She raged from the pent up failure, just utter failure. Never before had Kathryn ever failed so miserably, and yet here she was stepping inside the Royal Palace to her master in failure. He was unforgiving, and especially for such a simple task like the one he had entrusted to her. She had her excuses of course, but those did little to remedy the situation. Ultimately, the failure was on her and she would take full responsibility for it, as was expected from her.

She climbed the lengthy adorned stairway to the top level of the palace, walking along a short path to the two large wooden doors that served as the entrance of the Meeting Room. As she entered, Syn, the former Master Assassin General, exited the room. Upon seeing her, he crossed his arms and grinned in glee.

Unsurprisingly to her, he took this opportunity to mock, “My, my, unable to retrieve the small sword Kathryn? Pft, I should have known you were inapt for such a simple task.”

She pointedly turned away and ignored him, there was no need for her to lower herself to his level. Arguments and emotions served very little in times of war, and she knew very well that if it were not for his skill as an assassin he would never have been given such authority. She would be the better man, or rather, the better woman between the two.

Syn simply shrugged and closed the door behind him, he learnt long ago that she was impossible to provoke. Now it was just her on her knees and her master Malie in the room, who stood at the far end of the large conference hall looking out the window with his back to her.

There was a silence in the room, and to any normal being the ambiance would have had been nerve racking. She however calmly remained silent, leaving Malie to his thoughts. She knew how his mind worked, and she also knew that he understood how hers worked. One could call this a bond between them two, but this bond lasted only as long her respect of his power remained intact and the same in return.

Malie stood there without moving so much as muscle, obvious evidence of his extensive training as a great warrior. Until finally he started speaking, revealing what her future held in store for her.

“You recall the Stone Honor’s purpose?” He asked her.

Bowing her head further to acknowledge that he spoke to her, she replied, “The sole code respected through the past dozen generations, the chant goes ‘As resolute and true as the Mountain, as eternal as the Stone’s fortitude. The one deemed worthy is that one who remains the greater of the two, and I call that challenge the Stone’s Honor.’”

He turned around and signaled with his hand for her to stand, “Good, you remembered the chant well. However, have you come understand what is its purpose? It is one thing to recall the code of honor, it is another to grasp its purpose.”

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She stepped alongside him as he turned to look outside the window, reading his actions as a measure in lowering his guard. Beyond the glass lay the Mountain’s greatest glory of all; their city that rested on top of the Mountain, built throughout the millennia.

“It’s purpose is for the strong to rule the weak, the weak to be tamed and the tamed to prosper.”

He nodded in agreement, much to Kathryn’s satisfaction. One of the many reasons she chose him as her master was because of their shared ideology. “Exactly. One of the restrictions to the code is that only a true blood of the Mountain can call forth the decree, and we are among the strongest of the strong.” He sighed while his gaze pierced outside, “You Kathryn have failed to retrieve both blades and lost the trails to both boys, and now they are on the alert out there somewhere with the element of surprise to their advantage. I very much dislike the unknown that is falling upon me, but that is our predicament nonetheless.”

He finished his sentence, letting Kathryn add some input. She thought carefully before speaking, since it may very well decide her fate.

“Then do with me as you see fit. I have failed and there is no manner I could think of righting this wrong.” She meant every word she spoke, there were always repercussions for failure and it was time she faced hers.

Frighteningly, Malie smiled. She knew that her fate has been sealed and this day would bring either her demise or retribution.

“That is what I like about you Kathryn, you are direct. You waste not single bit of my resources to aid or even comprehend a meaning past what you have said, and you are honest with me, that merits some reward.”

She would have smiled if it were not for the fact that she was alongside her master. However, he had not finish speaking, “I will consider on your ordeal in response to the consequences of your actions, after you return from your next mission.”

She raised a brow in surprise, the last thing she had expected was another mission. This was more like a reward than an ordeal, he essentially bought her more time for her to make amends for her mistakes.

He continued on with what her mission was, “You are to gather and lead a small armada into the Shadow Forest, we have confirmation of what is in there and we need to establish our troops in that area.”

After a short while of another period of silence, Malie dismissed her, “You may go now.”

She nodded her head. Before she stepped outside the door, she felt the need to assure him.

“Malie, I will not fail. And when the boy shows his face again, I will be the first to respond.” She asserted.

He did not turn around to see her leave, only responding to what she said, “I know you will, as I expect nothing less from you.”

She left the chamber and made her way to gather troops for the siege, the Shadow Forest would be burned to the ground and they would get what they needed there. The future of the war depended on their control of that forest, another chain link needed for the success of the empire.