"Kerr,.Katharine.-.Deverry.03.-.Bristling.Wood" - читать интересную книгу автора (Dragon Stories)

possessed no dweomer of its own, it was tied to the dweomer.
Many years ago a mysterious, nameless wanderer had given it to
Devaberiel as a present for one of his as yet unborn sons. Now the
omen reading of a dweomerwoman showed that it belonged to
Rhodry, the youngest of the three and, like Ebaёy, a half-breed.
But unlike EbaёyТs, RhodryТs mother was no pretty village lass, but
one of the most powerful noblewomen in the kingdom. Rhodry
could never learn the truth about his real father, who had given
Ebaёy the task of taking the ring to him.

УAnd what am, I supposed to tell him, when I find him?Ф he
grumbled aloud, because talking came much easier to him than
thinking. УOh, well, this peculiar personage said it was yours but I
canТt tell you why. Of course, I donТt know why itТs yoursЧno one
doesЧso, dear brother, I wonТt be lying to you when I make my
most feeble excuses. One dweomer says it encircles your Wyrd,
and an other working says that your Wyrd is EldiddТs Wyrd, and so
here we are in the land of vagaries, nuances, and secrets. Ah, by
the gods, doesnТt my elvish curiosity ache to know the truth!Ф

With a laugh, he slipped the ring back into its wrapping, then put
that pouch into the one he carried around his neck. Soon he would
be riding into the lands of men, where thieves prowl, and he would
need a better hiding place for the ring than an open canvas sack.
Thinking of the journey ahead of him, he went outside and
wandered down to the riverbank, where the Delonderiel rolled by,
flecked with gold in the lowering sun. Distantly he heard his fatherТs
voice, firm and clear in its sorrow as the stanzas marched on. He
stared at the river and used it to focus his mind, until at last his
dweomer scryed Rhodry out, a pale image of him at first, then a
clear picture.

Rhodry was standing on the ramparts of a rough stone dun and
looking out over countryside where patches of snow still lay under
dark pine trees. He was wrapped in a cloak, and his breath came in
a frosty puff. Now that Ebaёy knew they shared a father, he could
see what had eluded him the summer before, when heТd met
Rhodry by chance and wondered why this young warrior looked so
familiar. Although Rhodry had raven-dark hair and cornflower-blue
eyes, they looked enough alike to be what they were, brothers. As
he studied the resemblance, Ebaёy found himself grumbling again.

УSo IТm not supposed to tell you the truth, brother, am I? What am I
supposed to do, smash every mirror within your reach? Rhodry has
to think himself human and a Maelwaedd, says my master in
dweomer. Oh, splendid! Then IТd best hand over this ring and
disappear before you look too closely at my face!Ф

In the vision, RhodryТs image suddenly turned and seemed to be
staring right at him, as if he were listening to his faraway kin. Ebaёy