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June 1, 12984 BCE; Alaska

It took them many moons to cross the great ocean. They had almost forgotten what solid land was like. They'd spent so much time walking on floating ice and dodging all the dangers that the environment put forth. Killer whales, bears, the frigid waters themselves, and of course the hordes of Templars that they were racing against. Now they were back on familiar terrain, in the snowy forests that covered this land.

“We are almost to the end,” the Mentor gleefully told Arktalaki as they walked through the dense forest. “The Land Beyond the Sunrise is within our reach.”

“And with it, the Apple of Eden,” Arktalaki added.

“Indeed. If we are lucky, we'll be able to get our hands on it before Tanaguq and his Templars do.”

“And then we can destroy it so that these lands won't ever be plagued by its horrors again.”

“Exactly.” The Mentor sighed. “It feels good to accomplish so much after facing such harsh loss.”

Arktalaki nodded. She felt at home with this tribe that they had built. It was one built on love, one built on companionship and cooperation. They all looked out for one another, even if they all did come from different lands and cultures. They were many, but they were one. Arktalaki was proud to have made their journey with them. She liked to think that her father was proud.

“Well, we haven't quite won this fight yet,” she cautioned. “Let's get through these forests first and get our hands on the Apple before we celebrate.”

The Mentor nodded in agreement. The two looked forward, trying to see through the dark snowy shadows of the trees.

It gave Arktalaki a bad feeling. Something about this place didn't seem right. The fact that all of her people had to move through such tight spaces certainly didn't help her discomfort either. She wouldn't have a lot of wiggle room if something went wrong, and that put her on edge.

And then she heard the laughter.

It was faint at first, a sound whose whispers bounced through the trees and became muffled. But it started getting louder, clearer, and she wasn't okay with that. It was definitely a laugh, and all the other tribespeople heard it too. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, though it was clearly only one person. Arktalaki instinctively pulled out a spear.

“What in the name of the spirits is that?” the Mentor pondered out loud.

“I don't know…” Arktalaki warned. “But we'd better keep moving.”

The tribe continued to push through the dark woods, all of them on edge even as the laughter suddenly seemed to come to a stop. If anything, the sudden silence terrified them even more.

Arktalaki kept her eyes forward, trying to stay sharp and keep a lookout for anything suspicious. Suddenly she stopped, and motioned for her people to do the same. They all froze, and Arktalaki wandered forwards, slowly. She clicked her tongue to order Iwakuk to follow as her side. The wolf walked ahead and began to sniff the air. Arktalaki noticed a shape in the snow ahead of them, a brown blob in a puddle of red-stained snow. She kept her spear in hand as she cautiously moved forward to investigate.

The figure wasn't moving. It was deathly still. But even so, she approached it carefully. She eventually got close enough to realize it was a person, or at least the mangled remains of one. The entire body was covered in vicious gashes. She held her lunch down and moved towards the other side to see the face. She gasped and stumbled backwards a bit when she did. The face was pale as ice. Its eyes were bulging and bloodshot. But by far the most disturbing feature was the mouth. It had been sliced open at the corners up towards the ears, giving it a grim, bloody, permanent smile. It was terrifying.

Arktalaki suddenly heard the laughter shriek through the trees again, a frightening cackle that shook her to the core. She gripped her spear tight, looking all around her for the source.

“Why so grim, Assassin?” the voice of the laughter’s owner spoke to her. “Do you not find my little joke funny?”

“Who are you?” Arktalaki shouted into the canopy. “Another Templar dog come to be a pain in my ass?”

“Well, don't you just love to ruin a good surprise?”

Suddenly, something made a muffled thud as it hit the snowy ground. Arktalaki spun just in time to see a lanky man rush her with a dagger. He slashed towards her face, and even though she bent back to dodge, he still managed to get a cut in and draw blood. She recoiled and swept her spear around to counter. However, the man ducked down at a seemingly impossible speed, twisting himself around and lunging onto her back. He rapidly poked her back with his dagger as she tried to shake him off, just enough to cause her pain and draw blood. He continued to cackle like a madman.

“Get off me!” Arktalaki yelled as she struggled. Iwakuk barked viciously at the attacker as she ran in circles trying to find an attack point that wouldn't also hurt Arktalaki.

The man kept jabbing and laughing until suddenly he found himself being pelted with rocks. Arktalaki was able to look behind them just enough to see her tribe rallying together to dispel the madman and save their beloved chieftess. They all shouted threats and tossed their stones, and eventually the man got knocked to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, still laughing. His bloodshot, bulging eyes looked straight into Arktalaki’s.

“Tough crowd, it seems,” he laughed. “But they aren't my target audience. Come, Assassin! See if you can make it to the punchline!”

“Don't try anything, Templar dog!” Arktalaki spat at him.

“I have a name, you know.”

“I don't care.”

“It's Alviq, the humorous part of our great Order!”

“I said, I don't care!”

“And I said I want you to hurry up and chase me!”

Suddenly, he turned on his heels and sprinted up the nearest tree trunk, crawling up like some sort of twisted lizard, laughing the entire way up. Arktalaki snarled and began her own climb as well.

“You maniacal scoundrel! Come back here!”

She leapt into the snowy branches, remembering the skills her father had taught her to navigate the forest canopy.

She used Alviq’s laughter to guide her way to her foe. He wouldn't stop. The sound echoed through the branches, a broken and maniacal sound.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her side and the warmth of her running blood. She winced in pain and turned to see that Alviq had zipped past her at a rapid speed before disappearing into the branches again. She snarled and readied her spear for another attack, but he pulled the trick again from another angle and managed to slice her again. She yelled in pain and tried to steady her temper. She had to stay focused. She had to have a clear mind to deal with a threat like this.

“Tanaguq’s not very happy about all the progress you've made,” Alviq laughed from the shadows.

“Oh how sad for him,” Arktalaki sarcastically spat.

“We know where it is, you know. The Apple. We have our lead. Few weeks time and it'll finally be in our hands!”

“Not if we have anything to say about it!”

“Oh you won't, Assassin. Trust me. Once I'm done with you, I'll make sure the only thing you can do with your mouth is give that big red smile!”

“The Apple is not meant for you! It isn't meant for anyone!”

Another slice to her side. She tried to stab him as he went past, but he was too quick. He kept laughing.

“It was built to control the populace, Assassin. It's meant for all humanity! It is the destiny of the Templars to bring out its purpose and use it to bring mankind to its knees once more.”

“People deserve to be free! To be happy!”

More laughter, another slice. Arktalaki started feeling herself getting dizzy. That wasn't good… especially this high up.

“Now where's the fun in that?” Alviq laughed after retreating once again to the shadows.

“I will stop you!” Arktalaki declared. “Once I'm through with you, Tanaguq will be the next to fall!”

“Well aren't you just a stick in the mud?”

Arktalaki grit her teeth and closed her eyes. They weren't going to be helpful here, that much was clear. She had to focus on what she heard. He wouldn't shut up, and that would be his downfall. She listened, filtering out the winds and the rustle of branches and only tuning in the sound of his insane cackling. She listened, and waited.

He was coming down from above.

She spun upwards as fast as she could, thrusting her spear upwards until it hit something solid. She heard his laughter get gargled, and the two of them fell off the branches as the weight became too unbalanced. The both of them went tumbling through the foliage, and Arktalaki made sure to have Alviq above her when she landed with a thud on the snow below. The force of the landing sent the Templar further down the length of her spear. His laughter quickly started to die down.

As Arktalaki painfully got to her feet, time once again began to slow. Ava watched her ancestor yank her spear out of the man's body as the world around them disappeared, replaced by the sea of ones and zeroes that made up the Animus memory corridor.

Alviq laid there, his laughs reduced to choking whispers. Even in this dying pain, he still kept that horrifying grin on his face. He looked up towards Arktalaki. She looked down at him.

“You were there too,” she said to him. “You were one of the Templars who killed my family. You stood there with Tanaguq as they all burned.”

“Hahaha… ha… and are you glad to have your revenge now, Assassin? All the Templars who stood beside the Grand Master lie dead by your hand. How does it feel?”

Arktalaki said nothing for a moment. “It's no longer about revenge, Templar,” she told him. “I've… I've come to accept that my old tribe is gone. Nothing will ever bring them back. Killing you all won't bring them back. Getting the Apple won't bring them back. But I've got something much more to fight for now.”

“And what… hahahee… would that be?”

“My new family. My tribe, my Mentor, my Brotherhood. The people who I've had by my side this entire journey, the people whose trust and love I've earned and cherish. We built up a community from the ashes you left behind in your wake. And soon, justice will be brought once Tanaguq lays dead at last. The world will be safe from dogs like you.”

“You cannot kill us all, Assassin. We will… we will always find a way... to rise again…”

His bulging eyes rolled back into his head as his body suddenly went limp. His face went pale, trapped forever in that madman smile that he wore.

“Perhaps so...” Arktalaki said. “But so will we. No matter what the Templars plot, the Assassins will always be there to stop it. Love and freedom will always prevail.”

She knelt and crossed her hand over her chest, and uttered the words to send him off to the next world. “Let your soul walk free.” She reached for his bag, going through the motions like normal, and she smiled when she found her next memory disk. She stowed it away as the Animus void began to be replaced by prehistory once more. The snowy forest came back into view, and Arktalaki began to limp back towards her tribe. They all looked at her with worried expressions. They saw the blood dripping from her wounds. The Mentor came up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“You need the shaman, Arktalaki,” she told her.

“There's no time,” Arktalaki said. “Tanaguq is only a few weeks away from getting the Apple. We have to move.”

“Arktalaki, you can't walk like this.”

“It doesn't matter what I can't do. We can't lose the Apple!”

“And we can't lose you either.”

That shut Arktalaki up. She looked over at all of her tribe, saw how worried they all looked. They were all pleading.

“You care so much about them,” the Mentor pointed out. “Don't forget to care about yourself as well.”

Arktalaki sighed in defeat. “Very well,” she said, much to the relief of the tribe. The Mentor smiled and led her over to the shaman and his sled. He laid her down onto his sled as he grabbed his herbs and berries.

“You can relax on this sled, chieftess,” the shaman reassured her. “We will carry you along the way. You will need your rest for your big fight against Tanaguq.”

“Thank you,” Arktalaki told him as she sat and let him treat her wounds. “I wouldn't be anywhere without all of you…”

“And we wouldn't be anywhere without you, chieftess.”

Arktalaki couldn't help but smile.

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

June 2, 12984 BCE; Alaska

She pulled out the memory disk late that night.

Everyone was resting up, getting ready for the last long stretch of this journey. Their promised land was right around the corner. Already the snow was far lighter than what they were used to. They even saw green in a few places. Things were looking so hopeful. And so when the bright light of the memory seal consumed her vision and started to warp her mind, she entered the past with a smile.

It was unfortunate that Eve was not in such a pleasant scenario.

Description
June 1, 12984 BCE; Alaska

It took them many moons to cross the great ocean. They had almost forgotten what solid land was like. They'd spent so much time walking on floating ice and dodging all the dangers that the environment put forth. Killer whales, bears, the frigid waters themselves, and of course the hordes of Templars that they were racing against. Now they were back on familiar terrain, in the snowy forests that covered this land.

“We are almost to the end,” the Mentor gleefully told Arktalaki as they walked through the dense forest. “The Land Beyond the Sunrise is within our reach.”

“And with it, the Apple of Eden,” Arktalaki added.

“Indeed. If we are lucky, we'll be able to get our hands on it before Tanaguq and his Templars do.”

“And then we can destroy it so that these lands won't ever be plagued by its horrors again.”

“Exactly.” The Mentor sighed. “It feels good to accomplish so much after facing such harsh loss.”

Arktalaki nodded. She felt at home with this tribe that they had built. It was one built on love, one built on companionship and cooperation. They all looked out for one another, even if they all did come from different lands and cultures. They were many, but they were one. Arktalaki was proud to have made their journey with them. She liked to think that her father was proud.

“Well, we haven't quite won this fight yet,” she cautioned. “Let's get through these forests first and get our hands on the Apple before we celebrate.”

The Mentor nodded in agreement. The two looked forward, trying to see through the dark snowy shadows of the trees.

It gave Arktalaki a bad feeling. Something about this place didn't seem right. The fact that all of her people had to move through such tight spaces certainly didn't help her discomfort either. She wouldn't have a lot of wiggle room if something went wrong, and that put her on edge.

And then she heard the laughter.

It was faint at first, a sound whose whispers bounced through the trees and became muffled. But it started getting louder, clearer, and she wasn't okay with that. It was definitely a laugh, and all the other tribespeople heard it too. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, though it was clearly only one person. Arktalaki instinctively pulled out a spear.

“What in the name of the spirits is that?” the Mentor pondered out loud.

“I don't know…” Arktalaki warned. “But we'd better keep moving.”

The tribe continued to push through the dark woods, all of them on edge even as the laughter suddenly seemed to come to a stop. If anything, the sudden silence terrified them even more.

Arktalaki kept her eyes forward, trying to stay sharp and keep a lookout for anything suspicious. Suddenly she stopped, and motioned for her people to do the same. They all froze, and Arktalaki wandered forwards, slowly. She clicked her tongue to order Iwakuk to follow as her side. The wolf walked ahead and began to sniff the air. Arktalaki noticed a shape in the snow ahead of them, a brown blob in a puddle of red-stained snow. She kept her spear in hand as she cautiously moved forward to investigate.

The figure wasn't moving. It was deathly still. But even so, she approached it carefully. She eventually got close enough to realize it was a person, or at least the mangled remains of one. The entire body was covered in vicious gashes. She held her lunch down and moved towards the other side to see the face. She gasped and stumbled backwards a bit when she did. The face was pale as ice. Its eyes were bulging and bloodshot. But by far the most disturbing feature was the mouth. It had been sliced open at the corners up towards the ears, giving it a grim, bloody, permanent smile. It was terrifying.

Arktalaki suddenly heard the laughter shriek through the trees again, a frightening cackle that shook her to the core. She gripped her spear tight, looking all around her for the source.

“Why so grim, Assassin?” the voice of the laughter’s owner spoke to her. “Do you not find my little joke funny?”

“Who are you?” Arktalaki shouted into the canopy. “Another Templar dog come to be a pain in my ass?”

“Well, don't you just love to ruin a good surprise?”

Suddenly, something made a muffled thud as it hit the snowy ground. Arktalaki spun just in time to see a lanky man rush her with a dagger. He slashed towards her face, and even though she bent back to dodge, he still managed to get a cut in and draw blood. She recoiled and swept her spear around to counter. However, the man ducked down at a seemingly impossible speed, twisting himself around and lunging onto her back. He rapidly poked her back with his dagger as she tried to shake him off, just enough to cause her pain and draw blood. He continued to cackle like a madman.

“Get off me!” Arktalaki yelled as she struggled. Iwakuk barked viciously at the attacker as she ran in circles trying to find an attack point that wouldn't also hurt Arktalaki.

The man kept jabbing and laughing until suddenly he found himself being pelted with rocks. Arktalaki was able to look behind them just enough to see her tribe rallying together to dispel the madman and save their beloved chieftess. They all shouted threats and tossed their stones, and eventually the man got knocked to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, still laughing. His bloodshot, bulging eyes looked straight into Arktalaki’s.

“Tough crowd, it seems,” he laughed. “But they aren't my target audience. Come, Assassin! See if you can make it to the punchline!”

“Don't try anything, Templar dog!” Arktalaki spat at him.

“I have a name, you know.”

“I don't care.”

“It's Alviq, the humorous part of our great Order!”

“I said, I don't care!”

“And I said I want you to hurry up and chase me!”

Suddenly, he turned on his heels and sprinted up the nearest tree trunk, crawling up like some sort of twisted lizard, laughing the entire way up. Arktalaki snarled and began her own climb as well.

“You maniacal scoundrel! Come back here!”

She leapt into the snowy branches, remembering the skills her father had taught her to navigate the forest canopy.

She used Alviq’s laughter to guide her way to her foe. He wouldn't stop. The sound echoed through the branches, a broken and maniacal sound.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her side and the warmth of her running blood. She winced in pain and turned to see that Alviq had zipped past her at a rapid speed before disappearing into the branches again. She snarled and readied her spear for another attack, but he pulled the trick again from another angle and managed to slice her again. She yelled in pain and tried to steady her temper. She had to stay focused. She had to have a clear mind to deal with a threat like this.

“Tanaguq’s not very happy about all the progress you've made,” Alviq laughed from the shadows.

“Oh how sad for him,” Arktalaki sarcastically spat.

“We know where it is, you know. The Apple. We have our lead. Few weeks time and it'll finally be in our hands!”

“Not if we have anything to say about it!”

“Oh you won't, Assassin. Trust me. Once I'm done with you, I'll make sure the only thing you can do with your mouth is give that big red smile!”

“The Apple is not meant for you! It isn't meant for anyone!”

Another slice to her side. She tried to stab him as he went past, but he was too quick. He kept laughing.

“It was built to control the populace, Assassin. It's meant for all humanity! It is the destiny of the Templars to bring out its purpose and use it to bring mankind to its knees once more.”

“People deserve to be free! To be happy!”

More laughter, another slice. Arktalaki started feeling herself getting dizzy. That wasn't good… especially this high up.

“Now where's the fun in that?” Alviq laughed after retreating once again to the shadows.

“I will stop you!” Arktalaki declared. “Once I'm through with you, Tanaguq will be the next to fall!”

“Well aren't you just a stick in the mud?”

Arktalaki grit her teeth and closed her eyes. They weren't going to be helpful here, that much was clear. She had to focus on what she heard. He wouldn't shut up, and that would be his downfall. She listened, filtering out the winds and the rustle of branches and only tuning in the sound of his insane cackling. She listened, and waited.

He was coming down from above.

She spun upwards as fast as she could, thrusting her spear upwards until it hit something solid. She heard his laughter get gargled, and the two of them fell off the branches as the weight became too unbalanced. The both of them went tumbling through the foliage, and Arktalaki made sure to have Alviq above her when she landed with a thud on the snow below. The force of the landing sent the Templar further down the length of her spear. His laughter quickly started to die down.

As Arktalaki painfully got to her feet, time once again began to slow. Ava watched her ancestor yank her spear out of the man's body as the world around them disappeared, replaced by the sea of ones and zeroes that made up the Animus memory corridor.

Alviq laid there, his laughs reduced to choking whispers. Even in this dying pain, he still kept that horrifying grin on his face. He looked up towards Arktalaki. She looked down at him.

“You were there too,” she said to him. “You were one of the Templars who killed my family. You stood there with Tanaguq as they all burned.”

“Hahaha… ha… and are you glad to have your revenge now, Assassin? All the Templars who stood beside the Grand Master lie dead by your hand. How does it feel?”

Arktalaki said nothing for a moment. “It's no longer about revenge, Templar,” she told him. “I've… I've come to accept that my old tribe is gone. Nothing will ever bring them back. Killing you all won't bring them back. Getting the Apple won't bring them back. But I've got something much more to fight for now.”

“And what… hahahee… would that be?”

“My new family. My tribe, my Mentor, my Brotherhood. The people who I've had by my side this entire journey, the people whose trust and love I've earned and cherish. We built up a community from the ashes you left behind in your wake. And soon, justice will be brought once Tanaguq lays dead at last. The world will be safe from dogs like you.”

“You cannot kill us all, Assassin. We will… we will always find a way... to rise again…”

His bulging eyes rolled back into his head as his body suddenly went limp. His face went pale, trapped forever in that madman smile that he wore.

“Perhaps so...” Arktalaki said. “But so will we. No matter what the Templars plot, the Assassins will always be there to stop it. Love and freedom will always prevail.”

She knelt and crossed her hand over her chest, and uttered the words to send him off to the next world. “Let your soul walk free.” She reached for his bag, going through the motions like normal, and she smiled when she found her next memory disk. She stowed it away as the Animus void began to be replaced by prehistory once more. The snowy forest came back into view, and Arktalaki began to limp back towards her tribe. They all looked at her with worried expressions. They saw the blood dripping from her wounds. The Mentor came up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“You need the shaman, Arktalaki,” she told her.

“There's no time,” Arktalaki said. “Tanaguq is only a few weeks away from getting the Apple. We have to move.”

“Arktalaki, you can't walk like this.”

“It doesn't matter what I can't do. We can't lose the Apple!”

“And we can't lose you either.”

That shut Arktalaki up. She looked over at all of her tribe, saw how worried they all looked. They were all pleading.

“You care so much about them,” the Mentor pointed out. “Don't forget to care about yourself as well.”

Arktalaki sighed in defeat. “Very well,” she said, much to the relief of the tribe. The Mentor smiled and led her over to the shaman and his sled. He laid her down onto his sled as he grabbed his herbs and berries.

“You can relax on this sled, chieftess,” the shaman reassured her. “We will carry you along the way. You will need your rest for your big fight against Tanaguq.”

“Thank you,” Arktalaki told him as she sat and let him treat her wounds. “I wouldn't be anywhere without all of you…”

“And we wouldn't be anywhere without you, chieftess.”

Arktalaki couldn't help but smile.

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

June 2, 12984 BCE; Alaska

She pulled out the memory disk late that night.

Everyone was resting up, getting ready for the last long stretch of this journey. Their promised land was right around the corner. Already the snow was far lighter than what they were used to. They even saw green in a few places. Things were looking so hopeful. And so when the bright light of the memory seal consumed her vision and started to warp her mind, she entered the past with a smile.

It was unfortunate that Eve was not in such a pleasant scenario.