EXCERPTS FROM THE DIARIES OF MALADIN, PART EIGHT

[Portions of this document may have been deleted or changed to protect the innocent...that's me]

A thousand things swam through the mind of Maladin. Images came unbidden, unwelcome, with haunting consequences attached to each one. He had just looked in through the study door and seen the King. Random's face was ashen, for the King was now sorely wounded. But it was not the wound to his arm that Maladin saw.

As he unknowingly peered in on his friend, Maladin grew concerned that Random had received a truly grievous wound. One which he may not fully recover from. That's when the images came. Unbidden, rising from his unconscious mind. Symbols. Representing the pieces of the great puzzle and mystery that had become his life. Friends. Enemies. Loose Ends.

For the first time in awhile Maladin thought of his home. There was a lot there, good and bad, but mostly painful. He made it a habit to leave the past locked away and remain unvisited. Every day of his young life Maladin had literally fought to remain alive to see one more sunrise. Not that he could actually make it to the surface that often, mind you, but you get the point. When you live each day of your formative years like it is your last, it changes you. Maladin, of course, avoided such topics to dwell on. He found it easier to live one day at a time if you left the past behind you. He visited those memories now only because he was questioning why he was here, in Amber, and involved with all of this.

And that lead him to seriously ponder who his parents really were. Why was he so involved in Amber if he was an outsider, if Amber was really none of his concern? And he answered himself that he could not answer the question because of his heritage. If his parents were tied to Amber, or the Oleai, maybe he truly did have a stake in what was transpiring. Could fate have propelled him into his own mystery? Could the orphan answer the question, Who Am I?

Maladin quickly pushed that topic back to his unconscious, feeling vulnerable. Too much business was at hand for flights of nostalgia. He stopped outside the study to see to new security measures for the King. Maladin seriously pondered whether he would remain at the King's side himself. He decided he would need to speak with his fellow contemporaries before he could plot his future course of action.

"Aaron has Llewella's sword," he thought to himself. "I'll have to check on that."

Maladin wondered if he had taken the right course of action with Aaron. But he couldn't help being the man's friend. He felt there was a kinship of a sort, and they definitely shared some common traits. They had proven that together they were capable of many things. Perhaps it was a bond built ondanger? Regardless, he trusted Aaron to be Aaron. Maladin knew he was at heart a realist. He was always conscious of when he made his departures into faith. He was aware of when he opened himself, for the most part, and weighed it against his gain. He hoped he had proven his faith with his recent rescue of Aaron. Besides, it is hard to replace friends when you are a mercenary. They are few and far between.

And what about Lentaro? There was so much Len had hidden from Maladin. And he was not sure he even knew the "real" Lentaro. What sort of darkness, he wondered, hovered over his old partner? And what did he know about Rhyss? Why does he seemingly trust her? And, he wondered, what Dalen had told Len. Maladin was convinced Dalen had learned several things. He wondered if she had really found out about his parents. Found out and withheld it from him? Maladin resigned himself to find out.

Rhyss. There was a mystery. The images that flooded his mind seemed to revolve around her. There was a part of this all that Maladin was just becoming conscious of. And he believed Rhyss was the keystone to it. He resolved himself to unravel that part as well. Maladin was growing more and more convinced it was going to turn out ugly. He would have brought it up to Random, but it was the wrong time and place. Besides, he needed to be sure about it, sure enough to act on it. Sure enough to act himself, because it didn't look like Random would be in any shape to do it.

Maladin wanted nothing more than to retrieve the Queen and make Random's world right again. But the realist in him said that it was not a practical plan. He could go to Helmwind and fight, but Benedict did not need him there. He could go to Telluria, but Len and Dalen were on top of it already. He had already helped Aaron with his barrier, and his new love interest was busy healing in Rebma. Random and Amber were the most vulnerable. He was definitely most needed here. Especially after the attempt on Random.

Maladin walked off in search of Gerard. They were going to have a little pow-wow. With sorcerers making attempts, and with the heights of Amber's compromised position blatantly displayed for all, it was time for Maladin to do what he could in the castle.

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