Assassins Inc. - Part One

 

Part One: The Gathering

    The three men walked in silence, the only sound was that of fallen leaves and branches crunching beneath their feet. The air was cool but not cold and the once present fog still hinted an influence. The deep forest in which they first began their journey slowly thinned out to small saplings, sparse underbrush, and finally to nothing more than rocks. In unison, almost as if a single entity, they stopped and looked out across the vast sky to their left. 

    Their brown robes stole any hint of distinction between the three of them. Clearly related, they carried an air of nobility but at the same time, love seemed to emanate from them. Even a brief glance into their eyes revealed a piercing kindness, an immediate flood of compassion and deep wisdom. But their appearance argued a definite ambiguity of origin. One wanted to suggest a Middle Eastern heritage but everything else seemed to be there as well.

    The open, deep blue sky hung above a layer of fluffy white clouds. The view was glorious but they knew that nothing of beauty sat below the clouds. In a single movement, they slipped into the cave behind them and sat in a circle, facing one another. The eldest among them motioned for the others to wait as they sat in silence. There was nothing awkward about their relationship. There was a beautiful synergy between them. If one didn’t know the impossibility of it, he would almost think of them as a single entity but they were still three. 

    In a single motion, one of them placed small kindling in the fire pit between them, the second, laid larger wood upon it and the third ignited the small canopy. They watched the small flame grow into a comfortable, snapping, orange glow and warmth began to creep across the cave, casting its flickering embrace upon everything it touched.

    “Gentlemen, we must act,” one of them said. “That which lies below the cloudline must be addressed and acted upon. If we do nothing, those below will eventually destroy themselves and their progeny. Their own foolishness has rendered them incapable of helping themselves.”

    “Yes, Jahwn,” one of them answered. “We understand the problem but don’t forget about the three who have not forgotten the truth. It is with these that restoration can take place.” As these final words echoed upon the walls around them, they sat in silence for several moments, each giving deep thought to the next steps that must take place. 

    “We know what must be done,” the third said. “We must descend from our place and set in motion that which must happen if we are to restore reality from its corruption.” 

    “What you speak is true,” the second said. “But the effort is not ours alone. Our work can never be imposed, it must be a work between us and them. We see the end from the beginning but their actions must be from the decisions they freely make. Our influence will be real and it will be certain but it cannot be imposed. Direction, suggestion, and opportunity, these we will provide.”

    “We all know what must be done,” the first said. “Now is the time to act.”

    In one fluid motion, they stood, added a large amount of wood to the fire and left the cave, the orange glow licking out upon the ground outside the entrance. They stopped again and looked out across the limitless blue sky with its white pillow foundation. 

    “Jose, you will go to the western desert of Egypt and find Symeon,” one of them said. “Use your wisdom to guide and instruct him. You must be discreet in your interaction. The solitude that his kind practice makes them somewhat unapproachable. Be wise and gentle.”

    “Joshua, you are to go to the land of Romania,” he continued. “It is there that you will find Mircea. He will not be easy to convince of the work we have for him. His many years in isolation have passed and he has taken on the role of leadership for many in his land. He is very connected to his people and will want to stay among them. But I trust that you will eventually sway him.”

    “And I, Jahwn, will go to the northern forests of Russia,” he said. “Like the others, Alexei has been in seclusion for many decades. He has grown to a place where he is ready to expand his influence. When we eventually convince these men of the work that needs to be done, we will see the darkness that has overtaken this land weaken, decline, and eventually be defeated. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how important this is. These men will be following a path that will bring a type of death for those upon whom they focus. There are many who will oppose them to try to prevent this from happening.”

    “I trust that their time in isolation will have prepared them for the certain fight that lay ahead, " Jose said. “We must use our time in travel to prepare our messages for them. They must understand the end goal, the opposition they will face, and the lies that will be spoken against them.”

    “They will be exerting a certain type of violence when they begin this work,” Joshua said. “And a different kind of violence will be poured out upon them in return. This is a glorious and terrible endeavor we are putting into action.”