What I know goes beyond her time. [ he hesitates before this next bit. ] My-- son [ it's still so hard to believe that he has reason to be calling someone that. ] recently arrived and informed me of some less than happy news concerning the state of the Brotherhood in his time.
[ there's another pause. ] He also told me of my own fate.
[Malik's son? The news gets a startled blink from Altaïr, but all the same it only takes him a moment to make sense of things. The new Assassin, then. The one that has seemed familiar. There are other possibilities, but that more than one Assassin from the future that resembled Malik was around seemed highly unlikely.]
[He nods quietly, somberly. He'd always heard of the great things he'd supposedly end up doing for the Order, but the details were always vague. Ezio and Leonardo has never been able to give him specifics and the possibility that everything had just gone wrong seemed as likely as anything. He's prepared for the news, if not necessarily braced. He draws in a deep breath.]
You will leave for an extended mission with your family and leave me in charge. Abbas will somehow manage to gain enough power to undermine me and have me imprisoned until you return. [ there's a bitter tinge to his smirk and his next words are less accusatory than one might expect. ] Apparently my support for you will be the death of me. No one knows where you will run to after that, but you will not be welcome in Masyaf.
[ he's lost sight of why he's telling Altaïr any of this. he tells himself that he just wants to inform Altaïr of things he might have not already known, but that feels less like the truth than he'd like it to. the main thing on his mind right now is his own death and as their relationship stands in Zodion, why would Altaïr care about that? no, it's less that he's saying any of this to inform and more that he just needs to say it and talk about it and he can't do that with Kadar. what kind of brother would want to talk about their sibling's death? and who else can he turn to?
he hates that he can only think of Altaïr to turn to. whatever friendship they have that will eventually get him killed is quite obviously not in place here, but for the life of him he can't think of anyone that should hear this more than Altaïr. ]
[Prepared, but not braced. Altaïr listens closely, attentively, storing away every detail he can manage, tamping down on his imagination so that it doesn't run away without him. The friendship he'd had with Malik before arriving in Zodion has been strong, he thought, but only considering the circumstances at the time. Malik is not one to turn against his principles to save his own skin, but Altaïr wouldn't have thought their relationship with each other to ever be more than what it was.]
[Perhaps not.]
[Altaïr cannot quite fathom why Malik is telling him this, but he supposes it would be rather strange to not mention it at all. All in all it's almost too much information to process at once, and Altaïr almost can't decide where to start from.] Where I will run?
Yes, Altaïr. When Abbas has turned all of Masyaf against you, claiming you to be too power hungry for your own good, you will run because even you are not so stupid as to believe you can defeat so many on your own. [ he's really just saying things now. what does he know of this aside from what Tazim told him? nothing. this is too far in the future for Malik to actually know anything of it and either way, he's dead at this point.
this is far from what he wanted the focus of this conversation to be, but is he really surprised? no. it's Altaïr, after all. of course this is the part he's focused on. ]
[Altaïr grinds his teeth at Malik's response, but only briefly. Malik has a point, after all. Retreat would have been the only sensible option, in such a situation.] Fine. [Altaïr will just... let it be, then.]
Does Tazim know what became of the Brotherhood after that?
[ "fine." he says it like Malik can change the answer, can make it so that anything else he said wouldn't have been a lie. ]
No. As far as he knows you are still missing and Abbas still acts as Grand Master in your stead. I didn't think to ask for any other details. I had more pressing matters on my mind. [ like his newly acquired son and the knowledge of his own death. the rest of it didn't seem so important in the face of those things. ]
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[ there's another pause. ] He also told me of my own fate.
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[He nods quietly, somberly. He'd always heard of the great things he'd supposedly end up doing for the Order, but the details were always vague. Ezio and Leonardo has never been able to give him specifics and the possibility that everything had just gone wrong seemed as likely as anything. He's prepared for the news, if not necessarily braced. He draws in a deep breath.]
What of it?
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[ he's lost sight of why he's telling Altaïr any of this. he tells himself that he just wants to inform Altaïr of things he might have not already known, but that feels less like the truth than he'd like it to. the main thing on his mind right now is his own death and as their relationship stands in Zodion, why would Altaïr care about that? no, it's less that he's saying any of this to inform and more that he just needs to say it and talk about it and he can't do that with Kadar. what kind of brother would want to talk about their sibling's death? and who else can he turn to?
he hates that he can only think of Altaïr to turn to. whatever friendship they have that will eventually get him killed is quite obviously not in place here, but for the life of him he can't think of anyone that should hear this more than Altaïr. ]
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[Perhaps not.]
[Altaïr cannot quite fathom why Malik is telling him this, but he supposes it would be rather strange to not mention it at all. All in all it's almost too much information to process at once, and Altaïr almost can't decide where to start from.] Where I will run?
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this is far from what he wanted the focus of this conversation to be, but is he really surprised? no. it's Altaïr, after all. of course this is the part he's focused on. ]
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Does Tazim know what became of the Brotherhood after that?
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No. As far as he knows you are still missing and Abbas still acts as Grand Master in your stead. I didn't think to ask for any other details. I had more pressing matters on my mind. [ like his newly acquired son and the knowledge of his own death. the rest of it didn't seem so important in the face of those things. ]