I entered the room. It was strangely nude, with nothing really personal in it. I only saw existential furniture. Not much more. It made him look kind of mysterious. Just what kind of guy was he?

I was looking at a lavender bouquet on a crystal vase, the only signal of personality, when Dark Fur woke up.

*This is Diam's bedroom,* she said emotionless, at least I thought.

"I know, Kaveh told me that."

*Kaveh?* She seemed surprised. *Of the Gergowns?*

"I knew it." I was right back then.

*Knew what?*

"That he was of the Gergowns." A thought phrased itself on my mind. "Aren't they sort of extinct?"

*Sort of,* she answered. *There are only a few hundred of them left, after a "huge catastrophe".*

"I see." Another "disaster" caused by the New Rules?

*Were you looking for me?*

"Well, I was just passing by and then I saw you in here." I confessed.

*Alright.* She stretch herself and got up. *So how was business with Shira?*

"Dark Fur, you know I cannot say anything about it." I told her when we were leaving the room.

*I know that.* Dark Fur was using that I-know-everything tone. *I asked you how it was, not what it was.*

Why do you want to know how it was, when the question you actually want to answer is what it was all about? I decided to play along. "Unexpected, but somewhat challenging and, in the future, dangerous."

*Intriguing.* She commented.

"That also describes it," I replied.

I knew the lessons would start soon, but I had never imagined that "soon" meant that day's evening. I was surprised when Uncle Desdiro invited me to his office right after dinner.

"Desdemona," he called, when everyone was getting up. "Would you please join me?"

I instinctively knew it had to do with the task I was assigned to fulfil. I turned to Dark Fur. "I'll see you later."

*Okay.* Something about the way she pronounced that told me it was not that okay.

"Uncle Desdiro, you wished for me to join you?" I asked, while we were walking towards his office.

"I think that my daughter has already talked about the Old Rules with you. I will personally teach you them." He opened the door. "And I wish you to be prepared before you leave, which is going to be very soon."

The next day held a surprise. After the "soft" training with Adrian, in which I nearly died, I had a meeting with Delano.

Shira told me after the training that I'd meet the probably most mysterious and respectful man I had ever come across, that is, besides Uncle Desdiro. However, with the latter one, ice was easily broken, for he was a friendly man. As for Delano… I wasn't sure about anything about him, besides his love for Shira, which was rather evident.

Feeling anxious, I entered the room, where, according to Shira, I should encounter him. I let out the air and opened the door. He was sitting in a coach, reading. His face was serene, as always. Nothing seemed to disturb the placidness of his features. I almost felt like a fool, my worry seemed silly; he was a peaceful man, he wouldn't harm me. But then I realized that many before had thought this and ended broken, psychologically speaking. The appearances are, sometimes, a twisted image of what hides inside. I pretended to be calm, but my senses were alert.

"Congratulations," he pronounced. I wasn't expecting that. To my raised eyebrow, he answered: "You passed the first test." Now, I was even more confused. "It is crucial that they don't find out, you are spying on them. That's why you have to look calm, but your senses must be working at high speed."

Sort of annoyed and unbelieving, I stated. "But you saw through me, I mustn't have nailed it right."

He chuckled, truly amused. "It's hard to fool me. I was born in Franciesse. I had to see through everyone, if I wanted to stay alive." He paused, probably stuck in a memory. "That's why I can teach you. I will make it hard for me to see through you. If that happens, you are ready to go."

I sat down. "How much do you know about the ones I am going to deal with?" That question was unexpected both to me and him. It wasn't certainly any of the ones that were running through my mind.

"More than they like." He stated. "However I know less about the new member, Lord of Swangard. He comes from a remote country, which is surrounded by immense and freezing forests and damps. I have only seen him once, and I am almost sure he is playing double game. He reminds me of myself." Delano had a ghost of a smile on his face. "Beware of him."

I nodded and he continued. "The others are fools, who only think of power and women. They're easy to master, if you're willing."

I narrowed my eyes. What was he implying?

He cleared his throat. "I reckon it's better if we approach this matter in another way." That being said, he stood up and headed to a desk on my right, behind the coach, he had sat on. There he opened and closed countless drawers, until he found what he was looking for. "Here it is."

I raised an eyebrow. What the hell was happening?

He handed me the small notebook he held in his hands. "It's all there, all the information about every ruler of this country."

"Does it include Uncle Desdiro, as well?" I asked, unsure of where all my questions seemed to come from.

He simply stated. "Yes." Then added: "This holds much information, too much. Use it wisely. I don't want to regret having trust you. Shira might be blinded by her visions, but I was born in Franciesse and that taught me a lot. Don't make me show to you what."

I gulped. Yep, he truly was a man to fear. "Yes, sir." I dumbly answered and took in the precious notebook. The hard cover was made of black leather, the countless pages of old, yellowed paper.

"Now put that aside." He waved dismissively. "We shall train your expressions..."

Then, the actual lesson started. We sat there for about two hours, Delano teaching me how to hide everything, how to tone out what was not needed, how to listen to a conversation meters away clearly and not get noticed. I only learned the first steps to them all and by the end of the lesson, I felt drained from everything, I just wanted to lie down and rest for eternity.

But Shira needed me and so did the others. I needed to get stronger for something so big no one was sure which dimensions it had. Not even Shira, I guessed.