"Looks like you have already finished." the red-eyed woman spoke, her arms crossed as she watched Zalarys eating grilled meat on a skewer alongside Shadow.
Hearing her voice, he almost yelped in surprise, not expecting her to appear out of nowhere, and let out a sigh while Shadow tensed, his onyx eyes locking onto her blood-red ones.
"Yes." He nodded, coughing to clear his throat. "What brings you here?"
"It's time to see the Elder, follow me." she said, turning around and walking ahead.
But Zalarys was wary, his brow furrowing with uneasiness as he observed her. This was Essos, and while many would welcome him with open arms if they knew he was a prince, there were also many who wouldn't care in the slightest about his status.
The same had happened with Saera, and with this woman too. Besides, he knew history and remembered what happened when Jaehaerys demanded the return of Dreamfyre's eggs from the Sealord of Braavos after Elissa Farman stole and sold them to him. The Sealord didn't care about dragons and feigned ignorance, as if he didn't have the eggs. In fact, he even threatened his grandfather that if war truly began, they might not cause as much destruction as Targaryens with their dragons, but the Faceless Men of the Guild would slaughter many important people.
That story had taught Zalarys something. Outside of Westeros, his influence was weak and no one was obligated to obey him.
So if no one acknowledges me and I'm nobody... it means I have to prove myself, right? I have to prove that I'm as dreadful, no... more dreadful than all my ancestors combined. That means I need fame, I need power, people, and gold. He turned the problem over in his mind, considering how to make the entire world acknowledge him, not because of his blood, but because of who he was.
"Why aren't you moving?" she inclined her head, speaking coldly.
"And why should I... How can I trust you? Wouldn't it be better to..." Zalarys paused, but quickly rooted out hesitation and mercy from his heart, his eyes turning bleak. "To torture you? That way, I can learn if you speak truly or not, correct?"
She blinked at that, raising an eyebrow as her lips curled up in amusement, her steps silent like a cat as she stood in front of him. "Reasonable, yes. But you can't torture everyone, little prince. You won't have many allies that way."
"But I can keep my life and protect myself from treacherous worms." he rebutted, shrugging nonchalantly.
The veiled woman seemed amused at first, but that was giving way to frustration. "I don't have time for your games. Follow me and learn the dreadful truth, or remain here, ignorant and lost."
"Or..." Zalarys took out a small tube filled with greenish liquid. "You can drink this. Don't worry, it will kill you three days later. Before that, you can prove the authenticity of your claim, and I will give you the antidote. Sounds fair?"
Zalarys didn't know if she would truly take it, but he didn't want to seem like a pushover. But to his surprise, the woman grabbed the bottle, snatching it from his hand and gulping it down without hesitation.
"Satisfied?"
"Well, why of course I am, my lady." He smiled faintly, while she huffed in disbelief, turning around and leaving as Zalarys and Shadow followed her from behind.
They left the bustling streets and the towering pagodas, elephants, slaves and people behind, eventually arriving at the edge of a chasm.
Zalarys swallowed, awe washing over him as he stared at the wound in the earth, water filling it like blood pooling in a deep cut. It felt like looking at a beating heart, and every pathway was a branching vein.
Murghagon slithered through the water, bubbles rising from the depths as a faint pulse could be felt.
"We will continue by boat." she said, preparing it as she untied the rope that bound the boat to the shore, while the old man sitting nearby stood up and leaped onto the boat after her.
Zalarys and Shadow followed, taking their seats as the old man began rowing them deeper into the chasm. His face ancient and filled with wrinkles, his eyes closed as he smiled warmly at them before offering only these words.
"Don't look at the Lost and know yourself, or you will be swallowed by them, haah~ haah~ haah~"
Zalarys frowned at that, the old man disturbing him, not just with his voice, which was surprisingly soothing and light, like that of a child, but also because he had this peculiar presence, like those sorcerers from the fairytales.
"What does that even mean?"
"Don't look at the water, and don't touch it. You aren't given permission to do so." she said solemnly, warning him with a stern look, as if something truly dreadful would happen if he didn't heed her warning.
Zalarys nodded, his lack of knowledge confusing him, so he didn't quite understand the price of violating this rule. Then he looked up at her and asked with a curious smile. "By the way, I think I never asked for your name... or did I? No, I definitely did. But you said something about being a daughter, then no one, and now being someone once again."
"My name... I have two. One given by my mortal mother and another by the Immortal." she spoke, a soft smile touching her lips as she thought about it.
"Uhmm... And those names would be?"
"Right. My name is Maria, it's the name my earthly mother gave me." she murmured, glancing at the lake, her fingers touching the cool water. "As for the name my Immortal mother gave... it's Maghool. That is the name of my soul and heart."
Zalarys observed her for some time, staring at her hand as it cleaved through the water, then glanced at Shadow, who shrugged, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
So they're making up stories to scare us now? Well, how delightful... he thought with pursed lips, his expression unimpressed as he sighed and leaned forward, curiosity plain on his face as he asked.
"What does that mean? What is the difference between an earthly name and the name of the soul? What does Maghool mean?"
Maria glanced at him, remaining silent for a moment, then shook her head and leaning back with a soft breath, her gaze drifting up to the crystal blue sky above the chasm.
"Zalarys is your earthly name, given by your mortal mother... but when you become a true hunter, you will be given a new name, a name our dearest Mother will bestow upon you. It is the name of your soul and heart, your past and your future. It is the name that encompasses your essence as an individual."
Zalarys nodded, urging her to continue.
"As for my name... Maghool means One Who Is Many... In simpler terms, you may call me Pretender."
Zalarys nodded, touching his chin and getting lost in thought until he frowned, his eyes widening as he considered the meaning of her words.
Wait a second... One Who Is Many... Pretender... she was vanishing without a trace and appearing as if she was always with me... there's only one group of people who can do that... Maghool, a person with no face of their own, always wearing different faces and pretending to be someone else... Pretender...
"You are-!"
"Yes... I am Faceless. Or was, I suppose." She looked at him, her half-lidded eyes calm and still like a peaceful lake.
"But that makes no sense. You should be in the Guild, in Braavos. Why are you in Volantis?"
"Because I chose to give my life to Mother. I chose to remain someone, to keep the face and the soul She bestowed upon me rather than abandoning them. And so I became a Hunter instead of remaining an assassin."
She sighed, dragging her body up and straightened in her seat. "But you will learn about the conflicts between factions later. You don't need that yet. Besides, becoming a Hunter doesn't mean waging war, nor does it mean becoming a servant for life. Mother gave us life as a gift and made each of us unique and special. Who gives anyone the right to tell us how to live?"
"But... that doesn't mean we should live like disgusting, wretched beasts, killing and destroying senselessly." She glanced at him, her eyes dimming in thought.
"Isn't that a contradiction? You are telling me to live as I wish, but also telling me not to kill and destroy senselessly." Zalarys was bewildered by her words, not understanding what she truly meant.
"Perhaps you speak truly. However, we aren't monsters. If all you do is kill and destroy, your soul will rot. You should take care of it." She nodded to herself and then looked up at him. "Well... you will understand what I mean when the time comes..."
"Fine..." Zalarys stuck his tongue out in displeasure, grimacing. He truly wanted to learn as much as possible, about Hunters, about his master, and about this woman too. Everything was so interesting that he could barely hold himself back.
As for why he wasn't worried anymore... well, because if Maria really wanted to kill him, then he would have already been dead. The Faceless were bizarre and unpredictable, no one could defend you if they targeted you.
And him being alive was proof that she wasn't a danger and her words were true. The poison was another backup plan in case his naivety blinded him.
Sighing, Zalarys decided to look around, scanning the surroundings. His expression brightened as he relaxed, leaning back and resting his head in his hands while whistling.
It was a stunning place, really. The deeper they went into the chasm, the darker the water became. Even Murghagon had leapt out and was following along the cliff edge above, his growl low and aggressive.
Zalarys didn't know why, but his dragon was unsettled, staring at the water with hostility.
What's happening... what caused such a reaction? Zalarys glanced at the water, which had darkened steadily until it was no longer water at all but liquid blackness.
It was a profoundly disturbing thing to witness. Staring at the surface and seeing no reflection, as if light itself was being swallowed, and all that remained was a chilling, bottomless abyss.
"Stop staring at the water." Maria told him, sounding a little alarmed, her expression solemn and humorless.
"Why... what will happen if I don't?" He averted his eyes immediately, snapping out of whatever trance he was in, his body, which had been relaxed for some reason, tensing up as he felt chills crawling up his spine, an inexplicable sense of horror replacing his liveliness and idleness, making him uneasy about the dark waters.
Maria remained motionless for some time, her eyes cold as she scanned the area with a sober look, her expression growing restless while Murghagon screeched from above, flames dripping from his serrated fangs, the green veins across his body beginning to pulse and glow with bioluminescent light.
"Because it will swallow you... like countless others before you."
Zalarys swallowed, fighting a sudden and irrational compulsion to look. As if hearing the words had changed something. As if the water had heard him learn about it and was now reaching for him.
This... doesn't make sense... why do I want to look at it so badly...
But while Zalarys was fighting the unnatural urge to glance at the dreadful abyss, Shadow already did. It was just a single peek, but he was entranced by the reflectionless liquid that filled the chasm.
Maria's eyes widened in alarm, cursing under her breath as she leaped forward and kicked Shadow back, snapping him out of his trance, her movements quick and urgent.
"Close your eyes! I told you not to look! Why did you call them!?" she shouted, then glanced at Zalarys, who shrank back, his body drenched in cold sweat as his teeth began chattering from unnatural chill.
Meanwhile the old man who was escorting them looked back with a peaceful smile and opened his eyes. "Let's not disturb the Lost, shall we?"
He... Zalarys swallowed, his fingers twitching as if screaming at himself to do something, anything, but his body was frozen. He could only stare at the abyss in the eye sockets of the man's eyes.
There was nothing but emptiness. His eyes were gone, and he had only a few teeth, his voice sounding a bit humorous, yet there was nothing funny about this.
Lost... Lost? Right, he told us something about not looking at the Lost... who are the Lost? What connection do they have with the lake? I don't understand... but I think they're purposely limiting our knowledge. As if knowing about them will make them stronger, and the more knowledge we have, the more these Lost can influence us?
"Close your eyes!" Maria shouted at him, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he did, cold, chilling claws of dread closing in, reaching the gates of his heart, shattering it and gripping it tightly.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes shut so tightly it hurt, his fists clenched as he remained motionless, not daring to move, and soon, he heard a voice.
"Loathsome, filthy monster..." The sound felt wrong on a fundamental level, as if the ravings of a hundred lunatics or abominable horrors screaming incomprehensibly at the same time, yet together those chilling voices managed to form these comprehensible words...
"You will abandon everything you cherish and love... will know no peace, nor will be embraced by a mother's loving arms... a flame will be extinguished, and all that will remain will be the cold, and..."
Zalarys felt his blood run cold as he froze in place, not even breathing from sheer terror.
A sense of doom and despair washed over his heart like a tidal wave as he felt an unnatural coldness radiating from the voice.
And involuntarily, against his own will, as if becoming a marionette on a string, his eyes snapped wide open.
And all he saw was...
"The Endless Hunt..."