King's Assassin

Chapter 2- New World

I don't remember much from when I first got to the camp, mostly because I had been obsessing over every little thing and trying to remember every little detail of my dad. And trying to forget about my mom, who had been overcome with grief and left us on our own. Alone. 

I do remember how when we first got there Nereus, the "Leader" of The Polemistes, explained to us how our father had died, or part of it. Enough to get the very strong point across that it was our duty to fulfill his footsteps and work as assassins. That's why we had been given to this group. To work with them. Nereus convinced us this would be our family now. We could leave everything behind. Start a new life, everything would be okay. 

My brother was young, naive. He dealt with our father's death the best. My mother drowned in sorrow, and I drowned in anger and confusion. I could supply us, keep as much liquor away from mother as possible. But I was weak, inside. My brother, Killik then, Adonis now, although only being eight, must've caught on to this, and he stayed strong for us. That is something I can never repay him for.

Even after our mother's passing, he stayed with me. Through and through. So, when we began our life in this new place, he was open to it. Adonis was strong and I could see him struggle. Falter, when our old town was brought up. But it was safe to say he embraced The Polemistes. He was one of them in no time. Accepted the assassin thing and trained. Hard. It could've been a coping mechanism. But I'm not sure.

I trained too. Maybe not with my whole effort at first. I don't think I wanted to accept that my father would go out to kill people for fortunes. But now it's seeming second nature to me. Does that make me a monster? Surely not. No.... It was how I was raised to be. But yea, I trained. Nereus said I have a knack for it. It comes naturally, I guess. I began hunting with the youngs. Then teaching them too. 

Once I was thirteen or so, I got my first mission. I wasn't supposed to actually kill anyone. Just get into some house of a mage and grab some ingredients. Wendigo teeth, Pishtaco clavicles, the expensive stuff. It was training, basically. But I had a run in with a   talking garden gnome. Weird right? Not in a mage's home, that's for sure. Anyway, I crushed it, since it was... living porcelain? But the old Mage saw and didn't really appreciate it, (for obvious reasons). I tried to smart-talk my way out of it. But unfortunately, although garden gnomes are annoying as hell, so I had an excuse for that, clavicles are hard to hide. So, he ran over all medieval-y with a big stick (wizard staff?) and before I knew it, I had grabbed a shard of glass from the gnome and impaled him through the heart. I promise you; it was elf defense. He was screaming some sort of incantation, and I really did not want to become a frog. I had to lean over a bit, but I got him right in the heart, and he kind of just fell over.

Let me be clear, I was horrified. But it passed quickly. I'm not quite sure whether I was in trouble, or everyone was impressed. I do remember how I was trained a lot harder after that incident. 

Now, at sixteen, I'd say I'm a pretty skilled assassin. I'm not bragging or anything, Adonis is just as good.  The Polemistes sent me on so many missions after I began training harder. Eventually every single one involved an actual first-hand assassination (usually I'd be helping someone else do the "dirty work"). I was fine with it. It was my job. Why would I?