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Avapithecus — Anthem: Chapter 21
#1812 #admiral #anthem #assassin #burning #cockburn #creed #dc #deryn #george #madison #war #warof1812 #washington #assassinscreed #dolley #aveza
Published: 2016-07-09 16:10:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 778; Favourites: 0; Downloads: 0
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Description August 22, 1814; Davenport Homestead, Massachusetts

It took awhile, but Aveza eventually managed to recover from her state.  She'd been trying to relax at the Homestead for the past few months.  Helping out the townsfolk, catching up on some reading, researching her leads on the Temple key, etc.  But during it all, she would still think back every once and a while to everything the Templars have done, all the destruction they've wrought in their arrogant quest for power.  They slaughtered her people, they corrupted a nation, they killed her father and Tecumseh, and they burned her hometown to ashes, all because they thought themselves better than anyone else.  It sickened Aveza whenever she thought of it.  But she stayed hopeful.  She stayed hopeful that she and her friends could do something to stop the chaos, to end the misery.  They could save the world from the Templars.  It may take years, it may take centuries, but they could never give up the fight.  She thought back to an old entry in one of Connor's old journals:

“I may never succeed.  The Assassins may struggle another thousand years in vain, but we will not stop.”

And they haven't stopped.  They won't.  Because the people deserve to be free.  They deserve to have justice and equality, the things that the Templars warp and twist to suit their purposes.  And Aveza was going to fight to ensure that everyone can have those things.  But first she needed to win this battle, this little war between the Americans and the British.  They had to win, or all would surely burn.  So she focused on whatever her next move would be to fight off the Americans.  That next move would come to her in the form of Connor.

He knocked on her doorframe as he came in to greet her.  She smiled and said hello.  He did the same, and held up a letter before handing it to her.

“I know you've been anxious to score a major victory,” said Connor.  “So when this was delivered to me, I figured I should speak with you about it.”

“What is it?” asked Aveza.

“A mission.  As I'm sure you know, the British have finally defeated and exiled Napoleon back in April.  And since they no longer have to place the majority of their focus on him, they're finally able to come back at the Americans full force.  They're not playing it safe anymore.  They don't have to.  And so now they're planning major attacks to help end this war.  One of our allies in the British Army, Admiral George Cockburn, is beginning to execute an attack on a few major American cities as we speak.  The first he plans to attack is Washington DC.”

“And so you want me to go help him out?”

“Would you like to?”

Aveza just smiled at him.  “Connor, there is nothing more I'd rather do than to teach those rotten Templar dogs a lesson,” she said.

Connor smiled at her enthusiasm.  “Alright then,” he said.  “Then if I were you, I'd hurry up and pack.  The Admiral should be starting his attack any day now.”

Aveza nodded, and immediately started packing.  Before she ran out the manor’s door, Connor gave her a sketch of Admiral Cockburn so that she knew who to look for.  She thanked him.  The two hugged and said their goodbyes, and then Aveza set off to get her horse and rode towards Washington DC.

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August 24, 1814; Washington DC

Rain was falling hard on Washington DC that day.  Not enough to interfere, but enough to be obnoxious.  When Aveza arrived that evening, the attack on Washington had just started.  The citizens of the city were rushing out of their homes, trying to find a safe place before things heated up.  The British had already set a few buildings aflame, though the fire was far from the homes of the innocent, to Aveza's relief.  She quickly got off her horse and got to work on finding Admiral Cockburn.  It didn't take long, as he was the one in the center of town, shouting orders.  She came up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Who are you?” he said when he turned to face her.

“Aveza Deryn.  Connor sent me to help.”

“Did he now?  Well, we don't necessarily need help, but we'll gladly accept it, especially from one of you Assassins.”

“Great!  So, what's the plan?”

“We're going to burn all the major landmarks in this town, and show those blasted rebels what we're made of.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

“Excellent.  If you want to help start the process, we're going to start by burning that bloody newspaper printing building.”

Aveza looked over at the small building that he was pointing at.  A group of British soldiers were already trying to gather up torches.  She noticed how dangerously close it was to the civilian homes.  If that building caught fire, and that fire spread…

Aveza gasped.  She looked behind the building, at the city.  She saw the innocent people running away to safety, but some of them were slow.  She thought back to when Zebulon Pike’s men burnt down York.  She thought back to how many lives had been lost, how many homes had turned to ash, how many men, women, and children screamed as the flames consumed them.  She thought about how much they had suffered because of the Templars quest to conquer.  She couldn't allow her allies to fall to the same arrogance.

“No no no!” she quickly said to Cockburn.  “You can't burn that building!”

“What?  Why not?”

“It's too close to the civilians!  When the flames spread, they'll burn the whole town!”

“Well then those civilians better run fast, shouldn't they?”

He was about to turn and give the order to his men, but Aveza gripped his shoulder hard and yanked him back.  She looked him dead in the eye.

“You listen to me!” she said to him.  “I will not, I repeat, will not risk innocent blood spilling under my watch.  I've seen the terror of it, and if your men do anything to harm anyone, I won't hesitate to kill you all and end this mission myself.  Am I bloody clear, Admiral?”

The Admiral just looked at her in shock for a moment, but eventually he lowered his head a small bit.

“Very well, Ms. Deryn,” he said.  “We'll try our best to avoid harming the town itself.”

Aveza loosened her grip.  “Thank you,” she said with a relieved smile.  Cockburn nodded and turned to his men just before they lit the building aflame.

“Men!” he called to them, “New order!  Don't burn that building!  But instead tear it apart brick by brick!”

His men nodded and dowsed their torches.  They quickly got to work on dismantling the building and all that was inside.

“And be sure that all the ‘C’s are destroyed, so that the rascals cannot any longer abuse my name!” Cockburn angrily added.

Aveza smirked at him and suppressed a chuckle.  “It’s tough out there for a Cockburn isn't it?”

Cockburn just looked at her.  “Hush,” he said.  Aveza just smirked and shrugged.

“Alright then,” she said, “what’s our first major target?”

Cockburn lifted his sword and pointed behind her.  “The United States Capitol building,” he said.  “A few travelers have told us that it's the only building in Washington worth being noticed.  And so were going to loot and burn it to break the Americans’ moral.”

Aveza nodded.  “Alright then,” she said.  “Let's go!”

Aveza, Cockburn, and a squadron of his men made their way to the Capitol, which they saw was abandoned.  The soldiers stormed into the building, and started grabbing as much loot as they could.  Aveza did the same, but her search was more organized.  She looked for anything that could hold valuable information on her enemies.  She looked for signs of Templar interference (which she did, in the form of Templar rings hidden in drawers), and for any clues on the location of the Temple key (of which there were none).

Once they were done with that, they got to work on lighting the place on fire.  They found it a bit difficult though, as most of the building was made of resilient stone.  Aveza suggested that they pile up furniture and light it up, which they did.  Just to make sure, they covered the piles they formed throughout the building with heaps of rocket power.  They all ran out of the building to get out of the blast range.  Aveza lit a torch once everyone was out and chucked it into a window.  Everyone ducked for cover as the powder was lit and it blew the Capitol building to pieces.  The entire center of the building collapsed with a bang.

Aveza cheered with the soldiers.  “Take that you bloody scoundrels!” she cheered.

Admiral Cockburn came up to her and put his hand on her shoulder.  “Great work, Ms. Deryn!” he said.  Aveza proudly smiled.

The rain started noticeably picking up.  Thunder roared in the sky.  It didn't deter Aveza and her allies though.

The Admiral pointed her towards another location.  “Our next target is their precious White House,” he said to her.  “I need to gather a few more men and reorganize before we attack, but you can go get a head start if you like.”

Aveza nodded.  “Can do,” she said.

“Best of luck, Ms. Deryn.”

“To you as well.”

The two shook hands and Aveza set off towards the White House.

She lit another torch as she ran.  She arrived in the White House yard, ran past the gates, and sprinted through the rain until she reached the building.

She pulled back her arm, ready to throw her the flame into the White House, but then she stopped.  Something caught her eye.  She looked up through the windows, and she noticed movement inside.

Oh God, she thought, There's still people in there!

She knew she couldn't risk taking innocent lives.  She needed to check before she could do any damage.  She swore under her breath and dowsed her flame.  She dropped the extinguished torch and sprinted into the White House.  She knew she would have to act fast before her allies came.

She rushed up the stairs to where she saw the people, and to her disappointment, they weren't Templars (which she could've easily disposed off).  The majority of them were slaves, judging by their garb.  But one of them was a middle-aged woman with dark hair and a regal white gown.  She had a few paintings in her arms, while the slaves held various pottery and artwork.  They all looked at Aveza when she barged in.  They grew fearful expressions when they caught sight of her weapons.

“Please!” pleaded the woman.  “We only want to take our valuables and leave!  My slaves and I won't hinder your attack, we promise!  Please don't hurt us!”

“I won't hurt you,” said Aveza, who was annoyed by that fact that these people were complicating things.  “My Creed doesn't allow me to.”  Though, Aveza was mentally debating with herself on whether or not the woman was an innocent, seeing as how she owned slaves.  Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to think too much, and so she decided that she'd just save them all now and come back to free these poor people in chains later.

“Then… then what do you want?” asked the woman, who clutched her paintings tight.

“I'm here to get you out of here before my allies burn this place to the ground.  I'm not going to let any innocent blood be spilt today.”

The woman clearly didn't trust her, but at the same time, she knew she had to.

Aveza walked up to her.  “What's your name?” she asked.

“Dolley,” said the woman.  “Dolley Madison.”

The bloody First Lady, thought Aveza.  Of course I get stuck having to save the wife of the man who started this bloody war.

Aveza sighed.  She didn't like it, but she knew she had to help.

“Right,” she said.  “My men are going to be here any minute, so whatever you need to grab, grab it and get out.  Now!”

“Oh God,” said Dolley, “but there's no time to grab it all!”

“Well then what's the thing you want to save the most?”

Dolley thought about it for a moment.  “There's a portrait of George Washington in the East Room,” she said, pointing towards another room.  “If we can get that, then we'll leave.”

Aveza nodded, and set off.  She sprinted into the East Room and found the giant painting of Washington, the only piece of artwork in the room.

“Bullocks,” she said.  “Of course it's bloody enormous.”

She didn't have time to get a ladder, so instead she just climbed up the closest window to the painting and started cutting the painting from the frame with her hidden blade.  As she worked, she noticed that Cockburn and his men were making their march towards the White House.  Aveza swore under her breath.  She cut faster.

Eventually, she managed to get the painting down.  She leapt down from the window, quickly rolled up the painting, and carried it back to the First Lady.

Dolley quickly took the painting.  “Oh thank you, my dear!” she said.

“Don't mention it,” said Aveza.  “Now go!”

Dolley didn't hesitate.  She clutched her belongings tight and led her slaves out of the White House.  Aveza felt terrible for not being in a position to free those poor slaves.  She silently promised herself that she'd come back for them once this was all over.  No one should have to live under another in such a way.

But for now, she had the attack to focus on.  She rushed out of the building after Dolley and her slaves were long gone and she met up with Admiral Cockburn.

“You haven't started yet?” he said, surprised.

“There were… complications,” said Aveza.  “But we can begin now.”

The Admiral just shrugged and ordered his men to begin the burning.  Aveza grabbed a torch and used it to set fire to the president's mansion.  It didn't take long for the entire building to light up orange.  The entire building started turning from white to charcoal black.  The smoke rose up high into the sky as the flames ate away at the Americans’ ultimate symbol of arrogance and hypocrisy.  Aveza watched as the golden light of the flames reflected off of her golden eyes.  It felt so good to finally have another victory after she had lost so much.

The rain came down harder and harder.  The troops were starting to get worried.  The winds were getting more intense too.  But they carried on their attack.

Their next stop was the US Treasury.  They started the same process they did with the Capitol building.  Aveza rummaged through the building, looking for anything useful.  She'd hoped that she would've been able to grab a sum of money, but unfortunately it seemed like the Americans had emptied the Treasury before the attack.  Oh well.  They grabbed all they could, and then set that building ablaze as well.

The rain just got worse and worse.  Thunder and lightning crackled across the sky.  The trees swayed violently.  The British only managed to burn down a few more buildings before it started getting to bad to continue.  Admiral Cockburn ordered his men to start pulling back.  Aveza was reluctant at first, but she knew she couldn't continue in this weather.  She had to settle with what she'd done already.  She decided she'd done a fair amount of damage already.

And so, she met up with the Admiral up on a nearby hill where the weather hadn't gotten as bad and they looked down at their fiery work.

“I must say,” said Cockburn, “you’ve done an amazing job on your part, Ms. Deryn.”

Aveza smiled at him.  “Ah, I'm just happy to help the cause, Admiral,” she said.  “So, what happens now?”

“Well, I'd say we've sent a pretty good message to the Americans today.  I'll regroup my men tomorrow when this infernal weather dies down and finish the job, but for now, I feel we've done well.”

“I agree, Admiral.  We've shown those American dogs that we won't take their abuse anymore.  The British are back in town.  And now we can show them that we won't let them tarnish the name of liberty.”

“Indeed, Ms. Deryn, indeed.”

Aveza and Cockburn looked over the scene with their men in silence for a moment longer.  Aveza allowed herself to feel good.  After all the Templars and the Americans had ripped from her and her friends, it felt so good to see their capital up in flames.  It was a beacon.  The Assassins are coming to make them pay.

Eventually, Aveza decided it was best for her to return to the Davenport Homestead and meet with Connor again.  She and the Admiral thanked each other for their help, and said their goodbyes.  Aveza made him promise one last time not to kill any innocents in the fight, and set off to find a horse once she was satisfied.

She rode off through the rain, taking one last look at the burning scene.  She smiled.  She tugged on the reigns and sped her horse up a bit.  The rain hit her head as she rode, and the flames enlightened her scenery.
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