Chapter 3
Again
"Again … Again … Again" the head assassin ordered as one student got up from the sand to face her opponent again in a sparring match. At the signal word, her eyes lit up as she sent her right foot flying into the student's face. Calmly, he blocked it and sent his fist flying in return. She blocked it and went in for a knee strike, but her opponent blocked her knee with his forearm before retreating a few feet back. As this went on for several minutes, the head assassin's eyes were intently analyzing his first student.
Each strike she made seemed to be fueled by emotion… rage even. He understood and admired this part of her, but also saw her weakness in her wrath. Seeing a fist swung too recklessly, he saw an opening for her opponent. Her opponent saw it as well and swiftly utilized the opportunity to plant his foot in her abdomen, knocking her on her back with the wind escaping her lungs.
"That is all for now. Kardên, you may go back to your room and work on your immunity to our sleep darts. Saphira, come take a walk with me. I want to share something with you." the head assassin calmly ordered.
"Yes master", Kardên replied reverently as he bowed before heading out of the sparring pit.
Saphira caught her breath as she rolled to her feet. "Yes master", she replied wearily.
Master and student walked out of the pit and made their way to the door of the Hâsharin outpost. To Saphira, this outpost was her home, in the middle of the sprawling city of Umbar. The city looked fairly nice on the outside, but everyone knew that The Order of the Hâsharin, better known as the Order of Shadow, controlled the politics of the land. And many of the men made their living pillaging and raiding the cities and towns of lands such as Gondor and her fiefdoms. These men were known as corsairs. Saphira always despised the corsairs and preferred to go on missions that did not involve dealing with any of their sort. But sometimes she would have to ally with them - or use them to complete her mission. And on such missions, she had to use all of her willpower not to slit their throats.
But other people in Umbar were farmers or merchants, trading with small towns, the lands of Harad or with the warlike kingdoms of Rhûn who were better known as the Easterlings by the men and elves of the west. These people tried to make an honest … or mostly honest living, but the politicians were greedy and imposed heavy taxes that encouraged the people to deal in the black markets of Umbar.
Donning their hoods the assassins ventured onto the street, entering the flood of humanity. As the clamor of the noise from the crowd enveloped the two, the master whispered to Saphira, "You exposed yourself to Kardên in the last match. Do you want to know why?" He took note of Saphira's curt nod with a look of curiosity. "Because you are guided by rage … by emotion. Emotion is a good motivator … and a good tool … but also a weakness."
As they passed by a trader's booth, Saphira shook her head in exasperation at her own failing.
Rounding a corner on the road, he responded, "Don't focus on your failure. I know you have struggled moving past your life before The Shadow Order. But … if you want to survive … you must face or suppress your emotions and then learn to control the emotions of your opponent", he lectured as they sidestepped a ragged beggar before taking a right. "Kardên remained calm in the midst of your rage, to fuel that fire in the hopes that you would make a mistake, which you did. Your enemies can only control the emotions they know of ... the ones you display ... and the same is true for your enemies."
As they continued on in silence, both were in deep thought. As they took a final right to head back to the outpost, Saphira broke the silence, "Master, you are right. I am driven by my anger … my anger for what happened. But I will learn to hide it, I just need a little more practice", she pleaded.
Stopping at the door he replied, "And you will. Come by my office tomorrow morning. I have an assignment for you which will involve manipulating the emotions of your opponent on multiple occasions."
"Thank you", Saphira replied with a sober voice mixed with a little excitement as she bowed and entered the outpost.
As she headed to the kitchen, her excitement intensified. Coming into the room, she recognized the familiar faces of Malif, Kadshâ and Kardên curiously waiting to know what the master was up to. Malif was the dreamer, wanting to take their master's place one day. Kadshâ was dangerously competitive and somehow playful at the same time. And Kardên … Kardên was as logical as they come but had a hint of kindness about him.
In response to their questioning expressions, Saphira said, "Nothing big, we just took a short walk and then - ", she waited for the anticipation in her comrades' minds to grow, "he told me to meet him at his office tomorrow morning for an assignment!" Saphira relayed triumphantly.
"Way to go!", Kadshâ exclaimed as she gave Saphira a shoulder punch that was between a friendly jab and a full-on strike. "Don't get too comfortable being the favorite - I'll be giving you some competition soon enough", Kadshâ added with a grin. Saphira returned the grin while landing a friendly punch of her own.
"I'm happy for you Saph", Malif jumped in. But his smile faded slightly as he commented "If I am going to be our master's successor, I was hoping to have more than just three missions by now".
Saphira looked sympathetically at Malif. "Cheer up Mal, you're going to get your chance to shine before you know it". "I just got lucky today, that's all", Saphira said dismissively.
"That makes perfect sense", Kardên theorized. You did not perform your best during sparring today, so our master is sending you on this mission to help rid you of a weakness", he said with a friendly smile.
However, all of the friendly atmosphere was sucked out of the room with his words. As Kadshâ and Malif awkwardly looked at the floor Saphira's face became flushed.
"Thanks genius", Saphira said defensively.
Kardên, realizing his mistake, tried to repair the damage. "I meant no disrespect, Saphira. The fact that our master is investing in you is a testament to how much he values yo-"
"I'm heading to bed", Saphira said with a dismissive sigh before quickly exciting the room without another glance.
"Now you really did it", Kadshâ said as she rolled her eyes. She excited the room without another word.
"Don't worry", Malif said as he put a reassuring hand on Kardên's shoulder, "she'll come around". Malif then excited the kitchen to give his friend some time to think.
Looking up to the ceiling in self-annoyance, Kardên scolded himself, what did you do now?' Had to let your big mouth loose. She is going to hate me for approximately eight days if her mission is a success. If it's a failure, I don't want to calculate the days of her silent treatment. "Should have just kept your thoughts to yourself and not blown it" Kardên muttered, feeling hopeless, as he left the room to clear his mind.
Stepping into her room, Saphira still felt infuriated at Kardên. She headed over to her cot to clear her mind. My failings? … I shouldn't have snapped at Kardên. He is so insensitive, but he is right. My Master is giving me a chance to prove myself.
But what if I fail? He did say that this assignment will require me to tap into my opponent's emotions. But if I can't control my own, how can I focus on my opponent's? How will he react if I come back empty-handed? No! This is my chance, my chance to prove that I have what it takes to overcome my weakness.
Letting out a nervous sigh, she closed her eyes. As sleep overtook her, her remaining confidence vanished as she once again relieved her last night before The Order.
.…
The planks groaned under the weight of the savage pirates as they loaded Saphira along with all of her family's belongings. They treated her with the same compassion as if she were just ordinary cargo – throwing her into the captain's quarters. Saphira tried her best to hold back her tears, replaying her father and mother's last moments.
Brother was crying and I heard metal on metal beyond the tree line. If only I would have stayed with my brother like I was told, but I thought I could save them. I ran to the tree line just as Mum was using her projectile knives to take one man down after another. But, but, before I could use my own knife, a hand covered my mouth. "Now, now, stay really still and I won't kill you."
Before I could think Mum was tackled by a couple of the men. My Pa yelled and jumped them. But then one of the pirates drove a spear through him. Then I felt a hand hit my head and darkness overcame me. If only I could have helped Pa and Mum, maybe they would still be alive and my brother too. Poor brother, wailing and crying in the hallowed log where I hid him, with no one to console him. But there was nothing she could do. She was helpless.
Just then, Saphira heard a lightning strike that jolted her out of the vicious cycle and into the present moment. She was locked in a room with a host of pirates just outside the door. She had to escape.
From the looks of the walls, this must be the captain's quarters, she thought.
Curved swords with golden hilts and crossbows hung on the main wall behind the captain's desk; along with many artifacts lining shelves that stretched the full length of the left and right walls in the room. In spite of herself, Saphirra curiously examined the items on the shelf attached to the right wall: compasses, rare gems and rocks, elven swords, a wolf's skin, and even a swan shield with a gash in the center of it, likely made from a spear thrust.
The boat started swaying more than usual and the sound of rain extinguished all the noise on the ship, even the corsairs' gleeful singing.
Just then the door burst open with a wealthy looking corsair walking triumphantly into the room. He wore purple trousers held up by a black belt with a golden buckle and he wore a blue shirt that was puffed up with pride. "First a successful military exploit, and now a young gal to grace myself with her presence" he gloated aloud. Saphira's heart was forever changed that day, from a naïve girl into a woman whose heart was filled with rage. All hopes of escape were gone, she would trade freedom if that was the price for killing the corsair responsible for her family's death.
…
Unbeknownst to the corsairs miserably manning the deck, a hooded shadow sat perched upon one of the ship's swaying masts. As silent as a panther, the shadow's eyes studied the movements of the pirates from under his hood waiting for the perfect moment. With the flick of a wrist the ship was engulfed with smoke and the shadow descended upon the pirates.
"What in all riches was tha-" One corsair croaked.
"Krad are you o-" Another one choked.
"The mist is poisonous! Run for your li-" A third one screamed.
"Draw swords rascals, go into that mist and send whatever spirit is hiding in it down to the depths of the sea", Drag bellowed without fear as he tripped over himself trying to get to the captain's quarter.
Come here you sneaky fellow, I'm going to stab you thro-" as the corsair felt a knife protruding from his belly. The man fell over with a thunk as his body smacked against the moaning planks.
"Jump overboard!" A smart corsair cried.
The shadow ignored the other corsairs and the spoils as he walked purposefully to the captain's door.
…
"Come here pretty girl, I can keep you like a pet if you behave." The captain said as if he were talking to a dog.
Saphira glanced back at the weapons and artifacts. She decided to go after the compass first, sending it squarely into the captain's smug face.
"Ow! I am going to throw you overboard once I am done with you, you rat!" The captain bellowed.
Saphira used the momentary distraction to grab the broken swan shield and the elven dagger from the captain's weapons rack. She felt strong while grasping the dagger and somehow safe behind the shield, even though it was damaged. With enraged eyes of sapphire, she put forth her best fighting pose. As the captain made his way towards her, she felt her courage drain away with each step the man took. Just as the captain had almost crossed the room to Saphira, the door swung open as a big-eyed Drag rushed into the room. Before he could say a word, he was knocked flying to the ground. The captain turned with a face of wrath toward his clumsy bosun, but immediately bowed his head when he saw the shadowy figure stepping over Drag who was cowering in fear. The rain was howling behind the shadow with such brutal force that Saphira and the captain staggered a step back as the shadows' cape made him seem like a phantom in the night.
"Where is Dalif?" The shadowy figure asked.
"I...I... He was more trouble than he was worth." The captain said as he cleared his throat while staring at the ground. "Killed about 8 of us on his own and his wife killed at least 10." The captain explained nervously, like a child explaining his behavior to a principal, all the while knowing that a reckoning is coming.
"Disappointing, disappointing. I had so much faith in you Crale. But I guess even the Hâshari misjudges a man's character from time to time." The Shadow cooly said.
"Now wait a minute, what was I suppo -", the captain staggered and stumbled to the floor gasping for breath while grasping the knife in his stomach.
Saphira had been watching this exchange with frightened curiosity, but gasped when the captain stumbled to the ground, writhing on the floor. He breathed his last and laid still. Drag tried to crawl away but the assassin kicked him in the side and then planted his foot in his chest. The shadow then turned its gaze on Saphira. Saphira braced herself for a possible attack when the shadow cooly said:
"Do you want revenge?"
"What? " - Saphira said as if in a fog.
"You heard me Saphira … do you want revenge for your family's death?"
The fog cleared just enough toward a pathway through the swirling mist, but a voice told her not to go: go back to the ancient road my treasure; don't let hate drown your soul. But the drawl crowded out the voice of reason and her feet started to walk toward the cowering bosun shaking in fear on the floor. She raised her elven dagger -
"Don't use an elf's weapon for this deed, Saphira. Use my dagger." The shadow said as he threw a knife into the moaning planks by her feet. Saphirra dropped the elven dagger and grabbed the assassin's dagger, slowly pulling it out of the ground. Then he gave Saphira a nod.
Drag violently shook his head silently pleading "no".
But Saphira, running headlong along the path muttered:
"This is for my family you wretch!" as she plunged the dagger into Drag's heart.
His scream woke Saphira from her nightmare.