“Close the door.”

As the Administrator stepped into her cavernous office, the door closed behind her with a soft click. Deep in thought, she sighed and gently massaged the palms of her hands as she walked deeper into the empty space. Basking in the light of the setting sun, which created a gentle and serene atmosphere as it filtered in softly through the ornate tracery window on the far wall, Administrator Cynthia Reed came to a stop near the center of the room and smoothed down the front of her uniform.

Flanked on either side by rows of large, elegant bookcases and a magnificent fireplace on the right hand wall, the only other features in the vast space were the lush plants framing both the bookcases and the solitary window, as well as, set into the otherwise stone floor, an oddly elevated section of dark wood that took up the majority of the room's floor space.

This was her office. A place that represented the power and reach of the Southern Star Order to the eastern border of the region.

Without turning around to address the person that stood quietly by the door behind her, Cynthia lifted a closed hand to the level of her waist and casually opened it. A ripple spread out across the dark wooden floor as if it were a pool of water. The opened hand smoothy turned over until the palm was facing the beautiful, vaulted ceiling above her, at which point the ripple promptly vanished. Lifting her hand in a relaxed manner, the floor matched her movements precisely, a heavy wooden desk and three high backed chairs formed from the floor; rising up smoothly and arranging themselves tastefully in the center of the room.

Cynthia sat down behind her desk and placed her elbows down with her fingers entwined in front of her. The moment she did so, two thick files slid from the nearest shelf and placed themselves in the middle of the desk. Cynthia opened them both and took a moment to skim through the contents before placing them back down where they had landed. She looked towards the door.

“Are you sure those two are the ones you were sent for?” she asked without any hint of reproach in her tone, “Looking past the fact that they’ve only been here for a short time, as the size of these files should tell you, neither of them appear to have any respect for the prestige this academy represents. I have several other very promising candidate prospects that we can send instead. At least give me more time to get them in form, a year at most. I’m afraid that, if those two are put through screening as they are, the Order will only be throwing away its resources. Resources that could be used on successful screenings.”

The cloaked man by the door simply nodded, “They're the ones I’m here for. The description that I was given along with this escort mission fits them perfectly.” The man paused while he moved forward and away from the shadows. Lowering his hood as he did so, the man rested a hand on the back of one of the chairs and lowered his head slightly in deference, “You would know better than I that the methods used by the Order are more sophisticated than mere guess work. 'They are to be sent to the capital along with the rest of the chosen candidates.' These were the requirements I was given to complete my mission with the highest rating, Administrator.”

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Cynthia stared at the man for a moment before closing her eyes and releasing a slow breath. She understood what the man was saying. As an Administrator, she indeed had a deep understanding of how the Order chose its candidates. Her knowledge of the screening exam was deep, and the consequences of both passing and failing were crystal clear to her. It was for this reason that she found herself questioning the unprecedented specificity of the mission the man was given.

Opening her eyes, Cynthia once again opened the top folder and stared down at the picture sketched at the top of the first page. ‘It’s not like me to think so deeply about something as simple as screening candidates.’ she thought to herself, closing the file and pushing herself away from the desk, ‘So why do I have such an uneasy feeling about all of this?’

Her expression was one of relaxed authority, showing none of her inner turmoil as she rose to her feet, giving the man a short glance before turning to look through the window behind her and at the image of the sun that had nearly finished sinking below the horizon. Following a minor wave of her hand, the large chair that she had been sitting in disappeared rapidly back into the floor.

Without turning back, Administrator Reed spoke in a cool tone, “You said your name was Mac, warrior?”

“Yes, ma’am. Mac Cameron.” the man said, a small amount of relief finding a way into his reply.

Administrator Reed moved both of her hands behind her back and spun on her heel to acknowledge the warrior with the full capacity of her position, “On behalf of the Star Order, I thank you, Warrior Cameron. Accepting this important escort mission is a crucial step towards building a better tomorrow for the people of our region. Your diligence in this matter will be noted, along with your other contributions, when you and your partner finish delivering the prospects to the capital.”

Mac lowered his head even more at the Administrator’s words, “Thank you, ma’am. I’m simply doing my duty.”

“There’s no need to be humble, warrior.” Administrator Reed admonished, shaking her head sternly, “The journey to the capital won’t be an easy one. Even though they assign two proven warriors for each cohort, there aren’t many that accept these missions willingly and for good reason. The future of our Order dictates that all these prospects make it to the capital alive, and there are many that would rather die than see that come to pass. You know this very clearly, so, please, don’t insult me with a false display of modesty.”

“Yes, ma’am. I apologize for my lack of decorum,” Mac said, addressing the Administrator while remaining at ease.

Cynthia nodded her head in approval, “Good. Now, with these official matters out of the way, I have two troublemakers to deal with. Would you like to take this opportunity to introduce yourself to them in advance?”

Mac shook his head and relaxed, bringing his hood back up over his head before answering, “That won’t be necessary. My partner will be the one dealing with the cohort on the way to the capital. I’ll simply be acting as the forward scout to make sure all those people that you mentioned die as far away from the group as possible. If everything goes well, they’ll never even know I’m around.”

Cynthia shrugged a shoulder indifferently.

“As you wish. Since that’s the case, you’re free to go.” She raised her chin towards the closed door, “Just let my assistant know to send them in as you leave.”

The cloaked warrior nodded his head once more in acknowledgement before making his way out of the office. Left alone for a moment, Cynthia busied herself by lighting the candles and torches around the room with playful flicks of her fingers. By the time the last fire was lit, she could hear the tell-tell shuffle of reluctant feet making their way uneasily into her office. She pointed at the two remaining chairs on the opposite side of the desk with the fingers she had just been using to light the fires.

“Take a seat. We three have much to discuss.”