Brotherhood of Harmony

by Sicarex

II

A brief journey brought me back to the Crystal Assassin bureau a few miles from the border with Equestria. The unassuming building took the appearance of a normal travellers’ lodge, however it also served as one of the bases of operations for the Assassin Order in the Crystal Empire. A small wooden sign on the front porch advertised “vacancy” in white letters, a code meaning there were no non-Assassin patrons currently staying and we could conduct our business anywhere on the premises.

I entered the foyer where a small bell above the door announced my arrival.

The pony at the front desk, a Crystal mare by the name of Renida, maintained an appearance of boredom, resting her head on her forehoof and rolling a pencil across her desk. Upon seeing me, she immediately perked up. I noticed her pink coat and turquoise mane regain some of their luster and her pupils dilated.

“Oh, hello Equeir, how did your mission go?” she asked.

“It was a resounding success. Another of Sombra’s lieutenants has joined his victims in the afterlife.” I replied, removing my hood and exposing my brown mane.

"Did you happen to save any of the prisoners?"

"No, should I have?"

Her mood immediately sank. "It's just, well, one of them was my friend. His wife and daughter have been hiding with us since he was arrested and I was hoping they could flee to Equestria as a family."

I stepped over and laid a hoof on her shoulder. I stared into her eyes for a few seconds and realized they were moistening.

She's going to cry, isn't she. I thought.

My fears were confirmed when she hugged me and cried into my robes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know they were so important to you. But I had a job to do, and saving their lives may have jeopardized the mission."

She continued sobbing into my robe for a few minutes while I just stood there and hoped she'd cry herself out sooner rather than later.

The war had taken a toll on all its participants, myself included. My own parents perished at the hands of King Sombra during his original coup d'etah some years prior. Whereas I channeled my pain and rage into a sworn vengeance on my parents' killer, others apparently preferred to waste both time and body fluids crying their pain away -- all only for temporary relief.

I held Renida at arms length.

"Listen, I have to report to the Mentor, can you please keep your post here?"

She nodded, sniffling.

"Thank you."

I trotted up the stairs to the large attic, where I was greeted by over a dozen of my brothers and sisters in the Creed. They were conversing around a large, circular table on which lay a detailed map of the Crystal Empire and some of the lands beyond. It appeared almost the whole Crystal Assassin Bureau was congregated in this one room.

"Greetings Equeir," said a grey unicorn, "we trust your mission was a success."

I held up the bloody feather with a smirk. "Like you even have to ask."

"I wasn't," he replied, "Mentor thinks highly of you and so do we."

"Then I've lived up to your expectations. Now why are we all here? I thought it was too dangerous for us to be in the same place at once."

"Because I must inform you all at once for the next stage of our undertaking to progress." Said Mentor, sneaking up behind me and startling the less experienced assassins in the room.

The years had not been kind to the unicorn Didascus, Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood. His hair was a greying brown and his coat may once have been a vibrant black but was now wrinkled and fading. A scar ran over his blind right eye, adding to his already menacing appearance. His age gave him a short, white beard, yet most of his body was obscured by a long, dark cloak. I knew very little about his past, though he was once a great assassin such as myself. Perhaps it was the desire to relive his old successes that led him to personally oversee the campaign against King Sombra.

We all acknowledged his presence by putting a hoof to our chests and giving a quick nod in his direction: the Assassin Salute.

He strode to the table, where I respectfully stepped aside. "As you all know, I have kept you in the dark concerning overall plans; only telling you what you needed to know, when you needed to know it. This guaranteed that, if captured, you would not compromise the Brotherhood or its allies. Your missions have purposefully been made to seem random and uncoordinated and mislead the enemy as to our specific goals. Now, however, the time has come to strike a heavy blow to King Sombra.

"For the past few years, we have been subverting the imperial administration through sabotage and strategic killings. Now, the plan may finally advance. We have at least two days before King Sombra selects a replacement for Consector, and in that time his military will be left in disarray. While we can use this chance to further damage the imperial military, we have neither the resources nor the manpower to realistically bring down Sombra's regime. Thus, I have surmised we need direct support from another kingdom, and I know just how to get it."

He used his magic to level a pointer at a small clump of buildings by the northeast border.

"My contact in Sombra's foreign affairs recently divulged the expected route of a diplomatic envoy from the Griffon Empire. While they will be flying most of the way, they will make a rest stop at this village in several days. As you know, griffons take diplomatic immunity very seriously, and we can use this to our advantage."

He looked up and scanned the room, seemingly scrutinizing everypony present before his eyes landed on me. I tensed, his gaze always had an intimidating aura to it. He apparently noticed as he smirked before turning back to the rest of the bureau.

"Equeir and two other Assassins will disguise themselves in captured imperial armor and ambush the convoy when it lands. At least one of the griffons must be allowed to escape, however, as to inform his liege of King Sombra's treachery. When they learn of their diplomat's murder, the only course of action remaining will be war with the perpetrator of the crime, which is why it is imperative that we make it look like Imperial soldiers did it. Should all go well, the Griffon Empire will invade the Crystal Empire in retaliation, and we will have the perfect chance to kill King Sombra himself. With him gone, the Crystal Empire will be one step closer to freedom."

Some of the gathered Assassins murmured among themselves, citing optimistically that this could be the beginning of the end for Sombra. Although, others were more skeptical.

"Mentor, you say that King Sombra's death will be the end of the Crystal ponies' suffering, but what about the Griffon army? Surely they will not abandon a defenseless land solely because they completed their stated cause."

"An excellent point, why would the prideful griffons abandon hard-won land only because King Sombra is dead? The answer is: they won't, but I guarantee they will be easier to deal with than Sombra. As a foreign power invading a now peaceful nation, the lack of a good cause will degrade their purpose and all we have to do is make it too costly for them to stay, and considering what we've done to Sombra, that should not be too hard. Any other questions?"

I asked, "Mentor, I am honored that you have chosen me to set off your endgame, but surely King Sombra is no fool and will anticipate an attack on the envoy. How do you intend to curb his attention?"

"An excellent point you bring up, Equeir, which is why only three of us will carry out the attack. The rest of us, myself included, will distract imperial forces with a series of sabotages across the Empire over the next few days. Combined with the loss of its top officer, not even Sombra's military will have the strength to protect all our targets at once. Any other questions?"

"If I may, Mentor," began a light green unicorn stallion with a blue mane, "why is it Equeir who will execute the primary objective? Why not Clinodius, or Saggitarius, or me for that matter?"

"Do you not trust my judgement, Pausanias? I chose Equeir because he is the most skilled and has never failed a mission before. Besides, he will not be doing it alone. I have chosen Sagittarius and Caldan to accompany him."

"Mentor, I respect your decision, but I would like to choose my own team." I stated.

"You should better trust my judgement, Equeir. I may have put you in charge of this mission because of your exceptional track record, but the past is no guarantee for the future. Sagittarius and Caldan are already waiting for you at the village, although you will have to tell them about the plan yourself. And keep in mind..."

He stepped right into my face. I could feel his steel gaze boring into my skull, and his breath scraped my muzzle. I internally scrunched, yet externally I held firm and showed no fear, just as I had been taught.

"I am entrusting you to set into motion the beginning of the end, don't make me regret it."

I nodded.

"Good."

He turned to the rest of the gathered Assassins.

"As for the rest of you, let's get to work."

Author's Note:

It may seem like I am posting this several months after the first chapter, but Chapter 1's posting date is erroneous. I technically added it to the site on 25 July, 2015, but I didn't make it public until 30 November. As the final product you have seen is almost unrecognizable from its original, I believe the word count is also off. Nevertheless, I have a head-start on Chapter 3, which will be my first attempt at writing legitimate combat (the last chapter was an escape, not a fight).

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

If Equeir Alahad was voiced, what would he sound like? (I'm not quite sure if Edward Kenway had a voice)

[Sicarex]

7332580 I personally consider Equeir to sound like Altair (hence the name). Or, to be more specific, Altair from the original Assassin's Creed and not from the Revelations flashbacks or any other representations.