Konny-Ki

Kassandra's Journey 31

Visiting the Family, Sparta 2018.

In the end, Kassandra returned to where it all began: Sparta. She hadn't been here since her brother killed their mother. Even in her later visits to Greece, the last one was in the 1820s, she avoided Sparta.

Kassandra walked the streets for hours trying to find the places of her childhood. She finally managed to locate the place where their house stood more than 2,500 years ago. It's now a café.

Later that day, Kassandra took a guided tour. It was as hilarious as she had expected: the guide got most of the dates and names wrong, and even sold what had been a brothel as a temple of Posideon.

Tomorrow, she will be heading out for Thera. The plan of making Lara Croft her successor failed spectacularly when that one activated the Box of Ix Chel instead of destroying it. This nearly caused the apocalypse had the locals not sacrificed Lara after she absorbed the powers of Kukulkan.

So, plan B, which was Layla Hassan, one of the leading Assassins, who has been on Kassandra's heels for some time now. Tomorrow, Kassandra will relinquish the Staff of Hermes and end her journey for good.

Kassandra's Journey 30

Saving Lara Croft, Egypt 1999

Kassandra had been monitoring Lara Croft for a while now; ever since she activated a dormant Isu portal as a child in Nepal. Lara also managed to recover the parts of the Scion of Atlantis that Kassandra herself had carefully hidden all around the world more than a thousand years ago.

Lara seemed to be the perfect successor for Kassandra: she was an exceptionally capable explorer, eager, brave, well-funded, and used to working alone. Kassandra was tempted to give Lara the Staff of Hermes. However, Lara had also proven reckless, careless, and selfish; more interested in wielding powerful artifacts than destroying them. With the Scion, for example, she had released a winged monster, one of Aita's abominations, no doubt. And now, she nearly died after toying around with Horus, who was locked away under the Gizeh Pyramids 12,000 years ago for a reason.

Kassandra rescued Lara and brought her to a nearby matriarchal Beduin tribe. Kassandra had been in contact with those people for some centuries now. They were the only living people who actually knew about Kassandra's immortality and worshipped her as a goddess.

To test Lara, Kassandra sent a few scattered notes on unsolved mysteries to Lara's address in England: the lost city in Russia Kassandra had been searching for in the 3rd Century, the mysterious island near Japan that Kassandra didn't find in the 1600s, and the Box of Ix Chel, the doomsday device Kassandra failed to destroy so long ago.

Kassandra's Journey 29

Kassandra's 2,500th Birthday, Buenos Aires 1952

After her expedition to Antarctica, Kassandra had bought herself a vineyard in the Argentinian hinterlands. She had spent the last decades growing a rather sour vintage. Kassandra knew she should be out in the world hunting Isu artifacts. But she was exhausted. 2,500 years of running, jumping, fighting, killing, getting hurt, falling and getting up again was enough.

Kassandra's Journey 28

Kassandra in Antarctica, 1916

While the rest of the World had gone crazy in its "Great War", Kassandra retreated to the most remote place she could find: Antarctica. It had been free of ice during Isu times, and they had left some structures for Kassandra to investigate.

Kassandra's Journey 27

Kassandra in Victorian London

The London Cell of Assassins was one of the oldest in Europe. But her members have never been among the brightest in the Assassins. This time around, one of them really tried to assassinate Kassandra. She gave him a good trashing and returned him to his sister.

Kassandra's Journey 26

Kassandra during the Greek Revolution, 1821

Holding a grudge for nearly 400 years seems to be somewhat excessive, but Kassandra still owed the Turks one for 1453. Besides, Greece was still her mother, so this was out of the question.

Kassandra's Journey 25

Kassandra during the French Revolution

Kassandra's Journey 24

Kassandra in Colonial America, 18th Century

After her time as a Caribbean pirate, Kassandra made another journey to North America. She had already visited and thoroughly searched the region more than a thousand years ago. This was a journey of reminiscences - a rather sad one. Where once native tribes fought over hunting grounds, now European kings fought over colonies. At least, there was plenty of well-paid work for an invincible mercenary.

During her time in the Varangian Guard, Kassandra had learned that the Vikings had settled on the coast of what was now a British colony. That was after Kassandra had returned to Europe. One of Kassandra's then comrades had a great-grandfather who was actually there and helped to dig out an ancient structure and some kind of shining object. Kassandra suspected that this had to have been an Isu artifact and added it to her list.

Now, back in the woods of North America, she had no problem locating the former Viking settlement. The artifact she found further inland in a cave, together with what seems to be the remains of a Viking warrior. The facings and materials were quite withered, but the buckle, shield, and a ring seemed to be showing the insignia of the Raven Clan. Could that be….

Kassandra's Journey 23

Kassandra of the Caribbean, early 18th Century

Kassandra spent way longer amongst the pirates of the Caribbean than she had intended to. The only Isu artifact around was a crystal skull. A bunch of pirates were faster than her, but she quickly recovered it.

After that, Kassandra took to pirating herself. She hadn't done this since the old days when she was sailing the Adrestia hunting cultists around Crete. And she hadn't felt as alive since then.

Kassandra's Journey 22

Kassandra in Feudal Japan

Kassandra came to Japan with the same Portuguese traders she followed to Africa. This journey, however, proved to be a complete failure. The Isu artifact she came looking for had been taken by a shaman queen centuries ago. That one had brought it to a mysterious island, or so the story went. And, of course, no one was able to tell Kassandra where exactly the mysterious island was to be found.

Kassandra's usual approach would have been to travel the land for years, decades, or even a century, if needed, offering her services as a mercenary, protector, killer, or lover to gain the trust of the locals. However, Japan became increasingly hostile towards outsiders. In 1613, she finally left empty-handed on a Dutch trading vessel heading for America.

Kassandra's Journey 21

Kassandra in 16th-century Africa