Essen, Germany – February 1941
As Jan was entering the Sanctuary, the raised voices of the Council echoed through the hall. Under the gaze of the five Masters, a broad-shouldered man in a beige coat and brown fedora hat stood straight and proud. It must have been important, because the Council were rarely this fired up. Standing back was probably the wise decision.
"Why weren't we informed of this before?" demanded Temidare, who originally hailed from German West Africa. With his burly appearance, well-built physique, and sharp intellect, he was the Master Jan was most intimidated by.
"We were concerned for his safety, Masters. We needed him deep inside the SS. As you can understand, this is a very difficult thing to do."
"Are you insinuating that the German Brotherhood cannot be trusted with this secret?" asked the haughty Eleonora Pfennig, the second youngest and only female member of the Council.
"That is not what we meant, madam."
"You do realise that Germany is the domain of the German Brotherhood, do you not?"
"I understand that, and so does the American Mentor."
"Then I don't see how you can justify not informing us of this."
At those words, the Mentor – the German one – raised his hand, commanding silence.
"Frau Pfennig, although I agree that this is unwelcome news, I can also understand the reasoning of the Americans." He turned to the American. "We understand that this was a critical and dangerous mission, and to have allowed more people to know would have been a danger to the agent."
"Yes, exactly."
"However," he said pointedly. "We are still the German Brotherhood. We are most responsible for what is happening in our own country. You should have informed us. I am confident that there are no traitors in the Brotherhood, but I also understand the need for secrecy. You could've told only the Council."
"How arrogant of you, Herr Pash. You and your Mentor. Do you think that the Brotherhood in Germany is dead?" There was clear indignation in Master Temidare's voice.
For a while, Pash remained silent as he looked down at the floor. But then, he raised his head and his voice along with it.
"It's as good as dead. What have you done, Masters, while the Nazis took control of your country? Embroiled it in this war? You've just stood by and watched!"
The Masters stood aghast, except for Lutz who kept looking at Pash with a mild curiosity.
"How dare you!" shouted Temidare.
"We will keep in mind that we should inform you of further developments in the future. Now if you'll excuse us, lady, gentlemen. We have a war to fight."
Without a word or a glance, Pash turned around to leave the Sanctuary. It was then that Jan noticed that he wasn't alone, and that there was a female Assassin walking behind him, her hood pulled up to cover her face. Within seconds after his last words, they had left the hall.
"This Pash is certainly rude," commented Temidare.
"Yes, but even more so, it's troubling if we don't even know what our own allies are doing in the war."
As the Masters discussed, the Mentor saw Jan in the darkness of the chamber and gestured for him to come forward.
"Welcome back, Jan. A job well done, along with Elisabeth and Kevin. Even if it wasn't approved by the other members of the Council." The Mentor shot a look at Lutz, who smiled innocently and nodded. "But that being the case, we now have the tools with which we can continue our fight against the Templars and their Nazi puppets."
"What shall we do, Masters?" Jan asked eagerly. His arms were twitching to engage his blades.
"Nothing, in the meantime."
"Nothing?" It was all Jan could do to suppress his frustration. He went through all that trouble with the weapons to do nothing?
"Yes, we must be cautious. We are greatly outnumbered, outgunned, and outpowered. We are David, and they are Goliath."
"Yes," Lutz said. His agreement surprised Jan, until he continued to speak. "But David won because he struck Goliath first."
"Because he believed his God was on his side. There is nothing on our side." His look at Lutz became more pointed, but he returned his attention to Jan.
"For now, you should rest, Jan. We must save up our strength and energy for the fight to come."
Jan bowed, and the Masters descended from their seats and disappeared into the darkness behind.
"For the fight to come…" He muttered. What fight? He'd spent the last half a year training, and even this mission wasn't approved by the Council? If only Lutz were the Mentor, they'd be out bringing the fight to the Templars. As those thoughts filled Jan's mind, Lutz appeared.
"Come with me, Jan. There is something we must discuss."
They arrived at Lutz's study, where Elisabeth and Kevin joined them soon afterwards. He lit the fire and went behind his desk. Jan debated with himself whether to ask or not. He was curious, and it seemed important. But if the Council really wanted to keep it a secret, they wouldn't have let Jan enter the Sanctuary while it was going on. As the flame cackled, Jan spoke.
"Who was that?"
"Who was who?"
"The man you spoke with. The American."
"Ah, Boris Pash. He is an Assassin with the American Brotherhood. The woman following him must have been one of his Assassins."
"Did he do something wrong?"
"You heard it yourself, didn't you?"
"Only pieces. Not enough to form a full picture."
"He's got an agent in the SS."
The Schutzstaffel – the so-called "Protection Squadron". The only ones they're protecting are Templars, Nazis, racists, and hooligans. Full of Nazi fanatics and Templar strongmen.
"Is that such a bad thing?"
"Not really. I'd say it was rather brilliant. There's just one problem: we're the German Brotherhood, not them. The Council wasn't pleased when they found out about Pash's little operation."
"Do you agree?" Jan paid attention to the look on Lutz's face. From his tone, he sounded neutral. He didn't disagree nor agree with the Council. His eyes reflected the fire burning on the coals, but there was nothing to see. Only the flame, and the black emptiness.
"It's the Council's own fault." He chuckled. "How did the Americans manage to insert somebody into the SS, a German paramilitary force, while we, the German Brotherhood, didn't? In fact, that is precisely why we are here."
Lutz looked the three of them straight in their eyes. His expression changed in the blink of an eye, from his usual cheerful, mischievous smile into a wholly unknown expression. Dark, burning, sharp, dead serious. His shoulders seemed broader, his gaze sharper, his presence darker and larger.
"The time for 'caution' is enough. Precisely because we are outnumbered, outgunned, and outpowered, we must bring the fight to them. Otherwise, we'll keep dwindling. A small flame dies easily. Just a gust of wind, and it'll go out." He went to the fire and stoked it. "But a large fire… once it burns, you'll be hard-pressed to keep it back.
"It is time our offensive began. Most of the Brotherhood is not aligned with us. Let them lie with their caution and cowardice. We will fight hard enough to cover the rest of them."
"What are you saying, Lutz?" asked Elisabeth, but all of them already had an inkling where this is going.
"You three. A team, under my direction. We'll take the fight to the Templars ourselves. The way our predecessors did. Sabotage. Subterfuge. Assassination. All according to how we have always done it: in the shadows."
"The shadows of our enemies," Elisabeth said. But it's incomplete.
"And our friends," Jan added.
"Exactly."
Lutz walked out from behind his desk and approached us so that we're all standing together in a circle.
"What do you say, my friends? Will you obey the Council and follow in their footsteps, hiding and cowering in our catacombs while the world falls into the hands of the Templars? Or will you join me, and together we can bring back the honour of our Creed?"
He held out his hand, waiting for us to extend ours. Elisabeth was the first one. She held her hand out and placed it on Lutz's open palm. Kevin and I look at each other, then without so much as a word we come to agreement. We both extend our hands and put it on top of Elisabeth's.
"Thank you, brothers, sister. To be honest, I didn't know what I would do if you'd declined after that little speech." He smiled mischievously
"Now, let us begin our crusade against the Templars in Germany. We will rid this land, and the world, of their corrupting influence. We will restore freedom, peace, and prosperity. And we will do so in defence of our Brotherhood and our Creed."
Then, together as one we let out our voices.
"Nichts ist wahr, alles ist erlaubt." Nothing is true, everything is permitted.
"Today, we begin our struggle."
On that cool September day in 1941, in that dark warm room, I made a decision that would change the course of my life forever. And to this day, I don't know if it was the right choice.