I didn't want to leave home.  Strange, and sad, that I should
think of Gaele as home, when it is only a creation of Eric's mind, when I
was born and grew elsewhere.  But so it is.  In two years of peace and
contentment, it has become my home.

	And now Amber.  Eric's true country, of which he would be king.
Already it takes him from me and presents, at my door, the faces of
suspicion and intrigue.  Little wonder I spent my first day in my
quarters.  I can breathe the tense atmosphere well enough from here.

	Eric refers to my acclimation as "being cooped up with RŽnard."  I
am thankful to my son for providing the excuse that conceals my lack of
courage.  I am not ready.

	And yet...it has been so long since I killed, so long since I felt
that rush of adrenaline as someone moves to kill me, so long since I
called forth answers from the depths of pain.  I was not made for peace
and there is hunting to be done, indeed.

	RŽnard is easily content.  Happy by nature, which must be his
father's blood.  Tomorrow, he too goes to meet the world.  I would be
easier in my mind were Brand not here, but this thing must be done.
Tomorrow, I go to seek those who seek me.

	To which end I will require a ruse...and sharp minds to assist my
own.