The Blade of Aldun

by Radiant Dawn

Prologue

Prologue

“N-no! No you can’t! C-c’mon, I have a family!” he pleaded, tears in his eyes.

*sigh* Why do they always beg?

I unsheathed the blade from my hip and shook my head at him in pity. “For fuck’s sake. Have some fucking dignity and die like a man.”

Without another word, I yanked him forward from his kneeling position and plunged the blade into his spine at the back of his neck, giving him a clean kill. Not even the Creator can say I’m not merciful, at least. I wiped the bloody blade before letting the now-limp body flop to the ground in front of me. I then pulled my facemask away before constricting my venom glands, forcing the caustic fluid to fire from my fangs and onto the body. Within moments, I could smell the stench of burning flesh as the venom did its work, dissolving the flesh, bone, and other organics so that there would be no evidence found at the scene.

I sheathed my blade and hid my face again before vanishing into the darkness of night.

---

A knock on the door to my room snapped me out of my doze, and I stood with my hand upon my blade as I made my way to the door.

I took a place at the door handle and placed my free hand upon it. “Who comes?”

“It’s me, Silver. Open the door.” answered a familiar gruff voice.

I sheathed my blade and stepped aside, pulling open the door as I did so and allowing the tall, fur-wearing cryos inside. I shut the door behind him and sat down lazily on the worn bed. “It is finished.”

He nodded, his bright blue eyes focusing on me. “Indeed. That merchant will trouble me no more, and for that, I thank you.”

I chuckled and motioned my fingers smugly, my claws extending threateningly. “I don’t do this for thanks Kris, I do it for money. Cough it up.”

He rolled his eyes before reaching into his satchel and tossing a tied pouch to me. “It’s all there, but I know you’ll count it anyway just to be sure.” As I began doing just what he predicted, he sighed. “I would have thought that after all our time working together, you would have come to trust me by now.”

I continued counting, but replied, “If life has taught me anything, it’s that an ally is simply a useful asset that hasn’t tried to betray me yet. No offense meant to you at all, I just don’t trust anyone. You can thank your kind for that.”

Suddenly, Kris looked a bit ashamed. “Silver, I’m sorry. I forgot-”

I waved a hand dismissively at him as I tied up the pouch of gold pieces and set it aside. “Relax, Kris. Though it’s affected who I am, I don’t hold it personally against you. I just can’t afford to make friends in my profession, because the next day, I might be ordered to eliminate them.” I then looked up to the hunter and grinned. “For your own good, don’t make a habit of angering people. One of them might seek out the services of a silencer, and with your luck, it’ll end up being me. For both our sakes, stay as neutral as you can in your dealings. You’re far more useful to me alive than dead.” I chuckled darkly. “My kind are the Cursed, or so we are called. I will be the first to tell you that simply because we are different does not mean we are less than any of you.” I unsheathed my trusty blade and smiled at it wickedly. “Those that ever feel the need to bring up my heritage in a negative way will taste my blade. We’ll see who’s on the short end of the stick then.”

Kris eyed me warily as he stood stock-still beside the door. “You’re frightening, you know that?”

I shrugged, sheathing my blade again. “Eh, I’m alright with that. It makes people leave me alone in public. The cloak and mask help as well.”

For a long few moments, the room was silent. Finally, Kris managed to ask, “Don’t you get lonely?”

I smirked and pointed to him. “Ally, not friend. And that’s how it needs to stay.”

He smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Right. Sorry. Anyway, great work. I’ll seek you out again should I need your services.”

I nodded with my own smile. “You know where to find me.”

He eyed me curiously for a moment before leaving my room, once again leaving me alone. I sighed before reaching into myself, feeling the wellspring of magic within. I let the power flow up through my core and over my skin, and opened my eyes to watch as the scaled skin seemed to boil away to leave behind a tough, black carapace. The masculine features melted away as well, leaving feminine curves and opaque silver eyes ‒ my namesake that I kept in any form. People didn’t notice multiple people having the same-colored eyes after all, since there were simply too many people around for there not to be crossovers.

I never kept my true form for long, as it would instantly identify me for what I was. I wished I was one of the “Cursed” sometimes...things would be easier then. Instead, I was something that society would never accept, simply because of what one species of my kind did.

Changeling...monster.

---

People were so ignorant when it came to my kind. Ever since that blasted Queen Chrysalis attacked the royal family, our kind were all labeled as the enemy. This in turn caused a global breakdown of relations between the changeling tribes, which caused half-bloods like me to be swept under the rug.

Yes indeed. Though my kind weren’t known as “the Cursed”, I was in my own way, cursed: half-changeling, half-pony. I suppose it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing if you looked at it objectively. I could fly, use magic, and change my form. Also, I wasn’t forced to live as a parasite: I could process normal food ‒ whether that be meat or veg. The problem came when the warring changeling tribes tried to decide how to deal with any like me. Their solution was to excommunicate us completely, severing our mental connection with the hive and banishing us.

We were seen as a blemish upon both societies, and neither would ever accept us. In a world forever at war with itself, I was forced to find my own way, or die. Needless to say, assassinations came easy to me. I could never be connected with a murder, as I could even change my own magical signature so that I couldn’t be tracked. That, and being labeled as a sociopath helps. It makes things that much easier when you just don’t care when you watch someone die in front of your eyes. For a person like me, you have to learn to fake emotions very quickly in life, or else stick out like a sore thumb no matter where you go. After all, normal people can’t watch an entire schoolhouse full of children burn to the ground without showing fear or panic.

What? I didn’t do it…

Long story short, I found my place in the world doing what most people would consider “dirty work”. I never understood that phrase, as in a lot of ways being an assassin was much cleaner than being anything else. Everything tended to be cut-and-dry, and there were little to no gray areas as far as contracts were concerned. There were no friends to muddle issues, and no definitive enemies or allies. Anyone and everyone was a potential target, just waiting to have a contract put out on them.

Truthfully though, the term “sociopath” wasn’t the best fit for me. I could feel sad, lonely, angry, happy, and even horny (though the latter was something I felt very rarely). The truth of the matter was that as a changeling, one is taught very early to be able to separate oneself from a target, seeing them as not even a person. They’re just an objective to be executed, nothing more. While I never knew my father (who was the pony-side of my bloodline), my mother taught me all I would need to know to survive, including how to live as a changeling. As a way of coping, a changeling learns early on to become what form they change into, basically separating our core selves off into a corner of our minds. My persona of “Silver”, for example, was a sociopath, which was why I often used him for my contracts when needed, unless the heat on him was so high that I had to become another in order to let things simmer down to a safe level. Honestly, I don’t know how I could actually become another person like that ‒ not just mimicking, but actual full-transformation. I just know that it works, and it keeps me sane. At the end of the day, when I change back into Riverstar (my “true” form), I can leave behind whatever I had done and just be me again.

Still, when the day became calm and I had nothing to occupy me, I found myself sometimes having trouble not thinking of Riverstar in the third-person. I sometimes had to verbally remind myself that Riverstar was who I truly was, not the others. Riverstar...I felt lonely at the end of the day. My mother had died in the panicked months that followed the attack on Canterlot, and now I had no one. Sometimes I wish I could be friends with one of my clients, just so I would have someone to be there for me. But no...that would be too dangerous for both of us. Executing an order in a contract was one thing, but I wasn’t going to let my carelessness be the cause of death for an innocent soul.

It was nights like this that I found myself staring up at the moon, wondering if this kind of loneliness was how Princess Luna felt during her time there.

My extended lifespan didn’t help things either.

I had outlived my mother, everyone I’d ever grown up with, and even the Elements of Harmony. When they all passed on...I just kept living.

---

As the moon reached its apex in the sky, my thoughts were interrupted by a forceful knock at the door. Reflexively, I changed my form into that of an average cryos woman ‒ magical people of the north, made of stone and ice.

I stood from my bed and walked to the door, taking care to do so carefully. “Yes?”

“Equestrian Royal Guard, ma’am. Open up.” was my stern answer.

Equestrian Royal Guards? What the hell were they doing here?

I cleared my throat and pulled the door open, and was greeted by the sight of six armed guards in full armor, their uniform white fur and cyan eyes every bit intimidating as they were beautiful. “Y-yes? How may I help you gentlecolts today?”

“We’re looking for Riverstar.” the leader spoke again.

My breath caught in my throat at the mention of my true name. How could they know that name? I never used my real name with anyone! This...this wasn’t possible. Still, I was unsure what they could want, so I decided to play it safe.

I cautiously raised my eyebrow and said, “Riverstar? I’m sorry sir, but my name is Chandra of the Cragmaker clan.”

The guard’s stoic glare dissolved into a smirk as he said, “Ah, it is so good to finally meet you, Riverstar. The princess told us you were crafty.”

I felt my right hand begin trembling as I fought to keep myself from cowering in fear. Somehow, these guards knew who and what I was, but I would be damned if I was going down without a fight.

Before I could rush to grab my blade though, I was forcibly restrained and thrown to the bed by two of the guards as they grabbed my gear and threw it to the corner of the room. As I tried to draw my hidden blade from my boot, I was stopped by the leader guard (for sanity’s sake and until further notice, he is now guard number one) grabbing my wrist, again throwing me to the bed. He then leaned over me, pinning my arms and legs flat as he turned to the other guards.

“Leave us, colts. I want to speak to her alone.” he commanded.

Without a word of argument, the other guards left us alone in the room, shutting the door behind them.

Guard number one then sighed as he looked down at me. “Now, can I trust you to not cut or stab me if I let you go? Or do I have to tie you up?”

I gulped as I tried to keep from panting, and nodded gently. “So long as you can promise me the same.”

He nodded as well before releasing me and standing. “It was never my intention to do so in the first place. You were the one that suspected the worst.”

I sighed and pushed myself up to a sitting position, leaning against the wall the cot was pushed up against. “Well can you blame me? A bunch of armored guards show up and say they are looking for me. What the hell do you think I’m going to assume?”

He shrugged, a sly grin coming to his face. “I tried to tell the princess that calling a full squad to find you would be a bad idea, but she said I should bring them just in case. Can’t underestimate the Dragon Wastes’ best assassin, now can we?”

I nodded slowly before asking, “So if you’re not here to hurt or kill me, what are you here to do? And how does your princess know who I really am?”

“I can’t really answer for the latter,” he stated, looking a bit apologetic, “but as far as what we’re doing here, we’ve been sent to retrieve you and bring you to the palace. I wasn’t told the specifics, only that you were to be treated as an honored guest of the crown and that any who mistreat or assault you would be severely punished.”

For a few moments, I couldn’t do anything but sit there with my mouth hanging open. When I finally regained my composure (relative term, I might add), I asked, “Can you repeat that? Because it sounded like you just said you were ordered by a princess of Equestria to treat a stars-damned changeling like it was an honored guest.”

“Of the crown.” he corrected. He then unstrapped something from his thigh and threw it to me, which when I caught I noticed was a flask. I looked at him quizzically and he chuckled. “It’s not poison, it’s just whiskey. I figured a bit of fire in your gut will calm you down so you don’t freak out.”

I turned my eyes to the flask and warily unscrewed the cap before taking a whiff. Just like he’d said, it was whiskey. With that being the case, I downed it as if it were...well, whiskey. No witty comparison here. Nope.

The warmth flowed down my throat and into my stomach, instantly putting me at ease and making it easier to think without my nerves getting to me. I will be the first to admit that being a professional killer doesn’t make one immune to fear, no matter how much people think otherwise.

With a settled mind, I looked to the guard and asked, “So do you have any idea why the princesses wish to see me? Am I being brought to trial or something?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Not at all. As I said, I wasn’t told specifics, but what I was informed of was that it is not to bring you to justice in any way. Princess Luna herself asked me to tell you directly that it is a neutral visit for you, and after the three of you speak, you are free to leave if you wish.”

I raised my eyebrow skeptically before shrugging and tossing the flask back to him. “I suppose if I was meant to be killed, you’d have done so by now. So what are we waiting for? Let’s get this over with.”

“Straight to the point.” he mused aloud. “I like that.” He then knocked on the door and announced, “Alright colts, we’re set. Ready the carriage and prepare for departure, heavy one target.” The guard turned back to me and extended his hand with a smile. “Your carriage awaits, ma’am.”

By the stars, what have I gotten myself into?

Comments

[Soft Shell]

*Sees the word changling*
*Doesnt even read the description*
Thumbs up

[Doctor_Brony1234]

This is pretty good! I await more.

~The Good Doctor