The Mao Shan are an ancient and infamous clan of assassins. They become far too widespread and too much of a threat centuries ago, so an effort was made to eradicate them. Vengeful descendants of their victims, heroes of justice, and swords for hire banded together and almost succeeded in ending the clan forever. But a few of them remained and they vowed to stay to the shadows and be as ghosts, never again becoming too powerful and complacent to attract that kind of attention ever again. They practice dark techniques which make the user more like a ghost or corpse, infused with death and decay.
Currently they are leaderless, as the previous clan's head died from old age. His son, Ghost Lord, is supposed to take over his position but he's asked to first finish his studies before doing so. The Mao Shan, meanwhile, are as good as leaderless. This has also contributed to some splintering within the clan, as evidenced by the Graceful Fairy Venoms.
The Harvester of Skulls is the title of the clan's second in command, directly below the Ghost Lord. It is their responsibility to keep the tally, tracking which contracts are still outstanding and which are fulfilled. Traditionally this is done by delivering the severed head of the victim to the Harvester, but these days photographic evidence will also suffice. The current Harvester is the de facto leader of the clan, a position she is rather uncomfortable with, as it involves responsibilities she never asked for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKsYQFpdZTs Theme song: Band of Skulls - Sweet Sour (UNKLE remix)
This grim priestess practices an assassination style which uses toxic flames that burn away both the body and the soul. She also shared some of her secrets with her sister, the Black Crane's Corpse-Fire Witch.
She genuinely did have an enchanting smile, once. Before a certain bodyguard got off a lucky shot. But not lucky enough, and Smiles-Like-Knife is still the Mao Shan's most successful expert at infiltration and stealth. She has a somewhat coy catch-me-if-you-can relationship with Bloody Trail, which borders between nemesis and romantic interest.
