Lord of the Castle, Altair gets some unexpected visitors.

[TurquoisePheonix]

Altair, grandmaster of the Hashishin was, for the very first time for quite a while, perfectly content. Everything was going exactly how it should’ve; it was odd, that the plans he made were always ruined in some way or another. But he had been very fortunate; his takeover of the Hashishin was complete. The Hashishin were always assassins, but they had always tried to keep the balance. Altair was once like that, as well, until he discovered that the darkness was growing, and it couldn’t be kept in check any longer. The Hashishin were always secretive, and yet known; in times of overwhelming peace and light, they were evil assassins, cold-blooded and evil. In times of darkness and war, they were heroes. In times of balance, they were not active, and would pursue only the duality of light and darkness. They were not beings of light or darkness. They were simply neutral, and actively followed the position of balance.

But, ever since Altair realized that the darkness was becoming stifling, he had found that he rather enjoyed using the assassins to further his own goals. The ancient Burrowing Owl was now no longer following the Hashishin beliefs, though the assassins followed him blindly; the only one unlike that was Cecil. He was stubborn, following the old beliefs, the beliefs of balance, peace, and free will. The last he had killed was Doomfeather; that was one of the most important. Thanks to ridding themselves of the mage, they had gotten closer to what they had needed, what Doomfeather had always fought to protect and preserve. And now it was theirs; the girl was finally under his control.

Ao Shun wasn’t a total success, however. He would have to keep an eye on the Dragon Prince. He was somewhat irked by Kyo’s denying the spirit of a Dragon; he could’ve had the power of Ao Shun; maybe he could’ve even controlled it. Ludwig’s spirit was lost, driven almost powerless by Ao Shun. And, based on what he had sensed, Ludwig’s spirit had nearly gone from this world in an effort to save a friend.

“Come here, girl.” Altair spoke; he had been gazing out at the moon; it had just risen on the horizon, and looked quite large because of that. He had a perfect view of the sky from the thirteenth floor; the tower of the castle rose high up into the night sky. His door, which had been repaired, opened.

Altair looked behind him, running his talons across the fine, black blade of Caladbolg. The Ga’Hoolians hadn’t found it after he had taken it.

“Why did you summon me here, Master Altair?” The girl’s voice was robotic; it was a small Blue Boreal Owl; her voice did not have the normal chiming of a Boreal, which made her sound somewhat depressing. Yes, she was perfectly under his control, thanks to the drugs; and she was probably disoriented from gaining the power of the Dragon’s spirit. Altair found some dark, humorous irony in the spirit he had given her; the dragon’s spirit was in check, though he wasn’t quite ready to insert a spirit within himself; there was still a chance the girl couldn’t take a dragon’s spirit inhabiting her body. There had been no dominance established between the girl and the spirit, though Altair was sure he was making a step in the right direction. If she could not subdue the dragon within her own body, at the very least they would share the body equally, unlike Ludwig and Ao Shun, in which Ao Shun had established dominance in the body. Not until he was sure a body could take a dragon’s spirit, as well as one’s own, would he give himself a dragon. He regretted giving the most powerful to Ludwig, though after he attained a dragon’s powers, it wouldn’t matter.

“What does she say?” He asked the small, Blue Boreal; her body had taken the form of a Blue Owl, though her spirit still held strong against the dragon; it would end in a balanced relationship between the two. That was a step forward.

“She asks my master where the Prince is, and that if you’ve done anything to him, she will avenge him.” The girl’s robotic voice said, monotonous.

“Well, tell her that she may very well see Ao Shun once more.” Altair said; he smirked to himself. There was so much irony in all of this; he was tempted to let her off the drugs and give her to the Ga’hoolians. It would be interesting, in any case. But then, an idea came to him; he passed the girl Caladbolg.

“Keep this.” He ordered. She nodded, taking the blade out of his talons.

“Celes.” He stated. The girl looked back at him. “Yes, Master Altair?” She inquired.


“You are privileged, to have her spirit. Do not fail me when the time comes I need you.” He stated; he would control Celes, as he controlled the rest of the Hashishin. The entire situation was ironic; who she was, the gift of Caladbolg, the spirit he had given her. Altair snapped himself around; someone was coming.

“Do not leave.” His voice was stiff. The girl had turned, and was about to leave.

“Of course.” She replied monotonously. Altair knew the drugs would not last much longer, at this rate. He needed to deal with whoever was coming, and fast. The girl couldn’t be allowed to escape, not all the effort that he had put into creating her.

[Strix Moonwing]

Along the wide, high halls of the ancient fortress, a metal rafter attached to the stone wall held a single wooden torch, its dying flame flickering pathetically as it stood unattended to. As a long shadow cast over it, the lick of flame died out completely, leaving only a darkened, stump with a thin column of smoke rising like a twirling snake into the air.

The tiny creature that cast the dark shadow paid no heed to the put out torch. Ares, like many creatures of the night, preferred the darkness anyway. The light had only served the purpose of illustrating the numerous scars that still showed clearly around his red-feathered body. Almost all off the Hashishin carried these scars, ever since the night of the Cecil's and the others' escape from the fortress. The assassin remembered that night clearly. It had been the night that their leader had almost been able to capture both the mage and the dragon owl, however, the traitor Cecil had let the Ga'Hoolian prince and his comrades escape, thus foiling Altair's plans. Yet, Ares had almost had them! He had had the blacksmith in his grasp and her friends were more than ready to nobly surrounder themselves just for life of their pathetic friend.

The deadly elf owl's expression darkened at this part of the story.

Then disaster had occurred when the blacksmith actually killed herself with Ares' own claws! Ares spat in disgust and curled his golden battle claws in and out like a cat flexed his claws while waiting to pounce on its prey. Not only that, but even when the enemy group had been surrounded by Hashishin, that little runt of a blue owl had let out a cry that sent all the rats in castle in a furious frenzy! No owl in the Hashishin had ever seen such an event happen before. The prey had turn against the predator and had begun to attack them all. No, scratch that, all but that blue owl and his friends. Every one of these scars had been caused by those rat bites and no owl had been spared.

No owl, but the Headmaster, Altair, who they had found in the middle of a room that's interior had been destroyed by the polar bear leader. Though Altair had not spoken to any about what had occurred, it was obvious to all of them that something of great importance passed between Altair, Ludwig, and Kyo that night.

Are's thoughts of the events earlier came a stopping, when suddenly there was a tapping, a gentle rapping upon the window that lead outdoor. With his heart a beating, the assassin began repeating, "Who is that, a tapping upon the windows outdoor?"

Twas a raven, and nothing more. (I had to do it. Simply had to. xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD)

"What the sprink?" Ares growled, looking up at the dark-feathered raven as it stared down at him through the stained glass. It again tapped the glass with its large beak. As if on cue, three more of the black birds arrived and perched on the window sill. There came a rapping from behind him and turned to see a crow a tapping on the window opposite of the other. More ravens came a rapping, some crows came a flapping, all of each came tapping, a tapping on the windows outdoor.

They would not leave, evermore. (Sorry, I couldnt' stop.xDDDDDDDDDDDDDD)

Crows and ravens were perched all over the exterior of the fortress. No window was less unattended. Even though crows and ravens usually only came out in the daylight hours, these were wide awake in the light of the moonlight, all staring at the Hashishin owls through the tinted windows with piercing beady eyes.

Finally the tapping came to a halt. A heavy silence fell over the fortress and a sense of dread had came with this silence. It was as if the crows and ravens were waiting on something.....or someone.

Ares was about to turn to go inform the Grandmaster of this mysterious phenomenon when suddenly a chill went through his feathers. He slowly turned his head and his eyes grew wide with shock.

One of the windows were opened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever so slowly, the door to Altair's opened, creating an eerie creaking sound as it did so. The sound of feathers trailing across the floor marked the approach of a creature as she slowly walked across the chamber towards the Grandmaster of the Hashishin. No cloak hid the fowl's ugly, hideous features; a hagsfiend this bird was, but one of the ugliest and most foul, even among its own kind. However, it was by far the most of powerful of her kind. A dark aura of energy seemed to radiate off her feathers and her pale, pupilless eyes were filled with evil cunning. In a rasping voice, Lady Stirge, Mother of all Hagsfiends and Dragon Owls, spoke.

"Greetingsssss to you, my dear sssssson."

[TurquoisePheonix]

Altair found that he drew away from his blade at Stirge’s entrance. It wasn’t that he was relaxed; in fact, it was quite the opposite. He felt as if there would be violence, but it would be best to see what this creature wanted. Though he had never met the Mother of Hagsfiends, he knew that this…thing must have been her. He knew, because his brother had spoken to him about her several times. And this creature fit his description perfectly.
He didn’t feel fear; no, no creature had ever destroyed the Hashishin. Yes, an assassin had been killed every once in a while, but nothing had ever eradicated the assassins.

“Greetings.” He said after a moment. “Now speak quickly, Striga; or perhaps, you will find that your arrival is less welcome.” He said, finding that she simply radiated power. Something dark, though not unpleasant. A former Hashishin leader would have expelled her from the castle quickly, though the balance that the assassins had once tried to preserve had been usurped after Altair had taken control, though the assassins were, for the most part, blinded. They either blindly followed their leader, or enjoyed taking lives so much that they didn’t care what resulted from it. Only a few seemed to have any free will at all; Cecil, who had escaped, and a few remaining assassins, including Hilel.


Celes felt something strange within her; only a moment ago, the Burrowing Owl before her had been her master and leader, each of his decisions wise and flawless. But, after the hagsfiend had entered, she felt her head clear all of a sudden. She dropped the blade that she had so recently picked up; it had become heavy all of a sudden. Her ‘master’ was suddenly someone else entirely. She had no control, it occurred to her. No free will. Her mind had belonged to him, and she couldn’t remember anything. The only things that occurred to her were her name and who Altair was, and the fact that she had been under his control. She felt fear; it was refreshing, almost, though in a terrifying sort of way. Before, she had felt nothing, and now, she felt many emotions, none of which she was accustomed to. She felt fear at the two creatures before her, anger at Altair, and yet, she felt some kind of happiness. There was a whole world out there to explore. The way out was only a few steps away…

“Master Altair.” She said, trying to mimic her old monotone. She wanted to leave this place and never come back, it was all she could think about, though she wasn’t entirely sure why. She was somewhat confused at what had happened, as well. All of a sudden, everything was different, and there was no time to adjust. In her disoriented state, she had to escape and recuperate. She didn’t know how to think, feel, or even how to survive without her master. She shook her head, finding that taking in all of this was dizzying. She looked outside, a cool breeze rustling the feathers on her face. It was refreshing, and she felt a sudden urge to leave without being careful. Everything; the world, it was out there. She wasn’t confined to some castle, not to become one of Altair’s experiments.

Altair turned his gaze from Striga to his ‘little pet’. She had dropped the sword, but he had taken little heed of it. She was likely just surprised at the things appearance, though when Altair looked into her eyes, he saw that they were no longer clouded over. Perhaps the shock had been too much for her.

“Yes?” He asked, wary of Stirge.

“You seem to have something important to talk about. May I take my leave?” She asked carefully Altair gave her a sympathetic look. “Not yet, I’m afraid. I would prefer if you heard what is to be said here. Perhaps after you can get some fresh air.” He said, looking back to the hagsfiend.

“I have no time for this. Now, speak.” He demanded.

(OOC: SDWI)

[Strix Moonwing]

Stirge gave a chuckle, dark and sinister, and not at all a pleasant sound to hear. Her pupil-less eyes glistened with tauntful glee as if Altair was of no more importance than the scrawniest of mice. In true, Stirge wasn't at all concerned about Altair. He may be powerful to some, she had little to fear from him. After all, she added with a satisifed smirk, he couldn't even keep his followers in line; she cast Celes a glance as she thought of this.

"Now, is that anyway to treat guests?" Stirge's droned, taking luxurious steps down the aisle of the chamber. Her movements were slow and relaxed; she seemed to be purposely taking her time to peeve the Grandmaster of the Hashishin. There was a cushioned ledge beneath the window, perfectly overlooking the Kuneer desert. With the air of an empress, the ancient hag settled herself into the comfy cushions and gave a content sigh.

"That's much better." The Matriach purred like cat, though it sounded more like the rumble of a dangerous tiger. She looked at Altair and, for a moment, cat-like slits appeared in her pale eyes. "My, my what poor manners you have. Your dear brother must have inherited your courtesy." She gave a dark chuckle. "As well as everything else of importance."

She stretched her neck and calmly preened her ragged black feathers. "You may be in a hurry, but I have all the time in the world. Your threats do not scare me nor do your dim-witted followers."

The slits disappeared from her eyes and their sharp gazed pierced into Altair's. "However, business is business. I shall be frank to you. I am fully aware of the dragon spirits you have. I request possession of them as well as the services of one of your Hashishin, particularly the one listening from behind the door. You have little use of either. Your experiments are destined to fail and this owl could use his talents for better use."

The hag turned her gaze the door and spoke in a commanding voice. "Enter Hashishin!"

Ares was shocked when he realized that Stirge had known that he had been listening to the conversation behind the thick wooden doors, but was even more surprised and amazed when he found himself obeying the ancient hagsfiend. Usually, he only listened to the Grandmaster, but this Stirge creature seemed to possess a great power that attracted him to her. Despite knowing that the Grandmaster was watching, the elf owl assassin couldn't help but enter the room, going straight towards Stirge.

"You called, Milady?" Ares hissed with loathing. He hated that he felt controlled by this creature.

Stirge's eyes sparked with malice as she leaned in close to the elf owl. "I have an mission for you, cunning assassin." In a secretive whisper, Stirge passed on the assignment to the expert poisoner.

Are's yellow eyes grew bright with deadly interest and a malicious smirk spread across his beak.

[TurquoisePheonix]

“Experiments, destined to fail?” Altair said with a dark chuckle, though he was annoyed to no end. He knew he could not fight Stirge, and she knew it, too, so why was she ‘requesting permission’ to use his spirits? She was wrong, however, that his experiments were ‘destined to fail’. He had his first success in the very room he stood in.

“I’m afraid you do not know me that well, Lady Stirge.” He spat her ‘title’ with disgust. “If you did, you would know that destiny can be defied, and I already have done so. I was supposed to stay in Jouzhenkyn with my brother, though I did not. I have defied nature and destiny itself countless times, and I have proof standing next to me.” Altair finished, gesturing to Celes.

“This girl, for example, has great power, the likes of such I have seen only in Kyo. Though, hers is something different entirely; while Kyo possesses the White Lotus, she was a born mage, and possesses a dragon as well. Unlike the failure that was Ludwig, the dragon has not overtaken her body; she keeps her free will, and her power multiplies exponentially. I’d say she is almost as ‘almighty’ as you are.” Though Altair knew this was a bold statement, and somewhat exaggerated, he knew that Stirge was, at the very least, negotiable. She could not get access to the dragon spirits without his help, as he was the only one who knew their location, as well as the methods it took to unseal them from their prisons and place them into bodies.

“Go ahead, girl. Show her what I mean.” He said softly, glancing to Celes.

Celes didn’t know what to do. Magic? Dragon? None of this she understood, or even wanted to; what had this Altair done to her? What trance had he put her into for her to allow him. She was sure she was nothing like Stirge, when her ‘master’ made the comparison. When the hag glanced at her, she felt a cold chill throughout her body.

“I-I apologize, Master Altair.” She said, no longer bothering to hide the confusion and fear in her voice. Altair knew that she was likely knocked out of her drug-induced trance when Stirge had entered. “But I cannot.” She said simply.

“What do you mean, you cannot?!” Altair roared, enraged. Celes flinched, expecting him to attack. But he did not, to her surprise, when she braved to look back.

“Half a moon past you created a forest-fire in Silverveil! Two days ago you exterminated every living rodent in this building, with a single movement!” Altair nearly growled, and Celes flinched again.

“My apologies, Master-.”She was cut off by the enraged Grandmaster.

“Enough of your subservient façade! Get out of my sight, useless girl!” He roared. Celes flinched again, before backing up carefully. Freedom was hers now, but at what cost? She knew that having Altair as an enemy was not something good.

Altair felt enraged; she was so powerful, and now, knocked out of her trance, she was useless. He knew Stirge would only use it as evidence of his experiments being ‘destined to fail’, and that only made him more angry. He knew that letting Celes out of his sight when she wasn’t entranced by drugs was a bad idea, but in his anger, he didn’t worry about the mistake.

“Now.” He said, calmly. “For what purpose o you wish to use the spirits? And Ares?” He asked, watching Celes back up…

Right into Stirge.