Mario is Mario. Steve's said he's no one else. He's also said he's someone we know. We know who Mario is. He's Mario. He's an assassin with some freakishly surprising luck/skill. He's intensely secretive and private. He's in love with Aliera, like every other adolescent or even youthful male Dragaeran is. The only difference is that Aliera has returned the attention. I'm fairly sure that Steve reads all these Mario emails with barely surpressed amusement, watching all of us scurry about our mental landscapes, inventing wonderfully clever (if only slightly flawed) explanations as to how Mario can be the legend that he is. Who is Sinn Fein? He's just a guy, really. Legendary, though. William Wallace? Just a guy. Pretty good with a sword and a speech though. See what I mean? The man makes the legend, I'm sure, with aforementioned luck/skill/aid of a certain Demon Goddess, perhaps, but it's really just a matter of him having something to do, and getting it done without dying too many times. But then, after the deed is done, and the body of the doer revivified a couple times, the act begins to change, with each passing tale. It is his *reputation* that Mario would and could get any contract successfully completed. He probably has access to all sorts of resources. But if you shine the Emperor, under the protection of the very manifestation of arcane power itself, well, guys like Boralinoi or other hard-to-get targets are just a jog in a park, right? It just depends on whether or not you believe the rumours. That being said, The Jhereg are probably fairly skeptical guys. Mario's probably had a few, or quite a few successful and extraordinary contracts. One of the common themes of those contracts is that there is a great deal of patience involved. Mario waits for *his* time. If you're patient enough, and you are guiding things a little bit, what you want will come about. So Mario could be nothing more than a guy with a knife, a bit of luck, skill and a crapload of patience. Which earns him a reputation as "Death walking". It would probably work for anyone else, too, provided you didn't die too many times, or permanently. He's also probably meticulous about covering his tracks. The Tortaalik contract was probably his most botched one yet, which can only really, given the fact that it is the EMPEROR, only improve his reputation. -You mean, he shined the emperor himself, and he says that was a *botched* attempt? Verra's tits, I wanna see this guy when he's on form... Anyway. That's my Mario theory. Perhaps a little mundane, but I rather think it's close to the truth. Jon _________________________________________________________________ MSN® Calendar keeps you organized and takes the effort out of scheduling get-togethers. http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-ca&page=byoa/prem&xAPID=1994&DI=1034&SU=http://hotmail.com/enca&HL=Market_MSNIS_Taglines Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN® Premium right now and get the first two months FREE*.