BEGINNINGS:

Since Cailin left Amber nearly 10 years ago and never really looked back, I've decided to give a little background information on why Cailin has had the sudden change of heart about his home and family. This is the event that provided the impetus for his return to Amber.�

He stood there, chest heaving, heart racing seeing nothing but rage. He was blinded by it, consumed. Somewhere deep inside him there was a rational, logical man, but the man who stood alone in the autumn rain knew no reason. He could feel the anger, like a snake in his stomach, writhing through his intestines and driving him on into the sleepy village.�

Furious he stepped over the dead man at his feet, rain washing over his shoulders and down his arms causing diluted blood to drip from his hands. The katana he held was slick with it, crimson in the waning twilight. The man at his feet was dead by his hand, not the first to feel the bite of steel today and not the last. They had come for him at his home, his wife unsuspectingly preparing a modest dinner for them. She never heard the assassin.�

These bastards! How could they betray him, after all he had given them? Ungrateful curs. He should raze the entire village for this, burn them all out of there pathetic hovels, end their inconsequential lives. Unappreciative creatures. None of them would still be alive if not for the protection that he afforded them. Insects, how dare they presume that they could take his life? How dare they even consider attacking him, let alone try?�

Now, as he walked up the avenue to the governor's mansion they cowered in their homes. Hiding, fearful of the retribution he would visit upon them if they so much as opened the shutters to get a glance of him. Only one had the courage to challenge him, the man who lay dead at the end of the avenue, Redvil. His own Lieutenant, who had come here with him, come here only to aid in his betrayal. Now he had come seeking payment for that betrayal. But as he walked into the governor's mansion, he finally realized the scope of this treachery. The people of the village weren't hiding, they were all dead.�

"Cailin, so glad you could join us. It is a pity that your young bride was unable to attend." �

"Malachi." It was all he could say before the arrow struck his chest, sending him crashing to the marble floor. Evidently the demon Malachi was not alone in the room.�

"Dear Cailin," Malachi sneered "You really weren't expecting all of this were you? You've been away from Amber for far too long. You've lost that edge, that ability to sense deceit when a scheme is being hatched behind your back. It is a pity; you've lived among lesser creatures for far too long."�

Now Malachi leaned close to his face, a leering face, fangs showing through his smirking mouth. "Honestly Cailin, we couldn't have you mingling your Amber blood with these people could we? It would jeopardize our position. You understand don't yaaaaaa?"�

"Dear Malachi," Cailin choked, blood in his mouth "You really weren't expecting that were you?"�

The demon's expression changed to shock, his wound bleeding terribly. Then Cailin lost consciousness.�

When he awoke, he found himself in the village medical centre. Clansmen from a nearby settlement had come to help as soon as the survivors of the massacre had begun trickling in. They had nursed Cailin back to health but had not been able to stop Malachi and his archer from escaping. Cailin was confident the wound he had left Malachi would never heal properly, the demon was resilient but some of Cailin's only blood spilled into the gash.�

The demon's words had hit home, Cailin had been away from Amber for too long, and now with the death of Jasmina there was noting to keep him here. His strongest allies had been killed by the demon Malachi and the treacherous Redvil. Although he still had friends in the clans, he could not stay here. The pain was still too fresh, and he needed to be back home.