Assassins' Creed: Tumult of the Sengoku Period

Chapter 1 of an Assassin's Creed idea I had, hope you enjoy it, set in Japan at the height of the Warring States era. This story will contain some Japanese words and phrases and follow the old style of Japanese naming with the family name first and the first name second. Main chracter shall be an OC named Toranaga Yorimoto.

Disclaimer: I don't own Assassin's Creed or any of the characters used in this story except my OC.

Chapter 1: We are Assassins

It was late May in the year 1560 by the Western Calendar. In Japan it was the era of Sengoku Jidai, the age of the country at war. The Daimyo of each fief fought over land, territory and sought to expand their borders, all seeking power. One such Daimyo was Imagawa Yoshimoto, he currently held power that stretched from his home province of Suruga through to the provinces of Totomi and Mikawa. He sought even more expansion and had led a large army consisting of thirty-five thousand soldiers to dominate Owari Province. The Daimyo of Owari, Oda Nobunaga had come out to face him in battle, despite only having twenty-five hundred troops at his command; most of these troops were not even Samurai but mere Ashigaru – Peasant Soldiers.

However within the Imagawa camp, a particular faction only served out of fear and was looking for a chance to break away and reclaim the power that had been stolen from them. This faction was led by the young Lord of the Matsudaira Clan, Matsudaira Motoyasu, a mere seventeen year old teenager, who none the less possessed a brilliant mind and even more powerful allies. In particular the Iga and Koga Ninja clans, who were, unbeknownst to most of Japan, part of a secret Brotherhood known simply as 'The Assassins'. The Assassins were devoted to fighting for peace in all things, particularly against their enemies, a long thought extinct army known as the Templars, an underground group of people also seeking peace, but with very different methods. The Assassin's sought to bring peace through understanding and reasoning, the Templars sought total authoritarian control to achieve their ends. The Assassin's were against such subjugation and fought against the Templars to prevent this, in Japan the Templars had not been active for some time but the Assassin's still kept watch for them. With the new trade routes opened and foreigners, particularly from the west coming into Japan the Assassin's knew it was only a matter of time before a Templar agent from Europe, the heart of Templar power, came to Japan to stir things up.

Within a tent in the Matsudaira camp three men stood around a small lit brazier, the only source of light in the tent, casting ominous shadows along the walls. These three men were dressed similarly in conservative grey kimonos. The two standing with backs to the entrance of the tent had their heads bowed. One was eighteen, his hair was black, a rather common colour, and done up in the traditional topknot style. His black eyes were shrewd and fierce; his face was scarred, minus the scars his companion had a similar appearance being only a year younger. The third man was much older however at fifty-eight, his hair beginning to grey, he also wore it in a shaved top style, the deep lines of his forehead and the clefts of concentration above his nose were the only other signs of age. His eyes were just as shrewd and fierce as his companions. The last man was the leader of the Iga Ninja's and therefore the Mentor of the Japanese Assassins, his name was Momochi Tamba. The two with him were his most trusted and favourite students, with them he was intoning the maxim of the creed.

"Where other men blindly follow the truth," He announced in a gravely voice, "Remember…"

"Nothing is true," His companions replied in unison, he nodded and continued, "Where other men are limited by morality or law, remember…"

"Everything is permitted," They replied. Momochi nodded and in unison the three of them finished the speech, "We work in the dark to serve the light, we are Assassins".

Finally they spoke the words of their Creed, the words they lived by.

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

As they finished they straightened up, ready to discuss their plans for the battle their key ally Matsudaira Motoyasu was involved in.

Momochi turned to the elder of the two Assassins before him.

"Hanzo-san," He addressed him, the young man's full name was Hattori Hanzo, even at a young age he had a reputation for his deadliness in combat and was known as Oni Hanzo. Hanzo bowed respectfully to his Mentor. "Hai, Momochi-sama."

"You are closer to Matsudaira-sama than any of us," Momochi continued, "He must be yearning to shake off the evil grip of the tyrant Imagawa."

Hanzo nodded, "Hai, that is his wish, but he is uncertain about how to progress."

Momochi sighed and pondered briefly before reasoning, "We need to know what the Oda plan to do with this battle before we can plan our own move."

With that he turned to the third figure who bowed. The third figure was named Toranaga Yorimoto; he was a close friend of Hanzo and trained alongside him.

"Toranaga-san, I need you to gather information, spy on the Oda camp, see what you can learn. Report back to me when you are done, then we can make a move. Hanzo-san, you must stall Matsudaira-sama as much as possible, keep him from acting until we make our move."

They both bowed and replied in unison, "Hai Momochi-sama!"

Momochi nodded, "For the future and freedom of Matsudaira-sama we must bring about the death of this Imagawa, even if it means killing him ourselves."

Both men bowed and left the tent, ready to carry out their missions.

End of chapter, what do you think? Hope you enjoyed it, read and review please.