Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Assassin's Creed, nor am I making any money from this creation.
In Search of a Memory
An Assassin's Creed Revelations Fanfic
Chapter 1
A/N: I need to first let you know that I just started playing Revelations so this story might not match up exactly. In fact, I guarantee it. And Ezio is just a minor character in this story because his character is simply too awesome for me to capture perfectly. So this story features two OC's. Enjoy!
Ezio watched his apprentice with growing interest. Isaac, the master assassin in charge of the Galata Den was talking about recent Templar attacks and their growing strength. But it wasn't his words that piqued Ezio's interest. It was the man's voice. His voice was even deeper than Ezio's. It was a full and resounding voice that could easily fill a room and make weaker assassins tremble. And his eyes… even as the man spoke of his recent victories against the Templars in both Constantinople and the Mediterranean, his eyes held great pain. But Ezio knew the source, and though it had been many years since Isaac had joined the Assassins, Ezio knew not to bring up the past.
Ezio placed his hand upon his apprentice's shoulder. "You speak of victories as though they were losses, Isaac. And yet you have not lost a single assassin since I placed you as master of this den."
"Forgive me, Mentor, but they are not victories. Even as we speak the Templars grow in strength and numbers. Our efforts in Alexandria and Bursa may be for nothing!"
"They are victories," Ezio replied calmly. "Though they may seem small and the war great, your work here has purpose.
"Of course you are right, mentor," Isaac said bowing.
Ezio studied the man before him for a passing second. The Assassin was tall, perhaps the tallest Assassin Ezio had in his ranks. And his frame was large. He was an intimidating sight, and to have him bowed before Ezio was humbling. "Let us now speak of a new mission," Ezio said.
Isaac lifted his head and for just a fleeting moment, his dark eyes sparked with excitement.
Pleased to see such a reaction from the man, Ezio smiled. "I am currently searching for pieces of… a memory."
Isaac frowned in confusion.
Ezio carefully pulled a circular, golden object from the folds of his robe. It was perfectly carved and was glowing from an unknown power. "This is an artifact from the First Civilization. It contains the memories of my ancestor, Altair."
"Altair of Syria, the Mentor of the Levantine Assassins?"
Ezio nodded. "This is but one memory seal," he said passing the seal to Isaac. "There are six in total."
Isaac passed the glowing seal from one hand to the other, inspecting its flawless design with awe.
Ezio continued, "I am on the trail of one more seal, but there is a map with the location of the last four seals. I want you to find this map.
Isaac pulled his eyes from the memory seal. "I will retrieve this map for you. My apprentices and I will leave tonight…"
Ezio held up his hand. "This mission is for you alone. I need it done in secrecy. My sources tell me it is being held in one of three Templar Strongholds. Find the map and bring it to me. Do what you must do to the strongholds and the Templars who reside in them, but do not let anyone discover that it is the map you seek. If they discover your motives, they will take the map into hiding."
Isaac passed the memory seal back to Ezio. "It will be done, Mentor."
Emilia was having the most amazing dream. She was back home on the family farmstead. Her brothers and sisters surrounded her, their joyous laughter filling the warm spring air.
Emilia looked up. The sun was shining brilliantly and all across the field lay beautiful wildflowers. Then her mother and father appeared, their arms outstretched. Smiles lit their faces as they called her name.
Emilia ran towards them, her own arms outstretched. But suddenly the sky grew dark. She stopped dead in her tracks, her legs suddenly heavy and fatigued. Then a sharp and icy pain filled her. Her vision swam.
"Wench! Get up!" a guard bellowed as he threw more icy cold water on her shivering form.
Emilia cowered on the floor, pain from endless days of torture filling her body. Had they not tortured her enough? God, how long had she been in this place? Weeks, months, surely it had not been a year!
"You filthy wench! I said get up!" the guard yelled once more while kicking her squarely in the stomach.
Emilia fell to her side and curled into a ball. Their torturing had become more frequent as of late and she could feel her body giving up.
"No man would have a such a stinking rat!" another guard laughed and spat on her as he hauled her to her feet by her hair.
Emilia struggled not to scream in pain as she was yanked from her cell. But really, how could she scream when her throat was so parched? Could they not have spared some of that cold water for her to drink?
The guard continued to drag her by her hair for what seemed an eternity, until finally she was thrown back onto the floor.
Emilia squinted in the harsh light. Torches lit up the room. Sharp fear shot through her body. She had been in this room before. And last time they had thrown her on the rack.
Emilia struggled to keep her body's convulsions under control, but she was terrified. Tears slipped down her face. When one of the guards reached for her a new wave of adrenaline filled her and she lashed out. Her nails connected with flesh and the guard bellowed in pain. The other guard quickly restrained her, throwing her against a table.
"You will regret that, bitch," the injured guard said between clenched teeth. Blood from where she had attacked him filled his eyes and dripped off his chin onto the table. It splattered into a pool on the marred wood. Then he grabbed one of her hands. She struggled with all of her remaining strength, but the guard behind her held her bent down over the table.
"No! Please!" she yelled, her voice cracking with the effort. But her cries did nothing to move the guards. A hammer fell upon the fingers of her left hand and she screamed in agony.
This was the third Templar Stronghold. The first two had yielded no sign of the map. Even interrogating some the Templar guards had yielded nothing of use.
Isaac ran a hand over his face before slipping on his mask. If the map wasn't in this stronghold, then he would fail this mission. Failure was just not an option.
With great ease, Isaac leaped across the rooftops. He did not have the gift of eagle vision as his mentor, Ezio did, but he did not need it. He planned to just sneak in, find the map, and sneak out.
As Isaac approached the stronghold, he saw a guard a few rooftops ahead. To the left, the roof dropped one story and created a small patio, the perfect way to sneak past the guard.
With a steady and sure hand, Isaac's hidden blade plunged into the guard's back before the man even knew what was happening. Not a sound escaped the man's lips as Isaac laid him carefully to the tiles. He knew he could have just snuck past the guard undetected, but he simply had no qualms about killing Templar guards. At least not after…
Isaac shook his thoughts away. Now was not the time to think of the past. He had a job to do.
Isaac entered the dungeon and the foul stench of death hit his nostrils. Surely there would be nothing alive down here. A glance in the first cell confirmed his thoughts. A body lay decaying on the floor.
He pulled his eyes from the rotting corpse. Death and the lack of guards made Isaac uneasy. If the map was down here, then shouldn't there be more men guarding it?
On silent feet, the master assassin made his way deeper into the dungeon. Rats scurried from his path and around every corner, only corpses lay waiting for him.
This mission had not gone as planned. Of course it had been easy to infiltrate the stronghold, and it would most likely prove just as easy to escape, but where was the map? The dungeon was the last place Isaac expected to find it, yet here he was searching the dank cells.
A blood-curdling scream filled the air. Without hesitation, Isaac ran toward the scream, deeper into the dungeon where the air grew even fouler.
Another scream rang out, piercing his ears. He rounded a corner where the sight before him instantly filled him with rage.
Emilia screamed again as the guard grabbed her right hand. "Please! Please don't," she begged, but now her voice came out as a choked sob.
The guard grinned widely, "Beg all you want, little wench. There isn't anyone in the world who can…"
It all happened so quickly, but a heavy axe fell on the guard, cracking his skull open just in front of Emilia. The other guard was pulled from her and she sank to the floor cradling her crushed fingers. A masked and hooded man wearing the robes of an assassin quickly killed the second guard and was suddenly kneeling at her side.
"Can you walk?" he asked more as a command than a question.
Emilia did not register his words. His voice was deep… and angry? She tried to focus on his mask, but her eyes were unseeing. The pain had become too much to bear and she fought to stay conscious.
The assassin growled low in his throat, as he seemed to realize that she was in no condition to walk or even make sense of what was happening around her. He gently, but swiftly picked her up, holding her to his chest. "Stay with me, şanslı biri. You are safe."
Emilia tried to keep here eyes open, but her lids felt so heavy. She clung to the warmth her rescuer provided. She tried to speak but her voice failed her.
Suddenly she was back on the floor. She reached blindly for the assassin as he pulled away from her. The sounds of fighting raged only a few feet from her. Emilia struggled to sit up and open her eyes. She watched in horror as the assassin's axe connected with steel. There were five guards, heavily armed, circling and fighting the assassin. Emilia was so distracted by the fight and the pain that consumed her that she almost missed the sixth guard enter the room, his gaze locked on her.
Emilia scrambled to her feet just in time to avoid the sharp edge of the man's sword. He swung at her again and Emilia stumbled backwards and into the wall. With a trembling hand, she grasped the only weapon she could find, a torch. She swung at him, surprised to connect. His clothes lit up in flames as he shouted in shock.
The Templar stumbled around trying to put out the fire as it engulfed him. Without thinking, and with the very last of her strength, Emilia kicked him in the chest, sending him crashing into a pile of old hay. She sank to the floor just as the hay burst into flames, filling the room with heat and thick smoke.
A/N: I know that Ezio locates all of the memory seals himself, and there is no map, but what if there was a map, and what if he enlisted help from another master assassin?! Yep, that seems to be the direction I'm taking this story. XD R&R!
© 2012 kungfuwarrior