That strange Chaos creature of Archimedes' continues to cause a
great deal of mischief.  I now know why Archimedes insists on preserving
its life, however.  It is most strange.  Why would Dworkin choose that
means of delivering Archimedes' children to him?  Who else did he spare in
such a manner?  And why did he not save Nadine?  Was it simply because she
had no parents left to miss her here?  Who can truly say with Dworkin?

	I face Maron on the morrow, and I am ready for the defeat which I
know must come, for he has always been my better in sorcery.  Still, I
have no intention of making it easy for him.  I have spent much of this
day preparing myself for our match.  The fact that I am familiar with his
moves, while he knows none of mine, should serve me in good stead, at
least initially.

	It seems that the creature still plagues Archimedes, judging by
his exit from the dinner, and Laughter's request of Kaedric, shortly
thereafter.  Careless of him to call her his Queen, but understandable.  I
still have to remind myself not to call Archimedes "Your Majesty."  But
Kaedric prides himself on perfection, so it is rather amusing to remind
him when he slips up.  The dinner itself was rather interesting, mostly
due to the company I was seated with.  Most were Guardians of the Logrus,
like Kaedric, and they spent much of the meal discussing varies theories. 
I found it rather enlightening.  Claudio, on the other hand, looked to be
quite lost by the whole thing.  He does not appear to be enjoying the
tournament much in general, which is not all that surprising.  He shares
with Kaedric a dislike of doing poorly, especially in public, and I do not
imagine that jousting was a common sport in Ixaxis.

	God, I wish someone would put that dreadful creature out of our
misery.  Such a racket it is creating, and at this hour of the night... 
It is intolerable.  Fortunately, it is not immune to sorcery, nor is that
loud-mouthed sword of Laughter's.  Of course, Archimedes and Laughter will
not be able to hear them coming anymore, but that is their fault for
pushing the problem out into the hallway where it could rouse the rest of
us.

	It has been more than an hour, and I still cannot believe that I
managed to defeat Maron.  This is not what I had anticipated and planned
for, and I find myself unprepared for the exhilaration I am now feeling. 
How did I manage to do this?  He is younger now than when I knew him,
true, but, even so, he used the available energy far better than I.  I
wish I understood how he was able to make so many of those large changes,
without appearing to be drained by it at all.  I only won in the end
because of my greater experience.  He has not yet learned that greater
size does not always mean greater power.  Sometimes, it is the most
insignificant of objects that slips past your defenses and pecks your eye
out.  I suspect today will serve as a good reminder to him of that, in the
future.  I find myself looking forward to the conversation which is
inevitable, now that he has seen me and noted our resemblance.  It is good
to have my brother back again.

	Kaedric intends to have the wedding take place as soon as the
tournament is ended.  This is far sooner than I had anticipated.  There is
so little time to prepare, and so much to be done.  I was rather angry
about the whole thing at first, but I have accepted the fact that I am
going to marry him, so it should not matter if it is sooner, rather than
later.  I was rather surprised by Kaedric's offer to release me, though. 
Sometimes he can be so foolish.  I know he meant well, but it is far too
late for such an offer.  Not now that Father knows about the child.  Even
if Father did not kill him, I would certainly never see him again.  And if
I learned anything from Kaedric's death, it is that I do not ever wish to
parted from him again.  Still, it took much for him to make that offer,
especially to allow me to do what I will with the child.  And I find that
knowing he will not force me to marry him, or have this child, has made
the idea more palatable, somehow.  I am obviously getting weak.  Kaedric
is a dreadful influence on me.

	Maron lost to Archimedes, as I had expected.  It was odd to see
them fighting each other in sport instead of in earnest.  I still remember
the look Archimedes would get in his eyes when Maron's name was even
mentioned.  If he still feels the same hatred, he did an admirable job of
concealing it.  I hate to admit it, but I am actually beginning to have
some genuine respect for him, beyond that which was owed to him as King.

	Caitlin did not fare as well as Archimedes in her round, nor did
Cameron in his.  Amber's first two losses.  Caitlin seemed especially
displeased by this, doubtless due not only to the loss itself, but the man
she lost to.  I think we shall be some time in overcoming our enmity
towards those who brought Chaos and Amber down, in the end.  If we ever do
overcome it.  In some cases, I do not think that would be wise.

	Sylvester lost to Ulysses in the Shadow race.  I wonder if he
suspects the truth, yet?  It was rather ironic that they should be pitted
against one another.  I think I will try to seek Sylvester out tomorrow,
when there are no competitions.  I should at least like to know if it is a
brother or a sister that I have.  How did Mother manage to conceal this
from Father?

	Now, that was an enlightening conversation.  It would seem that
Kaedric has more power here in Chaos than I suspected, if what Maron tells
me is true.  The Guardians of the Logrus apparently do more for the Crown
than simply guard.  That should prove interesting, indeed.  I told Maron
that Kaedric and I are betrothed, in a marriage arranged by Father, and he
did not seem to find this unusual.  It is even true, after a fashion,
although I led him to believe that Kaedric and I had only become
acquainted after the betrothal.  After all, when would I have had time to
meet him?  It must be driving Father crazy, trying to figure out how I
left his Shadow, when I had no Pattern or Logrus, and only some old
memories of my mother's home in Chaos to use in drawing Trump.  He
probably assumes I had outside assistance from Kaedric or Sand, especially
since he knows Sand has a Fount, and I am, after all, a living Trump now. 
I wonder if he truly wishes to reconcile with her, as he claimed he did to
Kaedric?  I remember the book I found in Ixaxis, that he gave to Sand when
he was just a boy.  He obviously was close to her once.  What happened to
drive them apart?  Not something I am likely to learn from either of them. 
It will be interesting to see if Father attends the wedding.  After all,
as far as he knows, most of Amber believes him to be dead.  Unless he has
somehow learned that this is no longer true...  Well, as I told Maron,
that is Father's problem to deal with, not mine.  I just have to look the
Serpent in the eye, and survive.