Dark clouds hung over the sky as the Assassin walked out of the sewers, onto a dock behind the Imperial city. His white robes swayed lightly with the wind. Readjusting his cape, he looked across the lake. Is this where he could have gone…? To Cheydinhal? An odd choice. The Assassin picked a boat on the river, and begun rowing across, on his way to Cheydinhal as well.

Ezio had been riding for awhile, through the woods. He stuck off of the main path for obscurity's sake, but the journey was made that much harder for that fact. On more than one occasion did he battle a bandit or a wild beast from his mount, or flee them.

He looked at his breath as he exhaled. It was definitely getting colder. The trees were getting dryer and dryer as he continued in the direction of Bruma. He folded the bulk of his robes forward for warmth: he was glad he had a hood at this moment. The sound of the hooves trotting through snow soon replaced the soft, hissing sound of the grass. The wind grew harsh, icy, as opposed to the peace of the Cheydinhal forests.

He soon saw Bruma, it's walls contrasting against the snow. Two guards stood by the gate, looking like that was the last place they wanted to be. Looking down toward his horse to keep his face hidden, he soon approached the gate.

"Welcome to Bruma, traveler," one said, looking at him, "It isn't often we see visitors. Come in, make yourself welcome."

"G-g-grazie…" Ezio shuddered, dismounting his horse. The guards opened the doors, and he entered, looking around at the log-cabin style of architecture the Nords were famous for. He shuddered violently, making for the nearest cabin. A villager left one cabin, the sound of music emanating from it, so Ezio headed toward it as fast as he could.

Opening the door, he felt some extra warmth within the cabin, but not much better than the outside. These people must have been extremely thick-skinned, or have an internal furnace, to be able to stand it for long. One of the villagers noticed him right off, walking up to him.

"Hello there, stranger! My name's Olav, welcome to Bruma!"

"S-s-salute…" Ezio said, his teeth chattering through his voice. "…I-I'm l-l-l-looking….looking for…" he said, before Olav left. Great, rude people. It was only a moment before he returned with a heavy blanket, tossing it around the freezing boy.

"Sorry, I forgot how cold it gets for some people here," Olav said, "You sound like a Skingrad man," he said, sitting at across the table from Ezio. The warm light set a good, friendly atmosphere around. He leaned forward, "And are dressed as one of the Cheydinhal Brotherhood."

"I'm trying to get back to Skingrad," Ezio muttered, looking at the man. Great, he thought, more assassini.

"I see. Cheydinhal has been silent for some time, any idea why?"

"The Templars had the whole town locked down," Ezio replied, "I killed the captain, Ulrich Leland, and freed them."

"An Assassin worth his salt, eh?" Olav said, then chuckled, slapping his hand on Ezio's shoulder.

"No, I refuse the title Assassin." He replied, killing the mood. "I only want to get home."

"I see. So is Hawk alright?"

"That remains for the Denmaster to hear," Ezio said, looking at Olav, "not a normal Assassin."

"Ah, but I am the Denmaster. What better way to stay hidden than in plain sight?" he said, smiling. "Best thing is, they all trust me. I can announce my vows as an Assassin, they'd think I was joking."

"I see."

"Marvelous, isn't it?" Olav said, leaning back, "So, how's Hawk?"

"He's doing fine," Ezio muttered, "He wanted me to let you all know that. He also wanted me to see if you needed any help, but—"

"As a matter of fact, we do." Olav said, and leaned forward. "You ever hear of the Master Assassins? Of course not, they're that legendary. They work directly for the Grandmaster himself. Unfortunately," he said, and looked over his shoulder, "One of them, Altair Ibn la'Ahad, from Anvil, has gone rogue. He's currently in Bruma, but the thing is, we can't tell who or where he is. We are suspecting him of the murder of Bradon Lirrian," he stood up, "Follow me."

Ezio stood up with a huff. "Perfetto…" he muttered, walking behind Olav as he opened a series of doors into an underground cavern similar to Cheydinhal's setup. He walked downward as he followed the old man, who opened a locker. The cold was already coming back. As if reading his mind, Olav produced a much heavier-looking set of robes, a cloak running along the collar of the robe, opposed to the cape on his back currently.

"Put this on, and we'll talk. These robes will keep you warm." He said. Leaving Ezio alone, he could only smile. Poor kid…

Ezio took off the Cheydinhal robes, quickly putting on the heavier ones. The warmth settled in, and he pulled his hood over his head. Picking up the Cheydinhal robes, he put them into the locker. He walked back up to the tavern, where Olav was cleaning the bar counter. "Back?" he asked, his tone still happy.

"Yes."

"Now, the town guard is already investigating, and I've got a few Assassins on it already." He explained, "but we believe that Altair is already getting ready to leave. The only other inn in the city is a little further North, the Jerall View Inn. That is where he is most likely staying."

"Why don't you have one of your Assassins check on this?"

"I am. That would be you." Olav said. "Good luck, and if you see him let us know. He is a Master Assassin, well above all of our level in killing skill. We'll need to trap him."

"Right…" Ezio muttered, opening the door. He was hoping for a night of rest and to be gone by morning, but that didn't seem like much of a possibility now. The Inn was in the distance, and as he made his way over to it, he saw it was a story up. Walking upstairs, he bumped into a man wearing white robes as well. Another Assassin. His robes were very different than the other Bruma Assassins, or at least based off of Ezio's robes, it seemed that way.

"You aren't of Bruma, are you?" Ezio asked, in a cold tone. The man stopped, and stood there.

"Neither are you, lost one."

"Are you Altair?"

"Are you Ezio?" Ezio's eyes shot open as he spun to see the man's face.

"How did you…?"

"In my time in Skingrad, I noticed more about you than you believed," he explained. A memory played through Ezio's mind: one of Giovanni's special guests. "When I came back through Skingrad, both you and Giovanni were missing. You aren't tall enough to be Giovanni, nor do you have a deep voice as he." Ezio's eyes narrowed.

"You can find all this out by looking at my mannerisms, and things you knew in the past," he started, "Mind telling me why you betrayed the Assassins?"

"I didn't. My target, however, made it seem like I did."

"A likely story,"

"You wouldn't understand. Too young. But my target is 'Welcomed by Eden', or so he says."

"Welcomed by Eden?" He felt his eye. Leland had said he wasn't welcome in Eden when he attacked Ezio's eye. "Did he have a strange mark anywhere on his body?"

"Listen, I don't have time for this," he said, "he's already gotten to killing people in Bruma as well. I've tailed him all the way from Anvil, I'm not about to let him slip through my fingers again." Altair walked away, into the snowy reaches of Bruma.

Ezio was left to ponder this whole subject of "Eden". Last he heard, Eden was the holy land of a pagan cult who didn't believe in the Nine Divines. He turned around, and headed back towards Olav's tavern. His cloak swayed with the wind. His vision went white, and he fell to his knees. A shadow was on the snow. He looked up to see an Eagle. A golden trail led to the church, a blue trail followed Altair, and a guard enveloped in red approached him.

"Are you okay, boy?" he asked, lending him a hand. He had a cross on his chest, his eyes showed hatred. A deep hatred. Something in his physique spoke to Ezio: he wanted the Assassins eradicated. Within his hand, he held a friendly gesture. In the other hand, a sword to pierce his heart. This was crazy; could he believe this instinct?

He readied the Hidden Blade from his left hand, and took the guard's hand. The guard pushed his sword toward Ezio, but not fast enough: he had already been impaled through the throat by the Hidden Blade. Releasing his hand, he pushed the guard over. His vision went white once more, returning to normal as the dead guard fell to the ground.

Whatever that was about, he retracted the Hidden Blade back into its miniature sheath, and headed toward the church.

Upon entering the church, looking at the large, marble-stone walls that seemed to reach to the heavens. Even the ceiling seemed to be as high as the sky, signifying the height of the Nine. Ezio himself never placed himself anywhere when it came to the Nine—he neither counted on them nor denied them. If asked whether they existed, however, he would tell them no, they did not.

The preacher had just started a sermon, to which everyone inside was intently listening. Ezio needed time to sort out what had just happened between him and that guard. So what if the Eye told him he was bad? What if the red actually meant good? What did the gold or blue mean?

He also needed to find Altair's imposter for him, to help him get on with his life. He chuckled a bit. Him, defeating the imposter of a Master Assassin? He didn't know much, but he knew that in order to be feared by the rest of the organization, they had to be pretty powerful. And for one of them not to have silenced him yet, well, that just made it even worse.

The choir had already stood before the altar, singing the praises of the Nine in a chorus that almost drowned out all thought. Ezio looked up, seeing Altair walking down the aisle. Curious, he looked closer. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until he got too close to the minister. He didn't need the Eye to tell him what happens next. He vaulted over the seat before him, running along the various benches, launching his own Hidden Blade. He leaped at Altair, ready to kill.

Alas, he was too late, and the minister had already been stabbed through the heart with the signature weapon of the Assassins. He retracted the blade in time to see Ezio's incoming attack, before successfully dodging the attack, causing Ezio to slam hard into the ground.

"Altair!" he yelled, before the Eye activated, showing him to be the same color as the guard from earlier who tried to kill him. "No…the imposter!" At first the man seemed surprised. How had Ezio known? Then he looked at his eye a little closer, and understanding came over his face.

"You have a Mark as well…" he muttered, drawing his sword.

"A Mark?"

"Your eye, man! Your eye!" he yelled, pulling his gauntlet off to show the mark on his wrist, glowing golden in contrast with the red. "One of the Eden Bearers!"

"I have no clue what you speak of," Ezio replied, drawing his own sword. This man was an able killer, he could tell. "Tell me of these Marks!"

"The Marks of Eden, you idiot! You have one, you should know!"

"A 'Mark of Eden'…" he muttered, and chuckled. "Is that what they're called? Interesting. I killed one of you already."

"What?" the man yelled. "How did you kill him? It was your eye, wasn't it? What does it do?"

"He gave me the eye, saying I wasn't 'Welcome in Eden'…care to mention to me what that means?"

"So, you're a Cursed Bearer…different than me," he muttered, then laughed, "I'll kill you then, Cursed One!"

He came at Ezio with great agility, mere instinct allowing him to defend the attack. Knocking his foe's blade aside, he made to punch the man in the gut, but the attack was blocked. They disengaged, and Ezio took a breath. This man wasn't incredibly strong or fast…what was his mark's power? Then he realized; his mark was golden, the gilded trail on the ground led to him. He could see other 'Marks of Eden'.

"Tell me of Eden," he shouted, putting his blade before him as he readied to fight.

"I cannot, and will not, Cursed One!" he yelled maniacally, before coming at Ezio again. He ducked under a horizontal slash, then punched upward towards his jaw, but was blocked by a quick palm thrusting him to the right. His momentum carried him to the air, leaving him vulnerable to attack. He made to roll into a fall, however, instead of taking whatever punishment the copy had stored for him.

Regaining his stance, Ezio's eye showed his recent movements. It was weird…he could see what just happened, and what was happening, at the same time. The man spun, upon closer examination he was thrusting forward with his blade. Using his bracer, he knocked the blade to the left, using momentum to send the man flying. As he ascended and gravity took over once more, he thrust upward with his sword.

That should have been it. The last blow, the final attack. He should have been bleeding, dead on the ground. However, he somehow predicted this, and pushed the blade to the side with his free hand, rolled to the side, and miraculously landed on his feet. He backpedaled out of the boy's range.

"This is…crazy!" he muttered, looking at the man.

"I'll admit, for your power being sapped, you're doing quite well in a fight," the man said, and readied to boast. "You obviously fought one with a less refined gift. You see, unlike super strength or speed…" he took a bow, then snapped his head toward Ezio, "I can copy anything of anyone. I copied the Master Assassin's look, and his skills. Little did I know, I could combine these skills…" he said, taking up his initial position. "I have both yours and his ability!"

Ezio looked at him. Was he serious? Did he have the Eye as well? Did he even know of the Eye? "Let's say I don't believe you…"

"Foolish Assassin. I don't care if you believe me; it's a privilege to know one's Power of Eden." He said looking at his foe with a great amount of superiority. "If you don't believe me, you will quite simply die." He ran at Ezio once more, stabbing forward. He pushed the blade along momentum once more, but found a deadly surprise at the counter to that. A Hidden Blade shot out of his wrist, and went straight for Ezio's throat. Were it not for the Eye predicting the attack, he wouldn't have been able to dodge the motion.

He leaned back from the attack, his head nearly passing his hips, as his foe spun from missing the attack. Landing, he huffed, and looked at Ezio. "What did you…how did you do that?" he muttered, before letting out a yelp. A blade pierced his heart, and he leaned back against his attacker, the true Altair.

The Eye told him of Altair's intentions, that he was good. He had come to label these different colors. Red were those who meant him harm, and blue were those that meant a possible, or maybe even, an ally. And gold were other Marks of Eden. What happened next, Ezio could only barely hear:

"You are…not welcome in…Eden…" he muttered, before spinning. Blood flew out of his chest as he lunged at Altair's face. Unable to react, his palm went straight over his face. Ezio charged over, tackling him off of the Master Assassin. Landing, he rolled with the man in his grip.

"Tell me your name!" he demanded, drawing his Hidden Blade. The man merely smirked. "Very well. Requiescat in pace, bastardo." With that, he slammed the weapon into his throat, killing him instantly. He ran over to Altair, who remained on the ground. Closer examination showed he was grimacing instead of screaming: whether he screamed in his head or no, Ezio could only guess. He had hoped he got the man off in time.

He picked up the mass of white, and walked outside the church, where everyone waited. Olav, disguised as the Denmaster, stood at the by the door. "What are you doing, help us!" he yelled, and Assassins broke from the crowd to help Ezio lift the Master, who seemed to get heavier and heavier to Ezio's tiring arms.

Later that night, Ezio was seated before the Denmaster, who had a boiling cup of tea ready for the boy. "What you are going through, Ezio," he muttered, handing him the cup, "Is very stressful for a young boy. You and Altair both." The boy raised a brow. "I've had my Assassins do some research on the Marks of Eden, as well as traded notes with Hawk and the Grandmaster. These Marks are, more or less, unlocking a greater potential within us. It is all powered by the Daedric Princes, whom of which have extremely advanced versions of these powers. Frighteningly powerful abilities that make even yours pale in comparison."

"To both me and Altair, they said we weren't 'welcome in Eden'. Any idea what that means?"

"Eden, as you may know, is the final resting place for a few cults outside the Nine Divines. It is also known as the starting place of all existence, where sin is born. Here's the juiciest part: the Templars uphold the cult, and all its beliefs."

"So we've been denied heaven?" Ezio asked, getting to the point.

"That's my best guess. Right now we're trying to find the difference between the 'Blessed Bearers' and the 'Cursed Bearers'; you and Altair versus all the other Bearers."

"How can I be rid of this blasted thing?" he asked, taking a sip of the tea in an attempt to calm himself.

"I honestly don't think you can. And you aren't going to like this next bit of news one bit…" the Denmaster replied. "The Grandmaster wishes for you to stay in Bruma and train alongside Altair; you two are a tag team now."

"What?" Ezio said, jumping up. His tea spilled on the floor. "I can't stay! I have something that needs to go to Jauffre! I have a home I need to get back to!"

"You'd be hard pressed doing anything in Cyrodiil against the Grandmaster's wishes, whether you know of him or not." Olav replied, solemnly. "Besides, with you and Altair being the only two people we have who bear a Mark of Eden, you two are the only ones who might be able to track them down." He looked at Ezio, who was dumbfounded.

"I…I…" he muttered, falling into his seat.

"I'm sorry, Ezio." His head fell into his hands, anger, fear, hatred welling up within him.

"Why me? I'm fifteen, sixteen in a month! I am a child who already knows to kill and is prepared to do it again!"

"Have you met some of our younger recruits," Olav started, "Trained to kill since birth. They had no childhood. You see this as a darker side of life, but they have never known any different. Is that fair? Is that just?" Ezio bared his teeth. He knew all this to be true, in some sense.

"All just to fight a cult? Does that make you any better?" he asked, under his breath. Olav still seemed to hear, or he expected the question.

"To defend Cyrodiil, we rival the Blades, protecting the Emperor from the shadows," he said. "Now get some rest; tomorrow you're getting your first official contract."

"Hired to kill…"

"You'll be interested once you get the contract. They aren't all about killing people—I doubt many would be left in Cyrodiil were that to be the truth." Olav said, chuckling. Then, with a fatherly look in his eye, he patted Ezio's shoulder. "I'm sorry you got pulled into this, but please understand this is needed."