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Chapter 113

The Assassins met fifteen minutes before midnight atop the northernmost tower on Monteriggioni's wall. Only two people that had been in Mario's study earlier that evening were not present: Leonardo, who would not be joining them at all, and Rosa, who was told to arrive at precisely the stroke of midnight. Aside from the moon and the stars, the fire Mario had prepared was the only source of light around for miles. The Tuscan countryside slept in darkness around them, a stipulation for the ceremony whose symbolism was not lost on any Assassin present. They worked in the dark to serve the light.

It occurred to Ezio that Rosa had not been told in advance what was about to happen. It bothered him that they were about to subject her to the same surprise he had faced when he was inducted, but perhaps it was symbolic as well. An Assassin's life was not one for those who couldn't handle a few surprises, after all. At least she had made her decision beforehand; this was just a formality.

The thief arrived at the requested time, and Antonio promptly began the ritual.

"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine," he recited, raising his arms over the fire. "Without a guiding principle behind our actions, we are lost. Since the beginnings of our order, these words have been the foundation of our creed. We live and die by it now, as we always have."

"Where others blindly follow the truth, remember..." Mario began.

"Nothing is true," she answered.

"Where others are limited by morality or law, remember..."

"Everything is permitted."

There was no hesitation in her responses, Ezio noticed. She was more certain in her decision than he was when he made it, and perhaps even more certain than he was now. He stepped forward, holding his arm across his chest as the others did. "We work in the dark to serve the light," he told her. "We are Assassins."

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted," repeated the rest.

They all lowered their arms, and stepped back as Antonio stepped forward.

"Rosa, this is no easy thing I've asked of you, and the challenges ahead will be harder still," he told her. "I have known you since you were a child, and to see the person you've become...it fills me with a sense of pride I cannot even begin to describe."

Rosa wiped a tear from her eye, trying to hold the rest back as he spoke.

"We ask you to join us not because it is easy, but because you are one of the few who are capable of bearing the burdens of our creed. Will you join us?"

"I will," she answered.

"I am glad to hear it," Antonio nodded, stepping back. "I will leave the next step in this ceremony to you, Mario."

"That is because he knows it will not be a pleasant one," Mario chuckled, reaching for the metal handle that protruded from the fire. "Our ancestors used to remove their fingers as a symbol of their loyalty to the blades they wielded. We have long since discontinued the practice, but make no mistake; ours is a permanent mark."

Rosa nodded in affirmation, and Mario carefully clamped the brand around her finger. She watched as he did, wincing only as much as she had to in order to deal with the pain until he removed it.

"You are now one of us, an Assassin above all else," Antonio congratulated her, then turned to everyone else. "Thank you all for being here for this. Come, let us retire for the night. Tomorrow is certain to be busy."

One by one, they each leapt from the tower and into the bale of hay that awaited them at its base. Only Ezio and Rosa stayed behind.