#athesis’s art | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ruroy9i · 5 years ago

Text

Hero of the The Two Worlds

Olmutz, Austria:

An eagle swiftly soars above the storm clouds as the thunderclap pries open the dark western sky and in its terrifying blue flicker, Arno first lays his eyes upon the 300 feet tall jagged rock façade that is known as Olmutz Fort. As a slow drizzle starts growing into a hailstorm, Arno Victor Dorian starts his climb. Carefully avoiding the guards’ outposts, he climbs from foothold to foothold, the wind whipping at his back. He finds a part of the rampart under repairs and climbs atop the galley hoisted by a pulley. When the backs of the two workers are turned, he takes hold of the pulley, cutting loose the galley and swings on the zipline into the fort. The galley with the workers’ tools drops with a groaning sound and vanishes from sight before the workers can realize what the matter is. As Arno steps down from the zipline, the rain clouds break open.

Arno slowly starts making his way down the fortress, slipping past guards where he can, knocking them out where he cannot. It has been one whole year since he slayed Germain. It has been one year since he lost Elise. But both of them still haven’t let him go. Or maybe he hasn’t. Arno doesn’t dwell on the matter, focusing instead on the task at hand. According to what Dr. Bollman told him, even guards are not allowed to see the prisoners that he is after. So impersonating a guard will not do. He will have to go for someone more indispensable. He perches upon the top of a gargoyle jutting out from a minaret of the fort. He surveys the grounds through the thick sheet of rain, locates his target crossing the second floor courtyard and takes a leap of faith into the darkness below, his silhouette visible across the overcast face of the moon for one second.

Dr Haberlain has just finished his nightly round of examining the prisoners and watches the lights playing in the sky. The three guards escorting him urge him to quickly move, so they can lock the doors. The doctor asks them to give him a moment as he is entranced by what he perceives to be the silhouette of an eagle across the pansy face of the moon. The guard farthest from him doesn’t even notice when someone steps up behind him and puts their hand on his mouth. Before he can so much as move a muscle, he is dragged into the shadows and two blows to his cranium knock him out. The second guard thinks he detects a shadow moving. When he shines his lantern upon his unconscious friend, his jaw falls open but before he can utter a shriek, a cold blade impales his throat. As his body hits the floor with a thud, the captain notices and draws his blade. But in that very pose, he is stabbed by two hidden blades wielded by a man in a blue coat with chain-mail. As the doctor turns around finally prepared to leave, he is surprised to see Arno dragging the bodies into the shadows. The doctor tries to run, but Arno is on him in a single pounce, pressing his hidden blade to his throat. Arno promises to not hurt him if he complies with his wishes.

The sentries at the gates to the fort’s armory are surprised to see Dr. Haberlain return at such a late hour and that too with a stranger in tow. The captain raises a hand to enquire what the matter is , but Haberlain feigns urgency. He hurriedly explains that their very valued Prisoner Zero is in a very bad condition and might not last the night. The captain is puzzled as the doctor had himself exclaimed that evening that the prisoner was on his way to recovery. He further asks who the stranger is. The doctor grows impatient and explains that the stranger is a doctor, a heart-specialist from the nearby town whom he has sought out. Arno speaks up to make haste as every minute lost can be harmful for the patient, keeping his phantom blade( a crossbow mounted on his hidden blade) aimed at the Doctor’s back. The captain deliberates and then Dr. Haberlain threatens that he would not like to deal with the Prussian Emperor’s wrath if the Prisoner’s life is lost. At this the Captain relents and leads them down a long winding staircase to the armory, which has been transformed into a specially guarded holding cell for French aristocrats and military personnel caught trying to escape from the Jacobins’ Reign of Terror. The captain opens a very complicated cylinder based lock, which Arno recognizes as the handiwork of Germain. Simultaneously two iron and wooden doors open and they are ushered into the large cavernous cell.

Once the captain leaves, Arno is greeted by a tall and once stout but now broken man. Arno recognizes him immediately from the numerous portraits he has seen, his childhood hero and idol: the Hero of the Two Worlds: Marquis de Lafayette. Arno had heard from his father of the chivalrous Lafayette, who had defied the King’s orders to go and aid America in their war for freedom against the British tyrants. He and Elise had played the Battle of Yorktown so many times in their childhood. He used to be Lafayette and Elise masterfully played Rochambeau. Arno had been overjoyed when Lafayette had drafted the Constitution and presented it to the Estates.

Lafayette thanks Arno for taking such pains. Arno is a bit flustered for a moment and thanks the Marquis for his service to France and the free world. Lafayette after failing to stop the execution of King Louis XVI was dismissed as the Captain of the National Guard by the Jacobins and Robespierre. Arno informs that his countrymen were truly vexed to learn that Lafayette’s house had been pillaged by the Jacobins and that Lafayette had fled France. Lafayette assures him that it had been his plan all along. He had suspected that Robespierre was using some foreign prison for some terrifying scheme. Accordingly he had been arrested by the Prussians on their border and after some persuasion been sent to Olmutz along with the other French deserters. It was here that he realized Robespierre to be mixed up in Templar affairs and doing the bidding of Germain. And then he reached out through his friend Angelica Schuyler Church to the Assassin brotherhood.

Lafayette then implores Dr. Haberlain to help as well, that the Prussians should not get involved in the dirty affairs of the Templars. The doctor is spell-bound, so Lafayette asks Arno to lead their way to the castle’s crypts. Arno is about to point out that slaughtering the guards will raise the whole fort’s alarm. Lafayette smiles and points to a chalk outline of an arch on the wall. He explains that it is one of the many enchanted passageways built by the Templars into the fort. Understanding, Arno uses his Eagle Vision to reveal the Issu markings on the stones around the arch. Concentrating, Arno starts solving the puzzle that unlocks the door. When he is done, the arch glows bright and unveils a winding staircase, illuminated by more such glowing Issu runes. Arno lights a torch and asks the men to follow him. As they descend the stairs, Lafayette explains that every night, the guards drag away one prisoner down this passageway and they never return. He asks after the markings, remembering having seen them when he accompanied Connor on his travails.

Arno explains that this is the language of The Ones That Came Before, beings as powerful as Gods who created the humans and the Pieces of Eden. The three of them creep down the barely-lit spiraling stairways and arrive at a small crawlspace, right above the crypts. Through the stained glass arch, they see that the crypts have been transformed into either some kind of Temple or laboratory. Prussian guards bearing Templar crosses patrol the walkways, while attendants flit about from one tomb to another. Arno realizes that this is Germain’s legacy, a final magnum opus. He quickly notices glowing runes manifesting on the tombs, and his Eagle Vision quickly connects the squiggly network of the lines to a glowing orb in an elevated pedestal. An Apple of Eden, Arno surmises. Lafayette asks if they are perhaps trying to raise the dead. Arno is not sure, being too busy to find the ring-leader. It is Dr. Haberlain’s scream that draws his attention to living bodies being laid into the tombs. Lafayette recognizes them to be the bodies of his fellow prisoners.

The scream raises the alarm and the Guards start looking where it came from. Arno asks them to stay put. He removes a grate and climbs out to a thin ledge running around the room. The thunder crackles and throws up strange shadows through the long colored glass windows. Arno creeps slowly across the ledge, slipping out of the light of the chandeliers. He notices two of the guards heading towards the crawlspace. He takes them out with his phantom blade, before he can raise any alarm. But just then, his blood is chilled by a cry of terror from the floor. The attendants cry in pain and terror as the bodies break open the marble tombstones and reach out for them, not quite human. The soldiers are frenzied for a moment before rushing in with their axes and maces raised, bayonets at the ready. Arno finally notices the leader rushing to secure the orb. Arno jumps onto the Chandelier, and swings onto the next one, and then the next, inching closer to the centre of the room.

Lafayette makes his way to the floor and signals the attendants to follow him out. The men and women emerging from the tombstones scream in pain, as runes grow on their bodies, their eyes become crimson. They hurl themselves at the guards, first thrashing and pushing them away but then ferally feeding upon them. The axes and maces fall short against the superhuman strength of the creatures who slowly start losing any sense of reason. Lafayette sets one on fire and prays for their deliverance.

Arno fires his pistol, knocking the orb from the pedestal and irritating the leader. But before he can leap to secure it, he hears the terrible sound as the creatures grow terrible disproportionate mass of muscles, some dying from the effect and some growing even stronger. He spots an old man cornered and the creatures eyeing him with hatred and disgust. Arno cuts his chandelier loose, falling with it upon the advancing swarm. As they writhe in pain from the fire, Arno brandishes his sword and saves the man. The man sobs and laments that this is all his fault, that these are innocent souls and their pain is on his hands. Arno then recognizes the man, an acquaintance he had made at one of Lavoisier’s garden parties. This is the naturalist Jean Baptiste Lamarck .

In all this confusion, the leader chases after orb and when his path is guarded by one of the creatures, he blows its head off. The head dangles loose, and the creature moans as it tries to swallow the leader. The leader pierces it with his sword, reaches out to the Orb and clasps it. And instantly, the creature burns up and disintegrates. The leader secures the orb and escapes. Meanwhile, more of the creatures die from their cells growing into gigantic tumor like extensions. The ones that survive start scaling the walls. The guards fire their muskets and throw grenades, but to no avail. With superhuman strength, they break through the walls and try escaping from the crypts.

Arno calms Lamarck down and asks him if there is any way to save the creatures. Lamarck says that they these are Divine Chevaliers (Knights) and with the Apple, he might have had a chance. Arno curses and starts climbing the window. Once at the top, he aims his pistol and fires, drilling a bullet deep into the creature’s skull. Enraged and with the bullet still lodged in, the Chevalier smashes the window apart. As the Virgin Mary painted on the colored glass panes shatters, Arno jumps backwards from the top and perches onto the Chevalier’s shoulder. He crosses his legs across its throat, momentarily disorienting it. Then the Chevalier grabs Arno with its iron-like hands and tries to throw him off. Arno holds on, unclasping his saber and driving it into the Chevalier’s chest. But the Chevalier digs the saber out and throws Arno off. As he wields the saber and advances towards Arno, the ceiling breaks and the other Chevalier falls to the ground with the debris. Taking the opportunity, Arno takes out the Chevalier’s eye with his phantom blade and then drops a smoke bomb, completely blinding it. As it flits about, Arno picks up a bayonet and pounces upon it, driving the blade into its heart. Arno manages to drive it back to the open window and tries to push him over. As the steep drop to the sea looms below, the Chevalier resists, clutching the bayonet and Arno’s coat. After some struggle, Arno manages to kick him over, but the Chevalier pulls Arno along and the bayonet falls away. Arno manages to snag onto the window’s ledge, while the Chevalier holds onto Arno’s saber. Arno lets the saber’s hilt go, and averts his eyes from the pain on the face of the Chevalier.

All the commotion draws almost all the fort’s guards to the crypts, including the Captain. After failing to damage the remaining Chevalier, the Captain orders them to retreat. He asks his men to fetch the dynamite, while he engages the Chevalier. When Arno climbs back in, he notices Lafayette and Lamarck still trapped near one of the tombs. They tell him that some of the subjects of the experiment are still alive and in the tombs, those who did not respond to the Apple’s enhancements. As the Chevalier thrashes the Captain around, Arno unlocks the tombs with his Eagle vision and rescues the ones inside. He manages to save four, when the Chevalier tears the Captain’s arms out. As Lafayette and Lamarck carry the people away, Arno distracts the Chevalier. He realizes he doesn’t have the strength to take it on. He exchanges glances with the Captain and pounces upon the Chevalier, digging in his hidden blades. Crying in pain the Chevalier flings Arno off. As it totters back to its feet, the Captain hurls himself onto it. Arno pulls Lafayette and Lamarck into the staircase, as the guards light the fuse on the dynamites at the entrances. Before the Chevalier can comprehend, the Captain reveals the two grenades in his pockets, with lit fuses. In a deafening sound, the arches collapse, as also the Captain and possibly the Chevalier. Smell of charred flesh fills the air, as Arno takes stock of the casualties.

Lamarck then explains that he had been approached by the Templar Rene Escargot with the opportunity to learn the secrets of human evolution. Quite busy with his work, he had not heeded it much. Then he had been sent a pair of glasses crafted by one Monsieur Germain and disparate pages in some obscure ineligible language. And yet, on wearing the glasses, Lamarck had been stunned as the gibberish on the page reorganized o form letters and it was as if a voice spoke directly into his brain, pouring eons of information into his mind. He would have gone insane from the onslaught of knowledge, if Rene (apparently waiting outside) had not intervened. Curious and in a trance like state, Lamarck agreed to work with the Templars. He was gradually sent more pages from the Precursor Manuscript, and he was able to unravel the dormant memory of the Issu, their unique triple helix hereditary units and the way in which they engineered and enslaved the humans. Rene then suggested that they continue the work of the Issu and rise to their rank, by engineering the next step in human evolution. Lamarck could not resist the temptation and was smuggled into Olmutz. He had no idea however that Rene had arranged for the French prisoners to be his experimental subjects. Once in Olmutz, Rene had unveiled the Apple, which seemed to take Lamarck on a hallucinatory trip through time and space. He had no recollection of when or how he had completed the experiments. He was only brought to his senses when the Apple was knocked off by Arno. Lamarck then faints from exhaustion.

Dawn approaches. Lafayette considers it would be prudent to return to their cell before the morning shift of guards come in and discover the wreck. Arno agrees and stresses that the Templars will not stop at any cost. Since Lamarck’s experiment has failed, they will possibly eliminate him to tie up loose ends. But more importantly he realizes that since Rene left with the Apple, they might be planning to attempt it again. At this Dr. Haberlain volunteers to treat Lamarck at his house and see if he can offer more details to help Arno. They thank him and begin climbing the stairs. Lafayette falls back and draws Arno close. He whispers to him that Angelica will soon sponsor Dr.Bollman to break Lafayette out of prison. Arno should utilize the opportunity to smuggle Lamarck and the rescued prisoners out of Olmutz.

November 8, 1794:

Twenty muskets fire at once, the gunshots roaring over the toll of the castle bells. The front-riders steady their aim and fire again as their horses sprint away from the fortress. The bullets whizz past the carriage, some lodging into the back, splintering the wood and some ricocheting off the wheels. The passengers reel from the impact, cowering and keeping their heads low. Arno speeds the horses to a gallop but realizes they are reaching their breaking point. He warns Lafayette to be careful. Lafayette just smirks and rides his horse away from the dirt track and into the fields. Behind them, the Templar riders overtake Dr. Bollman and his associate and Arno mourns their loss.

Arno asks Lamarck to take the reins, who is absolutely dumbfounded. He climbs atop the carriage and sees two riders almost gaining up on them. They immediately fire at him, but miss due to the undulating terrain. Arno creeps to the edge of the carriage and fires his own pistol, catching one of the guards on his shoulder. His shot misses the other rider, who now catches up to the carriage. He swings his axe, trying to take out the axle. Arno deftly blocks it with his sword in the nick of time. Without wasting time, Arno slashes the rider’s horse’s leg, and they collapse into the dirt. Lamarck screams as a bullet rips through Arno’s shoulder. Arno looks up in time to see the carriage nearing a town square. Apparently one of the riders took a shortcut and was waiting for them. He is about to finish them off when Lafayette’s horse comes and cannons into him.

Arno thanks Lafayette and despairs at the huge Templar cavalry headed for them. Just then a carriage arrives and the driver asks Lafayette to get in, that he has been sent by Angelica Schuyler Church and her husband. Lafayette says that fortune favors the brave and asks Arno to transfer Lamarck and the prisoners to the new carriage. When Lafayette himself boards the old phaeton, Arno realizes his plan. He pleads with Lafayette, pointing out that if he is caught again, he might have to suffer much worse consequences. Lafayette laughs and says he has a feeling Napoleon will not let that happen. He does fear for his life, but the fate of more innocent people is at stake here. Arno is anxious and salutes Lafayette, saying it was his absolute honour serving under him and that he truly is the hero of the two worlds. Lafayette accepts and says there is a way Arno can repay this favour. Paris is not safe for his family much longer, with the Jacobins. He requests Arno to smuggle his son out of France and deliver him to the care of President George Washington, the only person he can trust. He gives Arno a letter. Lafayette had been alerted to the Olmutz plot by his American friend, Alexander Hamilton. He asks Arno to deliver the letter to Hamilton and complete his mission. Arno has never been out of France before but accepts. As an afterthought, Lafayette says ‘Au Revoir’ and just as the Templars appear on the horizon, drives the carriage away from the town.

After the Templars pass by the town square and in hot pursuit of Lafayette, Arno mutters ‘Au Revoir’ under his breath. He then urges the coachman to take them in the opposite direction to the village of Hoff, where a room and refreshments are waiting. Lamarck commends Lafayette’s bravery and says that he will accompany Arno to America. Arno doesn’t understand at first and thinks he is foolish to want to fall into the hands of the Templars of his own accord. Then Lamarck explains that if Rene repeats the experiment, then he might be the only one who can wield the Apple to stop it. It is his moral obligation and only shot at penance. Arno agrees. He starts fidgeting with his pocket watch, as he wonders how he will break the news to Angelica Schuyler and the Brotherhood.

#gaming #aric athesis #hamilton #sunsetagain #arta #art #assasin #assassin's creed india #assassin's fate #assassin's creed #connor kenway #arno dorian #lafayette #ac unity #templar #apple of eden

8 notes · View notes