An Event Didn't Occur
I glanced up from cleaning my blades when I heard some guards walking down and chains rattling.
"Move it or lose it, scum." one of the guards growled.
I stood, knowing I'd be asked to interrogate the prisoner. "Who is he?"
"A Shu'zen captain," the other guard replied, yanking on the chains.
"I see, I see," I muttered.
The guards pushed the man into the room and forced him into the chair. They walked out, and, after closing the door, the first looked at me. "You'll be sitting in on this to make sure he isn't lying."
Shocker. Then, you'll have me go and spy on the Shu'zen or report to the army.
"Let's go," the second grumbled.
I nodded and slipped in after the guards.
"What's he here for?" the Shu'zen asked.
"Just to observe and for safety measures; it's standard protocol," I replied, my voice barely more than a whisper.
"Now, what is your name?" the first guard asked.
"What does it matter to you?" the tribesman snarled.
My right hand moved to a dagger on instinct. The second guard noticed the movement and shook his head lightly, almost imperceptibly. I nodded slightly, my hand still on the dagger.
"Just answer the question," the second growled.
"Bite me."
"Okay, time to put yourself to work, Kurokawa," the first guard said.
"Just try to get some answers from him," the second added.
"Usual?" I asked.
They nodded and left the room. A little light went on right below the window, indicating they put the audio recorder on and left.
I cracked my neck, shoulders and knuckles. "Let's begin, shall we." I said with a tone of authority.
About twenty minutes later, I left the room with my work complete. I passed the guards and said, "It's done. Sorry for the mess. He was... stubborn."
"I expect you'll hear from us once we've informed the Commander of the Assassin's guild," the first said.
"Naturally," I replied and promptly left the building. Outside, I looked around my home city, Atlantis. I adjusted my jacket and fiddled with the band on my right wrist, which had five characters carved into it. I looked to the sky, "Sorry, Life, for taking another of your creatures. May Death have mercy on his soul."
Naturally, the Eternal Forces, that is, Life, Death, Time, Nature, and Fate, gave no response.
I inspected the band on my left wrist and made sure all of the needles were in the proper place. Shifting the two daggers I kept strapped to my lower back, I took off towards the wall, the pouch of Senbon, or throwing, needles on my hip jingling like change.
Atlantis is massive, I mean, really massive. It's about the size of a small island, roughly 5700 square kilometres. It has five districts, plus the Wall.
The first, which is the Northern district, is the farm district. We have about 100 acres of wheat, another 100 of corn, and another 500 of various other crops. Then there is forty acres for cows, one for pigs, and another 100 for the horses the guards and commoners use. Lastly, there are about 5 square kilometres of forest for weapons and buildings.
The second, or the Eastern district, is the industrial region. We have blacksmiths, carpenters, food-workers, masons, weavers, and tailors. It's probably the smallest of the districts.
The third, or Western, district is the residential area. It falls in as the second smallest, just a bit bigger than the Eastern. It is broken up into about a hundred sub-districts. Each sub-district houses about a hundred and fifty thousand people.
The fourth, or Southern district, is the recreational district. It has pools, tracks, ranges, mazes, and even forests for hunting small game. There is even a Shinrae temple, which I regularly attend. The Grand Library, which houses books on every subject and is about half an acre in size, is located here as well.
The fifth, or Central district, is our capital. All government affairs are settled here and the Royal Family lives in the central tower. There are also guild houses, the two most known are the Spy Corps and Assassin's Guilds. I was recruited to the Corps then the 'Sin's guild, but I'll explain that later.
Lastly, there is the Wall. We have four entrances to the city; one at each of the districts, excluding the Central, of course. Throughout the wall, there are barracks, as well as armouries and the infirmaries. It houses a further 215 000 people.
To aid in travelling around the city, there are portal rooms in the wall. There is one near the entrances, one in the Central District, and near the barracks and armouries. Through them, you can travel to any area of the city in the blink of an eye.
Just past the wall, there is a moat. This moat spans about 250 metres out from the city. There are bridges that go across, but they are usually drawn shut. There are four crystal "altars" by where the bridge would connect to the mainland. These allow for the guard to keep watch and admit those that should and reject those that should not.
As I mentioned before, I was recruited by the two factions of Atlantis, the Spy Corps and the Assassin's Guild.
The Spy Corps recruited me at 10, as was customary of the Atlanteans. I was claimed for my rapid reaction time, high stamina, and stellar hearing. I trained with them for two years. During which, I managed to further increase my reaction time and quadruple my stamina. I also learned to move almost silently; the noise is just barely audible to my own hearing.
I was then a spy for the army for a year, before the Guild claimed me. There, I learned to fight with single-handed blades, which I don't really use, dual daggers, which I always uses, Senbon, or throwing, needles. It was during this time that my abilities as a Pathfinder – I can seek out a person or item from something related to it, and "see" the path it took – and a Shadow Walker –A person that can manipulate the shadows to their will. Another assassin also confronted me to train me as an Insight, or a person who can sense things about others, like Empaths. I also learned just about all languages, except the tribes that would later be called "Natives".
I should mention that I'm also extremely knowledgeable about the human body. I can tell you where all the nerve bundles are, where to stick a needle to get a certain effect.
I let out a sharp whistle, and Lucian, my Familiar of the Shadows, stepped out of the shadows of the buildings.Lucian is a black fox with glaring red eyes, and a red-tipped tail.
"Toshi, where are we going?" he asked me. The familiars can only transmit thoughts to their master, requiring us to be their voice. The only problem with the bond a Walker and his Beast form, is that if the Walker dies, so does the Familiar, and visa versa.
"We're going to the Wall, of course," I replied.
"Why?"
"To check on the Shu'zen, Father will want to know if they've made a move," I answered. My father is the current king of Atlantis. He was extremely proud to know that I had latent abilities and became a high ranking Assassin, a Night Stalker, which is the equivalent of a general in the military.
"Of course. He's so lazy."
"He is not!" I laughed.
I kept up the pace and leaped at the wall that prevents people from shooting those walking along the top. I used my momentum to carry myself up to the top and stood there. "Well, seems like they're still plotting," I mumbled.
Lucian scurried up and sat by my feet. "This war has been going on for the last century. It needs to end."
I nodded, "Yeah."
I turn around and jump down, landing gracefully on my feet. "Lucian, let's go," I said, running towards the Central District.
"Don't forget about your mission with the mage," Lucian reminded me and caught up in a few steps.
"I haven't. Perhaps Father will tell me who it is; he did order this mission himself," I replied, running towards a wall and going up a level. I hate taking the streets, they're too crowded.
I plant my hands on the edge of the building and propel myself onto the next, never once losing my stride. I'm not far now, only a half dozen buildings to cross. I glance over my shoulder. It must be a night mission. The sun has almost set.
Turning forward, I leap across the gap between two buildings. Four more leaps, and I'm standing before the gate to the Tower, albeit two stories higher.
"Geronimo!" I yelled as I jumped off the building. I hit the ground on my heals lightly and roll onto my hands, keeping my lower back off the ground. I push off when my feet are straight up in the air and, with a flip, land on my feet right at the entrance.
"Ten points, Toshi!" The guard cheered, "Your father is getting impatient. Get yer ass up there," he opened the door and I rushed through.
A few flights of stairs later, I'm standing at the door to my father's office. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Once calm, I enter. "Hello, Father."
"'Bout damn time you showed up. You're fifteen minutes later," Father growled.
"Sorry, sir. I was asked to interrogate a Shu'zen, and I went to inspect their forces from the wall," I replied.
"You are royalty. Make another excuse and it will be the last you utter," he stated. "Now, the mage you are going on a mission with is Sorceress Akira Kishin."
"What? Aki? Really?" I stammered.
"Silence," Father snapped. "You will be meeting her at the North Gate one hour after sun down. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, not get out of my sight," he dismissed me with a wave of his hand.
What flew up his ass?
I left the room and stumbled going down the stairs and hit my head on wall.
Lucian loped over and nudged me. "I'm fine, just a bump. I'll be fine." I stood and rubbed the rapidly forming goose-egg on my forehead. "Maybe Aki will have something for this."
"You should be careful, Toshi."
"Shush. It was a loose rock, okay?" I glared at him.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
I started down the stairs, at a much slower pace. At the bottom, I took a left and made way to the north gate. I could wait for her there.
Well, the mission went as planned, we met up about two hours before sun down, chatted, left for our mission and returned to report in. We had recovered some of their books of plans, their weapons, and even took out their sub-commander. With the items in hand, we returned to my father's office.
"Well?" he bellowed.
"We retrieved numerous books of plans of theirs. We managed to snag a few weapons on our way back. Their sub-commander is dead, as was requested," I answered.
"Excellent! With this, we can bring the war to an end, at long last." He congratulated us.
It's hard to say how much longer the war could have gone on, but it ended within the year following Akira's and my mission. I still have a nagging suspicion that something was supposed to happen when I hit my head on the wall. It's a weird thing to explain; something just tells me that the war should have gone on longer than it did, and what's more, I feel we should have lost that war.
A/N: Well, here's a teaser for our new story, I know the ending is rushed (a lot), but I didn't want this to drag on. It's a different take on our plans, and it's also from a single perspective, not third person. This is a "what if" a certain event didn't occur as it should have.
~Aincalandorn~