Chapter 4- Frederic Ruffield

In the year of 658, Gregory Ruffield, the lead assassin in the surfacers guild on Moore Aisle, and one of the most trusted advisers to the leader of the guild, Marcus Thaust, began the ritual to initiate his son, Frederic Ruffield, into the assassin clan of the surfacers guild

Frederic, a young boy, 10 years old at the time, had been physically trained from the age of 8 to be able to withstand the harsh practices of the ritual.

Those without at least a large amount of physical stamina and endurance would die in the process of enabling their bodies to handle magical energy.

Gregory was an old man, over 600 years old, and one of the original mages. Along with the others, there were 12 total mages who lead the surfacers clan, and 3 of which belonged to each of the 4 corners of the world.

Gregory had a long white beard and wore a grey robe, and 2 other mages stood next to him wearing black robes lined with a crimson boarder.

The three mages placed their hands over Frederic, who laid on a stone altar, and began chanting in order to channel the energy into his body slowly, so that he may build up a resistance over time to handle this energy

Hours passed, and the mages continued their ritual until bit by bit. Frederic began to shake and struggle against the energy flowing into him.

Dark streams of vapor could be seen surrounding him, and over the course of many hours he finally awoke, his eyes bursting open like a madman's.

The young boy, bald, and clothed in a white robe, stood up, eyes widened, and shaking, realized his situation.

"Was the ritual successful, father?" He questioned.

"If it were not, your body would have rejected the dark particles and imploded by now. You've done well to make it this far, my son. Now go forth, and continue your training in magic to become a skilled assassin."

The child was taken away by the two men in black robes and led out into a hallway where he was then put into a bedroom.

He was to spend the next 10 years of his life training himself to use stealth techniques so that he would be able to go on his first mission, and gain experience as an assassin

In the year 1226, 30 years before the present day, Frederic was the most skilled assassin in the guild. He had mastered both stealth techniques, and the use of dark magic to attack, and as the son of the 3rd in command of the surfacers guild, he was of high standing.

The mages of the surfacers guild had all mastered the technique to suspend their bodies in time, allowing them to live indefinitely without aging. As such, the man appeared to be only 20 years old, which was the age in which he had fully mastered magical techniques.

He was bald, looked as if he had a buzz cut, and wore a black robe, similar to the other users. He had a built figure and bright blue eyes, and walked into the hall of the guild leaders.

The three guild leaders, Marcus, Gregory, and Samuel, all sat in three thrones, two silver on the sides and one golden, and Marcus sat in the middle.

All of them had long white beards and wore grey robes, as they were of the first generation of magic casters, and they were unable to master the suspension of cells until they had already reached old age.

Frederic knelt before them and reported. "Honored guild leaders. Your humble servant Frederic awaits his orders".

Marcus lifted his hand, implying for Frederic to rise.

"Frederic. Your skills have surpassed those of the other members of your clan. You have proven yourself a worthy asset of the surfacers guild. Our goal to prevent the empire from taking over the surface has been successful due to your promptness in removing anyone who wanders from the underground entrances. However, we have found an area of concern with the empire. Their king, Robert, who has remained alive since the initiation of magic, just as us, has been seen running experiments in order to further his magical power. We cannot allow this to progress any further, should the empire become a threat to the surface guild. This is why we have appointed you to the task of infiltration, in order that you may stop their experimental efforts from within. We do not wish to destroy the empire, nor their people, however so long as they remain a potential threat, we have no choice but to act."

"Your orders shall be carried out. If that is all, I shall take my leave."

Frederic knelt once more and left the room. After leaving, Marcus quietly spoke with the other two guild leaders.

"Gregory. I do not suspect your son of betrayal, however, we know that the people of the empire have methods to convince surfacers of their right to live on the surface. I will send a vassal to tail him, and should the time come, this vassal will be prepared to test Frederic's loyalty. Is this agreeable?"

Gregory nodded in agreement.

Frederic arrived in the city of Lardis, ready to begin his investigation. The first place he went to gather information on the state of the empire was a bar.

On his way to this bar, he passed an alleyway, and looked to his side only to see a blonde woman, being threatened by a couple thugs.

The leader of the thugs, a thin man with slicked back hair, pressed on her, threatening her to come with him.

"Its either you come with us now, or you lose your life. Its not a hard decision miss."

He reached over to grab her hand and just as he was about to do so, his hand was grabbed by another.

Frederic glared at the man, and the two other thugs ran away after seeing his glare and feeling his dangerous aura. The slick haired man brushed Frederic's hand off him and spit in his face.

"What do you think you're doing bud, ruining my fun like that? You willing to offer up yourself for this woman? EH?!"

A black mist appeared where Frederic previously stood and the man fell to the ground, Frederic's hand where the mans neck used to be in a chopping motion.

"I never want to see any of you guys again. Go."

The woman fell to her knees out of fear and began crying.

"Thank you. I can't thank you enough. Please take this, its all I have." She offered up a brown coin purse as payment, and Frederic pushed it back.

"I have no need for that. But come with me, I will take you somewhere safe."

Frederic arrived at his new home, and the woman with him looked around.

"Are you sure you're willing to take me in, Sir? Do you not have a wife or family?" She questioned.

"I have none. I've recently arrived in this city today. I cannot tell you where from, however as long as you keep quiet about who I am you are free to live here."

Frederic then went off to perform his duties as a spy, and returned later after gathering sufficient information about what the public believed the hierarchy to be.

He reported this information back to his father through telepathic messaging, and continued to work his way up as a soldier for the next few years.