by Brian Keller
His announcements were met only with silence. Master Vorni asked, “Is there more, sir? Or shall I dismiss them?” Cooper stepped forward, “I am prepared to give my answer now, if the Council will hear it.” Master Worthan looked around him, “Truly? Once a naming is done, it will not be undone.” Cooper nodded, “Sir, I wish to contract as Kinsman.” This announcement brought a buzz of conversation from the seated men. Master Vorni’s usual sneer was marred only slightly by a subdued look of amazement. Master Worthan leaned forward, “The Council understands that it is your wish to remain known as Cooper to members of the Guild and be contracted as The Kinsman?” Cooper stood a little straighter and nodded again, “That is correct, sir. As long as this meets with Guild approval.” Master Worthan looked thoughtful for a moment and then he gave a definitive nod, “It does. You are aware of the poem the minstrels sing about the Kinsman? Cooper replied, “Yes, sir. I am aware.” Master Worthan stood and addressed the Master’s Council yet he spoke to Cooper, “Very well, Cooper. It will be so.”
Master Vorni addressed the boys, “Are there any others that wish to state their intentions now?” He then pointed at each boy, in turn. The first boy in line, Cooper thought his name was Gustav, shook his head. Master Vorni pointed to the second boy. Sidon had dark, matted hair and a nose too small for his face. He seemed bright enough but when the boys were talking amongst themselves, he was usually off to one side, silent. Sidon stepped forward and announced, “Sir, my name is Sid.” Master Worthan asked, “For purpose of name and for contracting?” Sid nodded, “Yes, sir. One name should be enough for me.” Master Worthan nodded, stood and spoke, “Very good, Sid. Please step back and rejoin your classmates.” As Master Worthan seated himself once more the third boy, Limner, stepped forward, “Sir, may I change my name and take a name for contracting?” Master Worthan leaned forward, “It would be irregular, but I don’t know that we have any rules against it.” He raised an eyebrow as he looked around the room, as if to see whether there were any objections. There were none. Master Worthan addressed the boy, “Mister Limner, you are a student in good standing and have established a decent reputation for yourself under your current name. Why should you wish to change it?” Limner shrugged, “I never liked it, sir.” Master Worthan laughed quietly, “Well, there seems to be no objections. Are you prepared to announce your names now?” Limner shook his head, “Sir, if I may take some time to consider, I would be most appreciative.” The old man nodded as several in the stands chuckled, “As I stated earlier, you have until the next scheduled convening of the Master’s Council.” Limner stepped back into the line. Master Vorni skipped Cooper and pointed to the fifth boy, Henric, who shook his head. The sixth boy, Marcus, stepped forward. Cooper could never decide whether Marcus had light brown or dark blond hair. He supposed that if Marcus’ hair was wet it would look brown, but a few days in the sun and it would likely be blond. Marcus stated in a clear voice, “I wish to contract as Malice.” He waited until he saw Master Worthan nod and begin to stand, and then he stepped back to rejoin the line. Master Vorni hissed at him, “Step forward and receive your greeting, Assassin. Do not be disrespectful!” Marcus quickly stepped forward again as Master Worthan spoke to those assembled, as he acknowledged Marcus’ choice, “Very well Mister Marcus, you will contract under the name of Malice.” As Master Worthan again sat in his chair, Master Vorni said, “Now step back.”
Kolrem was next in line. He appeared to be fidgeting but he stepped forward. His voice had a slight waver to it, but it carried clearly enough to be heard throughout the room, “Sir, I wish to contract under the name of Grief, if it pleases the Council.” Master Worthan’s eyebrows weren’t the only ones to raise at Kolrem’s choice. Master Worthan spoke without standing, “You certainly may, Mister Kolrem. But might I know what has prompted such an unusual choice?” Kolrem tucked his chin as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He then cleared his throat, raised his head and pulled back his shoulders, “I will take the shameful name of what we leave behind us.” His announcement caused quite a stir within the room but Master Worthan silenced it with a single raised hand as he stood, “And you may do so. Mister Kolrem, you will contract under the name Grief.” Kolrem nodded and took a step backward.
The next boy in line was Dillon. Although the other boys were older than both Cooper and Kolrem, Dillon was the only boy here that was larger than Kolrem. A few of them were close to Kolrem’s size, but Dillon far exceeded all of them both in breadth of shoulder and depth of chest. His broad features and his wide, mostly flattened nose seemed to add to his aura of strength. He stepped forward and spoke in a louder voice than was needed for the small space, “Sir, I wish to contract under the name of Tongs.” Master Worthan stood again, “Very well, Mister Dillon. You shall contract under the name of Tongs.” The other two boys, Oren and Barret, chose to wait.
Master Worthan then gave a nod to Master Vorni, who stepped to the center of the dais and faced the boys, “In case you hadn’t picked up on it yet, I am Master Vorni. Assassins answer directly to the Guildmaster; but for those matters that don’t require his attention, which is almost everything as far as you’re concerned, you answer to me.” Cooper felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach as Vorni continued, “For those five of you who’ve chosen your names, you will soon be assigned a contract. Once assigned, you can go and claim your contract in the same way you received messages to deliver back when you were Couriers. Once you have gained full Adept status, you will design your token and this is how you will identify yourself when claiming assignments. For your first contract, announcing your contracting name to the scribe manning the counter shall be sufficient.” Master Vorni turned to face the Masters, many of whom had already stood and were in the process of walking towards the door. Master Worthan and Master Loril were conferring briefly then both faced Vorni and gave him a nod. Vorni turned to the boys, “You are dismissed.”
As the boys entered the hallway, Marcus was asking Henric, “Why do you think Master Worthan was doing all the talking?” Henric shrugged, “Probably because he’s been our teacher the longest.” Cooper felt no urge to explain things to them. If they hadn’t figured it out, he wouldn’t be the one to tell them.
Cooper waited until they’d reached the sleeping bay before he asked Kolrem, “Grief?! What prompted that name?” Kolrem shrugged, “I remember us following those Dreg’s boys around the Trade Quarter… doing nothing as we watched them beat and abuse those people. Sure, we slipped out later and ended up killing them, but that whole thing just never really sat right with me. Later I realized that no matter what we do, no matter how we conduct our business, we damage or destroy lives we touch. I don’t have to like it, but grief follows us.” Kolrem shrugged, “So, it made sense to take the name.” Cooper didn’t feel the same way, but he could also see that Kolrem felt strongly about his choice. The boys had accepted a long time ago that they could have different opinions and still be friends, but they were careful about how loudly they voiced their thoughts when they differed.
They were still discussing the event in the Council chamber when they heard a knock on the door. They both paused, unsure that they had, indeed, heard a knock at the door. It was a rare occurrence. There was another knock and Kolrem shouted, “Stop knocking and come in!” The door slowly opened and a wide-eyed first year student poked his head through the door and looked around the room. Kolrem spoke loudly, “Who’re you? And what do you want?” The boy gulped, “I’m Ed, -er... Edwin” Then he saw Cooper’s eyes and said, “Master Worthan sent me to find you. He wants to talk to you in his classroom.” Ed’s face abruptly disappeared from the doorway and the door gently closed. Cooper took a deep breath and stood. Kolrem observed, “You two surely do seem to have a lot to talk about…” Cooper shrugged, “Sometimes it leads to detention, sometimes it’s just advice or guidance. I guess I just need it more than most.” Kolrem snorted and looked like he had more to say, but Cooper was already walking out the door.
/> Once Cooper was seated in what had become his customary chair, the old man spoke quietly, despite the fact that they were the only two people in the room, “Do you remember some time ago, when I asked you about your parents?” Cooper nodded. It had been a few years, but Cooper remembered almost everything about his conversations with the old man. Master Worthan saw his nod and continued, “Tracing your parentage, along with those of several others that I have studied over the years, has finally allowed me to recognize some remarkable parallels surrounding the heredity of persons who can Channel. I cannot say with any certainty that this is true without exception, but in every instance that I have been able to trace back, the families have an ancestor within a few generations that was born under mysterious circumstances; either a child born to a man that had no wife, or to a couple where the wife was known to be barren. In all cases, these families lived far away from civilized areas and always near a large forest. Tracing your family history has been particularly illuminating and has revealed some specific facts. Five generations ago, your direct male ancestor, a widower, entered a deep forest and disappeared. When he emerged two years later, he came out holding a baby in his arms. That child was your great-great grandfather. There is no explanation for how the child came to be and since the nearby villagers suspected witchcraft or something more devilish, your ancestor moved to the capital, Gajeril, to avoid repercussions from these superstitious people. This leads me to the conclusion that other hereditary factors are at work here. Your family history, when considered along with several others later known to have the ability to Channel, including myself, causes me to believe that this ability comes from the inclusion of Fae bloodlines.” Master Worthan left that statement hang in the air between them as he observed Cooper’s face. As for Cooper, it was a lot to consider all at once, but it seemed to him that he’d already been prepared for this revelation. Recalling his conversations with Uaine, and the fact that the small fey girl/woman had felt drawn to him, it seemed like those discussions almost led him directly to this one. He realized Master Worthan was waiting to hear some kind of response. He thought about how to reply and what he should consider further before revealing. He decided that he had almost no secrets that he should withhold, “Sir, it actually explains a few things.” He relayed some of his conversations with Uaine while he was in the forest under Utsef’s instruction, but he still didn’t reveal the name Twylleth Teg. Cooper felt he should observe Master Worthan’s reaction to this new information before revealing more. He trusted the Guildmaster, but he didn’t feel overly comfortable with revealing secrets that weren’t his.
Master Worthan nodded while he considered what Cooper had told him. He thought a moment more and then spoke again, “I truly wish you had confided in me earlier. About your meetings and conversations in the forest, I mean. That information might’ve saved me months, or even years of research. But I think I also understand why you didn’t. If our positions were reversed, I might not feel comfortable revealing that I’d been on speaking terms with the fae. Especially considering the number of fantastical events that have already occurred in your life. Someone else’s willingness to believe you might become a wee bit… stretched. Still, I have more to add… Your Great grandfather was in the Guild. I was a young man, but I remember him well enough. He was one of our premier Assassins right up until he disappeared. You have his eyes. Another thing I recall is what made me pause during the ceremony. He also took the name of Kinsman. The Guild operated differently then. Things were more open, accepted. Obviously, the minstrel’s song is about him.”
Chapter 16
Apparently, Miss Camilla was aware of the proceedings of the Master’s Council last night. Cooper supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. She was a teacher, why shouldn’t she know? Still he wondered which other guild members might know. Even Birt hadn’t mentioned anything about it at breakfast, though he supposed it was simply a matter of time.
Miss Camilla approached him and Kolrem. One of her eyebrows was arched higher than the other as she observed, “It seems the two of you have a little additional pressure now to excel in my classes. You’re not there yet, you know.” It wasn’t a question, but even so it was a little disheartening to hear it from her. Actually, it seemed more like what he expected to hear from Mister Skran.
In combat class, now that Cooper could openly display Manifested speed, his matches with Kolrem became more interesting. With Cooper’s newly-increased speed he could outpace Kolrem, but they would regularly change their choices of weapons, usually weighed in Kolrem’s favor. Lately, Cooper worked mostly with ‘his’ sword, in order to learn all he could while he was still in class, but one or two matches a week he’d draw his short blades instead. The boys would agree beforehand whether they’d include the use of darts or nets. On rare occasions, Cooper would attempt to fight only using his practice chain knife. The three-pointed blade was replaced by a blunt lead weight of similar mass. He learned that more often than not, the chain was almost of more value than the knife. He became practiced in using the chain to entangle one of Kolrem’s wrists and then whip the weight around to strike vulnerable spots. Kolrem got value from this type of practice as well. It encouraged him to focus his Earth Talent to protect himself from bruising. Still, more often than not, Cooper didn’t fare as well during those matches using only a lead weight and chain.
Master Worthan’s class had digressed. The old Master explained briefly, “We will briefly depart from Analysis and instead we will discuss our stand on Ethics and broach the topics of Philosophy and Rationalization. At this last, he gave Kolrem a meaningful look. Each class was a couple hours in length and the abbreviated course took only a few days. As described, the class was discussion-based, with Master Worthan guiding the conversations. The old instructor introduced the topics, “If you haven’t somehow learned this already, you’ll eventually discover that there are some people who present a danger to the Guild. For some, it is in our interests to remove them before they might become too great a threat. There are also those who, while they may present a threat, can be manipulated or coerced into cooperating, or at the very least, they can be neutralized as a threat.” Marcus raised his hand, “Sir? Into which category would you place the Lord General?” Master Worthan smiled, “It is my opinion that our Lord General is a good man, though not everyone here would agree. He is a threat, surely, but never commit to killing someone unless you have some idea of what might follow after.” Master Worthan leaned back against a table, grinned and crossed his arms over his chest, “But hypothetically, if we were to kill the Lord General, what might happen next?” Despite the fact that the basis of the class was discussion, Marcus had no answer for that. As for Cooper, he found the conflicting perspectives interesting enough, though the subjects themselves seemed obvious. However, he was particularly interested in the concept of coercion and the delicate balance that must be maintained in order to secure someone’s reliability without actually earning their loyalty. Kolrem on the other hand, approached the lessons with something akin to hunger.
At dinnertime, Aden sat down next to him in the dining hall. He took a few bites before he spoke, “I’d like to show you something, when you get the time.” Cooper took a drink to wash down the food he’d just swallowed, “Did you work out the formula for that poison you were working on? Life Blight, wasn’t it?” Aden’s reply was quick, “Yep.” This caused Cooper to think, “Then this must be something else…” He paused, “Have you worked out the formula or sequencing for that luminous compound?” Aden took another bite but managed a muffled, “Nah” past his mouthful of food. Cooper decided it must be something new, so he told Aden, “I can come with you after dinner, but I shouldn’t stay long. I need to go pick up something.”
Once they’d finished and dropped off their empty trays, Cooper followed to the Apothecary Lab. As they leaned over the worktable Aden explained, “Miss Camilla originally designed this formula for times when we need to do surgery on someone. This chemical is a toxin that
disables the muscles. One dosage, which is about what it takes to coat a dart, is enough to paralyze someone for about twenty minutes, but the effect isn’t instantaneous. Depending on where the patient gets poked, it might take a minute or it might take three minutes.” Cooper was nodding as Aden spoke. He stopped, “A lot can happen in three minutes.” Aden agreed, “True. That’s why Miss Camilla told me to modify it. I’ve made a small addition. Now the effect almost instantaneous, but it reduces the effect. The paralysis is still total but it only lasts about fifteen minutes, sometimes maybe a minute longer. Cooper replied, “Plenty of time to dart someone and then either tie them up or kill them. Wait, the heart is a muscle, right?” Aden nodded, “Yes, but it doesn’t seem to affect the heart in the same way for some reason, nor the eyelids. A poisoned victim can still breathe, blink and they’re hearts stays beating. We’re still trying to figure that out. However, if enough is used it will eventually affect the person’s ability to breathe. Depending on the dosage, it might take hours or up to a day and a half before it stops someone’s breathing though.”
Cooper started to reach for a vial but stopped, “It’s safe to handle, right?” Aden chuckled, “It’s safe. As long as the liquid doesn’t get under your skin, you’re good.” Cooper held the vial up to the light and inspected it while Aden continued, “I’m pretty sure that you could even drink it, though I wouldn’t say that I’d recommend it.” Cooper let a single laugh escape, “Rest easy in that regard. I have no intention of tasting any of your concoctions.” As Cooper turned the vial over in his hands he raised an eyebrow, “So you’re saying that if someone gets enough of this in their system, it’ll stop their breathing in thirty-six hours or less?” Aden gave a firm nod, “Yep.” Cooper scratched his neck as an idea started to form. He asked, “And how do you know how much to use?” Aden shrugged, “We’re still working that out, but we’re really close to having the dosage figured out. It depends on the person, it’s based on body weight.” Cooper had another question, “How easy is it to make?” Aden shook his head, “Not easy, but the base of the poison is completely natural. It’s all the additives that make it complicated.” Aden opened his lab book and turned it so Cooper could read the formula. It actually wasn’t all that difficult, but it required very precise measurements and particular mixing processes. Cooper asked, “How soon will this be available? For Assassins to use, that is?” Aden smiled, “I was wondering how long it would take for you to get around to asking that question. It’s available now. In fact, you can have that vial. Just be careful. If you coat one of your darts with it and then jab yourself accidentally… well, the poison won’t know the difference.” Aden handed a rag to Cooper saying, “The glass of the vial is really thick, but it’s still a good idea to wrap in something soft.” As Cooper wrapped up the poison he had just one more question, “What’s it called? This poison?” Aden made a sweeping gesture over the small rack of vials, “Debilitas”. Cooper tucked the vial away, thanked him and left the room.
