Legends of Belariath
Scathien
Revenge of the Phoenix: Chapter 6: Showdown
The next night went off without a hitch thankfully. In the dead of night, Scathien made his way to the guard ramparts and snuck up behind the first guard. As the man turned around his eyes widened not at the sight of the student before him; it was the feel of the dagger sliding up through his ribs and into his lungs as a hand clamped down over his mouth to silence his cry of surprise and pain. He did however make a small noise that caused the other guard to glance around for a moment before starting in the direction of where the other guard should be.
When he didn’t see him he opened his mouth to call out to him, but gasped in pain and surprise as a small bolt of flame darted out of the darkness and into his mouth. It flowed down into his throat and seared away his vocal chords, rendering him mute. As the guard flopped about clutching his throat, Scathien emerged from the dark corner behind a statue on the walk; his sword drawn from its sheath before it suddenly plunged down and took the man through the heart.
The last guard now silenced, Scathien calmly dragged and dumped both bodies over the edge of the balcony before turning to the center torch which was still unlit for the time being because the guild master was still gone. A burst of flame exploded from his hand and ignited the torch.
As the signal was lit, the sergeant motioned for everyone to move forward and head toward the gates as Scathien worked the levers that opened them. After the soldiers entered he quietly shut the gates and tossed his map down to the sergeant, calling out to him. “You all have your orders. I’ve marked the rooms with the students you need to subdue. Make sure no one else sees you. If a lower class student does spot you however, subdue them. If they become too much trouble however you may kill them and dispose of the body.”
The sergeant acknowledged Scathien and the men huddled around the map, getting their attack plan together before flowing into the tower and getting down to the business at hand. The attack went off perfectly with none of the lower classmen getting in the way. Now that the graduating class was subdued, bound, gagged, and hidden away; the soldiers took their clothing and settled down for a night of rest before the big day tomorrow.
Three sharp knocks came on their doors early next morning as Scathien awoke from his restful sleep. He rose from his bed, pulling on his mythril bracers and greaves, and then his Archmagi robe. Once dressed, he pulled on his weapon belt, fixing his custom forged mythril longsword to one side and his dagger to the other. Afterwards, he pulled on the hooded ceremonial graduation robe provided to all of the graduating students and stepped into the hallway to wait for the other men to emerge similarly dressed in armor and weaponry with the robes concealing everything. Once everyone had gathered in the hallway, Scathien began the procession toward the guild master's chambers.
They filed into the room one by one before forming into two rows, one row in front of the other with Scathien standing in front of and centered of the formation as the head of the class. Two of the guild master’s elite guard of warrior mages stepped forth and announced the guild master’s presence.
He walked quietly into the room, red robes flowing quietly around his body as his wings folded up behind him. He paused, fiery red eyes blinking as he looked upon the hooded students. “What is the meaning of this?! Where are the rest of my students Marcus?!”
Scathien quietly and calmly discarded his ceremonial robe as his men did the same. He then unsheathed his custom forged blade, pointing it toward the guild master as he stood there shocked at what was revealed before him. “My name is Scathien, and your time here is at an end…”