by Matt Rogers
Chapter 10: Elvin
The Siege (Castle Nirvana)
He could hear them readying, mounting their steeds, tightening straps, preparing for battle. Waiting with infinite patience earned from a lifetime of practice he heard their leader, the one named Shield, issue orders. He himself was unknown, unnamed and unsighted. He lived for anonymity, relished it, for knowledge of another brought about awareness. His kind avoided such things.
The gate opened and his part began. Slowly, methodical, purposefully he moved for the distance was not great but the perils deadly. A hoof missed his head by no more than a whisper. The final mounts were exiting and the barricade lowering. He had but moments yet stayed the course. Success meant one thing, one outcome; remain invisible or die in the attempt.
He was close, merely a crawl away but he took his time. He thought for a second his cover was blown when two stumbled over him as they fled through the gate. It didn’t matter. If he perished it was because he’d estimated wrong, chosen an inadequate distance to cover, and thus no one’s blame but his own. He moved his leg a fraction and waited for the answer. The gate slammed down and he felt the aftermath as displaced air touched his senses. He was inside. He waited for his presence to be acknowledged. It wasn’t.
Over an hour he spent, moving as moss grew; ever present but out of mind. It took time to cover space without eyes noticing so he settled his thoughts on other things. He allowed the physical to take command and escaped inside where memories and dreams were alive.
Her name was Starlight and she appeared as none before his eyes. She was everything he wished, everything he desired and he would give his life for hers though she knew him not.
He had seen her but once, chained, manacled and fell into infatuation. She was a slave among his kind, one without hopes, without dreams and absent a future. He was determined to change her outcome. If it cost him his life, so be it. He would try, let Lady Death determine his fate and play her hand the way she desired.
Starlight had been captured from a rival faction, one which lost a battle and thus the right to hold their clan intact. Their kind had always lived that way and he thought nothing of the service. He knew the risks, weighed the options and made his choice. She would be his or he would be no more.
The answer had come from Slicer, his commander in the Silent Guild, and he volunteered before the option was given. A ransom of gold in exchange for a soul. He would have his bride and share her life if he took one from another. He readily agreed and started his preparations.
The beginning and end were not difficult. It was the intermediary, the middle part, which held the most danger. He solved it as he had hundreds of others; through observation. The guards on the walls were ever vigilant, ever watchful of the interior courtyard while maintaining eyes on the outside enemy. The Giant in the yard would also keep watch. From gate to tower would be the challenge. He thrived on challenges.
The answer came in the form of color; the stones which made up the fortification. He spent a full day on its design, continually rubbing chalk from rubble surrounding the castle until the cloak held no even pattern, nothing to suggest uniformity, because the eye was always drawn to characteristics of intelligent design.
His mind was still on Starlight when he first felt the wall. The shedding of old and donning of new would need to occur simultaneously yet without visual movement. It took over an hour to adorn the stone-colored cloak and replace, from head to toe, the dusty-dirt colored one he’d worn while laying prone in front of the gate. He could not wear one over the other, the chance a slip of material becoming seen too great. They had hidden in the dirt while the Ogres were trading stones with the Giant inside. The price of success was counted with the dead who had been crushed by rock or hoof.
He was on the wall and made a decision. The Giant was huge, the largest he’d ever seen, but it held the same basic design flaws everyone inherited; its attention would ever be drawn to movement. The soldiers on the wall, no matter how hard they tried, were in constant motion. The Giant’s eyes would scan upward so he chose to remain near the bottom.
Using the spaces between the stones he dug finger-holds and began inching his way across the wall. He would traverse the courtyard and reach the tower which held his goal, his victim, his beloved’s sacrifice. He’d estimated time, distance and the defensive measures taken to prevent one of his kind from attempting what he would accomplish. The torches were lit while he was halfway across and he knew he’d chosen correctly.
The courtyard had been swept clean, a necessary precaution to detect outsiders entering the castle proper. Nothing had been missed, nothing left out of place, nothing for an assassin to hide behind. It wouldn’t matter. Death’s hand dealt the cards and his love would live at the expense of another. The Giant was the key.
He could feel the behemoth, sense its presence while he used its visage to further his gain. He’d crossed the wall, moved to ground and used what was provided for cover. Once again, he donned the dust-dirt cloak and inched his way across the yard in the shadow of the Giant. A shadow formed from the flame of the torch behind the enormous being.
He had time because the attack had given him so. They’d chosen dusk, just as the sun set, so he held it in abundance. He would need it all. The tower was the last hurdle. At the top, guarded on the inside by servants lay the answer to his dreams, the solution to his problem, his meaning for life. Kill her and Starlight would live free. He would take the outside route.
Six hours passed as he traveled a distance all could cover in a minute. As he inched up the tower exterior he shed the dust-dirt cloak, leaving it behind, invisible in the darkness, blended perfectly with the courtyard material. He wore only the stone-colored cloth, meters away from the monster who could hurl boulders with ease. He had four hours of darkness and felt time slipping away but still held his progress true. He could make his mark and live to see her beauty but only if none saw his passage. He allowed his body to again control its own as he returned to the place of memories.
He had been tested at an early age, all were, for his was the ultimate sacrifice in their society; a place of honor which held prestige without acknowledgement. The Assassins Guild had achieved immortality and fame through stealth, secrecy and efficient if sometimes breathtaking cruelty. Few knew when they first began but those who rose through their ranks were reared the same. Stealth, cunning, patience and expertise in death’s deliverance were practiced by all, learned by some, employed by fewer less. Those who failed to master the craft were left behind, cut down by those who did. He had achieved what so many had not. He was a master, an assassin, death.
The turning moment had come as he stalked another, one of his own, who had displeased the elders of his kind. He was in the darkness, unseen, unheard, a shadow within the shadows. The marketplace was full of activity as she was brought forth and put on display for those who favored subjugation of others. His breath caught as she raised her head to stare defiantly at any who would tame her. She was an intoxication, something he hadn’t known to exist and his will was almost broken. It hadn’t been for long. She was purchased after a frenzy of bidding had risen her price to that of an empress. In order to free her he would need that of an empire. He vowed it would be so. His vow had become reality. Mother Nature’s life was precious indeed.
He was at the top, holding on by fingertips as he reached the edge. He had two windows to choose from and chose the left, the one further from the bed. He moved with the same steady and slow rhythm but his heart began to beat faster. His answer was in sight. She lay asleep, oblivious to the danger, unaware her life would allow two to become one. He was at the threshold and moved inside, intent on finishing the deed, resolute on freeing his love.
He held only one weapon because invisibility was more important than offensive tools. He’d been trained to employ anything to perform the task so unnecessary equipment was discarded in favor of silence. He was there. He was ready. Death had played her hand and he held the high
card. He moved as a shadow along the back wall until he stood beside the bed. He looked down and agreed; she was indeed a most beautiful of creatures. He pulled the knife and prepared to set his future free. As the blade appeared he saw an omen shine off the polished steel. He looked up with wonder at the starlight which beamed through the window. It was his last thought; the remembrance of his love which was on his mind as the light was terminated, cut off by the arrow which flew through the opening and ended his life.
Hawkeye lowered the bow and stood still. He was on the wall, keeping an eye inward while all others faced enemies outside. He’d waited and worried his plan would fail but saw no other way. He was somewhat amazed the man had been able to reach the room without detection but not surprised; the Assassins Guild was legendary in ability.
Gaia Nature rose from the bed and looked upon the man who tried to end her life. She felt pity for the being. All life was sacred and those who took it were forfeit yet, still, she held sympathy in her heart. As she lowered a cloth to cover the body she took solace the man appeared at ease. On his face was the last expression he held, the last he would ever hold; a slight smile as if remembering a very pleasant dream.