"Elrod, P N - I, Strahd 2 - War Against Azalin e-txt" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elrod P N)

consistent in his nature.
In his overly colorful, self-aggrandizing narrative, he has made scant reference
to the Mists, the single most important element that has to do with our mutual
imprisonment.
Some one hundred years prior to this incident, so far as I can discern, he made
what he called a "pact with Death" so that he could remove all barriers between
himself and this woman, the barriers being a rival for her love (his own brother
Sergei) and the annoyance of aging. On the night in question, he was so occupied
with the execution of the necessary ritual that he had no inkling of the far
reaching consequences of his actions and was completely unaware of them until
they had entrenched themselves beyond all chance of removal by his own
unassisted hand.
The initial manifestation of his act was the establishment of the Mists
themselves. According to the few references he has deigned to share with me
(despite their obvious importance to my research) it began in the garden near
the castle overlook just prior to the woman flinging herself from its edge. He
mentioned that the Mists originally surrounded them moments before while she was
having some sort of intense emotional reaction to the death of his brother. We
have both come to believe that strong emotions or negative acts may have a
powerful connection to the Mists or whatever force may drive or control themЧif
they are indeed intelligent. From our limited perspective, it is quite
impossible to judge either way on the point. Does an insect about to be trod
upon consider whether the foot descending upon it is intelligent?
What I can infer with some certainty is that the Mists rose that nightЧthe
result of Strahd's murderous lustsЧand spread to the borders of Barovia and
there remained. No oneЧhimself not exceptedЧis able to cross through the Mists
to leave, and very few are able to enter from the outside.
This sudden isolation of Barovia marks where it entered what I term a demiplane
of existence and only under very extraordinary circumstances does anyone slip
from the prime plane of the Oerth that I came from and arrive in this one. The
brigands he dealt with here are a typical example.
Despite his patchy research habits, Von Zarovich did trouble himself to question
the shepherd and shared what he learned with me. The outlanders had come riding
through a thick mist which had suddenly arisen shortly before the setting of the
moon. Unlike myself, they had been thieves and murderers and were apparently
intent on committing more mischief once they got used to their new surroundings.
Von Zarovich backtracked their path and discovered the hoofprints of their
horses appearing in the middle of an otherwise empty and unmatched patch of
earth, as though they had appeared out of nowhere. He maintained that is very
likely what happened, but this is not so, since they obviously came from
somewhere.
The shepherd reported the men as being unused to the sight of mountains and they
frequently made a type of warding gesture against them. From the description of
their clothing, artifacts, and attitudes one might deduce they were from a flat,
grassy country, their culture primitive in their devotion to random violence and
strong superstitious beliefs. Von Zarovich's vulnerability to religious faith is
yet another powerful tool that could be employed against him, but Barovia's
isolation has diminished that as a feasible ploy at this time. His adverse
reaction is worthy of note, though I find anything to do with religion to be
distasteful and can agree with his reactions.