Hello again! Welcome to another chapter - I just want to say quickly that this is focused more on Fillian than any other assassin since it is his initiation. Anyway, leave a review and let me know what you think!

Chapter Three: La Confrérie des Assassins

20th December 1788

The catacombs beneath the chapel were dark, and a heavy smell of damp lingered heavily in the air. It was very dark, with small congregations of candles crammed together in the arches at the sides of the stone corridor to light the way. A scarlet carpet guided my path through the vestibule, which was lined with archaic-looking statues.

"What in God's name is this place?" I asked Roux, who continued to lead me down the aisle.

"It's a haven... for our kind." Roux turned his head towards me. "It's where we can take instruction and make ready."

"Make ready for what?"

Roux remained quiet as I followed him into a large circular chamber, with aged stone steps spiraling up on either side to a large balcony above the archway in front of us.

"This seems cosy doesn't it..." I muttered to myself.

"It's not meant to feel cosy." Roux informed me. "It's practical. From being down here, we can travel through the catacombs and across the entire city without anyone watching."

"That's a touch too paranoid, don't you think?"

"This place has acted as our sanctuary without fail for six centuries."

We walked out of the antechamber, and entered a large chasm, with the scarlet carpet leading us past exposed slabs of rocks. Pots of fire flickered as we walked by, approaching the end of the pathway: A large balcony faced me, with two winding staircases on either side.

"Le candidat will approach."

I swung my head around at the echo, looking for the man who had spoken. However, as I turned my head around, I saw four figures, cloaked in cowls, standing at the balcony, looking down upon me. The wall beneath the balcony held several intricate carvings and sculptures, but the one that caught my gaze was the marble triangular symbol - the same one Roux and I had on our bracers.

"Le candidat will state his name."

"Fillian," I waited a moment, and with a glance from Roux, I guessed I had to state my full name "Fillian Charles De Sauveterre."

"De Sauveterre?" One of the figures looked towards the others in bewilderment. "You are of le petit-fils de Monsieur De Sauveterre?"

"I am." I confirmed with a nod.

"Why have you appeared before us?" Asked another.

"My grandfather, Monsieur De Sauveterre, he died three months ago... on his deathbed, he bid me to seek out le Nid d'Aigle."

"Ah.. le Nid d'Aigle." Another one of the figures repeated. "Little more than a monument now."

"But, you have found le Nid d'Aigle. You have found us." The man standing closer to the centre stated. "And now you have found what you seek... what do you want?"

"I..."

I paused - what did I want? In truth, I didn't know. I wanted to repay my grandfather for his kindness, for raising me when he had no obligation to. I wanted to honour his memory by fulfilling his last wish.

I bit my lip, trying to figure out how to tell them this. But, at the same time, I wanted to ask them who my grandfather was, who they were - so many questions burned inside my mind, yet no words could formulate them in my mouth.

"He seeks to follow in the footsteps of Mentor De Sauveterre." Roux informed them, stepping into the light.

"The council recognizes Lynne Girrard."

"Lynne?" I muttered to myself, looking back at the figure in confusion. Roux had removed the hood, and now I saw not a scrawny boy, but a young girl. Her coffee-coloured skin mimicked the same tone of her light brown eyes. "You're a-"

"Le candidat will face the council." A cloaked figure instructed in a feminine voice.

"Mes exuses." I said quickly, dropping my gaze to the ground.

"Girrard?" The woman asked.

"This is the grandson of Mentor De Sauveterre. He was given his coat, blade and bracer on Mentor De Sauveterre's deathbed. He learnt how to climb at the De Sauveterre estate. I believe that he was being trained."

One of the figures held up a hand to silence Roux.

"Ainsi soit-il." The hooded women then turned her hooded gaze towards me. I felt all eyes approach me, and the silence echoed throughout the cavern, save for the crackling of the fires around us. One of the men then took his turn at speaking.

"Out of the dark, you come into the light. From the light, you will return to the dark. Are you prepared to travel the eagle's path?"

I glanced to Roux, who nodded encouragingly.

"I am."

The man smirked knowingly, as if he was amused by me.

"Then drink."

His hand gestured to the chalice that rested at the centre of the triangular symbol. I approached it carefully, slowly picking it up and examining the purple elixir inside.

The smell was tantalizing to my senses, and I felt shivers run down the back of my neck as I inhaled the scent. I closed my eyes and picked up the chalice and began to ingest the elixir. I felt my body convulse and could feel the strange sensation of the elixir seeping into my blood. I dropped the silver chalice, stumbling backwards before finally slumping onto the floor.

The crackling of the fire fell silent, as did the clattering of the chalice. Suddenly, all I could hear was the wind. I looked up from the ground to see a group of men and women, clad in fine garments and emeralds dancing in a lavish, gilded and ornate hall, like the ones described in the Odyssey.

I walked through the crowds, unable to fully hear their words. It was all blurred and hazy, like something from a dream.

"Presenting la duchesse De Sauveterre..."

I stopped in my tracks, my head snapping around in the mention of the woman.

"Mother?" I began to move past the various nobles, shoving them out of my way. "Mother!"

"...Accompanied by le marquis D'Ambly."

I saw a two figures enter the middle of a clearing in the crowd, and begin to dance. I forced my way past the throngs of on-lookers until I came to the front.

However, as I shoved aside the final person, I saw nothing but a deserted floor. There was no longer fine music and tinkling of glasses and conversation in the background, but instead, musket fire and screaming and rallying cries. I turned around beside me to see thousands upon thousands of men and women armed with swords and pitchforks calling out behind me. I turned around to see two battered tombstones. Etched in the decaying stone were two names:

Duchesse Alliana De Sauveterre

Marquis Jacques D'Ambly

I grabbed my forehead with my hands; a splitting pain began to ripple across my mind. They weren't dead - I knew they weren't. I would've heard - I would've been contacted!

Suddenly, I stopped. I began to feel something wet upon my hands. I took my hands away from my forehead, and looked down to see my hands painted in crimson: blood dripped down onto the floor.

I staggered backwards, where I knocked into something hard. I turned around to see a statue of a man in a beaked hood. It looked familiar - with a groomed beard that covered the jaw and a small scar on the bridge of his nose.

"Grandfather?" I asked slowly.

Suddenly, the statue began to crumble, with stones cracking and falling onto the floor. The stained marble shattered around me, and then was drawn back to the statue with the speed of a gunshot. Suddenly, I saw a reflection - the statue had the same beaked hood, but it was a different face that wore it: with a cleanly shaven chin, a smaller nose and a slightly thinner jaw.

I dropped down onto my knees at the sight of my sculpted self, closing my eyes. I grabbed my forehead again as I felt the searing pain claw across my brain. I exhaled through gritted teeth and my hands clenched into fists.

The wind slowly died down until it came to a complete stop. The sound of crackling embers flitting from fire faded back to me. I suddenly became aware of the ground beneath my knees and opened my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was my hands - they were no longer stained in blood. The second thing I noticed was the haze and blurs of my surroundings, and how they seemed to dissipate like smoke. The third and final thing that I noticed was the group of four figures who stood in front of me this time, rather than on the balcony.

"These are the words spoken by our ancestors," spoke the first man, who was directly in front of me "the words that lay at the heart of our creed."

"Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent." Spoke a man with skin the colour of Roux.

"Hide in plain sight." Spoke the woman again.

"Never compromise the brotherhood." Spoke an older man, with his greying beard visible on his chin.

"Let these tenants be branded upon your mind." My attention returned to the man who spoke first. "Follow them, and be uplifted. Break them at your peril." I nodded, absorbing each word that they spoke. "Rise, Assassin."

I pushed myself up off of the floor, swaying slightly. I saw Roux step forwards from the side, only to be halted by the elder cloaked man. Finally, I raised myself up to stand at my full height.

"Le Assassin, Darius Morraine, will instruct you in the field, and guide you as an apprentice."

I nodded as another man stepped out from the darkness. He wore a decorative dark hood, with the triangular symbol stitched into the beak. The hood was pinned onto a matching leather doublet, decorated with two large belts across his chest. His white shirt was fairly worn and slightly stained. On his right arm, he had what looked to be a steel bracer, decorated with an ornate leather strap and two bronze buckles. A belt hung over his red sash, buckled together with the triangular symbol in gleaming gold. His black boots, decoratively lined with golden silk, clicked along the floor as he stood next to me.

"Fillian De Sauveterre is dead. He has been culled from this world, with his sins and failures turned to dust. Tonight he is reborn, a novice of the Assassin Brotherhood."

So, another chapter already - I am on point! Anyway, I will start writing the next chapter tomorrow (if I'm still ill). Just so a couple of you can guess what will happen, the next chapter will include the word 'Reveillon'.

Also, leave a review letting me know what you guys thought about:

Fillian's Delirium:

Fillian as a character:

Scenes you would like to see:

See you guys next time!