Assassin's Creed: The Living Legacy

Join the Dark Side, brother Part. 1

June 17th 1511, City of Constantinople, Turkey

A warm night wind blew across the city. Comfortable darkness covered everything, peaceful shadows which are closing everything to their embrace and giving people like us a perfect working environment. There are couple of reasons to that as well, but first one which came to my mind was that there are no much people moving here. If there is someone it's either us, thieves or someone who has other bad things in mind – no clever civilian will just randomly wander around in the wee hours.

I had been awake the whole day by now, but it didn't make much difference. Often it happens that you will not get proper sleep in couple of days, which might be bad since if you're tired you're not focused enough. Bad focus is the most common thing to kill you. 

For now I didn't feel the tiredness, I was too pumped up in awareness and used to this, but if the not-sleeping time will go much further than one and half day I promise you will notice it sooner or later.

Just a tip: Don't ever, ever, ever go sleep in hay piles.

Though they might seem harmless it don't feel nice if suddenly in the middle of a dream someone just crash-lands on you. And no, for once I haven't got any personal experience. Again I did the usual check on my surroundings, but this time something felt different. Like a strange pull on me that warned not to come out and I instantly listened to it.

Jackpot.

Something was ripping my senses as I hid in the random balcony. Carefully I peeked with the safety created by a night and saw a person straight across the large area behind the houses. Normally I would have just ignored the casual wanderers, but this was no casual at all – there was a ghostly golden glow around this man and I instantly knew we had found him. 

Dropping my Vision I made sure that Istvan was in his position, but this wasn't the time to run in action. Not yet, I couldn't make out what was he doing here because he stood back towards me.

As an ex-assassin I was sure that Vali knew his stuff, he knew how to hide, kill, take advantages and for sure had a lot of experience from our line of job. The number of our murdered friends talked for him. He also knew our ways, equipment and hideouts, so what could be more dangerous than to face someone with skills likely to match yours? Was I scared? No.

Everyone has weak points and I was positive we would find them out and though fighting an assassin would be a different from ordinary guards, he is defeatable. So I waited until he left and disappeared from our sight somewhere the nearest corner. Better start this slow. 

I jumped off, of my hiding place to the ground and made a quick whistle that gave Istvan a mark that basically said clear, come out now. Man jumped out of the hay carriage and ran beside me.

"Did you see him? That was our target" "I did. Unfortunately I couldn't...-"

"Oh no, didn't expect you to! Vali is too dangerous for us to confront him in this position since we don't know how good he is. I'm sure sneak attack on this wouldn't have worked" "So now we have to find out what he was doing here?"

"Exactly. At least search the area. He was doing something, but couldn't figure it out back there...and I'm positive he'll be back so be on your guard"

I walked to the direction where I last saw him and spotted a body...a body wearing an assassin outfit. Blood had splattered all the way to his chest and ground. Someone laid him to sit there and left him like a trash and suddenly this scenario felt almost too familiar, I cursed myself for being so ignorant. Of course I kind of realized where this whole thing is from but...never thought of it that way. I haven't thought anything that way for a long time.