Those trained in the service of the Farseer crown to undertake acts the throne cannot officially acknowledge - intelligence gathering, quiet removal of threats, and the protection of the royal family through means that diplomacy cannot provide. Fitz is trained in this role by Chade Fallstar, the king's own assassin, in the hidden passages of Buckkeep Castle. The Royal Assassins operate in complete secrecy, their existence unacknowledged by the court they serve.