BLADE Chapter 3 – AniontingProsper
CHAPTER THREE: A Bloody Re-establishment.
Blade had never imagined there was anything in this world that could rival the thrill of taking lives illicitly. But now, as he hungrily devoured each page, he was drawn into something far more captivating. Though he couldn’t fathom the origins of the knowledge, he couldn’t deny the allure, and even what he consumed now felt insufficient. He needed more, a craving that went beyond anything he’d ever known.
Without warning, the door crashed open, and Vesper entered. He had been worried sick, and seeing his best friend lying beside a towering pile of books—more than he’d ever seen in one place—made him feel, for a brief moment, like a fool.
“You’re making me regret the day I brought you here just to save your life. Now you walk in like it’s your place” Blade complained, his eyes not moving from the pages of the book he was reading.
Vesper, shaking off the concern that had gripped him, muttered, “I thought you’d gone off to follow your father on some dangerous mission—that’s why you left. If I knew you’d just ditch your high position for a desk job, I wouldn’t have wasted so much energy worrying about you.”
Blade’s attention remained fixed on the book in his hands, and he didn’t bother to look up. “What’s this? The Hidden Truths of Wealth? Forty-Eight Laws of Power? How to Read Minds? What is this? Some kind of magic?”
“Magic?” Vesper scoffed, bewildered by the endless pages. “This looks like nonsense. What’s the fun in reading all this?”
Blade shook his head with quiet amusement, pitying his friend. Vesper would never understand the fire that now burned within him. Raised within the rigid boundaries of the Citadel in the Wetlands, Blade had long resigned himself to a life of monotony. But now, reading these strange and foreign books, a spark of something long forgotten had been reignited within him—an ember of a dream he thought he’d lost forever. Despite the overwhelming odds, Blade was ready to chase that dream, no matter the cost.
But then, Vesper’s mood shifted. He picked up one of the books Blade had discarded and spoke, his voice turning grave.
“The world’s been different since your father left, Blade.” His somber expression did not go unnoticed. Blade sensed immediately that something had changed.
“Three days,” Vesper continued. “It’s been three days since your father left. And in that time, things have begun to unravel. The Citadel is on edge, and even those of us in the Brown and Black Robes aren’t safe anymore.”
Blade, still engrossed in his reading, muttered distractedly, “Three days? I must have really lost track of time…”
“This is serious,” Vesper interjected, his voice rising. “Elder Spider was killed the night your father left, and less than 24 hours later, Elder Niver was found dead at the Alumni Citadel. Now, everyone beneath them is on the execution list, from the Green Caders down to the lowest ranks.”
Blade stiffened, finally looking up, his attention now fully captured. “Why?”
“Nobody knows,” Vesper replied. “But I’ve heard rumors that the two Elders had a heated argument with Elder Hans about his plans to seize control of the Citadel. If that’s true, it means one thing.”
Blade’s face hardened with realization. “Elder Hans is trying to consolidate his power.”
Vesper nodded gravely. “He hasn’t even fully claimed his reign, and half the Citadel is already on his chopping block.” He clenched his fists in frustration. “And all of this started when your father left. With him gone, Hans no longer has to answer to anyone.”
Blade’s lips curled into a wry smile, though there was no humor in it. “Viper’s always wanted to take my place. Now that his father’s in charge, it’ll be easy for him. All I need to do is sit back and watch the chaos unfold.”
“Sit back?” Vesper’s voice was edged with disbelief. “In case you didn’t know, you’re the one in charge of the executions. Every Cader, from the Green to the Black, will fall at your hands. So no, you can’t just watch from the sidelines. You’re at the center of this madness.”
Blade fell silent, the weight of his role pressing down on him. He stood and began pacing, his thoughts a storm.
“The executions were supposed to happen today,” Vesper added. “But they couldn’t find you, so they sent people looking for you. Some men have already been sent after your father. People thought you’d run off with him.”
Blade leaned back against the wall, exhaling deeply. “Is that why you’re here? To summon me?”
“That’s part of it,” Vesper replied. “But I was also worried you’d gone after your father. That old man doesn’t play by the rules.”
Blade could feel the tension in Vesper’s words, but before he could speak, Vesper continued. “There’s something else. The rest of the Citadel, the ones who aren’t on the execution list, are starting to question the system. And I fear what will happen if they rise against him.”
Blade’s brow furrowed. “Surely he can’t kill them all.”
Vesper’s eyes darkened. “Two truckloads of young boys were brought in last night. Over three hundred of them. And more are expected tonight. Blade…” His voice faltered. “In just three days, I’ve started questioning everything I’ve believed in. Karma came knocking far earlier than I’d ever expected.”
Blade moved closer to his friend, his expression softening. He knelt in front of Vesper, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I know this doesn’t seem easy, but I’m certain of one thing…” His voice grew firm, filled with conviction. “You won’t die. Not while I’m still standing.”
For the first time in three days, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Vesper’s lips, though his eyes still betrayed a glimmer of doubt. But Blade’s words gave him hope—a fleeting, fragile hope—that perhaps everything wouldn’t be lost after all.
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He walked into the Citadel to meet an assembly of assassins, in their different Caders, standing upright like soldiers on the battle fields, their colored Robes setting each Cader apart. From the Blue Cader, which was the youngest Cader, to the green Cader, to the Red Cader and then to the Brown Cader.
As he walked further into the Citadel, he met another set of assassins all on their knees, their heads bowed and a big shackle of iron placed on each of their necks, their Robes again, setting each Cader apart.
It was like the Citadel was halved.
Half was standing and the other half were kneeling.
The only Cader that was standing with the elders, were the Black Cader which were only four in number, him included.
Blade walked forward with his robe, more dignified and adorned than any other robe in the whole Citadel. His boots made sharp and heavy sound with the granites on the floor that made the hearts of the others quiver.
As soon as he got on the platform, he bowed in front of Elder Hans and said, “I heard you summoned me”
“Yes, I did. Since you looked uncomfortable with my judgement earlier, I thought you had decided to walk away from us and follow your father on his mission”
“I dare not. My father punished me to a night of kneeling. Gave me enough time to reflect” Blade cleverly replied.
“Really?… So where have you been?”
“In the burning stream, trying to increase and double my inner-“
“That’s okay. We’re running out of time. Rise to your feet” Elder Hans was quick to lose interest in Blade’s excuse, dismissing him immediately, Blade obeyed.
Soon, he joined the rest of the Black Robes that stood on the platform with the Elders, alongside Viper, Ripper and Hardong who just came back from a mission.
Addressing the whole of the Citadel, Elder Hans spoke, “I’m sure we all know the reason why Women are not allowed to join the Robes. They are emotional animals. And we the Robes, don’t deal with sentimentality.
As you can see, half of the Citadel will be executed. This is to tell you that we were never after the quantity of the Robes Citadel but the quality of our Citadel. These ones you see here, have either questioned our orders, manipulated their missions or tried to elope with their lovers and were caught.
Tonight, we are reestablishing the Order of the Robes and to remind you that our rules still stand. And anybody who defies the law, shall not be spared no matter your Cader”
Then he turned to the Black Robes, saying, “A slit to their throat each. Don’t miss a single one of them” Elder Hans ordered, the four of them setting out at once.
Each with a murder weapon of their own. Hardong with sickle. Ripper with sharpened Claws, Viper with a long Blade while Blade himself was with a knife.
The cries of those that were about to be killed soon filled the air as they all begged to be pardoned.
But like a competition, each of them began taking the lives of every member one after the other. Each setting out at an unimaginable speed. Until there was no more cry.
Blade tried his best to kill the most, making sure that he killed about 150 of them before the other black Robes got to them, and each part he took, Blood flowed more, trailing behind him.
Two hours earlier…
“You know this is dangerous, right?…If Elder Hans finds out, we’re both gone” Vesper warned.
“So what do you suggest we do? Allow them to die an unworthy death?…I don’t take the lives of innocent people. That’s a rule I’d never bend for anyone” Blade firmly said.
“Maybe there’s a way to do it that it wouldn’t be too obvious”
“Don’t worry. There’s always a way round a mighty mountain”
The conversation earlier played in Blade’s head as he increased his speed.
The rest watched in silence as the souls of innocent colleagues were being harvested.
“Let this be a reminder. That no form of opposition from any Cader would be tolerated as from henceforth” Elder Hans reminded them, the blood of the assassins flowed down the path were the living stood.
And as though nothing happened, the rest of the living were dismissed, the yellow scouts whose job was to guard the city began packing the bodies of the dead Caders while others tried to rinse the blood away.
That night, a river of blood flowed out of the Citadel, more voluminous in nature than it had ever been before.
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“Try as much as possible to save as many as you can, if they lose anymore blood, they might die” Blade pleaded with the yellow scouts that he had bribed as he tried to stop the bleeding of his earlier victims, who were out cold.
“What about those ones?” One of the yellow scouts asked.
“They are the ones handed to Viper. They’re dead. A few from Hardong were seriously injured but they’re still breathing, while Ripper only killed two of them, the rest didn’t have as much deep cuts as those from Hardong” A yellow scout reported to Blade.
The Valley of skulls have never been so busy, flooded with young men, struggling to keep their lives, while some had the help of the yellow scouts, others weren’t so lucky.
“More hands needed over here” Vesper called out from the far corner of the valley. He had just finished bandaging one of the victims.
Everyone was busy, including Blade, trying to save the life of those he was obligated to kill.
He had masked the injury to look deep but it wasn’t life threatening. The only issue was that they had to control the blood loss of the victims or their lives could eventually fall into danger.
While everyone was busy, saving lives, some men walked into the valley, calling the attention of Blade and the rest that were in there before.
Blade tried to maintain his calmness, even though his mind was running wild from fear that he had been caught and had eventually put the lives of many others in more danger.
“Continue what you’re doing” Blade ordered the rest of the yellow scouts that had seen the group of men masked in black outfits.
With fear they continued, while Blade, literally shaking all over moved forward to confront the men that walked in.
When the ‘intruders’ saw that it was Blade, they turned to leave, their leaders leading the way.
“Stop right there!” Blade ordered as he approached them and they did.
Blade’s eyes kept searching between them to see if he could get a hold of their identity.
Luckily for him, the silver box they had hidden under their black Robes shone under the moonlight.
He walked towards the one carrying the silver box, and as he walked nearer, he discovered more silver boxes.
The silver boxes were the special equipment that the yellow scouts carried to keep all their medical instruments in one place.
But Blade decided to play dumb, as it could be a set up.
“Who sent you?” Blade asked, walking towards their leader.
There was no answer from any of them.
Suddenly, Blade stretched his hand to peel off the mask of their leader but the leader was quick to react by slapping his hand back and running backwards, making a U-turn at the back of his last follower to flee from the left side of the valley.
From his legwork, Blade already knew who it was.
“I’m sure Elder Hans wouldn’t be pleased to know that you brought yellow scouts to save the lives of those he planned to kill, Hardong!” Blade said to him, his voice echoing in the darkness, causing the fleeing robe to come to a screeching stop.
The other leader didn’t have the chance to run away because Blade already had a knife to his neck, even before he could move.
With one move, he removed the mask of the one with him and made him fall to his knees.
“I knew it was you the moment I recognized your scent” Blade smirked.
Hardong was forced to remove his mask when he saw Ripper had been caught.
“While searching through the Bodies, I found out that the ones that had the mark of your weapon, were only injured and not dead. Except a black robe spares their lives willingly, anyone who falls under their weapon doesn’t stand a chance” Blade revealed.
Hardong walked closer, to confront Blade but was pulled aback when Blade said, “So instead of wasting time here, ask your men to get on the field and save as many people as they can. We’re running out of time, there are lives on the line”
The two looked surprised but obeyed without any further questions.
“Whatever happens here, stays here, right?” Ripper called out to Blade who was already on his way back to the field.
“If you couldn’t handle the consequences, why bother come?!” Was Blade’s cold answer, slapping them all back into silence, everyone else getting to work.
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