Luminarium Infinitio

Sanctus et Peccator

In is nox noctis, sanctus et peccator, es iunctus in sanctus vinculum cruor…

Sam

“I hate you. I hate you more than I hate this goddamned apartment. I hate you more than I hate the joke of a school you sent me too. I hate you so very, very much. I hate you and I hope you burn in hell.” These were the words I longed to say to the man I grudgingly called father. After my mother had died he had put me through hell; and, as bad as it sounds, I wanted nothing more than to see him dead. Those terrible words echoed through my mind as I stood in my living room and steeled myself for what was to come. I faced my father who had passed out in his favorite chair and the smell of sweat, liquor and smoke emanated from him. A slender stripe of golden-red sunlight fell across his grotesque face. Dirty stubble dappled his chin and cheeks and the light highlighted the cruel angle of his mouth. He had a newspaper casually draped over his knees and I noted with some dismay that he was still wearing the same t-shirt that he had been wearing for the past week. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had tried to reason with him, I had tried to tell him how I felt. But he never listened to me, he just made it worse. I took a step towards him, opened my eyes, and was met with an image that shocked me. I was staring at my reflection in a mirror that hung crookedly on a nearby wall. My demeanor was crazed, and even my boyish features did nothing to soften it. My blond hair was rather unkempt and I could see the malice in my own pale blue eyes. Most disturbing of all, however, was the large wicked looking knife I held in my right hand. I was surprised by the natural, almost confidant way that I brandished the blade. What was its purpose? I returned my gaze to my father. That would come later, but for now I was content to merely observe him.

Rayne

The promise of a storm hung over the night as large black clouds obscured the sky from view over the city of Mortalitas. Rayne walked along one of the many rooftops of the city. Mortalitas was built in a gothic medieval style by magicians and it was well known for having ridiculously tall buildings and impossibly tall spires. The city was also well known for its moral degradation and it was often said that,”If this is a world of dreams then Mortalitas is a city of nightmare.” Rayne smiled at the thought. The city’s unofficial slogan was very apt indeed. The city was plagued by thieves, muggers, assassins, murderers and mercenaries, all of whom sold their services to any who had enough coin. Rayne’s train of thought was broken by an icy gust of wind that wafted up from the street below. The wind caused his black long coat to flare out behind him and roughly flicked his pale blond hair about his face. It took Rayne a moment to tame his wayward coat and pull it tightly about himself. Normally Rayne would not willingly suffer the discomforts of being on the rooftops during a storm, but that night was different, he had business to attend to. Rayne grinned his predator’s grin. Yes, very important business to attend to. The wind soon subsided, but Rayne was loathe to forego the newfound warmth of his coat. He kept the coat wrapped around himself as he slowly made his way towards the edge of the roof. Rayne quickly scanned the area and soon found his quarry. The man was tall and had a large black cloak draped casually around his shoulders. He was walking in Rayne’s general direction. Rayne grinned and dropped down onto his haunches. He could easily have stalked his pray across the rooftops, but for now he was content to merely observe him. For tonight; his business would come to him.

Sam

Once again I took a deep breath, it was time. The deed that I was about to commit hung heavy upon my heart, and I knew that my life would be over after this. I took a step towards him. He did not stir. I took another step. Again he did not move. I continued to move until I stood before him, and still he did not rise from his drunken stupor. I waited a moment to see if fate would intervene; but it did not. I slowly began to lift the knife high above his chest. I took my time, still half wanting something or someone to stop me before I committed this terrible act. The blade reached the apex of its ascent and a small ray of sunlight reflected off the steel into my father’s eyes. The next few moments of my life seemed to pass by in slow motion. My father awoke and pushed the newspaper from his lap; he had a gun in his right hand. His movements were sluggish due to the fact that he was not yet fully awake, but still faster than I could react. His gun was level with my chest and I could merely gasp when he pulled the trigger. With a thunderous bang, everything went black.

Rayne

Rayne smiled his predator grin. His quarry was finally within range. He stood up slowly and for a few more moments allowed the man to walk towards his own death. Another cold gust of wind raced up from the streets below, but this time Rayne made no attempt to tame his coat. He spread his arms out wide and closed his eyes. For a few moments he stood there motionless, before he took a swan dive from the building. That plummet to the ground would have left any man dead, or at the very least bloodied and broken, but not Rayne. For Rayne possessed the Luminarium Infinitio. In the world of dreams there were seven powerful items known as the Runes; the most powerful of which was the Luminarium Infinitio. The Luminarium Infinitio had the power to enhance its master’s natural capabilities as well as do whatever its master wished of it. It held no moral standards and no boundaries. Rayne landed with cat-like grace upon the street bellow, darted down a nearby alley and hid within the shadows. Rayne’s quarry came down the street with barely audible footfalls. When he arrived at the entrance to the alley Rayne began to emerge from the shadows. His plan would not work if the prey was not aware of the hunter. It took but a moment for the man to become aware of Rayne.

He leapt back and placed his hand on the sword that hung at his hip, “Who’s there?!”

“It’s me,” Rayne replied in a voice that was like the velvet lining of a coffin, “sir”

“Rayne,” the man all but spat out the word, “So you have finally decided to show your face.”

“I have come to face my sins,” Rayne replied.

The man laughed a low angry laugh, “To face your sins? You who have broken every tenet of the Assassins guild creed. You who have been a blemish upon our sacred brotherhood. Rayne, you do not come here to face your sins, you come here to face your death.”

“This I know,” Rayne answered.

The man smiled wickedly, “Then approach me so that I may deliver upon you the embrace of death, so as God might take mercy on your damned soul.”

Rayne kept his face neutral as he stepped towards the man. The Man pulled Rayne into an embrace. And so the prey is delivered to the hunter. With one lightning fast movement Rayne place his fist against the man’s body and with a flex of his hand activated the mechanism in his bracer that unsheathed his hidden blade. The blade slid into the man’s flesh with gruesome ease, delivering a fatal blow. The man gasped as his life drained away with the blood that stained his green tunic. When Rayne sensed that the man’s life was almost at an end he retracted the blade and slowly lowered the man to the ground. By the time Rayne had set the man’s head down against the road he was dead. Rayne closed the man’s eyes and softly whispered,” Dormio procedo”. He then stood up and began walking away. When he was about ten feet away he glanced back at the corpse and grinned his predator grin before continuing onward.

“Dormio procedo, pater”, he whispered under his breath. Sleep well, father.