Through the Talisman

From the small bluff overlooking the shallow valley below she stared down at the ruins of the ancient city. She could sense his presence. She could almost feel him. She knew he was already there in the ruins waiting for her, waiting to kill her. 

No one knows for sure when or why the war started. The war, however, had lasted for centuries, perhaps even millennia. In ancient times, this had been a lush world populated with millions of his and her kind. It was almost a paradise. All of his and her kind lived in large and beautiful cities and had plenty to eat. Everyone’s needs were fully met.

Then war, with all of its destructive force, came. The rubble below were the ruins of one of those ancient cities, which had been destroyed in the early part of the war. From the centuries of war, the population was decimated to a mere fraction of what it had been long ago. The remaining population lived in a vast barren wasteland in small separate hidden enclaves, which were difficult to find. The war now was waged with single assassin warriors, sent out to kill each other in remote places away from these enclaves. The two assassins would each be attired in hooded full-length black robes and equipped with swords They would engage each other in bizarre, even macabre and almost ritualistic duels, usually to the death. She, being the only known female assassin warrior, had fourteen kills, all male. Although, knowing she was not invincible, she was now looking for her fifteenth kill.

She had followed her older brother, whom she had adored, into the order of assassin warriors when she was only twelve. Her brother had long since been killed, his head having been taken as a trophy by the enemy. She recalled how she and her brother had almost been turned away from the order. Once admitted, she had trained for years. It was only then that she was initiated as an assassin.

As she stood there peering down at the ruins, a light breeze blew against her face. Although confident, she was fearful. She knew her adversary was formidable. She had been told that he had many kills and that he was sadistic. He was known to relish torturing his victims before killing them when, on occasion, he had rendered his adversary defenseless during the fight.

Apprehensively, she slowly began to walk down to the ruins. She would first find any exposed potable water, drink as much as she could, and then poison what remained. She would then begin to hunt down her adversary, hoping to take him by surprise.

He had positioned himself behind a low wall near a large puddle that formed a small pond, which had been left by the last rains. He knew she would stop here first and drink from the pond. It was from here he would attack her. It should be short work, he thought to himself.

He sat in the sun, patiently waiting and watching from behind the wall. His face was tanned and heavily scarred from his many combats. However, he had never faced a female before. This should be interesting, he thought. It was then that he first saw her. He immediately ducked behind the small wall to avoid being seen.