"03 - The Stricken Field 1.0." - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

"But you thought the imperor was sacrosanct? You thought the Protocol defended
him against all use of sorcery? Oh, you poor dupe! And yet millions of others
have believed that lie, for thousands of years. No, the imperor has always been
a puppet of the Four. That was why Raspnex and Grunth appeared in the Rotunda,
as you saw. South and East were elsewhere, attempting to hold off the Godly One
long enough for the dwarf and troll to complete the rite. When they failed, when
they saw that they were not strong enough to prevail, then they destroyed the
four thrones. It was an act of desperation, and of desecration."
The dwarf Raspnex had admitted doing that, or at least the faun had said he
admitted ...
"My wife and I escaped in time," Shandie said, walking faster now. "You and a
few others were not so fortunate. One of those who fell into their clutches was
my poor cousin, Prince Emthoro. Do you understand? The dwarf sorcerer who stole
you away cast an occult glamour on him so that he appeared to be the rightful
imperor! He believed it himself, of course, and so did you, but neither of you
is at fault. Whatever Warlock Raspnex may have told you, he sought only to
uphold an ancient evil, whose time has now-thank the Gods!-has now passed. The
man you thought to be me was actually Emthoro." The burning eyes turned back to
Umpily. "I do not blame you, old friend. You were deluded by a hideous evil."
Shandie? Umpily's heart had started to pound. He could feel sweat trickling down
his ribs. Which of the two was the real one? Had he been misled all this time?
Had he betrayed his best friend, his liege lord?
"Fortunately," Shandie said, smiling grimly, "there is little harm done. Their
mischief was of no avail, except to deceive you and a few who were with you. I
reign, as you see. The Four are all still at large, but we shall run them down
in time, and they will suffer for their own sins and the sins of all their
uncounted predecessors, back for three thousand years. The Almighty is with us."
Umpily shot a quick glance at that blue chair. It was empty. When he looked back
at Shandie again, it wasn't. "But you did have an enthronement . . ."
"You were there?" Shandie looked surprised, annoyed, and then amused, in fast
succession. "My, you are a dedicated old snoop, aren't you? Well, yes, we did.
And yes, it was a total fake. It seemed wisest to follow the ancient practices
until the people can be educated in the new ways. That's all. Why not?"
"S-s-sire?"
Shandie's smile broadened at the word. "After all, what they don't know won't
worry them. Not everyone will understand the truth at first. People can be
misled so easily ... even yourself. What you thought you knew was not very
probable, now was it?"
"No, Sire!" Gods, what a fool he had been! What a witless, misguided, idiot!
Shandie waved his fists overhead in triumph. "And we shall prevail! The Almighty
is with us, and we are his chosen vessels! Can you see the glorious future that
awaits us, Umpy? No more will the evil Four crouch in their webs and roll dice
with human lives. We are blessed among all generations! We shall see the Impire
spread out to the four oceans and all men shall know the benefits of universal
peace and tranquility. Did you meet the faun?"
"Yes, Sire."
"Did he .. ." Shandie was suddenly very intent. "Did he display his powers at
all?"
"Very little. He made some garments. He claims that he is only a very weak
sorcerer now, Sire."