The Way of Sin [training]

Day 1~

Casrare had forever been changed the nightmares of Zahid. In a town in which he had only hoped to help he was left with scars. Before him he had witnessed people not only killed but brutalized. The sassanid only wished to defend himself and on his own he had killed those with a disease, exposing them to rotting flesh and putrid pus. He touched the river of life, of memory which flooded every synapse he had with images of pain, pleasure, kindness, and the worst kind of evil. The young man had been exposed to all that of life in which he had been denied. The safety of his nation crippled him, it left his skin raw and uncalloused for the dangers that would come to eviscerate him.

He had become the nightmare, as he was learning to control his body he had changed even further. Magic not just of plague, now of fear coursed through his body. It was overwhelming, it was born of his own action. The first change he had experienced was through the awful dealings with the contractor, he had been tricked and warped. Now, he had chosen to take in the darkness, to get a better understanding, to free his mind and body. If he was going to live, to truly live in the world he would need to freely experience sin. Casrare would need to learn greater control of his body, of the magic in it.

He was good in learning control, but there was more that he needed to understand. That is what would bring him to the desert of forgotten souls. There were rumors of a man there, from a group long dead, masters in the art of the body and in the art of death. If he was going to understand life better, he needed to understand himself, to understand death.

He had walked through the desert for 37 days, now as his water and food began to run low a hut of sandstone sand alone amongst the storms, connected to a cave with a well outside. The waters must have been the remnants of an oasis as the water was spare. From behind the darkness, a man with alabaster hair and topaz eyes would step forth. He was of Heliohaptian descent for sure. He would say aloud "What the hell brings you here?"


Day 38~

Growth was a strange subject, always controlled by so many surrounding circumstances. When Cas was in Kina he had learned how to control more of his body in just about a week. Now, he was struggling with learning to do three at once. He tried focusing on hardening the muscles in his torso and arms.

"AGAIN!" The voice of his master Khemut would snap, on command Casrare would bolster his upper body once more. For the 50th try in the day since the sky first turned red he would charge forward. A swing, then another swing both missing as he tried to land a clean hit on the man in front of him. He had ducked the first, then Khemut pushed away the other fist before slamming both palms into his pupil's chest.

Casrare would push back, his spikes which he tried to control would burst out sticking into the rock behind him. Before he even had the chance to free himself a stunning blow would come across his right cheek. Another blow would hit him across the left of his face as his master kept landing blows. In response Cas would inflate his chest, keeping it hardened to slam back Khem. The blow would manage to cause his master to stumble.

"Not bad but you still aren't delivering enough power, you have enough things working for you but you're not properly utilizing them to balance your abilities. You have to have a clear thought of how you wanna approach and battle your enemy so you can avoid making too many changes" Khemut would say.

Cas would nod, saying back "Understood, I find my thoughts clouding sometimes with the decisions, so I'm gonna try and let my instinct control myself a bit. It's a bit inconvenient when your back sticks into brick."

"Well, that's fair but learn to correct your weaknesses not avoid them, now let's go again before the end of the night" Khem would say.

Day 75~

A dagger would fly at Casrare's back, a hard clang would follow as the protruding spine would extend as a blade to intercept it. Khem would then just as quickly kick off with one of his enhanced legs to come around Casrare to throw another at his face. He rolled out of the way, with a flick of his wrist his arm would become black with hardened sulfur and carbon. The hardened limb would slash out like a whip tripping his master with the strike. The fight was far from over however as he would barely dodge the dagger.

Despite his attack, the dodge had opened him up, Khem bolted towards Cas and he would deliver a powerful ax kick launching the young man into the cavern wall. Before his spikes would protrude this time he was quick enough to retract them, lightening his weight with his gas bladder he would then bolster his upper body. The spikes on his back would wrap around his rib cage as his arms and chest inflated becoming deep indigo black. Now with such a hardened form, he would float on over towards his as master. The same one-two combo he'd been working on would fly from his fists, once again Khemut would manage to dodge the strikes.

Anticipating this reaction to his attacks he now spun around while floating to do a rising kick, landing clean on Khemut's chin. Then as his master would rise Casrare would fire off a strong right hoof towards Khem's chest, the blow sending the man flying into the cavern, landing just close to the corner of his house.

"Well, it looks like you've learned how to shift and control your power. Now, you said you wished to understand the art of death, now you know your own life, you came to me wishing to understand yourself that is what you told me, so let's take you to that next level."

Day 80~

Khemut would talk to Casrare as he kept the pace up the mountain.

"Before the shadows fell and our fell from its former glory we ruled atop these peaks. Not just here on the edge of the deserts but through the lands to Reim in the old world of Parthevia where we were born. In a world where we had to do what we could to protect our people. In a time in which we forgave laws and morals, nothing was true but everything was permitted. It was in those times we did what we could do have peace amongst a warring world to justify the things we did."

He turned as the pair of them walked up spiraling spikes of the piercing peak. The assassin would let on, his eyes staring down on Casrare just as the sun did. "That's what I was taught, or what I was told at least by my master. There are those who remain but many of them remain entranced by intoxicating herbs. They help cleanse the mind sometimes with their haze but too much time in the clouds drowns one's thoughts."  

Khem gave a moment for pause as they continued upward to the place that would be their training grounds. "You're probably wondering why I'm telling you this?" Khem would ask Casrare.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little curious" Cas would reply, he kept silent for most of the journey but he enjoyed learning new things.

"Well it's not meant to be just another history lesson, it is so you begin to understand how our lifestyle empties the mind and body for the sake of a cause. In order to become a master of life, you must be a master of death, I'm sure you've stared it down once or twice." Khem had said.

The Sasanid wasn't sure how to answer or if he should. During the start of his journey there had certainly been bumps in the road. At first, that's all they were bumps, but soon it was hills in his path until he fell into the abyss. He stared into it as he made the mistake of going into the sands of Zahid. The longer he peered, he began to notice that it was looking back. The deep, endless void had entered into his soul.

"I guess you could say I have" he said reliving the countless deaths that he saw.

"Spoken like a true trauma victim, well it's okay we'll look into that as we bring you back to death. You're going to learn to make your name a secret, a hidden pulse, your face a changing blur.  You will learn to die and stay dead until the time for you to reveal yourself. There are many different paths to take, and many ways to bring death upon people. You'll have the chance to learn what methods you prefer. Before we go to the gates of the underworld you see why we live."

His last word would follow with a strong step up the rocks. There at the summit, there was a stronghold long abandoned in its' caretaking. They had been climbing through the night up the mountain, now the rising sun kissed their sight with its carmine glow which shifted to scarlet, amber, and magenta before blazing into brilliant gold.

"We live to experience, so those after us can, even if we are tools of death."  Khem would say/

Casrare absorbed the sun in, the view down below in spanning savannah and desert. The sands shone brighter than any treasure with the light's grace. He had already seen so much beauty and horror as he gazed upon the river of death. He needed to learn to understand it, to harness those feelings in order to truly support his new cause. There was a reason people were attracted to sin, it was human to control the desire but not to suppress it. He would feed into these desires and then make them his tool.

Learning Assassin- 711/2000

Day 140~

The first two months on the mountain were brutal, he had learned how to harden his body, now he had to learn to let his body become hurt. To learn to rely on other methods in order to get the job done. Within the old mountain fort, he had been forced to deal burnt torchwood pressed against his sickly skin. For days he was forced to change his voice till it was bleeding with the only cure to his ailment being a tea. Each and everything he did was to understand how pain worked, how the body dealt with death. He knew how to control his own, now it was about learning to accept that knowledge further and how to apply it to others.

Khemut had subjected him to pin-point attacks on his pressure points, showing him how flesh and bone on the body tore apart. There were no fresh targets, so it was just the bones of men and whatever animals he could get for example. Tho he planned something special to prepare the young man for his tasks. Before the time would arise he had to further show Cas what avenues he could use in the Hashashin order.

"You've been doing good so far I'd say, though I can't tell if your sickly look is from training or your diseased form." Khem would joke as he joined Casrare. The sassanid ignored the comment as he mediated out on the cliff face. He really did grow to love the view the more he took it in.

"Starving might be better than what you have to offer for cooking, I mean you make me look adequate" Casrare would joke back.

His master would walk up to him, standing behind him just to offer a moment of advice for the young man. He had been progressing well in his training but now it was his chance to blossom, to see how his direction would flourish as an acolyte as a Hasasahin. Khem would say "Break meditation for just a moment, we need to have a moment to talk."

"Of course Master, I know how to use myself as a weapon so I think that would be the obvious route" Casrare had said.

"Yes and that's exactly while we'll try our best to avoid that route for now. I learned to use poison and pressure points, while I enjoy my needles I can also do it just as well with my hands. You on the other hand should lead into your acting, well any good assassin should but I think weapons would actually suit you quite well" Khem would explain.

Casrare would ask "well what do you have in mind?"

"Subterfuge and trickery can work very well with gadgets and weaponry, poisons I think could still be used but I think that might just be my personal bias from being experienced with them. Though based on your creativity you might want something with a bit more play room so I'm sure we can come up with some fun ideas. While we don't have much in the warehouse I have a metalsmith who I could commission for it."

Casrare could only ponder what ideas he had. He was pretty inexperienced with weapons. but maybe that was why he needed to take the chance to become familiar with them. In order to grow, you had to accept your failures. Maybe it was about time for him to step outside of his comfort zone.

He would stand to face Khemut, he was experiencing all kinds of torture but there was a joy in how he was learning to tap into his emotions, while on the outside he was a clean slate.

"Well I'm sure you know best, I just hope it doesn't mean I'm gonna be stabbed with whatever you have in mind. I can only take so much torture in all honesty, but if it means I'll get to enjoy myself after well seems like a fair deal" Casrare would say.

"Well I can't give any promises on that" Khem would say with a smirk.

1.434/2,000

Day 280~

Casrare had been given the pleasure to have a special tool made for him, he had spent nearly a third of a year learning to use. Cas always found interest in flowers, there weren't that many in Sasan but the ones that did sprout always seemed rather beautiful. The metalsmith Khemut knew had crafted a device, one normally used to disperse water or food for flora, but modified instead to hold and dispense gas or liquid. He could fill it would poisons, with acids if he wished even. He was just thankful his new toy had never been used on him as a way to test it out. While he was resilient he didn't enjoy the pain. He didn't enjoy the rumbling outside as he thought either.

With all the training he had done, the time had arrived, he was going to go undercover and get his target. Khem had been arranging for the next stage of Cas' training as he had faith the sassanid would succeed in the trial he was taking on. It was bound to take some time, but after he took down this man they had a journey planned, to the Hasashin who rested and hid away from the worries of life. The plague walker wasn't sure what to think of those dealers of death, he wasn't sure what to think of himself as he took this so seriously. It just seemed like the best path, the most optimal path to help free people from this awful cycle.

It was time for him to stop getting in his head, as the cart in which he rode had started to slow down. The journey had been going on for some time, the moonlight even peaked through the creaks in the wood. Just on the corner of the desert, there was a monastery, there stayed a man in exile as a priest. Cas had only heard one thing about him from Khemut, and that was his target was once known as the Butcher of Balbadd.

TAP TAP TAP! "Come on out brother! the welcoming committee can't wait to meet you!" a voice would welcome him as it banged on his carriage door. He wasn't sure how friendly this welcome was going to be. Slowly, the door would creak as Cas tried to open it without rushing into the open. He had to make sure his skin was smooth, that his horns stayed hidden under his hood. He wasn't himself today, he couldn't be a freak, he had to be a holy brother in this journey for salvation.

"Nice to meet you father, I am brother Casrare, I am honored to be welcomed here to join you all in thought" Cas would say as exited keeping a solemn smile.

The man before him was portly, not like a big more like a human porcupine was rusty wool for hair. His eyes were squinted and his nose was stubbed but sharply upturned. His smile was strong, open enough to show his prominent buck teeth. He would open up his voice once more to say "Yes, yes we've been expecting you! I am father Noah, I can't wait to get to know you better at dinner when we have barely soup. Sadly I don't get to be lucky enough to handle your training, I like to give everyone the opportunity of that joy so you're gonna be working under father Zayd."

The priest's voice was warm but overly pitchy, he didn't want to be rude but he really didn't want to have to listen to him much longer either. "That's a shame Noah, well I still really look forward to getting to know you, and I guess that means we can just be dinner buddies. I look forward to quiet meditation" Cas said with a sharp grin and closed eyes.

Despite the slight hint he gave, Noah would continue to ramble on as he lead Casrare along weathered bricks dusted with sand from recent storms. There were no walls around the monastery but there was a small fence. Despite the arid area they had irrigated well enough to have a garden all around the area. It seemed like he was going to have some real work as a gardener while here too. He briefly caught Noah mentioning Casrare's duties as a gardener, which explained the justification for his sprayer. Khemut really seemed to have this covered with the setup, now the sassanid just had to pull it off.

wordcount for assasin training: 2000/2000

Day 300~

Casrare had spent most of his days following Zayd, shadowing him in order to do his best work, and to best understand his target. If he learned anything in his training, from his observations, was that time was a factor in every kill. This was a slow burn, surrounded by false idols and benevolent brothers Zayd had protection from his past all around. It wouldn't be easy to break past that shell, and the harder part would be to escape it. From the days he had spent in the gardens working with his mentor he had picked up a few things from tending the roses.

The first thing he learned was that Zayd was only ever open and alone at two hours of the day. That was during the evening prayer, which he notoriously took in silence within his own personal area of the greenhouse. The second time was after dinner, he took a long but necessary bathroom break before the night's last prayer then call for bed. Other than that, he was with others in mandatory sessions or working with Casrare.

There weren't many who tended to the greenhouse, Zayd took over most of the duties and did the job well. There wasn't much to tend on the edge of a desert anyway. While they toiled away trying to cultivate what fertile land there was the others would scribe away inside the temple. While they did their work, and the Gardner did his, the Sasanid started to lay out the steps that would lead to his success.

"I wonder if any buds will need to be nipped..." he would mutter to himself as he looked for spots to be pruned. Some of the flowers were looking too sick to keep on the bush.

Day 334~

The sun sat high, evening mass had only been on for half an hour before the attack would take place. While most prayed in the halls, Zayd, like usual prayed with his roses. The man once concerned with a life of crime now sat quietly in front of a bushel of ochre and amber flowers. Cas, came behind him slowly, so as not to be heard. He had chosen to strike today of all days as everyone thought the Sasanid would be out selling their flowers and fruits to the market to acquire dairy and wheat that they were lacking. He had done the task already, but that was from his flight. To their knowledge, he should've still been trading.

It was from that ignorance that he would have the chance to strike. He learned how to scope out prey, to set the moment. He even had extra precautions planned. Within his sprayer, was a pesticide used for most of their plants. With a gloved hand, he would hold a vial of it as well. A decoy, he tossed it at the ground towards Zayd panic appearing in his eyes within a flash.

Cas would rush forward the puddle would make it seem like he accidentally dropped and inhaled the gas. To make sure he fell properly Cas would trip him, before he could scream the nozzle of his gas gun crammed into his mouth, giving him a poison-laced kiss from a cloud. They could've talked it out, he might've been reformed in all honesty. At that moment though, Casrare would see the light within a life burst in one last hoorah as it extinguished. It didn't feel good to kill, but watching the drastic shift of one's soul was a high that accompanied the sickly guilt.

Training assassin D-C tier: 600/500 word count