After returning to Princess Celestia from a simple assignment to dispose of a corrupt noble, I was given my second real mission. There was a small cult of gryphons who refused to let the ancient ways die, they would hunt ponies and eat them as a sacrifice to their old gods. I was tasked with removing their leader and eliminating as many of the cultists as I could. The information I was given was quite scarce; they were called The Cult of Artemis and their leader had taken the name Diana. Intending to build upon this small amount of knowledge, I began to search Canterlot.
The voice of the ponies was, as always, my friend. In certain sections of the city, I heard talk of this demented cult. All I could ascertain was that the cult had made its homes somewhere beneath the mountain, and that they sometimes used the sewers to travel unnoticed. This was all I needed to find the first of their sanctuaries.
I was searching through the sewers some months after my assignment began, having heard tell of an attack in the area. I found an odd looking gate over a hole in a wall, and so I bucked it open to find a tunnel leading deeper in to the mountain. I returned to the surface, informed the Royal Guard of where I would be, asked them to search for me if I did not return in two days, and gathered some food and water before following this tunnel. After an hour of walking, I found a gigantic cavern full of roughly carved tables and chairs. There were three doors leading out of this room, and I heard voices from the left most of these passages, along with the faint echo of music.
Slipping my small saddlebags off and leaving them hidden in the cavern, I stole my way down that passage until I found the source of the voices. Two gryphons were seated at a table, eating what used to be a ponies hind leg. Thankful that I had thought to bring my throwing knives, I killed and searched them both. I found a short letter on one of their bodies, but it was in a code I did not know. I tucked the letter away in my robe before moving on, hoping the bodies would not be discovered until I had left.
The next thing I found made me question the sanity of entering this hell alone, as well as informing me of the source of the music that had taunted me throughout the system of caves. Another cavern, water dripping steadily from the ceiling as a large group of gryphons sang a prayer to their god. One gryphon had some sort of instrument in his claws, and he provided a basic instrumental. It was a terrifying sight; I was completely alone and vastly outnumbered. I fled the cavern, hoping to escape, but I was discovered. A cry came from the crowd of gryphons, and I was forced to fight for my life.
Lifetimes later, I crawled out of the sewer I had entered through. I was bleeding and one of my wings was broken, but I was alive. It took me hours to return to the palace, and months to recover from my wounds. The small bone daggers used by The Cult of Artemis were poisoned, and for the first weeks of this recovery I was delirious and raving. It was a miracle that I managed to survive; the doctors of the Royal Hospital believed I had three days at most to live when I was carried through their doors. When I was well enough to walk again, they expressed their belief that I was blessed by some higher power.
For my part, I credit my training. One does not become an Assassin without learning how to conquer death. I look back now, however, and I shudder. I was only seventeen years old, and it had nearly been my end.
Authors Notes
There will be five more chapters about the Cult of Artemis, each one a new sanctuary.