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In a blast of ice and fire, Will and Rowan Kenrith planeswalked back to their home of Eldraine. It has been almost 2 years since they had been home, and they wished they had returned to better circumstances. They had left in anger after learning the true origin of their birth and who their mother truly was. Will had thought about returning and trying to mend the relationship with their parents but Rowan was still angry. She still thought of them as liars, and she didn’t know if she could trust them ever again.
Their return was at the start of the largest threat the multiverse had ever faced, a total invasion. Professor Vess, or Oynx as some of the students still called her, had told the twins about the horrors of New Phyrexia. She told them to go home and try to protect Eldraine from whatever would happen. They knew that Eldraine would have protectors, but no one could be prepared for this kind of situation. The kind of situation which meant they could be facing their own friends and loved ones turned into Phyrexian agents.
They had planeswalked right into the town surrounding Castle Ardenvale. They knew that their parents would be on the throne, and that they would need to warn them on the upcoming war. As they began to rush to the Castle, they realized it was too late. The sky had already cracked open, the branches of the invasion tree had spread into their world. The phyrexians were here and they were coming for the royal family.
Will and Rowan began pushing through the town folks as they rushed to get to the castle. They had been gone for too long. The streets of this town used to be common knowledge for them but they quickly got lost trying to push through the crowds of scared civilians. The people of Eldraine did not who the scope of what was happening to their world, they did not know what horrors were invading their home.
“What are we going to do? We need to go see the king as soon as possible. He needs to start pushing the realm on the offensive. The phyrexians cannot be allowed to win, not here, and not anywhere” screamed Rowan. She was furious about being lost, she barely wanted to be on this plane. She hated it here, but still wanted it to survive. She still loved her home world even if she would never admit it.
Will looked at his sister and spoke calmly, “Grab my hand. All you need to do is blast us up so we can go above the garden wall and then we can make our way to the castle. We may have gotten lost in the city, but the castle is second nature. Also, he is more than just the king, he is our father. Family protects family.”
Rowan looked at her brother, smiled and then grabbed his hand. She blasted them above the garden wall. In the air, they could see the destruction from the invasion. Half of the city was on fire and the other half was in constant battle. The phyrexians did not care about preserving the history and legends of this world, they just wanted to add this world to their collection.
The twins landed on the other side of the garden wall. They had spent so many years sneaking out of this castle, it felt weird doing the opposite. They appreciated the irony but quickly focused themselves on making it back to the castle. They would need to get to the throne room and see their father. The twins were taught how Phyrexia worked and how to stop them. He would be able to contact the rest of the realm and get the armies connected.
The twins rushed into the castle; they pushed through the large wooden doors and entered the castle. The castle was wrecked by the Phyrexian invasion. A mix of blood and oil covered the marble floors and formerly perfectly white walls. There was almost a presence of death throughout the castle as the twins made their way to the large circle staircase that was put in the center of the castle. The staircase had just as much blood and oil as the rest of castle, but this time they found bodies lying across the stairs. Phyreixans and knights of the realm, both dead and blocking the path of Will and Rowan. They knew this meant trouble ahead, but they couldn’t wait any longer to get to see their father.
Their rush up the stairs was quick; they could still recall being disciplined by the queen for playing on these stairs, especially when important guests were at the castle. They always caused trouble in this castle, but this time they were here to stop it. They reached the top of the stairs and went to the throne room to find their father. Rowan went to push the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. Will tried to push with Rowan but the door was barricaded from the other side.
Rowan decided that enough was enough and she blasted the door with a powerful blast of red energy. Will had to cover his eyes as the dust settled from the explosion. Rowan ran directly into the throne room to find her father and save Eldraine from Phyrexia.
“Will--Will. Come here now!” Rowan shrieked as she entered the room.
Will rushed into the room, still shielding his eyes from the dust. “I am here Rowan, what is it?”
Rowan was quiet at first. She eventually mustered up the energy to respond. “We were too late. We lost”
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Rowan sat in her childhood bedroom. It felt so little to her, it had only been a few years but her whole childhood felt like a lifetime ago. She could barely move from her bed, it felt as if she had chains holding her there. Today was going to be the worst day of her life.
It had only been a week since the invasion ended. Will had taken charge of the realm. He met with the remaining leaders to start creating a unified plan for rebuilding. He had taken control of planning everything for today’s event. Rowan could still barely understand what had happened, she was still trapped in the moment she saw them.
There was a knock-on Rowan’s door. “Come in”, she responded. Her voice was weak, but it was loud enough for her brother to come to her and open the door.
“Are you ready?” Will said. He knew she would never be. He had to brave for her sister and get everything together. She had always been there for him and pushed him to succeed. Still, he knew that he was not ready for this either. He thought he would have at least a few more years but he must now do all of this and rebuild the realm.
Rowan looked at Will with tears in her eyes, “I guess.”
The twins went together to the throne room, the same room they saw their parents dead in. The same room that would now hold a royal funeral.