EXCERPTS FROM THE DIARIES OF MALADIN, PART SEVEN

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

After revising our battle plans (since Dalen's lapse of common sense) to take into account the enemies knowledge of our movements, Benedict asked me about the 'Plan' and my assessment of its probability of success. I told him it had a 50/50 chance of success. I admit, this report was optimistic. I figure the vaccine has, maybe, a 50/50 chance of working. I further figure that the chance that it is used on the Oleia and actually works to our advantage is..probably 30/70. I say 30% chance of helping us because I think Galen and Sh'Shari could be using Dalen's visions to their advantage. Couldn't they be staging her visions, leading her to approach Galen? I think so. Someone devious could easily use this knowledge against Dalen. And Sh'Shari will obviously stop at nothing to get what she wants.

But, I keep helping. Hoping that my suspicions are wrong. I want this to work out for the best. I want to stave off the thousands and more who will die and suffer because of a war. But I must be prepared for the failure of this plan, so I agreed to go off with Aaron and experiment, as long as he helped me search for other possible Oleia sites. Our search proved unfruitful, but Aaron's experiments did not.

He wanted to sense the waves. So, reluctantly, I allowed inside my mind once again. This time almost proved fatal for both of us. First, he pushed to far into my mind. I warned him, and still he pushed farther. I wanted to kill him then. But, in a strange way, he is my friend despite his penchant for egomania and disregard for other people's free will. Call me crazy, but I stayed my blade and gave him another chance. He pushed toward the memories of my childhood and asked me about my parents. Then I placed the blade to his neck. "Get out or I bleed you here and now!", I said. He left.

We moved on with our experiment. I told him when the wave washed over us and he reached out with the power of the Pattern. It was a Pattern wave that he reached out to and tore open. I tried desperately to shield us, but a wave of raw Vitae washed over us and we were ripped apart and cast all over the shadow. And then a wave of Chaos came over us and we were structured once again. Only we were 3 ft. bunnies.

Aaron loved this. His big fat brain was actually getting off on the whole darned incident! And I was stuck in this alien body! Why wasn't he freaking out like me? Why are all my friends power crazed maniacs? I swore to kill him if he revealed this to anyone. I urged him to find a way to fix us. He fixed himself somehow, pulling his own blueprint from the Pattern. We decide to try the same with a Trump of me. We traveled to Amber where I hid in the garden. Aaron returned with a Trump and it worked. Except my trumps, my ring of spells, and weapons were still gone, part of that shadow now I suppose.

Benedict's plan was to siege the enemy and buy us time to try our vaccine. So I had Aaron drop me off in a fast time shadow so I could remake my ring of spells. I feel naked without it, and I will be half as effective without it should I be called to battle.

Later I take Aaron to Telluria, which really pisses off my other comrades. It seems they are afraid of Aaron and his ways. Hah, nothing a dagger can't handle. Besides, they need Aaron. Which they later learned again when this fellow Niro made off with Dalen. I bet they soon forget than I brought Aaron to them, or that Aaron was even there to save their collective hides. It is my understanding that this Niro held them off psychically for awhile. That would not have gone our way without Aaron involved. But, I bet you, that soon enough they will try to ditch Aaron again.

However, now at least one of our enemies knows the location of the Tellurian science lab where our vaccine is being made. I must see if Lentaro can relocate it quickly, or our plans for peace could go up in literal flames.

Too much to do, must write more later.

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