The Journey of Catbriar: Chapter One Origins

The rain pelted his face like an angry mob throwing stones. He never flinched, not tonight. The moon masked itself behind clouds of fury, while the thunder and lightning reigned supreme. Of all of the packages to deliver in all of Allukra, he was given this one. He did not ask for this, nor did he want it. He knew the risks involved, and he initially turned down the offer. The rewards however were too great to pass up. He would finally be given lands and titles, along with riches. Jewels, silver and gold were his prize. More money than the poor farmer had ever seen before in his life. His job was to deliver the package to the Assassin’s Guild in the City of the Kings. There he would collect his wealth and make his way back home. He had just been passing through Reign’s Reach and stopped at the castle to seek shelter from the storms. It had been raining for the last five days and was showing no signs of slowing down. The storms grew more and more severe. “Punishment from the Gods.” He said. “Someone has done something very wrong to have this sort of wrath set upon the earth.” His deep gravely voice was growing weary due to his lack of water. But the man in the tan tunic and black cloak ventured on. He reached the RavenKing Bridge to find it abandoned of its usual quartet of guards. “Something is wrong.” The man said under his breath. He turned to the guards’ hut and peered through the window. A fire was lit and there was a stew boiling over it. There were no guards though. He walked to the door just feet from where he was standing and let himself in. Inside the man found a wineskin. He uncorked it and began to drink quickly. Then he grabbed a bowl from the table and helped himself to some of the stew. After devouring the piping hot meal, the man looked down at the bulge under his tunic and cloak and said, “He may have doomed the world this night, but Zehan has blessed us little one.” He stood from his seat at the table and made his way back out into the night.

After half a days travel, the man made it to the City of the Kings. He reached the steps of the Assassin’s Guild and pounded on the door. After a short moment of waiting the door unlatched and standing in the opening was a man of medium build, wearing all black from head to toe. “May I help you?” the Assassin said. The courier was taken aback. He had never seen an assassin before. That is a good thing, he though. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “Hurry up with you, I haven’t got all day.” Said the man in black. “I…I have a delivery for the Grand Master of the Poison Dagger.” The courier was scared. More scared than he had ever been before, and with good reason as well. When someone came across an assassin, they usually didn’t come back. That meant they had done something wrong. “State your business with the Grand Master and make it fast.” Demanded the Assassin. The man looked down toward the ground, and all of the mud that was engulfing his feet. “I have a package to deliver. It is from the King and Queen of Reign’s Reach and I am here to collect my payment for said package as well.” Still standing in the doorway, the man dressed in all black said, “Yes, we knew you were coming. Word arrived just before sundown that you were bringing the Grand Master’s,” he paused for a moment, “weapon.” The assassin stepped away from the door and motioned the courier in to the guild. He heard the door shut and latch behind him. I wonder if I’ll ever make it out of here alive. Thought the man. Once inside the dimly lit foyer, the deliverer kept his eyes forward and refused to look at anything else except the one leading him to the Grand Master’s chambers.

At the end of a small hallway lined with swords, shields, and daggers was the door that held the Grand Master. The assassin knocked four times, paused, and then knocked three more times. “You may enter Assassin X.” a voice said from the other side of the door. The man dressed in black, referred to now as Assassin X opened the door and then stepped aside to allow the package handler to pass the threshold. Once inside, the man felt a lump in his throat as he heard this door shut and latch. The chamber for a Grand Master was not what he had envisioned at all. It was not extravagant, or finely decorated. Instead it was a well lit room, with many daggers and paintings hanging on each wall. There were two seating cushions up against the far wall, and a small table that had one incense burner on top. The smell of the incense burned the man’s nose, but it was better than the pigs and cows back on the farm. Standing in front of a workbench on the right side of the room was a small man. Like the assassin before him, this man was wearing all black, and had his back to the courier. “I trust that you had no troubles at the RavenKing Bridge?” said the man in a slightly high pitched voice. “I…uh, no. No troubles at all sir.” Said the man. “And the stew was it tasty?” the assassin said. How did he know I had some stew? Were they watching me the entire time? “Yes it was very good. It gave me the strength I needed to finish my trek here.” The man in the tan tunic replied. “Please, have a seat.” The assassin motioned to the cushions up against the back wall, and then made his way over to sit across from his guest. Cradling the package under his cloak and tunic, the deliverer said, “The man who let me in, he was very trusting of me. He is an assassin is he not? I did not think your lot was so trusting of strangers.” The Grand Master released a high pitch cackle that made the courier jump in fright. “Assassin X knew you were coming. He was the one who dispensed the guards at the RavenKing Bridge, and the one who prepared your meal tonight.” The Master Assassin calmed his laughter and looked the courier in the eye and said seriously, “And now Assassin X has something else to take care of. Another situation that calls for his expertise in arrangement.” The guest swallowed hard, knowing that Assassin X was off to kill someone else this night. “Now,” said the man in black, “let me see my weapon.” The courier removed his cloak and began to button down his rain soaked tunic when, BOOM! The wood all around them splintered. A hundred different voices began yelling and screaming. Some shouted in a triumphant voice and others in fear. “It is the White Knights!” yelled the Grand Master. “A rival guild that is hell bent on destroying the Poison Daggers!” The assassin threw the cushion he was just sitting on aside to reveal a trap door. “Grab your cloak and get in. There is a tunnel that will lead you into the forest just outside of the city. Wait for me there until midday, if I haven’t made it to you by then, go home. And do take care of my weapon!” The courier grabbed his cloak and jumped through the trap door and began to run as fast as he could. He could hear the cushion get thrown back into place and then heard the Grand Master assassin shouting words that he could not understand. The man ran a couple thousand paces and heard the fighting from the assassin’s guild every step of the way. He then emerged out of the trunk of a tree covered by a foliage blanket. Now the only thing left was the wait. The rain continued to pound the man, but he never wavered. He waited until the sun rose up over the horizon signaling daybreak. It was now daylight, but the sun remained hidden behind all of the storm clouds that stuck around for seemingly another day. The assassin still had not shown. Even as midday neared, there was still no sign of the Grand Master Assassin. The man stood up and began walking out of the forest, following the sun that began making its decent behind the clouds. Home was close by, and he could not wait to show his wife what he had now been given to take care of. At the edge of the forest was a stable housing many horses. The door to the stable house opened and in the doorway stood Assassin X. “Come here courier. I have something for you.” The man reluctantly made his way to the door of the house, and then entered. “It is unfortunate,” the assassin said, “that you are now charged to care for the Grand Master’s weapon. But he gave it to you, it is now yours. See to it that no harm ever befall it.” Assassin X walked over to a chest on the west side of the room, opened it and removed a large satchel that was full to the opening. “Part of your payment.” Said the assassin. “The rest is on a horse’s saddlebags out in the stables. You will never have the need of money again, and there will be enough to take very good care of the weapon.” He then walked back over toward the door and motioned for the man to exit. The courier took the large satchel and his leave and found the horse in the stables. The saddlebags, as well as the satchel were filled with jewels and gold. It would be more than enough to do what he needed to do. The man climbed onto the horse’s back and rode off to the west.

After a two day ride, the man made it to Ohmanry Star. A small village nestled deep in the valley that lay between the peaks of Ohmanry Glen. The storms had finally passed. A sign that Zehan was satisfied with his punishment that he was dealing to the land. The sun began cresting the morning sky, and Ohmanry Star was still asleep. He stopped in front of a very small farm house and dismounted from his traveling companion. He then removed the satchel and saddlebags, and dragged them into the house. Inside, he rested the heavy bags up against the wall and looked to the small bed across the room. A woman began stirring at the sound of the clinking jewels and coins inside the bags. He turned and closed the door, then latched it. He walked over to the bed as the woman opened her eyes. She spotted him, and flung her eyes open the rest of the way. She sprang from the bed and ran over to him. They embraced tightly, and then almost immediately she pulled back as a small crying sound began to come from inside the man’s tunic. “Jianos, what is that under your tunic? Is that crying?” the woman said. Jianos began removing his cloak and tunic and said, “Athah, it is crying. And truth be told, this is the first time the little darling has cried in almost six days.” He revealed a small baby from under his tunic and presented it to his wife. “Jianos, how? I mean where did it come from?” Athah took the baby from her husband and began cradling it against her bosom. “Well, it’s a long story my love.” Jianos said, “But to make it rather short she, not it, was a mar against a royal family. Apparently the Queen of Reign’s Reach had an affair with her hand to hand combat instructor. And this is the result of their adultery.” “Then how did you come to get her Jianos?” asked Athah. “I was traveling home from the Reign Marketplace, the rain was so bad that I could barely see five paces in front of me. I stumbled upon the castle and asked to stay until the storms passed. I was then offered to take the baby to the City of the Kings, and a handsome reward.” He said, pointing to the bags resting up against the wall. Athah went to a small cupboard and produced a jar of milk, then began feeding the child. “So why did you not leave her at the City then Jianos?” He started changing out of his wet clothes and putting on dry ones and said, “The place I was to deliver her to fell under attack. I made it out of there with only my life and hers. I was then charged to take care of her. Then we were handsomely rewarded for doing so.” He walked over to the fireplace and threw some wood onto it and began poking at the wood with an iron rod to try to stoke the fire. Athah sat down on the bed and continued feeding the child. “Should we give her a name Jianos?” she said. “The messenger that handed her to me,” he replied, “told me her name was Saphira. But I do not think that is a fitting name for an Ohmanryte, do you Athah?” She looked down at the baby girl and gazed into her sea blue colored eyes and said, “Saphira does fit her, but does not fit this land.” The husband and wife spoke at great lengths about the name of the child until sundown, and still had not come up with a name. Finally nearing mid night, the two had decided what the child should be called. Crouching on a small cliff looking down upon Ohmanry Star was Assassin X. “I’ll see you soon, Catbriar.”