World-Aquila

[Ulysses Septimus]

Home of the gods and heroes.

[Hannah Durante]

((If you need me to change anything, let me know. And anybody else feel free to jump in! Don't be put off by my crappy, lengthy rambling posts. I’m on some weird lung medicine, so I just lol..expect some weird or bad posts from me, please. I'm more than willing to tone them down or change things if necessary, though!. ))
---

Despite how uneasy she was being so far away from home and the empires she was more familiar with, Hannah had to say, Aquila was a beautiful place. The gorgeous scenery was enough to take her mind off most of her troubles, as was the peace and tranquility of the library Tomas had brought the both of them to. From what she understood the legendary empire was perhaps not quite as peaceful as they would have liked, the buccaneer had heard whispers about some sort of war, but she couldn’t say she was surprised. So long as she and the privateer stayed out of certain reaches of the kingdom, they would be just fine on that end, and she couldn’t imagine Tomas of all people had any interest in engaging in that sort of scuffle.

No, they were here for another reason entirely; something about looking through old Aquilain archives for a project he still wouldn’t tell her much about other than to say it was an extension of their outing to Valencia. Something that must have been fairly sensitive indeed, if he’d felt the need for some additional help.

Not that she was able to do much of it now, as the human Monquistan had gone wandering off in this impressive, expansive old library, led into a different section entirely by an old eagle the second he had whispered something in his ear. They’d been gone for several minutes now and it just hadn’t felt right to trail after them, so she’d been left here with her thoughts and the shelves of knowledge that surrounded her. Though, it struck her a moment later a little historical research would do her some good.

Ulysses’s words from the night they’d actually fought rang through her ears, as they had off and on ever since that little scuffle. He’d told her to go to any of the other worlds and ask about Altair, and well…she was in another world, with time to kill, in a place of learning. She had to admit, she was honestly curious about the matter, so why not?

Deciding that was just what she would do, Hannah started wandering through the old building, looking for anybody she could who appeared knowledgeable to her.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Edward James Teach drew another scroll from the alcove, spreading it open and skimming a few lines before putting it back again.

Still nothing that would help them pinpoint Daedalus, or anything that would help them traverse the Labyrinth.

The grey eyed privateer sighed almost in a defeated manner, the blue plume on his cobalt and gold colored Aquilan style helmet nodding as if to echo his plight.

Adjusting the cuff on his expensive looking, Nova Aquila produced, armor of the same color, Teach bit his lower lip and made one more scan of the shelves before sauntering away.

Even though Adrian would most likely yell at him for being a failure when he comes back empty handed, he wasn't sure if he wanted to spend another hour of the time he could be used for his privateer training for some fool's errand.

Walking through the hallways of the old building, Edward Teach thought back to the beginning, when he first met the hazel eyed swashbuckler aboard the Armada prison ship, till now, and shivered slightly when he realized the changes in his captain...

Engrossed in his memories, he wasn't exactly aware of his surroundings, nor where he was heading.

[Hannah Durante]

((oh man I am SO sorry about how long this wound up being. I didn’t intend for it to stretch this much but...it did. ^^)
--
The buccaneer continued wandering, fearing that perhaps Tomas had managed to snag the only scholar in the entire building, before she finally came across another eagle who appeared to be taking a careful inventory of the scrolls surrounding them. A sigh of relief escaped the blonde as she approached the avian, waiting for him to notice her presence. However, several minutes passed without even the tiniest bit of acknowledgement. The bird was so engrossed in what he was doing, Hannah soon realized she would be standing here awkwardly for quite some time unless she made it clear he wasn’t alone. It felt rude to interrupt, but at the same time, she also knew that this was probably the best chance she would get to ask anybody outside of Valencia about the name the human Armada admiral had given her. Goodness knew she wouldn’t be straying this far off the beaten path for a long while, if ever, unless one of her friends or more reputable clients hired her to do so.

“Excuse me..” She tried, barely getting those two words out before the heavyset scholar let out a squawk of alarm, almost dropping several of the scrolls that were tucked underneath one arm in his surprise. Hannah winced slightly, feeling guilty for the reaction, but before she could formulate an apology for her intrusion, he seemed to recover. The white-plumed Aquilain held his free hand against his chest, letting out a relieved huff of his own.

“By the skyfather…you startled me! I did not even notice you lurking there.”

“Sorry.” Hannah returned, rubbing the nape of her neck sheepishly. “I wasn’t trying to scare you, honest. I just needed to get your attention. There’s a matter I want to look more into, but I’m not sure where to start…this place is a little overwhelming for a first timer.”

However awkward the response had been on top of everything else, he didn’t seem too perturbed by her quest for knowledge. If anything he looked more relieved than ever, realizing she was completely harmless to him and merely seeking out his assumed expertise.

“Well, you are in the right place if you wish to enrich your knowledge, and I can understand that.” The eagle chuckled, setting several of the scrolls he had been carrying aside in their proper place. “I would be happy to point you in the proper direction, if you cannot find what you seek. What is it that you wish to know more about? Epic Aquilain poetry? Our rich history?”

“….I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Altair. Altair the assassin.”

There was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere the second those words had flown out of her mouth, and it was enough to make her fidget uncomfortably. Evidently, Ulysses had not been joking when he had claimed that name was well-known in outside worlds. For a second, Hannah actually regretted asking, wondering if she’d offended or frightened him. But then he turned to face her again, not looking angered or paranoid at all. The expression he wore was closer to remorse than anything else, and she arched a light brow in wonder of that fact.

“It is a shame, truly, that you possess no knowledge of Altair.” The scholar spoke up, giving her his full, undivided attention on this subject. “ He was a great hero in many lands, particularly ours.”

“A hero?”

“Yes, indeed!” The eagle continued emphatically, seeming surprised at the doubt that had laced her question. “Altair and his brothers fended off the greatest of beasts, saved many villages, and dealt with numerous tyrants, helping our people as well as theirs. There are some who say Altair was blessed by Ares himself, and I myself do not doubt it from what I know, what I saw back then. He did us a great service….for a while.”
She could hardly believe what she was hearing. The story that this eagle was weaving was fairly hard for her to swallow, and Hannah wasn’t sure what to believe.

“…So what happened?”

This time he fell silent for several minutes, mournful over whatever the answer to that question was. Finally however he gave a heavy sigh, looking at the floor, then back to her.

“There was a great bloodbath….many of his brothers lost their lives. Here, in fact. Altair and the rest of his brotherhood could not bear the memories, and the stronghold was given to us, converted to a place of learning. We have not heard from or of him since…but we do not keep in too much touch with the outside worlds, so I have hopes that the mighty Altair is still out there somewhere, taking up his swords in the cause of justice for others.”

“Thank you. I’ve…I’ve learned a lot.”

The scholar dipped his head in acknowledgement and she was certain a show of respect toward Altair as well, before returning to his previous duties. Meanwhile, she was left with a maelstrom of thoughts. She wasn’t sure whether to fully believe the story, and if she did, what it meant. It was just….hard to fully accept, to think Ulysses could be everything he said he was, that she should have to feel sorry for doubting him and causing any trouble at all at his party. And the worst part was, it made her feel that he was better than her in even more ways, something that stung a lot more than the buccaneer wanted to admit.

“Maybe more than I wanted to.” She conceded to herself under her breath as she started to head back to where she had previously been waiting. This information might complicate things…she wasn’t too sure yet on that front, but she wouldn’t be surprised if it did. She was so consumed by these thoughts that she was barely paying attention to where she was going, only jolted out of her own mind when she had almost collided with another figure. Fortunately this time though she didn’t, and managed to stop herself and move aside just before she had.

“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” She offered what appeared to be another human, finding herself intrigued that there was another among them here. Perhaps Aquila really was one of the best homes of knowledge.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"It's okay."Edward offered an apologetic smile, "I wasn't watching where I was going either."

'You are already late to meet Adrian at the docks and you are still stallng?' The workaholic privateer inside his mind bellowed, 'what the hell are you still waiting for?'


"My name is Edward Teach, and you are?"

[Hannah Durante]

Fortunately, the young man she had nearly barreled into didn't seem upset at all, and was willing to take at least a portion of the blame even though Hannah knew it would have been entirely her fault had they collided. She flashed a smile of her own at his manners, momentarily pushing the information she had just learned to a distant corner of her mind, so that it didn't impact how she responded to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet and not run into you, Mr Teach. I'm Hannah Devereaux."

She had half a mind to stick out her arm and initiate a common, polite handshake, but uncertain whether it was something her fellow human was interested in or not, kept her arms by her side for the moment while she looked him over.

"Interesting, that this place would draw so many of our kind...Unless, you are from Aquila yourself?"

Hannah wasn't sure whether he was or wasn't. The garb he was dressed in was very much Aquilain in nature from what she had seen in the bazaar she and Tomas had briefly stopped at, but he could have simply purchased the attire to better fit in much like the Monquistan privateer had.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"I am not native to here,"He shook her hand, as both a polite gesture and habit (left from his time as a Marleybonean noble), "it's my honor to meet you as well, Hannah, if you don't mind me addressing you this way.... I am actually here for a quest, with a friend of mine."

Under his polite surface, though, was a careful pirate who was well aware of the possibility of her being an Armada spy, so he kept it vague, for now, as a little precaution.

[Hannah Durante]

Ah, she had thought as much. Still, it was an interesting notion, three humans all together under one roof in a search for knowledge. For things they probably should not have been sicking their noses into, no less. At least, Hannah suspected as much from her own companion. She really couldn't say much about Edward's reasons for being here, she supposed. Maybe, unlike the two of them, he actually had a better, less prying reason to be here.

She shook his hand when he offered it, chuckling at his words. Such manners, this man had! "That's just fine, if I may address you as Edward. And...imagine that! So am I.. Although, my friend hasn't really been very good on the details end. I hope yours is treating you better."

Tomas wasn't really being horrible to her or anything, and she really wasn't truly upset with him...But it did make her feel somewhat useless in this setting to do anything to help him, as well as raised her suspicions on why he didn't want her knowing the exact reason they were here.

"If you need assistance though, I know a bird who might be able to give you a hand.. I had a hard enough time trying to navigate this place and figure out where to start."

[Ulysses Septimus]

The privateer nodded, "Yes, you may call me that, or Eddie if that's better for you... Hmm, then can you point me to the bird? I am having a hard time locating information regarding the Labyrinth."

Not much of a slip, he told himself, even if she is an Armada spy, it's probably not enough info.

[Hannah Durante]

"The labyrinth? I thought....Well, I guess it sounds silly, but I always thought that was just a myth. Still, if anybody can help you it's definitely him."

That was for sure, with the starry-eyed way he had delivered those details on Altair. Whether or not this labyrinth actually existed, the buccaneer had a strong hunch that the very same eagle would know whether or not there were scrolls on the topic here.

"Follow me then Eddie, he's not too far from here."

As Tomas still seemed to be preoccupied, playing nice with a stranger for a little while wouldn't hurt anything. Besides, he seemed like a nice enough guy, why not give him a helping hand? She started walking again, back toward where the scholar was still hard at work.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Thanks Hannah."The privateer followed her with renewed energy, but still kept enough distance between them as so not to make anyone uncomfortable.

At least he won't be returning to his zombie of a captain empty handed now.

Though he soon froze in his tracks, because standing no more than 20 feet down the hallway was none other than Adrian Devereaux himself, looking rather murderous.

"Crap."

[Hannah Durante]

"Don't mention it." she replied chipperly from further down the passageway, a late response to his gratitude as she waited for him to catch up with her. Though, something seemed wrong just a moment later. Edward suddenly stopped dead in the middle of the hall, and his expression seemed to take quite a fall from what it had previously been.

Concerned, Hannah stepped out from the alcoves she had been lingering around, following the privateer's gaze to what looked to be quite an angry-looking young man. She had no idea who he was, but even though Edward hadn't said much at all in response, what he had made it clear he did. The human woman narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, staring at the angry man for a few moments longer before returning her attention back to the privateer.

"..Is this guy trouble?"

One of her hands inched its way toward the halberd she had strapped to her back, a silent gesture that she was more than willing to help, if he was.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"That's my captain, Adrian Devereaux."Eddie stuttered, "listen, Adrian, I-"

"Shut up, Teach."The swashbuckler growled, "did you know just how much time you've wasted? Time that we could have been using to fight that fiend Kane?!"

The privateer mentally facepalmed: did he really had to mention that?! 


"Can you blame me?"Eddie replied with a loud sigh, "what made you think a public place would have the information you wanted?"

[Hannah Durante]

"Oh."

She relaxed considerably after that, moving her arm away from the weapon strapped to her back, but it only lasted for another minute or two before she tensed again.  This time, at the rather bold mentioning of the supreme leader of Valencia's military.

Hannah was stunned momentarily at the gall Eddie's captain had, bringing up Kane's name in such a manner...not to mention in a public place.   He was certainly brave, the buccaneer would give him that much, but it was pure foolishness at the same time.   There were some lines even she wouldn't dare cross.  She had half a mind to lecture the captain back in great detail for such a thing, but as she didn't wish to make Edward feel any more uncomfortable and awkward than he likely already did, could only manage a loud scoff at Adrian's words at first.

...Before finally finding her voice a moment later, deciding she wouldn't care how rude it was to interrupt their conversation.

"Are you insane?" She hissed underneath her breath at Adrian, glancing all around them in a paranoid vein.   Scratch that, she knew the captain had to be, if he was willing to so speak so freely about fighting Kane, let alone believed he had a chance in the spiral against the clockwork.     "..Or do you just want to get yourself and your friend here arrested, or worse?   Here's a great idea- keep your mouth shut about things like that, okay?"

It was hardly her place to preach about anything, but Hannah couldn't help herself.   She didn't want to get into trouble because of people like him,and it had become something of a knee jerk reaction to warn or lecture those who were too bold against the Armada.   She could hardly understand why those who knew anything at all about Kane would want to bother waging such a futile struggle against him.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"She's right."Says a much too familiar voice from the shadows. "You stand no chance against the Chosen One, the one destined to rule the Spiral."

Ulysses, once again in his Assassin's Robes that identified him as Altair, stepped from his hiding spot. "Give up, then perhaps you will be spared of termination."The Admiral's voice was monotonous, just like the clockworks that he is allied with.

Armed with his dual swords, Hidden Blades, and who knows how many other weapons, Ulysses leaned against the wall. "Besides, what made you think we are evil? Look at our work here, look at how those people are safe and happy because of the Armada's might!"

He didn't bother waiting for a reply from the other three humans: swiftly pivoting on the heels of his black boots, he walked out of their sight, leaving them with their individual thoughts.

Exiting the Library, Ulysses gazed upon the building that was once an Assassin fortress: so much memories, both happy and unhappy... 

Shaking his head and mentally chastising himself, the Assassin Grand Master resumed his pace, ignoring the surprised looks he was getting from the eagles he was passing until he had reached the central square of the island, where public announcements were usually given.

"My friends!"He stood upon the raised dias and called out, attracting many pairs of eyes, and a loud, joyful shout of "It's him! It's Altair!"

Once he had a decent sized crowd around the dias, Ulysses spoke in a sincere, almost apologetic voice, "Yes, after so many years, I have at last returned... I was wrong to leave this world because of those memories, and I wish to be able to correct this mistake..."

[Ulysses Septimus]

((PS: here's what he's dressed as))

[Hannah Durante]

Hannah jumped, startled by the voice that intruded upon what she had hoped would remain a more private conversation. She found herself even more surprised when she whirled about to face the new speaker, only to find herself staring at him. Ulysses the assassin, the very one who had insisted she look into information about his other, 'legendary' side in the first place.

She frowned at him as he continued talking, not finding any bit of comfort in the fact he agreed with her. Of course he did, he was a high up figure for them, something she still found incredibly unfair toward those like herself and Steed, but she would bite her tongue in his presence as she tried to come to a conclusion on why he was even here in the first place. What was he, some kind of stalker?!

The buccaneer practically scoffed at what he had to say about the Armada's actions, though wisely kept that all bottled in as well. There was a time they had, and she had believed nothing more as well....but that had changed. Even if there was still a chance their leader had what he felt was core programming, 'the best intentions' at what constituted his heart, he was still turning into a fanatical mess. They no longer were truly interested in helping others in her mind, and the lengths they were willing to go to in order to pursue their extreme views on 'justice'....well, it terrified her sometimes.

..Enough she wasn't exactly sure where she stood, except it was somewhere in the middle. Quite possibly the worst place to be she knew, with all the crossfire.

She had nearly worked up the nerve to say something, when the assassin practically insulted all three of them by turning on his heels and walking away. Hannah blinked, just as surprised by that as anything else, and offered a fleeting glance over her shoulder at the other two, uncertain how best to react here. Though it was curiosity that still got the better of her, even though she hoped Edward would be okay with his angry commander for the moment.

She halted momentarily as she chased him outside, only to hear him give a speech the eagles gathered around this area found riveting. It was....quite something to witness, and she choked back the feelings of jealousy that threatened to bubble to the surface as best as she could. She waited until he had ceased his talking to approach, hoping no Aquilain too smitten with this tale would shove her aside to make his acquaintance.

"What are you doing here?" She practically hissed at the assassin, too paranoid to believe in mere coincidences. "Don't you have some big, important job to run?"

This time, she could hardly contain the bitterness in her voice.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Ulysses gave a rather amused chuckle. "I may be one of the highest ranking officers, but that does not mean I am constantly occupied with His Majesty's matters."He hummed, "I'd like to be, though, but sometimes things aren't as... Ah... Numerous in quantity as one would hope for."

He turned his eyes back onto the Aquilans gathered around him, booming, "As I was going to say, I hope I can reestablish the Aquilan Order: too long had anarchy gripped this land, it is time to end it all and bring peace and order."

As much as the Assassin liked to do so, he would not start spreading the Armada's agenda until another time, because there is a time to keep quiet, and a time to talk. Choosing the right time can sometimes determine success or failure.

"Altair!"Ulysses' face turned toward the Aquilan who had called his name, "Altair, we appreciate your wish to reestablish the Order here, but I fear we have more urgent matters..."

The Assassin made a gesture for the old eagle to continue, listening quietly.

"The Hydra have returned."The eagle said shakily, "please, Altair you must help us rid of this foul beast!"

"The Hydra,"Ulysses tapped on his chin, thinking for about two seconds before nodding. "Fear not, I will."

[Sponsored content]