Chapter 22: A Jackdaw, or an Eagle
A/N: Black Flag was one of my favorite titles in the whole series of games, but I am just as excited for Syndicate after I hated Unity so much. It wasn't it's glitches so much (considering I didn't really have much of them) it was more of how stupid I thought the characters and the whole plot was. Arno was just as stupid as Edward in the beginning but the difference is that one of them was denied admission into the Brotherhood until he shaped up and learned that what he was doing was wrong, and the other was recruited too early and made his own rules like a bad boy just so he could impress a girl he liked. Don't even get me started on the Council of Masters in the game as those guys looked too much like a higher council of Templars and was essentially the pot calling the kettle black when they said that the Templars order their underlings around or something (The plot annoyed me so much, I barely paid attention). As for Elise? I can't bloody even- just… no! So I'm hoping Syndicate will be a breath of really fresh air considering that both main characters are full fledged Assassins in the beginning.
I will admit that this isn't the last time I plan on making the POV character one of the player characters from a previous game. As I said a long time ago, there is history that leads up to Asgeir's Story from all over the course of the series. We will see what happened with Shay after the events of Rogue, and maybe a couple other events that were left open ended. If things go well for Syndicate's story, I have a way to incorporate the Twins in.
Edward POV
Great Inagua. June 1716
A month ago I was shown something that fitted the very definition of "impossible". When you hear that word, you'd probably think of a man, walking about the village, claiming that his own piss could cure scurvy if you drank it, only to find that not only would it do just that, but it would taste like the best rum this side of the West Indies. Or maybe you'd think of a ship that floated like any other even though it was made completely out of gold. Maybe you'd even think of what I think of when I say "impossible". I think of the statue that James Kidd showed me in Tulum after a run in with his "mentor", the Assassin leader Ah Tabai. A bust bearing the face of a man I had only seen in the last year, yet the statue itself was hundreds of years old.
His name was Bartholomew Roberts, but both of the kinds of men that sought him called him "The Sage". Both these men, these Templars and Assassins knew that Roberts had the location of a machine known as the Observatory, which was capable of witnessing whatever anyone in the world would be doing, and where they were. When I first encountered them, the Templars said that they would use the machine to ensure that there would be no secrets between people anymore, finally achieving world peace. I said sod off to that, and ended up returning to Nassau to my fellow sailors with a new ship, the Jackdaw, and a crew. When Kidd took me to Tulum, I learned about the Assassins and how they instead wanted to stop the machine from working so that the Templars had no way to spy on all the world.
It really makes not a Devil's curse to me what either side intends to do with the machine. What does matter to me is the same of what matters most in Nassau in our republic of pirates. We are not men meant to govern or plunge headlong on the madness of a single man. We take, we spend, and live heartily We act accordingly to our own collective madness. Nothing more than what we love to do and what we please to do. It's the life that Ed Thatch,, Ben Hornigold and I have built up and intend to keep that way for as long as we all live on this earth.
That morning on the beach I spent drinking from what was left of a bottle of fine rum my quartermaster Adéwale and I had found in the deck below the ship. We both shared it and spent the whole night singing loudly with all the other drunken fools from either our crew or another's. Adé was hesitant of drinking as much as I did, but at my encouragement he had just as much fun as I promised him he would. He now lay on the rough sand on the beach, passed out hard while I finished what was left as the sun rose. The beach we were on was through the jungle on the eastern side of the island, which took the sort of shape of a "U", while the manor and it's village lay in the center of it. From here on east it was open waters as far as the eye could possibly see.
People in the West Indies talk about how if you watched closely as the sun either rose or set, you might catch a glimpse of a green flash where it stood. I never could tell if it was a bad omen or some sign of any kind, but I had tried it several times. And I had seen it only minutes ago. Now the sun was rippling over the water from the heat and whatnot. As it rose higher and higher, I saw the familiar outline of a ship sailing closer and closer. I couldn't make out her sails or flag, so I took out my spyglass and peered through it.
"Adé." I said.
He snorted a bit, spitting sand out of his mouth as he laid face first in the dirt.
She was nearing, and I still had no idea what to make of it. Had the Crown come to ruin our fun already? I was feeling uneasy; though I reckoned most of it came from the splitting melon of a head I now had leftover from the merry times we had spent last night.
"Adé!" I said again, a little louder.
When he didn't answer again, I slapped his bald head and he awoke suddenly. His eyes snapped open, but he squinted them shut just as he stood up.
"Captain!" He exclaimed. "Oh, breddah! I feel like my head's been used by our cannons and shot right at a Spanish galleon."
"Ah. You get used to it, Adéwale. You'll see."
"Now, what is it, Captain?"
"What do you make of that ship, Quartermaster?" I said, handing him the spyglass.
Adé took it in his hand, and looked through. He nodded as he pulled it away. "I think she hold friends, Captain. I can see the colors she's flying."
He passed the spyglass back to me, and I looked through again. This time the ship was turning starboard-wise to the north. One of her swivels shot towards the island, but the manner of which suggested just as much that they were friends, not fiends. Not a warning shot, but a greeting shot. I could make out her flag more clearly now, and after I could, I smiled as I stood up, no way of mistaking the black flag with her skull and crossbones.
Adé and I headed through the jungles, skulls feeling cracked open like coconuts once we reached the outskirts of the village. As we reached the beach with a few of the crew looking out, we could see the ship sliding into port.
She was a beauty of a brig, with white sails and a yellow and blue finish on her hull. Or she would be a beauty, if it didn't look like she had just faced a huge hulking beast. Some of the sails were burned so much they looked blacker than white and the hull was chipped badly. The captain was at the helm with his first mate, and as it was finishing docking, they both got off.
The captain was dressed all in leather from head to toe, with a red vest and a hook for his right hand. His first mate was short and somewhat overweight, with a red toque on his head. He looked very nervous aside from his captain, who smirked as he strod up towards us as we climbed up onto the dock.
"C-captain." The first mate stuttered. "I'm not so sure about- "
"Enough, Mr. Smee." The captain snarled to him. He nodded as he walked up.
"Greetings, friends." I said when he walked over. "Welcome to our island of the Great Inagua. I'm Captain Edward Kenway of the Jackdaw."
The captain gave me a nod and held out his good hand for me to shake. "Captain Killian Jones of the Jolly Roger. Although my enemies and crew call me 'Hook'."
I chuckled as we started walking towards shore. "What brings you to the West Indies, Hook?" I asked. "Thirsty for adventure?"
"Aye." He replied. "Or rather we would be, if we weren't in need of help. We've sailed a long way from England to join in on the mayhem here. On our way however, we encountered a pair of massive ships by the name of the Fearless and the Royal Sovereign. Somewhere northeast of here."
Adé realized something. "Captain!" He exclaimed. "Those ships are feared throughout these waters as some of the largest beasts in George's fleet. It's a wonder you made it out alive, Captain Hook."
Hook nodded and glimpsed at his first mate. "Aye. Mr. Smee is still shaking from that cannonball almost taking his own nose off. Although come to think about it, he's always shaking."
When we reached the end of the dock, Hook stopped at the harbormaster's booth and rang the bell. He came up to the front from the back.
"What can I do ye for?" He trilled.
Hook placed a small coin purse on the counter. "My ship is in need of repairs, and we have some cargo aboard that can be of use. Eighteen dozen barrels of rum, and seventeen kegs of sugar."
The harbormaster grinned. He had several missing teeth, but it looked better than half my crew. "Yes. This will do fine. I'll have someone bring the cargo aboard and see you paid for this. Thank you."
Hook and I then headed over to the tavern as Smee started back to the ship. He sat down at the table, and mopped his brow, taking a long drink out of his hip flask.
"Jaysus, mate. That cargo will be quite a bit of gold around here, but you don't seem too pleased about it.
"Even if we get the gold, those ships might recognize us if they come this way." Hook replied. "It looks like we're trapped here for the moment."
He took another drink, then held out his flask to me. I nodded and took a swig.
"Ah." I sighed. "That is fine rum right there."
"Only the best, I prefer. I heard there's an excellent plantation nearby that makes some that's even better than this."
I chuckled. "If you ever get out of here past those ships, please let me know where it is."
We both laughed for a bit over that. The irony of it all was what made me laugh the most. Ever since the King's men had come to Nassau, sniffing around for us pirates, Thatch, Ben and I had begun setting up proper defenses there. While we were setting it up, I had moved our sanctuary to this island I had stolen from Julien DuCasse just to ensure we wouldn't be attacked again.
Hook pointed at my own ship. "Is that one yours?"
"Aye. The Jackdaw."
"Like the pesky bird?"
"Heard that one before. You should meet Thatch and Ben if they ever finish fixing Nassau."
Hook keeping staring at the Jackdaw. "What's the biggest ship she's ever faced?"
I knew exactly what he was intending. "Not as big as the ones you want to take on, my friend. Unless you think any one of these other captains around here are mad enough to follow us."
Hook grinned as I said this. "You want to bet?"
Two other captains that were docked there agreed to help Hook. As pirates, we all look out for each other. Both of the ships were carrying at least twenty thousands Reales each. That meant ten apiece. As I pushed the wheel down, turning the Jackdaw northwards, I saw Hook at the helm of his own ship. We both gave each other a wave as our ships sliced through the whitecaps, the two other ships behind us.
One of the crew suddenly yelled out. "Captain!" He cried. "Two ships ahead! They're making ready to fire!"
I nodded to Adé. "More sail!" I yelled. "All sail!"
"Prepare for battle, lads!" I heard Hook yell out to his own crew.
The Jackdaw charged up towards the ship on the left, the Fearless. Luckily, Hook and I had made a plan of attack with the other captains. It was risky, but it would be successful if we played it right.
The Royal Sovereign wasn't going to back down from it's opposition, even if it was four ships against two. I often knew from experience that size meant nothing when it came to battle. A schooner with a good crew and a proper captain could easily do what a perfect Man 'o War with a shite crew and negligent captain could not.
Hook and one of the other captains steered their ships to the right, heading directly into the path of the Fearless' portside. I myself went to the left with the fourth captain, heading right into it's starboard side.
"Ready the cannons, men!" I called out. I stood tense enough in case of the ship readying to fire on our side. If it came to it, I needed to make sure a cannonball wouldn't take off my head.
The other captain's brig was right behind us, and with the combined forces of us, Hook's ship, and the other two, we were planning on ganging up on one of the ships to cripple her all in one go. Soon enough we were all in position. I then heard a round of cannonfire from the other side of the ship.
"AND FIRE!" I bellowed.
Every cannon on board unleashed hell as fiery steel spheres flew out their metal shelters, and slammed into the hull of the Fearless. Smoke and splinters floated through the air. I look back to see the Sovereign turning around to try and come up behind us.
This is what both Hook and I anticipated, and knew what to do next.
"Ready mortars!" I called out.
The other three ships were also preparing their mortars for the Sovereign. The plan was essentially to fire the mortars at the ship that was furthest away, and all our other cannons at the one that was closest.
When Hook's ship fired their mortars, we followed and fire rained down from the sky on the other ship. I grinned as I looked back at the Fearless. Her crew was so shocked by the combined efforts of all four ships; none of her crew was ready to fire their cannons. Luckily, we were ready to attack once again.
"FIRE EVERY CANNON!" I screamed.
This time, the Fearless was no match for us. It would normally make a fine prize for my fleet, but I decided that such a beast would be better off at the bottom of the Atlantic than still floating. And who is to say that the British wouldn't try to take her back from my hands if we got a hold of her?
Immediately the crew of the other ship on the other side of the Fearless swung onto the ship to take her and the gold aboard. One down, and one more to go.
As we slid past the Fearless, I spotted Hook at the helm of his ship. We both gave a respectful wave to the other, and went back to sailing directly into the path of the Sovereign.
The Sovereign wouldn't go down as easily as her friend. Her crew was already launching mortars into the air, so the three ships scattered fast and quickly, narrowly missing as many shots as they could. Unfortunately, three of my crew was crushed by the mortar fire hitting them directly from above. In their daze, some of them jumped overboard.
I'd worry about them later. I spun the wheel quickly to portside as the Sovereign came up quickly towards the three of us.
The plan would change coming in now. The captain that was with us now had a ram fitted into the front of his ship, and knew that he could easily rush the Sovereign if Hook and I covered him.
"Unfurl everything!" He cried as Hook and I steered our ships to either side of the Sovereign. Unfortunately, this is what she was anticipating. Every cannon on either side was preparing to fire.
"OH SHIT!" I cried. "BRACE FOR IMPACT!" I dove for cover along with Adé as hell unleashed. The smoke and noise was disorienting. I could barely see or hear anything. As I felt around the deck, I suddenly clutched the bottom notches of the wheel. I used them to push me up and started yelling for my crew.
"They call that an attack?!" I roared. "Ready yourselves lads! By this time tomorrow we all will be richer and drunker than we ever have been before! I won't let that floating pisspot take us down, and I know you won't either! Shall we return that attack?!"
"AYE!" I heard the whole crew scream. I smiled as I steered the ship to have our broadside face the Sovereign.
"FIRE EVERYTHING!"
Hook walked about the deck as the gun smoke and splinters started to settle. As he saw the ship's captain dead at his feet, he chuckled.
"We did it, Kenway." He said. "The ships are gone, and the gold is ours."
As he said this the crews from each of ours ships carried forward the chests filled with their gold. I knelt down, only to find the chest locked. I pulled out one of the pistols on my front holster, and shot the lock open. I flipped open the chest and grinned,
"How does it look, Kenway?" One of the other captains asked.
I took the slip of parchment out of the chest and tucked it into one of my pockets, making sure the other captains did not see. Then I stepped away from the chest and turned it for us all to see.
"Mother Mary…" The other one said.
There was more than twenty thousand in just one of the chests. At least twice as much from what we could tell. What was just as valuable was the papers that came out of the second chest. Maps that led to even more chests from what we could tell. We didn't know how much was in the ones buried somewhere else in the Caribbean, but all the same, we each took a quarter of the maps and the gold we found on the ships before letting them burn to ashes as we all set off.
"So what next?" Hook called from the deck of his ship. The other two captains were headed back to the Inagua.
I smirked and held up the paper I had taken from the first chest. "You thirsty?" I asked.
Hook gave a puzzled sort of smile. "For what?"
I unfolded the parchment. "Taking King George's finest rum distillery on this side of the world!"
Hook and I had our adventure there, bringing back as many barrels as we could carry. Knowing that such a good place like this could not be wasted, we played it much smarter and ended up leaving the plantation with as much as we could carry, and none of the guards running the place all the more wiser.
I found the day ending almost the same way it started for me. Sitting down on the west beach at the Inagua, swigging back as much of the fine rum as I could with Hook and Adé with me. The small man, Smee was alright, but a little too jumpy for my taste.
"Aye, he is." Hook said when I mentioned that. "But he is loyal and does as I say. There is no better first mate than that."
I could not really respond to that. Adé had the role of quartermaster, and to me that meant him being a friend as much as a crewmember. I took another drink as I looked out at the setting sun.
"By your leave, Captain. I'm going back to the ship for an early night. My head still feels as it might explode any minute now."
I smirked. "Alright, Adé. Good night."
After Adé left, Hook spoke up. "If I may inquire, mate?"
"Sure thing." I replied. "What about?"
"That hood that your wearing. Is that something that most captains here wear to protect from the sun or something?"
I chuckled. "Nah. Nothing like that. It's more of a…uniform of a league of warriors. I killed one of them that was in the midst of betraying them and stole it off his corpse, but they will not accept me as one of their own ever since I met them and their king."
"Why not? Sounds to me that a Captain and pirate such as yourself is skilled enough to help them."
"Yes." I said, grinning. "They can't see that I am exactly what they need, and their beliefs are exactly what I want out of this life."
"I know what you mean." Hook said. "More than all this life of plundering and pillaging, I want nothing more than to find a man that has eluded me for many, many years."
It sounded to me like he too was looking for the Sage, but I decided not to mention it. Despite him being something of a friend for the day, I would not want to let him know of my intentions to find the Sage first.
"Well then." Hook held up his flask. "With that in mind, we both have our goals in mind. Wherever the waters take us, let us hope that they take us to whatever we desire."
I smirked. "To freedom!"
"Aye! And to freedom!"
I never saw Hook again after that day. I never found his name among all those that were hung for piracy, so I am left to assume now, that my friend for only a day found what he was looking for as I was, and escaped the crown. I will never have an answer to that question, but the uncertainty of it all gives me a sense of hope as opposed to fear. At least I can hope that one of my fellow pirates survived.
December 1720
As I walked up to the entrance of the temple, Adé stood at the entrance leaning on it's side. No longer my quartermaster, but soon to be my brother at arms, he and I could only laugh at the ironic place we had landed ourselves into in the last few years.
I always thought that the Creed was one I could use to further myself and say sod all to what others thought. But now it all makes better sense now that I have seen both the Templars and Assassins, and what they seek.
"Nothing is True". It means that you cannot let others tell you what to think; lest you subject yourself to the chains you swear to break. There is no higher power or God that can tell you what is right and what isn't. That is for you to find out yourself. "Everything is Permitted". It is our freedom to make our own choices, but there will be consequences to these choices. If you are prepared to face them, then you know what the Creed means.
I raised my hood as I walked down the walkway. Ah Tabai stood at the end of the temple at it's altar, a bowl of hot coals in front of him. As I passed several of the Assassins watching my induction, I spotted Anne. She smiled at me, and it brought a small tear to my eye. All that she had lost, and yet she still could smile like that.
When I reached the steps up to the altar, Ah Tabai began chanting.
"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale koulon moumkine." He recited, his hands outwards in front of him. "The wisdom of the Creed is revealed through these words passed down through the ages. We work in the shadows to serve the light. We are Assassins."
Tabai looked down at me, and nodded. I walked up the steps and over to the bowl.
"Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember…"
"Nothing is True." I replied.
Tabai gave a quick nod. "And where other men are chained by morals and laws, remember…"
"Everything is Permitted."
"Captain Edward Kenway. You stand before the Assassins, at the heart of our Creed. Are you ready to take the path of the eagle and join us?"
"I am."
"Speak the tenets."
I placed my fist over my heart. "I swear to stay my blade from the flesh of an innocent. I swear to hide in plain sight. And I swear to never compromise the Brotherhood."
Tabai smiled a little as I heard what I thought was "never again" from him. He then pulled out a pair of hot pincers from the bowl and held them out. A tradition practiced by many since the days of an Assassin Crusader named Altaïr, it meant that Tabai would be burning my ring finger to symbolize how the first hidden blades had their owners remove their ring fingers for the blades to work properly.
I hesitated for a moment, before holding out my hand and spacing apart my fingers. Ah Tabai placed the pincers close to my hand and clamped them down on my finger. It hurt just as much as I expected, but it was over in a few seconds. After he finished, he placed his fist over his heart.
"We welcome our new brother, Captain Edward Kenway. Nothing is True!"
"Everything is Permitted." The Assassins murmured.
A few minutes later, Ah Tabai and I stood at the top of the temple. It would be here that I would take the Leap of Faith.
"You seem somewhat troubled, Captain Kenway."
I glanced back at Ah Tabai. "Aye. I've a lot to prove before calling myself a true Assassin. Torres and Roberts are a start. Torres once told me as I saw my fellow pirates being brought to the gallows that it would be my own fate if I failed to cooperate with his rule."
"But now?"
I glanced out into the bay. My ship was now flying new colors: the black flag and skull with the Assassin insignia. "Now I have taken the hood and said the words. I will choose a new path, but I will never cooperate with those bastards."
And with that fury in mind, I took a running start as I leapt to the haystack below.
A/N: See, Edward's story was one that I enjoyed immensely compared to Arno's. What made it so good was that Edward didn't become an Assassin automatically, and had to earn his place in the Assassins before becoming one. Arno, on the other hand was inducted way too early by a bunch of idiot Assassin Mentors and had to be banished by them and see the woman that he stupidly loved more than he really should have be killed before finally getting smart and realizing that the rules of the Assassins actually meant something.
I already will address that I have a continuity error in this that I am fixing. Hook mentioned to Asgeir previously that Edward had him at the edge of a sword before letting him go, but that didn't happen in this chapter. While it made sense at first, over time it just didn't seem to fit from what I wanted to do in this chapter. So I'm already backtracking to fix that little error. I just wanted to address it before someone else did.
Also, the last scene was one that I personally would have liked if they had something like it in the game. Every other Assassin had a somewhat traditional induction. Granted Connor didn't as much, but Achilles said so that it just didn't seem right. And even Shay had a great induction scene into the Templars in Rogue. So why didn't Edward get one?
Currently working hard on the next chapter, kicking ass at Syndicate, and working at my job. Now we're reaching a good final stretch to the end of Sequence Two so we can start Asgeir's fight against Ingrid again! Get ready!