680 words so far
If I continue along this path, it might end up becoming the longest of them.. We’ll see^^
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If He Only Knew
Altaïr Ibn-la’Ahad
Altaïr was the man almost everybody loved to hate and hated to love. The best of his brothers in fighting and a smart man as well, all the others - assassins as well as novices - envied him.
He grew up as their master’s favorite; always being the one to demonstrate towards the others in battle. He was the most loyal, the most trusted man in the group and became a full-fledge Assassin before others his age, like Malik.
But he began asking questions as to why the Order was the way it was, and Al Mualim was scared he might find out the truth, because even though he was loyal and trustworthy, Al Mualim wanted the power of the Apple of Eden for himself. So when he found the location of it, he sent out Altaïr, Malik and Kadar to fetch it, hoping the Eagle of Masyaf would return alone with the Apple, leaving Malik and his brother behind to die. It almost happened to. But Al Mualim underestimated Malik’s potential and Altaïr’s arrogance.
Instead of abiding the Creed as Malik asked him, he chose to expose himself, and therefor Malik and Kadar, almost failing his most important mission to date.
And even though Al Mualim was disappointed Altaïr did not manage the task, he was, in his own, twisted way, glad Malik survived to bring him the Apple.
And it gave him the chance he needed to make Altaïr obedient and to get Malik away from the stronghold, before he too asked questions. He would have to kill Malik if he did.
Altaïr was “killed” and then resurrected, got stripped of his rank, made a novice once more and ordered to take the lives of nine men in order to pay the debt he now owned his master.
Malik was gloating. He righteously blamed Altaïr for his brother’s death as well as the loss of his own arm, but what they both failed to realize was that Malik was in the wrong as well, the blame was not Altaïr’s alone entirely. Months would pass before they would realize that.
Altaïr got three names, and was sent off to Damascus to deal with Tamir, Acre to deal with Garnier, and Jerusalem for Talal.
He started in Damascus, where the dai provided him with the locations he needed to collect information. He quickly did so, before returning and earning his feather. He then set off to deal with his target.
Careful as he was though, the bells still tolled, even after he had returned to the bureau; he fell asleep to the sound of it.
He returned to Masyaf and got promoted one rank as a token of what he had done.
The same procedure took place in Acre.
Then the Eagle took flight towards Jerusalem.
In the city, he found Malik in the bureau. The last words they uttered to eachother in the Temple rang in his head.
“Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. Understand these words. It matters not how we complete our task, only that it is done,” Altaïr had said
”But this is not the way of—” Malik began.
Altaïr cut him off: “My way is better.”
One would think Altaïr had learned from his previous mistakes, but this was not the case. He was surprised to say the least when he found that Malik was the dai, but acted towards him as he would have done towards any other dai, demanding information.
He did not understand why Malik was so mad at him; a part of his job was to provide information after all. He did not understand that it was because it was demanded, not requested of him.
Malik provided him with locations where he would find information, nothing more, nothing less. And so Altaïr disappeared with the flutter of wings from the pigeons and that of his robes.
He returned hours later, near sunset, with information. Malik deemed it barely enough to provide him a feather, but he had learned enough to take out his target.
