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Description
June 20, 12974 BCE; Alaska

Arktalaki still had trouble sleeping. There were many times it kept her up all night, unable to do anything but stare into its soft golden glow.

The Apple.

Ten years it had been in her possession. Ten years since she fought against the Templar Grand Master Tanaguq and claimed from him both his life and this artifact. Ten years since she swore to destroy it.

It had to be destroyed… It had to be. It was too dangerous to keep within the realm of man. It held too much power for any one person to be in control of. She had to destroy it. She knew she had to destroy it.

But she couldn't.

Not for lack of trying, mind you. After that little talk she had with Gabriel, she did everything she possibly could to return this vial thing to the realm of the Spirits. She tried smashing it, crushing it with boulders, dropping it from great heights. She tried to burn it, engulf it in flames so hot they could melt stones. At one point she got so desperate that she even tried to trick a mammoth into eating it.

But nothing worked. Nothing ever worked. It was as if the Apple was invincible, unbreakable. She never even made a dent in it. It's lights still shined as bright as ever and it's surface remained just as smooth and shiny. It was infuriating at first, and now it was just disheartening. Arktalaki knew how much of a threat this device held to the entirety of humankind. She knew it had to be destroyed but…

It just couldn't be.

And so she and her tribe did the next best thing: kept it hidden, kept it safe. They guarded it like they would a sacred relic, keeping it far far out of the hands of men and women like the Templars. That's part of the reason they hardly moved around anymore. They stuck by the original cave where Arktalaki had originally fought Tanaguq a decade prior. It was the best place to keep the Apple hidden, they figured. Here in their promised land.

But it didn't make it any less unsettling.

In the cave, Arktalaki stared into the artifact. It was almost mocking her with its rhythmic pulsing. She recalled what it had showed her all those years ago, images of a future long long ahead of her, one that felt the reverberations of her actions thousands and thousands of years after her death. She saw her descendant, that Ava girl who Gabriel told her would be the one to save the entire world. She pondered what adventures she would be going on. Gabriel seemed to imply that she was connected to her somehow across time. What would she think of her? She hoped she would leave an honorable impression for the future to look back upon.

Arktalaki thought of the world, the giant ball of land and sea that Gabriel had shown her. She thought about the continents she had seen and wondered what life there was like. Gabriel had only shown her a tiny sliver of future histories and cultures, a tiny glimpse of what her people would become on this new landmass that they had settled. It was their destiny to spread out, to evolve and diversify into hundreds upon hundreds of peoples and cultures. That destiny was always on her mind, and once her tribe had settled down in this area, she got to work on making sure it was fulfilled. She had sent brave men and women to explore farther inland, towards the south where she had seen yet another massive continent connected to this one by a mere sliver of land. They'd be settled down by now if they had made it all the way. She hoped they did. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she had sent them to their deaths, even if they did all volunteer.

As Arktalaki layed there, the Apple suddenly started pulsing… differently. It was subtle at first, but it began to speed up and pulse harder, almost shaking the cave. She sat up straight in a panic. What was it doing? Light was bursting out of it, like some sort of jagged projection ripples in a pond that just had a stone tossed into it. Arktalaki frantically looked around the cave, not knowing what to do. Just as she was about to run and get help, a tendril of light shot out of the Apple and smacked directly into her forehead. It felt like an icicle was being drilled into her skull with the force of a mammoth’s stomp. Her vision went completely white as a gasp was ripped out of her lungs.

Shapes suddenly began to form out of the void, flashes of blurry images going by so fast that she was barely able to comprehend them. She felt herself in a bizarre land that she didn't recognize, full of grass more than forests of trees like she was used to. She saw herself sitting with other people by a fire, people she recognized as the explorers she had sent out. She saw herself running through the tall grass, running after one of the people as a dark shadow blurred across the plains, something shapeless but huge, something dark and fast. It was hunting them, hunted her. She could hear the screams as the people were taken by whatever it was, one by one as she was left alone.

The scene suddenly shifted again, and she saw herself in a dark, foggy chasm that wreaked of evil. She saw the same shadow zipping around her, back and forth, some sort of giant demon that she couldn't make out. She heard noises too, sounds of rustling and heavy breathing. She heard the echo of her terrified heart beat reverberate off of the walls of the chasm.

But the worst sound of all was this hideous, ear-piercing screeching. It shook her to the depths of her very soul. It was the sound that could only be made by a monster twisted and encased in evil and death. It assaulted her ears, coming from every direction, blocking out even her heartbeat. She felt like she was going to throw up. What was it? Where was it?! It was after her! It was going to kill her!

The screeching got louder and louder and louder, and then as she rounded a corner, she slammed into the shadow, and she screamed a shrill cry of terror as it opened its jaws and lunged forward to consume her in that sound.

And then, everything stopped. She opened her eyes and screamed as she jolted up as if just waking up from a horrifying nightmare. She tried to calm her breathing as she looked down at herself and around the cave. She looked over at the Apple, which had calmed down and returned to its docile state. Arktalaki patted herself down, affirming that she was back to reality. She looked over at the Apple again, wondering what the hell she just witnessed.

And then she simply decided to go running out of the cave, the only word she can think to call out being, “Mentor!”

------------

“So you say it gave you visions of the future?” Wamuneq said as she poked at the fire pit

Arktalaki sat on the rock across from her Mentor, eyes locked on the flames and her hands frantically rolling over each other as that shrill screeching still echoed in her brain. “That's all I can think them to be,” she said. “I saw myself there in that strange land to the south. I knew the people there, felt the pain that whatever that… that thing was terrorizing them.” She paused as once again she heard the screeching assault her memories. “It was evil, Mentor… a greater evil then I have ever seen… the sound it made… it was… it was…”

“Calm, my child. It was merely a vision. You are safe.”

“But if it truly was a vision of the future…”

“If what you saw is meant to happen then you should not try to avoid it, Arktalaki. Especially if there are innocent lives in danger as your visions predicted. It's our sworn duty as members of the Brotherhood to defend the innocent after all.”

“I know… I know…”

“Fear is a tool our foes can easily use against us if we don't learn to control it. Otherwise it controls us, and through it so do those who seek to control us as well.”

“I know, Mentor… but… that screeching… that terrible terrible screeching…”

“If you do not go, people will die, my child.”

There was a long pause. Arktalaki thought it over in between the echoing sounds of evil reverberating through her skull.

“It will take a long time to get there…” she said meekly. “Even by horse it will take a full four seasons…”

The Mentor smiled. “Well, I'd say it makes a true Assassin to travel across the globe just to protect innocent people.”

Arktalaki looked at her, saw her smile, and after a few moments couldn't help but smile meekly back. She did her best to shove the screeching into the back of her head where it was muffled out. She stood from her rock. “Alright…” she said. “Then I shall make my preparations to travel.”

“Be careful, Arktalaki. I imagine there will be many dangers on such a long path.”

“Then I shall pack every spear and arrow I have.”

The Mentor smiled again. “Yet again, you make me proud, Arktalaki. I wish you the best of luck, and I look forward to your return.”

Arktalaki nodded, and she walked back out into the frost-coated forest. But as she exited the Mentor’s cave with a mask of confidence, her smile faded very very quickly. As hard as she tried to keep the shrieking locked in the back of her mind, it clawed its way back up. Even as she gathered up her supplies and weapons and loaded them onto her horse, even as she said a heartfelt goodbye to all of her friends and family of the tribe, it lingered. It rattled in her skull and shook her to the bone. She was riding out to meet whatever this terror was face to face… and she didn't know if she was ready to do that yet.

Nonetheless, she hopped onto her horse and with a brief moment of hesitation, she kicked it into gear, and she began her long long journey south. She had lives to save, and that was more important to her than anything. Whatever demon she was bound by destiny to face off against, she was going to face it no matter what in order to defend the innocent.

Description
June 20, 12974 BCE; Alaska

Arktalaki still had trouble sleeping. There were many times it kept her up all night, unable to do anything but stare into its soft golden glow.

The Apple.

Ten years it had been in her possession. Ten years since she fought against the Templar Grand Master Tanaguq and claimed from him both his life and this artifact. Ten years since she swore to destroy it.

It had to be destroyed… It had to be. It was too dangerous to keep within the realm of man. It held too much power for any one person to be in control of. She had to destroy it. She knew she had to destroy it.

But she couldn't.

Not for lack of trying, mind you. After that little talk she had with Gabriel, she did everything she possibly could to return this vial thing to the realm of the Spirits. She tried smashing it, crushing it with boulders, dropping it from great heights. She tried to burn it, engulf it in flames so hot they could melt stones. At one point she got so desperate that she even tried to trick a mammoth into eating it.

But nothing worked. Nothing ever worked. It was as if the Apple was invincible, unbreakable. She never even made a dent in it. It's lights still shined as bright as ever and it's surface remained just as smooth and shiny. It was infuriating at first, and now it was just disheartening. Arktalaki knew how much of a threat this device held to the entirety of humankind. She knew it had to be destroyed but…

It just couldn't be.

And so she and her tribe did the next best thing: kept it hidden, kept it safe. They guarded it like they would a sacred relic, keeping it far far out of the hands of men and women like the Templars. That's part of the reason they hardly moved around anymore. They stuck by the original cave where Arktalaki had originally fought Tanaguq a decade prior. It was the best place to keep the Apple hidden, they figured. Here in their promised land.

But it didn't make it any less unsettling.

In the cave, Arktalaki stared into the artifact. It was almost mocking her with its rhythmic pulsing. She recalled what it had showed her all those years ago, images of a future long long ahead of her, one that felt the reverberations of her actions thousands and thousands of years after her death. She saw her descendant, that Ava girl who Gabriel told her would be the one to save the entire world. She pondered what adventures she would be going on. Gabriel seemed to imply that she was connected to her somehow across time. What would she think of her? She hoped she would leave an honorable impression for the future to look back upon.

Arktalaki thought of the world, the giant ball of land and sea that Gabriel had shown her. She thought about the continents she had seen and wondered what life there was like. Gabriel had only shown her a tiny sliver of future histories and cultures, a tiny glimpse of what her people would become on this new landmass that they had settled. It was their destiny to spread out, to evolve and diversify into hundreds upon hundreds of peoples and cultures. That destiny was always on her mind, and once her tribe had settled down in this area, she got to work on making sure it was fulfilled. She had sent brave men and women to explore farther inland, towards the south where she had seen yet another massive continent connected to this one by a mere sliver of land. They'd be settled down by now if they had made it all the way. She hoped they did. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she had sent them to their deaths, even if they did all volunteer.

As Arktalaki layed there, the Apple suddenly started pulsing… differently. It was subtle at first, but it began to speed up and pulse harder, almost shaking the cave. She sat up straight in a panic. What was it doing? Light was bursting out of it, like some sort of jagged projection ripples in a pond that just had a stone tossed into it. Arktalaki frantically looked around the cave, not knowing what to do. Just as she was about to run and get help, a tendril of light shot out of the Apple and smacked directly into her forehead. It felt like an icicle was being drilled into her skull with the force of a mammoth’s stomp. Her vision went completely white as a gasp was ripped out of her lungs.

Shapes suddenly began to form out of the void, flashes of blurry images going by so fast that she was barely able to comprehend them. She felt herself in a bizarre land that she didn't recognize, full of grass more than forests of trees like she was used to. She saw herself sitting with other people by a fire, people she recognized as the explorers she had sent out. She saw herself running through the tall grass, running after one of the people as a dark shadow blurred across the plains, something shapeless but huge, something dark and fast. It was hunting them, hunted her. She could hear the screams as the people were taken by whatever it was, one by one as she was left alone.

The scene suddenly shifted again, and she saw herself in a dark, foggy chasm that wreaked of evil. She saw the same shadow zipping around her, back and forth, some sort of giant demon that she couldn't make out. She heard noises too, sounds of rustling and heavy breathing. She heard the echo of her terrified heart beat reverberate off of the walls of the chasm.

But the worst sound of all was this hideous, ear-piercing screeching. It shook her to the depths of her very soul. It was the sound that could only be made by a monster twisted and encased in evil and death. It assaulted her ears, coming from every direction, blocking out even her heartbeat. She felt like she was going to throw up. What was it? Where was it?! It was after her! It was going to kill her!

The screeching got louder and louder and louder, and then as she rounded a corner, she slammed into the shadow, and she screamed a shrill cry of terror as it opened its jaws and lunged forward to consume her in that sound.

And then, everything stopped. She opened her eyes and screamed as she jolted up as if just waking up from a horrifying nightmare. She tried to calm her breathing as she looked down at herself and around the cave. She looked over at the Apple, which had calmed down and returned to its docile state. Arktalaki patted herself down, affirming that she was back to reality. She looked over at the Apple again, wondering what the hell she just witnessed.

And then she simply decided to go running out of the cave, the only word she can think to call out being, “Mentor!”

------------

“So you say it gave you visions of the future?” Wamuneq said as she poked at the fire pit

Arktalaki sat on the rock across from her Mentor, eyes locked on the flames and her hands frantically rolling over each other as that shrill screeching still echoed in her brain. “That's all I can think them to be,” she said. “I saw myself there in that strange land to the south. I knew the people there, felt the pain that whatever that… that thing was terrorizing them.” She paused as once again she heard the screeching assault her memories. “It was evil, Mentor… a greater evil then I have ever seen… the sound it made… it was… it was…”

“Calm, my child. It was merely a vision. You are safe.”

“But if it truly was a vision of the future…”

“If what you saw is meant to happen then you should not try to avoid it, Arktalaki. Especially if there are innocent lives in danger as your visions predicted. It's our sworn duty as members of the Brotherhood to defend the innocent after all.”

“I know… I know…”

“Fear is a tool our foes can easily use against us if we don't learn to control it. Otherwise it controls us, and through it so do those who seek to control us as well.”

“I know, Mentor… but… that screeching… that terrible terrible screeching…”

“If you do not go, people will die, my child.”

There was a long pause. Arktalaki thought it over in between the echoing sounds of evil reverberating through her skull.

“It will take a long time to get there…” she said meekly. “Even by horse it will take a full four seasons…”

The Mentor smiled. “Well, I'd say it makes a true Assassin to travel across the globe just to protect innocent people.”

Arktalaki looked at her, saw her smile, and after a few moments couldn't help but smile meekly back. She did her best to shove the screeching into the back of her head where it was muffled out. She stood from her rock. “Alright…” she said. “Then I shall make my preparations to travel.”

“Be careful, Arktalaki. I imagine there will be many dangers on such a long path.”

“Then I shall pack every spear and arrow I have.”

The Mentor smiled again. “Yet again, you make me proud, Arktalaki. I wish you the best of luck, and I look forward to your return.”

Arktalaki nodded, and she walked back out into the frost-coated forest. But as she exited the Mentor’s cave with a mask of confidence, her smile faded very very quickly. As hard as she tried to keep the shrieking locked in the back of her mind, it clawed its way back up. Even as she gathered up her supplies and weapons and loaded them onto her horse, even as she said a heartfelt goodbye to all of her friends and family of the tribe, it lingered. It rattled in her skull and shook her to the bone. She was riding out to meet whatever this terror was face to face… and she didn't know if she was ready to do that yet.

Nonetheless, she hopped onto her horse and with a brief moment of hesitation, she kicked it into gear, and she began her long long journey south. She had lives to save, and that was more important to her than anything. Whatever demon she was bound by destiny to face off against, she was going to face it no matter what in order to defend the innocent.