Taken in Lies

3

Chapter 3

Sweat drips from my whole body as I enter the dining room. It's not that I'm overly tired, though my legs ache and my side clenches, but I'm definitely ready to take a break. Combat training was normal in my town, and it usually lasted the same duration, but it wasn't the type we are doing now. Since the war started we had to learn to protect ourselves but another two and a half hours is definitely debatable. I am just thankful that we get breaks and nourishment.

I sit myself down and cherish the air conditioning of the building, a stark contrast from the heat of the sun outdoors. In front of me is a half-squashed peanut butter jelly sandwich with five cheese crackers and a water bottle.

I grab my food and bring it to my mouth, scarfing it down like a wolf devouring its prey. I can hear Zyair doing the same, but I don't look up to check. Fifteen minutes seem to go by very quickly, lunchtime ending just as soon as it started. I stand, feeling refreshed, and follow the group down the hall and into a classroom. There are eleven desks, one for each of us and the lecturer. We each take a seat and wait for instructions. Harlow struts to the front of the room and begins.

"No talking, raise your hand if you have a question, and do not fall asleep or disrupt. Consider this a long break; your physical body gets rest and your mental brain works. Today I will be talking about the psychological approach to being an assassin. This is lesson number one and will be attributed to the quiz at the end of the week, which will help determine who is cut. We want the best of the best, so don't be slacking lest you fail. Reach into your desks and grab the journal and pen, and be sure to take notes as I won't be repeating myself. Let's get started." She turns to the board behind her.

"Using a psychological approach, the assassin can perform more terrorising results to the intended victim. It is true to say that to live in fear is to be more terrorising than to die. One way of doing this is to leave subtle threats. These should be placed in such a way that the victim will see them and so they have the greatest effect. However, after a time this fear will wear off as the victim starts to think that it was just a fruitless threat and nothing will come of it. So, in order to prevent this from happening, the assassin must constantly reinforce the messages and carry out small fear inducing acts. You can do this by intelligence gathering; sending a subtle note that plays on the safety of a loved one. If the fear inducing technique is sufficient the subject may have a loss of will to live, as they are constantly living in terror. Thus, the assassin will generate the desired effect without actually having direct responsibility for the subject's death.

Alternatively, fear can be induced by use for charms, curses and jinxes. Firstly, you must make the subject think that you are capable of cursing them. This can be done by staging an event, or giving them an account of a previous incident and telling them that you played a part in it. Now, it is important to provide a basis for your supposed spell. This can be in the form of a small icon or a 'special powder' that can be made from chalk dust, flour, or other materials. After this you must convince your subject that the icon or 'special powder' is actually cursed. This can be done by giving them false accounts of previous owners lives of ancient manuscripts foretelling the fate of those subjected to the icon. If you then subject the victim to the icon, powder or whatever it is you choose, the subject will do the rest themselves. This is because they now believe in what you have subjected them to. Their day may just continue as normal, but because they believe they are under a curse or jinx, they will only remember the bad parts of their day, and as each day passes, the effects will become stronger. If an extremely bad thing happens, like a car crash, knifing, then all the better. As this will add to your reputation and will cause those who had doubts about your ability before to fear you and, therefore, increasing their suggestibility for future purposes.