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// Chapter 3: Training Day 
// Story: Changelings and Assassins 
// by Delta 727 
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	And so my teachings began. Every day from sunrise to sunset, I trained. In fighting, in stealth, in running... In falling. But I learned much more than physical training. Vali also trained my mind. He taught me many of the physics and philosophies of the world. I found it mostly pointless, but soon it all came together. I learned the ways of the Creed. I learned the history of the Templars and the Assassins, and even learned about generating my surroundings just by my knowledge. And day by day, I became better. Stronger. Smarter. Deadlier. But even after a month of nonstop training, they did not think I was ready for my first kill. I was not too excited for it either, as Vali would say that the first kill is the one that crosses the line with no turning back.

Chrysalis had advanced well in her training. She would soon be ready for her first kill. But I made sure to continuously tell her that her first kill would not be pleasant. I have seen many men who would fall into emotional collapse from killing another man. I feared she would not be ready for such a thing. But I knew the day must eventually come.

So, at the beginning of her second month, I invited her, Seraffo, Bartello, and Mercina to the Grand Plaza. There would be several patrols passing through that day, and I found it an ideal time to teach her to use what she had learned in order to make her first kill. I wanted all of us to be there to help her escape. In order to spread leadership, I let Seraffo lead the attack.

After finding an ideal rooftop just on the edge of the Plaza, I began to map out the attack for Chrysalis, giving her fair warning of what she was about to do. I said, "We will watch over you from the rooftops. If too many of us are on the ground, guards will become suspicious. Try to remain as unnoticeable as possible. If you're spotted, they will pursue. We will be able to stop them, but it will take a long time to clear our names again." She cut in, saying, "So basically, do not get caught?" 

I chuckled. "That is a good way to put it. That, and make sure you live through this." I glanced back down at the Plaza. It was plenty populated, so Chrysalis would be able to easily sneak in unnoticed. I pointed this out to her. "Try to blend with the crowd. Don't make any movements that will make you stand out, such as running. Walk carefully, but have your eyes on all of your surroundings. Keep your head low. Let your hood cover only about half of your line of sight, or at least enough to block their heads from your view. It will be much harder for Templar guards to detect you if they cannot see your face. But do not kill the first person with a sword you see. The Janissaries are our allies, and are not to be killed. The easiest way to identify them is their green robes. Templars always wear red. That is a good way to remember the difference: Green, ally. Red, enemy. 

Plus, you will not just be killing a random Templar. This Templar has been harassing merchants in the Plaza for days. He can be identified by the gold scarf he wears around his neck, and by his aggressive behavior. Now, here is the tricky part. What to do when you approach and kill the guard. You can kill him whichever way you see fit, but it must be discreet. Your hidden blade or your dagger would be best. As soon as you make your kill, throw down one of your smoke bombs, and escape in the cover of the smoke. Blend back with the crowd, and make your way back to us so we can make our escape. Walk fast, but don't run, and climb quickly, because more guards will arrive soon. Use the chaos to your advantage. Kill, smoke, disappear. That is the difference between killing and assassinating. Do you understand all of this?"

When Seraffo had finally finished, I had a smug grin on my face. I nodded once to acknowledge that I understood. He then pointed out a small hay bale just a jump's length from us. "Perfect. I will see you all soon." I jumped from the rooftop, turned over to fall in on my back, and curled up when I landed, just as Vali had taught me. When I landed, I hesitated. I acted smug when I was with them, but inside, I was terrified. I had never killed before, but they made it perfectly clear that if I could not kill, I could not survive as an assassin. I could not quit. The Templars would kill me if I was an assassin or not.

As soon as Chrysalis landed in the hay bale, Bartello spoke up. "Are we sure she's ready for this? Especially being out there on her own?" I glanced sideways at him, then chuckled. "That worried about her, are we? She'll be fine, as long as she follows Seraffo's instruction." Bartello just looked back intently at the Plaza. I was worried myself, though. It was her first time being on her own. If she was spotted, she could be killed, or worse...

I pushed the thought away, only focusing on the actions of Chrysalis. If I doubted her on her first try, then I might never trust her. I took a deep breath, and gave a high-pitched whistle to signal Chrysalis to advance.

I heard Vali's whistle from the rooftop behind me,and knew it was a signal to get moving. I took another deep breath, and jumped from the hay bale. I was immediately swarmed by... "People", as Vali called them. It made it much more difficult to identify the target. I began to panic, unsure what to do. Then, I remembered a skill Vali had taught me some time back. To calm my mind. To focus. "Eagle Vision" he called it. He said it would help me to block out all other things except for what I wanted to find. And when I saw it, I would not miss it. I relaxed, steadying myself against the hay wagon, breathing in and out deeply and slowly, and closing my eyes. I kept thinking, "Gold scarf... Gold scarf...", and then, finally, opened my eyes.

Time had seemed to slow almost completely. The people around me seemed to barely be walking at all. But what I noticed the most is that all color had faded, and their shapes had blurred. I was staring at a seemingly endless sea of nothing but grey. And then I saw it.

The gold scarf.

The guard was only about thirty hoof steps to my right, at a merchant's stall. I began to slip through the crowd, closer to the guard. The merchant stall seemed to be selling ground spices. Large bags of them of all different colors were placed on the shelves of a small cart, and a few on the ground. The guard was holding a handful of black ground pepper, and the merchant seemed to be trying to explain something to the guard, continuously pointing at the pepper, as if explaining it. He was sweating profusely. The guard looked at him, and I heard an aggressive tone in his voice, but I did not hear what he said. The merchant suddenly became desperately defensive. The guard's hand suddenly flew in a half arch in front of him, tossing the pepper straight into the merchant's face. I gasped as the merchant began to scream in pain, holding his eyes and falling over into his cart, spilling several bags of peppers as he cursed the guard. The guard shook his hand toward the merchant, and two nearby guards picked up the merchant by his arms and dragged him off.

My hatred for that guard began to burn heavily inside me. This person deserved what I was about to do to him.

After witnessing the arrest of the merchant, Mercina spoke up. "She must absolutely despise that guard by now. It should take some of the fear off of her first kill." I responded, "Her hatred could cause her to make a mistake. If she doesn't control herself, she will not be able to focus enough to kill the guard cleanly."

As I became closer to the target, I flexed my right "wrist" and finally stepped up right behind the guard. Several thoughts began to run through my head. Am I really going to be able to kill him? Will there be a lot of blood? Would he die quickly? And did I actually hate him enough to kill him?

My thoughts were interrupted when something struck me across the face. I gasped out, and landed hard. I looked up from where I crouched to see the guard yelling something at me, but all I heard was ringing. I felt rage burning inside my chest, and my blade moved before I could think. The blade implanted itself through the bottom of his chin. The guard gasped out in pain, and then his face went blank. Blood seeped from his neck, bleeding down my gauntlet and sleeve. The sheer shock finally hit me, and I yanked the blade from the guard's body, pushing him away. He collided with the wagon, and fell to the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath him, his golden scarf now seeping with red. People all around me stared in shock, but I did not notice anything else past what I had just done. I felt myself shaking uncontrollably, and stared down at the gauntlets I was wearing, one of them covered in the guard's blood. Reality finally hit me.

Chrysalis had brutally made her first kill.

The Assassins and I all stared on in pure, awestruck silence. We had expected Chrysalis to aim for the guard's torso, but she had stabbed the guard in a place that would cause him to slowly and painfully bleed to death. We could all see that she was in pure horror. "Misera..." Bartello whispered "poor girl" in Latin. He was right. She must have been suffering deeply where she stood. But if she did not act soon, other guards would kill her where she stood. I threw one arm straight up in the air, pressed the trigger on my hidden gun, and my arm recoiled from the force as a loud shot rang out through the Plaza.

When I heard the noise from the rooftop, it was barely an echo in my ears, but I heard it. I snapped back to my senses, and realized several guards had surrounded me, yelling inaudible things at me through the panic. Soon, Vali's plan finally snapped back into my mind, and I began fumbling for one of the bombs Vali gave me. I grabbed one with an impact shell, and immediately threw it against the ground. But instead of the thick, grey smoke, there came a foggy, red gas that stung my eyes and burned my skin. I screamed out in pain, and the guards all began to retreat, coughing and wailing in pain. I dropped to one knee, coughing as my vision began to fade.

When we saw the red cloud come from the caltrop bomb, all four of us immediately jumped to our feet, and began sprinting across the rooftops toward Chrysalis. Vali lead, followed by me and our Assassins. We finally jumped to a roof just above the merchant's wagon, jumping down in front of Chrysalis, who's coughing began to get slower and slower. Vali picked her up in his arms, pressing his sleeve over her mouth and nose.

While preventing Chrysalis from breathing any more of the poison gas, I yelled out to the others, "Clear a path back toward the den! Kill any guards in our way!" The three Assassins took the lead, pushing a path through the crowd, Seraffo slashing the throat of a guard with his bladed syringe, Bartello throwing a knife to his right and into the chest of a guard that nearly struck Mercina as she thrust her hidden blade into the stomach of another. One guard attempted to attack me with a long Trident, but I dodged, hooked his leg out from under him with my foot, and ran after the others, constantly checking to make sure Chrysalis was breathing.

I felt my throat closing, my eyes stinging, and faintly felt Vali carrying me through the crowd at full sprint. I felt like at any point, I would suffocate. My vision and hearing faded in and out, from black and silent, to blurry and distant. Finally, after catching one last, inaudible sentence from Vali, I slipped away into complete darkness.


End Of Chapter 3