"A story from my days abroad,huh?" He tilted his head to look at her, a few strands of his hair falling in view of his eyes. "....After I lost my eye, I went back there, back to Nanda Parbat, to the hidden monastery named 'Eth Alth'eban." He looked at her seriously through his hair. "I went back to the League of Assassins. Back to Rā's al Ghul."
"To truly know why, though, I need to tell you what happened before. Losing my eye nearly killed me, Rach. I thought I could get up and keep on fighting, but I couldn't. My depth perception was off, and I missed hitting a guy by a foot. That night, I was beaten with a crowbar. So I knew, I knew I had to go back and relearn everything I knew.....
----------------------------Several months, and several inches of hair ago-------------
Nanda Parbat, Tibet
The Hidden City of 'Eth Alth'eban
Heavy, ornate doors emblazoned with the insignia of the League of Assasins closed behind him a dull thud echoing throughout the cavern. It didn't matter, however, as it was a city hidden in the mountains.
In a strange way, I was coming home, having been raised and trained here since I was seven. My father had tried to find me several times, but each time he failed. Eventually, I gave up hope on seeing my father, and this place became my home.He walks down the streets, the trainees and even some of the masters paused to pay respect to the young man. It was written in his face, and the bandage taped to his eye. He was coming home to re-forge himself into that which he was: a warrior. High atop the city's sole spire, on a balcony stood the man whom stood most responsible for training him, a man who looked on with a disinterested look, save the small twitch of his mouth. His name was
Rā's al Ghūl. Behind him stood his two daughters, Talia and Nyssa.
"It seems," Rā's said, "That Grant has finally come home. See to him, and bring him to me." Though it was not stated, the order was directed at Nyssa, as Talia was his right hand. Meanwhile, Grant arrived at the gates of Rā's palace, only to find that an assassin had been expecting him. There was no baggage, no weapons with him. He arrived as he had all those years ago: unarmed and practically defenseless. There were no words exchanged between his welcoming party and himself, so Grant walked in silence. Upon arrival in the elevator, he was greeted by a woman he considered his older sister.
"Lady Nyssa. An honor." She tilted her head, and greeted him back, more formally than one would expect. As soon as the doors closed, however, the formality dropped, and the two exchanged a more informal hello, a simple, two second hug before Nyssa ripped the bandage off from over his eye, and cleaned it. Truthfully, it was just an empty eye socket now, a hole staring at nothing.
Entering the chamber of the demon, Nyssa vanished, and Grant was besieged by an assassin. This one wielded a sword and struck with clean, swift, smooth motions. Grant did his best to dodge and strike blows when he could, although most were off center of their intended target, and he was left with several lacerations, and he was even pierced in the side twice before his opponent slipped up. He acted as his opponent thrust his sword into a wooden post too deep and pulled in vain for it to free itself. Grant kicked out the other man's knee and slammed his forehead against the post, causing the sword to go through the wooden post enough for Grant to extricate it. Finishing his opponent, he punctured the sword hilt-deep through the assassin's throat.
Breathing deeply, Grant scanned the darkness for further threats when out of the darkness stood Rā's himself. Grant dropped to his knees and bowed his head only for Rā's to lift his chin. "Hello,Grant." The man let his chin drop and motioned for Grant to follow. Grant did so, as one did not disobey the leader of the League of Assassins. Especially not when he was the man who trained you, or rather, a large part of you.
When you train with the League, you train to master every weapon they give you, but after a certain period, you begin to specialize in one specific weapon. Some choose the Bow, hoping perhaps to keep the art of Archery alive. Some, the knife, others, the tomahawk. I chose the sword. In fact, I'm the best swordsman the league has ever trained, which isn't saying much in the face of guys like Sirius and War, men who could snap my blade in half and rip me apart with their bare hands if they wished. I was so talented with it, however, that Rā's was forced to train me personally, lest my skill taper off......but when I lost my eye...The two men adjourned to a room where a freshly placed tea set was waiting. Both men adjourned to the small table set between two chairs. Rā's was the first to speak. "It's been some time, Grant. How have your travels treated you?" Grant knew the question, innocuous as it may have seemed, was an invitation to explain himself. And so he told of how he came to be back in 'Eth Alth'eban.
------------------------Shortly---------
Rā's sat in silence as he took in what he had heard. It was some time before he spoke, but at last: "The skills are still there, Grant. I saw that with my own eyes. The problem isn't physical, it's mental. Yes, you will need to train yourself to adjust to the depth perception problem posed by your eye, but there is something else looming there, a question that needs an answer, and that question, Grant, is something ONLY you can answer: What are you truly fighting for? Is it revenge for your brother, or is it because you are a warrior at heart, a professional soldier whose cause is fluid?"
The words of Rā's sank into him and he sat for hours in silence. For the next four months he trained with the sword, regaining skill he had thought lost. Then the day came when he left, and went to Russia.
------------------Present Day--------
"But I never forgot my brother, or the hopes he had for me. I decided that I'd become a hybrid of what he wanted me be and what I'm meant to be. I decided I'd become a mercenary, one that has a no-kill code. I traveled to Russia, hired myself out to their intelligence service. To make a long story short, I only got back a little while ago, during the Eden crisis."
Grant finished his story, watching her face as he did so. He knew that he was lying to her, knew that if she knew the full truth of what had happened in those nine months, she'd know he'd changed, yes. But it wasn't the change his plan needed him to show.
------------------Several Months ago, 'Eth Alth'eban---------------
His conversation with Rā's had gone a bit differently than he let on, and those words he would remember for the days to come. "I believe,"Rā's had said, "That you are a warrior, bent on his own cause, his own endgame, a crusader with his own cause. You're willing to kill, Grant. I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your soul."
