July 28th, Year X791
Port Town, Kingdom of Stella.
"Ughh…." Virgil groaned as he got up.
He was awoken to the sound of the knocking on the other side of the door; no doubt the housekeeping service had decided to come by earlier than most of the inns he had visited.
"Housekeeping! May I come in?" he heard a young woman's voice.
The young man stood up from the bed clutching his head and carefully made his way over to open the door.
"Morning to you too," he greeted her. She was a striking redheaded girl, barely into adulthood, now with a genuine look of concern on her face.
"Are you alright? Is there something that I can do to help?"
"I just have a headache." Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose, "and a terrible one at that."
"But I didn't see you drink at all last night."
"Let us call it a migraine," he groaned. "I will head downstairs while you restore the room."
"No can do sir!" she took his hand and led him out. "Only a bath with essential oils will help your head stay where it should be! I'll draw up some hot water in a tub now!"
No point in refusing this early in the morning. Damned sight must have been used under a fair amount of stress...because the lost memories are struggling to return back… Perhaps her oils will do me some good.
Her face blushed scarlet when he fully undressed and took off his prosthetics before setting himself in the clawfoot tub. He knew because he was practising his sight, which revealed her intentions and thoughts towards him.
"I am powerless now, fair maiden," he spoke in jest. "Take me or release me from your clutches of the essential oils."
She was dumbstruck before shaking herself back to her senses. Then very carefully, she began to wash him with soap while adding a few drops of peppermint and lavender oil into the tub water. The girl continued to knead his shoulders and massage his temple and felt him succumbing to her touch. Slowly she saw him close his eyes in contentment and fell asleep again.
After the otherwise uneventful bath, Virgil got himself dressed and returned to the innkeeper.
"I see you've met my dear daughter Lilith," the old innkeeper smiled at him knowingly.
"We did not do anything of the sort that you are thinking about now," Virgil quickly stated calmly.
"Do what, you think?"
"We did not have morning sex."
"Ahhh," he let out a disappointed sigh. "She's of age to get married and have children already, what's she still doing here in this inn with me?"
"Helping you is what she is doing," Virgil replied. "Again, thank you for letting me stay the night."
"You paid and prevented trouble from coming here," said the old man. "If anything, meeting my daughter was a bonus for you. You sure you still not considering bedding her?"
"FATHER!"
"Heh, gets me every time," the innkeeper laughed.
"I must say plainly that she has a pure heart underneath that physical beauty of hers. If not for her, I would not have been well-rested."
"Oh? You sure you didn't have morning sex with her? Or are you saying it was last night?"
"FATHER!"
Virgil chose not to answer, choosing instead to ask for breakfast before heading out to the capital city.
"Even better! Why don't you eat with my daughter! She hasn't had breakfast yet!"
"FATHER!"
"Fine, but this will not change anything," Virgil seated himself down at the bar.
"LILITH! Breakfast is served!"
"Were you planning all this, old man?!"
All Virgil got was a wink.
After some toast before moving on to the meats…
"Sorry about my dad, he's…"
"Just concerned for your future, I understand that well." Virgil finished for her. He took a sip from his cup of coffee, setting the empty mug down.
The old innkeeper did not miss a beat; a new cup of coffee instantly replaced the old one.
"So, besides knowing things about the kingdom," Virgil started, "is there anything that you can tell a lone adventurer slash traveller making his way to the capital?"
"Altair?" Lilith answered. "The capital city? Why are you going there?"
"There is word of an extensive research program that aims to study the similarities of mages and their ability to contain magic the same way that stellanium does to starlight." Virgil said, "I only know basic magic and seek to understand the full capacity of my magical reserves."
"That sounds just right about what the government is doing now," Lilith lifted her cup of coffee to her lips. "There's news that the king himself invited an enchantress to aid the research program."
"Enchantress?" Virgil thanked the innkeeper that brought the plates of ham and sausages and tucked in. "I recall seeing an enchantress yesterday at the harbour."
"That must've been her I suppose."
"What else can you tell me about… what was it called again? The capital city?"
"Altair?" Lilith ate through a sausage. "There has been a lot of mining, even more than the economy requires at the moment. No one knows why the stellanium is being mined and produced far beyond the national required quota, and the government doesn't tell us anything about it."
"What do you think?"
"I think the king is trying to build a form of defence for the kingdom," she chewed, "The island kingdom is small but the fact that we have an abundant supply of stellanium paints a target on our backs for those that want to use it for personal gain. So, with the peace treaties we have with our neighbours, the king still feels the need to present a strong deterrence to the other kingdoms."
"It seems that he is weaponizing stellanium since there are no soldiers that I can see; only law enforcement." he took another sip of the coffee. "Is that really enough?"
"As you probably found out, firearms are a heavily controlled item here in Stella. Ammunition has the same level of security placed on it too."
"So I have noticed."
"It's a policy that the king made, and it has worked well so far until the Remnant decided to show up."
"The Remnant?"
"The people who used to look a lot like you," Lilith pointed at him with her fork. "Now they are everywhere, hiding in plain sight forming an uprising against the Red Cross. You could say that they've carried on the work of the White Legion."
"Have you seen them?"
"The Remnant? No one has," she replied. "One moment they are everywhere and nowhere at the same time which makes them even more scary than the Zentopia terrorists earlier this year."
"An attack that could come from anywhere."
"No one who has seen them fight has survived; last night might be the only glimpse of the kind of fighting that they are capable of."
"Perhaps. Perhaps deadlier."
Virgil set down his fork, and wiped his mouth with the serviettes that she had brought. Standing up with a small smile of gratitude, he placed a few jewels into her hands and made for the door.
"You forgot." She said, prompting him to turn around.
"What did I forget?"
"Goodbye, kind sir," she smiled and waved at him, "It was nice to have a conversation with you, sharing my thoughts and all rather than have people talk all over me."
"Goodbye, Miss Lilith," he gave her a small bow, "I hope we meet again."
30th July, Year X791.
Altair, Capital City, Kingdom of Stella.
It has been two days since the company of travellers walked out of the Port town to the capital. Travelling by foot offered more chances of getting back the money spent in the port town by killing bandits and robbers as well as protection for the company.
It seems that the appearance I have now is strikingly similar of that of one of the Remnant that the journey on foot to Altair was woefully uneventful. This only confirms the rumours that associate me with them.
With what Lilith shared with me, it seems that King Animus is gearing his kingdom towards a singular purpose of preparing for war. Is it a war from the shadows? Or an open conflict bearing different sides against each other?
Armed with weapons and knowledge of this country, I know that there is something about this city that is kept secret ...but I do not know what that is or whose secret it is.
After settling in at Bar Altair, the first place that I will go to is the research centre that has been set up in the national museum. Hopefully I will find what I am looking for.
Bar Altair
Virgil had spent the morning catching up on the local news, this time by reading the newspaper and watching the news lacrima that was suspended above the bar top.
Still actively recruiting mages to join in this research program...good.
"The terror group known as Remnant is known for acts of assassination. Yesterday, a family of government officials were killed in cold blood. Police are appealing for witnesses. Witnesses can either go directly to any local police station in your area or call the hotline provided here," the newsreader spoke.
"A whole family of government officials?" Virgil could hear some people murmuring around him.
"How did they do that?"
"How much more fear does this city need?"
With this, the hooded man got up and left the bar, opting to take to the rooftops to see what the city's political climate was like. Once upon the rooftops through the use of a cargo pulley, his eyes was set on a church tower, where his head hurt again in a flash.
However, there was a throbbing pain that decided to be stubborn and remain there, suddenly increasing in intensity and driving Virgil to his knees. The pain came in flashes and so did the next few images he saw in his mind.
Virgil saw himself in white robes looking at a tower in the distance in the first flash. The next one had him running over the rooftops, leaping over gaps and obstacles to close the distance. The third saw himself climbing up the tower and while nearing the top, saw a triangular truss support that jutted out of the spire.
I have done this before. What is this memory trying to tell me?
The next image he saw was himself perched on that truss support before his senses kicked into action, surveying the landscape with a set of different eyes that saw more than just little specks of people below, but also people of interest, objects that could be freely looted, collectable items like flags, cockades, even music pages. Enemies were highlighted red, local law enforcement blue, and allies a luminescent green.
The last flash was him taking a leap of faith and into the nothingness below.
He was shaken out of his memories to find himself perched on top of a cathedral spire, much like the ones he had seen in Magnolia and looked down for a bale of hay to fall safely into. He peered all around, not finding the familiar cart of hay or leaves or even petals to make a soft cushion for the fall that he wanted to make.
He could not see any way down.
He reflected back on the images he had just seen, visualising himself as his mind began to remember what he had done so many times before that it became muscle memory.
I must remember what it felt like…
He stood upon the perch, extended his arms wide to the afternoon sky, closed his eyes, and fell forward.
Virgil felt the wind caress his face yet blowing violently past his ears, the unfamiliarity of the fall bringing a strange sense of comfort knowing that he would not die, even if the daemon blood in him had the capacity to nullify fall damage.
Splash!
The hooded daemon found himself in the middle of an underground lake, having fallen through the well he had noticed in the small garden of the cathedral. His sixth sense flared to life again and he saw through the darkness of the dimly lit cave to a series of small steps leading out of the water towards a metal gate. Seeing no way out, he swam with ease out of the water and found the gate unlocked.
Seeing as my blind leap of faith led me here, I have no other choice but to continue this path…
Virgil walked through the gate and his sixth sense immediately notified him that he was being watched.
"I know there is someone there watching," he called out. "Show yourself."
"If you can make the leap, simply a matter of spotting me in the dark is no trouble for you. Unless you don't know what I've come here for?"
Virgil used his sixth sense and saw a lone figure, an old man dressed in white with a hood over his head simply standing in the darkest corner away from the light coming from the cave. He was highlighted green in his vision.
An ally.
"So you can see me," the old man noted, "what are you here for?"
"My purposes are all my own, and I barely know enough to tell you," Virgil replied. "You have been watching me even before I made the leap." The daemon-blood realised at the man's silence.
"So you are perceptive as well…" the old man stepped forward into better light, taking out a lighter and lighting a wall torch that Virgil had not seen earlier. "We heard the news of a bar fight against local law enforcement at the port town and followed you ever since."
"Since the port town?"
"The fighter went against seven off duty officers unarmed and came out unscathed," the older man said. "I'm pretty sure that was you."
"Have we met before?" Virgil stepped towards him, strangely unfazed by this man's mystery in knowing what he did only days ago up till now.
"I don't think so, but it would be a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The old man held out his left arm, Virgil noticing the bracer on it before extending his own. The two men held each other's forearm in greeting.
"My name is Virgil Teivel."
"Mine is Thorn. We could definitely use your skills to aid us when needed."
"I'm sorry?"
"That blind leap is only made when one of reaches the end of his tutelage. The fact that you did it without anyone of us knowing who you are speaks volumes."
"Us? What are you talking about? Please make sense."
"This will take time to explain, as with all the other things related to it." Thorn removed his hand from Virgil's arm and began to walk, the younger man instinctively following him.
They walked through the gate, leading into a corridor that was well lit by flaming torches.
"Before I say anything, just bear this in mind throughout:
"Nothing is true; everything is permitted."
Virgil had heard the words before but chose not to reveal his familiarity with the mantra. After all, this man would definitely have some answers to the previous life that the daemon blooded man once lived.
"Since the beginning of time so many years ago, there has been a war," Thorn began. "This war has been going on longer than I have been alive.
"Since the time of Adam and Eve, two forces have emerged in support of different methods for one singular goal: Peace. One side opted to attain peace through the unified will of the people under a leadership; a leadership whose governance is perfect and sovereign without question. The other side of this war chose to allow the people to be given the freedom to choose for themselves how they wanted peace; they would choose to remove oppression over the people they swore themselves to protect so that their definition of true peace could be attained.
"So as you can see, these two sides are vastly different from each other," Thorn turned left at an intersection in the tunnel with Virgil following behind. "You could say they're polar opposites and you'd be spot on. Because of the differences in ideology, these two sides became natural enemies."
"Is this war any closer to ending? And how do you fit into this conflict?"
"Let me get there," Thorn gruffed, waving a hand off at him, "You want me to finish telling you everything or not?"
"Apologies…"
"Firstly, no," the old man replied to his earlier question. "The war has continued up till now. Haven't you been listening to what I've said? This was started way before I was born!"
Virgil chose to remain silent, not wanting to be on the receiving end of an old man's lecture in the middle of a tunnel system he had never been in before. If the old man were to just abandon him here, that would be the end of the hooded daemon.
"So as I was saying, since the first murder of the world, these two groups have been waging bloody wars for the minds of the people for either control or for liberty. They used to go to open war wielding great many weapons on their back or on horseback upon a great many battlefields like the plains outside Gallowstown in the third century. There were times when one side would seem to be winning over the other but the losing side always made a comeback, balancing the scales."
"What kind of comeback?"
"The out-of-this-time kind," Thorn nodded his head, noting how Virgil was catching along to things.
"Wait, wha-"
"Items known as the Pieces of Eden, from the Garden of the same name? You heard of them?"
Virgil shook his head, waiting patiently for an answer as the two of them met a fork in the road.
"The Pieces of Eden; items imbued with great power from a civilisation that came before us upon Earthland. Some call them the Ones-Who-Came-Before, others simply call them the Isu. We don't know what or how they looked like, but traces of them are still hidden deep in the civilisations of the past and present, even the Pieces that they left behind."
"What are these Pieces?"
"Anything. I've never seen one myself in person but there have been stories of a few men and women of ages past that have had access to them. Some of the Pieces were known as 'apples', others were elaborate staves, a few more were actual weapons. All the Pieces gave its user an overwhelming edge against anyone and everyone, friend and foe alike.
"How do these Pieces work? They all affect the mind, rendering all under its spell of mindlessness and absolute control. Some have greater power than others, being able to command the elements and create illusions that have a mind and body of their own will aligned with the user to inflict damage, or cause confusion."
"It sounds like a great boon for one particular side that you spoke of earlier," Virgil noted.
"It is. It actually is." the old man stood at the fork seemingly staring at a loose brick in the wall before turning back to the younger man. "But there have been a few individuals known who are able to resist the control of the Pieces and bend them to their will without the lure of power consuming their minds whole. This is where this little 'test' comes in."
"What test is this?"
"These individuals known to resist the Pieces of Eden were known to have an extraordinary sense of perception of their surroundings. Not everyone on Earthland has it but it must also be mentioned that every person who does has a different perspective of this sense of perception.
"I seem to have lost my way back to my place, young man. Lead me back to my room."
"I have never been to your room old man, let alone this place," Virgil replied, a little hint of exasperation in his voice, "And what makes you think I want to go to your room?!"
"You want answers, boy?"
"I do!"
"Then shut up and help an old man get where he needs to be." Thorn stared at him pensively before saying, "or I could just leave you here to figure out where the hell to go."
With a sigh, Virgil turned his attention to the fork in the road and thought to himself.
What the hell does he want? I do not know what to look for in this place that I have never been in before.
Think! Concentrate! What did the old man say earlier?
Something about perspectives...and a sense of perception.
Could it actually be…?
Virgil's sixth sense flared within his eyes and he saw the blue shimmer all around him instead of the glow from the torches on the walls. The flames were a blinding white and the old man was a luminescent green.
What caught the daemon-blood was the presence of a gold symbol above the arch of the tunnel to the right and within that arch was a visible line of gold on the ground that ran deeper into the tunnel network. Virgil stopped his sixth sense and checked the same arch with normal vision to see that it was identical to the other arch; there was no symbol and no line.
"Wait- how?"
"What how? Lead on boy!"
"But the symbol, the line- I saw it one moment and then it was gone in the next," Virgil pointed to the archway. "Now there is a golden ghost walking down the tunnel!"
"Well? Follow him then! What are you waiting for?" Thorn lightly pushed Virgil forward.
The younger man followed the premonition closely while the elder walked calmly behind, clearly impressed with Virgil.
"So you do have it," Thorn sounded like he was absolutely happy.
"Have what?"
"The Sight. It was what the Isu left behind for us. Every single person who has this Sight sees things a little differently through it. Some are given the eyes of eagles, others the blue shimmer, a few can see sounds and hear across distances. A few can anticipate the movements of people and track them down long after they are gone. Some men have the memories of others granted to them while others encounter them face to face in a vast expanse of nothingness."
"So the men and women who have this Sight are known to resist the Pieces of Eden?"
"All have been capable of resisting it but there are others who gleaned much more through careful study of them. And it is because of these people that the balance between the two groups is always teetering to and fro across history.
"Now the two have driven each other to work in the shadows, planning to remove each other from the face of the Earthland and it has continued to this day."
The two of them entered into an underground room that had tables full of maps and shelves full of books. There were doorways that led to other rooms that Virgil could see but the main point that was all around him were the people who all wore hoods that were similar to his: deep and menacing.
Thorn now led Virgil to what the younger man assumed to be his office as the other hooded people began greeting the old man with a clenched fist over their hearts, earning them a simple nod of the head in reply.
What is this place? How can such a complex and detailed base be hidden underground?
"Come, Virgil." Thorn called. Standing at a door with that same symbol earlier and inviting him in.
Once the door was closed and the two were seated, Virgil felt uneasy due to anxious whispers he was hearing outside the closed door.
"Don't worry, I hear them too," the old man pulled off his hood and leaned back in his armchair. "But let's not focus on that. After what I have told you about this war, which group do you think is right?"
"The one between order over people or freedom of will?" the younger man pulled off his own white hood, "You said it just now, Thorn. There is a delicate balance that is always there. No organisation can survive without its leaders but even under a totalitarian leadership people will become mindless husks with the only purpose of serving others against their will. Neither group is completely correct in their approach to this conflict of interest."
"Spoken well," Thorn gave him a small, sad smile. "The two cancel each other out."
"Has the idea of unification been brought to the table before?"
"Only by idealistic individuals."
"What happened to them?"
"Only the natural order of chaos. Entire nations were driven into civil war because of this. So, given that the knowledge that unification is a long shot away, which side appeals better to you?"
Without hesitation, Virgil simply replied, "Freedom."
"And which side do you think we are on?"
"Freedom," Virgil simply stated. "Hiding in plain sight for the people while the other group seeks positions in power to pull the strings."
"Spoken so true." Thorn rose from his chair. "Now that you have heard what I have to say, you are given three options from this moment forward. The first; you can choose to join me and my group. The second; you may take your leave and align yourself with the other group. Or lastly, if you wish to have no part in this conflict, you are free to continue life as it was."
"Thorn," Virgil began, "I have met people from the other side, men whose intentions have left me disgusted by the promise of order through absolute obedience. They painted a picture of their enemies a group that takes free liberties like the common terrorist, choosing to follow rules on a whim and fancy.
"But I know every side has both good and bad things to show and tell, things that we will all choose to hide from prying eyes and the innocent people. I know your intentions are pure of heart, and I cannot stand to see men lord over other men because of a singular code of conduct.
"So, I choose the first option and join you and your group."
"Then rise, my friend," Thorn gestured him to stand.
After a quick flurry to set up a small ceremony, Virgil found himself standing in an elaborate room full of the symbols he saw earlier with the old man Thorn beside him, speaking to the rest of the group.
Thorn is the leader?
"Virgil Teivel, step forth in view of this company."
Virgil took slow steps, his eyes taking in every single person in the room. Some were heavily armoured, others were dressed in robes while others were in normal everyday attire, some were dirty and worn while others look pristine and fresh. Before he could take in every detail, Thorn spoke.
"Virgil Teivel, the words i am to say are important to us as it will be to you. Brand these words upon your heart and engrave them on your mind. Let them serve as a guide and a warning to you everywhere that you go.
"You are a blade in the crowd; we have numerous enemies but our advantage is truly made known when we are seen but yet unseen.
"Stay your hand from the blood of innocents; they are the people whose freedom we swore to protect. Protect them and you will find that they will protect you in kind.
"Never compromise the brotherhood here or abroad; never divulge our secrets to anyone, lest they become our enemies with a handicap we have unknowingly given."
Thorn then turned to the rest of the men and women that were gathered.
"For the good of humanity, we work in the dark to serve the light; this is the very nature of our work. These words have guided and shaped us across centuries and will continue to do so in the face of adversity.
"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember…"
"Nothing is true," the rest of the people replied solemnly.
A painful, bearable pain flashed across Virgil's mind as he heard the words; he knew them and what they stood for. Images began flashing of a similar moment in time where he stood in front of an assembly like this, reciting the words that had been buried deep in the recesses of his memory.
I know these words! I understand what I was before my death.
"Where other men are limited by morality and law, remember…"
"Everything is permitted."
"We work in the dark to serve the light,"
Mentor Thorn recited the line that Virgil knew he had forgotten. Just as the Mentor had spoken his last word, Virgil took a breath and joined the rest of his brothers and sisters.
"We are Assassins."