"You did WHAT?!" the man called Blue Lighting shouted slamming his fist upon the desk. "You killed Rand the Elder! I clearly told you not to kill any of them, Alim!"

With that he slammed his fist on to his desk once again, with even more force. As always his meek assistant jumped with fear at his master's out bursts. But the Assassin looked at him without a hint of intimidation. Blue looked at the assassin curiously.

"I see your not fearful of my anger."

"You have to give me something to be fearful about." Alim said in a flat even tone. "And the reason for taking out the old man? He killed the Wizard and was about to search him. He had material that would lead him to you. And I'm sure you didn't want that to happen."

As must as he hated to admit it, this Assassin unnerved him. Even though he stood a head taller then the man. Alim was a solidly built, stocky young man. His black hair was cut short near his skull, only to high light his dark brown eyes. Eyes that saw and done many unspeakable things. He wore an outfit of tight black leather. There were buckles and straps all over his body, that seemed to tighten all the areas on his body. He also wore a long black cape, that only added to his intimidation.

He was armed with a Silver Rapier that was strapped to the right side of his back. He also carried at least a dozen short throwing darts. It was known some of them were poison tipped. But his real power came from his wielding of Dark Energy. At his sixteenth age of life. An accident that nearly killed him brought his Dark Magic to the surface.

His parents, saw his powers as something evil, threw him out and branded him as a minion of darkness. Only because the church told them what he was. Filled with anger he left the town, only because he was sure he would of killed his foolish parents at that time. Later on after he thought about it, he would of hated himself for doing that.

He ended up spending months talking to spell casters. Learning what his powers were and to see if he control it. And in an odd twist, he wanted to go see Rand-Tor the elder. For it was known that he was adept in magic and spell casting. Only because he was too far for him to travel at that time to the grass land area. He learned that his dark magic he could travel without being being seen or heard. And the one thing that he never told anyone was the fact that he could change his appearance at will. He could become man or women.

The only down side was it took a lot of concentration to hold a form over a long period of time. With all of that, being a assassin was a clear choice. Besides, everyone from the rich to the poor. There was a price on nearly any ones head. If you could pay his fees. Alim NEVER failed. Everything from quick and painless. To savage and brutal. There wasn't a job that he wouldn't accept.

Later after years of intense training he learned how to fire bolts of pure dark energy, at different levels, that could render a person unconscious or rip into a body like a hot knife. He hit the old man with a open blast that killed him. He was trying to knock him out. But the force of his blast tore into his chest was too powerful.

For a moments, he felt sorry about the old man's death. But what was done is done. Besides. He saw and caused more death that could fill a hundred grave yards. And the last thing he needed to do is think about the things he did. No doubt Guilt would creep into him and slowly eat him inside out.

Blue Lighting sat back at his desk to ponder what he told him. After a few moments he knew Alim was right. "Your right.," he said after taking a long sigh. "I need you to keep tracks on the others. I want you to follow them. I need to know were that map is...........DO NOT kill anymore of them.............Understood, Assassin?"

A small grin broke out across his face. "As long as you pay my fee.........I Live To Serve!" He bowed with an elegant grace. before leaving his office.

"Arrogant Bastard!" Blue muttered, only when he was sure he was out of ear shot of him. "I may have to have him taken out in the future." He ordered his aid to get a list of possible candidates for the job , if it becomes necessary. Blue shook his head at the thought of the old man's death.

"All that knowledge......All that power.........gone."



Mentokka shared a room with Merc. But she took a room next to his uncle, just in case he was need of her help. Later on in the night she sat at his bed side. She stared at her Uncle's sleeping form. A wave of feelings assaulted her mind and soul. At times she couldn't understand what this man meant to her. Most of the time she knew he was the center of her life.

She was too young to remember her parents. So she saw Rand as her father and mother, when he took her and her brother in when they died. Something that Rand told her that he wasn't ready to tell the two of them about. But promised he would. She would stay up for hours as he told her stories of his time as a mercenary solider. He spoke of the good, the bad, the funny and the ugly. Especially......the ugly.

He wouldn't sugar coat anything. He told her as he saw it. Brutal way he and his men fought and killed the enemy. There treatment of prisoners and the way his men attacked and raped the enemy's women. He never tried to pass blame on to others for his actions. The story about there army's assault on a northern strong hold was at times beyond words.

"They were the enemy," he would say. "The things they did to our captured soldiers when we tried to take there walled city were unspeakable. The would cut them open from neck to groan. In sight of us. There screams were horrible. And it would last for hours. And the enemy on the wall would laugh and mock us as they screamed. Other times they would dismember one of them and start throwing down body parts at us. The one thing that sent us over the edge was when they pitched a sack at where we were stationed outside there walls. When it was opened we saw it was filled with teeth and a bloody pair of pliers that tore them out of there mouths of the soldiers. We all lost it. We attacked the walls in a blind rage. We didn't want to take the town. We wanted to wipe it off the earth, and all in it. I promised my leaders not to use my magic. But at that moment I didn't care. I call up the most powerful fire ball I could cast. I screamed as I casted it The fire ball hit the front gates and blew them into pieces. Right there, I blacked out. When I came to. I city was taken and in the process of getting sacked. What I saw haunts me to this day. Men, Women AND Children were being slaughtered. At that time I was filled with too much hate to care. I joined in.........."

Right there he stopped. And to Mentokka's surprise. He started weeping. It was the first time he ever spoke of it. She got out of bed and held him as if she was his mother. She later realized that he needed to tell his stories to someone. Get it out of his system.

He told her was sorry to tell her such horrible things about his past. He told him she understood, and right there she loved him all the more.

Even though there were times he wanted her to think about leaving and 'Go find the meaning of her life.' She wasn't ready. There was still so much she needed to learn from him. He was just about an never ending well of information and knowledge that she wished to tap into.

But there was still one question that bothered her.

"What is it that you wish to tell me about." she though to herself. "And how it would change me and Tosh's life?"

But that would have to wait until he woke up.



Rand knew that Mentokka was at his bed side. Even with his eyes closed and in a deep sleep, his magic painted a picture of his niece in his mind. He did not disturb her by waking. The expression on her lovely face told him that she was in deep though about something. He was sure it was about what he was planing to talk to her about. He could of easily went into her mind to see what she was thinking. But this was another things he rarely done. And he'd wouldn't do it to her or Tosh. Only if he had no choice.

Instead he talk to the magic. He realized when he slept, the bridge between the two of them was well connected. He saw the Magic as Mentokka. The talked about nothing important. Just talking about the past and there times together and thanking the magic for being there when he needed it.

Also the magic would whisper secret forms of magic that he didn't understand. It would fill his mind with visions of powers that he could only dream of. Yet Rand's mind was strong. Though he didn't understand what the magic told him. He locked it in his mind, remembering nearly everything that was told to him. So that later he could write it down and ponder it. Trying to make sense of what was told to him.

Most of the time it was unusable. And others times it was clearly too dangerous to use. And still other times it was found out to be so silly, it would leave him doubled over with laughter. Once or twice he would learn something that would improve a spell or his powers ever so slightly, he wondered if it was really worth all the effort he put into learning what learned.

But as soon as he thought about it. The answer would hit him like one of Tosh's fist to his head.

Of course it was!

Great things usually came in 'Small packages'.

And this, small package held a 'Gem of an Idea.'

He went deep into himself to piece this idea together. And but tomorrow, it was going to be a something for the ages.

With that........ He smiled inwardly.