Reflections on the Past, Part 5:
	An honest appearance serves a person well in life.  It does not matter 
if they truly -are- honest...just so long as the appearance remains.  During 
our enforced stay in Chiare, I would reap the benefits of such an appearance.
	It was a moment of calm in the midst of a storm.  Were it my choice, I 
would have finished my business in Chiare and pressed on to Thule.  But the 
death of the Karcist proved to be an unwelcome inconvience.  Another day 
lost...and I could feel the clock ticking.
	I made it work for me, though.  The danger of a judgment against us, an 
appeal to the better qualities of my companions, and the portrayal of myself 
as a savior who needed knowledge for the universe to survive.  All of this 
worked for me, to uncover the secrets of my companions.
	Rex, undoubtably, is the strangest of us.  I believe he is insane...yet 
it is an insanity I can work with.  He believes he can affect reality by force 
of will - and I see no reason to doubt him.  Yet, he doubts himself instead, 
believing his existence to be nothing more than a torturous afterlife.  He 
wants a purpose, a reason for living.  I knew I had to prove to him that his 
help had not been in vain.  That will determine whether he stays in our 
company...he would prove to vanish without explaination more than once in the 
days to come.
	Jeanette finally revealed the truth of her power.  It, as I had seen 
with the Sight, resides in the brooch she wears.  Yet, as expected, she 
remained vague as to its specific abilities.  No matter.  I would do the same, 
in her position.  A power that easy to take away should be hidden as much as 
possible.
	Rex's instability caused an outburst.  It was time to lay a few ground 
rules for conduct.  I knew this would reflect poorly on my friendly demeanor, 
but the gains would outweigh the disadvantages.  Rex responded to my warning 
with one of his own, hinting that he held some sort of power over entropy.  I 
defused the situation with a comment designed to play off of Rex's insanity, 
and it worked about as I had expected.
	Reed was next.  A quote from my early days came to mind: 'The least 
threatening person in a room is often the most dangerous.'  Though his story 
had no visible holes, Reed worried me.  His power, as he stated, was solely in 
the measuring devices he bore with him.
	Another altercation involving Rex was beginning as I turned to Madrak.  
It seemed that Rex and Jeanette were approaching a contest of wills.  Madrak 
0defused the situation nicely, and then explained his true nature.  It was 
refreshingly direct - the best way I can describe it is an aura of peaceful 
death.  I would compare him to the Valkyrie of some legends - he sees those 
who are about to die.  Though I know little in the way of specfics, I expect 
that will change soon enough.
	The discussion that followed after this revelation of secrets brought up 
little new information.  The motives of the attack on the Karcist are still 
unclear, though it appears it was an attempt to deny us information, and 
hinder us in other ways.  Their theories on the prophecy were in line with 
what I had deduced, as well.
	There was one final comment that I took special note of.   It appears 
Jeanette's benefactor was none other than Princess Deirdre.  Considering that 
her broach seems kin to my power in some fashion, I wonder...was Alain the 
only one to research the Broken Patterns?  Fortunately, Deirdre died in the 
war with Chaos.  Unfortunately, Ashlin was no longer around to answer my 
question.
	I had the beginnings of trust among the group.  For that, I can say that 
our imprisonment in Chiare was not wasted.