Shinead, the student, did not have a good time.

She heard stories about being on the Academy, or in other institutions of higher education, and obviously, it should be about partying, drinking, fooling around, going to a month-long tournament, and generally having a good time. She was stuck with studying a plethora of different subjects, sleeping only a few days each day, and living on stamina and mental clarity potions.

It was still barely enough.

There were a few courses, she was able to complete in short order, every proper Elf knew Elven Laws and Bureaucracy, and every proper Red Elf was at least marginally proficient in Clan Laws and causing accidents. What she had problems with, was Leadership and a few other comparable things. She was, after all, only a junior scout, not a Leader, not even a low-level one – to get promoted to a party or squad leader, she would have to complete a few contracts already and reach Level 10 or so. To become a mission or other mid-level leader, she would have to prove herself by leading multiple successful small-scale accidents and reach an even higher Level.

She was completely out of her depth.

There was a “marked deficit” in her Skills, as one of the teachers put it. No fast-track course could bridge it.

But again, she didn't need to excel but barely pass the exams.

When the two weeks, Shinead allocated to herself for the studies drew to a close, she was summoned to the NKVD’s dean.

“I understand, you are pressed for time, but if you push harder, you will fail. Especially in the Leadership and Organisation courses, you look like failing.” The dean started.

“In a few other courses you did remarkably well, but on average, your ratings are abysmal. It's a disgrace to have a Clan Leader with such superficial knowledge. While it is not unprecedented to have such a young and inexperienced Leader, even those who have stayed here for a few years. We checked."

“What you are doing now, is just prolonging your Clan's agony. We acknowledge the extraordinary circumstances, but you should know, this was not a unique one. There are precedents for such, and because of them, rules and regulations are in place. We have discussed the issue with the KGB, and have decided on the possibilities.”

“Your first choice, which I would recommend, is to dissolve the Clan and go after the attackers as a private person. The KGB will acknowledge you as an independent hunter, so you would keep at least some benefits of a Clan. If you are successful, we will recommend you to another Clan.”

“The second one is the harder. The Swift Arrow Clan will be listed as a provisional one, and you as the temporary Clan Leader. We will give you a year and a day to make inroads with your revenge, and when you don’t make any meaningful progress, the Clan will be dissolved as the disgracing failure it is and you will be hunted down. If you are successful, you will be obliged to come back to the NKVD and complete the necessary courses to a satisfactory degree. No just barely pass, mind you. Although there are no rules preventing a single-person Clan – the KGB will rectify this oversight shortly – we both feel letting you lose as a Clan Leader without supervision or help would be a mistake.”

“However, temporary supervision and help is a tricky issue. As you know, leadership positions are for life or till promotion – and having outside influences in your Clan after the probation period is neither allowed, tolerated, nor recommended. You would need supervisors and help that can have unfortunate accidents when they are no longer needed."

“Another point is, that you have already taken the vows of the Last Survivor and the Eternal Avenger, we would have to make it officially recognized by the System, to get them transformed into Perks. You know what it entails."

“What if I complete the courses?" Shinead was grasping at straws. The choices weren't that good. Only getting Perks for the two vows was a huge thing – she wouldn't be able to rest until the deed was done, and would need to chase the attackers until death and beyond. It was a huge opportunity! An awesome chance! Just because of the two Perks she would be willing to go with the second choice.

“That is impossible. At least not in the short run. I'm confident, you would be able to complete them, given a year or two, but the grace period for failing Clans would be over till then. Now? You are in very real danger to fail three courses at least, and the failure at the Leadership course is all but official. You have only those two choices, I've listed."

Shinead wasn’t happy with that overly candid opinion. An Intelligence of 14 should be worth more, no? Completing twenty or so courses within two weeks should be possible, after all!

But, the KGB and the NKVD were right this time. No wonder, it was their job to administrate the Red Clans, and being incompetent and stupid wasn't included in their job description. Shinead had basically the same papers and found no mention in them allowing for incompetence and stupidity. Dedication to the Domain and the Elven species was included, as was the expectation and obligation to do the job well. Shinead's job was causing accidents to enemies of Elvenkind, not administrating the Clans, but the difference was only in scale. The job descriptions were standardized after all.

As it was proper.

That meant, she had only two choices: getting good on her own and begging for a new Clan, or getting good with the remnants of the Clan, securing the epic poems and painting for the fallen, while tossing some idiots under a chariot after she didn't need them anymore. It wasn't much of a question.

The only problem was, that she knew basically no one outside of the Clan. Save for a Traveller monkey and his perverted cur of a mender. Oh, wait… Perfect!

“I will choose the second option," she told the dean "I do have two helpers in mind, one of them is the Rabid, the other a Traveller, her current assignment."

“That’s an… unusual proposal. The monkey I understand, it will be easy to get rid of it, most likely the Little Sisters would take care of him instead of you. But why the Rabid? I would like to hear your reasoning.”

Shinead thought a bit about the reasons but went with her gut feeling.

“Because she is a perverted cur.”

“Hmmm… I see… Valid reason. Getting rid of a Little Sister wouldn’t be easy, however. How do you plan on it?”

“Accidents happen. Especially when one fights against people who destroyed a Clan.”

“Good answer. Be careful not to be accused of killing another Elf. If possible, fabricate a situation, where she will be seen as a traitor to the Greater Elven Good, so you can dispose of her openly and legally. However, don't intervene with her investigations yet. We will let the Little Sisters know, she should refrain from disposing of the Traveller for the time being. Also, she should not interfere with your quest."

After filling out a stack of forms – as it was proper – Shinead was directed to the local Inkmaster to get the prescribed and proper tattoos for her new position. The tears for a lost Clan went below her eye, the broken cross for being the last survivor onto her left cheek, the daggers and crown for being the Clan Leader to her temple, and the Clanbird got color accents befitting the First Hunter.

Not so visible were the shackles for a confirmed Blood Debt on her wrists, the symbol for Eternal Revenge over her heart, the unstrung bow for her provisional status to her neck, the Flames of Destruction for her commitment to providing the fallen with epic poems and paintings to her right forearm.

The copper ring on her left eyebrow made it clear, her Clan was of the lowest Rank, and the other copper ring on her right brow was a temporary Rank. The copper pin with a tiny zircon informed everybody in the know about her temporary position in a temporary Clan, albeit with backing from the KGB.

The two Perks she was promised didn't materialize as soon as the tattoos were done, but she was informed by the Inkmaster and the Dean that if she was committed, they will arrive after a good night's sleep. It was fortunate, that Shinead was an Elf, and could build onto the accumulated knowledge of a whole species' almost fifty thousand years! Of course, Elves found out around twenty thousand years that one could force the System to give out certain Perks – not all and every last one, not even most, but a few. For example, Last Survivor and Eternal Avenger were the ones that were possible to get.

It wasn’t easy, but it could be done.

All those other idiotic species just waited and hoped to get one or two passable Perks, with their – probably? Were the other species even literate? - oral tradition and their custom of killing off each other.

Well, the Elves had some fingers in the last one, it was always a good idea to keep the enemies down.

No one becomes a continental superpower if he plays nice. Staying a major player – as the Elves were – wasn’t possible either. Well, the Elves were only one of the major players on Fenria, not to say the other continents, but don’t tell that to an Elf. They may kick your teeth out and wear your skin as a jacket.

Not playing nice is a Species-al Trait or such for Elves.

Be as it may, Shinead was told how to get two very good Perks, and voilá, the next morning she set out to reconnect with her “Clan Members” as the proud owner of said Perks.

Actually three, but she chose to ignore Backstaber.