Activity

@hannahrenner

Hello!  Hope you enjoy the chaos.  We definitely could do with a few more people here.  I have a feeling things are about to get interesting.

OOh, I hope so! Honestly, the chaos is always my favorite part of the character castles.

@this-is-not-an-alien

Okay, I think I mostly got it! I’ll drop Chantara in, then we’ll see from there. New castles are always a bit of a learning curve XD

I’m going to change a few names to avoid spoilers!

Chantara

My entire body ached, a dull, throbbing, searing pain. I didn’t move. I had no idea where I was, and I wasn’t going to let anyone notice I was awake. I lay curled up on the floor, somewhere. My muscles were stiff and painful. I must have just finished an assignment. Was I back already? Had I fallen asleep while waiting for the commander? I didn’t hear the voices of my friends, the seven other assassins in my cluster.

I smelled like sweat, camel, and blood. The metallic scent was drenched into my clothes, mixed with the sickly sweet smell I always associated with Aydin. I relaxed, slightly. The thought of him was somehow calming. He hated that smell, but I didn’t mind it.

Voices bounced around, my mind too exhausted to register the language. What was it? It wasn’t Kezbe. I wasn’t at the headquarters.

My memory slowly came back. My target had been a rising merchant in Ticaret. He was rising to a position of power and he was loud about his views about the Kezbes, and our king in particular. No wonder an order had come through that he had to disappear. I’d been assigned, and I hadn’t complained, although I had barely come back from my previous one.

I had completed it, hadn’t I? My hand slowly crept down, toward one of the knives strapped to my thigh. The others dug into me, the pommel of one poking me between the ribs. I had at least eight with me, all hidden.

My fingers closed around the knife and I slowly, almost imperceptibly, drew it. My hand was hidden by the corner of my tunic. It hid the knives, but they were still easy to reach. My finger traced the edge of the blade. There, right along the edge, was a slim line of dried blood. I barely felt it, but it was there.

I must have completed the assignment, but I’d fallen asleep or been knocked unconscious before I could get back to headquarters.

The voices slowly became clearer. I recognized it as a language similar to the common language, but the pronunciation was different, and some words were odd.

“I would think the answer is obvious!” A voice hissed. Something about it made a shudder dance up my spine. It sounded… unnatural.

“Fine.  I’ll play your game. I’ll mislead your tools, I’ll ‘make nice’, I’ll entertain you.” Another voice said. It was full of cold ferocity.

“After all, that’s what friends are for,” the second voice purred.

I risked cracking one eye open, ever so slightly. A girl stood before an oaken door, hugging a battleax. She was the second voice, and I felt apprehension rising. This girl wouldn’t hesitate to use that ax. She was dangerous.

I hesitated, knife still in hand. From here, I could get up and throw the knife so it hit her squarely between the shoulder blades. My eyes pinpointed the spot. She wouldn’t live more than a few minutes. Then again, that would immediately give away what I was capable of. No, I wasn’t ready for that.

I decided on my strategy and slipped the knife back into the scabbard. The motion was nearly invisible, and the girl was turned away from me. I brought my hand to my face, making no effort to hide the motion. I brushed my fingertips around my eyes, making sure I had washed off the black paint I painted around my eyes. The skin was smooth and dry.

I opened both eyes and let out a small whimper. I couldn’t help finding a small, twisted sense of joy in it. They would never see it coming.

I sat up, slowly and clumsily. That wasn’t hard, my muscles were still sore.

“What– Where am I? Who are you?” I asked, my voice quavering. I pulled up the dregs of fear and let them echo in my voice. It was convincing, even if I said so myself. I was good at lying, even more so when it became an elaborate act.

I could carry this off. All my weapons were hidden and I could lie away the few smears of blood on my clothing. They would believe I was innocent and helpless. And if anyone tried to exploit that, I would give them a nasty surprise.

“Welcome to the Choosing.  It is a special honor to participate in this exercise,” the unnatural, disembodied voice said. It seemed to be coming from the door.

“Excercise?” I said, hesitantly. I had no idea what the voice was talking about.

I hunched, as though scared, but my eyes were already darting along the door where the voice seemed to be coming from, examining it for a place I could jam my knife. The walls were smooth, so there was no way I could find higher ground. I was stuck here.