The love story of Mykel and Julianna is well known to most of the residents of Blue Mountain for an event which occurred several years ago. It is the tragic story of two people who experienced a forbidden passion for one another and were persecuted for it.
This is their story.
Mykel was born the son of a now deceased Lord Assassin of the Blue Mountain Assassin's Guild. He was trained since birth in the ways of silent murder and raised to believe that the lives of others were forfeit if a contract so declared. He was an apt pupil and learned well his craft and, upon reaching the age of 16, was given his first assignment. This, and the many which followed, were carried out with precision and skill and he quickly rose in the ranks of the guild.
Then came the day, several years later, when he was given a particularly difficult assignment; the assassination of the king's youngest daughter, Princess Julianna.
Why anyone would wish the young noblewoman dead is not clear. Perhaps a jealous woman, irritated at the attention paid Julianna by a suitor, felt threatened, for Julianna herself was the very soul of sweetness and life and in no way resembled her mother who hated Julianna almost as much as she hated Julianna's older sister Delani. This radical difference between mother and daughter was due to the fact that Julianna, like her sister before her, had been sent away from Blue Mountain at a very early age to be raised elsewhere. In Julianna's case this was Coenfor Keep. Under the benevolent guidance of the keep's steward, Julianna grew to be an intelligent and very charismatic young woman. Her physical beauty rivaled even that of her older sister.
Mykel managed to insinuate himself into a very posh banquet given by an affluent nobel of Sunden Grove. There he met the young princess for the first time. Even as their eyes met across the wide expanse of dinner table, his normally cold and calculating mind was thrown into turmoil. Where he would normally be contemplating various means for her disposal, he could only think of her beauty and vibrant personality that were so obvious even with so brief and distant an encounter. He then noticed her continued scrutiny and composed himself. He had a job to do and it must be done despite his inner emotions.
Her eye caught that of a young nobleman sitting across the table from her. Something about his manner and the look in his eyes held her. She glimpsed a brief second of inner turmoil that was quickly masked as he perceived her scrutiny. Even composed, however, she could feel a darkness about him that was both cold and clean. Even this, however, faded under her continued observation. With the feast over, he sought her out. His manner, however, was completely at odds with what she had briefly glimpsed at the dinner table. He now seemed warm and affable and responded wittingly to her conversation. Her natural empathy told her that his true emotions were hidden behind an outer mask of urbanity. This both disturbed and intrigued her for not many were able to hid their emotions from her. As the night wore on, the disguise of his emotions faded as his outer self began to reflect the real emotions of his inner being.
Most of the guest at the banquet took notice when young Julianna turned down all comers to be with the same nobleman for the entire evening. The would-be suitors were jealous of this young upstart nobleman from Parderaan (as Mykel claimed to be) and resented his presence. The reactions of many of the young ladies at the ball was the same for they would have liked to spend some time with the young and handsome aristocrat.
When Mykel departed the feast, his inner self was experiencing a turmoil of emotions that were both new and exciting to him. He knew he would never again feel the same about his job or of life in general. His report to the guild master read, simply, that he had not the opportunity for the assassination and would conceive another plan the following day.
The Lord-Assassin was immediately suspicious when Mykel reported his failure. Though the task was not an easy one, the guild master's spies had reported that Mykel had met the princess and had had several opportunities for assassination. He detailed another assassin, a gifted individual in his own right, to follow Mykel until the murder was accomplished, and to carry out the deed if Mykel wavered in his duty.
Early the following morning, Jort, the assassin-spy detailed to shadow Mykel, kept careful watch as Mykel strode out of Blue Mountain and entered the Park of a Thousand Dead. He observed from a cautious distance as Mykel picked out a choice location and sprawled on the grass. All day the assassin kept up his surreptitious vigil as Mykel, apparently lost in thought, contemplated the foliage overhead.
Long after the sun had dropped behind the towering bulk of Blue Mountain and as the first stars began to appear in the night sky, Mykel awoke from his contemplations and returned to town.
The next morning, Mykel made his way to the temple district and entered the holy church of Mitra, the od of the Pure of Heart. This in itself was not overtly suspicious as Princess Julianna was known to be a devout follower of Mitra and was often within the temple. Mykel's shadower was suspicious enough, however, to risk entry into the temple to eavesdrop on Mykel.
What he overheard confirmed his worst fears. The assassins guild was betrayed. Mykel confessed to the high priest of Mitra of his past sins and told of guild secrets that not even Jort knew of. In the end, the high priest granted Atonement on young Mykel and presented him with a golden holy symbol of the church; a sure sign that Mitra had accepted Mykel into his flock. Mykel then gifted the temple with all of his worldly wealth and departed.
Jort quickly made up his mind. The high priest must die. Mykel would get away, but that could not be helped. The high priest knew too much to be allowed to live.
The murder was quickly and efficiently carried out and Jort returned to the assassin's guild to report to his master, the Lord Assassin.
Upon departing the temple, Mykel felt a new life stirring within him. It was not easy shedding the beliefs of his upbringing, but he now regarded life as sacred and not something that could be snuffed out at the whim of an employer. He returned to his hideout and gathered up his remaining possessions. As the light began to fade from the streets of Blue Mountain, he donned his assassin's raiment. From the bottom of his leather clad feet to the top of his head, he wore black. His face was covered by a black silk mask framed by his long, silky black hair. Over his back he strapped his slim black Tor-blade where it would be easily accessible. On his left wrist he attached his deadly hand crossbow. Various other weapons of his former craft were secreted with the hidden pockets of his garb. It would take all of his cunning and skill to reach the castle and Julianna. He realized that, even now, the guild may suspect him of treachery and assign another assassin for fulfill his contract. He must reach Julianna and warn her of her deadly peril and convince her to leave Blue Mountain for she would never be safe within the walls of the city. An assassination contract is final and the guild would never rest until Julianna lie dead.
As total darkness descended on the city, Mykel left his hidden retreat in the Maze and made his way to the Bazaar. The rooftops of the city has always been his nighttime highways and tonight he used these to advantage. The first obstacle was encountered as he approached the gate to Sunden Grove. Perched atop a warehouse, across from the city guard barracks, was another assassin. Before him rested a drawn crossbow with its deadly messenger of doom ready to deliver its fatal notice. Mykel imagined he could even see the gleam of poison on the barbed tip.
The assassin never felt the danger until Mykel's slim black sword had delivered its own death warrant leaving the assassin's heart open and bleeding.
Two more assassins waited just beyond the gates. The assassins had always been known for their stealth and silence and tonight was no exception. Though the city guard barracks were but a few feet away, it was not until later that night that the bodies of the two assassins were discovered by a guardsman making his rounds. In one was embedded a small but deadly quarrel. The other had died from a slime blade that had pierced his left eye and enter his brain.
The view from Dresdin's Watch was breathtaking. The verdant growth of the Emerald Sea eagerly embraced the warmth of the summer sun as it crept out of the eastern sea. The panorama was not lost on Julianna who stood, arms resting lightly on the marble balustrade, admiring the distant mountains. Her thoughts then turned inward and she thought again of the young aristocrat from Parderaan as she had so many times in the past two days. She longed to meet him again. She felt that stirrings of new-found emotions deep within her that she had never experienced with previous, would-be suitors. That he was able to mask his true emotions intrigued her. Still, her heard told her that his motivations did not include greed and avarice and a longing for power that she, all too commonly, noted in others who wished to court her. So lost in thought was Julianna, that she failed to hear the door to the watch open, and then close again. It was the rustling of cloth, as Mykel removed his mask, that caught her attention and caused her to whirl about. She stifled her instinct to scream as recognition came to her. It was none other that the object of her thoughts and emotions, standing just within the doorway, hidden from the sight of the watching guards in the towers overhead.
Her natural empathy was almost overcome by the flood of varied emotions emanating from the man in black. Most prevalent of these was love: an all-consuming passion that she could not help but respond to in kind for, in a heartbeat, she understood the tremendous sacrifice he had made for her and knew that, but for him, she would be dead by the hand of a cold, emotionless assassin. The gleaming holy symbol around his neck only confirmed what she already knew in her heart: that he had repented for past sins and his atonement had been accepted by Mitra.
Overhead, the tower guard watched, curious but not suspicious, as Julianna walked, dreamily, towards the entrance to the watch. This is the last they ever saw of the young princess.
For eight days and nights, all exits from the city were closed and carefully guarded. By day, the city guard and units of the beohere scoured the city in search of Julianna and the assassin Mykel. By night, the ebony clad assassins performed their own search. Theirs was to prove more successful.
The death toll rose as assassins converged on every suspected, or even imagined, hideout of the former assassin. They tortured and killed to gain information. The terror-stricken citizens of Blue Mountain cowered behind locked doors even though they knew the futility of locks and bars against the omnipotent and omnipresent assassins guild. They tried not to hear the screams outside their doors and, though their emotions sided with the two fugitives, they prayed that they would not be called on to lend assistance.
On the third night Mykel and Julianna were discovered by three assassins. On the forth day, city guardsmen found the three hanging from the cliffs of Soldier Hill.
On the fifth day, five more assassins were discovered in the street outside of Grendon Down, deep within the Maze. All lie dead, victim of quarrel and blade. A trail of blood led south from the scene of the battle. It took the searching guards through the southern portion of the Maze and into Rockfall. The trail ended on the banks of the river. Mykel and Julianna were never seen or heard from again.
Romanticists would like to believe that Mykel and Julianna managed, against all odds, to escape from Blue Mountain and lived happily every after in some secluded grove in a distant land. Those of a more practical nature surmise that either the two finally fell victim to the long, silent and deadly arm of the assassins guild, or they drowned in the swiftly moving waters of the Blue Mountain River.
………………………………..
The story outlined in the preceding paragraphs is legend, known to most of the inhabitants of Blue Mountain. What follows is the true story of what really happened on those final days that Mykel and Julianna were trapped within the walls of Blue Mountain.
Within the Maze there is a seedy tavern known as Grendon Downs. Unknown to anyone (including the assassin's guild) this tavern was owned and operated by Mykel. When acting as proprietor, Mykel wore a disguise. When Mykel planned on being away for an extended period, one of his henchmen (who knew nothing of Mykel's real profession) took Mykel's place as proprietor. The henchman did not need to wear a disguise since the disguise that Mykel wore made him look like his henchman. The henchman was careful to stay out of sight, usually in the basement of the tavern, when Mykel was around.
After escaping from Sunden Grove, Mykel and Julianna took shelter in a secret room in the basement of Grendon Downs. No one, not even his look-alike henchman, knew of the princess's presence in the tavern. For several days, while the gates of the city were sealed and the guards and assassins searched from him, Mykel remained in his proprietor's guise. On two occasions he was discovered by members of the assassin's guild and, on both occasions, Mykel managed to sly all of the assassins before they could report their discovery. The second battle, however, took place just outside of the tavern and, though he tried to lure suspicion away by leaving a trail of blood southward out of the Maze, he knew that the assassin's guild was closing in and he could no longer afford to wait for the King to lift his seals and open the gates. The next day, two things occurred that prompted Mykel to make his escape. The first occurrence took place in the morning. An assassin came to Grendon Downs and questioned the proprietor (Mykel in disguise) concerning the previous night's battle. Mykel's acting was flawless and he managed to convince the questioner that he knew nothing of the battle and had heard no noises. The assassin, apparently accepting the story at face value, then left the tavern. The second occurrence that prompted Mykel to leave occurred at around noontime. The two battles that left several assassins dead convinced the King that Mykel and Julianna were trapped within Blue Mountain proper. Thus, he opened the gates from Sunden Grove and Fishery Downs and doubled his guards on the exits from Blue Mountain proper.
Mykel had run out of time. He must now use all of his resources and skill to attempt escape from Blue Mountain.
In the basement of Grendon Downs was the secret room where Julianna had taken refuge. Access to this room was gained by a secret door in the basement of the tavern. This room, however, held another secret door that led to a treacherous, natural tunnel. The tunnel was cramped and wet. Mykel had long ago discovered this path and had carved out another secret hideout part way down the tunnel. It was here that he kept his most carefully hidden secrets.
That night (the sixth since he and Julianna left the palace) they left Grendon Downs and began the journey down the treacherous path. For much of the night they traveled. Mykel stopped only long enought to grab some of his more prized possessions from his second hideout, including a small red prism, which he thrust into his tunic, and a pouch containing, among other things, a map.
The tunnel ended in a large crack in the floor. Water from the tunnel flowed freely into this crack. The sound of falling water could be heard from below. The crack angled downward sharply for several feet before becoming vertical for about two more feet. Beyond that was a 25 foot drop to the Lake of Blind Eyes, on the shores of which was built the village of Fishery Downs.
The crack was wide and so they crawled, side by side, down the angled portion. When they reached the point where the crack became vertical, Mykel helped Julianna turn around and then lowered her through the aperture until her body was clear. Mykel watched as Julianna plunged into the lake and lowered himself through. When his lower body was clear, he dropped. His pouch, however, had other ideas. As Mykel dropped, the pouch caught in a narrow crack. The leather shoulder strap brought Mykel up short and then snapped under his wight. Mykel dropped into the cold waters of the underground lake and the pouch remained wedged in the crack.
With no way of safely retrieving the pouch, Mykel and Julianna decided to continue on. The most valuable item in the pouch was the map. Mykel figured he might still be able to find his destination without it, but shivered at the thought of the assassin's guild finding it. There was nothing for it but to continue on and hope for the best.
As the sun cast its first rays of light on the Emerald Sea, Mykel and Julianna left Blue Mountain behind them and began their long trek. Their destination was northeast. Their destination was the evil and foreboding nightmare that was the Grim-widu. |