A Margonite's Memoirs

[Taurucis]

This is the first Guild Wars fanfiction I have ever done. I thought I'd give it a try; it looks quite fun.
~~~
Chapter One
She silently regarded the two Margonites with cold, calculating blue-green eyes. The six-eyed humanoids did not scare her, unlike most mortals the Margonites brought into the Realm of Torment. The silver-white haired girl seemed young, but far from foolish.

"You will be her caretaker," the other Margonite told Chimor respectfully.

Chimor the Lightblooded fixed the mortal female with four of his eyes, and she raised her face to his gaze. She did not look him in the eye, her own gaze fixed on where his nose would approximately be.

"Her name will be Kai," the Margonite continued, idly resting her scythe on her armored shoulder. "When she is old enough, she will be our spy in the mortal realms. One of us would be slain on sight, but a lone girl just might be spared."

Chimor sighed. "So is she another of our kind, or a mortal? I have no time to waste babysitting mere mortals."

The Margonite Reaper smiled smugly. "You see the perfectly symmetric markings on her forehead, and the glow in her eyes? She is mortal in appearance, but deep down, she is one of us. Her Margonite form will reveal itself in due time."

"Will she be doomed to the Foundry of Failed Creations like Razah?"

"Not likely. Her...creators... were much more thoughtful when she was made. Hopefully, she will succeed - and through her, we will take the mortal realm for ourselves."
~~~
Kai spent six years under Chimor's care. He was mentor, teacher, and father to her. However, she distanced herself from the other Margonites. They were mostly curious of her, constantly poking and examining her with their violet stares. None would harm or bully her, otherwise they would face Chimor's wrath. Despite her upbringing, she didn't hate the mortals. She was intensely interested in them, ravaging the libraries to read everything she could about them.

Unfortunately, she also discovered how to leave the Realm of Torment while delving into the old books. Curiousity drove her to venture from the only land she had ever known.

After some analysis, she reasoned that it would be best if she snuck out to explore the coveted "mortal realms" alone. While the Margonites did not confine her, she was expressly discouraged from adventuring too far from Chimor's fortress.

She slipped through the shadowy halls of the fortress, carefully avoiding the patrols. Being caught would mean some form of punishment. Kai stuck to the cliff wall, sneaking through the darkness, until she reached one of the "Gates to the Mortal Realm."

It was huge, a swirling black vortex with a purple center. I'll just take a look around. I won't be gone for too long. They won't even miss me, she thought. Extending her hand, pale from the lack of sunlight in the Realm of Torment, she touched the vortex.

Wind rushed in her ears for a second, and she stood on a sandy plain. Harsh, blinding brilliance beat down from above. Narrow brown towers with green auras around them dotted the plain. A four-legged scaly creature crawled past her.

When her eyes adjusted to the light, she took a quick look around. The sky was a beautiful shade of blue, not the gloomy gray she was used to. There's my little look around. Time to go back. She turned around, but the vortex that she had entered this strange, bright realm from was gone.

She experienced a moment of panic. Did time pass differently here than back home? Would she be able to spend years here and return to the Realm of Torment without a minute going by? Or had years passed in her homeland while she had only been here a minute?

There is no use worrying. I'm stuck here, and I need to find a way back. She squinted against the light, and barely made out some walls in the distance. Structures meant civilization, she remembered, and aimlessly wandered towards the walls.
~~~
So... there's chapter one. How is it? I'm not very good at writing I'm afraid. Comments, feedback, and suggestion welcome.

[Tavari Tinde]

Wow, a very different point of view! I'm very interested to see where this is going... don't worry so much and just keep on writing ^^

[Taurucis]

The bit of text that explains the fanfic:

The Margonites have been portrayed as evil in Guild Wars lore except for only two - The Lost and Apostate. What if there are more unmentioned Margonites out there who are not like their evil brethren? This fanfic is not your average "damsel in distress" fairy tale. It is the tale of a Margonite in a young woman's body caught between the mortal world and the Realm of Torment.
~~~
Chapter Two
~~~
Kai crouched down in the shade of one of the tall brown towers and scanned the wall's gate with a wary eye. It was left open - foolishly, she thought. Only a complete emptyhead would leave the gates to his city open.

I'll teach them to leave their gate open. A wolfish grin spread on her face. She got to her feet and darted through the gate.

The gate had not led to a city as she had expected, but a smaller town. The buildings reminded her of a style she had read about in one of the library's tomes - Canthan, she recalled. It was not the town's exotic theme that surprised her, but the amount of humans in it. Most were gathered in groups, some alone, others walking casually through the stone paths.

Should I kill them? she asked herself. Master Chimor would want me to.

Drawing the dagger she kept at her belt, she hid in the wall's shadow by the gate, ready to ambush the next poor sod who came close.

She heard a disapproving sigh. "Come on now, child, do you think you'd be able to fool anyone?"

Kai jumped and dropped her dagger, which was quickly snatched up by the person she had almost attacked. A tall, stern-faced woman with what looked like a large fan in her hair was glaring down at her. Kai's eyes were drawn to the pair of daggers at the woman's belt.

The woman sniffed. "Your poorly stifled giggling gave you away, and your eyes would have alerted whoever you were going after. Also, you were carrying your dagger in your right hand, when wielding it in your left would have been easier."

Kai's eyes widened with shock. This woman was right. She had been trying and failing to stop from laughing, and the blue-green glow of her eyes cut threw the shadows. She glanced back at the gate, and saw why holding the dagger in her left hand would have been a smarter thing to do - there was no way Kai's right elbow could bend backwards to stab at whoever stood in the gate, although her left arm would easily do it.

"How do you know all this?" Kai asked as the woman examined her knife.

"Hmph. This dagger is hopelessly blunt; you wouldn't be able to gut a fish with it." She returned the knife to Kai. "I am Headmaster Lee of the Assassins, girl, of course I'd know about this."

"The... Assassins?"

Lee nodded. "Many look down upon the Assassin trade. They see us as hired hands, as soulless killers. I have two very sharp and pointed arguments for any who wish to speak these words within my hearing. But if you come with an open mind and a quick hand, girl, we have much to teach you."

Kai's eyes widened a little bit more. "I... I can't... Thank you, though. I must be getting home before I am missed."

"If your family knew that you would be studying at Shing Jea Monastery, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you were more than late for supper." The Headmaster of the Assassins studied Kai's face. "You are not disdainful about my occupation. That is good. I think you would do very well here. Many learn the Assassin trade, but few succeed at it."

What if Master Chimor has discovered my absence? Will he look for me? Will he destroy the mortal realm searching for me? Will he destroy me when he finds me? Kai nervously shifted her gaze to the grassy ground.

A new voice entered her thoughts. You were always whining about how tired you were of the Realm of Torment and the solitude. Look at it this way, you're freed from it! You're in this "mortal realm!" You can explore without Chimor's guards watching you every minute of the day. And you've also got an offer to study under this woman.

"Speak up, girl. Do you wish to study here? I won't hold anything against you if you don't want to. You're still young, and your parents might want you to find a good husband instead of becoming an Assassin."

Kai's lips moved before she could stop them. "Yes," she heard herself whisper.
~~~
Over the next hour, she was introduced to a middle-aged man called Instructor Ng and two other new arrivals. Both of them were male, but couldn't have been more different. One was polite, neat in his manners and looks, and rather boring, in Kai's opinion. The other was eager and mischievous, his long black hair barely held back in a ponytail.

Kai was given a pair of plain but sharp daggers before Instructor Ng gave them orders to clear the training grounds of some Mantid hatchlings. She listened halfheartedly to his explainations and guidance, which was punctuated by witty remarks from the black-haired man. She was already taking a liking to the Elementalist.

Instructor Ng smiled faintly and pointed at a large, insect-like creature several yards away. "Let's get started, shall we?" he said.

At the sound of his voice, the Mantid looked up and scuttled towards Kai. It was somewhat cute, and she already felt a bit guilty in having to kill it. Closing her eyes, she raised her daggers.

An arrow suddenly whistled past her ear and pierced the Mantid's shell with a loud crunch. Kai's Margonite-crafted clothes were drenched with foul-smelling slime. The other new student, a Ranger, shrugged and went to retrieve his arrow.

Kai sighed and looked down at her slime-covered shirt, regretting her decision already.
~~~
...More to come in about an hour.

[skaspaakssa]

Wow, great job so far! :)

[Silverwyng]

i like it. your style is simple, but already you've made my mind race for possible conclusions and consequences. i really like it! do post more!
and having an "assassin", human or margonite, is always cool in my book!

[Taurucis]

Wow. Thank you for all the kind and polite comments people ^_^;

>_> Maye I wasn't able to post more "within an hour"... but I'm going to post more today.

[Banes Son]

This is good and what a unique view point!

Write.more.now!

F5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Taurucis]

^ Couldn't have timed it better. :P
~~~
Chapter Three
~~~
Kai painstakingly wiped the blades of her daggers on the grass as the last Mantid's corpse crisped from the Elementalist's spell. She was tired, sweaty, covered with Mantid slime, and her pale skin was burned by the sun.

"Where's the nearest place I can clean up?" she asked grumpily.

The Ranger said, "I suggest the ocean. Rivers aren't good for bathing in." Noticing her raised eyebrows, he added, "Just outside the Monastery, and head southwest."

"If you can't see the ocean, you're much stupider than you look." The Elementalist smiled. "It's rather hard to miss a huge expanse of water."

"What's an ocean? What's water look like?" she almost asked before she wisely caught herself. She had never seen this "water" before, and had only heard of a River of Souls. Bathing in souls? Didn't sound exactly comfortable.

At the thought of souls, she felt the familiar hunger for a fresh-caught soul. The Margonites had taught her how to extract a soul from a mortal and eat it. It always resulted in the mortal's death.

If I go around ripping someone's soul out and eating it, they'll kill me. She looked furtively at the Ranger, then the Elementalist, and finally Instructor Ng. What do these mortals eat? Surely not each other's souls. I don't think I could devour any of them, after getting to know them.

"Kai?" She snapped out of her train of thoughts at the sound of Instructor Ng's voice. He chuckled at her surprise and held out a silver ring with a bird engraved on it, and a small pouch. "This is for you - a Resurrection Signet. It will bring a dead ally to life, but it only can be used once per day. If you're going to be out and adventuring, it's going to be a lifesaving - no pun intended - tool to you. The pouch contains some money - your allowance, I'd call it."

"Umm... well, thank you." Kai pocketed the leather pouch and slipped the ring over her right thumb (the ring was too big for any of her other fingers) and licked it, for good luck. It tasted like cold metal. She was grateful to the Ranger for unwittingly demonstrating how the mortals expressed thanks in their realm; the Margonites had different customs.

"Excellent work, Kai. I believe you're ready to enter the Monastery - and ready for a bath." Ng winked cheerfully at her. "You'd better hurry if you want to catch up with Reptilian and Jadoth."

So the other two mortals are called Reptilian and Jadoth, she mused as she jogged to keep up with the two young men. I am guessing the Elementalist is Reptilian and the Ranger is Jadoth.

Kai weaved her way through the Monastery's courtyard, avoiding the other students and their stares. She walked through the gate this time, instead of sneaking. As a farmer passed her by, she called to him, "Do you know where southwest is?"

He pointed, obviously amused by her slime-soaked clothes.

"Thanks," she said, and hurried off. Kai was almost certain he had laughed.

She was in the middle of a grassy field when she stopped and sniffed the air. It smelled a little like blood, except without the metallic scent - just the saltiness. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked ahead and could barely make out a shimming expanse of blue.

"Looks like you found it," a familiar voice commented from behind her. "Good work."

She spun around, fearing that one of Chimor's guards had found her. Her worries were dispelled when she saw the Elementalist's casual grin and long black hair.

"Which one are you?" Kai asked bluntly. "Reptilian or Jadoth?"

His grin widened, and he approached her. "I'm Jadoth. Born and raised in Ascalon. You are Kai, I take it?"

She nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I'm going to go clean up." His footsteps followed her, and she glanced back and nearly tripped over a large, sharp stone. He was tailing her, and she didn't like the way his smile looked.

"I suggest jumping off the dock. It's more fun than just wading in." He indicated a long wooden half-bridge that stuck out from the sand and overlooked the sparking blue liquid. "Like this."

In one smooth motion he tossed his robe on the ground, sprinted down the dock, and leapt off.

Nervously eyeing the calm surface, Kai took off her shoes and dipped her toes into the water. It was absolutely freezing. She stumbled backwards as Jadoth splashed ashore.

"It's frigid!" she yelled. "How do you stand it?"

He wrung water out of his ponytail. "Very carefully. It's much easier if you just jump in like this... here, follow me onto the dock. I'll show you."

Kai sighed as she followed in his wake. So this cold blue stuff is called water, and when there's a lot of it, it's called an ocean. How am I ever going to wash up if I can't even get my feet in?

Before she could think any further, warm, strong hands pushed at her back, and she fell over the edge of the dock.

[Silverwyng]

learning how to canonball into a body of water is a very important skill assassins learn early in their monastery training. this fic proves it!

notice also how the ranger has opted NOT to be in this particular chapter, thus cementing the fact that rangers do not like bathing.

[Tavari Tinde]

learning how to canonball into a body of water is a very important skill assassins learn early in their monastery training. this fic proves it!

notice also how the ranger has opted NOT to be in this particular chapter, thus cementing the fact that rangers do not like bathing.

Lies!

Well, that may be true for Finn, but Kira enjoys her privacy while bathing ><"