TheNexusProject/DelosFerrano
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Delos Ferrano
by MelWong
- "That bastard, that cur, that bounder. He dumped me for some dark-eyed cocksucker of a Harlotry fuckboy. I'll show him. I'll show him!"
- Icefire Jasmine's most recent public outburst.
- "Who?"
- Inkstone Kenisha, literary critic.
The man known as Delos Ferrano is something of an enigma within the many exclusive neighborhoods of the Bastion district. While he is far from an unknown socially, his acquaintances are many and his friends are virtually nonexistent. As far as anyone can gather, he has never called anyone friend to begin with. Nevertheless, he is always on the guest list for banquets and soirees, if only because he looks good sitting there and smiling his sardonic smile. Dark-haired, amber-eyed and very handsome, Ferrano is a tailor's delight, a point that the clothiers at The Porcupine Quill have not lost out on. His fortnightly measuring sessions are something of Nexus legend by now, as are the breathless tales repeated first-hand from his exhausted valets of his hour-long grooming sessions. Moreover, his fickleness does not extend to matters of dress alone; he has been known as something of a heartbreaker and a cad, willing to discard a lover once he gets bored or when someone more amusing comes along.
In fact, the only permanent guest in his small, well-manicured estate is a mangy, geriatric white cat. Where he goes, the cat goes also, and many a washing-lady has despaired over all the long white hairs covering the shoulders of his fine velvet coats where the cat is liable to perch. An ill-tempered creature, the pet cat lives to make most of his servants miserable, and to luxuriate in the attention given it. It always sits at his right hand at the head of his table, and dines on larks' tongues and other savory comforts most of the inhabitants of Nexus would have to pay a years' wages to taste. Conversely, Ferrano's own tastes are very simple, almost austere, if somewhat exacting. His supper for the past five years has been made up of a caraway-seed loaf from Juna's Breadbasket, a ripe wedge of cheese, and a pot of tea. Most of his servants are somewhat overworked but well-compensated for it, and he is a fair, if distant master.
One other significant peculiarity is that nobody knows how he actually can afford to live in Bastion. Nobody has ever seen him work.
Rumours
- Some say he is actually the secret keeper of the Shrine of the Forgotten, and that is how he makes a living. If so, he isn't talking about it.
- Others whisper that "Delos Ferrano" is the cover identity of a professional assassin who takes contracts out in other areas of Nexus.
Secret
- Ferrano is a professional ghostwriter. He turns out easily-sold, fluent manuscripts for various would-be authors at varying prices, most of whom somehow achieve lasting fame at his hands. He has left the possibility of blackmail hanging quietly over his clients' heads, but he has not had to ruin anyone for leaking his secret. Yet.
