Getting Back to the Basics [Unity Corps Training]

Bahir walked into the courtyard of the palace that was designated for the training of the Unity Corps's members. He crossed his arms as he watched the men and women sparring with each other. He was a bit impressed with how well the group was becoming when it came to their combat ability. However, he WAS disappointed with how their actions have been as far as counterintelligence has gone. He had been getting less and less reports when it came to their ability to scout the country and prevent any outside spies from successfully acquiring information about Reim's current state. Perhaps, Bahir was just a bit too paranoid about the whole situation? Perhaps he should just take a more relaxed stance when it comes to his dealing with the corps. Then again, the moment he did that he would probably fall prey to an onslaught of spies.

With a heavy sigh, the fanalis walked out into the center of the courtyard and crossed his arms, preparing to draw the attention of the would be soldiers. "Gather round!" The corps members froze in their sparring and gathered around Bahir. The fanalis looked over all of them and smiled for a second. "Your combat prowess is progressing quite well. I'm proud of all of you, but now we have to get back to basics. Throughout Remano, I've planted Wind, Gatherer, Huntsman, Shade, and Shield. Each of them have hints to where you will be able to find me. In order to obtain the information you would have to follow their movements respectively, and ambush them once they are secluded. Group one will go after Shade, two you will go after Wind. Group 3 will go after Huntsman, four you will have shield, while group five will have to keep track of Gatherer. Do not let them spot you. If they catch on to any one person, their group has failed and will have to go back to the fundamentals of tailing and remaining hidden. You have five hours to prepare. I'll see you at the end of the test." The corps members nodded and gathered in their groups before heading out on their own separate ways.

Bahir sat in his office for a moment until the time for all of them to gather with him. There were some members of the Reim military in the office with Bahir. The fanalis smiled as he leaned back in his chair. "Alright. Your task is to interfere with my recruits. They are going to be attempting to tail my captains. I'll need some of you to provide a bit of... resistance for them." The men of the military looked between each other before looking back to Bahir. "Don't worry. They won't deal any lethal damage to you. They believe themselves to just be on a recon mission. If they are armed, it won't be anything too overwhelming. Besides.... in comparison, your combat capabilities are greater than theirs." Bahir signed multiple slips of parchment and slid them across his desk to the soldiers. "However... if they manage to overcome you physically, show this to them. Their assault on you will stop and they will proceed after their initial target. Thank you for your assistance, gentlemen."

The soldiers slowly took the pieces of paper and nodded to Bahir, letting him know that they acknowledged what little authority he had. Well, more like they respected him for his efforts with the emerging Unity Corps. The men turned on their heels and exited Bahir's office. The fanalis sighed as he leaned back into his chair, thinking if he was doing this the right way. Perhaps he should take a more lecture type of approach with the newer recruits and left the physical training to the higher tiered members. Either way, it was too late. At least for this session. With a slow sigh, the fanalis stood up and made his way back into the courtyard of the palace.

As he walked into the courtyard, he was relieved to see all five of the groups waiting on him. The Corps members turned to their temporary leader and bowed, waiting on the signal to start. With a grin, Bahir nodded his head and the five groups dispersed almost immediately.

Bahir sat on top of the palace of Remano. He watched over the city as he patiently waited on the corps members to find him. It had been a few hours since they first set out from the courtyard to participate in his little "game," but he still hadn't heard from any of the groups. This started to worry the fanalis a bit. He instructed his captains not to make things TOO difficult for them, so he didn't expect tailing the members and acquiring the information necessary would be that strenuous. Even the added resistance that Bahir set up for his men would not have caused them any delay over 10 minutes. Bahir finally let his worry get the better of him and stood. The fanalis was going to search out the groups and notify them of their failure, if they were healthily okay.

Just as Bahir got to his feet, the jingle of chains could be heard. The man's ears twitched as his eyes darted into the direction that the sound came from. As he did so, he could see something coming his way. Knowing that it would take too long to draw the Serpent's Kiss, Bahir grabbed the handle of his shadow fang and drew the knife with his left hand, swatting the object away in the process. The recoil from the hit gave Bahir a bit of an idea. No standard blade would have given him that much recoil. It had to be a weight. Unfortunately, the assassin wasn't able to discern if his assumption were true as he heard more chains being rustled. His right hand went to the hilt of his sword. He drew it with one large arc, knocking away three more of the weights.

"Come out. Now." Bahir spoke, his voice showing a bit of agitation. He figured that his soldiers took the task a little too far and were trying to ambush the fanalis. However, he didn't receive a response. A minute passed, Bahir still poised for an onslaught. His ears twitched once more as he could hear a large number of footsteps. Bahir raised his eyebrows as it was his students.... plus five. There were five bodies being carried by one of his students from each group. A grin spread across the man's face as he watched the bodies being thrown to the ground, their wrists and ankles bound. "Report." One of the privates that Bahir intended on promoting stepped forward, clearing his throat before saluting Bahir. "Colonel. We acquired your location from the captains and as we approached this position, we saw you staving off a vollen of chain whips. We waited until the assailants attempted to flee and ambushed them.None were given lethal blow by us, though."

Bahir's jaw dropped slightly. He didn't expect such finesse from the groups. He was proud of the work that they did. "Excellent. I wouldn't have done it any different. You all have passed my test. Get a good night's rest and enjoy your day tomorrow. We will take a day from training. Just make your usual rounds." The men and women cheered before picking up four of the assailants. Bahir stopped them before they could grab the fifth... he had plans for that one...

---

Bahir carried the man over his shoulder out to the Western Front. The prisoner regained his consciousness from the beating he received from the Unity Corps privates and awoke to be face-to-face with the assassin. "Good morning sunshine... Let's talk." Bahir pulled one of his throwing darts from his pouch and threw it towards the man, piercing his shoulder. The man let out a pained scream as he looked around lost, hoping that he was in a bad dream. "Now... You assaulted an assassin. A fanalis assassin. You should have known that this would be the result. Here's what's going to happen: I'm going to kill you. At least... I want to. You have a choice though. You can be stubborn and not tell me anything... in that case I'll just kill you slowly with agonizing poisons. You can die quickly and just tell me who sent you after me... or you can live and tell me everything. Who sent you, where is he stationed, and what was your reward?" This would be the second time that someone had moved on Bahir's life. Is it because he worked under Lagi now? Perhaps working for the man as the second-in-command of the Unity Corps was bringing to much attention to him.

The man was wearing the same type of clothing that the last assassin did. Bahir narrowed his eyes at this observation. While the man struggled with his decision, Bahir drew his serpent's kiss and really looked over the man's clothing. Its similar to what I used to wear as well.... did Dad send him as well?" he thought to himself until the man finally began to speak. "I... I was sent by the Crimson Gh-- the shadow. I was sent by the real shadow... He tired of a man claiming his name and dealing on behalf of the Emperor. My reward was to learn his secrets..." Bahir closed his eyes as the man confessed. So it was father. This idiot didn't think I knew about his codename... Bahir sighed. His father would often go by the Crimson Ghost. Even though the failure tried to cover up his mistake, Bahir was quick enough to catch on to the correction.

"I admire your courage to confess such things... but you lied to me. I can not guarantee your survival. The man who sent you is the Crimson Ghost, correct? Don't try to hide behind false codenames." There was no way that the man could've been hired by anyone else other than Hakim. Bahir only revealed his codename to his five captains, the ones he trusted the most in the corps. Bahir unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the man's chest, while the chained tail wrapped around the man's neck. Bahir drew his blade back from the man's sternum and the chain uncoiled from his neck. Sheathing his blade, Bahir turned and headed back towards the castle, worry on his face. My father... wants me dead...