Role

Chapter 2

Over many years the soft, weak little boy was honed into a
hardened warrior. Fierce and unforgiving, he looked back
upon that child with disdain. Though still, he was weak.
His training was advanced, but not yet complete, and his
father showed him constantly, brutally, and painfully how
far yet he had to go. Indraen was the head of the Royal
Academy of Assassins in Humsah Mu'Tazz, and his own child
had higher expectations than a common initiate. Soon would
come the final trial for the boy, his first contract.

The details from the guild were sparse, but the course was
clear. The target was a being of some power, so a contact
poison would be employed to momentarily weaken them. There
was a room in the Drunken Efreeti Inn that was to be a
meeting place. The poison would be upon the doorknob and
the first to enter would be the target, the guild would make
sure of it. He perched himself with artistic poise above the
door, and in not very long it opened. A familiar silhouette
entered, and within seconds began to weaken at the knees,
wobbling in distress. He pounced upon the form that he knew
was his father, and took him down easily-a most unfamiliar
feeling. When their eyes met Indraen laughed, "So they found
out about her," he said of the Sultan's paramour, a jealous
woman whom Indraen was simultaneously bedding and working
for. He explained that this was his secret, and now it would
mean one of their deaths. Seshaien took this final lesson
seriously, and ended his fathers life with as much dignity
as the situation allowed. Despite the loss, he felt that
this had helped prepare him for the difficult road ahead.

With his prominence in the guild sealed with the brutal
task performed, he levied his sights upon the Empire. It
was a network of power, waiting to be manipulated. After a
lifetime of hiding his own flaws, he knew that there would
be ample opportunities to exploit the flaws of others. And
if he kept his wits well enough about him to prevent his
own secret from being revealed, an opportunity to enjoy
the safety of the shadows as one who rules the land. Not
Emperor, that position was far too vulnerable, but a
position close to it. Still, since ending his father he
felt a lack of guidance. He meant to seek out one who
knew more about secrets and their keeping than even his
father. One for whom the pain of both their keeping and
their losing was well known, the Lord of Loss.