The First Shots

This was bound to happen. This was a war after all. Someone had to take the first shot.  The source would end up as a surprise.

This morning started off quiet. The guards at the North Kingdom were on watch. The sun started to come up. Nothing extreme, right?

That was until one guard looked up.

“Hey,” he said. The other guard looked up.

“What?” he asked. He took a look for himself. His eyes narrowed.

“What the…?” he asked. A small ball of light sailed toward the guards. They geared up for attack. That light flew closer. Then it started moving downward. The guards looked down at their feet.

“Huh?” they asked. A single arrow stuck out in the crack. The flames were still burning. The guards looked at each other. Their defenses were heightened almost immediately.

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Things devolved quick. The War Room filled up fast. What did it mean? Was this a planned attack? A lone soldier? An accident?

“We have to act now!”

“They did this!”

“We’re under attack!”

“What do we do?”

“We attack now!”

“No!”

“It could be a trap.”

“They could kill us!”

The king listened in thought. Something didn’t check out. His right hand turned to him.

“Your Highness?” he asked.

“That arrow,” the king said. Everyone turned their heads.

“Yes, what about it?” one of the generals asked. The king shifted in place.

“What did it look like?” he asked.

“Covered in fire?” another general said.

“I know that,” the king said. “What else?” The War Room took a moment to think. The king waited uneasily. Everyone looked at each other. One general stood up.

“The first won’t go out,” they said. Everyone went quiet. Now they started to see it.

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This might not be an ordinary war. No one saw it from inside the kingdoms. Only the outside knew the truth. It might not have been so clear at first. But that arrow changed everything. Only the humans saw it. Not at first. However, one person saw it. It was more of an accident.

It started with a picture. Yes. That picture. Lupin came across it through an anonymous source. The lights flickered on in his head. Hello opportunity!