22 The Lone and Level Sands Stretch Far Away
Twenty years ago, when Amon tried to rob the hooded figure that passed through the slums, he was immediately discovered. He had barely laid a hand on the man's clothes to try and feel for something valuable when he had been caught and gripped in what seemed like an iron vice. He was instantly lifted and made to face the figure directly. Through the hood, Amon could only see two bright purple eyes, a sight that left him flabbergasted. He didn't think such captivating eyes, so full of charisma and life could exist and for a while, he stopped breathing. The man didn't stop staring into his eyes and at that time, Amon had felt like the man was probing his soul and uncovering his deepest secrets.
Despite the commotion and noise that surrounded the two individuals, as they were still in the middle of a muddy road, Amon heard the raspy voice of the man loud and clear, despite it being only a whisper. At that time, he had yet to be named, and he could only hang his head and shame. He had said to the man: "I don't have a name. People say I don't need a name since I'm not going anywhere.
The hooded man was taken aback by such a response as he did not expect such fatality in the voice of a child barely ten years old. He knew that the living conditions in the slums were terrible but for such a young child to have seemingly given up on everything, it surprised the man. He had then asked the young child,
-What if I were to give you a name? What would that mean to you?
He had said it almost as a joke, a way to test the mind of that child. He could never have expected the answer that he received.
-I was told that I had no name since I had no beginning and no end. If you gave me a name, I think it would make you my origin and my purpose.
-Does that mean you would give your life to me? Would you be ready to dedicate your whole existence for the sole purpose of serving me if I gave you a name?
After a short period of reflection, Amon nodded his head. To him back then, it didn't make a difference if he was in the service of someone else or if he was slowly dying in the slums; he had indeed given up. The mysterious man saw this as a golden opportunity. If he could bring this boy back from the abyss and gain his trust, wouldn't he gain an unbelievably loyal dog?
The boy was aimlessly drifting through his miserable existence, but if he provided him with a goal, something to dedicate himself towards, like a man lost at sea who suddenly receives help, that boy would be eternally grateful. The speculations of the man were not wrong because as soon as he offered Amon with a purpose, his eyes lit up. He violently nodded his head, and the man put him down. He patted him on the head and said
"There was no anger in the depths of your soul, even as you were given this miserable life. As such, I give you the name Amon, and I will teach you the meaning of anger, the definition of wrath."
With those words, he had taken Amon away from the slums of Cairo and taught him everything he knew about fighting. Eventually, Amon learned that that man was a part of the Ravens and he joined the organization to repay the immense he felt towards his benefactor.
Today, he stood in this small hotel room in New-Paris, about to assassinate high-ranking members of the Order. The sense of accomplishment he felt at this moment had awoken some memories of the past, and he couldn't help but marvel at how things as changed. He no longer was the frail boy who could only wander the streets alone in search of food to barely make it to tomorrow. He now possessed strength and allies to help accomplish him topple those who controlled the world.
In that instant, he felt gratified and could only thank his benefactor for giving him the chance to prove himself as someone worthy of being given a name. Amon didn't address him spacing out just then, and he led the other two to leave the room. Luckily, it was unlikely that the Holy Knights had the time to spread the likeness of the two assassins to the public to corner them. As such, they were able to walk in broad daylight as long as they were careful not to draw any attention.
The three of them took the elevator down to the lobby in complete silence. Right now, the three of them were focused on the task at hand and getting into the ideal headspace. In a fight, the abilities and skills of a fighter were one thing, but his state of mind made all the difference. For the three Ravens to best the Holy Knights while the latter had the advantage of numbers and more thorough preparation, they needed to be at the peak of their condition.
After a while, they arrived in the business district that was much calmer on a weekday than on the weekend. However, there was still a lot of traffic, and they had to force their way into the crowd. A few minutes later, they left the main street and followed on the many smaller streets that ran through the district. Their destination was a small restaurant that prided itself on serving Italian food from before the war. As with most cultural heritages, Italian cuisine suffered a harsh blow after the war, and most of what was called Italian cuisine barely resembled authentic Italian food. As such, this small restaurant had developed quite a reputation for following the tradition of yore.
The reason the trio went towards that restaurant had nothing to do with the food but instead that this restaurant was a cover for the Ravens' safe house. At the back, a metal door led to a basement where the Ravens' operations in New-Paris were planned. There were also quite a few operatives living in the apartment complex situated on the upper floors of the building in which the restaurant operated.
To preserve the element of surprise, Amon and the others did not enter the restaurant and directly make contact with the operatives inside but instead chose to enter the buildings on the other side of the street, a clothing shop. Earlier, they had warned the safe house of the incoming attack, but if they were to join them in their defence immediately, they would lose the opportunity to assassinate the three Holy Knights. They also avoided physically coming in contact in case there was a scout from the guard posted somewhere who would report their presence to the Holy Knights.
Since they only had a vague idea of the time frame during which the attack would occur, they could only keep watch and stay inconspicuous. The three of them proceeded to look around the shop and examine the clothes on display. They had little interest in buying anything, but if they only stood motionless, they would get asked to leave. While they looked around, they made sure that one of them was always positioned near the front of the shop, by the windows in which mannequins displayed the shop's finest offerings.
They also made sure that they would always be in the line of sight of one another, to make sure that none of them would miss the signal of the Order's arrival. Their plan seemed flawless, but after a little while in the boutique, the two male Ravens noticed a small problem; there were only female clothes. It was still good for Ven who had a small smirk at the corner of her mouth, but Bel and Amon were feeling a bit lost. They couldn't try on the clothes and staring too intensely at them would only make them look suspicious. The two men gritted their teeth and proceeded to act as if they had every right behind there.
At the sight of their confident faces, the shop assistants decided that it was best to leave them on their own and did not butt in their shopping, choosing to focus on the other clients. At some point, Amon looked up from a shockingly low-cut skirt that had caught his attention, wondering what it would look like on a person, to see that Bel was at the front of the shop and was signalling something with his hands.
Amon immediately recognized that Bel was making the signal they had decided earlier to indicate the arrival of the Holy Knights' forces. He looked over to Ven to make sure she had also seen the sign, and she nodded towards him. The two of them moved to the front of the shop subtly, still pretending to shop. When they got to the front, they saw about seventy-five members of the guard coming down the street, towards the restaurant that served as a cover for the Ravens' safe house.
Judging by the number of guards, there should be about a third of that number positioned at the emergency exit, ready to cut off any Ravens' operative that tried to escape. There should also be guards around the whole block, to control the crowds and catch any member of the Ravens that would miraculously survive.
Despite the commotion and noise that surrounded the two individuals, as they were still in the middle of a muddy road, Amon heard the raspy voice of the man loud and clear, despite it being only a whisper. At that time, he had yet to be named, and he could only hang his head and shame. He had said to the man: "I don't have a name. People say I don't need a name since I'm not going anywhere.
The hooded man was taken aback by such a response as he did not expect such fatality in the voice of a child barely ten years old. He knew that the living conditions in the slums were terrible but for such a young child to have seemingly given up on everything, it surprised the man. He had then asked the young child,
-What if I were to give you a name? What would that mean to you?
He had said it almost as a joke, a way to test the mind of that child. He could never have expected the answer that he received.
-I was told that I had no name since I had no beginning and no end. If you gave me a name, I think it would make you my origin and my purpose.
-Does that mean you would give your life to me? Would you be ready to dedicate your whole existence for the sole purpose of serving me if I gave you a name?
After a short period of reflection, Amon nodded his head. To him back then, it didn't make a difference if he was in the service of someone else or if he was slowly dying in the slums; he had indeed given up. The mysterious man saw this as a golden opportunity. If he could bring this boy back from the abyss and gain his trust, wouldn't he gain an unbelievably loyal dog?
The boy was aimlessly drifting through his miserable existence, but if he provided him with a goal, something to dedicate himself towards, like a man lost at sea who suddenly receives help, that boy would be eternally grateful. The speculations of the man were not wrong because as soon as he offered Amon with a purpose, his eyes lit up. He violently nodded his head, and the man put him down. He patted him on the head and said
"There was no anger in the depths of your soul, even as you were given this miserable life. As such, I give you the name Amon, and I will teach you the meaning of anger, the definition of wrath."
With those words, he had taken Amon away from the slums of Cairo and taught him everything he knew about fighting. Eventually, Amon learned that that man was a part of the Ravens and he joined the organization to repay the immense he felt towards his benefactor.
Today, he stood in this small hotel room in New-Paris, about to assassinate high-ranking members of the Order. The sense of accomplishment he felt at this moment had awoken some memories of the past, and he couldn't help but marvel at how things as changed. He no longer was the frail boy who could only wander the streets alone in search of food to barely make it to tomorrow. He now possessed strength and allies to help accomplish him topple those who controlled the world.
In that instant, he felt gratified and could only thank his benefactor for giving him the chance to prove himself as someone worthy of being given a name. Amon didn't address him spacing out just then, and he led the other two to leave the room. Luckily, it was unlikely that the Holy Knights had the time to spread the likeness of the two assassins to the public to corner them. As such, they were able to walk in broad daylight as long as they were careful not to draw any attention.
The three of them took the elevator down to the lobby in complete silence. Right now, the three of them were focused on the task at hand and getting into the ideal headspace. In a fight, the abilities and skills of a fighter were one thing, but his state of mind made all the difference. For the three Ravens to best the Holy Knights while the latter had the advantage of numbers and more thorough preparation, they needed to be at the peak of their condition.
After a while, they arrived in the business district that was much calmer on a weekday than on the weekend. However, there was still a lot of traffic, and they had to force their way into the crowd. A few minutes later, they left the main street and followed on the many smaller streets that ran through the district. Their destination was a small restaurant that prided itself on serving Italian food from before the war. As with most cultural heritages, Italian cuisine suffered a harsh blow after the war, and most of what was called Italian cuisine barely resembled authentic Italian food. As such, this small restaurant had developed quite a reputation for following the tradition of yore.
The reason the trio went towards that restaurant had nothing to do with the food but instead that this restaurant was a cover for the Ravens' safe house. At the back, a metal door led to a basement where the Ravens' operations in New-Paris were planned. There were also quite a few operatives living in the apartment complex situated on the upper floors of the building in which the restaurant operated.
To preserve the element of surprise, Amon and the others did not enter the restaurant and directly make contact with the operatives inside but instead chose to enter the buildings on the other side of the street, a clothing shop. Earlier, they had warned the safe house of the incoming attack, but if they were to join them in their defence immediately, they would lose the opportunity to assassinate the three Holy Knights. They also avoided physically coming in contact in case there was a scout from the guard posted somewhere who would report their presence to the Holy Knights.
Since they only had a vague idea of the time frame during which the attack would occur, they could only keep watch and stay inconspicuous. The three of them proceeded to look around the shop and examine the clothes on display. They had little interest in buying anything, but if they only stood motionless, they would get asked to leave. While they looked around, they made sure that one of them was always positioned near the front of the shop, by the windows in which mannequins displayed the shop's finest offerings.
They also made sure that they would always be in the line of sight of one another, to make sure that none of them would miss the signal of the Order's arrival. Their plan seemed flawless, but after a little while in the boutique, the two male Ravens noticed a small problem; there were only female clothes. It was still good for Ven who had a small smirk at the corner of her mouth, but Bel and Amon were feeling a bit lost. They couldn't try on the clothes and staring too intensely at them would only make them look suspicious. The two men gritted their teeth and proceeded to act as if they had every right behind there.
At the sight of their confident faces, the shop assistants decided that it was best to leave them on their own and did not butt in their shopping, choosing to focus on the other clients. At some point, Amon looked up from a shockingly low-cut skirt that had caught his attention, wondering what it would look like on a person, to see that Bel was at the front of the shop and was signalling something with his hands.
Amon immediately recognized that Bel was making the signal they had decided earlier to indicate the arrival of the Holy Knights' forces. He looked over to Ven to make sure she had also seen the sign, and she nodded towards him. The two of them moved to the front of the shop subtly, still pretending to shop. When they got to the front, they saw about seventy-five members of the guard coming down the street, towards the restaurant that served as a cover for the Ravens' safe house.
Judging by the number of guards, there should be about a third of that number positioned at the emergency exit, ready to cut off any Ravens' operative that tried to escape. There should also be guards around the whole block, to control the crowds and catch any member of the Ravens that would miraculously survive.
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