"Daley,.Brian.-.Coramonde.1.-.Doomfarers.Of.Coramonde" - читать интересную книгу автора (Daley Brian)

Just as they'd said at Court, Springbuck was not the fighter his
father had been. Surehand, a stubborn man with a quick temper,
had been aware of his own shortcomings and had tried to school
them out of his firstborn son. "Think first," he would tell worshipful
Springbuck, "and don't let your hand be hasty to move. Have I not
told you that haste is the thing that has caused me more regret than
any other? Pause, reflect and weigh your options."

In the end, some impulse of self-preservation or awakening of the
mettle of his ancestors had moved the Prince to plan escape to
preserve his life. But he was unprepared for the events of this
evening.

He attempted to maintain his dignity as he strode through the great
doorsЧstalwart things of hard ebony bound up in iron and studded
with thick rivetsЧand into the brightness of Court, so familiar in
hours spent

Oj Deaths, Of Departure 5

at his father's side, and now seemingly the camp of the enemy.

Lanterns cleverly wrought in brass and blown glass lit the spacious,
tapestried room and filled it with their sweet scent. The windowless
walls were hung with the banners of various legions and houses.
Over the dais hung the royal standard, a snarling tiger, scarlet on
black, and beneath it the personal ensigns of Springbuck, his
stepmother Fania and his half brother Strong-bladeЧa stag's
head, dolphin and bear, respectively.

The^ throne was vacant; across its arms rested Flare-core, the
greatsword reserved for the ruler of CoramondeЧthe Ku-Mor-Mai,
as the Protector Suzerain was called in the Old Tongue.
Springbuck's stepmother held Court seated in an ornate chair at
the foot of the dais; she wanted no accusations that she was
disrespectful of her late husband's memory or custom. She wore a
robe of imperial white which contrasted well with her thick, raven's
wing hair.

Because Earthfast was the best fortified place in Coramonde there
were only eleven men-at-arms hi the throne room itself. Eight
archers watched, weapons at ready, from ledges above the milling
courtiers, four at either side of the room. They wore brown
leathers, had quivers of barbed arrows at then: shoulders and were
now sworn to Fania by secret oaths.

On the dais itself, behind the Queen, were three fighting slaves,
family heirlooms after a fashion, yielded to Springbuck's
grandfather by a conciliatory king after the epic battle at Skystem
Crag. They were not members of the race of men, and many