Mairlynn had spent the last months living with her grandmother. Growing up she never would have thought that she would be living this way, with a woman who had a small blood relation, in conditions that were completely alien to her. But there were things that she wanted to know about her father, and this was the only place where she could learn them. Her grandmother was not very hospitable; Mairlynn wasn’t part of her grandmother’s tribe. But in the end Mairlynn's grandmother couldn't deny her granddaughter her curiosities.
At long last Mairlynn’s grandmother showed Mairlynn where she kept all of the books that had been left to her from her husband and her son. Mairlynn felt a bit nervous now that they were in front of her, but she picked up the one book that she wished to read more than any other...her father's journal. She had heard stories of how he kept a journal while she was a child, and once she was old enough she sought out her grandmother in hopes of learning what was in the journal, so that she could learn who her father really was.
Her hands trembled a little and she gingerly opened the leather bound book with rough parchment. She steadied herself with a deep breath and began to read.
"My name is Rowlan, and this is my story.
If you are reading this then I am most likely gone. I keep this
journal because I know the power that comes with knowledge.
My father kept a journal through his time in fighting this war,
and through his journal I have learned the many lessons that he
never got to teach me. I only hope that you can learn from my
experiences, and put that knowledge to good use."