Assassin's Creed: Phoenix

VII. her (part II)

                               *

"Three friends were taking a walk on the high plateaus of Persia. A panther sprang out at them with all the fierceness in the world.

The panther looked at the three men for a long while and then ran towards them.

The first was the oldest, the richest, and the most powerful. He cried out, 'I am the master of these districts. I shall never allow a beast to ravage the lands that belong to me.'  He had with him two hunting dogs and set them on to the panther. They managed to bite it but the panther only became stronger, overwhelmed them, jumped on their master, and ripped out his intestines.

Thus was the fate of Nizam al-Mulk.

The second man wondered, 'I am man of knowledge, everyone honors and respects me. Why should my fate be decided by dogs and a panther?'  He turned tail and fled without waiting for the outcome of the fight. Since then he has wandered from cave to cave, from hut to hut, convinced that the wild beast was always at his heels.

Thus was the fate of Omar Khayyam.

The third was a man of belief. He walked towards the panther with his hands open, with dominating demeanor and eloquent words. 'You are welcome to these lands,'  he said to the panther. 'My companions were richer than I, and you despoiled them. They were prouder than I, and you have laid them low.' The beast listened, seduced and subdued. The man had the advantage over the panther, and managed to train it. Since then no panther has dared to approach him and men keep away.

When the time of upheavals arrived, no one could stop its course, no one could flee it but some managed to use it. Hasan Sabbah, more than anyone, knew how to tame the ferocity of the world. He sowed fear all around him in order to make
a tiny piece of calm for himself in his redoubt of Alamut."

                                   *

"God! How?"

It was too late when Jennifer realized the whole class was staring at her, she was thinking out loud.

"You had a question about the Tribunal of the Holy Office, Jennifer?" Professor Hills gave her a blank look over his round glasses, which made a few people chuckle.

"I..." She could see them now, all the smirking faces, confused and curious eyes. "I... meant it in a rhetorical way. God, how. All this chaos in the name of religion... you know..."

Professor continued the lecture without saying a word as Jennifer took a deep breath. She closed the book she had been reading, Samarkand, and put it aside.

"Honey, what was that all about?" She heard a curious whisper, which belonged to a voice she knew too well. Right next to her sat Sophia, with a questioning expression all over her pretty face.

"Please don't ask..." Jennifer whispered back, hoping no one would hear again. "My mind is all over the place lately."

"I knew that for a while but now it's starting to concern me." Her large blue eyes got even wider. "How about coffee after class?"

  Jennifer nodded. "Sounds good."

  The whole lecture was restless, she couldn't find the energy in herself to focus on anything else besides the bizzare dream she had. The voice still rang in her ears, distant and uncanny, sounding as if it was produced by a computer or a robot. Come closer, cipher. Perhaps we have met before, perhaps not. She could feel her heart racing in panic when she remembered the words. What was it, stress? Or some kind of mental disorder? Was her mind playing a cruel trick on her? You search for an artifact, let me show you the truth. The only thing she was searching for was an old book, or maybe a reason not to drop out of school. And what truth? She imagined Hasan Sabbah, the mysterious leader of yet another secret cult, standing on a podium and repeating the same words to his clueless followers hypnotizingly. Something about those words sounded like they would come out of his mouth.