“Okay recruits, welcome to the camp. If you are not aware, I am Thane. I will be instructing and training you until you become proper assassins. Some of you might be successful and understand and learn more quickly how to eliminate a target; some of you might have to stay a bit longer. But this does not matter; we are one big family and we never turn our knives and hatchets on each other. I will take questions at the end. You recruits will get your weapons assigned according to your talent and what best fits you. Here, who knows about assassins? Hmmm. Yes, number 57?”
“It is when a person kills—I mean eliminates the other opponent, usually called a target, in order to accomplish the job.”
Thane smiled and said, “Yes, good, but what is the difference between killers and us assassins? Yes, 45?
“ Killers are easily noticed and controlled by the public fairly well. However, assassins are unnoticeable and can kill the opponent quickly and secretly without publicity.”
Wow these kids are smarty pants! thought Thane. He continued, “Good! This will be the way we will learn. I ask you guys a question, and you guys answer back. And there's obviously going to be physical training too. Quick question: assassins only use weapons to kill the opponent, correct?”
After a moment of hesitation, the pre-assassins in unison and with uncertainty in their voices said, “Yes...?”
Shadow then stood up and said, “No, you’re all wrong. The very first assassinations would have been direct and simple, stabbing, strangling, or bludgeoning. The key technique is to be unnoticeable. So death cap mushrooms and similar plants became a traditional choice of assassins, especially if they could not be perceived as poisonous by taste, and the symptoms of the poisoning did not show until after some time.”
Astonished Thane replied, “Right, you’re right. Great. She just explained what I was going to say. Thank you for sharing!
“Well, we exactly have 78 students in this camp and only one of me. It will be hard for me to control the assassins. So, in a few days we have to choose which cabin you will share with the other kids, which leader it will be, and I will select the best assassin to work with me. I will choose that by the way that you guys play the war game.”
******

  
“The ruins do the work for us... When Nocturnal first came here, he was stunned by the engravings on the walls. There were strange lines running everywhere across the area and, as Nocturnal touched one, something amazing happened. Holograms. They are entities that can be detected by senses, but do not exist in the living world. Unbelievable was a word that hardly described it. It needed a stronger word to explain it. That particular day, Nocturnal brought a knife and stabbed himself, and everyone gasped with fear that he was going to kill himself. There were no injuries, and he was just fine. He said from now on we will not have to use fake plastic weapons and hurt each other in the war games. He said we could use the holograms instead, and he developed our community immensely. The elders were impressed by Nocturnal’s talents and gradually he became the leader of the assassins,” whispered a kid next to Sapphire.

“I’ve heard that Nocturnal comes in to a different form of human being every year. He shares a body with the true assassin,” Sapphire whispered. Then, turning around to Thane she asked loudly as if she was not chatting a second ago, “So how do we play this war game? What is the point of this?”
Thane smiled and said, “ Too fast with every thing. This is how the game will work. You guys will all go on to a huge mountain where you will perform your skills. The electricity our great ancestor Nocturnal found will continuously change the landscape repeatedly until you get used to every landscape. There will be desert, woods, abandoned city, and underwater.”
Just as Thane told them about the water part, the recruits murmured in unison not understanding what water meant. Thane, who immediately knew what was happening, laughed out loud and said, “You will not be underneath the water. However, you guys will be placed around the huge river valley and will have to swim and kill your target. This will be tough for assassins as they are not used to being wet, but assassins have to be prepared to face the challenges. It is a war game, so you guys will be hunting people down and eliminate them by killing them with your hologram weapons. There are no rules, except you will not be able to escape the battleground once the game has started. You are allowed to form alliances, but it is your choice. The winner will be the last five people left undead. Not that you will all actually die. Just in the game. All you will need are five kills. That will help you when it comes to what I think about you and your talent.”
The kid whom Shadow had chatted with a few minutes ago raised his hand and said, “Well, how will we fight? We don’t have any weapons after all...”
“Right, I was getting to that. The Guild will provide you two weapons. One, the weapon you can use in the real world, two, the one that is used in the game, so called holo...ah, I keep forgetting what it is called...hologram.”
Thane had the ability to tell which weapon matched most people by looking at their hands and didn't even need to see the assassins perform using the weapon as he had mentioned before. As he walked around and handed out the permanent weapon, Sapphire was thinking about which one would fit suit her best. She looked around and found that the majority of the kids were choosing throwing knives or bows and arrows. Then, shining in the sun light, a sword caught Shadow’s eye.  It was Katar, the legendary sword that has two blades that slide out of the handle together. She couldn’t wait for the game to begin.
*****
The first arena she was to play in was a forest. Giant looming trees overshadowed the competitors. Sapphire could see that all the other recruits were nervous. Sparrows were calling out as if in warning for all the other animals to leave. The counter had started. Sapphire thought that it felt like hours waiting for Thane to signal them to go. Sapphire glanced up and could see the instructor in the leaves. The timer was nearly out as Thane put up his finders counting from 5…4…3…2…1. This land was now a war zone.
“GO!” yelled the announcer. There was an eruption of movement. Recruits ran in all directions trying to find a vantage point. Sapphire ran by a young boy who seemed to be the age of 8. With one quick jab of her wrist he was on the ground. Sapphire felt the rush she had first felt at the thieves’ Guild. ‘First kill! Four more to go!’
A hologram arrow penetrated the tree trunk beside her. There was a cacophony of laughter as a group of kids ran off into the distance. The first alliance had been formed.
Shadow grabbed the branch of a tree and began her ascent into the leaves. She stopped for a second, hearing somebody below her. She was questioning whether to stay there or jump down and go for the kill. In the end she decided on the latter.
She jumped down, twigs whipping at her face. She positioned her hologram so it would land and protrude into the targets head. Then she finished it. She landed on top of the target and experienced that rush again. Shadow was starting to enjoy the rush. ‘Second kill, I am doing good!’ It was starting to become second nature for her.
There was a loud rumble and a shift began. The landscape started morphing into whatever the instructors wanted. In no time, it was nothing like before, and Sapphire spotted a girl off to the Northeast. It became bright and her muddy wet feet felt the sand. Desert. Shadow felt the sun beating down on her. Time was of the essence now. She had to get a kill and hide before the next shift. That’s when her first tracking session started.
Shadow ran in the direction that she thought the girl was. Tracks. They were everywhere on the ground. Shadow bent down and started to understand what had happened. She could picture it in her mind. The girl fleeing from her was in a hurry to win this game. But Sapphire would not giving the girl a chance to win. She stayed quiet and ducked down so that anyone seeking her would not find her. She heard a rustle. Shadow knew that when she got up the girl would be preparing her arrow, so she threw up her back pack high enough for the girl to see. Swish, thwack; a perfect shot. As Shadow got up to attack, she was overcome by a feeling that she needed this girl to win. She threatened the girl with her sword, indicating that she would kill her if she moved. Then, with the sword on the girl’s neck, she said, “I am just doing this for my safety. I think you have really good aim, and we will be good help for each other.”
The girl coldly said, “Well I think you are pretty smart and we can work out together I guess. Do you have any other alliance?”
“No,” Sapphire admitted as she took her sword off the girl’s neck. Suddenly the girl grabbed the arrow stuck in Sapphire's backpack and swung it, barely missing Sapphire’s face. With rage she swung her sword hard into the girl’s stomach. The girl fell to her knees as the electrical current shocked her. Suddenly a roper came out of nowhere and pulled her out of the game. The stadium echoed with the voice saying, “Number 13 Out! Out! Out!”
Sapphire was angry at the girl who had betrayed her. Her status was going back to the time when she killed the boy. She had never felt betrayal in her life. It seemed so unfair. As she ran to get two more kills, she noticed a group of familiar people whose names she couldn’t remember. They were wearing thick jackets she remembered from somewhere before. Then she had a sudden flashback. They were the army from the Thieves’ Guild. No, she thought. They crossed the boundary; what were they doing? As Shadow was sneaking behind, she noticed that she did not have weapons to fight with. Sudden panic took over as she saw the thieves walking slowly, unnoticeably creeping out of the arena and to the heart of the assassin’s Guild. Suddenly, as the ground started to shake, there was a huge grin on her face. The landscape was changing. The thieves were confused by this and looked around for what had happened. A high building rumbled up and the ground shook. The sun disappeared and it became dark. Rain came pouring down. A few minutes earlier, she had been in the middle of a desert with back of her neck burning from the strong sun. Now she was walking down the street somewhere in a city. From here, Shadow took advantage. She ran and ran towards the opening of the arena. She jumped out of the gooey atmosphere that was covering the arena.
“Ahak!” Shadow fell in agony and pain. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed. She couldn’t shake off the pain. Holding her chest, she looked for injuries. No marks anywhere. She couldn't bear the pain. She could hardly breathe. I need to get to Thane and tell him that the thieves are here. She crawled and crawled, holding her heart panting for breath. She caught a glimpse of Thane’s clothing. She tugged it hard to get his attention. Her eyes were half-closed and her vision was blurry.
Thane looked down and yanked her up. He ran, carrying her into the war zone again. Shadow tried to warn him, but there was no chance of her voice working again. As Thane ran in to the war zone, Shadow felt like flying up to the sky. She could breathe properly, she could speak properly, and she didn’t feel a single pain. Before Thane had a chance to tell Sapphire why she shouldn't run out of the war zone, Shadow yelled, “Its them, the thieves have invaded! We need to save the assassins. Quick bring our weapons. Thane replied in a cold voice, “No, we can’t do that. I have already come through the war ground. I cannot go back out. It,s the electricity that holds the assassins from getting out and hiding outside the zone.  I don’t know how you survived the electrical shock! Most assassins tend to faint or seriously get injured from the attempt to escape.” Shadow who obviously don’t know what electricity meant, so she didn’t get what Thane was saying. But she sensed the intensity in his voice and didn’t ask about it.
“So we have to fight with our bare hands then.”
Thane said, “Don’t worry they won’t win us, lets go. You stay behind that tree. I will bring them towards you and I will...”
Before Thane could finish his sentence, he saw the assassins chasing the thieves. They were grinning like they were chasing a group of deer. They seemed to be so happy.
Thane yelled “Oh my, good Nocturnal. Look at them! That’s amazing!”
With relief Shadow jogged towards the crowd. A sudden shriek pierced Shadow’s ears. It was hard to bear. She could sense whoever it was and the pain that they were suffering from. Then, as she leaped over the hill that was blocking her view, she saw millions of thieves surrounding the harmless group of assassins. One of the assassins who tried fighting got her throat stabbed through with a knife and there was blood rushing out. It seemed like it was running out the poor brave soldier’s body towards freedom. Shadow saw all this and she hated it. She hated herself for breaking the peace between the two Guilds. She regretted how she had killed the boy. Go, her body told her. She broke the nearest branch of the tree. Thwack! With that, she broke the long branch into two, gripped the branch so that the sharp ends would point towards the thieves. With that, she jumped off the ground and made her first bloody kill. The branches went through the closest thief as she ran around killing: she couldn’t control her adrenaline. She had to kill them all. However whenever she made a kill she grew more angry with the thieves and also herself. The thieves were bewildered by her sudden attack and seemed to be losing all their soldiers. When there were only 20 left, they brought out their arrows and prepared to fight. Shadow could feel her blood growing warm inside her. She could feel her heart pumping quick and hard. She loved this feeling. She smiled cruelly at them. Thane motioned for her to move forward towards the centre of the thieves. Shadow was staring down the iron sight of her branch, flinching at anything that moved.
“Work with the shadows.” Thane’s words echoed in his head. Then the spray of arrows started. Sapphire dove behind a tree as the sharp tips of the arrows ripped apart the bark and leaves. Thane stood still scared to move for fear of being hit. "Hell," thought Shadow, "If I’m going down, I’m going down with a fight." she rolled out of cover on the crunchy leaves, raised a sharp and the only weapon she had and started to run towards the mercenaries. Then she heard the words over the swishing arrows.
“Shadow! Mine!” Shadow dove out of the way just as a mine exploded where she had been running. She landed with a thud on the ground. She was surprised by how much “technology” the thieves had. She couldn’t believe that they had mines. She jumped up and ran in to the middle of the circle that the thieves were forming. The first five who were closer to Shadow attempted an attack and threw their knives at her. She ducked. The five on the other side lost their balance as they saw the knife flying past them.
Shadow grinned and said, “Thanks for your perfect aim. You killed your friends with that.” She smashed her branch through the soldiers who were losing their balance and all five of them fell. As they did she threw one of them to the group of thieves where they caught the soldier flying to them. Shadow grabbed the knife lying on the floor and threw it at the unbalanced group. One fell. Not because of the knife. It was the shift that made them off-balance. The solid ground beneath them turned liquid and the huge pit that the Thieves were hiding in became a deep lake. In the sudden change, Shadow wasn’t even aware of this. She flapped her hand, gasping for breath. Her eyes stained as she tried to open them. She waved her hand frantically as she tried to find anything to grasp. She felt the tree root, yanked herself up, and climbed it up the tree. She looked down and saw the thieves climbing up the tree. She was afraid of water and she couldn’t let go of her grip. She stared down helplessly at the thieves climbing up. She looked around. Other hostages of the assassins were safe and were on the hard surface of the ground. Thane was especially happy with that. Thane was helping the other assassins to get out of the water. She felt a strong grasp on her ankle. She tried to shake it off, but it was no use. They climbed all the way up. Because the thieves were good at hanging and jumping, in an instant, Shadow found herself tied up with a rope. The thieves took her up to Thane with their weapons against her neck.
Thane who expected this, jolted a bit and said, “Why? Why do you want to kill her so bad. There was always a problem with that kid who beat my sister up. Just because his dad is the master of the thieves, doesn’t mean he can send his killing groups into our territory without our notice, or else there shall be a war,” Thane threatened.
“She killed the kid and the kid punched her once. By the way, look how many people she has killed. All the fighters in our Guild. 59 is a huge number.”
Shadow yelled, “Yeah, I guess you don’t know the rules that the whole Guild follows. If you invade other Guild, the other Guild can kill you in their defense!” she turned to Thane and said, “Thane, you know me. I have enough strength to fight them off. Don’t worry I will come back. Okay?”
The thieves grunted, “You wish.”
Thane looked at Shadow with kindness in his heart and, with the hope that she could do it, he let her go.

Shadow was locked in a cell in the hold of a ship. She had to stay there until the ship arrive at the thieves' Guild. Every few hours, a different thief took his turn to guardShadow, fearful that she might break from the cell with a supernatural power when they were not looking. Shadow grew bored yet also scared of what would happen to her. She was sure that they would torture her and gradually kill her in a most painful manner. What lay in front of her was the fear of death.

As they neared the dock, she felt the ship vibrating as it collided into the sandy sea floor. Shadow heard a big thump when the heavy anchor hit the sand; simultaneously, the thieves brandished their knives and threatened to kill her if she moved an inch. She was once again afraid; the bravery in her was gone. Just disappeared, like blood draining from a wound. She reminded herself of what lay in front of her. She was afraid that when she reached the palace where the head leader of the thieves stayed, they would humiliate her. What she was most afraid of was that, enraged with the thought that the thieves had killed her, Thane would destroy the thieve's Guild and destroy himself in the process.
*****

“Get over here, slow poke,” snarled a burly thief with shaggy, lank, greasy hair. With her hands tied behind her, Shadow couldn't resist. They roughly pushed her up a narrow ladder, onto the deck, and down the ship's gangplank.

“Ahhh!” the loud scream echoed through the Guild. Assassins went silent in the trades and allowed nobody in and out. Thane had created a far more advanced defense system than they had ever had. Whenever someone stepped onto a trap planted underneath the ground, a sharp spike shot up. Thane couldn’t forgive himself for being so foolish. He wanted to kill himself because of how careless and unthoughtful he had been. He needed Shadow and he couldn’t resist this feeling. He wanted to—no—needed to destroy the thieves' Guild. He never wanted to be a hero who was the best leader. As he closed his eyes everything went black and his mind was blank. Not again, he thought, When he woke up, he was in his dreams, back when everything was happy, back when his parents were alive.

“Thane, shtop!” Sapphire, who was ticklish, couldn’t stop laughing as Thane appeared out of nowhere and started to tickle her.

“Then come and get me! You will never be able to get me!”

There needed to be no underestimation of Sapphire, she was clever. She waited till Thane appeared again and grabbed his shirt firmly and fighting over the funny ticklish feeling that Thane was giving her. Thane couldn’t jump up back to the ceiling. It would give away the hiding spot. He yanked Sapphire’s hand from him and dashed for the woods. His mother yelled out, “Thane! Don’t take your sister into the woods! How many times have I told you!”

“What are you talking about, you never said that!” As he said that, he saw his mother’s mouth twitching to resist laughter.

“Be safe,” she yelled from behind.

“Ouchy!” screeched Sapphire. Thane looked back and ran back to help his sister. They held hands together and ran to the mysterious cave they had found a few days ago.

Thane and Sapphire were having an argument with each other Thane saying that he will be a famous leader in the near future but Sapphire disagreeing with the idea.
“I will some day become the leader, you will see me and respect me with all your heart!”
“Never!”
“ Sister, leave if you won’t listen to me! I found this place and this place is mine!”
“No, it isn’t. I found it when I was walki...”
Crunch, pause crunch, crunch went the loud crackling crunch of the leaves on the ground. Somebody was approaching the arguing children. Whenever it took a step, the ground shook from its heavy weight.
“What ish that?!” exclaimed Sapphire with a terrified look on his face.
“I don’t know, shush now, Saphy. It might be old Grimlin coming to eat you!”
“Ahh shtop! I’m Serious!”
Thane, who was laughing at his sister’s reaction, turned to get a better view of it. Thane and the mysterious creature's eyes met. Deep in the cave, there was barely any light to make out anymore of the object.
Roar! The creature jumped towards Thane. He turned around and bolted for the exit! Remembering his sister, he dashed back and grabbed her. Together they ran out of the cave’s opening. Thane jumped up high into the mid air, but fell fast. If he was alone, he could roll and lessen the impact, but he was with his sister. His parents’ words came into his head, Thane, no matter what you should always think your sister’s safety first. Always help her. He decided not to roll but to hurt himself. Hurt himself a lot. “You’ll some day have to pay for this kid! Love you!” With a thud Thane couldn’t move an inch. The pain was immense and he couldn’t bare it.With surprise the creature was still on them and was running down the steep hill. “He wasn’t dumb like us to jump down the whole cave. But it will take him some time to run all the way down.” He crouched and softly whispered to his sister inhaling continuously to get the air in to his body.
“Run to mommy and daddy and bring them here, okay?”
“Okay, be safe! I will be right back,” with that, Sapphire ran to her house. To her parents.

In a few moment he noticed the hungry bear looking down at him licking it’s mouth. Thane slowly crawled back away from the bear. The bear didn’t move. It had bad eye sight. “Okay, slowly and quietly, get out of here.” As he crawled backward following the foot marks, Sapphire left while fleeing. The bear sniffed in the mid air and followed Thane. With a sudden spasm, the bear smashed it’s paws towards the ground hard which made Thane yelp which then gave advantage to the bear to know where he is located. The bear, with a blank eye, leaped up and smashed into Thane.
“Ahhk!” screamed Thane in agony and pain. The heavy paws of the bear that could have easily killed Thane barely missed him. However, the sharp claws went deep into Thane’s body around his left arm.

“Thane!” His parents yelled in shock.
As Thane looked back at his parents, he saw they had their spear on their back.
Don’t fight it. Mom dad, no! However, no words came out of his mouth except for his cries to fight off the pain.
“Sapphire, please take your brother back home, and you know the thing I drink with my friends?”
“Beer?”
“Yes, beer. Pour it on Thane’s wounds. It will help him. Now go!”
“But daddy, its bear. Bears are dangerous and can’t mommy at least come with us?”
Thane’s father turned towards his wife. “I can handle this, you should go help the kids.”
His wife, crying, said “No I’m not letting you die alone. I will fight with you!”
As Thane’s father opened his mouth to say something back to his wife, the bear growled and his attention turned to the animal. The bear suddenly attacked and Thane’s father abruptly threw his spear. The spear hit the bear and because the power was not really strong enough, it only made the bear lose its patience. As the bear slowly sniffed in the air again to see where the attacker was, Thane’s father cautiously walked up to Thane and Sapphire and told them to leave. Thane saw the tears in his father’s eyes.
“Thane, I’m telling you again. Please, please keep your sister alive no matter what. I heard everything from your sister and what you did today for her, that was impressive. I love you.”
With that Thane got up, holding his arm, and walked back to safety. When they reached home, Sapphire poured their fathers beer on Thane’s wounds. She tied it up with a table cloth and whipped all the blood out. That night, Thane’s parents did not come back.
“Thane Where is mommy and daddy?”
“They went on a trip. Trip some where really, really far away,”
Thane replied dreamily.
Sapphire, crying said “I know mommy is dead and daddy, too. Thane, what are we going to do?”
Thane burst into tears, hugging his sister.
“We will find a way. Trust me, we will. I know where mom and dad put our money and goods. We have to stick together okay?”
“Okay” replied Sapphire.

Thane felt an urgent voice demanding him to wake up. His face warmed from the bright sun that was high in the sky, shining through his bedroom windows. The soft texture of his blankets comforted him. He was dazzled due to the flashback. His ankle and his arm where the scar laid from the bite of the bear caused a phantom pain. His leg vibrated and it didn’t stop. Assassins, who knew nothing of Thane’s pain from which he was suffering, aggravated Thane’s mood as they continuously asked what was wrong. Thane who couldn't suppress his anger, jumped straight out of bed and advanced to the stables where his horses were staying. Everybody followed behind and asked him what was up. He answered nobody and hustled into the stall where the smell of the manure took over the atmosphere which made Thane more moody. He ignored everybody, hopping on his horse, and gently directing the horse’s head towards the opening of the camp. As everyone came dashing out trying to find a clue of what on Earth was going on, Thane stopped and asked for silence.

“I will be back soon. Till then, you,” Thane pointed at a random boy who was closest to him. “Shall be the leader of the assassin’s Guild.”
Nobody spoke for a few moments. With that, Thane took off. This was a perilous decision he had made. He galloped to the Warrior's Guild.


Thane knew that being the leader of one of the Guilds that controlled one country, it would always be dangerous to appear in public where a spy maybe lurking and seeking for a kill for their fame and wealth. But this was nothing compared to what had happened. It was unmeasurable love that was shared between each of them.

Surviving the first night was the hardest. He had never experienced any of this, “surviving the wild life”. Therefore, he used his common sense and looked for places where it was dry and had a roof that protected him from the rain. He found a place where a willow trees shook in the light breeze. He fell to his knees and was fast asleep.

He stood up as he abruptly awoke. He jumped back on his wide awake horse and they started moving. No, it wasn’t them, it was the ground that was moving. Thane couldn't believe what was happening right in front of him! The ground that was in front of them rose and Thane and the horse were sliding backwards. There was a cliff that wasn’t even there when he had found that place.

The horse panicked and jumped, which made them fall down the cliff immediately. Thane’s eyes watered with tears with the regret that he weren’t able to achieve any of his important goals he had planned. This felt so random. He saw the sharp rocks hungrily waiting for him to drop and break his back bone. He closed his eye to prepare to die when he woke up. He saw his horse nudging him gently to wake him up.

With a jolt he got up and stretched preparing to leave. The dream was so realistic and gave him a sudden chill as he thought that his dream was foreshadowing his dreadful future.

After a few minutes, he was back on the roads. Thinking of his dreams, he was afraid in a different way than any other fears. He became more cautious and more apt to hide than when he was a person who was outgoing and brave. But all his strong and good traits got destroyed as sad events continuously got reported from him. What disturbed him the most was that his sister would be in pain twice more than him.



He became hungry a few hours after he woke, and could have eaten anything that he could find. He figured that he had come out rushing and unprepared. Thane started off his journey to the Warrior's Guild to form an alliance to defeat the thieves. However, as he started to become ravenousness, it reminded him of the war stories he had heard from his parents. How innocent children would starve and would lose their parents. Thinking of this, his feeling of hatred and desire of revenge stopped for just a short moment. War, he figured out, was a disgusting thing. He never liked killing anything. He had never killed anything in his life. He would not even kill a bug in his house!

As he thought about he he figured out that all the killing was done by his sister and she was the one who created all these big problem including war between the two Guilds. This whole invasion, and conflict, started from bullying to killing to war. Thane finally realized that it was Sapphire’s fault of all this mess. She should have told me that she was suffering from such a thing. This is why people hate each other and would want to hurt each other. Revenge is a scary thing.

He couldn’t imagine now how his sister killed a person. He didn’t want revenge anymore. It just seemed like a really stupid and dumb thing to do. He was scared to do such a thing to other people. Killing wasn’t his thing. This was an ironic thing for him to think about, being the leader of the assassins who were supposed to kill but was afraid of killing. Thane cleared his throat and yelled out loud, “I am not a leader! There is nothing I can do! I am useless! I left my sister to die and I leave it that way! I am so stupid there is nothing I can do in this world. God this is such a harsh punishment. You can’t kill my sister! Why, god, why do you hate me so bad!”
He knelt down and cried to god. He felt punished for what he had not done wrong. What have I done wrong? Then he saw hope. He remembered the Traveler’s Guild. They were the Guild of peace and love. He wanted some love. He wanted someone who can love him and who care for him. He really only had his sister as his support and now she was gone. What a miserable ending he met. For some reason he was deeply depressed. It felt as if there was no future for him. but Thane wanted to fight through this pain. After few days of confusion and depression, he choose his way to the Traveler’s Guild. The few days of pain changed Thane’s characteristic completely. He became a person who cared for life. He wasn’t assassin anymore. There was no possibility for him to go back to assassin’s Guild. He knew the traveler's Guild was his place and he had to go there. Without hesitation, he headed for the land of peace.

50 days. 50 painful days. 50 regretful days. However Sapphire couldn't find any bruise or injury on her body. No tears came out of her eyes. I’m not the one who always needs to be safe. I am not Thane’s responsibility. If I have to I guess I should just accept this situation. She wanted to die. At first she thought that she would not be suffering too much from the prison because there was going to be no beating. However the size of the prison, she never thought of. And this was making her stressed and gave her claustrophobia. She was afraid every night that the cage would shrink smaller and would soon squeeze her to death. This was scarier than just killing herself with out any pain. Her thoughts were the worst though.  Dreams and thoughts of death. And there were bugs crawling around her cell, on her body, and on the roof.  Spiders spun webs even in the cramped space they had. Strangely, Sapphire achieved a sort of mental calm in that cell. As her mind was slowly spiraling into madness, her heartbeat slowing, and her muscles weakening. She realized something. "You only live once, but if you live it right, then once is enough," she murmured. That's when she snapped. Her eyes shot open still dilated from the dark. Her fingernails had grown quite long from her time in prison, now she was going to put them to use. she reached around the bars holding her in and moved her hands toward the lock. With the gut retching screech of her nail on metal she twisted the inside of the lock. She was out. With her body still weak she dragged herself out of the prison. Her legs had strangely maintained most of their strength and she knew that if she ran she could outrun the guards. She slowly worked her way through the corridors. She turned the corner and saw her first clue to her escape: water leaking from the carefully engraved stone roof. This meant one of two things to Sapphire. One, she was underwater (which was highly unlikely). Or two, she was underground (this was the better option of the two). Hmmm underground. There are no records of the thieves underground. As she progressed in the dark corridor she realized something. There were no guards. Something had to be going on if there were no guards. As if on cue there was a shout from behind her. “JAILBREAK!”
Sapphire ran using every last ounce of adrenaline in her body. The pain was extraordinary but she had been trained well by the assassins. A spear slammed into the wall next to her just as she rounded a corner. There were two men in full armour standing at the end of the hallway waiting for her. She ran full sprint at them. At the last minute she put all her weight on her back foot and slid in between both of them. Time seemed to slow down for Sapphire. Just as she was getting past them she reached behind her and grabbed the two knives off the belts of the guards behind her. It was executed perfectly. She was finally putting her training to the test and she was liking it. She continued down the hallway and finally found what she was looking for: a prison block. She ran full pelt into the crowd of eating prisoners and did her best to blend in. She saw the guards come in behind her and start to scan the crowd. Sapphire held her breath. They scanned the crowd thoroughly and finally gave up. Although, Sapphire knew that wasn’t the end of the hunt. Sapphire hadn’t taken the time to observe her surroundings until then. There were cold stone tables and chairs. Anything that was not needed had been tossed. Then she looked up. Her heart skipped a beat. The entire roof which must have been about 10 x 7 meters wide was made of glass. Suddenly she had a crazy idea. It was one that would only come in a time of complete desperation. She had to break that roof. She slid the knife out from her prison clothes waistline. She whipped her head around to make sure nobody was watching her. Then she threw it as hard as she could up. The water gushed into the room spilling all over the floors and tables. Also, the air pressure changed as well. Sapphire knew that if she didn’t get out of there soon her head would literally explode. She tread the water hard using the swimming technique the Guild had taught her. She looked down and saw some of the prisoners swimming up after her. The looks on their faces were not of anger but of happiness. They had had their freedom stolen for far too long and now, they were free again. As they swam to the shore Sapphire could feel her strength coming back to her. All she needed was a good meal.
As the prisoners came out to their freedom,   the happiness laid in them. Sapphire knew that she finally found people who she could rely on. She longed for someone to walk with and she found many. With glorious faces of victory, they smiled at each other and swam to the shore. She achieved her personal dream of holding power over people. She created her own Guild. They were the Wild guild. The prisoners who seemed all strong and brutal, acted as if they were tamed dogs waiting for her to give them orders.
Now I definitely have more stronger people than my brother. He would be surprised when he sees me. I’m going to kill him when I do!  
But as she found peace in her self later on and found their main base that they found, a small cave that was warm and cozy due to the leaves lying on the ground, Sapphire was satisfied with the way she had directed the prisoners. She was also extremely happy with her new position as Guild master. For now though she had to go get some food for herself and her companions. She also needed to build her actual base not the secondary base she was currently in. She moved quietly if not silently throughout   the woods stalking her prey. It was a brown deer, quite plump, she thought. It would feed them for about three days if rations kept up. Sapphire moved in with her hunting bow drawn and with her keen eyes watching the deer’s every move. Then she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. It was human no doubt but there was something familiar about it. What was it... It was Thane.

Sapphire turned and ran. She heard him shout “SAPPHIRE” as loud as he could at her turned back. She didn’t even want to look at him. HE had left her in that hell of a prison, HE had abandoned her to a life of pain and misery, and most importantly HE had broken that family trust that they once shared. Sapphire wasn’t without wit though, she did check all of her snares and caught 6 rabbits that day. As she brought them back, she wondered about the settlement they were making. It was definitely going to be temporary that was for sure but would she find a suitable location fast enough? The worries plagued her mind when she arrived back at camp. The Wraiths had all made themselves useful and had set up tents for 2 people each. There was also a large one solely for Sapphire. A large man called Paul approached her and asked her for her kill to cook. She gracefully handed the rabbits over and retired to her quarters. She sat down on the hard ground underneath her. So much had happened in the last year. It was overwhelming to think about it. She slowly slipped into the dark void of sleep. She awoke to a man Wraith shaking her and telling her to get up. She woke up and ran her fingers through her hair to attempt to get any knots out of it. When she was decently satisfied she stood up, stretched and walked outside.
*****
She walked around the terrain which seemed perfectly familiar. She knew that she was somewhere in the Assassin’s Guild territory of the thieves. However she was pretty sure that the thieves put the under water prison far off their shore. She was sure that it was somewhere close to the peace land. Then she wondered why she saw Thane and it was becoming weirder and weirder. So am I in the assassins’s territory or the peace land?
It felt as if it was the peace land because Thane would be busy ignoring her and ruling the assassins, however the land would not be familiar if it was peace land because she had never been to the mythical island. It was weird because she usually remembered things easily when she saw them or heard something however she had never been to the land called peace land, so where was she? It was becoming more and more confusing as she couldn’t find the right answer for her question. It seemed as if she was hallucinating when she saw and heard Thane.
…..

Thane was confused as he thought he almost reached the destination and then somehow saw his sister. He was pretty sure she was locked up in a cell that no one survived whenever they tried to. Thane was not feeling so well from walking all the way to the place he thought was the peace land. He had the memory of the peace land. He remembered his father and his mother who was still carrying his baby sister walking through the grass field and met peaceful people who offered them a bed and food when his family couldn’t find a place to stay for the night. He studied the the place and tried to remember it as he loved the food they offered and how nice they were to him. He remembered his father telling him the stories of these people who lived here and how they came together. As he was thinking of his past he suddenly remembered how he learned about the Guilds and he first Guild he went to. He remembered where he learned his teaching skills as being a Guild master. His best friend Frey was the leader in that Guild and they were particularly close as their parents knew each other from the past. As he thought about his past he fell in to a deep dark dream and became unconscious in the middle of the woods.
…...

“Thane Devoid” called the announcer."This isn't happening," thought Thane. How could the thieves’ Guild choose him, the poor orphan boy whose dad was a dead arena fighter and whose mom died trying to fight off a bear? Thane may not have known his dad and mom that well, but it was still devastating when they died. People always used to tease him about what a "loser" he was to have no parents. It didn’t matter to Thane though. If they were so weak that they could only hurt him with taunts, then they were nothing.

The two cloaked men were coming to take Thane away. As the men carried him through the streets of Regalia, Thane looked out upon the vast mountains. The huge mountain tops loomed over the trio making their way through the dark alleyways. When they turned a corner, Thane realized he was lost. As a young boy, Thane loved exploring the streets but he had never been to this section of the city before. Thane and the two men passed an old clothes shop and Thane saw his reflection in the window. Medium sized and skinny, he had short jet-black hair. "Where are you taking me?” Thane asked.

“The Guild. I’m Frey by the way,” said the taller one.

"Of all the Guilds, why did the thieves choose me?" questioned Thane .
"Well," started Frey, but Thane interrupted: "Know what, I don't even want to know."
They soon left the city behind and started into the mountains. Craggy rocks were scattered across the path and the hike was hard. Finally they made it to the outcropping in front of the Guild.

The Guild was a series of caves that penetrated in and out of the mountainside. As the group walked towards the Guild, Thane made out two large wooden doors, with a two hawks carved into it. “Ah the Guild! I remember my first time seeing it,” said Frey. Inside the Guild was even more impressive. Large marble pillars held up the roof. Thane could see multiple stairways leading to different corridors. It was a magnificent sight.
"Go wash up and meet me at the entrance for your first training session,” commanded Frey. After scrambling around for 10 minutes, Thane finally found his quarters. They were beautiful. A small animal skin was laid out in the corner of the 6 meter wide room. Overall, Thane was impressed by the sheer size of his room alone. Thane moved over to his dresser and opened it. There was only one garment, a basic black robe with countless pockets in it. After a quick wash, Thane rushed out to training.
“Okay recruits, welcome to the Guild. If you don’t already know, I am Frey. I will be instructing and training you until you become Elicitors or Archangels. Training begins now. First drill. Go on a five mile jog around the cavern."
The run was grueling and sweat poured down Thane’s face. After conditioning, the boys were told to meet at the cavern that sprouted from the main hallway at the entrance. The cavern was a large round room with stalagmites and stalactites protruding everywhere. On the ground was a pool of water about a metre deep; the only platforms were where the group was standing and an elevated platform on the far side of the room.
"Rumor has it that the greatest Thief ever, died on that platform" said Frey to nobody in particular. "Now, it is used as a test for Elicitor status. If you can reach the far side by jumping on the stalagmites and grabbing the armour off the ground, you will have passed the test. Unfortunately for you, if you fail, you have a 10-foot drop to an ice-cold pool waiting for you. Anybody care to try?" proclaimed Frey."
"Hmmm, why not?" said one boy. He took one jump and crawled out of the pool-soaking wet. Without saying anything, Thane strode forward.
"Another volunteer. Very well," smirked Frey. Thane remembered the last day he had spoken to his father who had told him, "When trying to keep balance, always stay on your toes." "Well it is paying off now,” thought Thane after his successful sequence of jumps on the slippery stalagmites. Finally he was close enough to see the armour. It was jet black and gleaming. A long cloak slipped from it and there was a black skull helmet next to it. Observing this was enough to make Thane lose focus and slip. He plunged into the ice-cold water and came up gasping for air. As the slow swim back began, Thane could feel his limbs growing numb. "Oh God! Don't freeze up on me," thought Thane. In the end, he made it back.
After the others had tried and failed in the test and Thane had dried himself off, he made his way to the banquet hall. The dinner table was laden with every type of food imaginable: chicken, salads, fruit, and everything else. Thane looked around and saw lots of boys and girls around the table. All of them seemed anxious to start eating but they were told to wait for Frey's word. "Hello ladies and gentlemen, I would like to recognize the step you took, coming here to our Guild." The rest of Frey's speech was a total murmur to Thane for he was thinking about something else. That skull in the cavern looked an awful lot like the mask his father used to wear as a fighter. In fact, it was the mask his father used to wear. That was when Thane decided that he was going to get that mask, no matter what. But what if the armour was his father's too? wondered Thane. Either way, he was going to get it first.
The next three months went by with constant training. If there was a word to describe how agitated Thane felt, he would have screamed it multiple times by now. After his first attempt at the armour, Thane had tried several other times to obtain it. All he had to show for these were a few bruises from when he had hit the water. Once again, Thane was beginning the tedious swim back when a thought occurred to him: couldn't he just climb up the platform? As the plan hatched in Thane's head, he turned around as if his body was a step ahead of his mind. It was so obvious to him now the test wasn't one of physical means but one of mental means. He could see hand and footholds etched into the platform. Moments later, he was atop it. He was there standing in front of his father's armour, but Thane noticed something he had not seen before—a note next to the armour. As Thane picked it up, he knew that it was something he had to hold close. Thane read the note slowly.


Thane, I know you will be the first to find this note because you are my son. You have shown talents of thievery your entire life. You never knew your mother and me much, but we loved you dearly. As you may have realized by now, I was not only the arena fighter you knew me as. I was also the thief Guild Master. I'm sorry I never told you but my duties had to be kept secret. Here lies my armour and knives; please use them effectively. Please keep this note with you at all times, for, if it were to fall into the wrong hands...well lets not think about what an enemy could do to the new Guild Master. My knives lie next to my armour: trust me, they are more effective than any weapon.
With Love, Your father, Fletcher


Fletcher? Fletcher was his name, of all things. In that instant, all Thane needed to do was get back to the far platform. After changing into the armour, Thane thought, Well, might as well try to not get wet, and he began the jumps back.


One evening a few weeks later, Frey asked to speak to Thane privately. “Thane, you’ve exceeded our expectations by reaching the armour and the Guild wants you to join the rank of Elicitor.”

“Sure,” replied Thane.

Frey looked thoughtful and then began to speak. “Your first mission begins today. We're raiding a place called Goldenglow Estate.”

“Alright!” exclaimed Thane.

Frey explained that a sword called GrimServer was being kept in Goldenglow Estate. Frey continued to explain how mercenaries were covering every inch of that place.
“Okay, then are you ready to die to get the sword back?” asked Thane.






******


As the white light faded, Thane heard his name. “Thane? Thane?” Thane was aware of somebody shaking him, and then he remembered GrimServer and the beginning of the raid on Goldenglow Estate. Thane slowly sat up. He could feel a powerful throbbing in his head.

“We had the meds come in and wake you up. Think you can still go on with the mission?” asked Frey from behind him.

“How can I not? Thieving is my last link to my parents.”

“Okay, then move out!” yelled Frey to the squad. Thane slowly stood up and looked around. He made out the outline of the mercenaries protecting Goldenglow Estate. At least three hours had passed since Thane’s blackout because now the sun was rising, shooting lines of red out from behind the Estate.
The pull of the sword urged Thane onwards. There was tension in the air as the squad progressed. The mercenaries didn’t notice the group sneaking up on them. It was hideous. bodies fell to the ground. Thane looked away, then nodded for the squad to continue forward.
“Grenade!” screamed one of the Elicitors. The group split into two groups, one on either side of the grenade. It was chaos once it exploded. That’s when another group of mercenaries appeared. As Thane ran towards Goldenglow, he realized that there were also snipers. Half the group on Thane’s side of the grenade had died. Thane made it to the door of the Estate and pushed the other Elicitors inside. They moved slowly, once again flinching at anything that moved. When they found a bedroom, they decided to rest and figure out a new plan. The group chose to split up so they could find the sword faster. Thane opposed this idea, but eventually he reluctantly agreed.
Thane moved down a dark hallway and into a cellar. He looked around. Then he saw it inside a holding case. GrimServer. He also saw a shield lying beside it. Thane slowly opened the case and the steel blade glinted under the lights in the room.
Wait I didn’t turn on any lights, thought Thane. He whizzed around to find a gun pressed to his forehead. “Goodbye Thane,” sneered the mercenary. Then Thane’s sight went black. He couldn’t think, but he felt a strange tugging. Then he could see again. He wasn't tugging though; it was the gem inlaid in the hilt of the sword. Then Frey and his group walked in. Frey took one look at Thane’s body and the sword on the ground and fired every bullet left in his gun into the mercenary.

“It was soul transfer,” said Frey out loud. “Thane’s body is dead but his soul lives on in the sword,” he announced. "This sword will trap any departed soul near it."
“So now what?” asked an Elicitor.
“We take the sword and put it in an honored place so that Thane may live forever in peace,” said Frey.
Thane was so confused. He felt that he a body, but he was trapped in this strange world. Something moved behind him. “Dad!” spluttered Thane.
“Thane?” The father stared at his young son's face. “Thane!” he exclaimed. “Thane, don’t panic. Your soul has been transferred into GrimServer, just like mine and your mother’s were.”
“Mom is here?” Thane asked, shocked.
“Yes.” answered his father. “Come with me, Thane. We are safe under the power of GrimServer. We three have a lot of catching up to do!”

******


Days had passed since Thane's death, and all that remained of him was GrimServer and a shield with a flag tied to it flapping in the wind, atop the highest peak.

******


Bang!

The story should have stopped there but it continued. A small hole burned open on the gem on Grimserver's hilt; it was the only way for the souls of the dead to escape. However, even as soon as it opened, it began to shrink. Thane's parents secretly hoped for Thane to return to the real world and help his newborn sister. They pushed his soul out of the portal with a hard shove. Thane felt himself growing fast and he felt something new. He saw the shadows of his parents crying in Grimserver, missing him already. Thane was also scared of the real world and very depressed to leave his parents, but he knew that someday this had to happen. Remembering his way out of the Estate, Thane went silently and unnoticed. He didn't want to meet people because he was sure he would have to explain his experience at length.

In the middle of the woods,Thane was still in a deep sleep but he could feel people surrounding him. The warmth encompassed him and comforted him. He wanted to stay that way—warm and cozy. He loved that he was all dry. His memories of his parents made him smile in his faint dreams. He wanted to go back. He wanted to live his life as any normal teenager would. He was wondering if he would join his friends at the huge dinner table in the thieves Guild. But then he opened his eyes, looked around, and found himself with strangers. They were looking down at him like he had fallen from outer space. Everyone seemed worried about him. Thane grasped the nearby grass and jumped up lightly as if nothing had happened to him.

“Why are you guys around me? Is there something wrong?” asked Thane curiously.

They answered in strange unison, “Nope, nothing is wrong with you, we thought you might be hurt so we tried to help. Sorry if we scared you.”

“No not at all. Thank you for keeping me safe. I sometimes do that.”

“You're welcome, if you wish, you can come join us at our dinner party.”

Thane rejected the offer politely; however, his stomach gurgled for food. To cover the sound, Thane quickly asked, “Are you the Peace People?”

The group of men turned and replied in the same strange unison, “Yes we are. We are the Peace People.”
Thane was thrilled to find himself in the right place; however, he was also scared by how, every single time, these people replied in unison, as if they were hypnotized and controlled by one mind. He also noticed that, based on the way they walked and the dark circles underneath their eyes, it seemed like they hadn't slept for a while. Everyone looked very sleepy.

Thane was shocked. He was scared that if he followed them he would become like them and he didn't want that to happen. Backing away, he stumbled and then he scrambled to his feet and ran. The hypnotized people turned around and stared at him in awe. Thane was in shock at the way they blankly stared at him. He waited for the people to chase him down and prepared to fight them off if they did come. His fear took over and drove him back into assassin mode. However, the people went back to their houses without a second glance.

Was I overreacting? thought Thane. They don’t seem to want to hurt me.
But one thing inside Thane bothered him. The eyes. The people's pupils varied with blue, black, brown, and green hues. Yet they were so blank. It almost seemed as if they were looking through him.

Something is really wrong with these guys. There must be something happening here. What was even more weird was that when the people went into their houses to cook, no smoke came out of their chimneys and the settlement was dead silent. It felt like something had hit Thane hard at the back of his head—it was the dizziness that overcomes people in shock—and a chill rushed down his spine. What is happening here? What is wrong with these people? Thane, with dangerous curiosity, moved closer to get a better view of what was happening inside the homes. There was a guy hypnotizing the entire group of people, and they were swaying back and forth, humming words that did not exist.

In this moment, Thane realized that his whole life was fake. He was living in a world of assassin's that had no purpose. He realized his mistake in leading the assassin just to fulfill his unreachable dreams. It was a huge waste of time, he figured. Thane thought he had realized the true meaning of life as he stepped out of the assassins' Guild, but no, that was not the end. He had made the mistake of looking for a utopia that never was. Thane realized how stupid his life had been. He was living in his dreams, thinking that everything would work out just the way he wanted it to. He wanted the world to obey his wishes. But these desires were just dreams. He was brave and he had power to lead others, but he was blind in the real world. The utopia he had dreamed of was created by people from a dystopian world. Everything was fake. Everything was just like magic, making things look perfect and normal when it is merely a trick. However, there was one place that was as close to a utopia as he could ever hope,but he had never noticed it as he was busy climbing the stairs to his dreams, never realizing that the stairs were breaking as he went up each step, and that he would soon fail when he tried to go back down. His sister was the closest thing to utopia. He had come all the way to where he was looking for the fake, non-existent island, just because his sister had made a mistake. All he had to do was to tell Sapphire what was wrong with her behavior and how he never really liked the Guild he had control over. He realized that he hadn't thought of his sister and never thought of her name until just now. He wanted to get back. Back to his sister. It was that simple, but he had been living his life in the fake world. He stood up and ran, far away from the fakeness to find his sister. He would take her back to their Guild.

For the first time he had made the right choice: going back to the Guild. In his mind, he thought of what he will change when he arrived back at the assassin's Guild. He was also happy that, finally, he had came back to real life. He was not depressed anymore. And strangely, all the blackouts he used to get when he was overly excited didn't happen. All the blackouts he had experienced felt as if they were all part of a plan, and he had to know his past in order to know what he and his sister had been through. As he looked back at his past, he saw that his life was very unusual. Having come back to life after death, he thanked god again for his life and the smile on his face brightened the rainy day. He galloped off on his horse to find his sister.

Sapphire was confused. She wasn't sure where she was; she wasn't sure what to do. She was hurrying away with her new mates to find a place to hide from her brother. On their way, they found a cave-like hole dug into the mud. They planned to stay in the hole that night and they brought all their food and supplies that they had found in the wild down into the hole. However as Sapphire was moving back and forth with her supplies, she wanted to go to Thane. Her intuition was telling her to go back. But she resisted the feeling. She spent the night gathering food and branches to build a fire; however, it wasn't as easy as when Thane had shown her how to do it. What's more, the effort was for nothing, because just as she got a single ember to flare, the storm began. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep very easily, yet the dark embrace of blackness pulled her down eventually. The night wasn't the best. She woke up and fell asleep over and over. All of her followers were asleep. They were also struggling to stay asleep, but not as much as her. Something didn't feel right with this place and she didn't like it. She wanted to go back to the Guild and she wanted to get back with Thane. But, despite this, she also had a feeling that held her down in anger because she wanted Thane to feel even worse; If he were there, she felt she would ignore him even if he apologized. It was hard to fight off that feeling. She fell into this dilemma as she listened to the chirping of the crickets and the heavy snoring of the men. Eventually she decided to go back to the Guild—she was to scared to stay in the stormy forest. Also, she was sure that Thane was somewhere around. With the storm still pouring, she woke up her followers, asked them to follow her, and ran tinto the night. The group jumped over logs and under branches. They had no sense of direction but could only rely on Sapphire's instinct. They ran and ran, unaware of time. The storm raged on. She came to a stop as she hit a road. She looked left and right and didn't see anything. She wanted to continue but something told her to stop. There were hoof beats thundering down the path. Then she saw a man on a horseback speeding down the road. Thane. It was Thane.

Thane didn't notice his sister, but as Sapphire called to him, He jumped off his horse that was still galloping and rolled to break his fall. At first, there was an awkward silence between the two, but then Sapphire began sobbing out the word 'sorry' repeatedly and Thane did the same. They embraced in a hug . The thick wall that had stood between them finally crumbled and with peace in their hearts, the brother and sister went side by side all the way to the Guild as the other followers guarded them from any danger. When they arrived, things continued well. Thane took his leadership back and boosted the assassin's Guild. He also changed the title from Assassin to Parkour. It was the Guild of the Parkour. Thane never changed his opinion about killing, so he established a Guild teaching assassins to get all the skills of the assassins except for killing.

As peace finally reached Thane and Sapphire, the storm cleared for the last time and the black rain clouds vanished from view to reveal a rainbow shining high above the Guild.

“We should be happy with what we have.” Thane squeezed Sapphire's shoulders hard and went rushing out to the waiting recruits.