Its been a while since I posted a composition on the discourse. I do know that the Assassin’s Creed ‘facts’ I mention in the story (i.e. Ezio killing Rodrigo Borgia) do not actually fit with the AC official lore. I made those changes to simplify the story.
Enjoy.
It was market day. The streets of Florence were congested with people. Aquila Auditore scanned the streets from his lofty perch on the bell tower. His trained eyes examined each passing person intently. He was after big game. He glanced down at the clasp in his hand. The clasp was in the shape of a hood, the symbol of the Assassins. It was made of cold steel. His grandfather, Ezio, had worn it on his belt like a prize when he killed Rodrigo Borgia. Now Aquila had to keep the symbol hidden in his white cloak so the Templar agents wouldn’t be able to identify him. Accursio Borgia was to blame. Accursio had raised the Templar Order from the grave that Ezio had dug for it. The Templars were once again a power to be feared.
Aquila looked from the clasp in his hands to the street below. His eyes narrowed. His target was in sight. Accursio Borgia and his cutthroats were pushing their way through the crowds. Now all Aquila had to do was get down to them.
Aquila slipped the clasp into the folds of the cloak and then dropped over the edge of the bell tower. He held onto the ledge while he searched for footholds. Once his feet were secure he looked down. He saw a knob protruding from the tower’s wall about ten feet below him. Aquila let himself fall. The building rushed past him. When his instincts told him the time was right he gripped out. He felt the cold knob in his hands.
A piece of wood stuck out of the wall a few feet to the side. A little below the wood there was a stone ledge. Aquila leapt the distance to the wood and then dropped to the ledge. He looked down. Accursio was about half way up the street. Time was running out.
Aquila would have to take some shortcuts. He looked around. Across the street he saw a column of balconies. If he could get onto one of the balconies, he could drop down them like a ladder. It was a long jump across the street. Maybe it was too long. Aquila would have to push off the wall with one leg and his arms to gain momentum. His instincts chose a balcony to land on. He took a deep breath and made sure not to look down. He jumped. He was soaring through the air. He was an eagle. His vision narrowed. The balcony was approaching. A warning shot through his head. He had mistimed.
Aquila smashed into the banister. His hands grappled desperately for a hold. He managed to keep himself up. He looked down. A glint of metal caught his eye. It was Ezio’s clasp, and it was falling. Aquila’s instincts screamed for him to get to safety but he ignored them. He let go of his hold and he used his feet to propel away from the balconies. Wind tore at his cloak and blinded him. His foot tapped a balcony. The force caused him to rotate in the air.
Blinded, wounded and spinning, Aquila smashed into the ground. Luckily his legs landed first, but at an awkward angle. He felt his knee wrench out of socket. A second later, the rest of his body crashed onto the ground. He felt numb. His instincts knew he couldn’t go further. Aquila knew differently. He forced his way onto his feet. He shook his head to clear it and saw people staring at him. Right in front of him Accursio was picking up the clasp.
“Everything is going well for you today. But even with your good luck, you won’t stop me from saving this city,” Accursio said.
“You would be great for the city,” Aquila felt himself say. Accursio detected the irony in his voice.
“Kill him,” he shouted to his cutthroats. Two brutes came toward Aquila. They both carried cinquedea (Italian civilian short broadswords.) Aquila raised his hands in surrender. Accursio laughed.
“Bring him to me.” The two brutes nodded and carefully approached Aquila. They grabbed his arms and dragged him toward Accursio. Aquila’s head was spinning so he had closed his eyes. He felt a fist hit his face; it was a distant pain. Aquila judged the time was right.
Aquila’s eyes shot open. He activated the hidden blades which were hidden in his gauntlets. Both blades stabbed into the brutes. One of them was killed instantly. The other staggered back in pain. Aquila used his good leg to pivot toward Accursio. The now revealed hidden blades flashed through the air as Aquila attacked. Accursio began drawing his sword. He never finished. The hidden blade on Aquila’s right arm cut through Accursio’s throat and he slid back. His body made a thud when it hit the ground.
Aquila bent down and closed Accursio’s eyes. “Requiescat in pace,” Aquila whispered. Aquila took Ezio’s assassin’s clasp from Accursio’s dead body. Accursio’s cutthroat were the first to run. The rest of the people attending the market also began to flee. Aquila ignored them all. He limped into one of the alleys and attached the clasp to his belt. The Assassins had risen again.