The Dragon Assassin, Issue 3
Chapter 4-
Ibsin climbed up the hillside to safety and when he reached the top, he laid there on the muddy ground, due to the heavy rain falling from the night sky. After a while of some sobbing, he got up, yelled at the ground and faced the city where his once-girlfriend, now a traitor to his people and himself was waiting for her employers. Within the hour, Ibsin watched in horror and hate as his home city was burned to the ground, and all the people he knew where killed. Even with being such a distance away, Ibsin could still hear all the screams of horror and pain, the roars of anguish and death.
"I can't stand it anymore!" Ibsin got up, and leaped into the air, using his wings to propel himself farther. He slammed down into the city square and found one of the TalMagi. The TalMagi saw him and tried hitting him with burst of flame, but from what the TalMagi didn't know…Ibsin's eyes were glowing. Before the TalMagi could have even reacted, Ibsin had already jumped at him, and sliced from head to toe with his claws. Ibsin ran through the smoke and the dead, killing any TalMagi he saw, occasionally getting hit with an attack.
"Ibsin! Over here! Get your scaly ass over here!" Ibsin ran to the voice, and found the Captain of the Guard lying on the ground, his whole side singed by a lightning attack. "I knew you would arrive at the worst of times, boy. I have a very special job for you right now, I need you to go to the Archives and take the Book of the Ancients. You are now the sole keeper of that book, all the scribes are dead...arrrrgghh!" The Captain convulsed as the electricity that had originally hit him started to shock him at a lethal rate. Ibsin watched in shock as the Captain, a friend of his was shocked to death by this lightning and burned the body to ash within seconds.
"There! There he is, get him!" A TalMagi had spotted Ibsin, and he took off towards the Archives. When he arrived, he became extremely cautious, he hadn't seen any other enemy soldiers, or Clemencia for that matter. He found the big iron door to the Archives open, and slipped inside. To make sure he wasn't seen or heard, he climbed up towards the ceiling and used the ramparts to hide. He eventually made his way down into the ground, and came upon the enormous door that led to the chamber that held the Book of the Ancients.
"Come on, come on! Get this door open before the TalMagi arrive, or you'll be the ones to cook!" Ibsin looked down, and saw Clemencia ordering some soldiers about, and she was wearing the Squirrelite battle armor, which was the colors of a dark oak, leaf green, and built light for agility.
"But what about the Assassin, My Lady? He could be here, in this very room, and we wouldn't know it!" "Oh he's here alright, I know he would be. Now stop gawking, and open that door!" Ibsin jumped down, and landed silently behind Clemencia.
"Hello Clem," he said quietly. She froze up in her place. "Ibsin, what are you doing here?" "Here to get the book, and let me guess, you're here for the same reason?" Clem just nodded in agreement. "How about this, I get the door open for you, I give the book to you, and in return, you don't turn me into the TalMagi?" "Of course," she turned around, facing him, "But, why would I want to harm you? You know that," Ibsin grabbed her face, engulfing it in his claw, and said with his glowing bright, "Do not ever mention that again! You understand! We are through from what you put me against! Now, let's get that door open." He set her back down, and she coughed due to the lack of air.
Ibsin walked over to the door, the guards stepping back in fear. He extended a single talon to the door, and found the right spot. He stuck the talon into the slot and turned it, and there was a 'click' sound, then the door opened it reveal a chamber within, and a pedestal shown with light, holding the Book of the Ancients. Just as they were walking in, the TalMagi walked into the outer chamber.
"Look sir, they got the door open, and the Assassin is with them!" The TalMagi charged at them, and Ibsin and Clem ran inside, and Ibsin then shut the door just as the TalMagi were getting close. Ibsin and Clem walked up to the podium, and Ibsin took the book and shoved it towards Clem. "Take it, take it and go." Clem looked at him, her eyes big and brown, tears at the edges. "Clem, you not only sold me out to them, but you sold out my entire race!" Clem didn't answer but just stood near the door, while Ibsin climbed out through a metal grate that went out of the city. Eventually, the door was opened, and Clem walked out with the book in her paws.
Chapter 5-
A few years had passed, and Ibsin had forgotten of Clem and the attack on his city. Occasionally he would have memories that would overpower him, but it wouldn't only last a few seconds. As well as the memories, he also couldn't stop thinking of Clem; he kept seeing her young and lovely face in his mind. He had traveled all over the Known World, from London town to Constantinople. He was now making his way towards Acre once more, to get to Jerusalem, and go back to the Order. As he was walking down the road, and he could see Acre in the distance, now more rebuilt after a few years had passed, he was suddenly hit in the shoulder by an arrow. He looked around, not seeing the one who fired; he snapped it off and kept walking. Not even a few more steps, another arrow was fired, this time at his shoulder blade. He looked around again, and thought he saw some movement. He reached behind and snapped it off. He had taken a few more steps when several Squirrelite scouts jumped out the brush and surrounded him.
"Don't worry Assassin, we only want you dead, since your kind has killed so many of ours, why not kill the last one?" The lead scout had said, a tall young Squirrelite, equipped with a bow, quiver, and a dagger. Ibsin, now threatened beyond measure, had allowed for the first time to let the Rage take full charge. The Squirrelite leader was still talking, but when Ibsin looked up, he saw that his eyes were glowing bright, and his claws were extended, and now this time, he had the hidden blades out as well.
"Kill him! Kill him before he murders us all!" That was the last thing he said before Ibsin sliced his throat with one of the blades. As soon as the other scouts saw their leader's body hit the ground, they attacked. It was no hard task for Ibsin, since the Rage was no in full control. He managed to kill every one of the scouts, except one, who was running away. Ibsin ran after her, even using his claws to propel himself further. He tackled her to the ground, and turned her around so he could see her face as she died. When he turned her over, Ibsin saw that it was Clem. In his mind, he could not do a thing, as the Rage was in full throttle. She looked up at Ibsin, as if into his mind, and tears welled up in her eyes, and yet there was fear there as well.
"NO! Stop it! Don't kill her!" Ibsin said in his mind, but his body wasn't responding to his calls. He watched as she slowly died in his hands. When she did, the rage subsided, and he was himself once more. He looked around, as if he didn't know what had happened. He looked down and saw Clem's lifeless body on the ground. He felt tears trickle down his face, and as he stroked his dead lover's face, rain lightly fell from the sky. He took Clem in his arms, and held her close, crying loudly while rocking her body. As he stroked her face, he said apologetically, "Clem….Clem…, I am so sorry, please forgive me Clem!" He continued to stroke her, asking for forgiveness, and crying.
After a few hours, he managed to bury not only her body, but the other scouts' bodies as well. Before he buried Clem, he saw that she still had the Book. She didn't give it to the TalMagi. "Maybe, inside, she still felt for me," he thought, while putting the book away in a pouch he had on.
After that, Ibsin continued to wander the lands, searching for some way to redeem himself of his previous actions. After wandering for quite some time, he found a young mage by the name of TalCyrus, who was traveling on diplomatic reasons. Soon, they became friends, and met up every few years. By meeting up with Cyrus, it helped Ibsin take his mind off the past few years.
A few years after they had met, Ibsin was waiting at their familiar spot. He waited all day, and Cyrus had not shown up, which made Ibsin slightly worried for his friend's safety. Every year after that, Cyrus never showed up at the tavern, and eventually, Ibsin stopped going there.
When Ibsin was travelling down a road, he saw an old friend approach him, he was mostly known as the Aldo, another Assassin Mentor. "Aldo, my old friend, how are you? What are you doing here?" Aldo stopped his horse, and Ibsin could see even without him answering that he didn't look well at all. "I have just left the land of Alteria. I have been…branded by a demon, and I did not want to stay there and find out what happened. There are Templars there, and they have taken a city, I wish for you to take my place there, as Assassin Mentor. I want you to finish my work, and bring the Order to its highest power. I have told the Princess and her husband that they will be expecting you within the next few days. Good luck my friend, I hope to see you again sometime soon."
Aldo rode off, in the direction of Italy, and Ibsin rode the other direction, the way Aldo had just came, to an unknown land, Alteria. Ibsin was glad that he now could help an old friend bring the Order back to life, and perhaps….find someone new for his own, and get Clem off his mind. As he rode further into Alteria, his mind began to wander, thinking of what could happen, and what might happen in this new life he has taken up.
THE END
(IF YOU WISH TO READ WHAT HAPPENS TO IBSIN AFTER THIS, GO TO .com, AND THEN GO TO THE FORUMS, AND THEN ALTERIA STORIES, THERE YOU WILL FIND THE STORY OF ALTERIA.)