02-20-2023, 12:00 AM
Palace of Flowers
December 18th, 2022
The Empress stared expectantly at Tochuitli, the Minister of Security. "You called this meeting stating that you had a lead on who is trying to kill my children." Calhualyana raised an eyebrow coolly as she looked at the Minister. "Imperial Intelligence handles foreign intelligence. Was this not a matter that you could have left to Imperial Security?"
Tochuitli smiled slightly in response. "Well, your Majesty, as Imperial Security had not yet found the assassins, or their backers, I felt that the more eyes on the matter, the better." Sitting next to him, Loyalty Minister Quihichua bristled. "We have been working as hard as we can to find the threat. I assure you that Imperial Security is pursuing all possible leads."
"And yet, the attempts on my childrens' lives continue. They almost got my son, last time. The scratch on his face is proof of that. We are just lucky an antidote was on stock at the Palace infirmary." Calhualyana's voice darkened. "Or, I should say, you were lucky."
As Quihichua squirmed, the Empress turned to Tochuitli. "I do value officers who show initiative. Very well. Present your information."
Tochuitli nodded, his voice taking on a few more measures of oil as he swept into his presentation. "As you know, your Majesty, a major stumbling block of the investigation has been that every single assassin we have discovered has had no identifying information we can use at all. No fingerprints. No information from DNA in our databases. No record by photo in any of our databases - it's as if these men and women have never been identified as living in the Empire despite clearly being Xiomeran. We have been chasing shadows with no names, which should have been impossible given our identity records of our citizens."
"It is impossible," Quihichua snapped. "And yet, it has happened," Tochuitli replied with a slight sneer. "I believe we - IIA, that is - now know why."
Calhualyana's narrowed gaze was all the signal she gave to go on. It was enough. "We have traced the individuals in question through an analysis of the food content in their bodies at the time of autopsy, as well as trace elements one would gain from water and air in a particular area. When you live in a certain place for a long time, its environment shapes you for better or worse. Those things can be tracked, and traced. We believe from our analysis that all of these assassins spent considerable time, probably most of their lives, in the Oatcolzan region."
At the mention of Oatcolzan, Quihichua's quiet scoffing turned into open and mocking laughter. "The Itan. You're seriously resurrecting an old fairy tale to try to explain what is happening here?"
"Everything fits," Tochuitli said stubbornly. "The way these assassins seemingly appear and disappear like ghosts. The way none of them show up in our identity banks. The skill the assassins show, which rivals that of the very best Imperial men and women at arms. The linkages to Oatcolzan. I believe the Itan exist, and that someone has hired them to kill our royal babies."
The Empress paused in thought for a very long time, waving the other two to silence. After several minutes, in which the nervous Ministers almost imagined that they could hear the gears coldly whirring in the head of the Empress, she finally spoke. "If you believe this theory, Tochuitli, where are they?"
Ouihichua barked in shocked laughter again. "Surely you don't believe this old wives' tale about mystical assassins, your Majesty!"
"What I believe in is sound theories, evidence, chains of correlation. Tochuitli has them, however outlandish they may sound. I would love to hear yours....oh, dear. You don't have any, do you?" the Empress purred in what both Ministers recognized as her shut-up-or-die voice. Quihichua quickly stopped speaking as if someone had slapped a muzzle on her. "Go on, Tochuitli."
"Oatcolzan is where we will find them. After centuries of hiding behind legend and shadows, we will unmask them. Technology will be their undoing. They may have managed to elude the world, except for their clients, for all this time. But that's over now. Let me task Imperial Intelligence to the task of finding their exact location, your Majesty. And then we will end these attacks on your family, I promise you."
"Very well....find them for me, and then I will order Imperial Security and the Army to rout them out of wherever they have been hiding for all this time. If the Itan do exist after all, they will discover that ancient legends won't save them from cold and current reality." Calhualyana waved at the two Ministers to leave.
---
From a Xiomeran dictionary: "ITAN, THE. - The Itan were a legendary clan of assassins and cutthroats, which historically were linked to the city of Oatcolzan. The first mention of the Itan occurs in historical stories from the 1100 AD period, in which merchants from Tlālacuetztla hired them to eliminate rivals in the city of Huitzitaca. In 1373 AD, according to legend, the Itan opposed the rise to power of Emperor Quiauhticue and were routed in a pitched battle in Tlālacuetztla. The group fled back to Oatcolzan, and from there faded from history except for stories and legends of their alleged continued existence and use by elite Xiomerans who know how to contact them.
Agents of the Itan, according to histories, were known as "Brothers" or "Sisters". Higher-ranking members took on other family titles such as "Uncle", "Father" or "Mother". The leader of the Itan was known as the "Grandfather". Legend states that these family titles were used to reinforce the fact that once someone joined the Itan, it became their new family and they were never to contact their old one ever again.
Agents of the Itan were said to possess master-level skills with bladed and thrown weapons, as well as extensive knowledge of poisons and toxins."
December 18th, 2022
The Empress stared expectantly at Tochuitli, the Minister of Security. "You called this meeting stating that you had a lead on who is trying to kill my children." Calhualyana raised an eyebrow coolly as she looked at the Minister. "Imperial Intelligence handles foreign intelligence. Was this not a matter that you could have left to Imperial Security?"
Tochuitli smiled slightly in response. "Well, your Majesty, as Imperial Security had not yet found the assassins, or their backers, I felt that the more eyes on the matter, the better." Sitting next to him, Loyalty Minister Quihichua bristled. "We have been working as hard as we can to find the threat. I assure you that Imperial Security is pursuing all possible leads."
"And yet, the attempts on my childrens' lives continue. They almost got my son, last time. The scratch on his face is proof of that. We are just lucky an antidote was on stock at the Palace infirmary." Calhualyana's voice darkened. "Or, I should say, you were lucky."
As Quihichua squirmed, the Empress turned to Tochuitli. "I do value officers who show initiative. Very well. Present your information."
Tochuitli nodded, his voice taking on a few more measures of oil as he swept into his presentation. "As you know, your Majesty, a major stumbling block of the investigation has been that every single assassin we have discovered has had no identifying information we can use at all. No fingerprints. No information from DNA in our databases. No record by photo in any of our databases - it's as if these men and women have never been identified as living in the Empire despite clearly being Xiomeran. We have been chasing shadows with no names, which should have been impossible given our identity records of our citizens."
"It is impossible," Quihichua snapped. "And yet, it has happened," Tochuitli replied with a slight sneer. "I believe we - IIA, that is - now know why."
Calhualyana's narrowed gaze was all the signal she gave to go on. It was enough. "We have traced the individuals in question through an analysis of the food content in their bodies at the time of autopsy, as well as trace elements one would gain from water and air in a particular area. When you live in a certain place for a long time, its environment shapes you for better or worse. Those things can be tracked, and traced. We believe from our analysis that all of these assassins spent considerable time, probably most of their lives, in the Oatcolzan region."
At the mention of Oatcolzan, Quihichua's quiet scoffing turned into open and mocking laughter. "The Itan. You're seriously resurrecting an old fairy tale to try to explain what is happening here?"
"Everything fits," Tochuitli said stubbornly. "The way these assassins seemingly appear and disappear like ghosts. The way none of them show up in our identity banks. The skill the assassins show, which rivals that of the very best Imperial men and women at arms. The linkages to Oatcolzan. I believe the Itan exist, and that someone has hired them to kill our royal babies."
The Empress paused in thought for a very long time, waving the other two to silence. After several minutes, in which the nervous Ministers almost imagined that they could hear the gears coldly whirring in the head of the Empress, she finally spoke. "If you believe this theory, Tochuitli, where are they?"
Ouihichua barked in shocked laughter again. "Surely you don't believe this old wives' tale about mystical assassins, your Majesty!"
"What I believe in is sound theories, evidence, chains of correlation. Tochuitli has them, however outlandish they may sound. I would love to hear yours....oh, dear. You don't have any, do you?" the Empress purred in what both Ministers recognized as her shut-up-or-die voice. Quihichua quickly stopped speaking as if someone had slapped a muzzle on her. "Go on, Tochuitli."
"Oatcolzan is where we will find them. After centuries of hiding behind legend and shadows, we will unmask them. Technology will be their undoing. They may have managed to elude the world, except for their clients, for all this time. But that's over now. Let me task Imperial Intelligence to the task of finding their exact location, your Majesty. And then we will end these attacks on your family, I promise you."
"Very well....find them for me, and then I will order Imperial Security and the Army to rout them out of wherever they have been hiding for all this time. If the Itan do exist after all, they will discover that ancient legends won't save them from cold and current reality." Calhualyana waved at the two Ministers to leave.
---
From a Xiomeran dictionary: "ITAN, THE. - The Itan were a legendary clan of assassins and cutthroats, which historically were linked to the city of Oatcolzan. The first mention of the Itan occurs in historical stories from the 1100 AD period, in which merchants from Tlālacuetztla hired them to eliminate rivals in the city of Huitzitaca. In 1373 AD, according to legend, the Itan opposed the rise to power of Emperor Quiauhticue and were routed in a pitched battle in Tlālacuetztla. The group fled back to Oatcolzan, and from there faded from history except for stories and legends of their alleged continued existence and use by elite Xiomerans who know how to contact them.
Agents of the Itan, according to histories, were known as "Brothers" or "Sisters". Higher-ranking members took on other family titles such as "Uncle", "Father" or "Mother". The leader of the Itan was known as the "Grandfather". Legend states that these family titles were used to reinforce the fact that once someone joined the Itan, it became their new family and they were never to contact their old one ever again.
Agents of the Itan were said to possess master-level skills with bladed and thrown weapons, as well as extensive knowledge of poisons and toxins."
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