Acknowledgments

It’s been over a year since I finished the final chapter of Paladin’s Quest, ending what I thought would be the last of my original fiction. After thorough planning and thinking, I’ve decided to continue the world of Paladin’s Quest in a series of small sequels, and then go for a full-time trilogy to continue the world in its far future. I don’t know how far I may take these small chapters and stories from the PQ world, but I know for sure that I have the inspiration to write them. All I have to find is the conviction to keep writing.

I now dedicate these stories to my choir friends, who all have given me a chance to discover my own identity, while accepting me into their inner circle of friends. I also dedicate this new beginning to my good friend, Aidan (aka Calcifer), who has shared my friendship for a little over two months now. Despite the fact that I was not writing for a long time, he has chosen to stay with me, and encourage the talent dormant inside of me to be rekindled.

Well, it would be the worst that could happen if these stories flopped or remained unwritten in the face of so many thank-you’s. It would be inappropriate to begin the new saga without a proper chapter. I will continue my tradition of modeling characters after people I know, and borrowing minor ideas from famous books. However, I will refrain from any direct references to such. If you, dear readers, can read between the lines and figure out who or what I’m really talking about, I would say “Good for you”, and ask you not to ruin the story for other readers.

Without further ado, I give you the Paladin Saga.

Blake Wales

It is often difficult to understand where one belongs in the world. Just as one thinks that he is complete, and when he has figured himself out, the world takes every back from him. Then, that poor soul is left to start all over again.

The pattern of life is completely passive to our accomplishments. Just when you think that life could not get any better, just when you’ve made lifelong friends, they leave you forever. I promise you that I will find my new life again… someday. I will find my friends again, no matter how hard I have to work.

Even now, I feel the fiery passion of breathing next to my best friend and strongest supporter for years on end. The fire of our friendship is as strong as that of a raging furnace, and our relationship spans the times of old and new. I cannot recall how many times I’ve had a good dance with him on the stage of life.

Our stage was filled with a passionate performance of recounted legend. It cannot be right that it must end here. Why? It is not the end. Who dares to tell me that I must start my life over after having rebuilt it tenfold times over?

The stars are so beautiful tonight. It is my last evening with my friends, the last evening before our great departure. And because of my nature, I cannot join them in their carefree celebration. It’s so hard to accept the end.

Light, it’s so beautiful – back at the great city of ours, the lights are so bright that you can’t see the stars. Now… now… teardrops populate my parchment as the stars populate the evening canvas.

Why did they tell me they didn’t want me to be with them? The only other place I could go was with my comrades, and they don’t know how I feel – they’d only feel pity. I feel happiness and sorrow all welled up into one emotion. After tonight, where will I turn to for a good laugh, a comforting smile… for a friend…?

I spent so long becoming their friends… and now it’s all over. Tonight the stars weep in unison with me. Tonight I weep for myself as well as my soon-to-be-lost friends. I don’t want to leave, not when my life was just beginning…

Can anyone understand how I feel? When you’ve spent all your life losing friends? When you’ve spent your whole life getting to know people and then leaving them before you can tell them how much you love them?

The stars and memories of my friends comfort me in my solitude. It is my place to live such a life as this. It is my duty never to live life for long. It is my duty to heal.