Sì, and the both of us have come a long way from them.
[The fact that they both recognize not only that they were fools at that age, but were able to learn and adapt and grow from it is probably the most important thing of all. It is one of the many reasons they are regarded as legends- not the greatest things they have done, but certainly life-changing enough in their own aspect.]
There is no need for you to apologize to me, Altaïr, but if you insist then I accept it easily. [Though he is curious- and he's never asked why...]
Maria I can understand why you would need to do so, but why Malik?
When I saw Malik the morning that we were cursed, I asked him what happened to his arm. And I refused to believe him when he told me.
[It doesn't occur to him that Ezio doesn't know himself. Malik had apparently explained enough of Altaïr's foolishness when they were both in Asgard before; why not that?]
[There is a distinct pause at that, one in which you can almost hear the gears quietly locking into place, grinding all the instances at one point or another into one whole image. His next words are careful.]
This has something to do with Kadar, doesn't it.
[How Malik was so furiously angry any time he met Ezio, that it was mentioned that Kadar had been there. That Kadar never spoke of his time back home, other than how much he missed it. How Altaïr gave a startled look when Ezio mentioned the name of that same novice once residing in Asgard's walls.
There is a terrible twisting in his stomach, and he worries for a long moment if he is prying too far and pushing where he should not. That Altaïr will tell him it is not something he should know.
But they are Mentors, and more importantly, brothers. If they want to be on equal ground, then they cannot hold back what caused their foolishness along with their greatness as well.]
[He answers honestly, automatically, the implications of Ezio's words only registering a moment later. This isn't Ezio encouraging him to open up for Altaïr's own sake, expressing his willingness to listen, though he surely would. This is an educated guess from someone who does not know.
[The words said, along with the silence that follows, answers everything Ezio has feared. He knew, somehow, that what had happened was terrible, but had never asked. It was not his time, and he did not want to anger Malik in prying in something that was not his affair.]
No. Nor did Kadar, whenever we spoke. [Ezio is silent for a moment, considering his words.] I did not ask for a number of reasons, and neither seemed willing to speak of it.
[The twisting from before has turned into a knot and firmly sinks with dread, the Italian already expecting the worst to come.]
[Strangely, Altaïr doesn't feel anything like the anxiety that only faintly shows in Ezio's voice. No one regrets the events in Solomon's Temple more than he does, but he does not fear recounting them now because will never hide them. He doesn't have the right, and both the test he underwent afterward and Malik's forgiveness are the building blocks of who he is now.]
He died because of me, Ezio. Malik, too, lost his arm because of my actions. [He speaks calmly, evenly.] We'd been sent to retrieve an important item in Jerusalem, and I broke every tenet of the creed doing it. Malik and Kadar suffered for what I did.
[There is a sigh at that, and Ezio lets the silence answer for them for a moment before speaking.]
It was your arrogance, wasn't it? That caused you to break the creed? [A beat.] I remember being told you were demoted due to your pride, but I was not told why.
[Here, he pauses again, but not out of caution, but thinking on his own.]
I was nineteen, from when the gods pulled me. At that time, I had just begun my journey as an Assassin, and knew nothing of the Brotherhood. All I was concerned at the time was exacting revenge for my family. Making the Templars pay for ruining everything in my life.
It would take me twenty years to realize that revenge does nothing but leave and widen the holes in our hearts. It is pointless as it is futile.
[Altaïr doesn't even need to answer to confirm it. Even if he hadn't been aware of the truth five minutes ago, Ezio knows him well enough to understand immediately—who he was, who he is now, and what the difference between the two means.
So he just listens when Ezio speaks again. Here, too, is an example of knowing the broad strokes of a man's background without the intricate shading. And he finds that he understands it just as well.]
It can take a long time to learn where one has erred, and longer to fully accept it. But the lesson is no less important.
[He shakes his head as some small amount of humor comes back into his voice.]
Another thing we have in common. I only wish I could have helped your younger self, rather than slam him into the ground repeatedly—but it took several months and the deaths of nine Templars before I learned the lesson my master sought to teach me after that day.
Which is why I believe that the time spent and used to learn them is crucial, along with what is gained and lost in the process.
[Even if it breaks his heart, even if it whittles a man down to his raw bones, destroys a woman's ferocity and her wit, it is necessary. Loss is a common theme for all Assassins, no matter the age or era. Lessons happen and occur for them to learn, even if they are hard, otherwise they would never be given in the first place.]
Even if you had, I doubt I would have listened. My uncle was the only one who could shake sense into me at that point.
[Though he does pause at that, because there was one man who mentioned something similar...]
Nine Templars? Was that given to you by Al Mualim?
[Darim spoke of it a long while ago. Only now is Ezio making a connection.]
[Ezio understands. It's why they can speak so freely together, why two very singular men are able to lead the brotherhood here in such harmony. They've learned their lessons through blood and loss, and gained a wisdom that cannot be found any other way.]
It was. Nine lives in exchange for mine. With each life I took, a rank was restored to me, and I came to understand more of the brotherhood that bound Crusaders and Saracens together.
[One by one they had opened his eyes, until the last bit of blindness was removed with the revelation of Al Mualim's betrayal.]
[He remembers this. Reading it in the Codex in his spare time, the words of an old mentor, a wise man who had many years of knowledge written into a book for safekeeping. The one who foretold of the Vault, of the Prophet and something that needed to be discovered. A message Ezio, as the Prophet, would deliver to Desmond.
It is still incredible to realize that they are centuries apart and yet still connected by the smallest things. Asgard has brought that to him in the quietest of times, a reminder of how everyone is somehow intertwined.]
[And for the betrayal of Altaïr personally, the one he had taken as a son. Yet on the day he extended his hidden blade to take his mentor's life, it had been the good of the brotherhood that was his foremost concern, not his own anger.
He had learned, just as Al Mualim had wanted. He still wonders sometimes whether a part of the man had been proud.]
I like to believe that he had changed--that the words he used to teach us our creed were not always hollow. But it's impossible to be sure. Even if he had been sincere once, there was no other way it could have ended.
And so the old man of the mountain, leader of the Assassins, revealed himself to be the tenth Templar--the one who would not share the treasure they found.
[It is spoken with a bit of surprise, but he cannot fathom the betrayal felt by Altaïr upon his discovery of his own Mentor. To have hidden his true intentions the entire time and led others still through the Brotherhood...]
[Altaïr can acknowledge it calmly now; enough time has passed that the memory stirs regret more than any other emotion.]
It was the Apple, but I didn't know that until much later—I thought it merely a piece of silver when he first showed it to me. He revealed its true power when I confronted him, and it was a near thing that I survived that battle with my life, and not him.
[And it sounds it, at least, to Ezio. That itself is no small feat, to face a Mentor of the entire Brotherhood and not only accuse him of straying from their ways, but to face him and fight him after the revealing... Ezio has no words.
Only that Altaïr is an incredible man.]
When I had received all the pages of the Codex, on the back of them was a map- a map of the world, that you had drawn yourself. I did not believe there were so many lands outside our own but- being here has proved otherwise.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
voice;
Altaïr.
[Hi, grandpa. :T]
voice;
[Obviously. Ah, awkwardness.]
voice;
voice;
[He sounds tired. And slightly embarrassed. Which means he feels super embarrassed.]
voice;
I am aware. We were anything but ideal at the ages they placed us in.
[Which means major apologies to everyone, including the people they hurt.]
voice;
[Another pause.]
Are you uninjured?
[In other words, are you still feeling those suplexes?]
voice;
I am fine, there is no need to worry. [There is a pause, of course, before-]
Although you certainly know how to knock the wind out of a man faster than I can recall it happening back home, fratello.
[It's said as a tease, really. Nothing harmful, just to lighten the mood.]
voice;
I had little patience for arrogant youths even when I was one.
Still, I do owe you an apology.
voice;
[The huff he lets out on the other end sounds almost amused.]
É niente, we were not our true selves and I could never blame you for wanting to do or say what you did.
[He really honestly would've punched himself if a younger version came around out of nowhere, it's cool, grandpa.]
voice;
[But at least the two of them will not remain at odds. They understand one another—the men they are now, and the paths they walked to get here.]
I've more apologies to give. But you, Maria and Malik deserved them the most.
voice;
[The fact that they both recognize not only that they were fools at that age, but were able to learn and adapt and grow from it is probably the most important thing of all. It is one of the many reasons they are regarded as legends- not the greatest things they have done, but certainly life-changing enough in their own aspect.]
There is no need for you to apologize to me, Altaïr, but if you insist then I accept it easily. [Though he is curious- and he's never asked why...]
Maria I can understand why you would need to do so, but why Malik?
voice;
When I saw Malik the morning that we were cursed, I asked him what happened to his arm. And I refused to believe him when he told me.
[It doesn't occur to him that Ezio doesn't know himself. Malik had apparently explained enough of Altaïr's foolishness when they were both in Asgard before; why not that?]
voice;
This has something to do with Kadar, doesn't it.
[How Malik was so furiously angry any time he met Ezio, that it was mentioned that Kadar had been there. That Kadar never spoke of his time back home, other than how much he missed it. How Altaïr gave a startled look when Ezio mentioned the name of that same novice once residing in Asgard's walls.
There is a terrible twisting in his stomach, and he worries for a long moment if he is prying too far and pushing where he should not. That Altaïr will tell him it is not something he should know.
But they are Mentors, and more importantly, brothers. If they want to be on equal ground, then they cannot hold back what caused their foolishness along with their greatness as well.]
Re: voice;
[He answers honestly, automatically, the implications of Ezio's words only registering a moment later. This isn't Ezio encouraging him to open up for Altaïr's own sake, expressing his willingness to listen, though he surely would. This is an educated guess from someone who does not know.
There's silence for a few seconds.]
...Malik never told you.
voice;
No. Nor did Kadar, whenever we spoke. [Ezio is silent for a moment, considering his words.] I did not ask for a number of reasons, and neither seemed willing to speak of it.
[The twisting from before has turned into a knot and firmly sinks with dread, the Italian already expecting the worst to come.]
voice;
He died because of me, Ezio. Malik, too, lost his arm because of my actions. [He speaks calmly, evenly.] We'd been sent to retrieve an important item in Jerusalem, and I broke every tenet of the creed doing it. Malik and Kadar suffered for what I did.
voice;
It was your arrogance, wasn't it? That caused you to break the creed? [A beat.] I remember being told you were demoted due to your pride, but I was not told why.
[Here, he pauses again, but not out of caution, but thinking on his own.]
I was nineteen, from when the gods pulled me. At that time, I had just begun my journey as an Assassin, and knew nothing of the Brotherhood. All I was concerned at the time was exacting revenge for my family. Making the Templars pay for ruining everything in my life.
It would take me twenty years to realize that revenge does nothing but leave and widen the holes in our hearts. It is pointless as it is futile.
voice;
So he just listens when Ezio speaks again. Here, too, is an example of knowing the broad strokes of a man's background without the intricate shading. And he finds that he understands it just as well.]
It can take a long time to learn where one has erred, and longer to fully accept it. But the lesson is no less important.
[He shakes his head as some small amount of humor comes back into his voice.]
Another thing we have in common. I only wish I could have helped your younger self, rather than slam him into the ground repeatedly—but it took several months and the deaths of nine Templars before I learned the lesson my master sought to teach me after that day.
voice;
[Even if it breaks his heart, even if it whittles a man down to his raw bones, destroys a woman's ferocity and her wit, it is necessary. Loss is a common theme for all Assassins, no matter the age or era. Lessons happen and occur for them to learn, even if they are hard, otherwise they would never be given in the first place.]
Even if you had, I doubt I would have listened. My uncle was the only one who could shake sense into me at that point.
[Though he does pause at that, because there was one man who mentioned something similar...]
Nine Templars? Was that given to you by Al Mualim?
[Darim spoke of it a long while ago. Only now is Ezio making a connection.]
Re: voice;
It was. Nine lives in exchange for mine. With each life I took, a rank was restored to me, and I came to understand more of the brotherhood that bound Crusaders and Saracens together.
[One by one they had opened his eyes, until the last bit of blindness was removed with the revelation of Al Mualim's betrayal.]
And then, when it was done, I came for him.
voice;
[He remembers this. Reading it in the Codex in his spare time, the words of an old mentor, a wise man who had many years of knowledge written into a book for safekeeping. The one who foretold of the Vault, of the Prophet and something that needed to be discovered. A message Ezio, as the Prophet, would deliver to Desmond.
It is still incredible to realize that they are centuries apart and yet still connected by the smallest things. Asgard has brought that to him in the quietest of times, a reminder of how everyone is somehow intertwined.]
Re: voice;
[And for the betrayal of Altaïr personally, the one he had taken as a son. Yet on the day he extended his hidden blade to take his mentor's life, it had been the good of the brotherhood that was his foremost concern, not his own anger.
He had learned, just as Al Mualim had wanted. He still wonders sometimes whether a part of the man had been proud.]
I like to believe that he had changed--that the words he used to teach us our creed were not always hollow. But it's impossible to be sure. Even if he had been sincere once, there was no other way it could have ended.
And so the old man of the mountain, leader of the Assassins, revealed himself to be the tenth Templar--the one who would not share the treasure they found.
voice;
[It is spoken with a bit of surprise, but he cannot fathom the betrayal felt by Altaïr upon his discovery of his own Mentor. To have hidden his true intentions the entire time and led others still through the Brotherhood...]
And the treasure-- was it the Apple?
[It's as good a guess as any.]
voice;
[Altaïr can acknowledge it calmly now; enough time has passed that the memory stirs regret more than any other emotion.]
It was the Apple, but I didn't know that until much later—I thought it merely a piece of silver when he first showed it to me. He revealed its true power when I confronted him, and it was a near thing that I survived that battle with my life, and not him.
That's when the Apple showed me the world.
voice;
[And it sounds it, at least, to Ezio. That itself is no small feat, to face a Mentor of the entire Brotherhood and not only accuse him of straying from their ways, but to face him and fight him after the revealing... Ezio has no words.
Only that Altaïr is an incredible man.]
When I had received all the pages of the Codex, on the back of them was a map- a map of the world, that you had drawn yourself. I did not believe there were so many lands outside our own but- being here has proved otherwise.
voice;