Meet Maia, who is the protagonist of my short story “Arrows of Alodia”. Maia hails from the kingdom of Alodia, the southernmost of three Christian kingdoms which dominated the Sudanese Nile Valley during medieval times (the other two being Nobatia and Makuria). However, her family fled Alodia during a period of conflict with the Islamic Funj people, and Maia has since made her way all the way to the war-racked land of Japan and made her living as an assassin and mercenary on behalf of the highest bidder. In a nutshell that won’t spoil anything, the story I’ve written for her essentially involves treachery, tragedy, redemption, and a lot of bloodshed.
By the way, that “hoodie” Maia is wearing is supposed to be a waist-length hooded kimono, and cloven shoes like hers were historically used by Japanese ninjas.