"Elenium 02 - The Ruby Knight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

towering. His aptitude for the secrets of Styricum was the
delight of his tutor in those arts, and the aged Styric
instructor guided his pupil into areas of magic far beyond
those customarily taught the Pandion Knights. The
Patriarch of Demos was no less enthusiastic about the
intellect of this novice, and by the time Sir Sparhawk had
won his spurs, he was also skilled in the intricacies of
philosophy and theological disputation.
It was at about the time that Sir Sparhawk was
knighted that the youthful King Antor ascended the
Elenian throne in Cimmura, and the lives of the two
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Eddings, David - Elenium 2 - The Ruby Knight.txt
young men soon became intricately intertwined. King
Antor was a rash, even foolhardy youth, and an outbreak
of banditry along his northern border enraged him to the
point where he threw caution to the winds and mounted
a punitive expedition into that portion of his kingdom
with a woefully inadequate force. When word of this
reached Demos, the Preceptor of the Pandion Knights
dispatched a relief column to the north to the King's aid,
and among the knights in that column was Sir Sparhawk.
King Antor was soon far out of his depth. Although no
one can dispute his personal bravery, his lack of experience
often led him into serious tactical and strategic
blunders. Since he was oblivious to the alliances between
the various bandit barons of the northern marches, he
oft-times led his men against one of them without giving
thought to the fact that another was very likely to come to
the aid of his ally. because of This, King Antor's already seriously
outnumbered force was steadily whittled down by surprise
attacks directed at the rear of his army. The barons
of the north gleefully outflanked him again and again as
he charged blindly forward, and they steadily decimated
his reserves.
And so it stood when Sparhawk and the other Pandion
Knights arrived in the war-zone. The armies which had
been so sorely pressing the young king were largely
untrained, a rabble recruited from local robber-bands.
The barons who led them fell back to take stock of the
situation. Although their numbers were still overwhelming,
the reputed skill of the Pandions on the battlefield
was something to be taken into account. A few of their
number, made rash by their previous successes, urged
their allies to press the attack, but older and wiser men
advised caution. It is certain that a fair number of the
barons, young and old alike, saw the way to the throne of
Elenia opening before them. Should King Antor fall in
battle, his crown might easily become the property of any
man strong enough to wrest it from his companions.