23 Jan 2009 at 20:27 - 2
Nathaniel W-
Nathaniel never knew his father, an Elonian Dervish, his mother was a Kurzick noblewoman. She trained him in the ways of the Assassin as soon as he was able to wield a pair of daggers. By the age of eight he had stumbled upon a hidden library, in the huge fortress in the Echovald Forest. In the library there were various books on Assassin fighting styles and spells. And two piles of shimmering jade stones.
He made the stones into a necklace, amazed by their beauty and became engrossed in the books.
He began to teach himself in secret, while his mother taught him her fighting style. He found a style, in an ancient tome, known as Whirling Dragon, and practiced it until he was almost a master, at the age of fourteen. When his mother decided she had taught him enough she sent him to Shing Jea Monastery. He packed as many books as he could before leaving for the Island.
When his mother sent him to the Monastery he was wearing red, which symbolized how well he had mastered the art. Even he did not believe he would return in black..
He quickly made friends and enemies at the Monastery. Not many of his peers liked his dark, cold attitude and the fact he was easily one of the best fighters at the Monastery. He met Emi and Chiyo after a group of Warriors attacked him near Haiju Lagoon, where he was reading about Shadow Stepping. Nathaniel was holding his own but Emi and Chiyo, along with Mhenlo appeared and stepped in to help the Assassin. The four quickly defeated the gang of Warriors and he became friends with the three.
A year later they left and pursued their dreams of becoming Weh No Su, and Mhenlo returned to his home, leaving Nathan alone again.
Over the next year he met with the Tengu of Aerie when Talon was attacked by a group of Sensali, even Talon felt a great deal of great gratitude towards the human after he assisted and the human and Tengu fought off the Sensali scum, as equals and the Tengu introduced his new friend to Soar Honourclaw. Nathaniel began living with the Angchu when the bullying became so bad that he couldn't defend himself against the many people who had become his enemies.
One day, a few months into his second year he simply snapped when the same group of Warriors he'd fought with Emi, Chiyo and Mhenlo, and their friends attacked Aerie. After the battle he left, vowing to become Weh No Su. He met up with the sisters and they quickly located the Oracle.
When he stepped through the portal the necklace he still wore began to glow and exploded into a mass of sparks and jade dust. He was thrown backwards and when he opened his eyes, his black robes torn from the impact of striking the wall and the splinters piercing his skin, the necklace was gone and a pair of daggers made of pieces of jade, most not even connecting, were lying beside him. Even though they seemed blunt he could tell the blades were deadly and welcomed his new allies willingly..
After a huge battle Nathan overcame the Celestials and his new quest was complete. "That.. Style.. Shiro the Betrayer fought the same way," Suun whispered as Nathan reappeared from the portals and walked towards his friends, gasping for breath. His clothes still slightly on fire and blood flowing from several wounds.. He should have asked for help. The Assassin collapsed.
He awoke, two weeks later to the news his mother had been slain by Luxons who had began an invasion. "We are Canthan.. We will help you defeat your mother's killers but we will not declare war upon the Luxons.." Emi said.
"Thank you.." Nathaniel answered, standing and spinning the new, beautiful, deadly daggers in his hands.
He was to meet Danika and Lukas, old acquaintances in Cavalon, dressed as travellers.
He didn’t really want the head strong Lukas to come but agreed when he realized that the Vasburgs had ordered him to assist Nathaniel.
He nodded and Emi and Chiyo followed him past the rows of huts. "Danika," He whispered as the two groups met.
"The killers were part of a Luxon Guild, the Bladed Serpents. I've set up a meeting place at their guild hall, we are new recruits with little combat skill. The have laid patches of spiked coral around the paths so we'll have to defeat them as soon as we find them," Danika said, the rest of the group could sense her uneasiness.
Nathaniel nodded. A few days' travelling later they entered the guild hall through a wall of jade with a small incision, which would force attackers to enter one by one. Their weapons were concealed in long black cloaks.
Entering the room where the three men stood Nathan pulled his daggers from under the cloak. He dodged an arrow and the daggers shattered, forming bracelets around his wrist, something he was very happy with because if he had to change weapon or grab something he wouldn't have to drop the daggers.
They made their way through the guild hall and reached the centre, seeing the leader and two officers the group charged, heartened by a Vasburg battle cry. Nathaniel hid in the doorway and pushed his friends back as the gate closed, locking him in and them out. Nathan chuckled, darkly and pulled a bow from his back, checking his allies were safe, began to fire at the roof where men were trying to fill him with arrows.
Outside the others were surrounded but were easily winning. The Archers had all fallen and Nathan nodded as the Elementalist sent a bolt of lightning towards him. The only woman of the three pointed and a crane charged at him, and the Warrior, and leader shouted, "FOR GREAT JUSTICE!" The axe shattered into the doorway where Nathan had been standing, half a second before. He smiled as he appeared in mid air and dodged a bolt of lightning then Shadow Stepped again. His blades flashed and the Elementalist fell, the Ranger blocked two attacks with her bow.
He gasped as the crane jabbed it's beak into his back. The wound was deep but Nathan recovered and the Ranger fell, unable to dodge the merciless blows. The crane stood, looking dazed, then took off into the air.
Nathan blocked the heavy axe then countered, his blade met a shield and he dodged the second attack and smiled, darkly. He whispered a few words and the opponent was thrown to the ground, and poison began to seep through his vains. He cast a Hex, his favourite spell, Seeping Wound, then began the assault. The poison was weakening the man but he was still strong. The two men were both suffering from the battle and were Nathaniel was running out of ideas, this man truly was a Bladed Serpent, sneaky and dangerous.
"FOR MOTHER! FOR THE KURZICKS! FOR CANTHA!" Nathan roared, charging again. One of his blades met the shield again, he dodged the axe and the other blade passed through the man's neck, leaving a bright red slit, then small beads of blood bubbled at the top. Nathan landed in front of the man,"I have avenged you. I hope I never have to raise these blades in anger again."
The man’s body began to twitch and a huge, bulbous, horrible creature grew from his body. "What are you?" Nathan sounded morbidly interested, not scared. The creature roared as four spirits surrounded it and it died quickly.
"This creature.. I wish to go warn Master Togo.." He said, making a quick sketch of it on parchment.
His premonition was right.
Shing Jea had already been hit badly, by the Affliction..
In the next few years he slew a powerful Lich Lord with the help of several allies and defeated Shiro Tagachi to avenge Master Togo.
When the source of these two Demons became clear he traveled to Elona to slay a God, and returned victorious.
When he slew Abaddon he had out-grown the loose black robes he wore, and had the Order of Whispers, whom he’d allied with during the last battle, forge him a set of armour that would allow him to ‘sense’ Demons the way the Master and high-ranking Order of Whispers men did.
By this time he was a twenty year old man and a powerful Assassin. He roamed the world, slaying Demons and saving humans and creatures alike. He fought against Corsairs with the Sunspears, assisted the Order of Whispers in the dispatching of more powerful Demons, slew Titans with Adelbern, fought against any stray Mursaat who had escaped the Titans wrath, and the remaining White Mantle with the Shining Blade, another war in which he’d lost another ally, and defeated Plague Creatures with the Kurzicks, Luxons and Canthans.
He made many friends and revisited older ones, joining an old friends’ guild, becoming an officer to recruit and train his guild members.
Then, one day, as he hunted a group of Am Fah who were attempting to revive Plague Creatures, he felt a shiver of malice nearby. He followed the faint trace to a meeting with several Canthan officials in a tower near Raisu Pavilion.
“So it is decided.. To rule Cantha the Emperor must be slain. If we are to create a perfect equilibrium and rule over the entire world,” The first words Nathaniel heard as he reached the tower.
Then the men, he could see six of them, all wearing ash-grey robes, began to chant, “Treyz arih likret zemme,” They repeated this several times and a Demon appeared, huge, roaring and obviously pure evil. A Torment Creature!? Did Abaddon live yet!?
The creature was a dull grey in colour, but had a thin, still dripping, layer of deep red blood covering it’s rough, stony body.
Nathaniel quickly weighed his options. He had to act now! Stepping into sight the Demon roared and lifted a clawed arm which it pointed directly at him and the men in the robes drew their weapons.
The Demon faded into nothingness and a small troupe of Canthan guards appeared, obviously alerted by one of the Minsters, “He plots to kill the Emperor!” One of the men shouted, “He must be stopped!”
The Demon appeared behind him and slashed, it’s fist slamming into the ground, missing Nathaniel by inches.
“He summons a Demon born from the very pits of the Underworld! Defeat him!”
“Just slightly melodramatic,” Nathaniel whispered, fading into the night.
He was running through dark streets, Canthan guards following him, just minutes away. Suddenly a sharp pain flared through his chest and he screamed. What had happened? It hurt to move. Had the Demon done this to him!? He had to escape. This couldn’t be his end.
Then there was a flash of light and several spirits appeared around him and he felt a warm presence, “M-Master Togo! It cannot be!” he whispered, succumbing to the pain.
He awoke in small hut, warm and sweaty, he felt sick and the pain hadn’t ceased. A girl stepped into the hut, smiling, a farmer, he noted, from her clothes, “You’re awake! He said you’d waken soon!”
She had long, reddish-brown hair, swept back behind her ears and pale, porcelain skin. His daggers, which had become bracelets around his wrists reformed and he jumped up, falling into a stance. Then the memories came rushing back, the daggers shattered again and his sharp eyes roved around the room. His armour was lying on the floor. The girl was very beautiful, he realised, suddenly, his gaze meeting her piercing blue eyes. She was still smiling, broadly, making her beauty all the more extravagant.
"I am Billi, Ritualist extraordinaire!" She proclaimed, still smiling, "Master Togo asked me to look after you.."
"Wait.. Hold on.. How.. How long was I asleep?" He frowned, slipping into his arm with no difficulty.
"A week, or so," She said, quieting.
"A week!? What? But the.. Emperor..?!"
"Is alive. Togo and the Envoys are helping him survive, but, in this last week Cantha has changed, so much.. Disease has hit Shing Jea and the island is under quarantine.. But, we're safe here. Don't worry," She said, her face becoming slightly more serious, "Demons slay any who come close and the rest of Cantha is under their control," Billi whispered, sadly.
"But..?" The leader of his guild was in Cantha, the woman he'd loved for so many years.. Anita. He sighed, and turned, "We must return to the Canthan mainland."
"No! Togo told me to keep you here and wait.." Billi said, raising her voice and stretching her arms to block the doorway, "If you go out there the Bounty Hunters will be all over you. They're saying you're trying to assassinate Kisu! Guilds have been outlawed and the Demons rule, now. Your guild leader has been informed and many guilds have become rebellious. The Order of Whispers has become involved after Togo requested their help. He really was an amazing man, even in death he is slowly saving Cantha," She said, dreamily, her eyes filling with tears which she quickly wiped away.
Nathaniel sighed with exasperation and sat down on the bed crossing his arms. He stood up again, "Am I under house arrest or...?"
"No, no, be my guest," She smiled, slipping through the threshold in a lithe movement and disappearing into the morning sunlight. A cool breeze whipped his hair about his face and cooled his skin. The searing pain was slowly disappearing, which was, of course, good.
~I'll add pictures for this one when I can get my Rit friend on. Though, I'll still write more~
