1 The Escape

{Shit, Shit shit, why did this happen to me? All I did was finish a mission and now I'm wanted by my own people.} Sylus cursed himself.

"Sylus you won't get!" yelled one of the pursuers. "fire the arrows, don't let him escape him from us!

"Why the hell are you chasing me!?!?" Sylus thought to himself, was appalled by the actions of the Elysian soldier. He doesn't understand what just happened awhile or at least he can't come to understand what just happened.

After Sylus completed his assassination mission, with his target being the rising star general of the Sardonian Alliance, he then went to the Elysian Command post established about 10 miles away from the Sardonian Border. Sylus was wearing his Assassin uniform, he always wore his customized assassin clothing, outfitted to hold hidden small daggers. Since it's helpful to have extra daggers as an assassin. In his clothing he had 8 hidden daggers, 4 hidden in each sleeve. Ready to be thrown at unsuspecting targets.

The camp itself was nothing special, there were just tents large enough to house a squad of five with small flag on top of it. The flag was blue or white with symbol of an animal on it to specify the squads of each tent. As Sylus entered the encampment and walked a few feet towards the biggest tent indicating that it's the CO's (Commanding Officer) tent he was then surrounded by 100's of soldiers pointing their spears and swords at him.

As an assassin he never came in contact to any of the soldiers here and only came in contact with the CO to report missions. But from what he heard, the Original CO was transferred to another base and so was replaced with a new Commander. So Sylus was unable to ask why the situation presently is happening. A soldier then came in front him, opening a parchment and read it out loud

"By the order of the great Emperor Leo Elysia IV, Sylus Strider is to be arrested for treason!"

"Treason for what?!?!" Yelled Sylus. "I have been a loyal soldier under the Elysian banner for 12 years! What mistake did make to cause the great emperor to question my loyalty by so much to say that I committed treason!?"

The soldier smirked and said maliciously " It was never stated why but I really don't care since this order came from the upper echelon. Cease Him!"

All the soldiers yelled "Yes Sir!" and charged towards Sylus and subdue him.

Sylus not knowing what to but at the same time knowing that if he got captured all that was waiting for him was the executioner and the guillotine. So in a split second Sylus chanted his Cloaking spell which would make him become invisible for awhile and allow him to ease his way through the soldiers and out of the encirclement. Magic today was really rare and Sylus was lucky enough to obtain the cloak rune after looting it from a Sardonian Spy.

Due to it's rarity, Sylus knew that if his CO came to know that he obtained a spell, his CO would've detained and forced him to eject the spell through unorthodox means.

"Where did he go!" screamed one of the soldiers in surprised.

"I don't know, I mean he was just here a second ago!" yelled another.

"That damn assassin knows cloaking magic, Shit! He must've never told his CO since he knew what would happen to him if he did." Yelled another soldier who seems to be the leader of the soldiers.

"OK, new plan, everyone get together with your squads. I'll be assigning a location for each squad to go to and search" commanded the CO. He then turned to another group of soldiers and commanded " Yosif, since your the best squad I command, I order your squad to mount up and go towards the Sardonian Alliance through the Mayfall Forest. Since it's most likely that before he crosses the border, he would have to go through Mayfall forest to do so since the forest spreads across both sides and it'll help get rid of most of the attention on him. As the best squad I have under my command I expect to see you come back with Sylus Strider either dead or alive. The commander was right in assuming that Sylus would use Mayfall Forest to cross into Sardonia. Since running through the open plains is suicide, the only plausible route would be through the Mayfall Forest which was right next to them.

"But sir, what would happen if he crosses the border before we catch him? questioned the Yosif.

"Well maybe it's probably because you're standing here and questioning me while you could've already mounted your horses and left to pursue him!!" screamed the CO in anger.

Seeing his CO in such a mad state Yosif then immediately commands his squad to mount up and ride towards Mayfall Forest.

The person who was being chased was known as Sylus Strider, [Yes i'm a retard since you already know his name ok DAMN shush jeez i'm already crying, I don't need more salt on my wounds.] he was founded in the slums at the age of 6 in the Elysian capital known as Elysia. He was then trained right away to be an assassin and at the age of 12 he finished his training. He was then tasked to an assassination mission on the same year he finished up training His target was known as General Edward Toke, General of the Sardonian Alliance. The alliance that prevents the empire from expanding. Before the Sardonian Alliance came to be, they were 8 separate minor kingdoms until one of them faced an invasion by the Elysian Empire. To face the threat, the kingdom being invaded call upon the other 7 kingdoms. Understanding that if the one being invaded fell, they would soon fall along side with him.

So they agreed to call for help and together they were able to muster an army the size of the empire's and were able to repel the invaders, battles after battles. Finally, after 15 years of death and despair the two sides finally agreed to an armistice. After the negotiations, the group of kingdoms joined together under one leader known as Resnick Sardonian. And together they then became known as the Sardonian Alliance. They were created to for one purpose, which was to prevent the Elysian Empire to expand since the Elysian Empire's only way to expand was through them since behind them was a sea and to wage war once again against the Elysian Empire and conquer them.

But even though they signed an armistice, it didn't stop both sides from attacking each other from the shadows. Day after day, months after months, thousands of officials and generals died on both sides. The assassination of General Toke was one of the first of many assassinations alongside other assassination tasked by the other assassins after the armistice. For every assassination mission Sylus was tasked with, he completed with ease and making no mistakes. He was so good at assassination, that he was given a title as the 'Shadows blade' by the Sardonian due to him never to be caught and always blending to the shadows. Sylus never questioned an order he was given and did what he was tasked to do every time. But even though he completed his task, he was still betrayed in the end.

The only was now for Sylus to escape is to cross the border to Sardonian through Mayfall Forest, he knew that the Elysian Empire wouldn't dare cross the border since if they did it would most likely cause a another war. It's not like the Elysian Empire don't dare to go to war, but it's due to their people that prevent them from doing so. One of the main reasons why the Elysian Empire signed the armistice was due to their civilian's outrage. Before the Elysian Empire declared war on the Sardonian Alliance, they had nonstop war for 10 years conquering every other kingdom nearest to them before invading Sardonian Alliance. Due to the nonstop war, there was civil unrest and the emperor knew if the war was prolonged any longer, the civilians would riot and even maybe rebel.

As Sylus ran through Mayfall forest as fast as he can, he then stopped as he heard the tremors coursing through the grounds made by the Yosif squad of horsemen. As he was still cloaked, he wanted the the group to pass by him since he knew that he easily dispatch them later on with his skill, but the worst thing that could've happened to him occurred. Just right before Yosif's team passed, Sylus's Cloaking wore off revealing his location right in front of hi,.

Oh shit! Now if wore off! For the sky's above why won't you help me out just this one time. cursed Sylus. This is what I get for not practicing everyday.

"There he is!" yelled one of squad mates as he pointed at Sylus.

"Sylus you won't get away from us!" yelled Yosif. "fire the arrows, don't let him escape him from us!

As the archers let loose their arrows from the bow, Sylus was already deeper into the forest. unluckily, one of the arrows shot towards him pierced his thigh.

Sylus then screamed in pain for a second before shutting his mouth and enduring the pain in silence as he kept on running with with adrenaline pumping through him.

"Ah shit that hurts, but it's not compared to my first mission where I was riddled with the three arrows in my body." Said sylus as he consoled himself.

Sylus kept on running towards the Sardonian border, using the environment to dodge the arrows.

As he got closer to crossing the border, his pursuers got more aggressive.

"Sylus you won't get! Hi Yah" Yelled Yosif as he urged his horse to block. As Yosif urged his horse to move faster to get in front of Sylus to stop him, so did his subordinates. Since Sylus was pierced by the arrow shot by one of the soldiers and yet to pull it out, he couldn't run to his fullest extent and so couldn't help to look in distress as the soldiers got in front of him. They turned their horses around and looked at sylus with killing intent. As far as Sylus can see there were only 5 people in total that chased him for the whole entire time and doesn't suspect that anyone else is hidden. Cause id there were more people, it would've alerted the Sardonian Alliance to mobilize their armies.

"Surrender Sylus, you're wounded and outnumbered. Or you can resist and die." stated Yosif.

" fine I surrender" said Sylus in a weak defeated voice. Seeing that the later didn't have the will to go on, Yosif then commanded the group to dismount and walk cautiously towards him. Yosif's actions weren't wrong, since the person he was facing was known as the top assassin in the empire. So he couldn't help but be careful.

As Yosif and his team surrounded Sylus he then commanded to Sylus "place down your weapon on the floor and kick it aside" Sylus then listens by slowly moving his right hand onto the handle of his blade, unsheathing it and dropping on the floor then kicking it aside. Seeing that Sylus did what he was told, Yosif then lowered his guard and told Sylus then told him to place his arm behind his back.

Listening to Yosif's command, he then placed his hands behind his back beside each other. But the moment the hands touched, Sylus couldn't help but sneer "Idiots!" Yosif and his team couldn't help but be stunned after hearing them be called as idiots and due to them being stunned for a second signed their death warrants.

Sylus then used both his hands to pulling out the daggers in his sleeve at break neck by using one hand take out the dagger on the opposite hands sleeve and doing the same with the other. Sylus then threw the the 2 daggers at two of soldier's head, killing them instantly and repeated his actions and threw the other 2 daggers at the other soldier's head leaving only Yosif.

Yosif panicked and begged to Sylus who sees as the god of death "Please don't kill me! I won't tell anyone where you went! Please I'll desert the army! Just god please don't kill me! I don't wanna die!"

"The fact that you threw away your pride away as a man already marks you as a dead man in my eyes." said Sylus is disdain.

Yosif then started begging again since he was to scared to move "No please I don't wann- ah!"

he was then silenced by having a dagger slicing through his throat done by Sylus.

Seeing that that all of his pursuers were dead and knowing that anytime wasted would lead him closer to death, Sylus then takes a horse that was owned by one of the soldier. But since the soldier was dead, it was clear that he won't be needing it any longer.

"Hi yah! Sylus then urged his horse towards the Sardornian border. As he rode towards the border he thought to himself, I don't know why I deserved this sort of treatment after my 12 years of service but I sure as hell am not gonna take this without exacting my revenge. I will kill every last one of you till I'm the last one standing and I will be sure as hell find the answers to why I've been betrayed.