"Italics in speech marks represents the Arabian language."
::Parseltongue::
Chapter Four: The Council Meeting
Trouche was a lovely man, a good man who found humour in everything. He was rather plain looking, but the years beneath the generous Syrian sun had given his skin a beautiful shade of soft brown, not quite as dark as most native denizens of Syria but certainly dark enough to show any who saw him that this man spent much of his life beneath the open sky. But many would be surprised to know that his family could trace their ancestry back to Europe, France and England in particular. He was blonde and blue-eyed like their new guest, but unlike the bright glaring shade of white that Mafoi possessed, Trouche had more honey-toned hair. His hair was much shorter too and often hidden beneath his hood as blonde hair in Syria was easy to notice and remember.
Trouche was one of the first to show up for the meeting. Trouche was the sort of man who showed up ten or even thirty minutes early to a meeting. He disdained bad manners and being late to an arranged meeting without reasonable cause was, in his mind, absolutely rude. Of course, being too early meant Malik and Trouche were alone, but that merely meant the two friends could spend their time gossiping and discussing ideas. Master Trouche was a by-the-book assassin, but he was incredibly creative when the mood took him and his ideas were often surprisingly useful and effective. Trouche preferred creating natural-looking deaths, causing 'accidents' to disguise his kill or causing an accident with the intent to kill. Because of this, he was the slowest of the Assassins'. Taking a long time to analyze, study and create effective death traps but despite his slow process, his success rate was high and his record was almost spotless having failed only two assassinations since joining the Order and having failed none of his contracts long before and even after he became a Master.
Malik enjoyed the man's wit and cunning. That he preferred to keep his wit to himself and often made a fool of himself made the times he had ideas all the more surprising to those that underestimated him or didn't know him. Trouche had some great ideas for teaching Altair's children. He wanted the early lessons to be fun and engaging, which was a difficult thing to do when their livelihood was murder and deception. Malik knew Trouche was an amazing tutor, the novices he had taught had gone on to make their Master and the Order proud and Malik personally could not wait for Trouche to pick a new novice to train, he'd certainly consider asking him to tutor Bashir when his son came of age.
Of course, Malik would not make plans for his boy just yet. He still had to get a sense of what Bashir was capable of. Was he a hunter, an eagle-like Altair? Or was he a researcher, a hoarder of knowledge and experience? Or maybe he was meant to be a healer, helping others and protecting those he could? Malik thought his son was more like a snake, hiding from sight, listening and learning. Bashir certainly liked to be underneath things, he loved the fort Darim and Sef had carefully built and enjoyed peaking on everyone outside of the fort, his green eyes twinkling with joy as he giggled and hid every time someone looked his way. That natural inclination to hide and spy would potentially make him a useful spy or informant for the Order, but Malik preferred the idea of him becoming a Dai or working as a teacher or librarian in Masyaf.
"Ah, I should not be surprised that you are here early, Master Trouche." Master Shafiq greeted fondly as he entered, followed by the other Masters'.
They greeted each other warmly, the room filling with pleasant and casual conversation as they waited for Altair. Fortunately, they did not wait for long, Altair entered shortly after and the men gathered greeted him politely and waited quietly for him to take his seat. Altair did so gracefully, grace and elegance he'd gained since he'd become more reasonable and thoughtful. Al Mualim's betrayal had done one good thing and shown this amazing man that the world was not just black and white. He'd certainly gained a great deal of respect from the gathered men as they'd watched him grow into the intelligent, cunning and loyal man they needed to lead their Order.
"Thank you for gathering together on such short notice. I know many would prefer to be with their families considering the incident yesterday. But it is because of yesterday's incident that we need to meet and discuss our options." Altair stated in greeting. "We have a great deal to discuss today, and it may be that we will not cover all we need to discuss today since a great deal has happened."
"Indeed." Master Shafiq answered. "I would like the opportunity to discuss some thoughts of mine about yesterday's invasion."
"You shall have your say soon enough." Malik agreed.
"I believe the first thing we should consider is how this happened in the first place. We have very rarely had to face an invasion. This is by far the most focused attack we've had in a long time. That they intended to wipe us out suggests one of two things to me. The first being that they hate to have Assassins' on their doorstep or the second being that they don't want us in the way in case we discover and interfere with their plans. It certainly is concerning that so soon after yet another crusade, they are already looking for another enemy. Of course, these men may be high off bloodlust and looking for more enemies to defeat but they seemed too organized to be men who sought only glory." Altair stated.
"I agree." Master Aali responded. The eldest of the council stroked his beard, grey eyes staring out at nothing as he considered the recent invasion. Aali was one who was more often than not slow to act, slower than Trouche at times. It was not unusual to find this man sat in a quiet corner and deep in thought. Like Shafiq, he used his intellect to outmaneuver their enemies, when he spoke people listened for he spoke steadily and with a great deal of reason. It was Aali who often made the decisions on which Novice would be apprenticed to which Master. He had an intuition that Malik envied. "They sought to keep us distracted, sending only a small group to invade our castle in the hopes that there would be few defenders. However, I also think that the small group sent to the castle weren't sent to conquer the castle. Such a small group would not have stood a chance. I believe the main army provided a distraction and that the small army was sent into the castle to take something."
"But what would they be after?" Master Abdul asked. The youngest of the meeting, Abdul was more active, his brown eyes glittering with a desire for knowledge and power. He was rather plain looking, something the young assassin took great advantage of in his missions, but he had a powerful and exuberant presence, when he wanted to be noticed he was hard to ignore! Despite his youthful charisma, Abdul was a reliable character he was often the one who led the other Assassins into battle, the one who fought on the frontlines and inspired his kin to fight. His protégé, two young Assassins had become well-known as cunning and loyal, both inheriting the instinct and desire to protect Masyaf with their lives. "We are Assassins, not thieves."
"But we do take when we want to prevent the Templars having knowledge they shouldn't." Shafiq countered. "And we have a library full of acquired knowledge we did not gain through legal means. The knowledge we keep safe but that many would argue was stolen."
"You're right of course, but these men did not appear to be scholars, even if they were sent to steal knowledge from us, I highly doubt they could find what their master sought. No, they were after something easily recognizable. But what was it and how did they know where to seek it?"
"There is only one item that comes to mind and that is the Apple." Master Tremblay said. This was a man Malik was always wary of. Not because he did not entrust the safety of Masyaf with this man, but rather because he had a strong instinct that Tremblay was far more complex than he appeared. He was a classic European, a strong angular face, a face that was exquisite when the man was deep in thought, but hard and unyielding when facing down his enemy. Many novices trembled when this Master's glare would end up on them. He seemed to be an angry man, always thinking of the negatives, but this is a man who donated his earnings to orphanages and carried young children on his shoulders as he stalked the castle's ramparts. He was a good man beneath the gruff exterior, but Malik knew there was more to him. "And only we know it is here and none of us know where it is hidden. Only Master Al-Sayf and Master Ibn-La'Ahad have that knowledge."
"Which is for the best," Trouche replied. Trouche was younger than Tremblay, but not by much, Tremblay shared Trouche's European features. He had the features indicative of aristocratic inheritance, a carved elegant nose, and an angular jaw, but this was balanced by darker more rugged features, black hair, deep brown eyes, and a penchant for frowning. "I saw what that device can do and I am certainly not eager to feel or watch its influence again. Too many good men lost their minds and their lives that day. My wife still has nightmares of that day, of being little more than a puppet, unable to resist and forced to obey no matter how much she fought and screamed to be free. It was fortunate I returned home that day; I was able to participate in the fight to free my family from the traitor's influence."
"I still hear stories of that day. So many people have suffered memories of that day." Aali added.
"And yet so many have no memory of it. You speak to them of that day, or their nightmares and they adamantly deny it happened. As if the memories and knowledge have been stolen from their minds." Abdul commented. "There is a lot of trauma that needs to be healed. Let's hope your new healer is as good as you claim. This invasion and the influence of that accursed item have caused a great deal of trauma that will take a long time to heal."
"How can they have no memories but have the nightmares?" Aali asked.
"The human mind is an incredibly strange thing," Shafiq answered. "People can choose to forget, to repress the memories and pretend things never happened. But the unconscious mind cannot be controlled as easily. Repressed memories are still present and often they emerge in dreams forcing people to relive moments they have forced themselves to forget."
"Being locked in their minds while their bodies are controlled by another is certainly traumatizing enough to cause repressed memories and a refusal to even acknowledge it happened." Tremblay agreed. "And the artifact is powerful enough that I can see how people would seek to possess it."
"But that means it has to be a Templar leading this small army," Trouche commented with concern.
"We don't know that the item is the reason they attacked. We are only surmising. Until the prisoners tell us who sent them and what their intent was, we can only create theories and suspicions." Abdul answered. "Besides I have another theory, but this theory has no foundation. What if what they seek is not knowledge or a powerful artifact? Think, what else is new?"
"I don't understand," Shafiq commented.
"Bashir Al-Sayf," Aali stated. "But he is European. Why would a Saracen army be after him?"
"Malik found the boy in the Jerusalem Bureau. If he was adopted by or kidnapped by someone influential within the city, they could be trying to get him back. The boy could be the son of a European noble and some Saracen noble could be using the boy to blackmail the European noble."
"And yet when we investigated in the hopes of finding the origin of the child, we found no evidence of this," Altair commented.
"The boy appeared out of the blue, in a locked Bureau." Shafiq countered. "We have no idea who got him into the Bureau, we still have no idea who this Albus Dumbledore or Petunia Dursley is."
"You have found nothing at all?"
"There is a family named Dumble that exists in England. We have sent an agent to discover more, but it may be some time before we have answers." Trouche answered.
"The letter doesn't imply they are family to the boy. If anything the Dumbledore family could have kidnapped the boy and dumped him on a childless woman to nurture. Or Bashir could be an orphan, a victim of war, and instead of nurturing the boy the Dumbledore's were quick to get rid of him." Abdul stated. "I will not allow them to go near that beautiful little boy until they've proven their worth and even then Master Al-Sayf will have the final say as a father to the child. Do any of you dispute this?"
"Not at all. All I am saying is that it is an option, they could be after the boy." Aali stated. "And I for one would die before I allow any trespassers near the boy, blood-kin or not they have much to answer for before any of us allow them near Bashir."
"I doubt the Dumbledore's are related to Bashir," Tremblay commented. "But they might be involved. As for Petunia Dursley, none of our agents recognize that name, we have contacted our most trusted agents but so far we have no word."
"Regardless of their relation to the child, we may be in possession of a child being used as a political tool. We may have inadvertently interfered with politics we were not yet aware of." Aali answered. "We must have these agents investigate just who these Dumbledores' are and where their loyalties lie. And we must also concern ourselves with why the Saracen's would dedicate a small army to retrieve the boy."
"We have no guarantee it is the boy they are after." Altair stated. "So far we have theories and none tell us what needs more protection, the child, the apple of the library."
"They didn't get close to any of them. But they knew where to go which makes me believe someone told them. If someone is a traitor, our increasing the guard would only show the enemy that they won, that they frightened us."
"You think it was a traitor?" Abdul asked.
"There is absolutely no way they could have made it into Masyaf without help. The valley into Masyaf is well protected, no one could have passed those protections without help." Trouche stated. "For the invasion force to get into Masyaf, they had to know how to get past the protections and defenses. Which means it has to be someone who knows Masyaf's defenses."
"That doesn't narrow the list by much. Many guards have that knowledge as does the majority of Assassins. Still, I have my suspicions. Abbas for example has been very vocal against Master Ibn-La'Ahad, he could have engineered the invasion to make Altair look incompetent and incapable of leading the Assassin Order." Abdul commented.
"Anyone else we need to be concerned with?" Aali asked.
"I am sure, despite your just murder of Al Mualim, there are those who are angry at his death, who may even be loyal to him still despite his betrayal coming to light. Others still may be angry at you for taking his place. After all, Al Mualim publicly punished you for the debacle with Robert De Sable. You did after all lead our enemies to us and cause an invasion. You may no longer be that man but many will argue that your previous actions are justification enough for your removal as Head of our Order." Trouche stated.
"But with the support of this council, they have no power so they turned to an external force. The Saracens." Tremblay added. "And in doing so they betrayed not only you but the Order as well."
"And if our enemies are after a child then we will make those traitors pay for endangering an innocent." Shafiq stated firmly.
"And if they are after anything else, we possess, they are still endangering innocents and bringing danger to the order. They are breaking every tenet of our Creed by drawing the attention of our enemies, resulting in danger to our Order and innocents being harm." Abdul added just as firmly. "They will be tried as the traitors that they are."
"We cannot find out the traitor until we interrogate the prisoners." Malik countered, obviously disliking that his son was dragged into the discussion. "Which brings me to what I wish to discuss. Hazib Parzival. The teenage Saracen. I believe his punishment should be more lenient than his kinsmen. I believe he is a victim of circumstance, a child raised to believe the glories of war. He's probably been expected to join the army and follow the orders of his superiors without question. The horror in his face during the battle and afterwards indicated to me that the invasion into Masyaf was probably one of his first battles, if not his first-ever. The experience for such a young teen would have been devastating emotionally."
"You wish us to spare him. He is old enough to be a man, all laws state this and means we are allowed to try him as an adult." Shafiq replied. "But I do happen to agree. It is rare to see one so young in battle and those who do go into battle rarely walk away in one piece. He seemed in shock by the end, absolutely frightened by Altair and the way his superiors turned on one another."
"But he aided in invading and killing. The people would not be pleased if we did not give him consequences for his actions. Whether indirect or direct, he is responsible for the murder of Assassins, Guards, and innocents." Aali countered. "He is also capable of wielding a sword which speaks of training, which means he knew he would one day use it to harm others."
"But the same could be said of any novice within the Assassin Order." Tremblay countered. "All are trained to fight and kill, all boys are expected to have this ability. It is only later in life when they've served their duty as Assassins and warriors that they are allowed the choice of career and none are allowed to leave the Order. While we give our boys a choice after training, the same cannot be said of other armies. Most men can have no other life but a life filled with bloodshed and war."
"We also don't know where he comes from. Just like in many other cultures there are different factions. He may come from a very militaristic background and might be expected to fill a role already decided for him. If that role does not suit his character or desires, he will be forever crushed beneath the weight of a responsibility he did not want." Trouche commented.
"But that does not excuse the fact that he was a part of the invasion force into our home. Nor does it excuse his actions. He may very well have killed one of our kinsmen. Do we let him get away with murder because of his age?" Abdul asked.
"No, he still committed a serious crime and it deserves an equally severe consequence. But I am asking he is spared the death penalty. I strongly believe that he deserves a second chance to grow up to be a decent man outside the doctrine of war." Malik answered.
"And what consequence is severe enough to punish murder other than execution?" Aali queried.
"We can't keep him imprisoned forever. It is likely as a young man he would not have been trusted with the reason for this invasion, so he'll be of no use to us that way." Tremblay added.
"He will have to be watched. People will be out for his head and we cannot trust him, he may take any opportunity to flee back to his master." Trouche added.
"He'd be a hindrance. We can't trust him as a medic, we certainly won't trust him with our knowledge and I would not trust him as an assassin or guard." Abdul added. "Neither will our people accept that a man sent to kill us is now a member of our Order. They'd be furious."
"We can let him leave and let his fate fall to the people." Trouche replied. "But that is uncivilized and I for one would not allow our people to conduct themselves in such an uncultured manner."
"The people will spare him only if they think he is punished severely. But what punishment will spare him from the ire of the people?" Shafiq stated. "They need to see him punished as well, otherwise they will always hate him even if he does his time."
"There is no time in prison that can repay for the loss of life. Ten years of prison do not repay the loss of life. How many people dead could have lived thirty-plus years before this invasion. What price can this boy pay that will satisfy the people?" Trembley asked.
"We can't let him go. The people will form a mob, hunt him and kill him." Trouche added.
"Then there is only one solution." Aali replied, a look of distaste upon his face. "Slavery. He will lose all rights and be bound to the Assassin Order."
"We are fighting to free men from the imposed slavery of the Templars' who seek to control our wills and yet you suggest we spit in the face of our own morality and enslave another?" Trouche asked furiously.
"Then what do you suggest?" Aali asked in return. "We cannot let him go and unless we decide to ignore Master Al-Sayf's impassioned plea, our only alternative is the boy's execution." The man sighed. "I disagree with this too and I only voice the idea as it is the only alternative I can think of that would allow the boy to live."
"We could assign him to the guard of Masyaf castle. They were present at the invasion and saw the young man's reaction. Legally he'd be enslaved to the Order but in practice he'd be a recruit." Abdul commented.
"Yes, but that means we're condoning slavery." Trouche countered angrily.
"Not if he voluntarily indentures himself to the Order. To spare his life he'd have to agree to spend his life bound to the Order until such a time as the Order deems his sentence completed. He'd be a servant, not a slave, fulfilling his contract until we deem the contract completed or null and void." Shafiq suggested.
"We'd need to make it clear that even as a servant he is not to be harmed. Too many would seek revenge." Trembley stated. "We'd need to make it clear that he is subject to our laws as much as every other individual in our care and that crimes towards him would be as punishable as any crime towards one of our people."
"Not many will like that." Malik stated. "But since he would be our property and the property of the guard we can treat any act of violence against him as an act of violence against the Order and the Guard."
"That would keep the most law abiding citizens at bay." Altair agreed. "So we are decided."
"We agree to Malik's proposal on the stipulation that if this young man's behaviour makes it clear he is without remorse or intends further death of innocents, he will receive just punishment." Shafiq replied.
"If I am wrong and he has malicious intent, I will not interfere. But I believe strongly that this child is no threat and is a victim of circumstance." Malik agreed.
"Then the decision is made." Altair stated, the tone of his voice indicating the discussion was at its end. "We have a great deal of work moving forward. Master Shafiq, I leave it to you and Master Aali to discover the identity of the traitor, if there is one. Master Tremblay and Trouche, it would be a good time to listen to what the people are saying, we need to find out the general mood of the populace, it may just help us reason with them and narrow down who and who might not be involved in this invasion and who we will need to watch when the boy becomes indentured to us." Altair gave the men gathered a hard stare. "We will not be pleasing some of the people by allowing this boy to live and it will cause discontent to spread through the populace. We will need to nip that in the bud and assure the people that we are doing what is right for the people."
"It would be advisable if we keep the boy, Parzival protected and hidden from the populace until the discontent is quietened down." Shafiq added. "He would need to remain in the castle grounds for his safety as well as for the Order's piece of mind."
"Agreed. I will speak to the Captain of the guard and take an escort when I go to give the boy our ultimatum." Altair stated. "Good hunting, Assassins."
And with that the men relaxed and slowly the men began their soft murmurs of friendly discussion as first Tremblay and Trouche left, then Aali, Abdul and Shafiq. Leaving Malik with Altair. Altair sighed, slumping in his seat and glancing fondly at Malik. "Well it seems the others heard and agreed with you after all." He teased. "Not that there was any doubt of this. Killing a child, even one old enough to be classed as a young man does not sit well with any of us."
"He will live but in some years I doubt he'd see servitude as an good alternative to death but we shall see. If nothing else we've given him a chance to live and prove himself to us." Malik agreed.
As the pair rose to leave a female servant entered with a fond and amused expression on her face. "Master Al-Sayf, Master Ibn La'Ahad. I've been sent by Novice Rajmael. He has asked me to tell you to head to the stables." Malik was suspicious, but he knew by the woman's expression that he'd enjoy the surprise.
Altair sighed in disappointment. "I must visit the dungeons. I envy you Malik, it seems you'll have the most fun out of both of us!" Sure enough as Malik neared the stables he heard the wonderful sound of the laughter of children. And then Darim rushes past, a lead rope in hand and a little pony at the end of the rope. On its back was Sef and Bashir, the older of the two supporting the toddler who was having a grand old time. The shrieking, baby laughter had everyone laughing, from the passing guard and assassins, to the stablehands and the civilians who worked nearby. Malik smiled fondly and found a place to settle so he could watch the children play. There was no rush to be anywhere else.
The toddler giggled as the energetic pony did a little buck, responding to the excitement in the air. For a brief moment the stablehands' panicked fearing the child of one of their leaders' was in danger, but the pony settled quickly enough back into a trot and the boys' continued to laugh. Malik had not panicked, surprisingly, he knew there was risk with riding horses and he trusted Darim and Sef to be responsible, especially with a toddler in tow.
When Altair found them a few hours later, Malik was half asleep laying on warm hay soaking up the sun's rays as the sun slowly sunk towards the horizon. The boys were starting to tire themselves out, and Bashir was beginning to show signs of sleepiness, though he was adamantly rubbing his eyes and whining everytime Darim slowed the pony down or stopped the small equine in its tracks.
"Such a stubborn boy and so brave." Altair commented in amusement as Darim got the pony trotting again. Bashir giggled, but not as energetically as before. Both Malik and Altair knew that the toddler would soon be asleep.
"He is incredibly innocent, full of curiosity and joy. I am dreading when the time comes for him to lose such childish innocence and energy." Malik confided.
"It is the thing all parents must face. Their children growing up is the most rewarding and yet most frightening thing. We want them to retain their innocence, but the world would chew them up and spit them out if they remained as innocent and oblivious as we'd like them to remain. We'd like to hide the cruelty of the world from them, but instead we must teach them of its harshness while they are with us and safe so that they have the knowledge and strength to face the world, to overcome its challenges."
"Wise words for a novice." Malik complimented and teased at the same time, trying to downplay how deep the conversation had become so quickly. "For now, Bashir will enjoy his childhood without fear. When the time comes I will give him the strength and knowledge needed to face the world beyond Masyaf's walls."
"That is all we can do. While they are with us, we can care for and protect them. But soon they will fly the nest. They'll want to explore and as much as we'd like to, we can't keep them here, it may be for their safety but Masyaf would become a gilded cage rather than a place of safety and respite."
"You are right."
"When the time comes, we'll face it together. Because if you are not there when Darim and Sef are ready to become Novice's of the order. I think they'd be really disappointed and would never forgive you!" Altair teased.
"Daddy!" Sef called out, his voice fairly quiet as Bashir had nodded off and was sucking his thumb, his other hand tangled in Sef's robes.
Altair rose to his feet and took Bashir from Sef's arms. "Now what is your next task?" He asked the boys.
"We needed to un-tack, groom and stable Hyacinth." Darim answered. Altair nodded and the boys quickly went to do as expected. The little pony still had a lot of energy and was testing the boys' patience, making them pay attention to her every move and need. It was a useful lesson on horse management and care for the boys', especially as larger horses were far stronger and often more high-strung then the ponies. A good Arabian horse was one who had great spirit and courage, and Altair's bay mare was always a challenge for her handler's, if Darim and Sef could not read a horse well and later owned a powerful, energetic horse they could potentially be kicked, and a strong kick could kill.
"They know what they are doing." Malik stated, understanding Altair's concerns before the man had even put them into words. He leaned back on his hay-bale, eyes closed as Altair settled next to him. "Hyacinth will give the boys' the lessons they need in horse care so by the time they are old enough they won't make nearly as many mistakes as those who have never been near or ridden a horse."
"True but it is a father's prerogative to worry."
Malik chuckled, in complete agreement to that statement. "But we must also let them explore. As much as we'd like to hide them away that won't help them. Let them learn, they know we are here if they need us." Malik smiled fondly as he felt Altair's hand rest on his shoulder and squeeze briefly as they fell into companionable silence, a quiet only interrupted by the welcome sound of two boys chatting away and giggling as they groomed and stabled a spirited pony.
Author note:
Sorry for the huge delay. Life is slowly, cautiously been getting to normal since the pandemic. I've been able to return to work and honestly, its been a little stressful. Having spent so long in isolation it has been a challenge returning to work, getting used to working closely with people rather than talking to them via Zoom and dealing with the anxiety of returning to work after this virus has also been a lot of fun (note the sarcasm). Fortunately, I had this chapter written a little while ago, unfortunately I wasn't 100% happy with it and made a few minor corrections. But here it is. Thank you for waiting patiently and I hope you continue to enjoy this story as and when I post updates!
Story notes/research:
Looking up the Dumbledore name, it doesn't appear to show up until about the 1700s. As a result I looked up alternatives and found the family name Dumble that is first recorded around the 1200s, closer to the time the original Assassin Creed story is set.
After a discussion with a fellow reader and reviewer to this story, I have agreed to adjust the spelling of Malfoy to Mafoi, as the actual spelling Malfoy/Malfoi does not appear until much later in the 1700s. (If you see me make an error and use Malfoi or Malfoy after this chapter, let me know and I will fix it! I will also be going back to my previous chapters at some point in the future and changing Malfoi and Malfoy to Mafoi!).