"David Eddings - Ellenium 1 - The Diamond Throne" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

For decades, by the light of smoky torches, Ghwerig
patiently carved and polished, muttering all the while
the spells and incantations which would infuse this
priceless gem with all the power for good or ill of the
Troll-Gods. When at last the carving was done, the gem
was in the shape of a rose of deepest sapphire blue. And
he named it Bhelliom, the flower-gem, and he believed
that by its might all things might be possible for him.
But though Bhelliom was filled with all the power of
the Troll-Gods, it would not yield up that power unto its
misshapen and ugly owner, and Ghwerig pounded his
fists in rage upon the stone floor of his cavern. He
consulted with his Gods and made offerings to them of


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heavy gold and bright silver, and his Gods revealed to
him that there must be a key to unlock the power of
Bhelliom, lest its might be unleashed by the whim of any
who came upon it. Then the Troll-Gods told Ghwerig
what he must do to gain mastery over the gem which he
had wrought. Taking the shards which had fallen unnoticed
in the dust about his feet as he had laboured to
shape the sapphire rose, he fashioned a pair of rings. Of
finest gold were the rings, and each was mounted with a
polished oval fragment of Bhelliom itself. When it was
done, he placed the rings one on each of his hands and
then lifted the sapphire rose. The deep, glowing blue of
the stones mounted in his rings fled back into Bhelliom
itself, and the jewels that adorned his twisted hands
were now as pale as diamond. And as he held the
flower-gem, he felt the surge of its power, and he
rejoiced in the knowledge that the jewel he had wrought
had consented to yield to him.
As the uncounted centuries rolled by, great were the
wonders Ghwerig wrought by the power of Bhelliom.
But the Styrics came at last into the land of the Trolls.
When the Elder Gods of Styricum learned of Bhelliom,
each in his heart coveted it by reason of its power. But
Ghwerig was cunning and he sealed up the entrances to
his cavern with enchantments to repel their efforts to
wrest Bhelliom from him.
Now at a certain time, the Younger Gods of Styricum
took counsel with each other, for they were disquieted
about the power which Bhelliom would confer upon
whichever God came to possess it, and they concluded
that such might should not be unloosed in the earth.
They resolved then to render the stone powerless. Of