Emerging from the memories, I stare out over the modern Istanbul; the city having changed so much since that day Yusuf approached me on that lonely rooftop. Glancing down at my sketchbook reveals that I have drawn the Hagia Sophia as intended, but rather than the Istanbul before me, the Istanbul of my memories decorates the page. I smile wistfully at the drawing; I remember the city well.
Flipping the pages of the sketch I look at the portrait of Yusuf that I had drawn in Greece. Gently sliding my fingers down the edge of the page again, smiling at the memories of my time here. I'm glad my mom had so much work in Istanbul.
Even after more than five hundred years the city has the same feeling to it. Much of it is the diversity of having been a crossroads of the world for so long, the colours of the markets, and the bustling energy. I let my feet carry me around the city's streets, careful to keep myself from bumping into anyone on the streets.
I admire the wares at market stalls and just let myself exist in the energy of the city, feeling more at home than I have for too long. Even if the feeling of home is bringing memories and pain… Just being here, reminds me of how it felt to be here then, and as much as it hurts to know it's all over… I would rather remember all the beauty and love, and all the pain together, than to never remember any of it.
Coming around the corner of some buildings I am greeted with the view of an open plaza with bistro tables and chairs next to Galata Tower. Making the decision on the spur of the moment, I buy a ticket to go up the tower. Although with Yusuf, I would have simply climbed the outside whenever we wanted to take in the view from the top. The day had begun to turn dismal so there were less people admiring the city from atop the tower than I imagine there would normally be. And so, I stay there for a while, thinking.
Every minute is another memory. His passion for the Brotherhood and for life. His smile… The way his eyes lit up when he thought of something humorous to say. The way his face would soften when our eyes would meet, even across a busy room. The way he became my stalwart defender, chiefly against my own criticisms. His thoughtful nature, considering everyone. That one time that they had to sneak into the palace to prevent harm to the prince Sulieman… Dressed as Italian minstrels. I grin at the memory of the look on his face wearing that ridiculous outfit.
It comes to my mind that I want to visit his grave… It has only been seven years, but I won't likely get such an opportunity for a while now…
Following the streets to where his grave is, I find only a building there instead. I wonder if they've moved all the graves from this site… Anxiety fills me as I wonder whether I will ever see his grave again.
"Are you okay, miss? You seem lost." A woman with a beautiful burgundy scarf on the street stops and asks me.
"Hmm? Oh… Yes…Thank you. I don't think I'm lost… But, there was once a cemetery here… Do you know where I can find out what happened to it?"
"Hmm…. Perhaps try with some of the local historical offices in the area… There is one just about five blocks north of here."
"Thank you, I'll try that." On that I walk in the direction she pointed me, looking it up on my phone on the way there.
Once I arrive, I talk with the people there about the building and what might've happened to the cemetery, claiming that a friend has asked me to hunt down the whereabouts of his grave. They brainstorm a while, they make a few calls, and once they give me some contact information I leave to continue my new hunt.
It takes most of the afternoon but down the line of contacts I come across someone who had been doing research on the Ottoman recapturing of districts of Constantinople from the re-emerging Byzantine forces and had singled out Yusuf as a key player in the power struggle of the city. I had been able to contact them, but by then it was too late, and my mom was expecting to meet up with me for supper. We agree to meet at a café near the site in the late morning tomorrow.
On the streets back to the hotel to meet my mom that I notice a presence trailing not too far behind me. If this had been back when Yusuf ran the Istanbul Brotherhood, I may not have noticed. But my senses have only gotten keener with time someone following behind me without being noticed is harder to accomplish. But I can't deny the feeling of someone following just far enough behind me to not lose track of me. Although, the deftness of their steps and the actual distance between me and them makes me believe they could be an Assassin… A normal person would not be able to keep track of one person in these kinds of crowded streets from that distance… But someone who has a keenly honed Eagle Vision skill wouldn't have any problem keep track of someone in these conditions.
I continue down the streets as I had before, hoping that the could-be Assassin won't realize I've noticed them. The only thing can think of that would have an Assassin following me would be my looking into Yusuf's grave, but even then, it isn't like they keep track of the burial site of every old Assassin… Some of them yes… But something about that idea doesn't click the way the truth would, so I'm leaning towards another reason… I must be missing a piece of this puzzle.
Then the hotel comes into view, so I pull out my phone and text my mom that I've arrived at the hotel. She answers almost immediately that she's just inside the door and will be out in a few minutes.
I stop by the door and look up at the sky then over to where the Assassin would be. Just glancing down the road and around at things trying to see the Assassin, but with no luck. Perhaps if I used my own version of Eagle Vision, I could pinpoint them; but for now, all they've done is follow me. And I don't want to alarm mom. So, I'll just let them follow me.
"Hi Raea, are you ready for dinner?" My mom hooks her arm around mine and begins to walk me down the street back the way I had come, "The receptionist told me about a very good restaurant just a few blocks that way." Mom points down the street across from us and looks for cars before leading me across the street with her.
"I'm looking forward to it. How did it go with your work today?" She smiles guiltily at me.
"Well, it didn't go badly but I definitely have things to finish up tomorrow… But we should be able to spend Wednesday together before our flight home on Thursday. So, you'll have to spend tomorrow alone again, but today went alright for you, right?" Originally, she had been worried about me, but then I reminded her that I had been retrained in a lot of the self-defence skills from my childhood and she seemed to be set a little at ease for it. Now having seen that I successfully spent a whole day alone without being accosted has helped her loosen up it seems.
"It was good. I wandered around a bit, drew the Hagia Sophia from Galata District and then went to the tower too."
"I'm glad you enjoyed your day." She gives me a side hug as we wait for a few cars to go by before crossing the next street. The person following me seems to have stayed behind near the hotel, because they keep feeling further away, until I realize they are staying put altogether. The whole thing seems strange, I'll have to keep vigilant tomorrow for shadows. Hopefully, they will decide I'm nothing exciting and leave me alone…
I guess I was hoping for too much.
My focus returns to the tea in front of me. The flavour isn't quite the same as what I drank in Istanbul before, but it is certainly reminiscent of it. I savour the smooth taste of it as I await the person who has been researching Yusuf and the Ottoman's clearing out of the Byzantines, or rather, the Templars. Her name is Sefa Aldemir, she is studying history through Sabanci University.
But it seems I regained my tail from yesterday, they are ever observing too. If I hadn't already resumed living my life as it was before the ferry incident, then I would have confronted them… Now, unfortunately, I must pretend to be oblivious to the Assassin, lest I disrupt the lives of my family with the secret war of the world.
"Hello." I look up to see a smartly dressed young woman with almost frizzy, dark curls that are tied to the side with a purple scrunchie, "Are you Miss Astraea?"
"Please, just call me Astraea. You suppose you must be the researcher I called yesterday… Sefa Aldemir?"
"Yes, although, I don't know if I'm quite a researcher yet. I'm still working towards my master's degree and am being supervised for progress every step of the way so far…"
"But hey, you're doing all the footwork, right? I think that is more than enough to consider yourself a researcher. Anyway, did you want to order a coffee or tea? It's on me." Her warm chestnut eyes get wide for a moment.
"Oh, I couldn't impose, you already agreed to get me in contact with someone who may be able to provide unique sources for my thesis." She grabs a lock of her brown hair and begins to twist it.
"I insist, either this or let me actually pay you for your time." Not that she is going to get away with either… I already have an envelop with what a researcher would make for a couple of hours on a commission. But I'm only going to give it to her at the last minute so she can't have a chance to refuse it.
"If you're sure…" She sits down and waves down one of the café staff, who apparently knows her. They speak in Turkish for a few minutes before she orders, for their privacy I don't pay any attention to the conversation. We chat over our drinks for a while, mostly about her program in school and where she hopes to take herself with it. She also asks me about whether I'm in school, or plan to be.
"I have finished my bachelor's degree but… Well, things didn't pan out the way I had hoped… So, I'm waiting a little and hopefully I'll be back in school next year for my master's." That is putting it mildly of course…
"I understand, it took me almost my whole bachelor's degree to decide what to do, but in my last year, it kind of hit me that I want to try sorting through history. I feel like I've already found so much about only the period I'm focusing on… When I think about how much history is out there… I don't know… I just get so full of this glowing feeling." She puts her hand against her chest and smiles, I remember that feeling. From every time I imagined designing skyscrapers that sit in the clouds, the way my possibilities made me feel; it's a feeling I miss. "May I ask what you want to study for your master's degree?"
"Originally, I was planning on doing architecture… But now I'm leaning towards just doing art." Seeing as it is one of the few things that I've been able to hold on to for all this time.
"So, you're an artist… Wow!"
"It's not as glamorous as you think, I promise." I drink my last swig of tea and wave for our bill. Once I've paid we both get up and exit the little café.
We chat about some aimless things until we get closer to where her research had led her.
"I have been finding so little on Yusuf Tazim. I have searched in pretty much every records space here in Istanbul, and I still can't find anything despite the fact that he seems to have spent a fair amount of time here…" A symptom of being an Assassin. Even in the general public many of the most notable Assassins have been lost to all but the Templars and the Assassins.
"I'm sure that my friend has something you will be able to use. May I ask why specifically Yusuf Tazim? I imagine there are plenty of more notable people out there… Like Ezio Auditore for example. I may not be a history buff, but I know he was active around here at the same time, right?" Sorry, Yusuf… I can practically see the indignant expression on his face.
"Actually, I had started with someone else entirely… But as I got further into researching them, Yusuf was popping up… Over and over. A note on who was involved here, a mention there, sometimes there are others mentioned, like Ezio Auditore… Then, when I went to my professor for advice on switching to Ezio Auditore she suggested that perhaps doing my research on someone less notable would look better to any future prospects, rather than if I were to do a thesis on someone that three other people this year alone were researching, namely Ezio Auditore."
"So, doing harder work now will bring you better results down the road… Your professor sounds like a wise person."
"She is. I am from a small town east of here just on the Black Sea. Since my mother is far away, it feels like my professor is something like a second mother to me." She smiles. I've had a lot of people who've helped me like that, I know what an impact they can have. "Anyway, I had been looking into when Sultan Selim I's rule started and how everything had led up to that result, rather than Ahmed becoming the Sultan as most sources from the time seemed to think would be the result. All that had led me to some writings that said in the later years of Sultan Bayezid II's rule a crop of Byzantines had emerged hoping to return Constantinople to a Byzantine rule." I can still feel the Assassin following us… "Naturally, the Ottomans did not want that, but up until a certain point, in the writings I had found, the Byzantines had been steadily gaining ground and influence. I even found a brief reference talking about a threat from the Byzantines against the Sultan's grandson, Suleiman." I am graced again with the memory of a troop of Assassins in Italian minstrel outfits looking dejected and embarrassed, especially Yusuf and Ezio, "Following that and some other writings, I found references to a third party playing for the future of the city." The Assassins… I wonder how she would react if I told her that I fought in that period for the freedom of the city. "It was in some of these writings I started seeing the name Yusuf Tazim coming up more and more. So, I brought it to my professor, and she gave me a couple of archives I might be able to find more information in." She pauses for a minute, so I add in.
"So, did you find his gravesite through one of those archives?"
"Yes, actually… I had found something that must have been a journal of someone working closely with him… It had so much information in it… I really couldn't believe it. Whoever wrote it must have known him for a long time. Some passages weren't intact but most of the passages were about the conflicts between this group… And the Byzantines, whom the passages also refer to as Templars." She pauses briefly before barreling forward with more, "It even spoke about the person Yusuf Tazim loved." My heart skips a beat, "The writer had enormous respect for this woman, apparently she and Yusuf might've even married if he had survived the conflicts with the Byzantines… Apparently, she left Istanbul after his death and from the passages it seems she was never seen again. Also, in the passage about his burial, was the location. But when I went there myself I found only a large building… So, I took that to some historical conservationists at the recommendation of my professor to locate where it could have been moved to. And they found the records for the property and where all the graves had been moved to." We walk along in silence for a few minutes until she continues the barrage of information.
"Although, with some of my searches…" She pauses as though contemplating whether to say anything, "Well, I had been looking up documents that might confirm whether the Byzantines really were some later years off-shoot from the Knights Templar, like the journal said… Because it just seemed so out there that Templars would be in Istanbul so long after the organization was disbanded by the Pope." Yeah, to anyone not privy to the secret war between order and chaos it would seem weird, "Anyways, some of those searches brought up some strange results talking about how the Templars have resurfaced several times throughout history. Some of the result had things saying there is even current Templar activity."
"That seems a little farfetched… Weren't the Templars disbanded in… 1315 or something?" History wasn't my strength then, so I shouldn't seem like a history buff now, even to a stranger… "I'd say that kind of stuff almost falls under conspiracy theory stuff… Plus, if the Templars were still around, wouldn't more people know about it?"
"1312, actually. But, yes, I suppose so… I just found those posts and stuff a little unnerving I guess." I can see how nervous the idea of modern Templars makes her…
"I can imagine so… If I were you, I'd just steer clear of as much of that conspiracy theory stuff as you can, focus on getting your info about when the Byzantines tried to take back Istanbul… And obviously failed." I chuckle to try and help her calm down about it, "Stay out of anything modern and keep to history, that's where you'll shine."
"Yes, I suppose you're right…" She gestures for us to go down a smaller road, "We're almost there now."
We come around a corner to find a small graveyard. She takes me through it to one of the graves near a tree. The stone seeming newer than it should.
"All the graves from that old cemetery had been split up between a few new sites based on the known or guessed burial dates. The graves with records were split between this one and one on other side of Galata Tower. All the stones were made new for each grave at the time, and they were made as closely to the original as they could. I wish I could find an answer for why there are stars on carved on Yusuf Tazim's. It's really beautiful." I look at the stone, and in the lovely flowing Arabic letters spells his name. Yusuf Tazim. Decorating the stone are carved stars.
"Thank you, Sefa. This means more than you know." I reach into my bag and pull out the envelop with her pay inside. I pass it to her, and she looks at it confused.
"What's this?" She opens the envelop and gasps, "This is too much, I can't accept this." She holds the envelop out to me.
"Nope, I asked some other researchers what they make for a few hours of commissioned work. And so, that is what's inside. Also inside is an email. That is the person who should be able to help you find some unique references for your research." I push her hands closed around the envelop, "Thank you very much, Sefa." She gives a defeated look before putting the money deep in her bag and zipping it up.
"Will you be okay finding your way back?" She asks.
"I will. Be safe and take care of yourself."
"You take care too." She leaves the cemetery, and the Assassin moves further away.
I turn back to Yusuf's grave and stare at it for a while.
"Yusuf… I still miss you in every moment." I whisper to the grave as I pull my sketchbook out of my bag and remove the drawing of him and the drawing of Istanbul, "After we buried you, Ezio had to go save Sofia… And I lost it. I decimated three Byzantine hideouts. I went back to our headquarters after though… They gave me your letter and… That was the hardest thing I ever had to read. Although, I don't think I ever want this to become easy. For me… This feeling helps me remember that you… You helped me to feel human when I had begun to lose touch with what that meant." I pull the ring on the chain out from under my shirt and look at it again. The gentle embellishments leading to the turquoise stone in the middle with the two small emeralds on either side. The perfect mirror for the daintier version on my right hand.
I place the two drawings next to the stone, and pull the boxed flower out of my bag, a peony, like the ones he used to give me. I open the box and place it next to the drawings.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you… You never got to see what became of your efforts for the city you loved so dearly. But I want you to know that I've reunited with my family. I haven't told any of them the truth yet… But I will… Eventually. Just like I promised." I put my hand on the stone and the sensation of being held in his arms comes over me. The hole in my heart aching but my eyes stay dry.
"'My Light?' Why did you start calling me that?" I had been fiddling with the peach peony he had given me looking out over the city, but I turn to face him fully; I want him to see my face when I say this to him. His eyes light up and his expression softens the way they always do when our eyes meet.
"Because Yusuf, I was existing in the dark. You brought me into the daylight, I live life now instead of just letting time pass by. It was something I had forgotten how to do." I place my hand against his cheek, "You are the light that brightens my day, the light that comforts at night, the light that guides the way, and the light that warms my soul." I rest my forehead against his, "Even… Even once you've left this world the light you've given me will keep me living through time, instead of just floating through it." He pulls me into a sturdy hug.
"And you are the stars that bring wonder to my life and guide me home." My arms reach around him and hold him tightly against me.
"I don't want to ever let you go… I love you, Yusuf."
"And I love you, Astraea, Najmay." My star.
That had been just before we decided to exchange rings. It had been at this point that I had shared everything with him. Right down to my impossible birth year. He had accepted it so gracefully. I had also asked him if now that he understood why I had been so insistent on leaving if he would still want to have me stay; even knowing why I called a future with me 'empty'. When I ask him how he could simply accept it, his answer had blown away what meager remains of the fortress around my heart.
"It would make no difference to me where or when you were from. I love you completely, from top to bottom and everything in between. And while I now understand why you felt the way you did, it doesn't change how I feel now, and wouldn't have changed how I felt then. I would still have fought to keep you here."
I had become ultimately vulnerable, but I was blissful about it. He had been the first person I told everything to since I ran into Kassandra in Rome. I had gotten close to one other person one time, but… He was taken before I had considered telling him, during some infighting in the Brotherhood.
I had been completely paranoid afterwards that he would be killed while doing something for the Assassins. It had been then that I had more officially joined his Brotherhood and I was able to help him by advising him on matters that he had to make decisions on, and by simply being there.
Then seven years later Ezio arrived on scene. That was certainly an interesting time…
Headquarters is buzzing with excitement… I do remember hearing that a notable Assassin from another country would be arriving soon… Surely whoever it was that kicked the hornet's nest of Templars buzzing around Masyaf. But no one I've spoken with has known who and Yusuf wouldn't tell me yesterday.
"Have you seen Yusuf?"
"Hello Astraea, he went to greet that Assassin from… I don't remember where…" The relatively fresh Assassin shrugs before moving on. Ugh… No help at all.
Then I hear Yusuf's voice near the entrance of the hideout, with a heavy voice, they're both speaking in Italian. I take a few steps to greet them at the top of the stairs and Yusuf waves at me. Then like lightning striking I see who he's with.
Ezio.
Ezio fucking Auditore.
Shit.
I haven't seen Ezio in more than twenty years. And we were… Acquainted well enough that he will recognize me. And he will certainly notice that I have not changed at all…
I dash into the armory and snatch my full facemask and place it over my face before going towards the table where Yusuf and Ezio just arrived.
"Mentor, say hello to your extended family." Yusuf says to Ezio, I walk over to them using my left hand to pull my hood into place, Yusuf makes a confused expression for a moment as I join him at the end of the table.
"Salute a voi, Assassini." I look at Ezio through the elegant metal swirls of the mask, he is showing his age… How old is he now, anyway? "It is an honour to have such fast friends so far from home." It figures that it would be Ezio who stirred up the Templars holding Masyaf. I look to Yusuf, who gets that adorable mischievous light in his eyes.
"You see brothers?" He reaches and pats one of the seated men on the shoulder, "Our Mentor is not afraid to weep openly in front of his pupils." Oh Yusuf…
"Do not worry. I will not make a habit out of it." Ezio quips as he sits down at the table. At least Ezio still has his sense of humour… Then Yusuf gets his business face on.
"Ezio and I were ambushed on the way here." I put a hand on his arm, and he pats it in comfort. Those damned Byzantines are getting gutsy, "I'd like some of you to do a sweep of the area." When they don't immediately stand Yusuf adds, "Hemen!" With a forceful upward gesture of his arm.
The four men at the table stand up and immediately get to it and Yusuf walks around the table to where Ezio is now standing up.
"And you, Ezio…" Yusuf gestures to all of Ezio, "Your weapons and armour are in a pitiful state…" Ezio begins to look himself up and down, "Maybe find some money and repair what you can. There's a blacksmith nearby. He's a friend." Ezio's hidden blade screeches as it ejects and retracts.
"Buona idea." Ezio walks towards the exit of the hideout and Yusuf comes towards me.
"What's with the mask today, Najmay?" Yusuf comes over and removes the mask before pecking my cheek.
"Ezio Auditore? Are you serious?" I release all my newly created anxiety from this development in two statements, with a huff and throwing my arms up while turning around, "Sorry… It's just…" I huff irritably.
"You can tell me, Raea." Yusuf turns me back to face him and sits me down.
"I have met Ezio before… In Venice. We… Uh…" I look him in the eyes.
"I see. Do I have to duel our Mentor now?" A snort of laughter escapes me and he just grins.
"No. It's just that that was twenty-two years ago. He was younger then than you are now. He is going to recognize me. And he is definitely going to notice that I look exactly the same."
"Well, going around in a mask all the time and never letting me see your lovely face is simply not an option." Yusuf shrugs and strolls around beside me to sit at the table, and before I have a moment to rebuttal he continues, "I guess you will just have to tell him about you." I whip around on the chair to face him as he flashes that disarming smile at me, silencing the budding protest.
"What?" I struggle a minute searching for any words, "But…"
"But, what?" He stands up, takes my hand, "He has fought for the Brotherhood nearly his whole life, many of his actions have become legend to those in the Brotherhood. Surely that speaks for not only his credibility but his character." He moves to kneel in front of me, he places his hand on my cheek, "I can't be the only person you ever tell until you reunite with your family. That is too much of a burden for one person. Please remember that you are human. And you do have limitations." He pulls my face to him and kisses me deeply, sweeping away all my worries. When he pulls back, he looks at me expectantly.
"I'll think about it…" I cave in entirely, how does he hold such sway over my actions? And so effortlessly.
"Thank you, Najmay." He give one of his stunning smiles as if he didn't know the effect they have on me. Brat.
The next two weeks had been a hairbrained mess for me.
After the initial rush of fighting two groups of Byzantines and Ezio had begun to recruit for us, any time I spotted Ezio coming in I would just squirrel myself away somewhere until he was gone.
By the third week Yusuf had gotten impatient and took advantage of seeing me talking with Ezio in the hideout. He used his undeniable sway over my heart and mind to convince me to tell him right then and there.
And honestly? Ezio took it pretty smoothly, even when I shared my birthdate. But I only understood why after he confided that he had opened the Vault beneath the Vatican.
Yusuf's hand on my back as I cough away the tea I just breathed out of shock.
"You? You are the one that Minerva did all that preparation for? What did she say?"
"She did not speak to me much. Rather she spoke to a phantom who seemed to be behind me, she called him Desmond. She spoke of a catastrophe that had once occurred and would again in the future. I admit that most of it did not make very much sense to me." Ezio shrugs a little.
"No… I suppose it wouldn't they have that effect. Especially Minerva." I can't repress the eyeroll at remembering her riddling antics. "Although, I knew her better as Athena… But a lot of what she would say regarding the future often sounded like riddles. She was the best at sussing out which direction time would take though. I do know the catastrophe she mentioned… But whatever she did must have panned out well enough, because I don't remember the world getting destroyed at all." I look at Ezio, and while he is certainly handling it well, I can still see the gears spinning at max speed to process all the information.
"Right, well…" Yusuf places his hands on my back, "Perhaps we should get back to the problems of today for now and leave the future to this Desmond that your Athena seems to have so much confidence in."
Ezio had asked me a few questions during his time in Istanbul, but even after all of that he only ever proved himself to be a loyal friend. I visited him and Sofia a few times through out his later years and then I kept an eye on their children for a long while from a distance.
Then my phone's ringing pulls me back to reality.
It's my mom. And it's past the time we were supposed to meet.
Shit.
"Hey, mom! Sorry, I got caught up in my drawing again!"
"That's okay. Are you almost to the hotel or do you want to meet somewhere?"
"I'm about a fifteen-minute walk from Galata Tower, do you want to meet me there?"
"Alright, hun. I'll see you soon."
"Love you, mom!" My mom makes a 'mua' kiss sound into the phone before hanging up.
I can't believe how much time passed. I brush some dust off the top of the gravestone.
"Goodbye, my Light." I walk out of the cemetery and back through the streets to the tower.