Assassin Training (Closed)

Since so many people wanna try out for assassin rank, I figure you can try, but be forewarned, its demanding and I won't hesitate to deny the rank.
Assassin page (wip still) http://www.rpgdragons.org/t3273-sumus-electi

Oculus sat, waiting for the hopefuls to come to the training pit.  He knew a lot of them would come just for the glamour of the name, and that more than half of them would be denied.  Those that didn't quit the first day and somehow survive the rest of the initial testing would move on, just so he could mentally and physically break them.  Once broken, he could rebuild them into the ferocious warriors of the NightWings, something that the other tribes would learn to fear if they decided to mess with them.  For now, he would wait, and see who would show up, his current assassins in hiding, with only a couple sitting in plain view to look down menacingly at the wannabe's.

Dias shuddered as he entered the training pit and drew in a short breath to calm himself down. His legs felt like jello underneath him; as if he were going to collapse. What would happen if he was denied? Would he be killed? Nightwings were known for ... cruelty. They will take advantage of weakness. Be strong. He narrowed his eyes and stood up straight, trying to make himself look as confident as possible as he approached Oculus. He sat beneath him, tilting his slender head upwards to look at him on his perch. Dias flattened his ears to his head and glared at Oculus intensely, attempting to look intimidating. Unfortunately, something so fluffy and small could hardly look scary.

Myth growled and grumbled entering the training place. She did NOT want to come here but Dias kept trying to toss her in and told her to go, and she had enough of that. But, if she didn't go she'd probaly never hear the end of it.
As she stalked in she say that Dias was there too. Walking beside him torwards Oculus she signaled a little "Hi," with her paw quickly before siting before their leader.

Kurai stared out of his den. He smelled the air and smiled. He rolled his a rock around his claws. He left his den and jumped into the air. He remembered he was going to try to become a assassin today and flew to the training pit. He touched down and entered. He walked in with a pace and posture that radiated confidence. It wasnt cocky, nor rich pampered-like. It was more a walk that showed he wasnt afraid. His ears were raised high and his gaze glared on each dragon he laid eyes on. He walked briskly to Oculus. He bowed and lowered his head. He didnt move until Oculus told him to.

Watching the new wannabe's coming in, as that is what he referred them as until he saw otherwise. It was interesting, there was one that seemed to try and intimidate him, but was way to fluffy for that to even have a remote chance of working. He would be fun to break. Then there was the female that seemed like she did not want to be here. Oculus figured that she would be gone before the week ended. And lastly, there was the one that bowed and waited. A nice show of loyalty, but was it all just a show? Time would tell. Oculus nodded to Kurai with his head, and waited for her to get into place with the other hopefulls. "Ahhh, well then, more showed up than expected. ANd as you will soon learn, I hate speeches, and will keep it short. Actions speak louder than words." Oculus looked at them, and then with a wave of his paw, waved them off. "You all have 5 minutes to reach the palace steps and make it back in time. No flying allowed. Time begins now." He knew this was sudden, and probably unexpected, but if they couldn't adapt, then they couldn't be assassins. He layed down and watched them lazily to see if they would just sit there dumbfound, or actually get going.

Myth nodded and started to run torwards it at her top speed. Even though she didn't want to be here she still obeyed her leaders rules. In about 2 minutes she hit the palace steps.Kicking off back them she leapt back torwards Oculus. In about 2 minutes 30 seconds she reached where she last sat. Quickly she sit down and looked at Oculus waiting for his response.

Dias yelped, scrambling to his paws and darting out the pit. His lean body and long legs enabled him to sprint at alarming speeds for long periods of time. Thus, this task would be simple for him. His maw parted in a toothy grin. If this was all Oculus had to offer, then this would be a piece of cake. The ground flew past him and, before he knew it, he arrived at palace steps. He spun around abruptly and lunged forward, speeding off back toward the pit. He slid to a halt below Oculus' perch and huffed contently. Dias had made the run in a solid minute and 50 seconds.

Something stirred within the heart of the NW Empire. Among other things that were rather sinister like black scales, the air was a bit off, not like the ordinary days in the previous week. The sun shone rather brightly above, down upon the capital, the streets reduced nothing more than murmurs than the loud chatters and roars that he would normally hear as he made his way back to Shadows Refuge.

Except he was not going there this time.

Something caught Sly's interest the day he saw the notice about the need of assassins, the expectations from them as well as how competitive it was. To any ordinary healer, participating in a try out like this would be against his vows and oaths. To do no harm and prioritise the life of others. Even then, it could extend to dragons from another tribe, even if they were enemies of the Nightwings. It was a grey area. But it was something Sly had no other choice for the matter.

Oculus was growing suspicious, even if most of the flames had died out. If Sly knew anything about how the Empire runs, those met with the most number of eyes never stayed within the walls for long. They were either dead. Or worse, alive, but no longer what they used to be. Even if Sly had the mental capabilities to resist such torture, it did not shake away the thorns of doubt that had seeded in him. At least he was not to come to the EWs Haven until much later to begin his training.

A lot had happened. First was Rii's escape, no sooner after Sly made an assessment on her with the intrusion of Oreo, Oculus' Royal Guard. It was a lucky escape from persecution, but to add that on top of his wandering into the Firewing territory was too much to bear. He needed something to prove his loyalty, and it seems the assassins was the way to go. It was interesting, as Sly had perhaps seen one right before meeting Oculus, face to face. They were sinister, at least tried to be. It would perhaps be a challenge and a very interesting fulfillment if he could discover the secrets behind them.

As Sly made his way to the pit, shouldering past the many dragons that have gathered to witness the try outs, his ears were curious in the views of the citizens. Some of them praised Oculus, thinking the assassins would put the Empire a further step ahead of the other tribes. Others thought it was crazy, under a myriad of reasons that Sly did not wish to stop and focus for. Surely his presence as another participant would shock a lot of faces. A healer, of all things, trying to become an assassin.

Questionable, but very unpredictable. Sly snuck a smirk as he passed by the last dragon and stormed his way to the pit, head up with a proud chest. He dropped his grin when he came into the light again, seeing Emperor Oculus high up on the pedestal as he looked down upon him and the other hopefuls. Sly only just stepped into the pit, but kept himself into the shadows, close to the border and behind the hopefuls. To others, it was perhaps an assassin's instinct that would favour him into becoming an assassin, but to Sly, it was so he would not consolidate himself with his peers.

The first task was very simple. Get to the palace steps without the use of wings and back within 5 minutes. As the other dragons ran past him, Sly only took his time and power walked himself out. Long ago, when he was just a hatchling out on the streets of the NW Empire, he had to adapt to the cruel surroundings. Part of that was to know the whole layout of the Empire by heart. In fact, Sly knew it so well that he memorized every shortcut he went when he was young, the places he would run to keep himself hidden and away from the other dragons after stealing food or other precious items.

He passed by every rarely-crossed paths, stairs and bridges, taking the quickest route he could think of to get straight to the palace steps. His heart pounded heavily, but the adrenaline carried him there. Instead of appearing in the open, Sly had came out of an overgrowing bush behind it. He tapped the steps with his claws before taking the same route back.

All in all, he made it back in 2minutes and 20 seconds. He just stayed in his usual spot in the shadows.

((Kurai=Man))
Kurai stood as Oculus told him to. Kurai walked slowly to the line of people and turned to watch Oculus. He was about to jump in the air, with his task in mind when Oculus said no flying. This angered Kurai a little bit, as flying was his strongest point. THough outwardly, he just turned and jogged away. When he exited the arena, he began a slow sprint. He was a quarter of the way there, with fourty-five seconds under his belt. He reached the palace at 1 minute and 20 seconds. He turned and huffed, His slightly muscled body covered in sweat. He sprinted as fast as he could back. When he returned there was one person back. He had ran at 2 minutes and 17 seconds. He gave a empty look to Oculus and bowed at his feet again.

(I blame spanish >:I  Most names with ai are female, mai bad xD)

What most of the contestants did not know was that there were watchers along the main path to the palace, making sure no one cheated and flew.  Oculus watched as all of them came filing in, each seeming to have rushed their hardest to complete their task.  Interesting, but would that prove to be their flaw, when a time limit of five minutes was given?  He would see.  After the last ones made it back in, he watched, giving them a few sweet moments to catch their breath while he waited to see if a scout would bust anyone for flying.  As no scout did, he continued on.  "Ahh, congratulations, you all made it back in time.  I do sincerely hope you caught your breath, because you are going to go do it again.  This time, your time limit is only plus or minus ten seconds from your previous time.  Oh, and also, you must stay three hundred meters off your previous path to the palace steps, exceptions being start and finish.  Time starts now."  It would be amusing to watch their expressions, such a simple task now restrained by their own standards.  Would they be able to not only keep the same pace as before.  This would test how well they observed their previous path, making sure to not violate it, and to see if they could complete the challenge, without breaking the rules of flight.  However, the first real test would be after they got back...that is, if they manage to get back at all in time.

((Welp sorry, just wanted to involve Loque somewhere ^^

Edit : welp Occy posted before I did, and now this looks like I meta-gamed ><))

Loque was walking toward where the training was taking place, enjoying the walk. The Magistrate had taken a day off (or, to be more accurate, was ordered to get a day off by a healer) from his work. The work at the Shadow Refuge was never ending, and there was always more to do. Soon enough he would have to find an assistant, as he couldn't finish all this work alone anymore.
But far from doing nothing, the young Magistrate decided to get some fun and go with the wannabe assassin during their training. He might have really applied for that if he hadn't been already drowning in work, and besides he wasn't sure a part-time assassin would be the most useful for the Empire. Not being here for the position wasn't preventing him from being in the training, though - this would train him a bit after all this time.
After months working at the Refuge, Tenebris's influence on the younger dragon was getting quite obvious. The rather proud stance of a Magistrate heavily contrasted by the lean body of a Tracker, a rather soft walking rhythm contrasting ink stained claws... Loque sure was an odd combination.
The black dragon entered the pit, greeting Oculus with a small bow of his head. Formal bowings weren't what Loque excelled at. He listened as Oculus gave them their assignment, which was a simple run. Loque knew Oculus, and there had to be something behind this simple run... Anyway, five minutes was more than enough for him, and since he wasn't quite involved in the competition part he would take his time. Loque just jogged away when everyone bursted out. Were they all silly to burn their stamina like that ? Loque stood on his rhythm, soon reaching the palace's stairs. He then made his way back, seeing everybody was already there. About four minutes, and not a single care in the world. That would leave him a minute to wait for the Emperor to announce the next step.

Delillah had been located on her usual oak tree when she caught word of the "Assassin training" occurring further within the dark kingdom and immediately she  set off for the pit rather miffed. If new dragons were to be broken to obtain the honoured rank of Assassin she , as one of the few accepted Assassins, should have been notified. Her journey was fast due to the dark cloak around her, she might carry black scales and own the ability to hide within the shadows but a cloak continuously created another level of mystery.

Within reaching the pit her mood rose instantly. Allowing her eyes to wander over the Assassin wannabe's a wolfish smirk spread over her maw, joyful and delightful hours awaited her. Catching Oculus upon a risen dais she removed the cloak and made her way toward the entrance to the pit. She entered with confidence and elegance, her head being held slightly higher than usual and her gaze was domineering upon every creature it met. She stopped before the line of dragons with judgmental eyes and a brisk laugh. "Now look at this fresh meat" The words were addressed to all and none as they echoed through the pit, but before they could still she decreased the space between her and the miserable pack "You all look miserable, a massive pile of untalented worms. Oh wait look at this" she glanced  towards a cuddle worthy dragon "A walking fur ball, aren't you adorable" She turned away from the drake her visage a mask of non-emotion, is this what the night wings turned into? Fur covered weaklings? she walked past them halting before the steps, her tail giving a short flick. "Let's see what you got worms"  She continued to climb the stairs with grace and ease before she lowered her frame into a short bow followed by her claiming the seat beside him "Quite a pack you've assembled here M'lord, what is it you have planned for them?" Beneath the mask her wolfish smirk was continuously present as she stared down at the fresh meat, she dearly hoped she hadn't missed anything too amusing.

Loque started to chuckle once Oculus announced the second exercise. He glanced at the other dragons, curious to see what kind of expression they would get once they would realize they were played with. Assassin wasn't about showing off, it was about doing the job efficiently and be ready for everything. If they continued to believe it was all about brawn, they would be in for a bad surprise.
The black dragon was about to trot away to fulfill the second assignment as a shadow caught his eyes. Delilah. Of course Loque knew about her, being in the rather high spheres of the power among the Nightwings, so he wasn't quite surprised when she decided to insult everyone. Would the other dragons lose their temper? Or would they keep quiet and silently hate her? Well, Loque wasn't in any of these cases. Sure, her apparition did temper his mood, but for a whole other reason. Angry? No, rather, bored.
The black dragon let an audible, single chuckle as Delilah finished her words.
"Eh. I just wanted to take a day off the work at the Refuge, but it wasn't to meet yet another stupidly arrogant and imbued of themselves dragon in this training... If I wanted that, another meeting with the high Magistrates would have been enough. Well, I just hope for the sake of this empire that your pride is at least justified, unlike the said Magistrates. Sometimes, assassination seems to me a hell lot easier than slapping some common sense in their self-centered minds..." he declared with a sigh.

At this time, nothing was more comforting than the cool chills from the shadows. Arriving here in time was one thing, but jogging a bit to get here was another. He only needed to catch his breath for a few seconds before he determined he was ready for the next task. Before him, standing in the centre of the pit, were two dragons that beat him. He did not know any of them that well, but it looked as if they ran for their lives. Another two came in after him, one of which was a dragon he was very familiar with in the Shadows Refuge.

Sly blinked, frowning a little. What is Loque doing here? Assassination did not seem to be his thing. Then again, nothing would be odder than a healer joining in a trial to become an assassin. Sly would be expecting a lot of raised eyebrows towards him.

Another figure walked into the pit. It was under some cloak as the mass passed by very quietly behind them. Revealing itself, this dragon seemed to have drawn even some interest from Loque. And perhaps the others. Sly was not familiar what she was, but certainly no friendly supporter of the bunch. There she went, mocking those before her and calling them ‘worms’. Though she may had turned her attention to only those standing in the centre, Sly had yet to see her expression when she turned to see his smug smirk.

There she climbed the steps, and sat beside Oculus. There, the Emperor announced the next task, and Sly could not help but grin, having to hide it close to his chest. He knew there was going to be some point to how fast they went back, and now their ‘record’ time could become their downfall.

Pushing himself off the wall, Sly went off first, being the closest to the exit. He had to sprint at some point, having expended the shortest route towards the palace steps. Even worse, Sly had to steer clear from his previous path by 300metres. He guessed there were hidden scouts around the Empire to watch them from cheating. It was still no problem, now that Oculus granted at most ten more seconds than the time they took in the first task. But it was awkward that Oculus would also request they return at most ten seconds earlier than their previous task. What would happen if Sly arrived even earlier? Like two minutes?

No matter. Sly doubted Oculus would give a third task that would again relate to the time they took in this one. Neither did he want to try sprinting anyways. He took a detour, determining that he was at least 320metres from his previous route. Sly dashed every now and then. As he did so, he looked up at the towering structures around the Empire. What if he climbed up the roofs and jumped between buildings? That would not be flying technically, but it would be very hard to judge.

Sly reached the steps, tapped his claws on them, and took the same path back towards the pit. Coming back, he huffed a bit, feeling his heart pound against his chest. He returned in just 2 minutes and 28 seconds, which was a further 8 seconds compared to his first task. Seeing how the first two did in their times, Sly expected them to return earlier than he did. Then again, they could have failed to return in time.

Sly, again, sat in the shade and looked up to Oculus and his assailant. Cocking his head a little to the side, he gave them a smirk.

Dias huffed, rolling his electrifying blue eyes upward and down again. More running? Well, at least now he would have more energy, he assured himself as he felt the tips of his digits tingle with adrenaline that now pumped through his veins.

Wasting no time, he wheeled around and darted out of the pit once again. The pads of his paws had begun to sting as they clashed with the rough stone under-foot. After their training, they would likely have built thick calluses. That would make running easier on his paws. His thin, stream-lined body rocketed toward the palace steps as he avoided his past path by an estimate of 300 meters. He may have wandered off course once or twice but, he assumed a simple mistake such as that would be an exception. He gulped, his throat dry and raw.

Dias leaped onto the steps, pushed off and spun around, shifting his direction back toward the pit. As he ran back, he noticed Sly, the medic, close behind him and nearing fast. The medic had left the pit first, meaning Dias would have to have passed him at one point in time. He bit his tongue and picked up speed. He was NOT going to loose to a medic, even if it was much older than he. He dove through the entrance, skidding on across the sand to meet the ground below Oculus' feet once again. Dias sighed in relief as the medic appeared a minute or more behind him. 1 minute and 32 seconds.. A minute and 32 seconds. That meant he had made it in time, right? Yes! It did! He parted his maw in a toothy grin and bobbed his head enthusiastically, his ears flopping as he did so.

((If you do not mind would it be too late to join this? I know I am very late but this is the first that I am seeing this topic, sorry.))

(Join fast, cause once myth posts, I am locking it)

((Alrighty then, thank you))

Juunai was gliding through the air, searching for this "assassins training". He had been training for years to become an assassin himself, yet this might be his chance to show what he's made of. Most dragons were much larger and stronger then he is, but what he makes up for size and strength is speed and stealth. He did not like any other dragons, the fact he was always a loner pushed him away from society and taking on missions given to any and all, but that may change starting today. Juunai arrived, yet he had already seen the dragons he started something, he would land, looking around at the other dragons he would observe for a few seconds before walking up to the so called "king".
Juunai was late, but, for hunting reasons of course, he needed his own meals throughout the days, although he can go without food for a while, he prefers not to fly on an empty of full stomach, he either gets dizzy from the emptiness or is about to puke and is out of breath from the fullness, but right now he was not hungry which may help him out.

(FYI, this topic will test you both IC and OOC :3 )

Oculus watched them all return, being harassed by Delillah along the way. Good, if they could not operate under pressure, then they should just walk off now. He did enjoy seeing them go as fast as they could to complete the task, already knowing that their eagerness would be their downfall. Waiting for them all to get back into the area, either early, late or on time, he would not directly stare at them. As the straglers rolled in, Oculus got up and walked in front of the group, not glaring at them, but observing their reactions, seeing how out of breath they were, ect. Well, that's what it would look like, but he was really just killing time as he prepared to speak.

"Congratulations, you all seem very eager to win a spot in the training. And I do believe you all learned a lesson in timing. As you most know, timing is critical in some missions. It is important to always be aware of current timing, being in the right place at the right time." Oculus watched, to make sure that they understood the importance of timing, or at least attempted to pay attention. Actions spoke louder than words. Time would tell if they really listened. "Now, since you all seem to have made it to the palace and back, tell me, how many guards were guarding the palace entrance? How tall? What color armor?" This is what would stump all of them. They would have rushed there, turning to get back without paying any attention at all to their surroundings. Those that did would have a very hard time even recalling how many guards there were, especially the details as he had ordered them into different positions and such than usual. "Well? Anyone want to tell me? You have been there twice already, have you not?" Oculus stopped and scanned the group, waiting to see who would be bold enough, or stupid enough to speak up.

The next task caught him off guard. Of course, this was an assassination trial after all, with the promise of training rather deceptive. If he had to be brutally honest, he would not know the answer to most of it. Then again, would he expect any of the others to? If they knew, it would have demonstrated some exceptional awareness skills.

Sly did have those skills, but no experience in them while focusing on a task at hand. He gritted his fangs. That was his limit. Sure enough, this trial was getting more difficult than he really had thought. He could wait, answer last and repeat what the others said, but the Emperor would pick up from that. So all they needed was the height, number of guards and colour of their armour. Sly could only guess one of them with more confidence than the others. As if to throw salt into their wounds, Oculus made fun of them having visited the palace twice. If Sly was not as preoccupied, he would have his answers, but when it came to assassination, this was no excuse.

Choosing to remain silent was another option, and Sly pondered the correctness of such. No, it probably would not work. He read the posters and the requirements. Feigning ignorance would lead to denial and doubt. He would have to give an answer it seemed.

Should he admit his incompetence in this area of awareness and apologise? Honesty could be a well-regarded virtue, but humility? Oculus would probably end up sending them home for it, or grant another chance if he was merciful.

Sly’s gritted fangs slowly faded back into a smirk. Even if he answered first, what would it make of him? That he was rather reckless? No. He should ask himself what would an assassin say in this situation. Perhaps bow before the Emperor, apologise for the shame and disgrace, and await their punishment. Except they were not assassins yet. Sly held his breath in and took a step forward until he was out of the shadows. Perhaps it would take Oculus’ attention towards Sly. If not, Sly would just remain quiet and where he was. If Oculus was turning towards him, Sly would answer, that is a very good question. My mind went hazy for a moment there, but I do believe I recall… titans. Perhaps 60ft in height? Estimating heights are not my strong point. They wear armour of red, and… I seemed to remember there were five guards standing along the main path, or were they scouts and watchers? Do they include in the ten you have stationed around the palace? Or perhaps my memory lied to me? After speaking his answer, Sly stepped back into the shadows and waited for the others to respond. Of all three prompts, Sly only answered one of them with confidence, while others were masqueraded behind a smirk.

None of these dragons would know which is which.

Juunai could only jump in the second time they had started their "timed running". It was not that difficult, it proved to be a challenge however Juunai would swiftly rush without second thought. As he reached the destination he would turn back and rush again, making it barely at a minute and twenty-seconds. He was getting sloppy, for a smaller dragon that was, he was built for speed, yet this? He kept his breathing under controlled after all he did not want to disappoint... yet however when he was asked, allowed other dragons, how many guard were up there, he began to question if there any, so he shook his head in response to "0". That was his best guess besides a shrug, but, the answer "0" was better then nothing he supposed.

Loque slightly raised his eyebrows as Occulus asked about the scouts that had been observing the dragons during their two runs. The Magistrate had no problem spotting them during his two trips, since he had taken his time in both runs, but even then, these questions were quite hard to answer to. Let's see, armor was red and black since those were the official Nightwing military colors. As for height, those were guards, not scouts, and so were rather big. Sly did estimate rather correctly, they were around 55-60 feet tall. The number though was a bit fuzzy, since only two of them were truly stationary and the others tended to patrol around the palace.
But even though he could answer right now, Loque waited for everyone else to answer. Did they learn nothing from the previous exercise? Haste would lead them nowhere, especially since it would mean giving an answer to those who didn't reply yet. No, Loque would wait for his turn to happen.

Kurai blinked for a second as Oculus told them to run back again. He sighed and ran back again. He didn't focus on anything but getting there a different way. He went around and came up behind the palace. He then went to the front caught his breath and ran the same way back. He got back to Oculus in about 4 minutes this time. He arrived at the pit just in time to hear Oculus say something about what the guards looked like. He sighed. "All i remember is one big guy, sir!"

(Post or be booted from topic plz :'D. Not you guys who already responded )

//Casting upon this beautiful topic a short post >: D //

The kings shadow sat beside him watching intently with her ever apathetic regal expression. She had been silent since her last words towards Oculus, occasionally flicking her tail in amusement. Most of the fresh meat seemed as if unable to think, a dragon carrying this rank required not only physical skills but also mental skills. These dragons had arrived unprepared, except for one or two, however, only one dared to speak when Oculus queried them. He was well spoken and spoke a somewhat sensible answer, or more of a guess she assumed. The others spoke disappointing answers, which did not come as a surprise to her.