Scott Marlowe | Assassin Without a Name

Assassin Without a Name

“I had a name once, same as everyone else, but after one glorious night of murder, it was no longer safe to use.” – The Assassin Without a Name

The Nameless Assassin lives a life of anonymity, taking on whatever guise the situation dictates. One time that might mean assuming the identity of a gentleman. Another time, a merchant, beggar, or a dozen other possibilities. Over the years, he has assumed so many identities and names that he can no longer remember most of them. Few know his real one. Even fewer know his past. He gave up his former life to protect himself and his sister, Olivia. It’s a choice he never regrets, and he knows he’ll make it again if ever the need arises.

The little that is known about his previous life is that he was born in Alchester, the capital city of Kallendor, which he still calls home. It’s rumored that he comes from money, though whatever wealth his family possessed died along with his parents, who were murdered one fateful night when their father’s enemies caught up to them. Olivia and her brother should have joined them, but they escaped, living on the streets for some time until a man named Thjorn Targalas offered to help. The Nameless Assassin and his sister owe much to Thjorn, though the Assassin Without a Name’s current relationship with the man is estranged.

The Nameless Assassin is a master of his art. He was trained by a man named Reuben Kariaktos, though he is all but certain that was never the man’s real name. Like master, like apprentice, the Nameless Assassin figures. In the typical vicious cycle that so often defines the life of one who profits from murder, the Assassin Without a Name killed Reuben after his master committed an unforgivable act against him.

Those who come to interact with the Nameless Assassin soon learn of his egotistical nature. As a professional killer living a life filled with danger, he must project supreme confidence in his abilities, though even he thinks he may take this too far at times. Still, he is the best at what he does, and if he has to let his enemies know this to unnerve them and give him the upper hand, then so be it. He will use any trick at his disposal to complete a job and ensure he survives to live another day.

The Nameless Assassin has few principles, though he does adhere to the Assassin’s Code, namely that he never lets a job become personal and never has regrets. He knows full well that he provides a service many consider despicable, but that if he didn’t do it, someone else would, and probably not nearly as well.

Murder is a profitable business, and so the Nameless Assassin has done well for himself. He owns multiple properties throughout Alchester, some in the neighborhoods of the upper crust and others in as low of places as the Shambles, a derelict borough unfit for the even lowest of the low. He has only one vice, that being a penchant for fine wine. Though he has much knowledge on the subject, he considers himself no more than a hobbyist, though an expert one at that.

He stands a little over six feet tall, has a handsome though nondescript countenance, and is athletically fit as suits his profession.

Given that profession and his need for anonymity, the Nameless Assassin has few lasting relationships. In order to protect his sister from future enemies, he let her believe he disappeared from the city or, more likely, that he died. He sees Thjorn less and less, and others come and go with each job. Only one person has remained consistent in his life, and even with her, gaps have formed. This person’s name is Elizabeth West, a master thief whose greatest ability might be her tolerance of the Nameless Assassin’s ego. She is a foil to his bravado, offering a spell of levity when his soul becomes too darkened by the needs of his profession. Though neither will admit it to the other, they are true soulmates, destined for each other whether they realize it or not.

SKILLS

As a master assassin, the Assassin Without a Name knows a hundred ways to kill a man, many quick but some agonizing and slow. He is an expert in a multitude of hand-to-hand and weaponry disciplines that cut across many nations and cultures, being well-versed in the combat techniques of his homeland of Kallendor but also the sword fighting techniques of the Freelands, the elusions of the famed eslar Pendrogin-lar, the slashing methods of Serren, and many others.

His prowess with a knife is surpassed only by his skill with a sword, and while he is proficient with a bow, he considers it a weapon of last resort, preferring to get up close and personal with those he fights. Besides conventional arms, the Assassin Without a Name employs a wide variety of alchemical substances in his trade and doesn’t shy from making use of technology when available.

The Nameless Assassin can tap into his extrasensory perception, an attribute most have but few understand how to harness. This allows him to, for example, see in absolute darkness, hear the faintest of sounds, or feel approaching doom.

WEAPONS AND ARMOR

His preferred weapons are a pair of long knives, each a foot and a half of curved, razor-sharp steel with serrated back edges and bone hilts, and his Steel Island sword, a black volcanic blade rumored to have the strength to cut through any metal. He alternatively makes use of various throwing knives and stars as the need presents itself.

When the time for subterfuge has passed, he adorns himself in dark leather trappings, including studded leather armor, metal bracers, a dark cloak and hood, gloves, and dark pants. At his belt are pouches containing various alchemical substances and his long knives. He typically wears his Steel Island sword over a shoulder.