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Snippet #1958785

located in Cre' Est, a part of Assassin's Pledge: War of Attrition, one of the many universes on RPG.

Cre' Est

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Character Portrait: Shadow
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Shadow walked towards his fire and tossed a single rock into the center of the flames.

As he watched the rock shift colors in the flames, the slight rustling of leaves in the trees and the faint aroma of metal not his own began to coat the moisture of the night air around him. The scent of looming battle was exciting, as he did not often find strong opponents to give him the taste of battle his soul cried out for. While he didn't like to admit it, Shadow lived for conflict and death and relished in the thrill and the rush that they brought to him.

He looked up and forward, leaning his head back as he arched his neck and cracked it to one side. He straightened his neck and looked ahead, watching the embers of the flames rise and disappear into the air in front of him as he heard the faint sound of footsteps gathering in a circle around him. His mouth widened slightly into a smirk as he turned on his heel to face the new circle of guests.

Dark grey robes with the red insignia of the Assassins adorning their chests stood before him as he continued to smile at the one in command. It was a man he knew well from his past, one who had a hand in his training when he was younger. He was in his mid thirties and was no pushover despite his lack of time outside the fortress where he was first stationed before Shadow's rebellion. After Shadow's escape from the mountain fortress in Roda Valley, he was moved to Triveila's Hidden Temple deep in the mountainous forests where he became a more active participant in the hunt for Shadow's head.

"It's been a while, Ven." Shadow said in a low and raspy voice.

The man's hood came up and was laid to rest behind his head as he looked at Shadow with murderous intent.

"I'd hoped never to have to face you myself Shadow. I was sure that you would have been killed long ago due to your arrogance in your own skills and your ignorance of the world around you. How is it you've survived?" He hissed.

Shadow's smile widened as he turned his head to scan the circle of Assassins around him. His eyes were straight, like that of a Raptor scanning the horizon for prey. A few of the hoods went down ever so slightly as he looked in their direction, and Shadow knew from that single gesture that they were afraid of him. His eyes scanned each man in turn before his eyes landed on Ven once more, the smile still on his face.

"I have survived because I have changed. Perhaps once I was arrogant to my skills, but when I killed our Grandmaster I saw how little my skills were worth in the face of a true adversary. Once, I though of only myself and would do anything to have my way."

Shadow took a moment to wipe the smile from his face before he drew his Twin Daggers and set them against his forearms.

"Today Ven... I fight not for myself. I fight for that which I believe in. I don't think you've seen the damage that Te'i Sai has caused to the people of this continent. They can no longer put their faith in their Kings and Queens. They can no longer let their children play in the streets without supervision. They can no longer believe in a future where they can live and die in peace without the constant threat of finding themselves under Te'i Sai's thumb. Today, the people of this continent live in fear thanks to what we've done, what we've been doing for hundreds of years."

Shadow's grip on his daggers tightened as his stance dropped a few inches lower.

Ven shook his head and scoffed for a moment as he drew his sword and pointed it in between Shadow's eyes.

"You're such a naive fool Shadow. Sheep need a strong shepherd to guide them towards the future where the wolves don't prowl. The people you speak of dream of peace, but what does that mean? No Shadow, these people don't need your version of peace, they need guidance. They cannot live in this world without proper guidance, and that is what we've given them. That's what we created you for after all!" He said with force as he took a step forward.

Shadow took a step forward as well, accepting the private challenge to battle.

"Am I so naive Ven? Am I so ignorant of the world around me? You, who haven't walked the streets where the people tread dare to lecture me of what they need? You haven't seen what they have, what they lack, and what they need. Takai created me as an instrument of fear and death, not a means to guide people. Killing helpless men, women, elderly, and even children. Children, Ven. I have mercilessly killed innocent children for no reason because Takai said that I should not hold life in high regard and that nobody is truly innocent and immune from death."

His daggers flashed in front of him, catching the light of the fire behind him for a moment as if he had harnessed it on the blades and used it to heat the air around him as the shimmer of the fire surrounded his silhouette.

"You have been blinded Ven, and you will either open your eyes or you will die... I will know your answer by the time this battle is over." He said, again in a low voice.

Ven's anger began to build as he slid another step forward. He knew this would be a short battle, but one in which only one of the two combatants would walk away from. The other Assassins had at first been brought as backup in case Ven failed, but the moment he stepped forward to challenge Shadow one on one they became not but observers to a fight between masters.

Shadow's next step forward started the battle, and two blades clashed in the firelight. Shadow stepped right as Ven stepped left, cutting off his first advance. Shadow's smirk returned as his right foot came forward and swept Ven's leg out from underneath him. He recognized the attack too late to dodge it or life his leg out of the way, but he was able to force his sword into the ground momentarily to balance himself and pushed back with his back leg to regain his balance. He pulled his sword free of Shadow's trap and renewed his attack with a stabbing attack towards Shadow's chest. This movement was a serious mistake and Ven knew it the moment he made it.

Shadow's reflexes had always been the sharpest Ven had ever seen, and today they were beyond what even he remembered from Shadow's past training. Shadow's torso rotated ninety degrees and his sword slipped by harmlessly as the blade in Shadow's left hand slid up and protected his body from any possible changes in direction while the dagger in his right hand came up and forward. The tip of the blade stopped but a mere fraction of an inch away from Ven's throat, and he had to hold back a gulp to avoid making contact with the razor edges of Shadow's weapons. Shadow himself had created those blades and they were crafted from an ancient and exceedingly rare metal called Orichalcum. The metal was strong enough to completely annihilate other metallic objects, and with how Shadow folded and refolded them during the forging process, they were sharp enough to slice through almost all other metal weapons.

Shadow demonstrated this unique ability by turning the dagger in his left hand towards Ven's sword and driving it forward and into the ground. His dagger began cutting through Ven's sword when the tip of the long weapon hit the ground, and before long the blade snapped in two. Ven stepped back and looked at his weapon, a sword his father had given him when he joined Te'i Sai's Assassin ranks when he was fifteen. Had he not been so focused on Shadow he would certainly have shed a tear. For now, he could only stare at his weapon in shock as Shadow threw a kick into his upper chest and sent him flying off his feet.

Ven stood up a few moments later after shaking off the shock of the impact. He tossed the remains of his weapon aside and stepped back, Shadow's silhouette still outlined for him by the fire behind him.

"So you have destroyed my weapon, what does that prove?" Ven asked in a cold and unemotional voice.

Shadow stood up straight and looked Ven dead in his eyes. The sight of Shadow's darkened silhouette and glowing red eyes were enough to shake even Ven's confidence as he stared into the depths of Shadow's darkened soul for the first time in years. The glowing and churning coloration of his red eyes caused a chill to run down Ven's spine as he awaited an answer to his question.

"... I have done the same to you as Te'i Sai has done to others. As a warrior your weapon is your soul, your connection to this world. Your weapon is a reflection of you, and it is a symbol of your pride and contains your hope for a future in which you and your weapon continue to prove your worth. Now take this empty and naked feeling within your heart and amplify it Ven. That is how the people of Cre' Est feel so long as Te'i Sai is in control of their lives. It is for that reason that I fight Ven, and it is for that reason that you cannot win. You have no hope left."

Shadow placed his daggers away and turned his back to Ven, a gesture in which Assassins signified that they had completely destroyed their opponent, whether they lived or not. Ven didn't take kindly to the gesture of course, and in his rage he made a foolish mistake. He rushed Shadow for all his worth, to which Shadow simply side stepped and grabbed his lower jaw in his left hand as he tripped forward.

Shadow kicked a smaller branch in the fire which launched the rock he had placed in the flames into the air. He grabbed it in his right hand, his gloves shielding his flesh from direct contact, and shoved the burning rock into Ven's mouth and slammed his right hand down on top of his head. The impact forced his jaws to close on the solid object in his mouth, and shattered a few of his teeth against the burning piece of Earth. His screams were muffled from the obstruction as he fought with all his might to free himself. Shadow held fast, and before long Ven fainted from the pain of his broken teeth and the searing flesh inside his mouth due to the heat of the rock. As he collapsed, Shadow released the pressure which allowed the rock to finally fall free to the ground as he slowly set Ven down on the ground. Blood trickled from his mouth as Shadow took a step away from him.

The other Assassins came forward and took Ven's unconscious body away before they disappeared into the night. Shadow looked at the blood on the ground and let out a sigh. It brought him no joy, despite the smile he had carried in battle, to do such a thing to Ven and simply let the others take him away. Shadow's heart ached, but not for Ven. His heart ached that he found he was still capable of such acts of violence. Simply beating Ven had been enough for him, but when attacked again he resorted to something that he knew would bring unbearable pain and agony to Ven and the others.

He sat down on a log by his fire and sheathed his daggers as he sighed once more.

"... One day, I'll learn to control it." He said quietly to himself.