Masyaf - Altair Ibn la ahad

My master is dead – and many more with him, friend and foe alike. But the storm is broken, though pride may hold the clouds aloft a little longer. Of this much I am certain: with Robert and Al Mualim dead, the Saracen and Crusader armies will lay down their arms and give up this senseless war. Freed from the manipulations and schemes of wicked men, Saladin and Richard will find they have more in common then they think. Peace will return to the land. And if they should stray once more? Then my brothers and I will do what needs be done to set things aright… Masayaf is quiet now, caressed by the winds which carry through the valley. What is this thing I hold, that it can bend men’s minds? No larger then an apple-yet its power greater than any weapon I've known. I have seen what evil even the smallest taste brings. I should destroy it...Yet something stays my hand. No. I will hold it a little while longer and see what it may teach me. Perhaps it can be turned to good. Or is this what the others thought when they held it? Is that its power, then? To turn the noble into cruel? I know not what the future holds for any of us, but I do know those assassins who remain will need guidance. I must attend to them. Help heal their wounds. We will march together into the future, and emerge stronger than we were before. If we are to succeed, if we are to rebuild, then we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of those who came before. We must be vigilant; ever mindful of the past…