“All six contracts have been submitted, my Lord.”
“Good,” the plainly dressed man replied calmly, tidying his bookshelf with his back to the messenger. “Are they suspicious?”
“I don’t believe so, my Lord.”
The man nodded. “Establish and maintain a pathway of communication with the boy, we need to know where they’re going to strike first.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Were you able to track where each contract went?”
“I’m afraid not, my Lord,” the messenger answered, kneeling even lower. “I’m terribly sorry.”
“It’s alright. They’re professionals for a reason,” the man sighed, turning around to face the messenger. “Tell Borealis to kill a few, preferably someone important.”
*****
“Rose is the most prestigious assassin clan in Eidolon. Home to just over a hundred elite assassins, we are among the most feared and respected people in the world. Assassins like us make the world a better place by ensuring people conduct themselves well.
“Of course, we don’t just go around killing for fun. Instead, we accept contracts from people, which often come with very large payments. To prevent bad actors from exploiting these contracts, we only accept the six highest-paid contracts every year. We have no limitations on who to assassinate, only that the sum of money is large enough.
“Here at Rose, except for the seniors, everyone is an apprentice. We are constantly learning, and honing our skills so that we become more proficient at our profession. Everyone here has a skill in which they are specialized, for some it’s combat, for others it’s interrogation. You specialize in your second year here, so don’t get impatient just yet.
“Assassins like us are often wanted dead by many who are afraid of being targeted. Other clans protect themselves by being heavily guarded or in massive castles deep within mountains. But we protect ourselves through the use of perception-altering magic.
“Perception-altering magic makes it difficult, impossible even, for someone to perceive something. Not that something becomes invisible, just that a person looking at it isn’t aware that they are looking at something. Perception-altering magic blocks a person from perceiving the existence of something, thus making it a form of telepathy.
“This perception-altering magic extends beyond simply sight or sound, but to all information or knowledge surrounding it. Its nature makes it esoteric, able to hide itself and remain unknown to the general public.
“You might ask how come we are able to see through this perception-altering magic, well…
“Rose is built upon a special area of land. Below here is a rich deposit of magical gemstones, which, through reasons unknown, became enchanted with this perception-altering magic. The founding father of Rose had a similar power, making him able to notice the strong enchantment in this area. His power, by the way, also made him an incredible assassin.
“When he got old, he used the riches he made through the business to build this academy. Located in the center of this rich deposit, the strong enchantment hides our existence from outsiders. This strong enchantment, or ‘effect power’ as we call it, is also why you might feel uncomfortable here. The perception-altering magic makes you feel floaty, and dreamy, as if you aren't fully awake.
"Over time though, this effect wears off. The magic sort of, recognizes, I guess, that you are someone it trusts. And so the perception magic becomes weakened against you, thus allowing you to see through it.
“This magic is also the source of our power, it is what makes Rose the deadliest assassin clan in the world.
“When magic is used, it leaves a mark, a disturbance in the surrounding free mana. As such, it is possible to trace and track the use of magic, even down to the individual by a skilled tracker.
“For us, however, this isn’t possible. They can’t trace us through the perception-altering magic.
“Pardon?
“Why are we called Rose?
“You’ll learn soon enough. Your first class of the year is going to be all about roses. But I’ll give you a quick rundown.
“The power of the gemstones comes up to the surface in a little patch at the northern edge of the meadow, and in that patch grows several bushes of roses, planted there by our founding father. Those roses suck up the magic from the ground, concentrating the perception-altering enchantment within them. To others, those roses don’t exist, and because of that, they are an ideal weapon for murder. They can’t be perceived and can’t be tracked.”
Julius stopped in front of the wide doors to the manor, having completed a full circle around the massive building, and turned to face the newcomers.
“The tour ends here. I have business to attend to. These three apprentices will now show you to your rooms and help you settle in,” Julius gestured to Idris and his friends. “Please introduce yourselves.”
“Hi, I’m Andrei.”
“I’m Idris.”
“And I’m Saya!”
“Now for you five,” Julius beckoned the newcomers.
They looked a little scared and uncomfortable, but after a moment of finger twiddling and uneasy glances, one finally decided to speak.
“I’m Noah, nice to meet you,” the boy with brown hair and freckles said with a little wave.
“Hello!” Saya replied with an ecstatic wave.
Seeing that one of them had spoken, the rest decided to make their introductions as well.
Alice is the little girl with blonde hair, Rebecca is the slightly taller girl with black hair, Menino is the tall boy with black hair, and Marcus is the slightly older boy, the oldest of the five by quite a lot, who always wore a stern expression.
“Well, good to see you all,” said Julius. “In case any of you are wondering, you are free to leave at any time. But you’ll soon come to realize that life here is more enjoyable than almost anything else.”
“That was true for all of us,” Saya added with a kind smile.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“These three apprentices will now show you to the bathhouse, where you can clean and get into nicer clothes. After that, please show them around the manor,” Julius told Idris and his friends. “Today will be for you five to settle in, and classes begin tomorrow. Once again, nice to meet you, and welcome to Rose.”
They watched as Julius marched away in his rapid and confident steps, the five newcomers huddled together behind Idris and his friends.
“Come on then,” Saya said to the five with a smile. “Let’s go.”
They brought the five to the bathhouse, a greenhouse-like structure connected to the side of the manor, where they allowed them to wash and clean their dirty bodies. After changing into the plain white and grey uniforms of Rose, they led them into the manor and through to the dormitories.
“The dining hall is that way,” said Andrei, gesturing with his hands. “The first floor is the common area. The second floor is the classrooms. The third is the task group offices and master apprentice dormitories. The top floor is the senior’s office and their rooms.”
The five newcomers looked about at the massive interior of the manor, up at the spiraling stairways and walkways, then the glass-paneled ceiling, then down at the colorful paintings and wall art.
“Do we get to stay here?” Asked Noah, his eyes still wandering around at the amazing sights before him.
“Well yes of course!” Saya said with a laugh. “From today you’re a part of the family.”
Noah nodded. “I’ve never… never had a family before.”
“None of us here had families before we arrived,” Saya continued. “But now we’re all part of the Rose family.”
They stopped before their dorm room, the girl’s on the left of the hallway and the boy’s on the right. At the end of the hallway is the nursery for children born at Rose, who are destined to become elite assassins from their first breath.
“Saya, you take the girls to their dorms, we’ll take the boys,” said Idris.
“Sure.”
They entered the apprentice’s dorm room, a big hall housing beds for all the apprentices of Rose to rest in. The apprentices all sleep together, boys and girls separate, of course, the master apprentices get rooms for two, and only the seniors have their own rooms.
Three beds sat in the far corner, already pristinely made. The white sheets were drawn tightly across the thin mattress, not a single crease in sight, and the blankets done into straight-edged bricks of marble.
At Rose, they believe that discipline and self-improvement begins at the basic, and must come from the basic. Things like making their bed, folding their clothes, and cleaning the floors and walls, are to be done with the utmost quality and care. If they can’t do simple things with discipline, they’ll never be able do to anything with discipline.
“Each of you gets your own wardrobe, all of your personal belongings go in there,” said Andrei, pointing to the large wardrobes beside each bed. “They might be a bit empty right now, but you’ll soon find some stuff to fill it with.”
“Such as?” Marcus asked, walking over to one of them and drawing open the doors, revealing a clean set of day clothes and pajamas, hanging alone inside.
“Well,” Andrei thought for a moment. “Souvenirs, books you like, extra clothing, weapons even.”
“Go on, pick a bed,” Idris beckoned the three newcomers. “You have some free time now to settle in and relax. Lunch is at noon, just listen for the bell. After lunch we have an hour for nap time, after that, we’ll show you around the gardens and paddocks. Good?”
The newcomers nodded excitedly, the wariness they had carried already beginning to wear off.
“Oh and, by the way, the toilet is over there,” Idris pointed to a door in the corner of the room. “If you feel any discomfort please let us know, since newcomers tend to take a few days to get used to the strong effect-power field here.”
“Yeah I’ve been… feeling lightheaded,” mumbled Noah, rubbing his eyes.
“Me too,” added Menino.
“Not too bad though?” Idris asked.
They both shook their head.
“Then it’s okay, we’ll see you after lunch.”
Idris gave a thumbs-up to the newcomers and left the room with Andrei.
They headed to their assigned room, where Izzy gave them a quick rundown of their plans. Being task group one, they are being set the most dangerous and difficult intelligence assignments. They must have their target’s habits and patterns mapped down before the middle of March, any access routes and patrols down before April, and a plan finalized before May.
“We need to have a rough framework of the plan as soon as possible, in a week or two, so that task group three can begin work on the logistics. Task group two is working on background checks and collecting personal information for espionage. They will be working quite closely with us,” said Izzy. “Oh and, the target is Edwardo Schulz, a rich businessman who made a fortune from smuggling gemstones, but is now retired and just stays at his mansion in the city of Bluewater all day. Got it?”
“Understood,” they replied together.
“You three have an assignment in three days, you’ll be heading to Bluewater to map out the area around his mansion. Exact details will be shared with you on the day,” Izzy pointed to some writing on the blackboard. “Master apprentices Thomas and Lilian will be leading you. Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Nina, Anastasia, Kana, and Rin will be in Bluewater too, you might run into them.”
The distant ringing of the lunch bell echoed through the manor.
“Ah,” said Izzy with a smile. “Lunch time. You three can go.”
They found the five newcomers in the dining hall, where they sat together and ate their food. Many other apprentices and master apprentices came over to join them, talking and laughing about what life at Rose is like.
They explained how assassins keep the world in check by killing off the bad, how they train and study, how they conduct their missions, and how they live together like a family. The newcomers smiled and laughed, eager to begin life as part of Rose.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Kana, a master apprentice and professional bookworm, told the happy newcomers, her dark-brown hair messy from the night of celebrations. “The first few years here will be very hard, but also rewarding. Personally, I think my addiction to books is a result of my first two years here.”
“Why did we get picked then?” Asked Noah. “Why not the other people?”
“Because you’re special,” answered Kana. “We watched you and found that you had potential.”
Noah smiled. “I’m… happy to hear that.”
After lunch, they headed back to their dorms for nap time. They are usually allowed six or seven hours of sleep at night, and rest periods spread throughout the day to train their ability to sleep and wake on demand.
Then they taught the newcomers how to make their beds, how the corners are stretched tight, how the wrinkles are beaten out, and how the folds are done properly.
In the gardens, the newcomers were mesmerized by the pink trees, laughing and jumping under the hail of falling petals as Saya gave the tree a gentle shake.
In the paddocks, they fed the horses some treats and brushed their manes. Saya offered to take them up on the horses for a ride around the big meadow but was promptly stopped by Andrei and Idris.
Then they took the newcomers to the laundry room, where they taught them how to wash dirty clothes with soap, and how to hang them up to dry on the wide balconies.
At dinner everyone came around their table, greeting the newcomers and sitting down to chat. The dining hall was alive with laughing and cheering as they celebrated the arrival of their five new family members. The seniors came over as well, introducing themselves to the newcomers and welcoming them.
“Julius, let’s have a little to drink,” Izzy whispered.
“Fine, just a little.”
They popped open a bottle of aged fine wine from the vineyards of Aerion and poured everyone a little glass of the deep purple liquid.
Then they raised their glasses, clanked them together, and downed the liquid to the very last drop.
“Welcome to Rose!” They cheered. “You’re part of our family now!”
Their happy laughter echoed over the quiet meadow, safe in their magical bubble.
Today marked the beginning of a new contract year, a contract year which would hopefully be fruitful and without sorrow.
But life as an assassin is not all fairytales, and that would soon become very apparent.