Fall of the First

"You know, this plan is completely reckless and you could easily kill this cunt without causing so much damage and killing so many people. All you are doing is risking your neck and theirs."

"You're right, but whats the point in assassinating one person when I could kill dozens along with them. No one lives through this. Ha ha ha!"

Hitori continued to laugh as he dropped the corpse, bloody and beaten. It was clearly a guard, one who was stationed on top of the building Hitori stood on. He had easily snuck up and killed the man silently, and had been watching patrols for quite a while. No one would be around to notice for a good hour, long after whatever will happen, has happened. He may be crazy and bloodthirsty, but he planned things out well. No one would know this man was dead for a long time.

Few things to note about the body, its face was burnt off, it's chest was torn open and it's mouth was welded shut. Standing beside it was Hitori, wearing his blood red, blood stained cloak with the hood covering his face. On each shoulder was a steel guard covered in small spikes. His bandaged body was hidden well,  but the distinct dripping could be heard from the blood dripping from his right hand, hidden by long sleeves.

The sun was falling and he had a clear view of the palace. A big feast was going on and this guard was just one of the few unlucky ones that weren't being used to guard the castle and all its guests. He was early, but if the two he hired weren't completely incompetent they would be here within minutes and they would have done with quietly. He was almost over the edge with excitement to kill. So many people in one place ready to be slaughtered. Thorn and Andeddo would do their part while Hitori executed the cunt who ran the joint, then they would finish up killing the rest and move on.

That was the easy part, the hard part would be the next couple hits. The second wouldn't be too bad but from then on leaders would know they were being targeted and they would need to act fast and smart. He needed a good plan for those. Back to the plan on hand however, if what Hitori knew was correct, and it usually was, everyone even the person they were after would be in the main hall for the next hour. The guards outside would be on high alert, but they wouldn't be so much of problem with Thorns help and Andeddo will be useful on the inside.

The last drop of blood hit the roof and Hitori smiled his twisted smile, "Soon."

Lucy
Lucy arrived at the castle with Jay. As they walked through the halls over to wear the feast was being held, Lucy looked around at the walls and artwork. It was certainly more prestigious then Lucy was use to on a day to day basis, but if she was going to compare it to Hudcryf then Hudcryf would win hands down.

When they reached the dinning hall the king welcomed Lucy in a booming voice. "Ah, princess Lucy. Even without fancy clothing one could tell your beauty to be of royal nature from a mile away. Come sit, drink, and enjoy yourself. The day is young but the feast won't end till the night is old. I see you brought a guest. He is welcome as well." The king gestured for Lucy to sit next to him. "I know you must hear this a lot but how did a human become a princesses in an elven kingdom?" "I was adopted." Lucy replied shyly. "Speak up girl I can't hear you over this merry making." Lucy repeated herself in a voice loud enough for the king to hear.

The feast continued with small talk and a few personal question here and there. It didn't matter how long the feast was going to last. There was no way Lucy was going to get comfortable in this environment. By now she had lost sight of Jay. With all the attention she was getting it was impossible to keep track of him.



Astral
Astral had been following Hitori even in Kakos. She was hidden sight even from Hitori's special seeing ability. The only reason she was paying such close attention was because his reckless behavior concerned her. News of the job he was offering spread far and wide. It was almost common knowledge in the streets. Astral just wanted to make sure that if Hitori got caught he didn't spill the beans about her. Of course if he made any mention of gods actually being Iota natives he would be written off as crazy. Still her follow kin would likely learn of this blunder and scold her, so she had to make sure it didn't happen.

Hitori threw together a random team. If he actually pulled this off Astral would be most impressed. She didn't actually expect him to accomplish anything but if he did then she would be most pleased. However things weren't looking up. He chose a small team of 3 people, himself and two others. Perfect for assassination. Hitori could sneak thanks to his special seeing ability and that shape swifter was most interesting. He also shouldn't have any issue getting around and in plain sight. The odd one out was the pyro. Astral laughed at how confident he was in his abilities. He was not all that great. Astral guessed that any student in an actual magic collage could defeat him which meant he was going to be no match for the court wizards. Though of the three he definitely was best for distraction which Astral hoped Hitori used him for. The only issue would be extracting him which won't happen, he is disposable anyways. Also why Anthropinos. That was a very big city pulling something like this off there was nearly impossible. Sure they had the element of surprise but he didn't have the power to pull it off. Not to mention today they were having a feast which meant everyone would be in one place and while that might seem good at first all the guards and wizards would also be there. From what Astral was observing so far he was carrying out his plans now. The fool, he should wait for the cover of nigh when security is thin and the place is quiet.

Apparently the feast was being held for Lucy a human princess of Hudcryf the elven city Anthropinos was at war with. How a human became a princess of the most guarded elven city in the world Astral couldn't even guess. The king was probably going to treat her nicely to win her favor before asking for strategic information about their enemy. Astral also couldn't help but notice that this girl was heavily cursed by a Dafurai.

Jay

Jay followed along behind Lucy, utterly out of his depth and comfort zone. Sure he had agreed to go with her, and it had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now Jason kind of regretted his decision to join her. His eyes didn't know where to look, everywhere was such splendor, such incredible opulence. He had never seen the like before, never even knew such a thing existed. Jay stared around the halls and rooms, jaw hanging open like the plebeian he was.

When they finally reached the hall where the festivities were taking place Jay saw the king. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Who was he to stand in the presence of royalty. Not only that but he had come in accompanying a princess! The Avarian was overcome with it all, it seemed so surreal to him, like a dream. Any moment now he would wake up and this would all be gone, and he would be alone, most likely sleeping out under the stars. He jolted when the king mentioned his presence, his eyes widening slightly. As the king thankfully turned his gaze back to Lucy Jason breathed out a sigh of relief, slinking off a little to grab himself something to eat.

He grazed on some pastries, but kept an eye on Lucy, smiling lightly as she was surrounded by the nobles and other high society persons. He didn't envy her, and he could tell she wasn't enjoying this herself. He shook his head, thinking it was better her than him.


Andeddo

The scent of blood made for a perfect trail to the keen senses of a serpent. Upon a building stood a man, laughing at a corpse, and the viper slowly and lazily slithered up towards the laughing male, it's tongue flicking out constantly, tasting the blood in the air. This wasn't easy, since there was no convenient way for the serpent to ascend to the roof of the building. SO sighing in his mind Andeddo shifted into a more suitable form.

Growing in length and height the serpents scales were replaced by feathers, it's retractable fangs fusing into a beak, claws protruded from it's belly, and its tail shriveled into it's now compacted body. The falcon shot off of the ground, shrieking to the night as it soared up to land on the corpse, ripping a piece of flesh from it. Andeddo restrained himself from eating it, though he had absolutely no problem doing so, having previous experience. He hopped over to Hitori, the maniacal moron who stood on top of a roof, laughing his ass off having killed a guard for the event they intended to infiltrate in order to kill the leader of this very city. They hadn't started anything yet, and already they might be in trouble. What if the guard was supposed to report in, or switch duty with a replacement. Of course Hitori wouldn't care about that, the man was insane and obsessed with death, blood and violence.

Andeddo didn't bother speaking to Hitori, assuming the other would know it was him just due to the fearless nature he displayed by landing directly next to Hitori, on top of his latest, but by no means last, victim. Andeddo sighed once more within his head. All they needed now was the Pyromaniac, and they could begin their work, and woe to any who got in the way.

The pieces had all fallen into place, now. Lucy was back in a castle, in the arms of subordinates and other royalty with new blood in tow. He eyed them through the silverware, the windows, the mirrors and metal. Hell, even looked through their own eyes, and their water. So much information, from so many angles, and it was at his fingertips in the blink of an eye. Little run away girl, he cooed in his head. Underneath my thumb and protection, he thought as a smile crept across his face. Yet you've not the slightest clue.

This thing, for it was no person, silently and eagerly watched the proceedings. He was unaware of what was occurring outside of the Castle, but once the trespassers entered the silhouette hidden in behind every reflection would begin his preparations to make his presence known.

Among many things, Hitori was indeed insane. He never bothered hide this fact, but instead always used his sheer amount of violence to his advantage. A man can be reckless when he knows whats coming from quite a distance away, but Hitori was also smart. He mapped out, knew that this guard stayed upon this roof for one hour after the kill, and that his pals would only actually be within eyesight of him in 45 minutes. Even so, if someone showed up early, Hitori would see them coming before they were even close. Like the snake he saw approaching and then turn into a bird, knowing immediately this creature was his.

He motioned a hand at the bird, "It seems the other is not coming. Unfortunate, but we go through anyway. Without Thorn, the plan changes only slightly. Instead, I'll be the artillery and you will follow after me. We get in, pick out the girl as fast as we can which with me shouldn't be hard. Whoever has the best opportunity will kill her, while the other deals with the court magicians and guards." Hitori was not pleased. Normally, with his old plan, Eclipse would do the heavy lifting and Hitori could save some of his strength, but it was no matter. "No direct witness will live. If they see you, they die. End of story."

With a pulse, he viewed a extremely large area, and got a nice view of everything he needed. Something he had been doing every five minutes. There were many guards outside the castle, thirty or forty and five of those seemed to be court magicians judging from their dress. Fifteen more were patrolling the streets around the city, but were very spread out and thinned to protect the girl. He even got a peak inside, due to some open windows and ajar doors. If Andeddo needed more explaining of what to do, Hitori would be saying so now.

Thorn was not your typical or even ideal assassian, mostly for the fact that he studied magic, and not the sneaky kind, but rather, bang, boom, and kaboom type of magic. But it still had it's uses without a doubt for that kind of work, depending on what they were trying to accomplish and at what level. this would also include with entering such a city like this with arousing certain attention took various plans of his own involving falling on the part of his work from before hand to even get into cities to accomplish his arson jobs. However it could never have been swiftly or effective enough to get him to where he needed exactly on time, so, as he arrived, he was curious if things were already on the road with the other two to begin. Sadly, Thorn had no way to communicate a message with them besides try to meet up where they had intended.

He could only hope that his associates would take notice of his presence as he entered the building that they were to meet in with a certain swiftness that only few would take in with notice as he raced for his way to the top of it. Eventually, he would find a opening to the roof that he would enter through like the guard beforehand had probably done, and so Thorn would most likely find himself before a man, a corpse, and a bird. Not a sight that most would find rather calming, but it did the job for him over a squad of guardsmen. Hitori really didn't change much from what he was already, and as such thorn could identify him as an ally right away, from besides the other obvious evidence that stated the same points.

"I was hoping that I wouldn't arrive too late.." He stated before looking over the view that was from this building compared to what he could probably see from others. It was then that Thorn thought about his enemies numero uno, the Court Magicians, the ones that always want to ruin his fun when he has anything to do with government releated task in cities. But he always had a trick to think of to outsmart or otherwise leave the court magicians unable to act against him. After all, while the court magicians may only have minor spells or certain things in mind for counters, Thorn had much time to think out his combinations, and he knew just the right spells to get the ball rollin. From there, it would see interference from the court magicians, but he would have the ones that are witness to himself or his actions hopefully in the view of his next spell as they dealt with the first. Only a very wise man would know of what to come and prevent, but Thorn was exceptional in the magic that he did do. Which would probably be above the standards for a court magician.

Court Magicians often some of the best in every catergory of magic, were in ways very superior to Thorn, however his skill and dedication to his specialties were things that he needed to work to his advantage to ensure destruction and death. "So shall the show go on as intended or have you found it better to go on without me?" He asked curious as he wondered how they were planing to proceed without him most likely and whether they would proceed as such even with his arrival. Heck, with all the effort that he put into coming here, he wouldn't sit out even if asked, so it would only be a matter if he had Hitori and Andreddo's assistance or support with the plans.