"Eddings, David - Malloreon 3 - Demon Lord Of Karanda" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

meekly accepted the forms of Angarak worship. But they were a
mystical people, and the Grolims soon discovered that the
power of the witches, seers, and prophets remained unbroken.
Moreover, copies of the infamous Mallorean Gospels still
circulated in secret among the Dalasians.

In time, the Grolims might have succeeded in stamping out the
secret Dalasian religion. But then a disaster occurred that was
to change forever the complexion of Angarak life. Somehow,
the legendary sorcerer Belgarath, accompanied by three
Alorns, succeeded in evading all the security measures and
came unobserved at night to steal Cthrag Yaska from the iron
tower of Torak in the center of Cthol Mishrak. Although pursued,
they managed to escape with the stolen Stone to the West.

In furious rage, Torak destroyed his city. Then he ordered that
the Murgos, Thulls, and Nadraks be sent to the western borders
of the Sea of the East. More than a million lives were lost in the
crossing of the northern land bridge, and the society and culture
of the Angaraks took long to recover.

Following the dispersal and the destruction of Cthol Mishrak,
Torak became almost inaccessible, concentrating totally on
various schemes to thwart the growing power of the Kingdoms
of the West. The God's neglect gave the military time to exploit
fully its now virtually total control of Mallorea and the subject
kingdoms.

For many centuries, the uneasy peace between Angaraks and
Melcenes continued, broken occasionally only by little wars in
which both sides avoided committing their full forces. The two
nations eventually established the practice of each sending
children of the leaders to be raised by leaders of the other side.
This led to a fuller understanding by both, as well as to the
growth of a body of cosmopolitan youths that eventually
became the norm for the ruling class of the Mallorean Empire.

One such youth was Kallath, the son of a high-ranking Angarak
general. Brought up in Melcene, he returned to Mal Zeth to
become the youngest man ever to be elevated to the General
Staff Returning to Melcene, he married the daughter of the
Melcene Emperor and managed to have himself declared
Emperor following the old man's death in 3830. Then, using the
Melcene army as a threat, he managed to get himself declared
hereditary Commander in Chief of the Angaraks.

The integration of Melcene and Angarak was turbulent. But in
time, the Melcene patience won out over Angarak brutality.
Unlike other peoples, the Melcenes were ruled by a
bureaucracy. And in the end, that bureaucracy proved far more