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Please imagine the following mental picture:

The ground is white with snow. What little darkness there is on the ground is overwhelmed by the brightness around it. In the background, there are dark buildings. Whether their blackness is from charred smoke, or moss prospering in the moistened air, the buildings were a formidable contrast to the snow beneath them.

Two figures were walking to one another. One was black, and the other white. It was a celebration of contradiction, as they were opposite in almost all accounts.

'You should not be travelling at this time, stranger.' The man in white said. 'What is your business?'

'I have no business.' The stranger answered.

'That is wise. Why are you travelling at this hour?'

'I have just arrived. I came from afar, and the walk was long.'

'This does not answer my question.' The anger in the white clad man's voice was rising. 'What is your name?'

'I have no name.' The nameless stranger said.

'Follow me!' The stranger complied. There was no reason not to. He realised that this was a man of the authorities.

After a short while, they arrived. It was the same building Benpax left a few minutes ago. Once inside, the clerk looked up at them.

'Back already?' He asked.

'Yes.' Benpax replied, and motioned to the stranger. 'Put him in a cell, I will arrive shortly.'

The clerk nodded. He gingerly walked towards the stranger.

'I will go peacefully, do not worry.' The stranger reassured him. The clerk seemed sceptical, but regained his composure.

Soon enough, the stranger was in a cell. After a short while, Benpax stepped into his field of vision. The stranger noted how long Benpax may have been watching him.

For a while, they stared at each other. It was not hostile, but hollow. It was as if they were waiting for something to happen, to break the silence.

At last, Benpax spoke. 'I have heard of your coming.'

'Really?' The stranger feigned surprise. Benpax saw through it, and smiled. 'Is that why you arrested me?'

'You are not arrested.' Benpax replied.

'Then let me go.'

'Yet.' Benpax corrected. It was not said humorously, but a mere state of fact. The stranger nodded at him.

Again, they stood silently. Benpax's mind was racing. There was much he wanted to know, and little he could ask it.

The stranger, on the other hand, wanted to know nothing. He was, on the other hand, bored.

'Who told you of my coming?' He asked.

'An old woman.' Benpax said. The knowledge of her madness was tacitly passed.

'Ah, I was told of women.' The stranger smiled, although in the darkness surrounded him, it was all but lost.

'Why do you have no name?' Benpax asked, at last. The old woman, Cassandra, said it was important.

The stranger looked at him for a long while. It was no longer the blank look that filled Benpax day. He was contemplating his response.

Benpax waited patiently. He recognised the look. The stranger will not cooperate if pressured.

At last, the stranger spoke. He said every word slowly, as though uncertain he was accurate. It seemed as though he was unhappy with the result. 'I... It... It is a long story.' At last he surrendered to complexity.

Benpax looked at him. His disappointment was well hidden. 'Tell me, then.'

'Will you tell me then, what happened here?' The stranger looked at him.

Benpax smiled. 'Nothing to tell. There was a war, and we won.'

The place definitely looked as if it had a victory.

'I left,' the stranger said, once again in an easy tone, 'and lost my name.' He grinned.