and the man that Maggie killed. His gaze falls onto two WANTED POSTERS. There's one for Maggie:

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

BOUNTY - 15.000.000R

MAGNOLIA BARKER

The second poster is for Gran Musi, an Indian male sporting a severely scarred face but a maniac's smile.

We only see WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE.

He's also a psychopathic terrorist who's hellbent on seeing an end to the SSA.

Jubilee pokes at the poster with disdain, "I'm going to find you, you son of a bitch."

Suddenly, the phone rang. He tries to ignore it until he finally gets up and answers, but he doesn't speak. On the other end is Constance Bragg, Jubilee's concerned little sister, single mother of two, and a Senior Mage Law Enforcement Officer -- User of Silk Magic.

"Alexis..." She let out a heavy sigh. "I know you aren't a man of many words- Or visits these days, but the boys and I miss you, and I know now might not be the-"

He hangs up and makes another drink.

SHOOTS. SLAMS THE GLASS ON MUSI'S POSTER.

.

..

...

....

Gran Musi was a man... Is a man?... Somewhere in between?... He's a creature balancing between two worlds— A mage extremist acting as a martyr for his species.

Many are fooled because of his charm, his confidence, and his authority. His bronze complexion compliments his oval-shaped brown eyes, but both are hidden behind a diagonal deep tissue scar running from left to right.

The pigmentation has been stripped away.

He sits outside a three-story apartment building in a gray Mercedes-Benz GLS as two dark cloth-covered figures exit, dragging a hood-bound, suit and tie, outside, climbing into a waiting SUV.

Musi doesn't speak, he can only stare stoically out the window, his eyes void of emotion. He peers out into an environment where the air is smog. The streets and structures are bare of any color or life, everything looks to be decaying... Slowly.

As he stares out the window, the hood is removed. An upper-aged White male is momentarily blinded as his vision clears, and he's staring into the eyes of one of the most dangerous men in the world.

His voice is rasp, wounded, yet profound enough to fill your entire being with dread. "Hello, Director."

"You... Y- You're supposed to be dead..." Musi could only smirk. The man squirms and fights pathetically to break free. "W... What do you think you're doing?! You can't kidnap a government official!!"

"Director... Do you know of the monster hiding within the SSA?... One that's been allowed to commit horrific atrocities with the power bestowed upon them by you... And the elite." He took a moment, rubbing his hands on his thighs.

"...I can admit, I was naive when it all began. They promised that aid would be provided and reassured us all, that all of their citizens, both magic and the less fortunate species would be protected."

He turns and looks at the man, providing a closer look at the two figures in the back. Their flesh is decaying. "And we believed those words and kept believing them even as our towns were decimated. That's when I realized something... They consciously ignored us, which meant they approved of the genocide of my people..."

The car crosses a long bridge with nothing but rock bottom beneath. "They allowed greed to overtake their humanity, giving an abysmal effort to protect us, to keep them appeased... Now, it's their arrogance against me that will be their ruin. I've grown tired, we all have, and we now know that waiting for their service would only prolong our suffering..." He faces forward. "Now, do you understand?... I am here for retribution... Only alive because--"

Out of nowhere, the driver's side is crushed inward, hit by magic. The car swerves out of control, and unable to correct it, it BURSTS through the side guard and CRASHES hood first into its grave below. The cracking of burned skin can be heard when...

A POWERFUL GUST OF WIND WIPES THE FIRE OUT, AND THE DOORS TO THE CAR ARE BLOWN OFF.

THREE LETHALLY BURNED AND MUTILATED BODIES CRAWL OUT OF THE WRECK

Crawling forward, their limbs and wounds start to heal, and those crawls lead to them standing upright and walking. Musi's eyes glow Sapphire Blue as his nearly amputated arm reattaches and the skin on his face and neck finishes regenerating.

"... Death evades me." The two figures have been reconfigured, but unlike Musi, they're both in different stages of decay. Their voices are scratchy and barely audible. "... Death evades me."

A blue mist begins on the ground and spirals upward, wrapping around the trio until they're no longer visible...

THE MAGIC SHATTERS, AND NOTHING REMAINS BUT A SPELL CIRCLE, A TORCHED SUV, AND A DEAD GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL

.

..

...

....

Jubilee stands in the hallway of an upper-class apartment building, looking at the note he received. "Apartment 614." Deep inhale. Soft exhale, followed by two HARD KNOCKS. Leon's on his shoulder. A few seconds later, the door opens. A middle-aged White female, Carol Tanner, peeks out- Jubilee's new client.

"Mrs. Tanner, I'm-"

"I know who you are... Please. Hurry and come inside." She doesn't wait; she yanks him into the apartment and shuts the door. Jubilee examines the door. It's got four newly installed deadbolts that she hurries to lock.

"Is everything okay?"

"If it were, I wouldn't have called for you." She peers through the peephole; the hall is clear. "What the hell is happening to this world?" She's mostly talking to herself when she mutters, "Vile creatures." She turns her attention to Jubilee, giving him a once-over. She even sniffed the air, quickly appalled.

"Have you been drinking?!"

"I don't drink on the job, ma'am, I assure you."

She's having second thoughts, but the look in her eyes reveals she has no other options. "Come with me." She makes haste toward the hallway, and Jubilee lags, observing his surroundings. Rather upscale living. They have sculptures, magical artifacts, and priceless art.

"I hate magic!"

"Mhm, I can see that." He mostly says it to himself.

“We've done nothing but leave you people alone, and what's that get us!" She steps aside, Jubilee can see a door coated in a black mist. "This is why I called you here!"

"When did this happen?"

"Two days ago."

"And you've done nothing." She could only shake her head. "We went to the police."

"Which police?"

"Your kind!"

Jubilee's nonchalant, "And what did they say?"

"It's dark magic... But I don't give a damn what it is!" He sees it, she's spiraling. "This is my daughter Emilia's room, and she's trapped in there with who knows what!" She puts her hand on her forehead, trying to calm a migraine. "I told him... I told him to stop going to that wretched bar, and he wouldn't listen! The filth followed him here and..."

"How old is your daughter?"

"She's eight." He offers a soft smirk. "Then, I'm sure she's wonderful. Carol is teary-eyed, her words full of emotion. "She is, and we don't want to lose her... Please- Please, can you help us?" A plea for help. He studies her eyes, she grabs onto his jacket. "Please."

"Of course I can, we aren't all bad... First, we need to see what we're dealing with." He approaches the door. He looks over the substance before extending his hand to touch it. With no time to react, the mist latches onto his arm, embedding into his skin, his eyes black over, and he catches glimpses of-- an ominous Manor, an eerie, open-shuttered hallway full of dust and spiderwebs... And there's a R i P p L e EfEcT.

"Le...On...!" The familiar's tongue strikes the mist, and it immediately retreats; there's a faint screech of pain. Jubilee drops to one knee in a mild sweat, he gradually returns to normal. Carol's unnerved. "WHAT WAS THAT?!".

"Dark magic..." He pops himself in the head as he stands, "Shit!"

"What is it? Did you find something?" Without another word, he pushed past her. She's hot on his heels. "Jubilee! Did you find her?" Still no response. All the locks come undone without touching the door, and he exits. "JUBILEE!!" The door slams shut, and the deadbolts relock.

Jubilee's nearly hyperventilating as he pushes his way out of the apartment building. He's disoriented, looking both ways before picking a direction. Leon's hanging out of his pocket. "Why there... Whywhywhy!" He's animated in his reaction, causing several people to move aside and give him creeped-out looks. "Not that retched manor!" He rubs his hand along his face.

"FUCK!" A heavy exhale. "Looks like I'm going to visit Franklin tonight... We'll get what I need and then drop you off at home... I don't think that's the best place for you." Leon disappears back into the jacket. A shaken Jubilee makes his way down the street.

.

..

...

....

At the Portertown train station, among all the organized chaos, Maggie weaves through the congestion. A few groups back, the knights are hot on her trail, pushing aggressively through people with little regard. Presented with the perfect opportunity, she keeps her head low and sneaks past the woman checking tickets. She rushes inside before the knights arrive, walking along the track and peering into the train cars.

The female knight climbs onto the same train car as Maggie, she's met with several hate-filled looks; others cling to their belongings, easily scared as she hisses at them. As she scans the car, she notices Maggie's hood off in the corner and makes haste.

She pulls down the hood only to lock eyes with a Black female who isn't Maggie. "Excuse me!" With the volume of her voice, the cart man comes over. "Is there a problem here?"

"This lady is harassing me." He turns his attention to the knight. "Ma'am, may I see your ticket, please?" She grunts, pushing past the cart man, and exits the train. The young woman stares out the window, watching the woman reunite with her partner. They disappear out of sight. "Are you all right, ma'am?"

"Yes sir, thank you. I'm not sure what that was about." Soon, the train pulled away from the station. The young woman relaxes as the train passes through a tunnel. As it roars out the other side, the young woman is Maggie again. She relaxes, leaning her head back, and sighs in relief. Sitting diagonally from her, a little girl looked at her in amazement. Maggie smiles and puts her finger up to her mouth, shhhh.

She peers out the window, observing the vast forestry beneath. She looks down, admiring the design as the train travels, pressed against an Everest-size mountain.

.

..

...

.... To be continued.

Jump straight into the next chapter:

Chapter Two