There was something bittersweet in seeing his eldest son like this—taller, stronger, more skilled. Life had gone on while Altaïr was away, as he knew it must, and wouldn't have wished otherwise. But there was still a yearning to have done the impossible and been in two places at one—the master and the father, both doing their jobs.

The part of him that felt this was outweighed by the part of him that felt a considerable amount of pride in Darim's development, though, and he smiled back at Rauf.

"No, Dai, I can see that their training is going well," he said, raising his voice slightly to be heard across the circle. "You have some promising pupils."