Oliver reached the edge of the glades and ran into the LD. You could tell where the zone started because the houses in the glades started decreasing in numbers, exposing areas of open land filled with grasses and trees. Oliver ran a bit faster and eventually found himself in the middle of a field that was slowly turning into a temperate forest. The vigilante dashed deeper into the forest and the darkness being created by the leaf canopy.
He walked around for a bit before hearing a rustling in the bushes nearby. Oliver ducked down into the shrubs and watched as a female figured dressed in black and red with dark hair flowing behind her ran by him. The vigilante waited a moment for her to pass and then got up and followed her.
Nyssa arrived in a clearing of the trees and slowed down. When she was at a complete stop, the assassin reached into a hidden pocket of her armor and pulled out a small silver key along with a black vial. Oliver watched from the bushes as Nyssa opened the vial and drank the contents. She seemed fine at first, but then her legs started to shake slightly and they collapsed, bringing the assassin to the ground.
Oliver's eyes widened as he saw Nyssa fall to the ground. He quickly rushed over, not giving a damn that he was blowing the whole undercover spy plan. The vigilante knelt on the ground next to her and put her head in his lap.
"Nyssa! Nyssa what did you do?!" He shouted over and over again at the unconscious assassin.
Without warning, Nyssa's eyes shot open and she sat up immediately. The assassin gasped for air and then looked over to see Oliver, with his hood and mask off watching her.
"Nyssa! What the hell just happened?!" He shouted at her.
"What are you doing here?! Why did you follow me?!" Nyssa asked him with an angered tone.
"You were acting weird and Lenora sent me after you" Oliver started. He grabbed the black vial and held it up to his nose and could smell something off about it. "Cyanide?! Nyssa were you trying to kill yourself?!"
Nyssa rolled her eyes and got up off the ground, then stared off into the forest. "You're here now and I know you won't let this go" She said under her breath, just loud enough for Oliver to hear. She took a deep breath before explaining. "That wasn't pure cyanide. It was a mix between the seven boosters, a hint of water, and cyanide. It doesn't kill you but actually does the exact opposite; makes you immune to physical trauma. I drank it because I need to be immune for what I'm about to do. I don't have another with me so you need to get going or you're choosing to die a painful death".
"What are you talking about?! We are in the middle of a forest in the LD! There aren't any assassins hiding out here or some secret arms dealers!" Oliver shouted at the assassin.
Nyssa turned her back towards the vigilante and walked towards the center of the clearing. She looked to her sides and behind her to confirm the location, then started brushing away grass, dirt, and other debris that was in her way. When all the debris was cleared away, an old rusted lock surrounded by nine small green crystals was exposed. Oliver watched over her shoulder as Nyssa drew a small silver and gold key from the hidden pouch in her armor.
"Get back Queen, or you will die" Nyssa warned as she inserted the key into the lock.
Oliver stood back slightly then Nyssa turned the key in a full circle. The green gemstones start to light up and half of a clear diamond rose from the lock. Nyssa reached into her hidden pouch and grabbed out the other half of the diamond and put it in place with the other half. Once the other half was in place, the ground started to shake and a bright light shot don from the sky and landed on the diamond. The light was fractured and hit all nine of the green crystals perfectly.
Oliver watched in awe as a dark brown rock emerged from the ground behind the crystals. When the rock was fully exposed, Nyssa took her sword in hand and used it blade to reflect the light from the sky onto the uppermost tip of the rock. Once the light was aligned, a green light exploded from the rock, sending Nyssa and Oliver tumbling back. Oliver landed up against the trunk of a tree and Nyssa collided with him as the light from the rock started to fade. When the light had completely disappeared, a sword with a dark silver blade and a dark green handle was left inside.
"It's like the sword in the stone…." Oliver stuttered as he watched the demon's daughter approach the sword.
The assassin grabbed the handle of the sword and pulled it out of the dark rock. When the blade was freed, the rock started to glow intensely and shot out a blinding light. Oliver watched in horror as Nyssa was engulfed by the light. He ran away from the approaching light but not without getting tagged by it. The light collided with his back and burned away his armor and skin, causing him to release a cry of pain.
The blinding light diminished, revealing Nyssa still with the sword in hand and unharmed. She turned her head back towards Oliver, who was lying face first on the ground. The assassin's eyes widened and she ran over to him as fast as possible. Nyssa dropped to her knees and examined the burn on his back. It was bad, but nothing that a little Lazarus pit water couldn't fix. She took out her own sword again and twisted the handle off then removed a vial filled with pit water. Nyssa popped off the top and poured the water onto Oliver's back.
When the last of the water hit his back, Oliver's eyes shot open and he got up from the ground. His eyes met Nyssa's who were staring at him with tears glistening in her eyes. She got up as well and pulled the vigilante into a hug. At first he was confused, but returned the hug.
"Thank god the water saved you…" Nyssa said with her voice muffled by the fabric of Oliver's suit.
"You used pit water?" Oliver asked while still hugging the assassin.
Nyssa pulled away and showed him the empty clear vial that held the pit water. "You were going to die, I had to"
"Okay, that doesn't explain what the hell just happened. Mysterious lights, jewels, and a sword in the stone! You need to explain NOW!" Oliver responded.
"Very well, Sit" Nyssa instructed
Oliver did as told and found a good stump to sit on. Nyssa did the same, but sat down on the grass covered ground.
"So start from the beginning?" Nyssa asked.
Oliver nodded, telling Nyssa to continue.
"This sword" the assassin said as she picked up the dark silver and green sword "Is the earthen sword created by the first generation of the league. There are eight more like it; water, fire, air, lightning, celestial, dark, light, and illusion. They are all swords that provide the wielder their power. A normal person would hunt down one and call it good, but I'm too close to finding them all"
"So why do you need all these swords? You have the boosters. Shouldn't that be good?" Oliver asked.
"Not exactly. Once I've collected all the swords, I'm going to travel to the fjords of northern Norway. In the fjords, there is a hidden cave where ten pedestals stand. When the nine swords are placed in the right place, the tenth pedestal will form a sword called Sayf Min Al'akwan…"
"What does that mean exactly?" Oliver asked curiously.
"It's Arabic for Sword of Universes" Nyssa replied
"And why do you need this over powered sword"
"To create the new league…The Phoenix League" The assassin replied cautiously.
"Why do you need to create a new league? Oliver responded
"The old league has died. My father is still alive, but I disbanded the league because our purpose had been lost in the past few hundred years. We used to stand for justice. A group of highly trained individuals who were created to stop corruption in the world. There have been too many internal conflicts to go back to our old ways so we are creating something new in order to go back to fulfilling our old mission"
Oliver was silent for a minute, trying to piece together the pieces of information Nyssa had just presented. He finally spoke up when he came to a stumble in the logic.
"Okay, I understand what the sword is and why you need to create a new league, but how are the two related? Why do you need to sword to create the Phoenix league?" The green vigilante asked.
"With that sword, we could pose a bigger threat and wouldn't make as many enemies. The sword would also strike fear into our assassins to discourage treason" Nyssa explained.
"Alright, I think all the questions I have at the moment have been answered" Oliver stated as he got up from the stump. He offered Nyssa a hand up from the ground and she took it willingly.
"I don't know what you're going to do at the moment, but I'm heading back to the safe house" Nyssa said as she picked up the earthen sword from the ground.
"What about the-…oh" Oliver said. He was trying to think about how they could cover up the jewels, diamond, lock, and sword stone but they had all vanished.
He turned back towards Nyssa, who had taken off the outermost layer of her armor and was wrapping it around the blade of the earthen sword.
Nyssa could feel Oliver's stare of disapproval from where she was standing, so she turned around and looked right back at him.
"I can feel the disapproval from here. Am I not covering myself properly?" Nyssa mocked
"N-no, it's not that. It's just, you look so different without that outer layer of armor. In fact, it actually looks like you are wearing a normal outfit, minus the bracers and several knives on the belt" Oliver pointed out.
"Uh huh. Well, I'm going back to the safe house to take a loooong nap. I'll see you later Oliver" Nyssa said as she walked towards the edge of the forest. She was only a few yards away when she turned back towards Oliver. "And for god's sake, take it easy. You were practically burned alive and lazarus pit water can have some side effects and no, I'm not talking about blood lust".
"Alright then, see you tomorrow" Oliver responded. After Nyssa was out of sight, Oliver walked over to the ground where the lock had been and discovered a symbol that was burned into the ground. It looked similar to the old league's symbol, but there were phoenix wings extending from the sides, signifying the rise of the new league.
-(=+=)-
Nyssa arrived back at the safe house with the earthen blade in hand. She quickly made her way to her bedroom and found a loose floor board near the side of her bed that she could hide the swords in. Once the loose board was pried up, Nyssa unwrapped the sword and placed it in the hidden compartment. After concealing all evidence of the loose floor board, Nyssa started to take off her armor.
Once all the Nyssa's armor and weapons were put away, the assassin made her way to the common rooms where she was met by Jacob playing solitaire at the kitchen table. When she walked into the room, Jacob picked his head up and smiled at her.
"Hey, good to see you back. Lenora should be back from the bunker in about ten minutes. There are some left overs on the stove if you're interested" The black assassin stated.
Nyssa wandered over to the kitchen where Jacob had pointed and saw a pot of rice on the stove that was still a bit warm. She scooped some into a smaller bowl, grabbed her book from the living room, then sat down on the hardwood floor with her back up against the side of the kitchen's island.
"Wouldn't you rather sit at the table or even the couch?" Jacob asked when he noticed where Nyssa had made herself comfortable.
"Not especially. I'm quite fine with where I'm at" She responded.
Ten minutes passed by and Lenora walked into the safe house dressed in her armor and decked out with weapons. She saw Nyssa and Jacob both in the kitchen just relaxing and decided to join them.
"So how was that disappearance Nyssa?" Lenora asked as she took off her quiver and sword.
"Refreshing, thank you" The assassin replied with her head in a book.
Lenora looked over at Jacob, who raised one eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders. It was part of a 'secret code' the couple established. What Jacob just said was that he didn't get anything new or that said person was lying. Deciding to let it go, Lenora walked over to a separate room off to the side that was being used as a library of sorts. The blue assassin picked up her violin and started to play random Christmas songs that Trent was playing for her earlier that day.
The violin player started to play a Christmas song that caught Nyssa's attention. At one point in her life, Christmas was the best time of the year for the assassin but now, it just became a painful reminder of why she hated her father.
-=STORYTIME=-
When Nyssa lived in Nanda Parbat, there was a village about ten miles away from her home. Every Christmas Eve night, all the townspeople would go out into the dark with small candles and sing that song beautifully around a big tree decorated with tinsel, candles, and other colorful objects. After ten years of listening to the townspeople's songs, Nyssa had finally decided that the candle one (as she called it) was the one that she was going to learn.
The next year's Christmas celebration rolled around in the town and the fourteen year old Nyssa grabbed her coat and snuck out of her father's sight. She ventured down the steep mountain cliffs for hours until she reached the town at around midnight. Nyssa perched herself up on a cliff so she could watch the candles light up the pure, white snow.
People started to emerge from their homes and gathered around the decorated tree. They started out singing the melody softly, but then more and more people started to join in making the whole song seem warmer and more welcoming. The townspeople started to light the candles making the snow light up with cheer. The young Nyssa, who was lying on her stomach watching, was now getting up to get a better look. Little to the girl's knowledge, underneath the thin layer of snow, there was a covering of ice. Nyssa stood up and could see the townspeople were now doing some type of medley. The girl recognized the song as carol of the bells and stepped a little closer to the edge in order to get a better view. A sudden gust of wind caused the young assassin to loose balance and tumble down the side of the ice covered cliff. She tried not to scream for help, but fear over took her and she let out a piercing shriek into the cold night air. Nyssa hit the ground with a loud thud, which caught the townspeople's attention. While the rest of the town kept singing, three women left the group with their candles to find the source of the noise.
They rounded a couple corners and caught eye of a young girl with dark hair partially buried under some snow and ice. The women quickly rushed over to the girl and got her out of the snow, then took her into a nearby cabin. Two of the women put Nyssa by the fire with some hot chocolate to warm her up while the other one bandaged her arm, which was severely bruised from the fall. When the young girl was warmed and bandaged, the women started to ask about who she was, where she came from, and almost anything else you could ask a fourteen year old. Nyssa willingly answered their questions, seeing as the townspeople already knew about the league but when she was done being 'interrogated', Nyssa asked her own question; if they could teach her about Christmas. The women seemed delighted to teach the young assassin about the winter holiday. They taught her things like baking and gift trading, but the two things that stuck out most was the music and the celebration of family. Nyssa wanted so bad for her father to celebrate the holiday with her, but she knew that if she said anything, these people were as good as dead. So to make peace with that, Nyssa decided to learn how to play the candle song on the piano. She was told that it was called 'Silent Night' and that it came from the Christian religion. When the sun started to rise and Christmas day was upon the village, Nyssa decided it was time to take her leave before her father came looking for her. She gave her thanks then bid the townspeople farewell before heading back to her home in the mountains, but not without making the promise of coming back next year to celebrate with them.
Nyssa did keep her promise, for seven year actually. Little to her knowledge, her seventh Christmas would be her last.
The twenty one year old assassin grabbed her light coat and a knitted scarf, that a woman made her the previous year, and snuck out of the fortress. Unknown to her, Ra's al Ghul was watching her from a fake wall. Nyssa ran outside and took the path to the village, but not without stopping at a small, hidden cave where she had hide several colorful boxes; all gifts for the townspeople that she got from around the world from her travels. Once the gifts were all gathered in a large bag, Nyssa mad her way out of the cave and towards the village. Once Nyssa was out of the cave, Ra's flipped his hood up and followed her, concealed by the darkness of night.
Nyssa arrived at the village and was immediately surrounded by children when she took off her hood, revealing her identity. The mothers of the children came over later and they all embraced each other in warm hugs. The children drug Nyssa into a house to decorate cookies while the women of the village finished the last of the candles for the midnight songs. While all this was taking place, Ra's was hiding on the same cliff Nyssa was perched on seven years ago. He noticed how happy Nyssa was with the children and the people of the village. They didn't seem to mind the fact that there was an armed assassin making cookies with their children.
About two hours later, Nyssa and the children walked out of the house with some plates in hand. They all passed out the cookies along with some hot cocoa to the townspeople. While the demon's daughter passed out the hot cocoa, someone called her name and she spun around to see an older woman with a book in hand.
"Would you mind leading us in the midnight songs this year? Last year everyone was delighted to hear your song" The older woman asked Nyssa.
Nyssa smiled at the woman and took the book into her arms. "I'd love to. Are we going to start soon?"
The woman nodded and then sent Nyssa off to help bring their piano into the snowy night. Once the piano was outside, the townspeople gathered around the tree and piano. Ra's watched as his daughter started to play a song that he recognized as 'Angels we have heard on high'. The villagers started to join in by singing in different groups when the melody started to pick up. They had a tradition that the one who played the piano would be singing the main melody, so Nyssa started in with the melody while playing. Even from the high cliff top, Ra's could hear his daughter's voice echo throughout the night. To him, it sounded like the voice of an angel. Despite being partially distracted by the singing, Ra's knew that he still had to do what he came to do.
"Glories stream from heaven afar. Heavenly hosts-" Nyssa sang with the villagers until an arrow flew through the air and landed right above the keys where the female assassin was playing. The assassin pulled her hand away to draw her sword then jumped off the bench.
'Go! Run! Get inside!" Nyssa shouted to the townspeople. They did as instructed and grabbed the children as they ran inside the houses.
Nyssa ran over to the area where the arrow came from and found herself in the forest area that surrounded the village. She skipped to a stop when she reached a clearing in the trees. In front of her, there was a man concealed by the traditional, black league armor. The only exception was the sword that was sheathed to his left. Nyssa immediately realized that the man was her father.
"Father, I can explain…" Nyssa started.
"Yes, you will when you return to Nanda Parbat" Ra's responded.
When he said this, Nyssa took her stance with her sword at the ready. Ra's drew his sword and ran straight towards the female. Nyssa successfully blocked his first few attacks but Ra's was able to advance on her when she blocked. The female assassin was knocked back by a sudden kick to the stomach and collided with a tree. Before she could fall to her knees, Ra's was in front of her with his sword to her throat.
Now because Nyssa had created a move to get out of this type of situation, she decided now was the perfect time. The assassin swiped her legs at Ra's legs, making him loose balance and tumble back a little. Nyssa then turned her back to her father and ran up the tree trunk before doing a backflip off of it. She landed behind Ra's and knocked his sword out of his hand. Nyssa then charged at him and knocked him to the ground.
"Leave this village alone and I will go back with you" Nyssa said as she pressed the sword against her father's throat.
Ra's laughed under his breath before reaching his hand down into his pocket. He pulled out a little remote that Nyssa realized belonged to a chain of explosives. Before Nyssa could grab it from him, he hit a red button on it and the ground started to rumble. Large columns of fiery smoke rose from where the village was. Screams could be heard from where the two assassins were, sending shivers down Nyssa's spine.
While Nyssa was distracted by the explosions, Ra's slid out from under the blade and stood up. Nyssa jumped up when she saw Ra's out of the blade's range and lunged forward with the sword. The demon's head grabbed Nyssa's right arm and twisted it behind her back, causing her to drop his sword. While he still had a grip on Nyssa, he grabbed his sword and wacked the handle against the back of Nyssa's neck, knocking her out cold. Ra's let Nyssa's body fall to the snow covered ground and he casually walked back to Nanda Parbat.
Nyssa opened her eyes as the smell of smoke polluted the air around her. She picked her head up but felt a pounding ache in the back of her neck, where Ra's knocked her out. Despite any pain she was experiencing, Nyssa got up and ran towards the village as fast as she could.
The assassin found herself at the sight where the front gate to the village was, but now there were just the burned remnants of a wooden fence. Nyssa walked past the burned gate slowly as tears started to burn her eyes. She was met by the sight of houses that were burned so bad that the only thing that remained was thin, black support beams. Bodies were scattered all over the ground with burns and cuts all over. In the middle of all the bodies and ruble stood the Christmas tree. The tall evergreen was charred to the trunk and the only thing that remained was a few branches and half of the star on the top. Nyssa walked a bit further in to try and find any survivors, but stopped when she heard the faint sound of a little girl crying for help.
Nyssa ran over to the call as fast as she could and was met by the heart breaking scene. A girl that was about twelve years old was lying in the snow covered ground with cuts, bruises, and burns all over her body. The assassin's eyes started to water as she knelt down to the dying girl. There was a severe burn to her chest and Nyssa couldn't do anything about it but comfort the girl until death claimed her.
"It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay…" Nyssa said in an attempt to comfort her
"N-nyssa…you don't...need…to l-lie…." The girl said weakly. "I-I'll finally….be…with…mom"
No matter how hard Nyssa tried, tears escaped her eyes and fell onto the snowy ground as the little girl's eyes closed and the life left her body.
"No! No! Come back! Please!" Nyssa cried into the dark and smoky air. The assassin remained next to the girl's body for several more hours, trying to take in what happened. Not enough time had passed before a group of four assassins came to the village remains and grabbed Nyssa, leading her back to Nanda Parbat to face her father.
Author's Note: So that was just a little random thing that I somehow wanted to incorporate with the main story. I hope you enjoyed it and if so, I can continue to write things like it. After giving the plot some thought, I decided to use the nine sword plot idea as the main structure of the story so I hope you enjoyed it because that's what's going to happen! If you have any ideas, please let me know because I would love to include them.