I felt an exaltation. I had, through skill, taken another’s
power, strength, and life for my own. I was the conqueror. I
stepped into a larger circle, delirious with my new power, and
confronted another man, wearing no clothes as I did but his face
covered by a monkey’s mask. His fighting was clever and power-
ful, canny, but mine was tactical and graceful, control and
skill. I left him unconscious and made his power my own as well.