The air inside the stone chamber was colder than the canals of Braavos in winter. Theon Greyjoy felt his breath condense into white mist.
The man before him, the one who called himself Jaqen H'ghar, merely watched him calmly.
There was no curiosity in those eyes, no scrutiny, not even a trace of human emotion.
Those were the eyes of a god of death.
It was as though he had already seen straight through Theon.
The thought gave Theon a start.
"You wish to become one of us."
Jaqen's voice echoed through the empty stone chamber.
"Yes." Theon's throat was dry.
The Theon Greyjoy he had once been was already dead.
House Greyjoy was gone as well.
He was nothing now, merely a ghost wandering the world.
Beyond achieving his own redemption, he needed somewhere to belong, a place where he could bury his past for good.
"Why?" Jaqen asked.
"I want to... forget."
Theon spoke softly, but his voice carried a bone-deep weariness.
"I want to become no one. I want to become a faceless man."
Jaqen was silent for a moment.
"A man's wish can be granted."
He nodded slowly, and the gesture finally eased Theon's taut nerves a little.
"For the sake of this gold coin."
Jaqen added the words.
His fingers gently turned the gold coin bearing the Three-Headed Dragon.
"The Many-Faced God has received an offering. He will grant you a new life."
Joy stirred in Theon's heart, and he was about to offer his thanks.
"But." Jaqen's tone shifted.
"Here, you must forget one person."
"Who?"
"Your master."
Jaqen's gaze fell upon the gold coin.
Upon the lifelike Three-Headed Great Dragon.
"Lynn."
Theon froze.
"Why?" he asked, bewildered.
"This gold coin is his token."
"Precisely."
At last, a barely perceptible ripple disturbed Jaqen's voice.