11 - Rise of The Shadow

                                    

                                          
The House of Black and White
                          
Braavos
                          
Day 5
                          
"Who are you?"
                          
            "No one."
                          
            A slash of pain erupts against my face. I swipe the blood away with the back of my hand.
                          
            "Now, who were you before you arrived?"
                          
            I glare at him. "My name was Lysandra Lannister. I was the daughter of late Tywin and Joanna Lannister. Sister to Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion Lannister."
                          
            "Tell me more about Lysandra," Rewan says. "What were her weaknesses?"
                          
            I hesitate, hand at the ready to block another blow. 
                          
            "Abandonment," I say. "Incompetence. Impulsiveness. She could be stubborn to a fault."
                          
            "Did she care for her brothers?"
                          
            "She loved them. Even when they abandoned her."
                          
            "And her sister?"
                          
            "She hated her."
                          
            Another crash of pain. I rub my shoulder. 
                          
            "Lysandra wanted to hate her, but a small part of her would always love her sister."
                          
            Rewan nods. "The truth."
                          
            We've been playing The Game of Faces for days on end. The goal is to gain the ability to lie without even the possibility of detection. One must relinquish their identity completely for one to truly become "no one". A Faceless Man. 
                          
            I hate this fucking game.
                          
            Every time I believe I've made progress, I'm sent back 100 paces. I'm slowly losing grip on who I am, or rather, who I was. I know this is what I want and what I need in order to learn the truth about Robb, but I've underestimated the cost. 
                          
            I haven't had any visions since my arrival and Rewan refuses to address them until I'm "ready to become no one." At this rate, it seems like it'll be years before I'm deemed even close to ready. But I do as I'm told. It's all I can do.
                          
Day 13
                          
            "Who are you?"
                          
            "My name is Keynna. I was born a bastard in Dorne and spent most of my life there."
                          
            "And what has brought you to Braavos?"
                          
            "The ones who cared for me died from illness. I got on the first boat out. Now, here I am."
                          
            "And what do you do here?"
                          
            "I sell fish down at the market and-"
                          
             I'm cut off by a strong lash against my face. I control my reaction the best I can. 
                          
            "You gripped your knee," Rewan says in disappointment, but there's the tiniest shadow of pride behind his cold eyes. "The smallest misstep will get you killed."
                          
            I nod once, my stance stiff and at the ready. 
                          
            "The visions won't let you in until you can show complete control," he continues. "They're better, yes? But it's not enough."
                          
            I nod again. The visions have been getting better. The attacks I have are growing less and less frequent, but I'm not able to see what I want to. What I need to. Whatever the Many-Faced God has chosen me for, I will do whatever I must to fulfill it. I will do what is necessary.