, with a diamond the size of his fist jammed into
his bloody mouth. Ulthinius dislodged the diamond, wiped it clean and gathered
his things. He stepped over the head of his benefactor without looking back. He
did not even know the man’s name.

Ulthinius lived on the streets of the Sultan’s city for nearly a year, employing
himself with his relatively newly found skill of murder. As his reputation grew, word reached the Royal Society of Assassins, who sponsored his enrollment into the Great Academy.