Role

Chapter 4

The Challenge
Added Wed Apr 29 12:46:50 2009 at level 36:

"You have to focus Susu. Focus! How many times do I have to tell you???"
Nobody but Shinan Pereira, her guildmaster, ever speaks to Susubienko that
way, or at least nobody who wants to keep their eyes in their head and their
blood on the inside. But her teacher long ago earned that right and she is not
one to easily forget such things. Even if she were, she wouldn't complain now
because Pereira's right. A few weeks ago he finally agreed to teach her
the beginning lessons on how to stalk her prey from the shadows and when
ready, to glide up unnoticed and with one stroke end the life of her enemy.
When she did it successfully for the first time, it was like an explosion
went off inside her. This is what she was meant for. But that initial flare
has tamped down. No less true, but cooled now by the experience of failure.
So many years she trained to fight in regular combat. All that training
must be fought now, each time she sees some piece of magefilth or mageslave trash.
Instead of running in and bringing the enemy down, she must now do the opposite.
And she finds it much more difficult than anything else. She is often railed at
or misunderstood, or lied about even, but she's vowed to retain her focus, and hone
it even sharper, to success. The recent spree of cowardice shown by many of her
former village brothers has infuriated her, and she bristles when she hears their
names now, recent signs of weakness. Weakness she has put behind her. Now she is
is a thing of strength, grace, and death.