Auhtor's Note: And so, this is where we stopped at the original draft of the Firebrand story. So do you think I should keep the original story online or take it down?

Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.

92 AG

It was a very tiring night riding on my horse behind Jade. Still, even if I wasn't constantly in motion, I doubt I would've slept. My mind kept flashing back to finding my father's corpse, the crime I was framed for, and my friend burning to death. I couldn't tell whether or not it was my own fault. It would've surely kept me up at night.

When the moon reached its highest point, Jade went off the road and I followed. The two of us rode right into a forest. It was so thick, it was impossible to see any trace of light within from the outside and we had to slow down our horses' pace to be careful. That's when Song perched herself on my shoulder again.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The home of my mentor, Shen." Jade answered. "It's him who you'll want to speak to."

"Your mentor?"

"What? Did you think I got those skills on my own? Shen taught me everything I knew. Just be respectful. He can be a little cranky sometimes."

She stopped her horse, so I stopped mine too. We found ourselves facing a brown, lone house suffering from some overgrowth. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. The left and right sides seemed to be covered with creeping vines. Most of the house had faded paint of an indeterminate color. Though, I suppose it used to be a bright color in its better days.

"This place looks like it's seen better days." I commented.

"You're not wrong." Jade said getting off her horse. I got off mine as well.

As we walked toward the front door, I realized that the house looked even worse up close than it did from where I saw on my horse. Several tiny holes seemed to be plaguing the walls. Jade tapped her knuckles onto the door a few times and waited. It was silent for a few moments. Not even the sound of wind or insects occupied our ears.

"Is he home?" I asked.

"He should." Jade answered. "He's… a bit of a shut-in."

Just then, the door opened slowly and an elderly man answered. He had tan skin, a bald head, a small, silver beard, and a robe that matched Jade's hood. He sat in a wooden wheelchair that looked like it was maintained poorly. I looked at the bottom of his robes and I saw his bare feet dangling out of the bottom. His feet were black with serious burn marks all over. It made me a little noxious just by looking at them.

"Jade. You returned." Shen said before he turned his eyes at me. "Hold on. Who is this?"

"Mentor, hear me out." Jade said. "This is Arzon, the governor's son."

"I didn't send you to Ashura to take the son of a politician." Shen said.

"I know, but circumstances have changed drastically while I was there." Jade said. "Sir, the Order killed his father."

Shen widened his eyes before pointing them at me. I could tell that he understood. He stayed silent for a second before opening the door wide enough for us.

"Okay. Come in. Tell me everything."

I stayed quiet in the living room while Jade told her master everything that happened with my father, with me, and with what happened at the public execution. While she did that, I took a second to look around the room. It wasn't in the best shape, admittedly, but there were some decent furniture. We gathered around the lit fireplace until Jade had finished her story which left Shen sulking in his chair.

"This is more complicated than we thought." He said. "What is it about Ashura that the Order could go through that much extremes?"

"I don't know. I didn't have the chance to learn more before Arzon was arrested." Jade answered.

"Excuse me." I said. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think I need some answers. What's up with this Order of Spiders that Jade mentioned? Why did they kill my father? And how is it that you two know more about them than anyone else?"

Shen turned his wheelchair to face me. "All right. After everything you've been through, I suppose you deserve the truth. Jade and I are part of a secret society called the Assassins. For generations, we have worked in the shadows to protect the world from anything that would take away that which humanity needs the most."

"And what's that?" I asked.

"Freedom. Every human being has the right to choose, to decide how to live their lives or what to believe. But there are those who wish the opposite."

"The Order of Spiders." I surmised.

"Indeed. You could consider the Order the antithesis of the Assassins. They make their way into positions of power, and then use that power to establish absolute control. They want to decide how humanity should live while the rest of us would only be their mindless puppets. That's where we come in.

"There are four different Assassin factions, each set in a different nation. Whenever the Order attempt to manipulate the world from where they are, the Assassins would strike at them before they get the chance to. Thus, we've been in a secret war behind the scenes of history for generations. But their most recent position is without a doubt the most problematic."

"Chancellor Daizo." I said.

"Yep." Jade said. "We have reason to believe that the Order are somehow responsible for Fire Lord Sozin's decision to declare war on the rest of the world, but we don't know for certain. All we do know is that the more territory the Fire Nation takes, the stronger the Spiders are."

"But why would they take Azu…" I stopped myself realizing that these two prefer the city's original name. "Why would they take Ashura? Doesn't it already belong to the Fire Nation?"

"That's a very good question." Shen said with concern. "The truth is, we're not certain. The most we believe in is that they are planning something, something that even the Fire Lord has no knowledge of. I sent Jade to Ashura to learn about Daizo's presence there."

"I thought he was trying to influence your father onto his side, so I listened in on your dinner conversation from the rafters above." Jade said. "Though, it sounded like Governor Kuo did not share in the Order's beliefs. After that, I decided to head to the post office to see if Daizo had any contact with anyone else. And wouldn't you know it, I found records of messages from Daizo to Sheriff Brills. Although, I don't know what the contents were. I was about to find the letters at the sheriff's home, but it looked as though they were already burned before I got there. That's when I caught wind that the Red Prowler, aka Arzon the governor's son, was arrested for patricide. Clearly, you were an enemy of the Order, so I had to save you."

"Then we need to go back to Ashura." I said. "Stop the Order before they do something that will destroy the city."

"Arzon, it's not that simple." Jade said. "We don't have the means to fight back against them."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Can't you just gather up the other Assassins?"

Shen and Jade looked sullenly at each other before turning to me. She answered, "I'm afraid that Shen and I are all that's left of the Earth Assassins."

I looked at the two of them with confusion. "What?"

"It's true. Some time before I brought in Jade, there was a… complication." Shen looked down at his burnt feet. He gave a soft sigh before continuing. "Long story short, Jade and I are the only Earth Assassins left."

"Well… why don't you ask for help from Assassins from other nations? You said there were more." I suggested.

"That can't happen." Jade said. "The Air Assassins were scattered after Fire Lord Sozin wiped out the air nomads. The Water Assassins keep to themselves at their headquarters at the North Pole refusing to help. And the Fire Assassins were either killed or converted to the Order of Spiders. We're working with very limited resources here."

"Then how are we going to stop the Order?" I asked.

"That's a very good question." Shen said sadly. "We're doing this with the most extreme caution. And with the Fire Nation's hold on the Earth Kingdom growing, our chances for victory are growing slimmer. Honestly, I don't know what to do."

A great silence fell over the room. The only sound was the feint crackling from the lit fireplace. I looked on over to the window where Song was perched and saw her sharing in our hopeless feeling. But I wasn't going to give up so easily. I stood up from my chair and made sure Shen and Jade saw me.

"Let me join."

Shen looked at me curiously. "Are you sure?"

"The Order of Spiders took everything from me. They're responsible for what happened to my father, what happened to my friend, and what's happening to my home. I can't just sit here and wait for the Knights to win. So if you need more Assassins to your cause, I want in."

"You realize what you're asking for, right?" Shen asked. "This isn't the path for the naïve. You'll have to abandon everything you think is true and commit some deeds that most would look down on. You may never return to your old life again."

"My old life is why I'm here at all." I assured. "I failed my father and friend, but it's not too late to save Ashura. So train me. Teach me your ways. I'll be ready."

Shen gave me a long look. He looked like he was in deep thought. After a half minute, he turned his head to Jade.

"What do you think?"

"I think he has potential, Mentor." Jade said. "He has… the Vision."

I had questions, especially when I saw Shen's surprised reaction. But I kept them to myself until later. For now, I just awaited their final decision.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. He told me what it was like. He definitely has it."

With a gentle stroke of his beard, Shen turned back to me. "All right then. Arzon, you will be an Assassin. Tomorrow morning, we shall begin your training. But for now, get some rest. Make yourself at home. Jade will show you to your room."

"Thank you." I said. After that, Jade guided me upstairs to where I would be sleeping for the rest of my time there.

And so, my life as an Assassin had just begun.