The Way of the Fist: Book One of the Avendara Series in Bloomington, MN

Monk of Avendara, David Fletcher, is sent to investigate the murder of two soldiers, and what he uncovers pits him against the despotic Necromancer long believed dead. David, and his friends on the investigative team, have rarely left the temple fortress of Avendara but now they must put their magical and martial arts training to the test to solve the mystery at Larafell College of Wizardry. The murder victims were guarding the tomb of the Necromancer Xircon who led the forces of Mage-Kind in a series of brutal wars against the non-magical Vrag nations over a century earlier. It doesn't seem as though the suspect was breaking in but that something was breaking out. When hordes of mind-controlled wizards rise, David and his friends are cut off from both Avendara and the elder Wizard Authorities. They must fight for their lives to stop an ancient power from rising.