[center][url=https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-4.htm][img]https://i.imgur.com/ze7epWJ.png[/img][/url]
[h1][color=slateblue]Judgment[/color][/h1]
[hr]
[hr]

[h3]Shortly After Ransom Demand - The Ever Tree[/h3][/center]

	It was blood money, and they both knew it.

	But, much to Xiuyang's chagrin, she found her conscience advising her that it was Seviin's right to do with her share as she pleased. If she threw it into the ocean, so be it. If she threw it back in Xiuyang's face, did she really have a case to take offense?

	She found herself standing in front of Seviin's door just at the tail end of sunset, agonizing over what to do. She knew she was inside, probably praying. If she just left the money here and didn't speak to her, what kind of message would that send? Then again, if she found herself getting loudly lectured and chastised by Seviin, Juulet was surely sleeping just one or two rooms over, and that could only end badly.

	Indeed, she had no choice, she told herself. This was for the best. She would crack the door open just slightly, leave the pay, the ransom, and the other box on the floor, and sneak out with no fuss. If she wanted to give her an earful about it later, at least it wouldn't be [i]here.[/i]

	It was with this in mind, then, that she opened the door as slowly as could be done.

	But Seviin was not, in fact, in her room. The Ever Tree had been grown in such a way that every dormitory opened up onto the branches and they acted as a sort of patio before graduating off into a series of perches, ladders, and places to hang things. The Constantian yasoi always seemed to be more comfortable with it than the Tarlonese. Ashon was regularly out there when he was around instead of in his unofficial residence in Zarina's attic. During her visit, Juulet had often sat astride some branch or another, humming or carving something and swinging her singular foot back and forth.

	Seviin felt herself ever less Tarlonese by the day, but she could [i]feel[/i] Mother Oirase here: alive beside her in this space. She was sitting cross-legged on one of the many small platforms with her back turned and legs crossed, doing her evening meditations. She made no sound, not above the whisper of the wind, the rustle of the leaves, and the tinkling of a dozen chimes, and Xiuyang surely should've passed unnoticed.

	Then, with a striking suddenness, the priestess raised a hand, all five fingers pointing straight upwards. These she flicked in a universal "come at me" gesture.

	[color=slateblue][i]Well. Alright, then,[/i][/color] Xiuyang thought, both bemused and somewhat resigned. She didn't know what to make of Seviin's intentions, but she was pretty sure this was going to end in a lecture. Would there be some even greater sin she had to repent for? Some grand display of penance she would want to see? Then again, she was pretty sure she wanted her to kill Dorothea for a moment back there. What did she [i]know[/i] about Seviin, [i]really?[/i]

	She shrugged, following the gesture and entrusting herself to the branches, cradling the stack of boxes in her arm. Her feet were steady, but there was tension in her body. She hadn't returned to the Ever Tree since the day Juulet had hunted her like a dog, and her confidence wasn't what it once was. For now, she simply accepted that she was going to join Seviin on this platform, place the boxes between the two of them, and await whatever this was going to be.

	All at once, Seviin lay back. It was so quick that it seemed almost odd that she hadn't conked her head. She spread her arms out and her long white hair spilled past the edge of the platform, dangling below like a wispy, gently swaying ghost. She patted a second platform beside her. [color=honeydew]"The stars are coming out,"[/color] she said. [color=honeydew]"Maybe we can watch them together if you're not busy?"[/color] She turned her head where she lay and smiled up at Xiuyang.

	Xiuyang jolted slightly, as if some small part of her expected Seviin to... what—knock her off the tree? But she maintained her balance, and then there was that slightly supportive smile once again. The smile went unreturned. Xiuyang's eyes seemed confused as she set the boxes down as she had planned from the start.

	[color=slateblue]"I'm always busy,"[/color] she replied. Despite her words, however, she let her hair down, removed her hat, and took the spot next to Seviin, laying her hat where her head would rest. Her short black hair had become long, and it settled around the inside of the hat like a bowl of noodles. She looked up at the sky, silent as she had entered.

[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/nJzEnCJrk_E[/youtube][/center]

	A little bit of time passed in silence. 

	[color=honeydew]"I judge you, Xiuyang,"[/color] Seviin said softly from the burgeoning darkness, [color=honeydew]"as I judge myself. As I judge everyone."[/color] She took a deep breath and watched a moth settle upon the glass of a nearby lantern. There was no hot flame, however, and it was not burned. [color=honeydew]"That doesn't mean I dislike you."[/color] She snorted. [color=honeydew]"Or very necessary funds."[/color] She puffed her cheeks out in something like relaxed frustration. [color=honeydew]"I've been learning to be a little less rigid and I'm not sure I like it."[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"I've tried being a bit more rigid, myself. In my training, in my studies, in my manners. It doesn't suit me. It's exhausting. How did you survive until now?"[/color] Xiuyang replied, a bit of tension released with every word. Slowly but surely, her posture morphed into something more relaxed and comfortable. She rested her head on her hands as she tried to spot new stars as they appeared.

	Silence hung for a while again, until the question on her mind had to come out. [color=slateblue]"...Did you really mean the things you said to Mother Gracie? ...About me."[/color] The one eye that Seviin could see might have flicked her way for just a moment, or it might have been a trick of the light.

	[color=honeydew]"People know about Tarlon only what our people want them to know,[/color] Seviin replied, her voice quiet and pensive. [color=honeydew]"We are imbued with purpose from the moment we are born, for nobody can afford to be unproductive, or so they tell us."[/color]

	She shifted, bringing her long, pale arms around behind her head and turning back to face the darkening sky. [color=honeydew]"I don't know if it's true anymore, but it... animates us. It brings us together. One society, united in purpose, under the gods,"[/color] she snorted, but perhaps it was not all bitter irony. [color=honeydew]"Jaadas, juuras, tan'daxii."[/color] Perhaps she believed some of it. [color=honeydew]"But their purpose is killing people."[/color] She turned to Xiuyang and a tear slipped free of the corner of her eye. [color=honeydew]"I miss my home, Xiuyang. I miss my routines: they kept me going. I miss the unshakable strength of my faith, and I will not lose it."[/color] She seemed to draw strength just from those words alone. [color=honeydew]"I never say anything that I don't mean."[/color] She managed a tight smile, her single tear drying as she looked Xiuyang's way.

	[color=slateblue]"I know that feeling,"[/color] Xiuyang sighed in reply to her comment about being given purpose from birth. She'd had her suspicions that Seviin struggled with her country's actions, and now she had those confirmed. In truth, she found some part of Seviin's faith admirable, but she just couldn't muster enough to match it.

	At Seviin's reply, Xiuyang tilted her head slightly toward her. If there had been any evidence of her skepticism before, it was gone now. If she'd stopped herself from crying the first time, she couldn't bear it anymore. She turned away, and if she let out a sound, it was so soft that it could have been the wind. She rested the back of one of her hands on her forehead, her teeth grit in frustration at her inability to hide her feelings.

	[color=slateblue]"You have no idea..."[/color] She abandoned the thought before finishing it. [color=slateblue]"[i]Everyone[/i] judges me, Seviin. They take one look and they judge me, and I let it happen because it's easier if they all expect nothing. But you—"[/color] She choked up. [color=slateblue]"You were right—about all of it. I'm always... doing my best..!"[/color] If there were more words, she couldn't produce them. She simply wept.

	A hand reached out in the gathering darkness and its fingers found Xiuyang's. [color=honeydew]"If you truly wish to do good and make an effort, then I believe that you [i]are[/i] good and that you will be loved for it."[/color] The yasoi's fingers closed around hers. [color=honeydew]"You can speak to me,"[/color] she offered, [color=honeydew]"and I will listen... suunei."[/color]

[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/bvSpZtMIxIA[/youtube][/center]

	[color=slateblue]"That's... all I want!"[/color] she choked out. [color=slateblue]"I just want them to appreciate my efforts, but it's never enough! Not for my father, not for the yasoi, not for the gods... not for me."[/color] Her voice trembled, as did she. [color=slateblue]"Only Ciro understands me... and you."[/color] She smiled lukewarmly. [color=slateblue]"...I want to help them, Seviin. I really do, but I... I don't know if I can. I just..."[/color] Her lip quivered. [color=slateblue]"I hate them. I hate their eyes—every time I look into an addict's eyes, I'm reminded of Juulet and Yarsoc. I'm reminded of—of what they would have done if they caught me. If I didn't run away... if I didn't..."[/color]

	She squeezed Seviin's hand and forced out a breath. [color=slateblue]"I killed them. We—I killed all of them, Seviin. I didn't want to! I did nothing but try to help, but Juulet..."[/color] She stopped short of blaming her. [color=slateblue]"It's not fair,"[/color] Xiuyang cried. [color=slateblue]"I don't deserve this! I can't talk to anyone about it. I don't know how to heal. I don't know what to do!"[/color] She sobbed. [color=slateblue]"[i]Is[/i] this what I deserve?"[/color] She second guessed herself. [color=slateblue]"For breaking my oath..? Was it a test? Am I a failure? What else could I have done..? I don't..."[/color] She went silent as words failed to meet her lips.

	Seviin's response was simple in the way that her speech often was. [color=honeydew]"If you struck first and did not have to, then I [i]do[/i] believe that this is your penance."[/color] She swallowed. [color=honeydew]"If you did not, then it is your sense of guilt because you are a good person who did something you regret."[/color]

	[color=honeydew]"Juulet is a bad person,"[/color] she continued. [color=honeydew]"The world has made her that way and the only cure for it is likely her death."[/color] Seviin sat up abruptly, and brought her legs in crossed. The last hints of light lingered on the horizon and a mosquito hovered over the back of one of the yasoi's hands. Idly, she watched it land and allowed it to drink.

	[color=slateblue]"I don't know!"[/color] Xiuyang agonized. [color=slateblue]"I can't know if my actions were necessary! All I [i]can[/i] know is that pissing off Juulet set these events in motion."[/color] No matter how many times she ran what pieces she could recall through her mind, again and again she came up short. [color=slateblue]"I didn't try running. I knew he'd catch me."[/color] Silently, she cursed herself for being too weak to stop Juulet. If she could have just finished her off by the side of that lake, the rest of them would not have died, and she wouldn't be asking these questions. She'd have been free. ...Then, there was a spark. An idea occurred to her. [color=slateblue]"...Let's say... there was a timewalker who could see only the next ten seconds. Is it wrong if she strikes first, knowing the outcome to a [i]near certainty[/i] if she doesn't?"[/color] Xiuyang composed herself, slowly, still not meeting Seviin's eyes as she rose.

	She did, however, catch what she was doing. [color=slateblue]"Seviin, you have a... Those things spread plague, you know,"[/color] she insisted, though not too strongly, perhaps because she was relatively detached from such a concern. If she showed interest in what she said about Juulet, she was leaving it on the back burner, much more interested in her hypothetical "barely a timewalker" question. In fact, it was the kind of question that seemed barely hypothetical. Xiuyang still hadn't told Seviin what happened, not directly at least. It seemed she hadn't told anyone.

	Perhaps Seviin had pointedly ignored Xiuyang's main supposition; perhaps she was simply giving herself more time to think. [color=honeydew]"And we have Binding and Chemical magics."[/color] she shrugged. [color=honeydew]"Mother Oirase made it to do something and she makes nothing that is unnecessary."[/color] For some moments, the silence lingered, and the insect lifted off and flew away, its simple brain likely uncomprehending of its good fortune.

	[color=honeydew]"I believe that you huusoi call that timeracer or perhaps foresight."[/color] Seviin furrowed her brow in momentary thought. [color=honeydew]"One has a right to defend oneself, but there are almost always ways other than dealing death, especially if one can see the future, no?"[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"[i]We[/i] have magics, but we're exceptional,"[/color] Xiuyang reminded her reflexively. Then, she seemed to settle into giving it some more thought—and the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to unsettle her. There was, on one side of her heart, her oath, what she said, and what she [i]believed[/i] that she believed: that killing was wrong. Then, on the other, there were her instincts, what she did in the heat of the moment, that showed her what she [i]actually[/i] believed, deep in her unconscious: that those who harm and exploit others forfeited mercy. Consumed by her desire for justice for a crime not yet committed, she didn't even think about putting the man to sleep or using illusions to escape.

	There was, on one side of the coin, the woman Xiuyang thought she was. Then there was the side of herself that had to be shown to her—and just as she supposed Seviin would if she knew, she wanted to hate it, but wasn't sure if she [i]could.[/i] Did not all sapient beings know, instinctively, deep within their souls what was right and just and fair? Yet did not the wicked ignore the plea of their own soul for self-gain, to their own condemnation?

	There were practiced killers on both sides of Xiuyang's family line. Was she doomed to become like them? But if Oirase made nothing unnecessary, was there a place in the world for people like that to be used for good? Yet if that were true, then there was also a place in the world for the yasoi that were killed in Yarsoc that day, and for the Cola family. Even if killing them had not been criminal, treating them like inhuman garbage surely [i]was.[/i]

	[color=slateblue]"Ten seconds,"[/color] Xiuyang scoffed. [color=slateblue]"Is it too much power, or not enough?"[/color]

	She went quiet for a moment, but it still seemed like she had more to say, so it passed in silence. [color=slateblue]"I don't consider it a trifling thing to owe a debt to the gods. I almost never pray, and when I pray, I pray for others, never for myself. The first time I did pray for myself, I prayed to Exiran. Before that, I'd hardly acknowledged Exiran's existence at all, but I asked if he would stay Juulet's hand, and he answered me right away. That's how... I know the gods are kind, Seviin. I just... it was hard not to feel abandoned in that place, and it's hard to feel worthy to ask for anything after what I've done. ...Would you pray for me, instead?"[/color]

	Seviin sat there as crickets chirped and flies swirled about the tiny suns and moons of the hanging lanterns. She breathed, unblinking. [color=honeydew]"I pray for all,"[/color] she replied. She nodded slowly. [color=honeydew]"But most especially for those who ask for it in earnest."[/color] She smiled softly and, in one smooth, limber motion, rose to her feet.

[hr]
[center][url=https://biblehub.com/matthew/6-4.htm][img]https://i.imgur.com/ze7epWJ.png[/img][/url]
[h1][color=slateblue]The Power to Become[/color][/h1]
[hr]
[hr][/center]

[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/uYOQ-J6RXk8[/youtube][/center]

	Suddenly, Xiuyang felt the familiar embrace of an unwelcome presence.

	[color=black]"How pitiful. After all this time, you're still lying to yourself and everyone else."[/color]

	Xiuyang waved a hand in front of Seviin's half-smiling face. It was as if time had stopped. Even in the context of the worst of her nightmares, this was a new experience. [color=slateblue]"What part of that was a lie? Besides, who invited [i]you?[/i] This is a precious memory of mine. You should stay out of it!"[/color] she demanded of the disembodied voice.

	Xiuyang felt the gravity of her presence before she saw her: a short, young girl with matted hair that was either a dark red or bloodied, Xiuyang couldn't tell. Most strikingly, the girl had no face. [color=slateblue]"Huh. That's a fitting look for the voice of my self-loathing."[/color]

	[color=black]"For a broken vessel, you sure are cheeky. To call this your 'precious memory...' You'll forget all of this when it becomes an inconvenient moral burden for you to bear later on—and, for a Quentic to not pray, even a heretic like yourself... How useless can you be? Just pray for Sipenta's future... Oh, but you can't. A future without war and death is a future where the Solari are no longer needed. Isn't that so?"[/color]

	Unsettling as it was, Xiuyang glared determinedly at the blank face. [color=slateblue]"I can't dispute that my family profits from war. Even if I pursue medicine, that's still true."[/color]

	[color=black]"Right. So long as there's violence in this world, a Solari will have a place in it. But if conditions improve, there's no place for someone like you in Sipenta. A useless politician married to a plantation owner... an arms dealer married to a useless politician... and you, you'll marry a banker? For someone who's spent their whole life defining themselves by what they're [i]not,[/i] you sure are turning out just like a Solari."[/color]

	Unable to meet the girl's imperceptible gaze any longer, Xiuyang looked away. [color=slateblue]"It's who I am. I am a Solari... I can't outrun the passage of time, as Maria so often reminds us."[/color]

	[color=black]"So you [i]do[/i] get it. Why fight it? Why rationalize? Watching you do that is exhausting. Just play out your role as a villain. It'll be fun. Who knows, maybe you'll even win. With Ciro at your side, you could mold this world to suit your own tastes. With Solari connections and Volta money, you two would be unstoppable. The puppet masters..."[/color]

	Xiuyang scoffed and shook her head. [color=slateblue]"It wouldn't be like that. We'll do great things. We'll probably change the world, but molding it? I don't want that kind of power."[/color]

	[color=black]"So, walk me through this: you reject the role of villain, and accept that you don't have the power to take on the role of a hero. You had the chance to become a martyr, but instead, you killed a bunch of yasoi, which you regret."[/color]

	Xiuyang looked down. [color=slateblue]"...I do. I don't blame myself anymore, but I wish I'd never... No. I'm glad I got the chance to meet Tyrel. I just wish I'd been strong enough to defeat Juulet."[/color]

	[color=black]"Right. So there are no more roles for you to play. You're just set dressing—a useless person, like your sister Desi. At least Maria gets things done. She's accepted the role of villain. She wears it well."[/color]

	Xiuyang scowled. [color=slateblue]"She's not 'useless.' There are more roles than just heroes, villains, and martyrs. Everyone serves a purpose. Maybe you're just a terrible storyteller. Ever consider that angle?"[/color]

	[color=black]"I don't really care how [i]your[/i] story plays out, so long as my purposes are fulfilled in the end."[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"The ends justify the means, huh? History is littered with villains like that. Seems like I'm more qualified to be a hero than you."[/color] Xiuyang took a step towards the girl.

	The girl stepped forward, too. [color=black]"What will you do, then? Will you stand in my way as a hero, or as a villain?"[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"I don't really care what '[i]role[/i]' I play, so long as things end well for me and mine."[/color] Xiuyang turned away and proceeded down the branch.

	The girl followed, sliding across the ground like a shadow. [color=black]"For someone with little to no sense of self to speak of, that's a pretty self-absorbed thing to say."[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"Is it? I remember reading somewhere once... 'He who does not provide for his brothers, yea, especially of his own blood, his faith is of no consequence, and he is worse than an infidel.' Charity starts at home... that's not evil."[/color]

	[color=black]"Your 'family' are a bunch of criminals married to tyrants. They don't need the help. The greatest danger they face is betraying each other."[/color] Xiuyang was cornered, now.

	[color=slateblue]"Maybe, but I have friends who need 'me.' Not some 'role' that I play. Rather... I'm a Solari. I can play any 'role' I want. I have the power to become anyone, and I'll become whoever Sipenta needs me to be, any time Sipenta needs me."[/color] With that, Xiuyang stepped off the Ever Tree.

	But the shadow would not let Xiuyang escape. She floated down along with her. Time slowed, and the fall seemed to last an eternity. [color=black]"You say you have 'the power to become whoever Sipenta needs?' Yet, you've used it as 'the power to cast off any role or burden which inconveniences me.' First, you were an Oraff loyalist who swore never to kill. Now, you're flirting with the idea of serving Eshiran, bringing anyone who threatens the future of your country and family to whatever kind of ruin is most expedient. It's not some 'god' you serve, but your own whims. You cannot have self-determination without a determined 'self.' One day, after you've tried on and cast off every mantle and creed, you'll reach the end of your life, this chapter of Sipenta's history will have ended, and there will be no more roles for you. What you'll find is that you have not become 'whoever Sipenta needed,' but 'nobody.' You'll lose whatever 'self' you had and be forgotten to history as a nameless and craven Scoundrel."[/color]

	Some time passed. Then, finally, like a revelation, the ground met Xiuyang's feet. [color=slateblue]"...You know... I've been trying to justify my own existence by thinking of ways to leave some 'legacy,' but that's not right. If a Solari like me goes all out, always trying to do the most good using all of my power... it's only natural that a Facemimic won't leave a legacy. History will forget my existence... or at best, remember me as a collection of 'unidentified persons.' So... 'Nobody' will be my role. So long as the gods remember me and my deeds, I'll accept it."[/color] Xiuyang gazed up at the starry sky, laid out exactly as she remembered it.

	[color=black]"You're saying you accept it? You're just going to give up on leaving a legacy?"[/color]

	The stars reflected in Xiuyang's eyes. [color=slateblue]"It's not as if I'll be totally forgotten. Just as my ancestors passed down their stories of life in ReTan... If I live long enough, my children will remember what I did. My friends and their children will know it, too. Though they'll just be 'stories,' and not 'history...' my grandmother's 'stories' are, in a very real sense, the 'true history' of ReTan, unadulterated by politically convenient half-truths. Even if a day comes when those stories are no longer told, that matters more than a name in some cobbled-together 'history book.' It's overrated. ...It's funny... I idolized the idea because I spent so much time reading history—but now that history is happening now, it doesn't seem so important anymore."[/color]

	[color=black]"I can't follow that train of thought at all. Then again, you'll eventually change your mind and give up on this, too."[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"Maybe I'll just become someone who's 'determined' like you said. What I do know is that I'll never cast off my friends. I'm thankful for all of them. None of them are burdens, or 'unnecessary...' right?"[/color] Xiuyang looked back up towards the Ever Tree. She thought of Seviin, who taught her this lesson, and of Ashon, who embodied it.

	[color=black]"Your words can't reach them here."[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"I'd like to think that they did, somehow or other."[/color]

	[color=black]"That's just your incomprehensible fantasy."[/color]

	[color=slateblue]"Huh. A devil that doesn't believe in miracles. Is that fitting, or ironic?"[/color]

	The girl watched as Xiuyang faded away, escaping the nightmare.

	[color=black]"...I suppose 'Nobody' is a fitting role for a broken vessel. But, what will you do? You have friends on every side of this conflict. You think you can end it without losing most of them? When you do, you'll come crawling back with another lame excuse, I'm sure. Your 'Gift' is strong, but your 'heart' is weak. You think you can escape this nightmare [i]you[/i] created? Just try it. You'll be back."[/color]

	The nightmare flickered and fizzled out. Then, it was erased, and forgotten by Xiuyang.

	But, though it was erased, it remained, like a faded stain.

[hr]
[center][youtube]https://youtu.be/4hBo5U2_a5E[/youtube]

[h3]Esparza Estate - Torragon[/h3][/center]

	[color=slateblue][i]Home...[/i][/color] Xiuyang blinked her eyes awake, then cast them about the familiar scenery. Familiar, and yet, how surreal it all was. Only the finest luxuries for a daughter of Esparza and Solari. Ciro had reacquainted her with a taste for such things. So why, here, did she not care for it? Why did it all feel so fake? [color=slateblue][i]Because when Ciro spoils me, it feels deserved. He appreciates me. We work together to earn those moments.[/i][/color] Her own thoughts answered her. She couldn't help but be surprised at the positivity of the first thought that came to mind—like some kind of poison had left her body. [color=slateblue][i]And it's not alcohol for once. What did I dream about? I do feel like Seviin was there... It's like I had the best sleep of my life.[/i][/color]

	A gentle knock came at the door. [color=slateblue][i]Nary a moment's peace...[/i] "Wait in the drawing room,"[/color] she replied. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she set about applying her makeup. It had become somewhat of a routine. Some days saw more effort than others. Doing it here brought back some memories, much of which were unpleasant. She scowled into the mirror. Then, she pouted. Then, she smiled. The smile felt a bit less fake. She leaned back from the mirror, and found that what she saw didn't look so bad. Then, she took a small step back. Then, another step back. [color=slateblue][i]The scars are almost invisible from here. I could have gone thicker with the makeup, too. Is this how everyone sees me? I never realized...[/i][/color] On a whim, she blew a kiss at herself in the mirror. Immediately, she was embarrassed. [color=slateblue][i]Ugh! I'm feeling all mushy. It's like I've found a whole new way to be disgusted with myself. Lucky me.[/i][/color]

	Hastily, she gathered her lost marbles and walked back to the bedroom door. There, she paused, in front of the emblem of her family: a falcon with a snake in its talons—a hypocritical symbol if ever there was one. [color=slateblue][i]My goals haven't changed. The nature of a Solari's work and methods haven't changed. The only thing that's changed is how I think of it. Rather than 'being forgotten as nobody,' I have 'the power to become nobody.' One label is 'deserved,' while the other is 'earned.' If I worked hard to achieve it, I can be satisfied with it, even if it's not a 'legacy.' My achievements are mine—even if I wear the faces of others, no one can take them from me.

	...

	Don't you see, father? The answer was right in front of you. You wanted to change the status quo... It wasn't your ideals that held you back, but your obsession with being recognized for it. That is where you failed... and it's why I [b]will[/b] be better than you. Just watch me...[/i][/color]

[hr]
	Xiuyang took a seat across from her Torragonese contact. [color=slateblue]"What is it?"[/color]

	The man retrieved a binder full of documents and placed it on the table. "Paydirt," he replied simply.

	He had no knowledge of the deeper meaning behind the word.

	[color=slateblue]"Well done. I'll attend to these at once. Continue your work."[/color]