Night of Infamy

By: Sobremus Posted on: March 27, 2005

I remember the night very clearly. Even with every venom known to mortal minds, I cannot erase the memory. It was the very first night of war...

"Listen up! Lord Thoth has declared his orders. We do not sleep tonight. We are to destroy every last one of the kittens in their own rest." I can still hear his deep voice bellowing, echoing in my head.

A cold silence washed over us. It was what we were born to do, what we had been trained all of our lives to do, something we had done almost constantly since we were first able. Yet, each time we performed this act, we were aroused, excited, and eager for more.

Never before had the servants of Thoth been sent out in such a mighty throng in order to dispatch such an overwhelming number of foes. The sheer lack of subtlety was unheard of in our order. Yet not one of us questioned. None of us even spoke. We all understood the gravity of the situation. We all understood that our purpose was to be fulfilled.

Nothing but apprehension can describe my feelings those few hours before we set out. I set alone, quietly meditating as I always had before a mission. Just like before, I thought to myself.

My concentration was finally broken by a silent call to arms. My head jerked up and my ears perked. The blood called for me... and I was to answer!

Licking my lips, I left my room, greeted only by the shady visages of my comrades. Each of us were shrouded in darkness, disappearing in a cloud of dust, or vanishing completely from existence. Casting a pinch of dust over myself, I watched as my body vanished from sight, then drew my blade. Silent as nothingness and dark as a shadow, we crept across the plains of Nishnatoba toward our prey, the fierce Rajamala, as they slept.

As we grew closer to the enemy, our excitement became noticeable, yet still, not a slip. Though fast as we did run toward our foe, not a sound did we make. As we grew closer, I gaily secreted the deadly venoms from my fangs, letting them drip upon my blade. I could literally feel their hearts pounding as the massive shadow crept upon them in their fetal state. There fatal state.

I remember clearly my first victim. Without making a sound, I slung my blade across his throat and then plunged it into his chest. His voice having left him, and paralysis clutching his body, the kitten bled to death as I watched him, with pleasure, grimace and twitch helplessly. I can effortlessly recall seeing the last embers in his eyes die out, and the feeling of satisfaction wash over me as I moved to engage my next victim.

Each one fell as silently and easily as the rest, and the operation went quite smoothly. The silent massacre of Nishnatoba was coming to a close, as, unfortunately, though not as obvious at the time, one of the Raja cried out as his attacker made a slip up. We all jerked our heads up to see what the commotion was. Ah, nothing more than a sloppy kill, we all thought to ourselves. As the feline ferocities began to wake, our attention was focused more keenly on them. A few of us were mauled, but the Raja were still no match for our stealth surprise.

The last of the kittens were being put to sleep as our job came to a close. Little were we aware, however, of the impending doom upon us. The first of us to see stopped in our tracks to witness a shady figure in the distance, followed by several others rising from the ground or seemingly melding from shadows into corporeality. I, myself, studied for a second, and then realized our folly. The limping wailing creatures moved toward us with surprising speed, and the normal looking ones charged at us at an even more blinding rate. Some of us charged forth to meet our foes, many turned away in fear. I could not will my legs to move either direction.

Then, my training kicked in. As we were taught to do whenever we were caught, I began setting up my defenses. I drew a berry from my rift and spread it over my body, drank a handful of vials from my surcoat, and quickly devoured a few herbs. In the near distance I could easily make out the shadowy figures pouncing upon my comrades, seemingly draining the very life force from them. To my horror, the victims of these wretched creatures then arose to attack their very allies!

My heart nearly pounded through my chest as I unknowingly let out a soft hiss. It was then that I recognized an ally of mine, only a few yards away from me. He was in the path of one of the beasts, about to be trampled and drained before my very eyes. 'twas then that I snapped out of my fear. Gripping my whip tightly, I thrust it from my body, gritting my teeth as it wrapped around the ankle of the attacker, and I yanked with all of my might...

Success! The creature fell to the ground, stunned for a brief moment. To my dismay, not a word or gesture of thanks was given as my comrade turned and ran. To aggravate the situation even more, the creature that I had saved my comrade from had now sprung to his feet and eyed me viciously. Fear crept through my entire body and my muscles felt completely numb. Lord Thoth, here I come.

Narrowing its eyes at me, the creature sprung. I raised an arm in defense, but it was too late. The creature latched on to me with his amazingly powerful arms and, as I watched the world seemingly under the curse of Aeon, he sunk his fangs deep into my throat. I felt compelled to resign then and there, let my body slump to the ground as I became one of them.

But suddenly, the strength in my body became apparent to me. Using a free hand I grabbed my dirk and plunged it into the beasts belly, then, with perfect grace, I spun and kicked him in the chest, sending him staggering backwards. I then realized what had been my saviour. The beast spat out a mass of waxy sileris onto the ground. My grin turned to a look of horror as I realized I was now done for.

The creature slowly but powerfully stomped toward me. I slowly backed away, almost cowering in fear. The creature approached me. Lighting quick I buried my dirk into his chest. He stepped back from the force a bit, then, smiling sadistically jerked the dirk from his body and threw it to the ground. I dropped my whip in sheer astonishment as the grim realization came upon me. Approaching me once again, the creature clutched my shoulders, digging his claws into my skin. I cried out in pain, but fear choked my voice and nothing came out.

I watched as his face neared my own, and I could see the razor sharp fangs edging toward my throat once more. I closed my eyes, waiting for my inevitable end. I felt a wind rush by my ear, as shock overtook my mind, and the pain of his grip left me as my body lost feeling and I fell to the ground. My body hit the ground with a thud... and hurt. I opened my eyes in shock and realized I wasn't paralyzed at all, but the creature actually had let me go! I looked up in surprise and saw the source of the wind wasn't shock from the bite, but actually my pet serpent, having latched itself onto the face of my attacker. As my serpent kept the creature occupied, I heard a voice in my head tell me, run.

I didn't hesitate for a moment. I sprung to my feet and fled. I could see behind me many of the creatures, some former allies, destroying the rest of my comrades, and further ahead, those who fled being chased down and killed as well. I understood that running meant certain death, but what else could I do? In a fit of madness I crawled into a pile of dead Raja, and heaped their corpses upon me. With nothing to do but bear, I laid there the remainder of the night, the scent of the dead masking my beating heart.

When morning came, I feared returning to Lord Thoth, for I had disgraced him by not accepting my own death. Instead, I fled. I left the plains of Nishnatoba, left the plane of Nishnatoba itself, and returned to Sapience, hiding out in a cave near what is now called Thera.

Having extended my life through rituals practiced to Lord Thoth, I lived for centuries, never coming in contact with any others. The only exception to this was a young tradesman, named Callibius. His business having failed, he, too, fled from shame and sorrow. Having stumbled upon my cave, we conversed for many hours. Finally, I agreed to teach him the ancient art of the Quisalis assassin, hoping that he would glorify Lord Thoth.

Instead, I noticed that he became more like Gruul, the mercenary, selling his services to others who sought revenge. Having failed once again in my service, I resigned to my fate and hid myself ever deeper in the cave, meditating and awaiting my inevitable end.