"Back then, your father and I were still young, barely past out teenage years. Despite out youth however, we were highly skilled, and had been taught by various master assassins. By that stage, the two of us had spilt enough blood to fill a field, but the mission to kill your mother was different. For it required us to go undercover for a long period of time."
"Raphaniel was around our age, a young woman with high expectations laid upon her and the weight of her House. Perhaps...no, it was certainly because of this that she was always cold and distant. We had to act as servants and get close to Raphaniel. The task was to gather important information as well as the murder, so it was planned out over several years."
At first, everything went smooth. We slowly but surely wormed our way through the inner circle of House Atrazark and your mother. But then something absurd happened. Your father began to fall in love with our target. I still find it ridiculous: that a cold and ruthless man such as your father, who had murdered babies still suckling at their mother's teat before, could fall in love. Yet he still did, and with someone as distant as Raphaniel of all people."
"Perhaps it was their mutual aloofness that attracted him, or perhaps he was just a bigger sucker for a pretty face than I imagined. Either way, your father began seeing your mother. As time passed, we had collected everything we needed and merely had to carry out the actual killing. Yet when the day came...your father couldn't carry it through. At that point, the mission changed from killing oen person...to killing two."
Jace paused, gauging the reaction of the children across from him. Sia had been staring in mute shock as the story progressed, while Endyr sternly looked for any trace of falsehood. Finding none, he turned to analysing everything Jace had said. Such actions from a man as ruthless as Jace described did seem absurd, but that was the thing about humans: you never knew when their emotions would seize control of them.
"Your father spilled the beans to Raphaniel and compromised the mission. As per regulations, I was ordered to silence him and Raphaniel both. As the ever-dutiful assassin I was, I agreed. We fought, but Raphaniel managed to call support. Years of careful preparation...gone down the drain because one man couldn't keep his dick in his pants. The backlash ignited a fire that consumed countless Noble Houses and nearly caused war to break out across the Continent."
"Long story short, multiple important figure either died or...vanished, erased from the very annals of history. A pathetic end, derived from one man's weakness. Of course, the organization I belonged to didn't forget the betrayal of your father. They spent years hunting him down, killing anyone connected to him. In the end, he was tracked down and they sent m to kill him: to make up for my original failure."
"When I arrived at the little shack he was hiding in, I was met with a surprise. He was waiting for me, open-armed and without a blade. I suppose I should have expected it. Your father was always better than me, so he would have obviously sensed me coming. Yet, there was something I could have never expected. He was not alone in that cabin, but there was someone else with him. Raphaniel Atrazark, and pregnant at that."
Jace looked at Sia, indescribable emotions flickering behind his eyes. Sia shrunk under his gaze, and he retracted it at the sight. Endyr pressed his lips together in frustration at the cutting off, and gestured for Jace to continue.
"I and your father fought, but even without using his full power he beat me. Yet he did not kill me when he had the chance. Being with your mother had mellowed him out, if that was even possible. He attempted to recruit me, to get me to join him and leave the organization I belonged to. If it was anyone, I would have laughed in their face, but your father was different."
"I haven't mentioned it yet, but I was quite close to your father. We weren't just colleagues, but brothers-in-arms that had survived hell together. So I agreed to his proposal and left the organization. Several months later, you were born, little girl."
Jace took a breath and finished speaking. He surveyed the reaction to his story: the confusion but slight realization in Sia' eyes and the endless greed for more in Endyr's. He chuckled at the latter and held up his hand "The story does not end just there kids."
"You were just born and named when trouble brewed once again. The defection of two agents left the organization fuming, and they pulled all the stops in retaliation. Your father had to split from his family, and go into hiding for years on end. I was tasked with protecting you and your mother, though I only needed to protect the former as Raphaniel was nearly equal to me at that stage."
Sia gave a small nod at Jace's words. "Dad would show up every now and again, but only for a few days before vanishing..." she admitted. "That was likely to check on how you and Raphaniel were doing" Jace sighed. "Living such a life, so distant from your family, must have been hell for him. After meeting Raphaniel, your father became a much more emotional person after all."
"What about me?2 Endyr interjected. "I presume he met up with mother at some point and conceived me, otherwise I'm a bastard."
Jace nearly choked on his saliva upon hearing Endyr's casual remark, but he rapidly collected himself and answered. "Yes, your father and Raphaniel met up several years ago one night. It was also the last night your father was alive for."
Sia lowered her eyes and clenched his fists against her knees, obviously triggered by what Jace said. Endyr looked at her in mild confusion: it seemed Sia was aware of how their father died. He had presumed the facts would be kept from her, as to not damage her psyche, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"You father abruptly vanished, and the organization that had been hunting him called off the bounty. It was obvious he had been killed, making myself and Raphaniel the next major targets. While Raphaniel was grieving however, she discovered she was pregnant with you. Nine months later, you were born, the last reminder of the man Raphaniel Atrazark fell in love with. That's probably why she dotes on you so much."
Endyr raised an eyebrow and spoke in a slightly aggrieved tongue. "I highly doubt my mother dotes on me. I have barely seen her in the last 3 years, and she has displayed no interest in my development."
Jace sighed dramatically and shook his head. "This is why you are strange kid. Your mother is obviously scared for your life and has been running around for months on end trying to distract those that wish to harm you. Its not just the organization after you: there are several other Great Houses with a bone to pick with the Atrazarks. Unfortunately for you, your names are included on that list."
Endyr fell silent at the rebuke, mulling over what Jace had said. He had to admit it made sense, as the safety of her children took precedence over the bond between them, even if only slightly. And it wasn't like they were truly neglected, with servants to answer their every beck and call. Endyr wondered why he was even bothered by the lack of motherly attention in the first place...
'Tsk, damn humanity and emotions. Why do I have to be saddled with this useless crap?' he bemoaned his existence. He then posed a question for Jace. "This organization you keep mentioning..is it House Hyppiliote?"
This was the conclusion he had come to, considering his second Bloodline, that was inherited from his father. The Bloodline in question, Hyppiliote-Nyx, granted the user increased control over shadows and power boosts in darkness. Such an ability would greatly benefit an assassin. Plus, having a Noble House dedicated towards assassinating other Nobles seemed like a valuable business.
Jace stared at Endyr sharply after hearing his question. "You're too smart for your own damn good kid" he growled. "In the future, don't ever bring up that name around anyone, or else a blade will find itself under your ribs. An that's not a threat, but a guarantee."
Endyr and Sia recoiled at Jace's tone of voice, before the two nodded meekly in tandem. With a snort, Jace resumed reading his book while Sia started looking out the window. Endyr sat in silence, running over everything he just learnt. He was already feeling good at the idea of heading to Sky Cross Academy. This was the first part, yet he had already learnt a treasure trove of information.
'I wonder what the actual Academy can teach me...' yet despite all this knowledge, Endyr was far from satisfied. Even Ingrid, the Secret Goddess of Knowledge, would cower before such an appetite. And so, the journey to the first teleport point concluded.